Ok, I'm back, and I'm now over 50k words.

First Job

March 8th, X778

It was morning, and I was currently standing in my bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body. I was currently braiding my hair, and preparing for the day.

I was so excited for today, that it took a great effort for me not to be shaking where I was standing. Yesterday was Kagura's tenth birthday, and we became wizards together.

I finish braiding hair and I look at the red Mermaid Heel mark that was present on my upper right arm. I couldn't help but smile at it.

It was sort of like a tattoo, but without the needles and hours of sitting in a chair in mild discomfort. All it took was a quick stamp, and a split second tingling sensation wherever the mark was applied. I put it in a spot where it would be easily visible, but also easy to cover up as well. You never know when there will be a situation where you need to go undercover and hide your mark.

I think I put it in a great location overall, but I couldn't say the same about Kagura. She put a white guild mark on the back of her neck. I asked her why she put it in such a hidden location, and she just shrugged and said that she felt like it. I was a little annoyed at that answer, but I guess it was her choice.

Anyway, looking in the mirror was a smiling red haired girl with long, crimson red hair that was braided in the back. My face was starting loose its baby fat, and I was starting to look less like a chibi, and my face was starting to get more defining features. To be honest, with my hair braided back the way it was, and the way my bangs were styled. I looked like child Erza from the anime. The only differences were that my eyes were red, and my eyes and chin were little rounder than my sisters. Also, my hair was a slightly different shade of red. Not to be narcissistic or anything, but I could tell already that I was going to be quite the looker once puberty went into full swing. I guess I got the same great genetics that my sister got.

Speaking of puberty, I do not look forward to going through it again. The first signs of it were already showing. But this time around, it was noticeably different.

I distinctly remember my chest not getting lumpy in my last life. A little bit before my tenth birthday, I noticed that my chest was getting a little lumpy, and at first, I thought it was me putting on some weight. But as time went on, the lumps have gotten a tiny bit bigger and more firm.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I realized what those lumps were. They were the first stages of breast development. When I realized this, I hid in the bathroom for a few hours. This was the first big reminder of my new situation besides the obvious physical differences between my old body and my new one. And I had a little identity crises before willing myself to get over it and move on. I would just have to live with it.

But yeah, I was getting boobs, and I still don't know what to think of that fact. Luckily, they were small, and barley noticeable. But I had to start wearing something that I never thought I would ever wear.

A bra, or a training bra to be more specific. It was weird to wear it, and I didn't know why I had to wear one at such a young age, but since I will inevitably wear a full sized one in the future, I might as well get used to wearing it.

But that's enough thinking about puberty, I had somewhere to be, and things to do. I needed to get dressed, and I wanted to test something that I have been working on since I turned ten.

I drop the towel that was covering my body, and then I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I then let magic power course through my body. I hear a weird sound, and the feeling of the air on my bare body is replaced by the feeling of wearing something.

I open my eyes and instead of seeing myself naked, I see me wearing a white over-blouse that had short sleeves, went down to my waist and fit snugly to my form. Around my waist was a leather sword belt that held a wakizashi in a black sheathe. It was the same one I received on my birthday. I was also wearing a blue skirt that went to just above my knees and brown leather boots that went up most of my calf.

I feel a huge grin on my face, and let out a laugh. I just performed requip for the first time. I start feeling around to make sure everything was indeed on my body. After confirming my suspicions, my grin gets even bigger.

After my tenth birthday, I went into the library and found a book on requip magic. After seeing Maribelle and Celia use it all the time, I've been wanting to learn how to use it for quite a while. While one of my reasons for learning it was because of Erza, it wasn't my biggest reason. It was just so damn useful.

It allowed you to store various pieces of clothing, armor, and weapons. It was primarily a utility magic that was meant to assist in battle or everyday life. It took a good amount of willpower and concentration to use it, and often took a few seconds for it work. That's why it wasn't used primarily as a combat magic. Those who could use it fast enough in battle were few and far between. Those who could use it as their primary magic where even rarer. Erza was truly remarkable if she was able to do it so fast and so precisely.

