Chapter 7: Workaholics Anonymous

Author's Note
Man, it's been a while, huh?

First, I want to apologize for the large delays. I'm not a consistent writer when it comes to this thing and though I have a brief outline, I can only write when I'm seriously motivated to (which isn't often lol).

In other news, I got my degree finally! But I'm going for my grad degree too so I'll be stuck for a while longer now. On the bright side, I found myself wanting to write again so I'm hoping that this'll continue for me. With that, back to writing!

"So Papa, what are we doing today?" Junkira jogged up beside Kaden as they walked through the streets, her attention constantly being pulled away by different things on the side of the street.

He sighed, this last week had been a nightmare for Kaden. From Junkira turning into essentially a living golem and unsure of how to get her back to being a gun, to Claire helping him out by bringing clothes for Junkira to wear. He was exhausted, and still prepping for the expo, in the vain hope that Junkira could help him in some way.

"We're just getting supplies for our booth at the expo, nothing much." He looked at the bigger shops as they walked together down the street, everyone was in a frenzy since the expo was only a week and a half away. People running in and out of their shops, cheers sounding from the smaller shops while people stared from a distance trying to figure out what their competition was bringing to the expo.

"Wow! Everyone is so busy!" Junkira ran ahead of Kaden, her light brown hair tied into pigtails as her eyes lit up at the incredibly busy streets.

"Yup, this is what the expo does to Lastation, people are always wanting to show off to the Goddess so this is the one big shot we all get every year." He looked melancholically to the crowds before shaking his head. His mentor would probably berate him if he let a minor setback like Junkira's unique condition cause him to give it all up. He was nothing if not stubborn. He just had to think it through is all… He hoped

The two continued through Lastation, stopping for some food at a food truck. Junkira's insatiable curiosity causing her to run back and forth was only the newest of Kaden's concerns. Was this how a new parent felt with their own children? He thought handling a little kid wouldn't be that hard but he was hard pressed to find something that was somehow fulfilling and incredibly exhausting besides doing his work and yet, the feeling he had as he held Junkira's hand and they walked was indescribably similar.

"Papa? Are you worried about something?" Junkira looked up at Kaden with a concerned expression.

"What? No, I'm not worried about anything." Kaden could only hide his complicated feelings on the matter for so long so he continued to deflect despite his reservations. The creases on his face lightened while she looked up at him. In short, he was worried. Worried about the expo among other things, he was just thinking that now he had to raise a child, something he was most certainly not ready for.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, a bright smile on her face. Kaden had to admit, she was a cute kid. Even if she wasn't a real child… Another thought crossed his mind, would she age like a normal kid? Would she grow larger? He shook his head to get his head on straight, did any of that matter for now? He had to get the supplies for his booth, those were the priority.

He continued down the road with Junkira trailing next to him, the picture of a father and child, the only strange thing being Kaden's apparent age. They almost looked more like a brother and sister, but Junkira's assessment of things was set and Kaden had chosen to go along with it.

The supplies store was a basic shop, one of the many chains that were scattered throughout Gamindustri. Kaden, with his limited funds, was never one to complain much about how getting the right stuff was expensive. He had always tried to keep his spending down as much as he could after all. But, this was the one time he had to go all out. Not that he had figured out how to fix the biggest issue at the moment.

"Papa, look!" Junkira grabbed a pack of markers off one of the shelves and was holding it out to him with a sparkle in her eyes.

Kaden regarded the markers for a moment before looking at where she had grabbed them from. They were middle grade supplies. Without magic, Kaden couldn't make complicated displays or anything super impressive by himself. Commissioning someone was out of the question since it would cost too much and wouldn't be worth it since the Expo only lasted a few days and then he'd have to come up with a different product for the next time it came around.

"Thank you, these will work perfectly for what we need." He took them from her and held on to them as they continued walking through the store.

The knowledge that Junkira had was astounding for someone 'born' only a few days ago but Claire explained it simply enough.

A few days prior

"So your friend thought it'd be… funny?"

Claire sighed and had the conscience to at least look angry, "Unfortunately, yes. She's a bit immature and doesn't always think about the repercussions of her actions…"

"Is there a way to… change her back?"

"Not as far as I know, but you should ask her. From what I can tell, the golem creation spell that was embedded in the formula should at least allow for some basic knowledge to be passed to the golem through some means… But since you're not magically inclined, I don't know how much she knows." Claire looked at Junkira who just stared back at her, no malice in her expression, just curiosity of some sort.

"So I can just ask her things and she might know them? Isn't that vague?"

Claire threw her hands in the air, "Look! I'm not the person to ask, and even I'm not sure at this point! Making a living golem like her with magic circuits that are self sustaining is complicated enough. My friend is pretty good at stuff like this but I didn't think she'd make an elaborate prank for a favor…"

Kaden sighed and turned to Junkira, "Hey, can you answer some questions for me?"

Junkira looked upset and kept her eyes on Claire, "Is Mama mad at me?"

