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Chapter 19: Brain and Brawn (3)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Waiting was the worst thing I could've imagined facing when dealing with my first job interview. And the fact Tiggs was suffering worse, clinging to me for moral support, further heightened the nervousness I was feeling.

We both sat in some chairs just outside the main office of Shark Bites' owner, and had yet to see any familiar faces. Neither Xeanica or Calypso were around when we first entered the building, with one of the interns allowing us in and leading us to the room where the big boss was currently finishing some paperwork.

While I could understand the Tiger Prime's worries and reaction, I was still annoyed by how her tenseness caused her to overdue the strength she used in hugging my right arm. My limb was constricted within her chest, and while I wasn't planning on commenting about the curious development, I was still too stressed to actually be paralyzed by the current predicament.

We needed to make a good first impression with the owner if we wanted to be hired and… this job would surely help up a lot with the money I currently had. I had been quite parsimonious when it came to buying, but I figured it wasn't going to last me forever. And finding work seemed more interesting compared to just calling home for some more. Especially if this experience would add more good points to my credentials for other jobs.

“We're going to pass this together, Tiggs," I encouraged, holding back as much anxiety as I could. “I'm sure of it."

“I hope so. Maybe… maybe we should've cooked something, I don't know… done some warm-ups before coming here."

I frowned. “I don't think the owner will ask us to cook something."

“And you know this, how?"

I was opening my mouth to answer that, but paused in silence as I realized that it could still be a possibility. It wouldn't be too unusual for owners of an establishment that dispensed food to test their chefs by having them prepare something to sample.

“Exactly," She spoke again, noticing my uncertain look. “Since this place is quite popular, surely they'll have us prepare something. Maybe we will do this one at the time and… and that's..."

“Hold up, Professor Cracco said things would be fine," I reminded her. “He seemed rather certain of this. Surely he didn't send us to fail so quickly, at least not with the fact that he wants us to compete in a few months with that other cooking school."

…

“You know what? I can actually accept that," The girl admitted. “Professor Cracco doesn't seem the kind of person that could set us up for this kind of failure so… maybe it will really go well for us both."

“It will," I said while nodding, patting and rubbing her upper back. “And then you will tell your mom that you got yourself a job. Surely, she will be happy about that."

Her smile widened. “She will also lament how I'm growing too fast and-"

“That she missed having to hold a little version of you?" I finished for her, the girl snorting and shaking her head.

“Your mom is like that too, right?"

“It will be a chaotic day when our parents meet," I pointed out with a little grin. “Actually I'm already shuddering just thinking about it."

“And I'm trembling in fear at what madness our mothers will accomplish the moment they become friends."

We shared a chuckle, finally enjoying a positive moment together.

Once we walked inside, our eyes widened in surprise as we noticed that the owner had just finished talking to Calypso and Xeanica. The two waitresses turned to spot us, now smiling and nodding in our direction.

“Hi, colleagues!"

“Howdy, new chefs," The tallest of the two greeted us.

“Not yet, girls," The Orca Prime sitting by the desk muttered. She was the individual that we met a while ago behind the counter of the restaurant and… she turned out to be the boss of the place? “Still, I'm glad to finally have you join us. Traci and Frankie, please take a seat."

I nodded and walked toward the free chairs in front of the owner, before waiting for this interview to truly start. I was mostly certain we weren't going to be asked to cook as we hadn't been taken to the kitchens, but… maybe they would only ask some questions before then directing us to cook a meal for them to test.

I was really hoping to be wrong about this, and thus kept quiet. First, the owner had to… make a real introduction.

“Before we start, I believe I should formally present myself," The old woman muttered kindly. “I'm Hualani Keona, I've worked in the sector for thirty years now and I'm the owner of this beautiful place."

There was a brief pause after this and… I realized she wanted us to speak and present ourselves. Glancing at Tiggs, the girl hadn't caught up with her just yet and, deciding against messing with her chances of success, I introduced myself first.

“I'm Frankie Parker. I'm currently a student at Prism University and I've been cooking since I was 16. My mother is an experienced cook that had a job as a chef when she was younger, but eventually had to resign due to problems at the workplace," I started to say with a somber voice. “I've been refining my style by working with a few chefs at restaurants near home for a while, but never worked as an official chef myself."

“You have experience, not enough to make you confident at this stage," Hualani replied with a calm smile on her face. “Cracco said you two are ready for this, but I will make a informed decision only after I've heard your introduction, Ms. Biggs."

The Tiger Prime nodded and… put up a confident front.

“My name is Traci Biggs, my friends like to call me Tiggs and… I learned how to cook through my mother. She is the chef and owner of a restaurant back home," The fellow student started. “I've refined on my own and learned to grow from past mistakes. I believe I'm ready to take this huge step forward, and I want to do this together with my best friend."

