"I promise, I'll be back." A white-haired girl patted his head.
"Wanna play with us?" A girl with light hair outstretched his hand towards him.
"If there is something wrong, you can always tell me." A blonde-haired man smiled gently at him.
"You took away everything from me!" A grey-eyed man raised his hand.
Near sat up straight in bed. Sweat rolling down his forehead while breathing heavily. His calm nature was replaced with his panicked expression.
He looked at his surroundings in an attempt to calm himself. A fairly big room with a giant window, huge bed, a small table and 2 sofas around it. The room was unfamiliar. But he remembered what transpired the previous day.
The white-haired boy buried his face into his hands. "Breath in, breath out. Breath in...breath out."
Achter a few minutes, what seemed like hours, he finally regained his cool nature and lazily ploffed back down onto the pillow.
Near closed his eyes, "why can't I just forget?!" He gritted his teeth as he so desperately didn't want to remember the events of his life.
"Near," Liver's calm voice came through the door and startled Near. "Lady Esdeath wants to see you in 30 minutes. Please get ready."
Near sat up in bed. He hadn't even noticed the early rays of sunlight. Disregarding his previous thoughts, he picked up the clothes that lied beside the bed and made his way to what he assumed, was the bathroom. And right he was.
He undressed himself and looked into the mirror. How he wished he avoided it. His whole upper body had bruises, some having a blue colour and the majority, purple. There were even scars aligning his body.
Near's eyes widened as a sudden memory came back his mind. To avoid having a panick attack, he ran under the shower and turned the cold water on. It felt like he could almost faint from the sudden contact with the cold liquid and his bare skin. But that didn't really matter to the white-haired boy. As long as it distracted his mind, he was fine with it.
After a 10 minutes of getting cleaned up, he came out of the bathroom, fully clothed. He wore a white button-up shirt with blue pants. He exited the room and found River patiently waiting for him.
"Your first assignment is today, are you excited?"
Near shrugged, "not really." That was true. He had a feeling he would succeed.
Liver chuckled, "always calm. Now, let's get moving. Better early than late."
Near nodded and started following River through the enormous palace. Making sure to mentally note the way around here.
On their way, Near spotted a purple-haired man, with quite some muscle. His arm was snaked around a beautiful female's waist. He had such a lustful look in his eyes while staring at her chest. Near knew humans had carnal desires. But the way he looked, just seemed ridiculous.
No words were exchanged between them. Near could tell the female was uneasy with this man. Near couldn't really blame her. Everyone would be uncomfortable when someone looked at your chest like that, even males. Maybe she was with him against her will?
He also acknowledged Liver's eye twitch in annoyance when passing them. Near could tell the older man was doing his best not to look at them. And if him gritting his teeth was anything to go by, he probably wanted to yell at them.
When they were out of earshot, Near had to ask Liver about the man. "Who was that?"
The grey-haired man sighed, "that was the Prime Minister's son, Syura." He nearly bit his tongue for mentioning the name.
"You don't like him, do you?"
"I don't think anybody would."
"I see," Near put his hand under his chin. "I think he's abusing the privilege of being the Prime Minister's son for his own selfish desires. He could get away with almost anything."
'Even more if his dad has the Emperor under his thumb,' he mentally added.
Liver's eyes narrowed, "how I wish I could ram my sword through his arrogant-looking face."
"I assume you can't because he's the Prime Minister's son."
"That's not the only reason."
Near raised an eyebrow, "what is the other one?"
He caught sight of Liver's hands tightening behind his back. He didn't see it, but his eyes widened.
"O-oh we're here!" The grey-haired man spoke.
Behind him, Near studied his every move. 'That's a way to change the subject.' He decided to drop it, persuading the older man to tell him wouldn't work.
Liver knocked in the door, "Lady Esdeath we're here."
After a "come in," he opened the door and they both entered the blue-haired woman's office.
There she sat, behind her desk with a stack of papers. Liver bowed to her while Near simply stood there.
"Today is your first assignment, Near." She handed one of the papers to the white-haired boy, "I hope you'll succeed. Liver will accompany you, since Daidara still has his arm to heal. And Nyau," she put a hand under her chin. Like she was thinking deeply about her answer. "Well, you know how he is."
"How could I forget?"
