Well, here is the next chapter. Enjoy. Not much to say really. Will try and keep this fairly original. Again, other things intrude on my update time. I wish i could be in the younger years again.

Important notice, i am testing a new style for this story, in the prequal "When a job goes wrong," it was very subtle humour since i had the romance to keep me going. However since this is no chance of romance, since that would be weird, i will try this chapter with a little bit more slapstick humour than normal. If anyone is offended or doesnt like it then tell me!

Chapter 4. - Not an Easy Job?

Kirika eyed the large group of armed men with professional ease, letting her calm, blood coloured eyes wash over them as she mentally scorned their poor defences. They were unskilled, lazy, untrained and poorly maintained. It was unfortunate then that in these days anyone with a gun suddenly classified a huge threat. And just as unfortunate that ten of these huge threats were staring at her...

They had forgotton one thing however.

Her Beretta M1934, which was fully loaded and snugly fitted... her hand wandered invisibly to the back of her belt... snugly fitted...

Snugly fitted...

In her bag...

Damn.

Her mind exploded at the implication of that realisation. She, Kirika, Noir, had forgotton her gun. That wasn't right! It just didn't compute! She could barely manage to stand calmly still, since inside her head thousands of mini-Kirikas were running around aimlessly, proclaiming that it was the end of the world. All the while a deep red klaxon was screaming in the background of her mind.

The hired goons were getting nervous. They knew she was a great assassin, rumours travelled fast, they also knew that her standing still probably heralded something momentous.

They had famalies, loved ones, pets... well, they didn't. But they were thinking that living long enough to accumulate such things was beginning to sound like a pleasing prospect. Meanwhile Kirika was thinking of different ways to kill or incapacitate all ten of the armed thugs. After that Mireille would be in her arms again, since said blonde baby was gagged on the sidewalk. Gagged! How dare they do that to a baby, let alone Mireille! ... hmm... so quiet... must remember to grab that gag, I mean, NO! Bad! Kill!

It all started when a man, soaked in sweat and fear reflexively pulled the trigger, discharging his bullet towards Kirika's form. In that single gunshot. All Hell broke loose. Kirika swayed out of the way of the bullet and leapt forwards, delivering a roundhouse kick to one man's head and a fist into another's jewells. She had never known a man could scream so high! More bullets fired, but with the close mess of bodies the only marks they found were in their own bodies. Only one had to die before they realised that and attempted to fight her melee...

A terrible mistake.

It was maybe fifteen minutes later when the door to their apartment opened and Kirika walked calmly in, sporting one black eye, she had got careless, and a giggling baby girl. The apartment was as she had left it... a mess. But without Mireille able to tell her off she didn't bother to clean it. Sighing she sat Mireille on the floor with a few empty cartons she made into building blocks and sat at the desk with the computer to think.

Mireille always sat there if she wanted to think, it was funny. but it DID help her to think...

Curiously she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, confiscated from the men. It read;

Dear Hired Goons,

A small asian girl and baby will be in Paris, kidnap the baby and kill the girl. You will know who is the right one, because the asian girl is a deadly assassin who can quite easily kill you all.

Have a nice day.

Love

Author.

There was his mistake, Kirika knew that you did NOT tell goons that an enemy was strong. You told them that all they had to do was act tough, then you got far away. Hired thugs were by definition cowards. It was just a fact of life.

Build a tower! Mireille happily chanted, placing one block atop another until a small building was made. She smiled evilly. Destroy the tower! Blocks fell as she cut it down. She clapped her tiny hands together. This is fun! Truth was, this was her third tower, and for some reason she never got bored. She paused.

Why does this entertain me so? Could it be that being a baby is making my mind simple again? So that the smallest of things amuse me? Test time. What is important to me...? Kirika... fashion. Does Kirika look fashionable? It took only one glance. Egods! I thought i had burned those pink shoes! But it was without any flare... truth was, she didn't care about clothes in this form. The shock of that statement made her pause.

Oh my God... Does this... does this mean... that my mind will be replaced? It was a terrifying thought, would her mind die and be replaced by that of an infant, never again to trully be her? No! It can't be... but i can feel... sense... no, feel... another mind within my own. She recalled it now, the yearning she felt to always be close to Kirika, the desire to build the tower then destroy the tower... There was another mind sharing this body with her, the mind of a baby. And it was getting stronger.

This wasn't a simple matter of finding a cure anymore. If they did not find one soon... then no amount of cure would help her, because her mind would be dead.

At least I know of it, so i can fight it! I should do the opposite of what it wants.

She sat still for three full minutes.

No... must... resist...

The other mind was screaming bloody murder. It wanted to play! NOW!

FINE! A compromise... let's... uhhh...learn to crawl! Yes, we should learn how to move. Of course the baby could not understand her, but as soon as she started trying to move it quieted, as if happy that they were doing something.

Right... one arm forward... one leg following... oof. no. One arm forward, opposite leg forward, other arm forward... opposite leg...

This could take time. She thought to herself as she fell on her side again.

Kirika looked quickly at Mireille, seeing the little girl move maybe half a foot before toppling over again. Mireille was learning to crawl, how cute! She couldn't help but feel a rush of cheer and pride at the thought. But it was soon quashed.

Mireille.

Mobile.

Able to move.

Kirika's eyes glazed over at the mere thought of the pain a mobile Mireille would cause her.

Sighing, and knowing her life was over she began to contact an old friend, and an old enemy. He was their last chance.

Mireille was dreaming. She knew she was, she climbed out of her dream bed. A full adult, and looked around curiously, but she had been a baby? The world outisde the windows was black and nothing seemed to move in the small apartment. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door.

Despite her foreboding, Mireille walked towards the white door, dressed only in her white shirt. Cautiously she opened the door.

Her mouth fell open.

Outisde was a small pink pig, with a little set of wings and a faintly embarassed face. It was holding a red rose towards her, and wound in it's twirled tail was a salad fork.

"BON ANNIVERSAIRE!" The moogle, pig, thing shouted at her, thrusting the rose forwards.

Mireille screamed.

GASP! What does it mean! probably nothing, the odds that it has anything to do with the plot of this story are negligible. Sorry for the delay, life is a bitch to me. UCAS is wanting in this Friday, (University thing) and i am running ragged right now to get up to date! I only wrote this early because my BETA reader gave me a not so subtle hint! Shakes fist at Beta reader

Yeah yeah. if you didnt like the added over the top humour then tell me. I WILL get rid of it if nobody liked it. Well, i wont redo this chapter, but i will skip it next chapter. Other stories again will take time, i ask that you be patient, yada yada! Sorry that I am sounding nasty! UCAS is EVILLLLLLL! WAHHHH! MUMMMMMYYYY!

-Cavalyn.