The Orca Prime nodded mirthfully at this. “I believe that's a good ambition, especially since you both have the qualities to back up your determination."

“Still boss, I believe you have yet to ask 'em a couple of important questions," Calypso piped in with a curious look, getting a nod of agreement from her colleague and lover.

“Something simple yet… important," Xeanica proposed. “What about a specific question?

An important question? What were they talking about?

I was baffled by this turn the conversation was taking, and could see Traci growing confused about this twist herself. I was about to inquire about this when I was stopped by a serious glance from the owner as Hualani offered a tired sigh and a solemn nod.

“I guess you're both right, girls. I really didn't want to ask this since I believe the answer should be blatant for anyone that has a good eye on this kind of thing," The woman turned to look right at us once she was done with this first half. “Still, I hope you both understand that I have to ask this question because a couple of individuals that I've spoken with quite recently have asked me to question you two about this."

I tensed up again, befuddled by what this woman was trying to convey, and the Tiger Prime sitting beside me didn't seem to fare any better with this odd circumstance. Something was off about this sharp turn away from the previously-pleasant conversation. Something sinister and-

“Are you two a couple?"

…

“No."

“Nope," Traci flatly added, mimicking my own tone.

“What? Come on, there is no way I really lost money- I mean there is no way you two are this cute together and not… well, together-together."

“There is nothing wrong in being affectionate as friends," I lamented quietly. “We just are fairly close."

“Frankie is my best friend. Sure, he's nice and attractive, but I can't see him beyond that."

“You're cute too," I mirthfully remarked, getting a soft nudge from her elbow onto mine.

“Flatterer," She said while giggling.

“See, there is no way you two youngsters can be this close and not be dating."

I sighed dryly at this and looked squarely in her eyes. “Ms. Keona, I spoke with a couple of older students, long enough to know about the bets."

She tensed up, garnishing a surprised look from her subordinates.

“Bets?"

“Only a silly thing that Cracco pulled me into," Hualani explained. “It's just a little game between teachers, parents, and other individuals about pairings made with students. The 'Tiggsie' ship seemed like a safe bet."

“'Tiggsie'?" Traci quietly commented , her eyes widening a fraction as a minor scowl on her face. “There are names for the ships?"

“There are many of those. And way worse-named than this one, trust me, dear," The Orca Prime admitted and… then sighed. “Still, I shouldn't delay the inevitable, so let's discuss your career here at Shark Bites."

I could've pressed further on the matter, but ultimately decided to avoid placing myself in another awkward situation to further understand how deep this betting situation extended to. I knew it existed, but the fact there were even ship names got me curious about how many people were part of it.

“You two seems to be qualified. Cracco vouched for you, and also sent some food you've made for me to test," The woman added with a hum, a smile returning to her face as she noticed we were once again surprised by this. “And I have to say that this level of quality is what would bring the restaurant into a unforseen tier of popularity."

“So we are-"

“You're both hired," Hualani confirmed brightly. “So yes girls, they are now your colleagues."

“Yay!" Xeanica exclaimed.

“Welcome aboard, mates," Calypso said while smiling brightly. “I sure hope to see you a lot more now."

With the interview finished, we were given our first task. I was a little surprised that, as soon as the interview completed, we were invited to test the kitchen. The chefs were still there despite the fact the shift was over, and they helped us understand how the kitchen operated here. They were supportive, correcting us on a few mistaken terms we used to address some supposedly familiar, but actually different, ingredients.

Some weren't native to the area, and we failed to recognize them at first glance, but they mentioned that it was normal for us to be unprepared with food we had never cooked before. We were not only given a quick tour of the place, but also shown how to properly prepare the two main dishes of the restaurant.

I was glad that the situation had turned out so well… excluding the fact that Tiggs needed to leave the kitchen earlier due to an emergency happening back at the school. One of the cheerleaders had tripped and hurt herself enough to be sent to the hospital. Vixie was already waiting at the entrance of Prism Uni for the Tiger Prime to come and walk with her to where the girl had been taken to.

The owner allowed the girl to leave for this predicament, leaving me alone for at least a full hour to complete what was left of the recipes, the rest of the place, and finally some of the rules I had to keep in mind while I was in the kitchens. I was to relay this last bit to Traci, something that I was quick to agree to as I planned to do so the very moment I found her tomorrow morning.

With that done, I bid a good night to the staff at Shark Bites and made my way back to the dorms. Tired and in need to unwind today's stress through pleasant sleeping, I was ill prepared for the problem that the night was still young.

_ And that someone had set up an ambush just for me. _

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~Change of POV~

Ifera smiled as she saw her target finally leave 'Shark Bites', alone and unprotected.

It took her a while to finally understand the situation regarding the human, but now she knew more than enough to know when and how best to strike. Studying him in the way he handled his days, his friends, his favorite topics, and interests.