She chuckled and after that, became serious. "But I must warn you. With the line of work you do, you will see quite some...bloody things." From the inside, she couldn't help but get excited at the mere thought of carnage. It had been 2 days since she tortured a poor soul. She was just itching for a kill. "You may be smart, but you are still a child. Are you ready for that?"
Near shrugged, "I can never be sure until I see it for myself." The white-haired boy had excellent self-control. But honestly, the only way to truly find out, is to see it himself.
"I see, as honest as always." Esdeath sighed, "both of you are dismissed. I've got a lot of paperwork to do. The details are on the paper I gave you. I'm curious to see the results."
Once again, Liver bowed with Near simply standing beside him. Once he was done, they left the room.
"Liver," Near called out while he was skimming through the paper. "Do you know where the Imperial Police Station is?"
"I do, is that where we are headed?"
Near nodded and Liver started heading towards said place with Near following beside him.
"Apparently a woman was brutally raped and murdered, they suspect her brother for doing it. Liver, where did the General get this paper from?"
The grey-haired man looked at the smaller boy. "I actually got it. Yesterday, Lady Esdeath sent me to the police office and I asked them if they had any recent murder cases. Their captain, Ogre, gave me a few specific documents."
"Specific?" Near asked.
"A few he personally chose. And I guess Lady Esdeath picked this one for you."
Near twirled a strand of his hair, "did you tell him I was going to investigate one of them."
Liver nodded, "Ogre still wanted an explanation, even though he knew I was a member of General Esdeath's Army."
"I see." Near returned his attention to the papers. "But it's strange."
When Liver raised an eyebrow, he continued. "The information on the paper is so vague. I'm pretty sure this is a report, and reports at least need some details. It's so plain and simple, it makes me suspicious."
"Of who?"
"Ogre, since he gave you this."
Before he could say something Near continued. "But Liver, there is something I like to ask you." His grey orbs directly stared into his blue ones. "But you have to answer honestly."
"Of course," Liver answered. He didn't really see a problem with it. But he should voice his words carefully around the young boy. One little thing and Near was already on you.
"What do you think of the Prime Minister?"
The grey-haired man was taken aback. Why would he ask such question all of a sudden? "Where did that come from?"
Near shrugged, "I'm curious to hear your opinion. Is that so weird?"
"No, why specifically the Prime Minister?"
Near was silent for a bit. He didn't have a good explanation for that answer. One that wouldn't make Liver suspicious of him. Even though they had no ill will towards each other, he still had to be careful. You never know who you can trust, he learned that the hard way.
"He seems like a weird man to me. Eating on the job doens't seem like something professionals would do." The white-haired boy half-lied.
Liver seemed satisfied with his answer, much to his relief. "Fine, I'll give you my personal opinion." He took a deep breath, bracing himself to tell Near his true feelings. "I don't like that man, one bit. Just the same as his useless son. In the past we had some disagreements. But that was in the past and now I work for Lady Esdeath. Since he is her superior, I have to deal with it. If I want it or not."
"I see," he muttered. "What are those disagreements exactly?"
Liver closed his eyes, "I would rather not think back to it."
Near sighed, a little bit disappointed. He was curious to hear Liver's past. But understood him conpletely. "I can understand that."
"What do you think of him?"
"It doens't really matter what I think. Compared to him I'm powerless. Only a fool would go against him." He mentally smirked. Using the power card as a way to avoid questions was absolutely genius! Heck, it even worked on Esdeath.
After they left the palace, it became quiet. Until they reached the bustling streets of the Capital. Liver noticed Near staring at one of the many stalls. Specifically, a toy robot.
Liver smiled at him. He may have the mind of an adult, but he was still a child. Seeing him act like a normal child, was a change he probably wouldn't get used to.
"I can buy it for you if you want it."
Near looked up at him, "I do. But if you don't mind paying for it."
Shaking his head, Liver walked up to the stall and bought the toy. The man at the stall was nervous to see a member of Esdeath's army. But his purchase went smoothly, anyway.
The older man handed the robot to the younger one. Liver could see a slight hint of excitement on his face.
Near moved its arms and legs around. He looked up at him. "Liver," a genuine smile appeared on the white-haired boy's face. "Thank you, I owe you one." With that he picked up his pace again.
