Kajio glared at Joyce, pinching his nose in a futile attempt to ward off a headache. The other two factions had finally gotten to taking prisoners and continuing the attack instead of just sitting by and watching just to see what the Flying Dragons could do. Of course, it had taken a lot of shouting at Liasion Officers on Kajio's end. But that aside, Kajio had a bigger problem on his hands.
"The second time you enter a battle you nearly get impaled. How the hell did you manage to rack up an impressive 50% danger rate this early on?" He demanded.
"That's not fair, we're literally one week in. I've only been in 2 battles so far, you need at least 5 trials for an accurate percentage," Joyce protested. "Also, it's a battle, how safe can it get?"
"She has a point," Mohan offered, making to start some old-fashioned argument about how the commander-in-chief should brave danger to attain supreme victory or whatever drivel Kajio was sure the shaman was about to say.
At Kajio's furious glare, Mohan slowly drew back. "But I need to go yell at the soldiers," Mohan said. "You guys should continue."
Kajio nodded and pretended not to see Joyce sending a plea for help at Mohan as the man slipped out the door. He also pretended he didn't see the trembling young man holding a giant sword in the corner. Whatever the hell Joyce was trying to do there, Kajio would deal with it after he finished his workplace safety speech.
Considering how strange it was that the enemy shamans had launched a suicide attack on all three fronts with Spade, Joyce, and Mohan, Kajio thought that something sinister was probably going on that would mean a lot more danger in the future. Selva was already on it and Spade was busy dealing with the other factions' bullshit, so Kajio was the one who had to deal with Joyce. Joyce definitely couldn't be so unprepared again.
"Look, I'm sorry I wasn't all that careful and that I'm actually not too great at commanding at all, especially when there's an emergency that I can't solve alone or with Spade's help," Joyce said, taking in a deep breath to continue the qualifying clause. "Or when there's an emergency that requires skill instead of brute force. Or when – "
"We know, we get it," Kajio said, stopping Joyce from continuing. "It's fine. But you're personally commanding troops, we need some way around it – are you pointing at Kiyoko right now?"
"She's good at it, she was great with Han Gai and the defense team," Joyce suggested. "And since she's my bodyguard, she'll already be there with me."
"No, please," Kiyoko begged. Kajio sighed and gave Kiyoko a comforting smile that didn't comfort the girl in the slightest.
"Kiyoko, you're promoted and getting raised two pay grades," Kajio said gently. Kiyoko looked nervously between his smile and Joyce's smile.
"I'm not suited for the role. For one, I can't be both a bodyguard and a stand-in commander, neither of those things is suitable for multitasking. Second, raising two pay grades doesn't change the fact that I'll be responsible for a lot more lives than just the Chairman. Third, not what I signed up for," Kiyoko said firmly. Kajio let out a slow sigh, reminding himself to be nice.
"That was an order, Kiyoko. And your concerns are misguided. First, Joyce seems about to hire Han Gai as a secondary bodyguard," Kajio began rebuffing her.
"How did you know?" Joyce asked in surprise.
"You gave him a giant sword and brought him here, what else was I going to think?" Kajio said. He continued rebuffing Kiyoko, ignoring Han Gai trembling in the corner. "Kiyoko, that means that you won't really have to multitask while commanding. Second, you were already responsible for a lot of lives, if the Chairman dies, a lot of people will die. I don't really think I need to spell out the situation with the Alliance for you, you should already know they want us gone."
"Third, you literally wrote on your application that you wanted to make a name for yourself and do something big as the answer for 'Why are you interested in our organization.' I don't think this isn't what you signed up for," Kajio said.
"Really? I didn't know that," Joyce said.
"Yeah, I forgot to have that translated," Kajio said. "Anyways, Kiyoko?"
Kiyoko's shoulders slumped as the girl realized she couldn't out-argue the Operational Director famous for arguing people till they were tongue-tied.
"It doesn't really look like I have a choice, but okay," Kiyoko gave in and accepted the raise and promotion.
Kajio nodded in satisfaction at one headache dealt with. Kiyoko was intimidating enough and talented enough and had gained some experience in street gangs. Since they were short on people either way, this was a perfect arrangement.
Kajio turned towards the next headache, the young man trembling in the corner.
"How long are you going to stand there and tremble? Come here, Han Gai," Kajio ordered. The young man slowly came forward, Joyce giving him a sympathetic look.
"I'm really very sorry, I know I was bad at my job," Han Gai said pitifully.
"You are. If the Chairman had died because you were a dumb shit I really would have had you killed in a discreet manner, screw the morals. What are you even good at? Can you even use a sword? Joyce, why the hell did you just shove him a sword?" Kajio demanded. No wonder Spade always acted like a frazzled parent, if this was what he had to deal with. Kajio could feel the exasperation building up between his brows.