It took me forever to just establish a small pocket dimension, figure out how to store stuff in it, and be able to even change one article of clothing. For Erza to change into complete armor sets within a split second was unbelievable.

I wasn't the only who tried how to learn requip. Kagura has been trying as well, but she had extreme difficulty establishing a pocket dimension. When she finally did, she found out that it couldn't store much, and was a little disappointed. But she got over it and said that she wasn't going to rely on her magic much, so not being able to use requip to a greater degree wasn't so devastating.

I'm interrupted from my musing by a slightly annoyed Kagura knocking on the door. "Rubi! Come on! We're gonna be late!" She shouts with an annoyed tone.

I sigh, "Alright! I'm coming!" I shout back. I then walk to the door, and open it. I'm greeted to the sight of Kagura standing and tapping her foot impatiently.

She was wearing a white collared shirt that had a red neck tie and was tucked into a white skirt that went half down her thigh. She was also wearing black leggings, white shoes and of course, her white ribbon in her hair. She had her hair in the "Hime" haircut. Overall, she was really starting to look like her adult self, but just way smaller and her face was less serious.

She was holding a full sized katana that was in a white sheathe. On her birthday, Maribelle got her two swords like she did me. But Kagura got a full sized katana and nodachi instead. This was because Kagura liked the longer swords and she found the sword style that she really likes. Which was the style of the undrawn long sword.

"Sorry, Kagura, I was just testing my requip skills…" I say sheepishly, before gesturing to the outfit I was wearing, "… and as you can see, it was a huge success."

She rolls her eyes, but she has a small smile on her face. "Well, congratulations, but we have to go pick out our first job, and Shishou said she would come with us. I don't want to keep her waiting." She says impatiently.

I sigh, but I nod my head in agreement.

She then turns around and gestures me to follow her, "Come on now. You already used up a lot of time in the bathroom." She says as she starts walking away.

I follow her and I end up right beside her. "You look pretty sharp, Kagura. Very professional looking." I complement.

She smiles, but continues to look forward. "Well thank you, Rubi. The same could be said about you. That looks good on you." She complemented right back.

I smile at her compliment, "Thank you! I had hard time picking something out." I respond. "What type of job do you think we'll get?" I then ask out loud.

Kagura's face turns contemplative, "Hmm… that's a good question. I don't think we will be doing D-class jobs, that would be a waste of our training, and there would be no reason for Shishou to come along with us." She reasoned out loud. She then looks at me, "I think we will be allowed to go on a low C-class at the least. Maybe even a B-class if we're lucky."

The job rating system in Fiore, and all of Ishgar, was regulated by the Magic Council. The class of job depended on a multitude of factors like amount of payment, difficulty, danger levels and amount of time the job had been on the market. D through A class jobs made up what was known as "normal jobs". Next there was S-class, SS-class, 10-year and finally 100-year jobs. Those jobs were for S-class mages and higher.

A D-class job would be a waste of our training, because they involved task like walking pets, fixing household stuff, or most simple problems. They were task that normal people could do, and didn't necessarily need a mage. C-class jobs and up was when things got difficult for non-mages.

"That would be kind of cool. Maybe we will get to beat up some bandits!" I say excitedly. "Can you imagine their faces when they realize that they got beat by two ten year olds!?"

This got a giggle from Kagura. "I don't know if we will be allowed to do something like that, but that would be funny."

At this point, we have arrived at the guild hall. We both walk inside and head for the job board, where Maribelle was already standing. She was looking at board, and the many jobs on it.

"Good morning, Shishou!" Kagura and I say simultaneously.

She looks over her shoulder and has a small smile on her face. "Good morning, Kagura. Rubina." She then turns her head back towards the board. "It has been quite a while since I last used this board. It brings back many good memories from my early years, when I was a little bit older than you two." She said in a nostalgic voice.

