Chapter 5: Junk Chimera part 2

*Author's Note*

Sorry for the delay, the semester has been hectic so far but I've managed to pull through.

I know most people will recognize the magic system as I am about to explain how it works in my story, and I am borrowing the basics from another story for the most part. But I will say that I will be using some of the stuff from the games as elements, so don't worry about that. I just think that I want to give this explanation now so you understand that I'm basically throwing together an explanation since there isn't a solid one in the games as far as I can tell.

There was a moment of silence between the two as they stared at the impact point. Stunned silence, not the bad kind. The momentary pause continued as the two stared at the gun, not a single blemish on it, if anything the way the sun was hitting it made it look like it was glowing.

"We did it… We did it!" Kaden grabbed Claire's hands in excitement as he looked at her expression.

"Yeah, we did! It was mostly me though." Claire couldn't help but be haughty.

"Well, I can't say that you don't deserve a good amount of credit on this one." Kaden bashfully scratched the back of his head. She really had helped him more than he could reasonably thank her for. That magic formula she had come up with was the key to all of this and without it, Kaden would never have finished this project.

"You know, I'm surprised you're this excited. Normally you'd be sarcastic if anything." She commented on his giddiness.

"Oh can it, Claire. I deserve this celebration at least." He began to walk over to where the pistol was sitting to check it and also to pack everything up so he could start getting a proper setup for the Expo planned.

Claire breathed out heavily and felt her entire body relax, she had helped him in a way only she could. That feeling was almost completely euphoric, it put a wide smile on her face as she watched him excitedly take the gun off of the stand. She… might just… She shook her head. She would never feel that way. Definitely.

As she watched him walk back, she felt something strange coming from the pistol. There was still a small amount of magic flowing through it. But she assumed that it was just residual magic.

"Alright Claire, now that we have this done. I have to make some more preparations for the expo." He had already started looking forward to the next thing. Maybe she should start doing the same…

"Wait.. the expo?" Claire questioned.

Kaden looked at her as if she had grown multiple heads for a moment, "Ummm, that is what this project was about. Remember?"

"No, you idiot! Of course I remember that!" She took a quick breath. "I… can't go to the expo with you."

"You can't? I'm assuming family stuff is planned?" Kaden took a shot in the dark.

"Yeah… sorry, but I'm sure it'll go well!" She was pretty optimistic for his project, even if it ultimately was pointless for most people. It would still get Black Heart's attention, or she could maybe help with that too.

"That's fine, spend time with your sister. If you have something planned out this far in advance, it must be important."

"Thank you."

"Let's get back to the shop, I have to make more bullets to use for the demonstration. You can head home if you like, unless you want some more practice with making bullets?"

Claire immediately stood up, "If you really want my help so badly, just say it, idiot."

"Well you do have a habit…" He teased her.

The two conversed on the way back to the shop as the walked through the streets of Lastation. A cool breeze blew through the streets as they walked, just talking about the expo. Kaden kept bouncing ideas off of her as she shot a few of them down and suggested improvements. Their timbre of conversation was concise and relaxed, with only a light jab or two every few exchanges to keep the tone of the conversation relatively focused.

Upon returning to the shop, Kaden went to his workshop and began examining the gun one last time.

"Pa… hear…" A voice spoke to Kaden.

He looked around in a light panic, was someone else in the shop? The voice didn't sound like Claire's but he was sure that he had locked up properly before they went to test. It was like a small girl's voice, but it was faint at best. Maybe he was just hearing things? He should probably start listening to Claire's advice about being a workaholic and take a few days off. Shaking his head, he went back to examining the pistol as Claire carefully put bullets together nearby. The two were in their own worlds for the most part, not a word being exchanged save for a minor request for a tool here and there.

Work was getting done and after a while of making sure the pistol was in good shape, Kaden had begun filling the new casings with the materials for the magical reaction to happen. The request he put in with the guild was filled entirely by one party from what he was told. They had collected higher purity stuff than he had expected but it had only proven to enhance the capabilities of the bullets he was making.

"So, you gonna name it?" Claire remarked as the continued to work.

Kaden paused, "You know? I never thought about that…" He started thinking of names as he worked.

"What, so your genius product doesn't have a name?"

"Hey I never thought I was going to complete this thing anyways!"

"Well, you have to name it."

He completely stopped working and walked back over to the pistol, "Then this one will have a unique name… it is the prototype after all."

Claire stopped as well and walked over to him, looking at the pistol.

"Junk Chimera… I'll name it that." Kaden nodded.

Claire shot him a weird look, "That's a horrible name, yet it's fitting for someone like you."

"Well I never said it was going to be a good name, right?" He smirked as he picked the pistol up and grabbed some engraving tools to engrave the name into it.

"I can even call it Junkira for short, that way no one will actually know what it is."

"Haah" Claire sighed, "If you ever try to name one of my projects, just don't."

"Yup and if that ever does happen, I'll be sure to remove your credit from this one." He looked at her with a smug look, sarcasm dripping off of his words.

"You…" She glared before looking at a clock on the wall. "Damnit, I'm going to be late for dinner. Sis is gonna fry me." She started grabbing her stuff to prepare to leave.

"You have to introduce me to your sister at some point, I'm sure we'll have the same critiques for you." He finished engraving the name onto the pistol and blew the metal shavings onto the floor.

"Nope, not happening. My sister probably wouldn't be able to stand someone like you."

"Ouch, you think that poorly of me Claire?"

"No, just that your sarcasm would break her." Claire shook her head.

"Oh, an honest girl, your sister?"

"Almost too honest and yet not honest at all." She sighed. "I'll head out, see you in a few days for my next shift."

"Yup, see you Claire, be safe."

Kaden shortly finished up the work that was left and cleaned up everything in the shop. He walked up the stairs to his apartment with the Junk Chimera in his hands, intent on making it look as nice as possible before the expo since he was going to continue using it as a personal weapon after the expo.

Locking the door behind him he went to his bedroom and got changed into some lighter, more comfortable clothing. As he laid on his bed for a moment to finally relax, he heard some shuffling.

"Hm?" Kaden was curious what could have made that noise. Did an animal get in? It was unlikely, but he decided to get up and check.

As he rose from his bed, the shuffling and steps continued and then stopped again and again. Was there someone in his home? Another unlikely thing to happen but being a shop owner had its risks.

He carefully walked towards his bedroom door and peeked around the corner into the living room. The footsteps had stopped again and what Kaden saw was strange to say the least.

A small girl was standing in his living room, walking back and forth to different objects and simply staring at them before moving to the next thing. More than that, she wasn't wearing any clothes. She was just walking around without a care in the world! In Kaden's apartment no less! Goddess help him if someone saw her through a window!

He moved without thinking and called out to her, "Hey kid! What are you doing in my house?!"

She then looked at him for a moment before smiling wide and running toward him, "Papa!"

"Papa?!" Kaden exclaimed as she latched onto him for a hug. What or rather who, is this girl?