“Again.”

Suzie wore protective gear as she wielded two machetes in each hand. She had to destroy every illusion that came at her with the weapons. She was good, but she had the tendency to use her acrobatic skills to assist her fighting. She was quick and efficient, but very reckless.

Godrick was impressed. He’d been training her for less than a month and she picked up on new fighting styles like nothing he’d ever seen before. Leonardo watched from the sidelines with Mrs. Maria Davies. The Young Master was learning medical care from his doctor and he too was excelling in his studies. The two medics were watching while they took a fifteen minute break.

He’d been all over the world and previously homeless before finding work with Big Mama and Young Master Leonardo. He remembered his first day like it was yesterday. The day his luck finally took a turn for the better.

<~<~>~>

Godrick walked through the portal into the notorious spider’s den, or Big Mama’s office. There was a shadow yokai leaving through the same portal with a pissed look etched in their dark features.  He turned to look at the desk expecting to see a horrific being. A being so hideous and cruel as to skin its own kind for sport.

Instead Big Mama sat at her desk, in a humanoid form, with a small Kappa child in her arms. Godrick spent some time in Japan studying meditation arts and stealth from some Kappa warriors. The child couldn’t have been more than three or four. The second the child laid eyes on him, it was like a grenade went off.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! It’s a lion man!”

“Don’t be rude, baby-shell. Be nice and ask for his name.”

“Hi! I’m Leo-nar-do! What’s your name?”

“My name is Godrick. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance.”

“Why are you so formal? Gorik is a hard name…I’ll call you GoGo! Mommy! I want him!”

“Alright, go play with the twins while we hash out some boring paperwork.”

“Okay Mommy!”

Leonardo gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and ran down the hall.

“Godrick Warner. Tell me about yourself. Tell me some reasons why I should hire you to be a bodyguard for my son. From what Big Mama has gathered, you are down on your luck as of late and are destitute. Given your unkempt and nearly unsightly appearance, this appears to be correct.”

“Yes Madam. I am as you say. I have no money for any life necessities and I have no home to call my own. I saw the listing for bodyguard work in a paper this morning. I spent time in New Guinea learning effective interrogation methods. Time in Africa learning herbal remedies. Time in Japan where I learned stealth and swordplay from locals and masters. I have been dealt a bad hand in life recently, but I am more than qualified for this job and we both know it. It comes down to whether you want to hire me.”

“So you are a well learned man. I want to hear about you. Your life up until this point.”

“I was born in Minnesota to absent, yet loving parents. I graduated from school as a Valedictorian. I did not attend college, instead going around the globe learning fighting techniques, culture, many different types of weapons, etc. My last job ended in a betrayal against me and everything I had was destroyed. Hence my homelessness. Is that enough about me, Madam?”

“I suppose so. As you have guessed by now, the job is to be my son’s personal bodyguard. It is true you have all the requisite skills for the job, but how well will you interact with Leonardo remains to be seen.”

Speak of the Kappa and he will appear. With identical fox boys.

“Mommy! Mommy! Look! I found a blue spider!”

A small Cobalt Blue tarantula crawled in Leonardo’s cupped hands, making light webbing over his palms and fingers. Godrick smiled, thinking back to a friend he had in highschool. He kneeled down to the boys’ height.

“Do you know what this spider is called Young Master?”

“No, but it’s blue! Like me!”

Leonardo was wearing an indigo pair of pants with a teal shirt and turquoise blue vest. Blue was obviously his favorite color.

“This tarantula is called Haplopelma Lividum, or the Cobalt Blue. They are quite rare on this side of the globe. Be very gentle with it, you don’t want to accidentally squish it.”

Leonardo was amazed with the most adorable expression on his face.

“Jack, Daniel, Leonardo. Take some candy and go share it with Shika and Suzanne. They will also be fascinated with your new friend.”

“Okay Mommy!”

The kids ran out of the room and Godrick faced down Big Mama once again.

“You start immediately. Someone will show you to the showers and provide you with your equipment and uniform.”

“Thank you Mum. I will protect Young Master Leonardo with my life.”

“I’m sure you will. We will hash out the contract after Leonardo is asleep.”

<~<~>~>

“Again.”

Suzie groaned as more illusions started coming at her. Godrick has noticed that his usual teaching methods wouldn’t work with her as they did with his past subordinates.

“Stop.”

Suzie dropped her fighting stance as she looked at her mentor.

“Take these.”

Godrick took the machetes and gave her two human military knives and a pair of steel toed boots.

“Your combat style relies heavily on acrobatics. So we’ll put them to the test with these. Begin.”

It took Suzie a few minutes to get used to the weird brass knuckle/knife hybrid as well as finding her balance with the heavier boots, but only a few. Soon she was flipping over illusions left, right, and center slicing and kicking and stabbing and punching.

Godrick knew she would be a worthy successor after her two year stint in the Battle Nexus. Leonardo was no slouch either. From what Maria told him, he was already stitching open wounds and properly identifying medication from appearance.

Leonardo told him once that he wanted to learn swordplay and Godrick was looking forward to teaching him. Heck, he was already teaching him basic katas with wooden props in place of real swords.

Suzie was to be Leonardo’s bodyguard, but the ways things were looking, they would be an unstoppable team.

“Go Suzie go!”

Leonardo was cheering her on with such enthusiasm that it made him smile. Sibling love at its finest.

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