Chapter 20 is now up! Happy reading!

Chapter 20

Willy's First Job

NO POV

Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman were walking through town heading toward the center just like any other day. They were going to do some shopping.

"All right you two," said Mira. "We got some shopping to do."

"What do you we need to get Mira?" asked Elfman.

"Just a bit of the necessities Elfman," said Mira. "Bread, vegetables, and a fish."

"Fish? Why do we need fish?" asked Elfman. "Don't we have some meat back at home?"

"Well... um... no reason," stammered Mira. "I just figured that we get some fish to get some protein."

"Are you suuuure that's the reason?" asked Lisanna who was giving Mira a teasing look.

"Of course! What other reason would there be?" said Mira.

"Well... I can think of one," smirked Lisanna. "I'm thinking that fish is for Willy. Am I right?"

Mira's face flushed bright pink. "What?! No way! Willy has nothing to do with that!"

"Suuure it does," said Lisanna cheekily.

"Now that I think about it," said Elfman. "It's been a while since we've seen Willy. I wonder how he's doing."

"Now that you mention it you're right Elfman," said Mira. "The last time I saw him was that day when he was with Finn. That was about a week ago. I hope he's OK."

"I'm sure he's fine," said Lisanna. "Besides, why are you worried about him Mira? Willy's a big boy."

"What? Who said that I was worried about him? I was just thinking of how he's doing that's it!"

As Mira blushed again Lisanna couldn't help but giggle from her reaction.

"Oh brother. Lisanna you really should stop teasing Mira like that," said Elfman.

"Oh come on, but where's the fun in that?" asked Lisanna sticking out her tongue teasing.

Elfman sighed in annoyance, but then he saw something. "Hey, you guys. Look. Over by the request board."

Mira and Lisanna looked in the direction where Elfman was pointing and there standing by the request board, they saw two familiar faces.

WILLY'S POV

Finn and I woke up the next morning and made our way through town towards the center and were now standing at the request board. I was feeling a little nervous about going on my first job, but at the same time, I was feeling a little excited.

"All right Willy. You ready for your first job?" asked Finn.

"I sure am," I said. "So I just have to pick a job?"

"Yes," said Finn. "But like I said you before, try to pick an easy job. Something that you can do and only you."

"OK."

I looked at all the requests on the board trying to find a job that I can do. There were lots of jobs up on the board. There were jobs that had you go to a different town to bust monsters and there were others that had you to solve the mysteries for a lot of jewel. I assumed those were the S class jobs I heard about so I avoided those. I looked further down on the board and I saw it. I walked up to the board and grabbed the flier. It said: "Help needed! I need someone who's really good at fishing to help me down by the pier to get some more fish for my market! We're a little shorthanded and we could use all the help we can get. Whoever decides to take this job, meet me at my stand in town. Reward 20,000 jewel. Signed Marco."

"Hey, Finn. Look at this," I said. "Can I take this one?"

Finn came over and I showed him the paper. Finn quickly skimmed through it and smiled.

"Well, well Willy," he said. "I'd say you picked yourself a winner. After all, you do like fish."

"I sure do!" I said grinning. "I not only just eat fish, but I'm really good at catching them."

"I guess this job is right up your alley then," chuckled Finn. "What do you say that we get you cleared and then you can get started on your job?"

"OK!"

NO POV

While Finn and Willy went to talk to the person in charge of the board to get him cleared to go on his first job, a certain someone was watching him from behind a corner with Lisanna and Elfman beside her.

"Looks like he's going a job," said Mira. "But I wonder which one he's taking?"

"Mira why are hiding like this?" asked Elfman. "It's like we're spying on them or something."

"Yeah. If you wanted to know what job Willy is taking you could just ask him," added Lisanna. "Are you worried about him or something?"

"No way!" whispered Mira. "I just wanna know what job he's doing. That's it."

Then she noticed Willy and Finn leaving the job request board and were almost out of sight.

"Crap! They're getting away!" said Mira as she chased after them.

"Hey! Mira wait up!" Elfman called out chasing after her.

Lisanna watched her two siblings and then sighed chuckling a little.