She then turned around and faced us fully. "Normally, amateur mages in the same age bracket as yourselves would be doing simple D-class jobs. But, I did not train you two to do simple chores that any non-mage could do." She then gestured to some of the job requests on the board with a smirk on her face. "No, that would be a complete waste of the skills you have acquired. So I think we will be doing a B-class instead." She then tore a job request from the board. "In fact, I found the perfect job for you two." She said, and then walked over to us and handed me the job request.

Kagura leans over as I start reading the job request.

"'Usagi infestation in Lilly Town. Need immediate help. 100,000 jewels.' *whistle* Wow, that's a lot of money!" I read in excitement and Kagura makes a noise of agreement. I then become slightly confused and I look at Maribelle. "One question. What is a Usagi?" I inquire.

Maribelle's face strangely morphs into one of slight amusement, before turning into one of seriousness. "Oh, they are truly terrifying creatures with sharp pointy teeth, incredible speed, and great strength. Not to mention that they have a vicious streak a mile wide." She says in a completely serious tone. Her face then turns back to normal, "But I am convinced you two can handle it." She says before she starts walking towards the door of the guild. She then looks over her shoulder, "Come, we have a long walk."

At this point, I was very worried about what we were going to face, and I could tell Kagura was as well. But I swallow my nerves and nod my head. "Yes, Shishou!" Kagura and I exclaim, and we both catch up to Maribelle.

"Shishou? Where exactly is Lilly Town?" Kagura inquires.

Maribelle continues to look forward as we reach the door of the guild. "Oh, not too far." She said with a small smile. She then opened the door and we followed her out.

XXX

It turns out, Lilly Town was two hours away by foot, and we arrived there at noon.

Lilly Town was decently sized and looked like it was a bit bigger than Rosemary in size. The houses were a bit more modern, though with way more two story buildings. The roads were also paved with stones.

Overall, it looked like a very decent town, except for the fact that all the buildings had boarded up windows, and there were no people walking in the streets. It was a ghost town.

"Uh, Shishou, where is everyone?" I inquire as we walk through the empty town.

Maribelle continues to look forward, "They are hiding from the Usagi of course. They are truly terrible creatures that will attack anyone. We are going to the mayor's office to see the scope of the problem." She explains.

"Are Usagi truly that terrible?" Kagura asks nervously.

Maribelle looks at her, "Absolutely terrifying." She responds simply, and Kagura starts to look even more nervous.

I was starting to have doubts as well.

We eventually reach a large building, which I assume is the mayor's office, and we stop outside of it.

"Hello! Is anyone there!?" Maribelle asks out loud.

There is moment of silence before the door suddenly opens, and a man who looks to be in his sixties with grey, disheveled hair and a fearful look on his face comes rushing out. He looked to be of average height and was wearing a white collared shirt that had its sleeves rolled up, and tan colored khakis.

"What are you doing out here!? They are going get you!" He said hysterically.

Maribelle then holds up the job request flier, "We are mages from Mermaid Heel, and we are here to take care of the usagi problem." She said calmly.

The man's eyes widen before he rushes up to her and gets on his knees. "Oh my lord! Thank you! Someone has finally come!" His eyes then start tearing up. "Those monsters have been terrorizing our town for a week now, and they just won't go away! Nothing we did would work!" He said hysterically, before regaining composure. He then got up and smiled gleefully. "My name is Tim, mayor of Lilly Town." He introduced himself.

"My name Maribelle Lockhart, S-class mage of Mermaid Heel. And these two…" She then gestured to Kagura and I. "… are my apprentices, Kagura Mikazuchi and Rubina Crimson. They are here for their first job, and I am here just to supervise them."

The man looked between her and us several times. "Are you serious!? You're letting little children do this!? They'll be ripped apart!" He said incredulously.

Half of me was getting even more nervous at his declaration, and the other half was taking offense. I feel my eye start twitching in annoyance. I look over to Kagura and see her taking deep breaths to contain any insult she might want to say.

