Chappie number two in Tseng's little bio-thingy. Now we reach the bodyguard business.

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I don't know how long I had been sitting there, idly reading a book I had taken from one of the many shelves, when the little girl approached my chair. I glanced at her, not turning my head from the book. She just stood there for a while, looking curiously at me. After a few minutes, it started to get unnerving. I looked up at her, and she looked back without any sign of embarrassment. I sighed. This was going to be a while.

"Was there something?" I asked her.

"What are you doing?" She said.

I looked at her before answering. This child was incredibly annoying.

"I am reading." I held up the book, a heavy volume about the monsters of the world, as if to prove I was telling the truth.

She peered at the books cover, tilting her head a bit. Then, she nodded, and continued to watch me. It was starting to freak me out, being watched by a girl, no more than four years old.

"Are you going to stay here long?" She asked a while later. Once again, I cursed Chekov for forcing me to do this. This child was asking too many questions for me to be comfortable, and I hadn't been her bodyguard for a full day.

"Yes."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because I am your bodyguard."

"What does one of those do?"

Bloody Chekov.

"A bodyguard takes care of someone, and makes sure that she doesn't die." I told her, hoping that she would go away. In vain, of course.

She stood there for a while, and then tried to peer over my shoulder to get a better view of the book. Alas, I was too tall for her to reach over my shoulder, and I soon tired of her standing on her tip-toes behind me. Thankfully, Chekov entered just then, interrupting whatever event would have taken place if she hadn't. I looked up at her, hoping she would say it was all just a big mistake, and I shouldn't be Lady Yuffie's bodyguard, but I had no such luck.

She just smiled at the two of us, and I'm sure I saw a decidedly evil glint in her eye. Of course, I could be wrong; at that time, I wasn't nearly as good at reading peoples facial expressions as I am now. Chekov bowed down before the little brat that one day would become the Lady of Wutai, and nodded at me.

"Your mother wants to see you, Lady Yuffie." She said.

I glanced over at the aforementioned brat, and saw that she was nearly jumping up and down in excitement. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Didn't she see her mother every day?

"This way, my lady." Chekov said, motioning us to follow her, so we did.

We exited the library by a door I hadn't noticed before, and walked down a deserted hallway. I looked around, trying to imprint the place in my memory, because I had a feeling that I would have to know the layout of this place later. After all, wasn't I going to work here, probably for a very long time? I realized I had fallen a bit behind, and hurried my steps to catch up. The little girl was talking excitedly to no one in particular about nothing special. In fact, she talked about everything; about the dust on the floor, about the sun outside, about what she had for breakfast. After a while, I realized that she didn't want answers, just someone who would listen.

After walking a short distance in the abandoned corridor, we reached a second door, this one in the part of the building that I knew held the personal quarters of the royal family. (It may not be the same now, because even Wutai changes in thirteen years.) Chekov opened the door, and led s into a part of the building that I had never seen before. She walked up to another door, and knocked softly. A voice called ´come in´, and we entered.

Immediately, I blushed like crazy, and turned around to exit. The room we had entered as nothing else than the Lady of Wutai's personal bedroom, and I was embarrassed to say the least.

"Tseng." Chekov's voice stopped me just as I reached the door.

"Yes?" I answered without turning around.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Outside."

"Whatever for?"

"This is a lady's bedroom, Chekov. I am not allowed in here." I told her, blushing even brighter than before, but I held my voice as cold as I could manage.

I spun around in shock when I heard her laughing, and stared at her open- mouthed. I saw her trying to hold back her laughter, and I got more and more irritated, because I didn't know what the hell she was laughing at. I stood there, tapping my foot, waiting for her to get a hold of herself, painfully aware that both the Lady of Wutai and her daughter were staring at me. I was not comfortable.

After a while, Chekov finally managed to calm down enough for me to get an explanation, she still giggled a bit, but all in all, she was calm.

"You are Lady Yuffie's bodyguard, Tseng; you're not allowed to leave." She explained.

My jaw dropped, I was forced to stay in a lady's bedroom! This was outrageous! It broke the very rules of a samurai! I could do nothing but stare at her, until the Lady's voice broke me out of my petrified state.

"It is alright, really." She said, and smiled weakly at me. For the first time since I had entered the room, I looked at her. I did a double take, and had to stop myself from pinching my arm to make sure it wasn't just a nightmare.

In the bed, just beneath the window, lay the Lady of Wutai. She looked so frail, and was so thin that the sun seemed to shine right through her. There were lines etched on her face, and even from where I was standing, I could clearly see her glassy looking eyes. There had been a rumour saying that the Lady was ill, fatally so, but I hadn't believed them. Until now, that was. Finally, I understood why her daughter wanted so desperately to see her.

Sighing in defeat, I sank down on one of the chairs that occupied the room, and settled iinfor a long watch.