"As Sieri would say, A maiden's heart is a complicated thing," she said as she followed her siblings.

WILLY'S POV

After getting cleared through the person in charge, Finn and I headed to Marco's stand. In case you didn't know, Marco was the meat guy that I first met a while back when Finn was showing me around town. When we arrived Marco greeted us warmly.

"Hey there Willy! Hey there Finn! How's it going?"

"Hey there Marco. It's going great thanks," replied Finn.

"So what brings you two towards my why?" asked Marco.

"I'm going out on my first job," I said showing him the flyer. "I saw your quest on the board."

"Ah! So you're gonna help me today. All right then," chuckled Marco. "But before anything else Willy, I have to ask; do you know how to fish?"

"Sure do," I said. "My mama taught me everything I know about fishing."

"Haha! Perfect! I needed a good fisherman. I was just about to leave to go fishing right now."

"Well, in that case, I guess I better take my leave then," said Finn. "I got a lot of things to do today so I'll see you later Willy. Do your best."

"OK then. I will. Bye Finn," said Finn.

"Hey, Marco. Make sure Willy works hard," said Finn. "But not too hard OK?"

"Don't you worry Finn," said Marco. "Willy's in good hands."

"All right then. Have fun you two," said Finn.

And he walked away until he disappeared from sight. Then Marco turned to me.

"All right then! Shall we get going Willy?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm ready if you are Marco," I said.

"All right then," said Marco. "Let's head for the pier then! We got a lot of fishing to do!"

And so Marco and I started walking. Then I heard noise coming from behind me. I turned around to see where it came from, but I saw nothing there.

"What was that?" I wondered. "I could've sworn I heard something."

"Something wrong Willy boy?" asked Marco.

"I thought I heard something, but I guess it was nothing," I said scratching my head. "Anyway, let's get going."

We both turned around and started walking unaware of the three spies that were hiding behind a corner watching us leave.

A few minutes of walking later, Marco and I made it to the pier. We were greeted by a group of other fishermen who were waiting for us by the dock.

"Hey,

Marco. Bout time you showed up," one said. "Did someone respond to your request?"

"Yeah. We sure could use the help right now," said another.

"Don't worry I brought some help," said Marco gesturing towards me.

When the fishermen saw me, some looked at me in surprise and others looked doubtful like it was some kind of joke.

"You mean that boy Marco?" asked the first one.

"Yup. This is Willy Falconer. He's going to be helping us out today," said Marco.

"Um... hi there," I said.

The first fishermen looked at me and then looked back at Marco.

"You sure about this Marco? I mean... I don't wanna be rude or anything, but you do realize that this a kid you got to help us right?"

"Don't worry. Willy tells me that he's a good fisherman. After all, his mother taught him how," explained Marco.

The first fisherman looked at me up and down as if he was inspecting me which made me feel a little nervous.

"Oh man... I hope that these guys don't send me home or something," I thought. "Maybe they're underestimating me because of me being a kid."

Then the fishermen smiled.

"All right then. Willy right? Sorry about before. I guess we were a little surprised about a kid accepting the job request," said the fishermen. "We're happy to have you and thank you for your help."

"Oh sure. Anytime," I said feeling slightly relieved. "I'm happy to help. So... when do we start?"

"How about right now?" said Marco. "Let me just get our gear then and we can get started."

He then walked off to go get the supplies we needed.

NO POV

Meanwhile, Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna had followed Willy all the way to the pier still watching him from afar. They were hiding from behind a crate their head peeping out from the side.

"Wow... so this is where Marco gets the fish," said Lisanna with wonder. "I've always wondered where he gets them from. I figured he gets it from the lake or something, but I guess you learn something new every day."

"Geez. It stinks of fish here," complained Elfman. "Mira do we really have to keep watching Willy like this? Don't we have shopping to do?"

"Shhh. Quiet," said Mira. "We have to keep it down. Otherwise, they're gonna hear us."

"I still don't know why we're watching Willy like this," said Elfman. "I mean it's just his first job. I'm sure Willy's fine all by himself."

