Chapter 3: Chiri, the Just

Gregory hated to go shopping, especially by himself. He looked forward to a day at market like children looked forward to going to school, or the dentist’s. Shopping usually wasn’t painful for him until he actually got to the market, then all bets were off. The last time he had went shopping by himself, his mother had asked for Gregory to buy some basic groceries and a paper; he came back crawling on his hands and knees.

Of course, he always exaggerated how horrible the experiences were. Gregory, like most men or mercenaries, was just not the shopping type. He didn’t even mind so much if he had some company, but today, his partner Dana was off on another one of her harebrained schemes, leaving him to fend for himself.

Gregory actually carried one of his guns when he went to market that day. He feared getting mugged like he feared losing a single strand of hair (actually, that was a lot more nightmarish), but the fact of the matter was that Gregory and marketplaces did not mix!

Still, he tried to keep his civility. As always, the place was crowded with all sorts of characters, not all of them human maybe, but they were definitely all shrewd. The merchandise available ranged from the inexpensive to the lavish, from wheat bread to gold, and a few prostitutes were milling around selling wares of a different kind. Gregory took in a deep breath, and dug into his pockets for the shopping list.

“ ... Okay, let’s get this over with,” he sighed to himself. He muttered aloud the names of the items he had been assigned to buy, and set out on the difficult journey of economical and mercantile turpitude; in other words, he was going to wish he had stayed in bed.

As he passed one of the many alleyways in the marketplace, Gregory sensed somebody watching him. He was never any good with the intuitive stuff; he usually left that up to Dana and Naja. However, today he just felt plain paranoid. His senses came to bear as a figure emerged from the darkness, a white cloak over its body and a hood to conceal its head. He could make out the lower portion of the face, where strands of cornsilk hair trickled into view. The figure approached him with two very suspicious packages in its hands.

“Hey ... kid!” it hissed. The voice was feminine, but very low and hushed. “Can you do me a favor?” asked the woman. Gregory swallowed, and wondered what kind of crazy person this was. However strange her behavior was, Gregory was not one to decline doing favors for other people. Besides, his curiosity got the better of him.

“ ... Oh, okay,” he muttered slowly. “What do you need me to do?” The woman in white shoved her parcels into his arms, and quickly smiled.

“Just hold onto those for a few minutes,” she told him. “Keep them safely hidden. There’s a bad man after me, and I don’t want him to get a hold on those.” Gregory slowly nodded his head, and the woman’s smile lasted a little longer.

“Okay, I guess,” he said. “So, like, how long should I hold onto these?”

“You’ll know,” she replied mysteriously. “Thanks, kid. I’ll pay you for your troubles.” And without another word from either of them, the woman vanished back into the alley from which she crept out of, leaving Gregory to scratch his head in confusion.

“Huh? What just happened?” Gregory shrugged, and decided to ignore the situation. He had more important things to worry about than strange women in white giving him suspicious bundles of--

No, don’t look in it, he thought to himself. If I look at the contents, I might be accused of knowing about a crime and not reporting it! Or maybe affiliation in court! ... Then again, if I look, I can turn it into the police! ... Ugh, yeah right. I’m in enough trouble with them as it is! And they’ll probably think that this ... stuff belongs to me!

As Gregory contemplated over what he would do with the two mysterious bundles, he was suddenly stopped by another figure, who was definitely not shy about carrying a visible weapon in broad daylight. This new figure was being awfully conspicuous, what with stopping every walking person he saw and briefly interrogating them. Gregory, who had seen plenty of weird characters in his life, tried not to look nervous as the figure approached him.

“Excuse me for a moment,” said the person, and Gregory got a good look at him. He didn’t recognize the species, but it looked very much like a normal man, except its ears were pointed. This person was of very slender build, and somewhat short for a male. It had a very fair face which obviously attracted many females, and it was dressed in a simple dark-red casual shirt and leggings. Other than the cannon in its hands, it didn’t look threatening at all, and its voice was very pleasant.

“ ... Yes?” said Gregory slowly.