"It's a good idea," Joyce promised. Kajio resisted the urge to punch the wall.
"I can use a sword," Han Gai said timidly. "I actually only started shaman training when I was thirteen, before that I trained in my father's martial arts school."
Everyone stared at him doubtfully. Thirteen was late for a shaman and Han Gai didn't look particularly strong. At Kajio's scrutinizing gaze, Han Gai shrunk a little and picked up the closest chair, breaking it in half with his bare hands without straining at all. The splinters dropped onto the floor like many very sharp little needles.
"What the hell did you do that for? Clean this up," Kajio ordered. Han Gai looked at the floor abashedly before hurriedly cleaning everything up. Joyce gave Kajio a thumbs up.
"He's the dude," Joyce said, before turning to Han Gai. "From now on, my life is in your hands. And Kiyoko's, but yours when she's busy. No pressure."
Han Gai looked to be on the verge of crying, so Kajio calmly leveled a smile at him. Han Gai actually began crying then.
"I'll do my best, Chairman. I swear I'll repay your trust!" Han Gai sobbed. Joyce looked rightfully disturbed at the reaction and patted Han Gai on the shoulder awkwardly before moving a few steps away.
Kajio let out a soft sigh. Han Gai wasn't really overreacting, the shaman had barely ever met Joyce in Canton, and now she was appearing before him as an Apostle with insane amounts of spiritual energy. From now on, Joyce was unlikely to recruit people the way she had in Canton. Rather than seeing a shaman with a game plan to stop an endless series of wars, people would see the Sixth Apostle.
Even if the ward lowered casualties a lot compared to ramming the enemy with lethal attacks, enemy soldiers weren't exactly in great condition when they surrendered or were captured. Some died from organ failure, and when there were so many enemy soldiers the numbers added up. Even if Joyce hadn't confronted the fact yet, the girl already had a kill count.
"Han Gai," Kajio said in a gentle tone, with as much killing intent as he could muster. "Work hard in your new position. Or I will make you pay for it." He felt a small sense of satisfaction as Han Gai nodded furiously.
One of Selva's subordinates knocked twice and burst in, a grim look on her face.
"Chairman, Operational Director," she greeted them. "The Intelligence Director found something on the enemy shamans. Permission to report?"
Kajio nodded for her to continue.
"Wu Peifu doesn't trust that his shamans won't defect, so he took their families hostage," she reported. "His orders were for them to hold the line or die trying."
Kajio nodded and dismissed her, grimacing at the disturbing information.
"Oh shit, that is definitely a war crime, right? That explains things but it's really fucked up," Joyce said, looking disgusted.
"Yes. This means you'll have to be more careful, people will do crazy things if they're backed into a corner," Kajio warned her. "You're the only legitimizing factor behind the Flying Dragons right now, we're all screwed if you don't live a long life."
"Um, okay," Joyce looked distinctly uncomfortable. Kajio glanced at Kiyoko and Han Gai, who nodded back.
"I'll do everything within my power to keep the Chairman safe," Kiyoko promised, shooting a glare at Han Gai. "And if this guy doesn't I'll beat him up myself."
"I will! I swear I will!" Han Gai looked about to cry again.
"Good," Kajio said firmly. He sighed again, looking at Joyce's confused expression.
"We've been around almost as long as the Shaman Council, historically speaking, why are we not legit?" Joyce asked, conveniently setting aside the information about Wu Peifu's war crimes.
"We've been around longer than them, but Jia Xu's the former chairman's daughter so she's more legit," Kiyoko deadpanned. "Chairman, how do you still not know this?"
"Wow, nepotism much. Also, I can't read, don't pressure me," Joyce complained.
"Jia Xu's also legit because both she and her father eliminated any other credible candidates and established themselves as ruthless leaders. You're the only candidate so you don't have that option," Kajio added.
"So familicide is more legitimate than grassroots organizing. Wow," Joyce said.
"No one can prove it. Jia Xu's father Jia Ping was the fourth child, but his first brother was killed in a flash flood, his second brother was struck by lightning and died, and his older sister hung herself," Kajio said.
"Um, yeah, totally not suspicious at all. Whatever happened to Jia Xu's uncle again?" Joyce asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"He killed himself in shame for having challenged the legitimacy of the rightful heir," Kajio deadpanned. "Smashed his own face in on the floor and then threw himself off a construction site. An extremely natural way to die. I'm telling you, between Jia Xu and the warlords, you need to be a lot more careful."
Joyce nodded slowly. "I will," she promised with shining eyes. Kajio squinted suspiciously at the sincerity, but couldn't find any more grounds to yell at her. He nodded and sat back in his chair.
He didn't really need to worry, he convinced himself. Joyce was the Sixth Apostle. The spirits would watch out for her.