"Well... you never know," said Mira. "What if he gets into a pinch and there's no around to help him? I made a promise. He would help me and I would help him. And I wanna make sure that if he needs help, I'll be there for him."

"So in other words, you're worried him," said Lisanna cheekily.

"No I'm not worried!" snapped Mira her cheeks lightly pink. "Like I said I just wanna make sure that Willy's first job goes smoothly. That's it!"

"Yeah. That's pretty much the same thing as being worried," said Lisanna. "It's OK to be worried, Mira. After all... you loooove him."

"Lisanna! Don't make me clobber you!" growled Mira clenching her fist. "That is not true and you know it!"

"Suuure it isn't."

As Lisanna giggled teasingly with Mira glaring at her angrily, Elfman sighed.

"It looks we're not gonna get the shopping done today," he said.

WILLY'S POV

Soon Marco came back with the fishing gear. He bought a lot of fishing poles and also a couple of fishing traps. The fishermen grabbed their respective poles and got started fishing. A few other fishermen grabbed the traps, got on boats and rowed a few feet away from the pier. As soon as they were high enough, they dropped their traps in the water. As for me, I walked on the edge of the pier and prepared to fish myself. Then Marco came up to me with a couple of fishing rods.

"Come on Willy," he said. "I got a fishing pole for you."

"Thank you, Marco, but I won't be needing that," I said.

Marco was puzzled. "Why not?"

"I got my own way of fishing," I said smiling.

I walked towards the edge of the pier and then took off my shirt. Marco looked at me a little surprised as I handed him my shirt.

"Marco, could you hold my shirt please?"

"Um... sure, but Willy... what are you doing?" asked Marco.

"I'm getting ready to fish of course," I said. "I may not fish the way you do, but this is how I fish."

"If... you say so..." said Marco doubtfully.

I came to the edge and took a deep breath and with a giant leap, I dove right into the water. The moment I felt the ocean water wash over my body, I felt a wave of nostalgia come over me. It had been so long since I felt the ocean. It was like I had finally come home to where I was meant to be. Using my breathing technique, I let out a satisfying breath savoring the taste of the salty water.

"It's been so long since I've done this," I said to myself. "Man this feels so great!"

I swam around testing the water which felt refreshing and cool. Then I saw something ahead of me. More like a whole bunch of things ahead. Up ahead was a school of fish swimming around by the reef. The moment I saw them, I suddenly remembered the task at hand.

"I almost forgot. I got some fish to catch!" I said. "Hope I'm not rusty since I haven't done this in a while. Well then, time to fish!"

I locked on to the school of fish and like a shark with its prey, I swam swiftly forward the fish, my fishing mode at full throttle.

NO POV

Back up on the pier, Marco was trying to see where Willy was. It had been quite a while since he dove into the water.

"I hope that kid's OK," he thought. "He's been down there for quite some time."

"Hey, Marco! Where's that kid you brought?" called a fisherman. "He didn't ditch us did he?"

"No, he just dove into the water for some reason," said Marco. "Although I don't know why."

"He better not be goofing around," said another fisherman. "Because if he is then..."

Suddenly out from the water, something came out and landed right in front of Marco. Marco looked down and there flopping around right in front of him was a fish. Willy then also resurfaced from the water.

"Hey, Marco! How's that one?"

Marco looked at the fish and then he looked at Willy. Then his eyes widened in surprise as well did some of the other fishermen who saw what happened.

"What the heck!? Willy how did you do that?!" exclaimed Marco.

"It's nothing special. I just swam and used my hands that's all," replied Willy.

"You're kidding..."

Marco continued to stare at Willy and then his look of surprise slowly turned into a smile.

"Willy! Could you come over here for a minute? You just gave me an idea!"

Willy swam over to Marco and Marco whispered something into Willy's ear telling him his plan.

"You think you can do that?" asked Marco when he finished telling Willy his plan.

"Sure," said Willy. "It should be no problem."

And with that, Willy went back into the water. Then another fish came flying out in the water and another and another. The other fishermen who saw what was going on came to see what this strange phenomenon was. Then he heard one of the fishermen shout in the distance.

"Hey, you guys! We caught something in the traps!"