Liver stood still, shocked to see Near smile. If he told Nyau and Daidara about this, they probably wouldn't believe him. "Near, it might be weird coming from me. But," he paused. "Your smile is adorable." The ex-General felt really strange saying that. He didn't plan it, the words just left his mouth instantly.
Near stopped in his tracks, shocked at his words. Even though he didn't show it. "What can I say? I am adorable, after all." He mumbled, not even bothering to look back. It felt nice in a way Near wasn't used to.
Liver couldn't tell if that was a joke, but they resumed their journey to the police station. And soon enough, they finally reached their destination.
When spotting Liver, one of the guards outside immediately went to get Ogre. When Ogre approached them, a roar of laughter left his mouth.
"I didn't expect him to really be a kid. Has the General lost her mind?"
A vein popped up on Liver's forehead. From his tone, Liver knew he was joking. Only a fool would insult Esdeath right in front of her servant. But the words still left his mouth! That's what got Liver annoyed the most.
"For the record, Lasy Esdeath is completely fine."
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Near spoke up, surprising both of them. He handed him the report. "You should know that as the captain of the Imperial Police."
Liver smiled at his comment while Ogre grunted. "You came here to investigate a murder. I'm sure you'll," he cleared his throat, "succeed. But we already investigated them thoroughly and came out with empty hands. Everything we know stands in the reports I gave you."
"Yes, and I'm sure your competence goes as far as your ability to make well-written reports. Seriously, who made those? I could do much better, and that is coming from a kid."
Ogre narrowed his one good eye at him. A child was seriously setting his pride on the line. Good thing no one could hear this. He wouldn't admit it, but the boy got him good.
"Do you want to investigate this or not?" Ogre skimmed through the paper.
"Actually you're right," Near said honestly. "I shouldn't waste time talking to you. You wouldn't listen to a kid, anyway. You're too prideful," he paused. "Even if they were right."
Ogre's anger starters to rise. Seriously? A kid giving him a big mouth. He would've taught him a lesson, if it wasn't for the old geezer beside him.
"Listen kid, you should be respectful towards your elders," Ogre stated.
"Ahh, I get. Now you're saying you're old." At his response, Liver put his hand to his mouth to hold in his laughter. He managed not to burst out laughing with great difficulty.
Near sighed as Ogre's eyebrow twitched. This was just too easy and boring. "But anyway, can I examine the body now?"
A grin appeared on his face. "Of course. My subordinate will tell everything you need to know. I'll go get her." With that, he left to get her.
"Near, are you really fine to see a dead body?" Liver asked with worry in his voice.
"I don't know," he answered simply, making Liver raise his eyebrow.
Seeing the older man's questioning look, he shrugged. "I don't know. It's like I said with the General, I won't know for sure until I see it."
Liver sighed, "you're really thinking light-heartedly about this. I have seen my fair share of things. But I can't help but be worried."
"Liver," the white-haired boy started. The same genuine smile returned. "Thank you...for caring."
Before Liver could respond, Ogre's subordinate arrived. She saluted, he honey-brown hair bouncing in the process. "Greetings fellow warriors of justice! My name is Seryu from the Imperial police!"
Near couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her words. You really didn't hear that every day. Then again, a child dissing an adult wasn't that common either.
"Umm...hello," Near muttered, not really knowing how to respond to a comment like that.
When her eyes landed on Near, she gasped. "Are you supposed to examine the body? You look like 10."
Near sighed in annoyance. This would probably happen with every single person he meets.
"I'm 13. And yes, I'm the one." Near started walking. "Now lead the way," he added bluntly.
Seryu couldn't help but squeel at his actions. "You trying to boss me around, is just too adorable for words!"
Now this was starting to become frustrating. He was dead serious and Seryu somehow couldn't take him that way, because he was 'adorable.' Well, that was something he didn't expect to hear twice on one day.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Liver, once again, trying to hold in his laughter. Much to his annoyance.
"Don't laugh, old man."
I was actually going to make this chapter longer, but it's been a while since I updated this story and I didn't want anybody to think I stopped with this story. I wasn't sure what to give Near for his first mission and we probably all know the art of procrascination. So, Í'm sorry it took so long. And thanks for all the feedback!