Claire looked like she was about to double over, "M-mama?"

Junkira just smiled and nodded, "If he's my papa, you have to be my mama, right?"

Claire just turned away and looked out the window, muttering something about being a mother at her age.

Kaden recovered from his momentary shock and tried to give a comforting smile to her, "No, she's angry about something else, don't worry about it. But I want to ask you some things, is that okay?"

Her countenance brightened as she nodded.

The questions he asked were simple enough, and she was able to answer all of them. By the time he finished asking his questions, Claire had recovered enough to ask some of her own questions. The most important one, however, when unanswered.

"So, can you turn back?"

Junkira tilted her head with mild confusion before seemingly thinking about it, "I don't know…"

Out of everything that had been asked, this was the one question she couldn't answer. Kaden and Claire both stopped for a moment before moving on from that point. If she could turn back, it's not like either of them would need to know just yet, they still had a week to figure things out after all.

Present

Walking up to the register, Kaden was given a break from answering Junkira's endless line of questions. Despite her solid foundation of knowledge, she was definitely still missing large chunks of knowledge which Kaden could at least attempt to fill with what he knew. From what he could tell, Junkira was relatively intelligent. She was able to figure some complex things out just from looking at them or from hearing a basic explanation and putting things together. Currently though, she was playing with a package of markers, examining each side of it and then turning it to read the next. It was a heartwarming sight if not for the fact that Kaden had no idea how he was going to work the expo without the weapon he had made.

"Sir, that'll be 600 credits."

Kaden grabbed his wallet and pulled out his card, scanning it to pay for the goods. As he put his wallet back into his pocket, he motioned for Junkira to follow him as he took the bag and began walking out of the store.

"Is Mama coming today?" That question was a massive landmine for Kaden. He didn't want to deny the kid, as far as he could tell it was a genuine question. But Claire definitely didn't want a child that wasn't really hers to call her mama, that was something that Kaden was sure about at least.

"She'll be out today, I think she'll be coming around tomorrow though…"

Junkiras face grew a wide smile as she started singing to herself, "Mama is coming home tomorrow, she'll bring me lots of sweets!"

Kaden sighed as he continued walking home with her, hopefully Claire wouldn't be too angry and hopefully no one he knew would be coming by any time soon.

Suddenly, the sound of something flying overhead rang out and Kaden looked up. He saw the goddesses flying out of the city, no doubt off to do something important. He shook his head, maybe he would get their attention this year, at least, that's what he hoped.

Uni was tired, more tired than she was willing to admit. Leaving work that day hadn't been easy and the stress from the expo coming up and the constant greetings to company heads the last few days was exhausting her more than she would admit. Unfortunately, Noire was in the same boat. The expo was one of the most important events and Noire had been just as busy as Uni with the paperwork and organizing. Thankfully she was able to get out of it with Blanc asking if she could stop by Lowee to help her with something and she saw it as an opportunity to give herself and Uni a break.

Uni and her were both workaholics and yet even Uni agreed to this break, but Noire could tell there was more to it than that. Blanc had mentioned something along the lines of Ram taking a prank too far but Noire didn't get all the details since it wasn't the most important thing for her to focus on with the expo so close.

"Uni, I hope you're not planning on exhausting yourself any further. The expo is in 3 days after all."

Uni scoffed but the bags under her eyes told a different story, "Please, I know how to take a break unlike you. Plus I have work tomorrow…" She trailed off as she thought about the potential disaster that might arise should she not find a solution today.

Noire just nodded as they continued to fly. Uni was always cagey about her job, she refused to talk about it outside of the vaguest mentions about it. Here and there Noire would get a detail or two, maybe Uni would complain about her boss or a client. Although, any time she did complain about her boss, she had a smile on her face so it was clear to Noire that her boss was a decent person. But the girl wouldn't ever say where she worked or who she worked for. Even the few times Noire tried to trail her, she'd lose her in the crowds or be pulled away by something else. So, the mystery stayed a mystery.

Uni was slipping now though, her exhaustion was starting to loosen her lips. Noire wondered if she could get a more complete answer out of Uni before she ran off again. And yet as they flew, Noire couldn't find the words to say and even then, Uni was muttering something to herself so Noire doubted she'd get an answer. So the two sisters flew in relative silence, arriving in Lowee only a short while later.

"Punctual as always, Noire." Blanc stood on the balcony that the two sisters had landed on.

"Of course, Blanc. I'm not going to just ignore someone's cry for help."

"Unless the cry is from Neptune?" Blanc kept a mostly neutral expression but a small smirk formed on her lips as she uttered those words. Noire and Neptune were always getting into small fights over nothing so poking fun at Noire for it was normal.

But unlike usual where Noire would react strongly and deny the notion, which would lead to Blanc following up with calling her Neptune's favorite nickname, Lonely Heart, Noire just kind of zoned out.