“I am currently searching for somebody,” said the fair-faced man. “I am looking for a female, dressed in a white cloak, with cornsilk hair and an alluring voice. Her height is exactly the same as mine, and she has a scar across her face. Please, tell me if you have seen anybody matching that description.” Gregory swallowed nervously, the strange bundles in his arms feeling heavier by the minute. This person had just described the woman he had seen earlier!

“I, uh...”

“Hm, I see that you have not met her,” muttered the person. He frowned, and bowed in apology. “Thank you for your time, sir. I apologize for taking so much out of your day, but this search is very important to me. If you do happen to see her, please inform me as quickly as possible. Thank you.” And with that, the pointy-eared man walked away towards the next person, leaving Gregory drowning in his own sweat.

“Whew ... What a strange day!!” Wailing out in exhaustion, Gregory J. Rodriguez swept the perspiration off his brow and made it back to his apartment. It had indeed been one of the more bizarre experiences he had had at market--quite possibly the strangest one to date. He had seen lots of weird stuff at that market, and some scary stuff too, but what happened earlier that day...

He mentally shook it off as his loaded hands tried to open the door to the apartment complex. He managed to make it inside, and wandered around until he found his room number. Of course, as always was the case when he went shopping alone, the door was locked, so he had to set everything down on the floor before the door could be opened.

He ventured inside and set everything down on the old table in the kitchen, except for the strange parcels he had been given. He was severely tempted to unwrap the packages and take a peek inside, but he had been raised with better standards than that, and left the bag alone.

Eventually, he decided that it would be best to go back outside and see if the woman in white was waiting for him or not. Gregory was usually good at sneaking around, but even he stood out as he suspiciously snuck outside with his mysterious packages. As he returned to the outside world, he saw his partner Dana walking across the street, a pretty disappointed look on her face.

“Oh, hey there!” called Gregory. She gave her partner a lazy wave, and lazily walked over to where he was. “Bad day?” he asked.

“I guess,” she replied, her disgusted face twisted in defeat. She noticed the packages he was carrying, and inquired about them.

“You know, it’s the strangest thing,” he replied. “Some stranger gave them to me, and...”

“Oh, hey, thanks for holding those for me.” Both Gregory and Dana jumped in surprise, and turned around to see the woman in white. She was smiling.

“Oh, uh, you again...”

“Yeah, it’s me...” Keeping her catlike grin, the woman slowly stepped towards Gregory, and pulled her hood back to reveal a very beautiful and very intriguing face. Sure enough, she matched the pointy-eared man’s description perfectly, right down to the shoulder-length cornsilk hair and the gash cut below her eyes and across her nose. Her gloved hand reached for Gregory’s chin, and she began purring seductively.

“Hm, you’re kinda cute...” she whispered. Gregory gave off a very watery smile, and tried not to embarrass himself. Dana merely crossed her arms and chuckled.

“Oh, I get it now,” she said. “You go into market to pick up girlfriends, am I right?”

“No, no, I don’t even know her!” insisted Gregory. Dana’s smile remained, but her teasing voice did not.

“Don’t get all upset. I’m just asking.” The brunette slowly stepped towards the woman in white, peering closely to examine her. “ ... Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Probably not,” replied the woman. “But I am a well-traveled lady. Here.” She reached into her cloak, and pulled out a stack of money. She traded the sweet-smelling units for the packages she had previously given Gregory, and gave the man a wink as she stepped away.

“Until we meet again, kid...”

“Wait!” he called. “I never got your name!” The woman turned around, laughing politely, and opened her mouth.

“Cattia Romana Prepells, alias ‘The Space Cat’!” All three of them bolted around, drawing sharp gasps as they saw a fair-faced pointy-eared man pointing a wicked-looking cannon-rifle at them. The woman in white’s shocked face lasted for only a few seconds, and her devious smile returned.

“So, you’re looking for me too? My my, I’ve become very famous in the past few days!”

“Do not attempt to negotiate out of this encounter!” spat the cannon-wielding man. “I have searched long and hard for you, and it is only by sheer luck, I believe, or perhaps fate itself, that I should meet you in so unlikely a place!”