Maribelle looks unaffected at his declaration, "I would not worry about my apprentices. I assure you that they are quite capable, and will be able to take care of your usagi problem." She retorted with confidence. "Now, show us where they are, and we will take care of it."

The man looks at her for a moment before sighing. "Well, if you say so…" He trails of before gesturing us to follow him. "Come. The last I heard, they were this way." He then starts walking away and we follow him through the streets.

While we are walking I lean towards Kagura, "So, what do you think these usagi look like?" I stage whisper.

"I don't know. But according to all the information I gathered, they must be huge beast with sharp, large teeth." She whispers back with a nervous voice.

As we get closer to where the mayor is leading us, he starts to get twitchier, and his head starts looking around erratically. These things must truly be terrifying. All around us, the buildings were all boarded up, the streets were empty, stereotypical tumbleweed was blowing in the wind, and the silence was unnerving.

As we keep walking, the tension in the air increases, I start to get more edge.

The mayor stops, his head looking all over the place, and then turns around. "Ok, I don't think I should go any further. Those beast are hiding somewhere, and I don't want to be here for when they app-"

He is cut off by a loud, unholy screech that causes me to cover my ears in pain. Kagura joins me in covering her own ears as well. Maribelle is unfazed.

He becomes panicked. "Oh god! They're here!" He says hysterically, and he immediately runs behind me and uses me as cover. If I wasn't covering my ears in pain, I would be angry at him for using me as a human riot shield.

The loud screech stops and Kagura and I get into a combat stance and we draw our swords. I start letting magic power flow to my body and I start looking around for the creature that made the noise.

Strangely, Maribelle didn't get into any type of stance at all and she turned around and walked over to me. She then grabs the mayor from behind me, and pulls him up to his feet with one hand with ease. "Get a hold of yourself! Ten year olds have more courage than you!" She scolds the mayor, and all he could do is wilt under her chastising.

We hear another screech, but this time, not as loud.

"Look over there!" Kagura shouts as she points to an ally way.

We both stare at the ally way, waiting for the beast to show itself. What comes out is a small white rabbit. I ignore it and keep waiting for the creature to appear.

"There's one! Attack!" The mayor shouts, and we tense up looking for what he was referring to.

We still see nothing.

I look back at him, "Where is it!?"

He points in the direction of the rabbit. "There! It's right there! Take it down before it gets us!" He shouts.

I look back and see nothing. "Behind the rabbit?" I inquire.

"No! It is the rabbit!" He answers.

Wait, what?

"What?" I say out loud. He couldn't be serious with this. I think Kagura was in equal shock as well. Or her brain shut down at the sheer stupidity of the situation.

"That is one of the creatures that has been attacking our town! Take it down!" He commands loudly.

It was at this time that Kagura's brain rebooted itself. She turns around with the most annoyed look on her face that I have ever seen on her. "You put a job request to exterminate a rabbit!? Your whole town is boarded up for a rabbit!?" She yells incredulously, her right eye twitching from annoyance.

"That is no rabbit! It is a spawn of Satan himself!" The mayor exclaims. "That thing is the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered rodent you ever set your eyes on! It has razor sharp teeth, can jump buildings, has the strength of two men, and has a vicious streak a mile wide!" He continued.

At this point, I didn't know what to think, and my brain just shuts down from the stupidity of what my life was at this moment.

So I decided to watch a ten year old argue with a grown man.

"It's a freaking rabbit! A baby could take one down!" Kagura retorted. And the mayor just sighed and shook his head, which made Kagura even more annoyed.

I took this moment to look at Maribelle, who looking at the two with amusement, and looked like she was holding in a chuckle or two.

"I'll show you that it is just rabbit, and you were worried over nothing!" I hear Kagura shout and I turn around to see her draw her sword. She then starts walking towards the rabbit.