While she didn't entirely understand the individual that was Frankie Parker, she knew enough to set up an ambush to take him away from public sight and cast some powerful mind-spells to overwhelm his natural Wisdom-based shields. The plan was simple in design, and most of it was already done when she managed to get some specialists to fake a call to the companion the young man had when he first entered the food establishment.

And even though there had been some uneasiness in having someone impersonate the daughter of the Fire Crest to create a distraction, the idea worked well enough as 'Traci Biggs' was sent bolting away from the building and back to Prism Uni, leaving Frankie unaccompanied in his return back home.

The Narakhan assassin was almost salivating at this golden opportunity, but before she allowed herself to be further distracted by anything around, she made all the procedural ponderings over how she would to subdue the human. He was a little rusty, but still strong enough to use his fists thanks to a few years of training in boxing. The fact that he now had some form of understanding in his Wisdom-related powers would be troublesome, and added a new factor to keep under control.

People capable of using Wisdom magic were known to be able to make use of the full potential of their magic when in a situation of true distress. And if Ifera failed to take him down quickly, things would certainly go badly for her. She needed to strike swift and true.

Sighing in an effort to steel her nerves, the Coyote Narakhan carefully crouched behind some trash cans while she waited for Frankie to approach her little hideout. She unconsciously started to count the seconds under her breath, almost feeling them match the pounding of her heart as she knew that this was it. If she got through with this, she would acquire a large enough opening to finally capture Shin Aryoko and have a better chance at taking the heiress to the Kingdom of Prism.

Things would turn well for the Narakhans, she would be the one that would directly bring the Emperor back and… she would be rewarded handsomely. Prestige, reputation, and everything she could crave for until she would die of old age.

A blink, then two. Ifera noticed the distant figure that was easy to recognize as Frankie now passing near the alley, completely distracted as he was looking through messages in his phone. He was open for her attack... and so the Narakhan struck!

Throwing the binding chains she had recovered from a nearby hideout, she allowed for the enchanted weapon to tightly wrap around the surprised human's limbs and body before pulling him in the alley with as much strength as she could muster. The result was excellent, the young man now yanked away from the streets as she prepared to jump him.

The young woman took a running start, leaping on some of the trash bins there nearby soaring above the panicking human before divining down on her prey. She landed, smoothly so, but not in the position she initially expected to land on.

------(Skipping Lemon)---------

An unpleasant silence filled the air, leaving Ifera befuddled as she failed to understand what had just happened before her eyes. Why was he just standing there? And why did he almost look unfazed by the draining 'attack'?

He took a step towards her, letting panic finally surged into her mind as she realized something she had not taken into account previously. What were the odds that he would return the 'favor' back on her? While she knew Frankie Parker would never lay a single hand on a woman, this was far different since she had actually planned on hurting his friends.

She shivered, this time born from terror as she saw him approach without hesitation. She could only stare as he crouched down and… soon lifted her up. He moved away from the entrance of the alley and right where the girl had initially waited to spring the ambush. He lowered her down on a used mattress that was there and, pulling some sheets that were left there on the side of it, settled it over her body.

…

“W-What?"

He blinked, looking particularly surprised. “So, you're still awake."

She was never asleep to begin with!

“Why are you- I'll- I will hurt those you care for and… and you-"

“I don't know what happened a few moments ago. Something odd, but I can tell your heart wasn't in it," The young man muttered. “I mean, you don't seem like that kind of pervert-"

“I- I'm not!" Ifera exclaimed, still weak from making a stronger point. “I… I wanted to just capture you and-"

“You missed the jump."

…

She nodded, trying to close her eyes to hide the shame.

“You know, maybe that means something."

…

What?"

“You know, if you fail constantly when you're about to do something bad, maybe it's because you're not a bad person."

He couldn't mean that. She was still going to hunt down her target, and have them become the key for the return of the true ruler of this galaxy. Chaos willed it, and there was no chance in her mind she could ever be swayed by this truth.

“I… I will not stop."

…

Franke smiled.

“Then I will stop you myself everytime you attack us."

That sounded so… so cliche. So stupid! He could put an end to her attacks, turn her over to the authorities and- and…

“See you next time..."

Her eyes widened as she turned to notice that the human was already walking away. Her jaw hung low at the sight and… could only mutter a single word as her vision started to fail her.

“I-Ifera."

She wasn't sure if he heard, but part of her wanted to believe that strange head movement that could've been a mere blur was actually a nod.

_ Drained, confused, but ultimately defeated, the Narakhan Assassin fell asleep in that squalor, her dreams filled with odd scenarios that edged on pure blasphemy. Pure and tempting blasphemy at that... _

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AN

I feel like… something is missing.

Yep. Nothing much.