Marco looked to see that one of the groups of men were hoisting up their trap. Inside the trap was a couple of fish.

"All right! We caught some!"

The group of fishermen cheered and some others along with them. Suddenly to Marco's right, a fishing pole tugged and began tugging harder. One of the fishermen immediately grabbed the pole and pulled with all his might.

"Oh boy! This is a big one!" he said. "Hey, guys! Give me a hand here!"

A couple of other fishermen came and grabbed the pole helping the guy pull. With a might heave, they hauled out another fish from the water.

"All right! It's working!" said Marco to yourself his eyes sparkling with excitement.

WILLY'S POV

I was zipping around in the water chasing after the school of fish. Marco's plan was for me to chase after the fish while at the same time luring them to either the traps or the fishing lines. They would sometimes scatter in all directions, but that didn't stop me. Whenever that happened I would focus on one group and chase them till they were close enough. Other times when I was within reach, I would grab them and throw them to the surface so they wouldn't get away. So far I had caught about five medium-sized looking fish and three large ones on my own. I looked around trying to find my next prey. Then I saw a couple more fish that broke away from the school.

"Now I got you!" I thought as I darted forward.

The fish sensing my approach quickly broke away again, but I had my eyes on a larger one the swam to my right. I quickly pumped my legs and swerved to the right in hot pursuit of my prey. The fish desperately tried to get away, but I was already right on top of it. As soon as it was close enough, I reached out and tried to grabbed it by its tail, but it slipped out and swam towards the surface. I immediately followed heading towards the surface.

"WATER DRAGON AQUA JET!"

I pumped my legs and used a spell which made water shoot out from my feet shooting me forward. The fish then jumped out of the water bursting from the surface of the water and I came bursting out right after. While in the air I reached my hand out and was able to catch the fish. It struggled and it wiggled trying to break free, but I kept a firm hold on it. Then I felt myself falling back into the water. I also saw Marco on the pier whose eyes were gawking at what he was seeing.

"Marco! Catch!" I called out and I threw the fish towards him.

The fish came flying to Marco and he caught it. As I fell, I quickly straightened myself out and dove beautifully into the water. This went on and on and eventually it was getting close to evening.

"Whew. And that makes nine," I said to myself proudly. "I still got it. Anyways, I better ask Marco if that's all the fish he needs me to get."

I quickly swam up and resurfaced. The moment I did, there was a loud chorus of cheers all around. I looked at the source of the cheering and I saw that the fishermen were all cheering for me. I was a little surprised, but at the same time, I felt flattered.

I swam back towards the pier and got out of the water. Marco and a few of the fishermen came rushing toward me.

"Willy! That was amazing!" said Marco bewildered and at the same time amazed. "How on earth did you that?"

"Like I said my Mama taught me how to fish," I said. "Also I know a little water magic."

"Well whatever you did, that was incredible!" said Marco. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"True that!" said a fishermen. "You also helped us catch a whole bunch of fish! I'd say we have enough to last for about a week!"

"Three cheers for Willy!" shouted another fisherman.

"Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!" they all cheered.

NO POV

Mira and her other siblings were still hiding behind the crate. They had seen everything and they were impressed.

"Whoa... I can't believe Willy helped catch all of those fish! With his bare hands!" said Elfman.

"Not only that, but did you see how he leaped out of the water like that? He looked just like a merman," said Lisanna.

"Yeah... no kidding."

"What do you think Mira?" asked Lisanna turning to her elder sister.

Mira didn't answer. Her eyes had never left Willy ever since he took off his shirt. She was completely bewildered.

"Mira? Mira? Are you there? Hello? Mira?" said Lisanna as she waved her hand in front of Mira's face.

"She's not even blinking," said Elfman. "Is she OK?"

Lisanna looked closely at Mira and she smiled. "Don't worry. Mira's fine."

"How can you be so sure Lisanna? She's not sick or something is she?" asked Elfman.

"Oh she's sick alright, but not the one you're thinking of Elfman," said Lisanna. "A sickness that's kinda hard to be cured."

"And what kind of sickness is that?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's lovesickness! Mira was so impressed by Willy's skills just now that she's completely frozen in love!"