It was at this moment that my brain decided to come back online and this situation suddenly became familiar. "Wait a minute... I've seen this before..." I say quitley to myself, before my eye suddenly widen. "OH GOD, KAGURA, WAIT DON'T GO NEAR IT!" I shout suddenly, but I was too late.

The rabbit suddenly screeches and its appearance suddenly changes. No longer is there a cute little bunny rabbit, but instead, a rabbit that looks like it came out of hell. Its fur stands on end, its eyes glow red, and its teeth elongate. The demon rabbit hisses, and immediately jumps toward Kagura with lightning speed.

Kagura, who was caught off guard, was not prepared for the demon, and the demon's head connects with her stomach, sending her flying. But before she can land, the rabbit is already under her again, and hits her again, sending her flying back towards us.

The rabbit positions itself under her again, but before it could hit Kagura again, I pump magic into my body, and rush next to the rabbit and punt it down the street with a magic enhanced kick. I then catch Kagura, who is seeing stars, and she is mumbling incoherently.

"*groan* W-What happened?" She manages to get out. She then shakes her head and quickly gets back on her feet.

The mayor starts laughing hysterically. "I warned you, but did you listen? No, you didn't! Just a rabbit you said. A harmless little rabbit." He manages to get out through his laughing fit.

Kagura's face turns a bright red, "S-Shut up!" She stutters out.

Suddenly, we hear the rabbit screech in distress, and we turn our attention to find it in the middle of street. The ground then starts rumbling, and we see a swarm of them on the horizon, rapidly coming towards us with great speed.

"We don't have time bicker, we have a large problem head towards us!" I shout, and Kagura quickly nods and gets to her feet. I get into a combat stance and start sparking electricity throughout my body. Kagura draws her sword, blade still in sheathe, and gets into slashing form.

The mayor wisely gets as far away as possible, and Maribelle just calmly watches us.

I go first and charge straight into the swarm of demon rabbits with incredible speed. As I am about to collide with the swarm, I discharge a large amount of lightning from my body. "Thunder Blast!" I shout as enormous arcs lightning blast out of me, knocking back a large amount of the rodents away from me.

This creates enough space for Kagura to jump in and she starts slashing the creatures with her sheathed sword. One jumps at her from her blind spot, but I quickly dispatch it a lightning bolt. I then bend back as one lunges at my head. I then shoot another bolt as it goes flying over me.

I rise back up and see Kagura dodging and hitting more the devil rodents out of the air. I then deliver a round house kick and intercept one mid-air, sending it back into the swarm.

For several minutes, we are in surrounded by the creatures, dodging and hitting them as fast as they are swarming us. Somehow we were not getting hit by them, but I'm starting to feel the fatigue of continuous combat, and I could see that Kagura was as well.

"We can't keep this going!" I shout as I dodge another usagi.

Kagura is in shield form, swatting them of like flies, "I know!" She shouts back, strain coloring her voice.

This was bad. If we didn't put an end to this, we would be overwhelmed. I think I might have a solution, but it would need some time to prepare.

"Kagura! I need you to increase the gravity in this area to prevent them from moving!" I shout as I dodge several more of them.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I'm suddenly pushed down to a crouch and I feel heavier. I let out a grunt of surprise and I turn around to see Kagura with her eyes closed. I force myself to stand up and look around to see the entire swarm of usagi, which took up a huge area, struggling to move against the intense gravity forced upon them. They were all screeching angrily, their eyes conveying pure hatred.

"Hurry up! I can't hold this for much longer!" Kagura yells, her voice conveying the immense strain of trying maintain her magic.

I nod and I start gathering an immense amount of lighting in both of my hands. "When I say so, you stop the gravity and get out of the way!" I exclaim as the lighting in my hands starts taking a spherical shape and keeps getting bigger.

At this point, Kagura was starting to sweat heavily and was starting to pant. "You better make your move soon! I don't think I can hold this for much longer!" She struggles to get out.

I don't respond as I was concentrating on gathering a little bit more power into the huge spheres of lightning that were in my hands. I then open my eyes, "Now!"