Blanc sighed, "You really are tired, here come with me and we can discuss business over some tea." She looked over to Uni, who was still muttering to herself, "Uni, the twins are probably in their room. If they aren't there, ask Financier where they might be." With that, Blanc led Noire off to her library room leaving Uni alone on the balcony.

Uni was so tired she didn't register Blanc leaving for a few moments. When she did finally look up to see Blanc gone, she began walking to the twins' room, thinking through her plan to absolutely rip Ram to shreds and get an answer on how she could fix the problem. First, she'd get a proper view of the circle and get a more in depth explanation. Then, she'd ask the question about reversing the transformation. If she had to beat it out of Ram, she'd do it.

Arriving at the twins' room, the bags under Uni's eyes seemed to deepen. She was still pretty pissed at Ram and wasn't in the mood to be nice anymore. Instead of knocking and waiting, she knocked and then opened the door immediately. The twins were indeed in the room, Rom was reading a book quietly and Ram was doing… something?

Uni couldn't tell exactly what Ram was doing but she looked to be taking apart something and casting magic on it to put it back together mindlessly. She didn't really seem interested in what she was doing, more than likely this was related to the punishment that Blanc had given her. She cleared her throat loudly to get their attention.

Rom looked up and gave a small smile before waving a bit. Ram's reaction was a bit more of what Uni had expected. A mix of expression, regret and a hint of fear spread on her face as she carefully waved and then went back to what she was doing.

"And here I thought you'd be more afraid of what I'm going to do to you." Uni remarked as she walked over to Ram.

"Please, we both know you don't have a violent bone in your body. Blanc has already lectured me so I'm all out of energy to listen to your complaints." Ram looked at the taken apart device again and shook her head before putting it back together, staring at it for a bit then groaning.

"Regardless of how you feel, I need to see the formula you used. We- I've been having issues with it now that I've already used it."

Ram shrugged and got up off the floor for a moment, allowing Uni to see what she was messing with. A small device sat on the floor, a piece of glass on its front with some small buttons on its side. It was a cell phone of some sort and it wasn't working.

Ram returned to where Uni was standing and held out a piece of paper, "Here, it's the whole thing with all the formulas." She sat back down to take apart the phone again.

Uni took the paper and moved to sit next to Rom since the beanbag chairs were over near her as she read. As she sat to examine it, she realized that the twins had put a serious amount of work into it. Giving them some credit, adding magical circuits to that which didn't have any is a very tough process. For one, absorbing ambient mana in the air is something that needs to be limited as the internal storage of a living being is what normally limits the conversion of ambient mana. But, adding an artificial limit while not overloading the object in question is the toughest part. Mana is unstable when not being used and as such, it is liable to explode. When the twins used magic, they only gathered mana temporarily and then expended it all at once. This process would keep their bodies unharmed since they were using all the mana gathered quickly.

Giving an inanimate object some kind of storage that wouldn't overflow seemed to be the focus of the circuit as a whole. Strangely enough, the formula for giving the object life actually assisted in this. By creating a bit of artificial life, the extra mana being absorbed would be put towards normal bodily functions. The construction of it was genius, which made sense to Uni. The twins were incredibly skilled with magic and this circuit was the proof of it.

She stood up after looking it over, her body fighting her every movement. "Alright, thanks…"

Ram looked back with surprise but shrugged and then went back to what she was doing. Rom, who was sitting next to her, gave her a concerned look before watching Uni walk off. Hopefully she would get a break soon, her movements were getting sluggish. And on top of that, it didn't look like she had looked over the circuit fully.

"Look Noire, you need a break."

"And I already told you, I can't take a break right now. The Expo is too important for Lastation." She put her cup of tea down after taking a sip, then crossing her arms.

Blanc sighed before taking a sip of her own tea, "Listen to me, you're working yourself too hard. Have you seen the bags under your own eyes?"

"That isn't important."

"No, it is. You can't attend the Expo if you're exhausted or sick, can you?"

That comment struck a nerve as Noire relaxed her arms and slumped into the chair. "Kei is working just as hard, I have to set some kind of example."

Blanc shook her head, "You're the goddess, you're allowed to be a bit selfish and let Kei do more of the work. That's why we have them, I let Financier handle much of the troubling work myself."

"But…" Noire couldn't really use enough brain power to come up with an argument to the contrary, other than her desire to work hard for her people which even Neptune would be in the right to argue against despite how work averse she was most of the time.

Blanc noticed Noire faltering and went to take another sip of tea, "All I am saying is that since you've greeted enough people, go and take a few days to rest before the expo. Those who need you or want to curry favor with you will approach you as they see necessary."

Noir nodded and then decompressed a bit more in the chair. Her exhaustion was finally beginning to catch up with her, maybe Blanc was right. She carefully stood up and looked at Blanc.

"I think Uni and I will head back to Lastation, we… deserve a rest."

Blanc nodded in silence and smiled behind her cup of tea. Not another word was spoken as Noire left the room, a small smile on her face as she clearly looked forward to getting a good rest.