Elfman looked at Lisanna skeptical. "Come on Lisanna. You're still going on about that? How can you be so sure?"

Lisanna sighed and shook her head. "Oh, Elfman. You have no idea how a maiden's heart feels do you?"

"Of course I don't. I'm a boy," replied Elfman.

"Oh well. You'll understand one day. Hopefully, you'll learn about love sooner or later. Ooh! Wait till I tell Sieri about this."

"Oh brother. Finn was right. You have been hanging around Sieri too much."

NO POV

A little after that, the day's work was done and Marco was giving me the reward money for completing the job request. He also gave me a fish to take home for dinner.

"There you go, Willy. Twenty thousand jewel," he said. "And a fish to go with it. Think of it as a bonus."

"Thank you very much, Marco," I said.

Marco smiled. "No need for thanks. You earned it. You certainly have surprised me and the boys and helped us out a lot too. It would be great if we could get your help again sometime."

"Sure. Anytime."

Then Finn came to pick me up.

"Hey, Finn. Welcome back," said Marco.

"Hey there Marco. Hey Willy," greeted Finn. "So how did it go, Willy?"

"It went great!" I said. "Look. I even got myself a fish! Can we eat it for dinner tonight?"

"Hahaha. Of course, we can," said Finn. "Guess we're gonna be having a hearty meal tonight."

"Yup. I gotta say, Willy here is a pretty incredible kid," said Marco. "He just helped me and the boys catch a whole bunch of fish today."

"Did he now?"

"Yeah. Thanks to him, we got enough fish to last at least a week for my stand," continued Marco. "I would love it if he could stop by again to help sometime if you'll let him."

"Sure," said Finn. "I'm sure that Willy would love it if he could take this job again. Right, Willy?"

"Yeah!" I said grinning. "I would love to!"

"Well, in that case, I'll let you know if I'll be needing your fishing skills again sometime Willy," chuckled Marco. "Until then, you better get home and eat that fish while it's still fresh. The fresher the better I always say."

"Well then, I guess we'll see you later Marco," said Finn. "Come on Willy. Let's go fry up that fish for dinner shall we?"

"Yeah!"

Then, as me and Finn started to walk heading towards home, but once again I heard a noise. It was coming from my right behind a crate. This was pretty much the third time I heard it.

"Hey! Who's there? Come out!" I said immediately jumping behind the crate.

My eyes widened in surprise for hiding behind the crate was the Strauss siblings. Finn also came and was just as was just as surprised to see them as I was. Mira who finally snapped out of her daze immediately fell on her butt in surprise.

"Oh! Willy... Finn... hahaha... fancy seeing you both here," she said averting her eyes.

"What the... Lisanna? Elfman? Mira? What are you kids doing here?" Finn asked.

"Well if you wanna know, we were pretty much..." Lisanna began to say, but then Mira cut her off by covering her mouth.

"We were just in town!" said Mira. "Just walking through town spending time together just how siblings are. Right, Elfman?"

Elfman was gonna try to tell Finn and I what was going on, but a quick smile flare from Mira immediately told him to keep quiet.

"Yes! We were just hanging around! Walking through town!" said Elfman nervously.

"Hmmm..."

Finn and I stared at them a little suspicious, but we decided to let it slip. Then there was a sudden growling noise.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I think I know," said Finn. "It appears that someone's hungry."

He pointed to Mira who was holding her stomach in embarrassment. Then I had an idea.

"Hey, Finn? Since the Strauss siblings are here, can they stay over for dinner tonight?" I asked. "We can all share this fish together."

"I think that's a great idea," smiled Finn. "So what do you say, Strauss kids? You wanna stay over?"

"Sure! We'd love to!" said Elfman and Lisanna.

"Um... yeah. Sure," said Mira.

"All right then!" I said excitedly. "Let's go eat this fish together!"

"Then let's get home then," said Finn. "I'll take that fish and fry it up something special for you Willy. In honor for completing your first job."

"Yeah!"

And so we set off towards home.