The gravity immediately drops, and Kagura lightens the gravity on herself to jump high above the area.

"Chain Lightning!" I yell as I let all of the lightning in my hand loose. The crimson spheres electricity explode into hundreds of arcs, which connect with each of the usagi. Each arc of electricity jumps from rabbit to rabbit, electrocuting them.

The swarm screams in pain.

My attack was over in a few seconds, and the swarm drops dead, each one thoroughly cooked. The air smelled of cooked rabbit. It smelled quite delicious actually.

Oops… I think I put too much power into that last attack.

I then feel light headed, my knees start to buckle, and I collapse to the ground. I roll over and look to the sky.

Double oops. I used too much magic, and now I was suffering from a case of magic depletion.

Kagura enters my vision, her face is full of worry. "Rubi! Are you alright!" She asked.

I feel myself grin, "Y-Yeah, I'm alright… I think I used too much magic, though…" I say half-deliriously.

She sighs in relief and shakes her head, "One day, you're going to give me a heart attack with all the injuries you get." She says as she extends her hand.

I slowly raise my hand and grab hers. She then pulls me up and positions me so that I was resting on her shoulder. I was a little bit taller than her, so it was a little bit awkward.

We start walking back to Maribelle, who had the proudest look on her face. The mayor was next to her, slack jawed. "Very good! I knew you two could handle it." She says with a proud voice. "Although, Rubina, try not get magic depletion often. It can be quite deadly if you are not careful." She scolds lightly.

At this point, I didn't feel like responding, because I felt like taking a nap. Magic depletion, or also known as magic exhaustion, is very tiring, but also very dangerous if severe enough. The magic container in the human body contains a set amount of excess magic that can be used for spells. After you deplete that supply, all there is left is the portion used to keep you alive.

Normally, when you try to perform a spell with no useable magic, the body doesn't allow you to use that life essential magic supply. But when a person is under extreme stress, overpowering a spell, or forces their body hard enough, the body will use a portion of that essential magic to perform the spell. The only cost is that you will be killed if you use all of your magic.

I was lucky that I used only a small portion of that supply, and was experiencing very light exhaustion. If used more, I could of lost conscious or even died. Again.

Yeah… I should be more careful the next time…

The mayor finally recovers from his shock. "We're free…" He says lowly, before a huge grin over takes his face. "We're free! The beast are slain!" She shouts to the heavens.

Suddenly, the doors of the buildings around us start opening, and people come outside to see what the commotion was.

"Hey everyone! The beast are dead! We're free!" The mayor shouts in excitement, and the people respond in kind.

The town ended up throwing a huge celebration, and we were thrown a feast. On the menu, was rabbit stew.

Apparently, my magic cooked them just right. Maybe I should open a restaurant.

I never thought my first job as a mage would result in me fighting a horde of demon rabbits that came straight out of a Monty Python movie.

When we arrived back at the guild, Kagura and I split the 100,000 jewels 50/50. Unfortunately, Celia took 25,000 away from both of us to pay a part of the 4 years' worth of unpaid rent that we accumulated. Another 2,000 was taken for taxes.

So that left only 23,000 jewels.

I was crying anime tears over the damage to my wallet.

OK, the first job is complete. She doesn't have the team 7 curse, which is every mission going wrong somehow, and I wanted to make the job a little light-hearted. Also, for those who don't know where I got the rabbit idea from, go check out Monty Python Holy Grail. It is absolutely hilarious. I felt as though I could of written the combat scene a little bit better. Usagi is Japanese for rabbit.

Rubina is finally starting to see the full scope of the changes to her body. But puberty is not done, and there is much worse things to come. She thought she has come to terms with changing sexes, but she hasn't experienced the full deal yet.

I posted a link to the image that Rubina's current outfit is based off on my profile page. This will be her outfit until she gets a bit older.

Now I got to think of what to write next. I'm open to ideas.