NO POV

A little later, Willy, Finn, and the Strauss siblings had themselves a hearty dinner. After that everyone started to get ready for bed. Willy was helping Finn do the dishes, Lisanna and Elfman were getting ready for bed, and Mira was in the bath washing up. As soon as she was done, she got out and got dressed. When she was done, Lisanna came into the room.

"Hey Miiiiraa," she said in a singy songy tone.

"What is it Lisanna?" replied Mira not amused.

"So... Willy was able to complete his first job and we got another opportunity to sleep over," said Lisanna. "You must be happy. After all you..."

"Don't you start that again!" said Mira. "I already told you I don't love him. I was just worried about how his first would go. That's it."

"Oh no? Then why were all frozen before? You were practically like a statue," smirked Lisanna. "Then again I can't blame you. Willy did look pretty awesome today didn't he?"

"I wouldn't know... I... wasn't paying attention," said Mira hesitantly.

"Yeah right, you weren't paying attention. You couldn't stop staring at him. You looked just like a woman gazing passionately at her one true love for the first time," said Lisanna hugging herself while twirling around.

"I wasn't gazing at him and I'm not in love with him!" snapped Mira. "Geez! I wish you'd stop saying that Lisanna! If you keep that up, I'm gonna reap you a new one! You hear me?!"

"Oh come on Mira. There's no need to deny your feelings. After all..."

"If you say those you three words again Lisanna, I am gonna..." growled Mira.

Lisanna giggled and she ran out of the room. Mira took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"Man. I gotta stop letting her get to me like that," she said to herself.

Then she suddenly remembered Willy back at the pier. Once she did, she couldn't help but remember how awesome he looked. She had to admit, he looked pretty cool. Not to mention he's been cool other times especially Then she shook her head shaking Willy out of her mind.

"What the heck am I thinking?!" she said to herself. "I gotta stop thinking about him like that."

"Thinking like what?" asked a voice.

Mira yelped in surprise and turned around finding Willy standing behind her.

"Willy! What are you doing here?!" asked Mira. "And how much did you hear?!"

"Um... I just came to tell you that your brother and sister are ready for bed and also I came in right at the part where you said 'you had to stop thinking of something.' What were you talking about anyway?"

"Um... nothing! I wasn't talking about anything!" said Mira sounding flustered. "I was just um... just uh... just saying how I should...uh... stop thinking of fish! Yeah! I should stop thinking of fish because... I'm eating that a lot!"

Willy looked at Mira puzzled. "OK... whatever you say, Mira. Anyway, let's get ready for bed. Lisanna and Elfman are already tucked in."

"Um... yeah. Sure," said Mira.

Later that night, everyone was fast asleep. Everyone that is, except for Mira. She stayed wide awake. She tried to get back to sleep, but she couldn't. Her thoughts were all jumbled and elsewhere.

"Geez! Why can't I get to sleep..." she thought.

She closed her eyes and tried to get to sleep again, but failed. She turned to her side and she pretty much saw the reason why. Lying right next to her was Willy fast asleep. As soon as she saw him, she immediately thought back to when he saved her from the vulcan and back at the pier. She shook her head and turned back to her side so she wouldn't look at him.

"Why the heck am I thinking about Willy? I mean come on! It's not like I have a crush on him do I?"

Oh, come on Mira. There's no need to deny your feelings.

Lisanna's words came into Mira's mind. She then peeked from her shoulder and looked at Willy's sleeping form. Then she turned to face him and looked at his sleeping face.

"Now that I think about it, Willy's done so much for me," she thought. "I mean he saved my life and my brothers and even made friends with Lisanna and Elfman. He is also kinda cool... I guess in a way... I kinda do like him, but... not in a romantic way. If I did, Lisanna would never let me hear the end of it."

She smiled a little and pulled the covers over her.

"But... I guess she's right a little. Maybe Willy's starting to grow on me. Heh. We'll wait and see if it's love or not."

She snuggled up a little closer to Willy and then eventually she fell fast asleep.

OK. I don't know if this is a good one, but yeah. I enjoyed writing this chapter! XD XD XD

Anyhoo, I hope you liked the chapter! And feel free to leave me a review or a PM.

Dragoman out!