[Iruma's POV]
Walking away from Himiko's house, the tension between me and Astro hung thick in the air. He was still fuming from the whole encounter with her parents, and it showed in the way his crimson eyes flared every few seconds. His pink hair swayed as he paced, muttering curses like a broken record on fire.
I decided to poke the bear, smirking as I crossed my arms. "Hey, Astro, you got a master plan for how we're gonna take care of Himiko, or was that little speech back there just for show?"
He stopped dead in his tracks, glaring at me like I'd stolen the last slice of pizza. "Uh…" His confidence cracked as he scratched the back of his neck, his fingers tugging at his coat collar. "Look, okay, I said all that in the moment! I didn't exactly think about the logistics!"
I let out a long, exaggerated sigh, rubbing my temples as I leaned against a nearby lamppost. "And here I thought you were the rational one. Guess I'll just have to carry us both as usual." My tone was dripping with sarcasm, but the smirk tugging at my lips made it clear I was enjoying this.
Astro groaned, running a hand through his hair as he muttered to himself. "We're screwed. Totally screwed. How do you even make money at our age?!"
While he spiraled, I pulled out my phone, scrolling aimlessly. As I flicked through notifications, an ad caught my eye: Jobs—Get Paid to Help Your Community. My eyebrow quirked as I tapped on it, and a grin slowly crept across my face.
"Yo, Astro," I said, holding up the screen. "Check this out."
He leaned in, squinting at the phone like it might explode. "Wait... Bounty hunting?! You've gotta be kidding me!" He threw his hands in the air, his voice rising in disbelief. "What's next, we start fighting villains for pocket change?"
I snorted, conjuring a small, glowing yellow bone in my hand and tossing it at his head. "Relax, drama queen. It's not like that." The bone bounced harmlessly off his hair before vanishing. "We're talking small jobs—finding lost pets, cleaning stuff, easy money. Look at this." I pointed at the screen. "Some grandma's offering twenty grand to find her missing cat."
Astro froze, his crimson eyes wide in disbelief. "Twenty grand? For a cat?! Who the hell is this lady, the goddess of yen?!"
I shrugged, flicking a rock into the air with my blue magic, then sending it spinning in lazy circles around us. "Does it matter? All I see is a chance to make bank." I caught the rock midair and crushed it between my fingers, the fragments glowing faintly before fading away. "So? What do you think, A? Are we doing this?"
Astro's expression shifted, his Overhaul-esque seriousness kicking in as he rubbed his chin. He glanced back at the orphanage, then at me, his resolve hardening. "Alright, fine. Let's do it. We'll start small and figure the rest out as we go."
His crimson eyes flared briefly, and he held out his hand, conjuring a shimmering red crystal that hovered above his palm. It pulsed with energy, matching the fire in his gaze. "If we're doing this, we're doing it right."
"That's the spirit," I said, cracking my knuckles as my left eye flickered blue. With a snap of my fingers, a small Gaster Blaster appeared above us, its skeletal jaw opening and closing lazily. "Let's go find a cat and make more money than half the adults in this city. Easy peasy."
[General POV]
As we walked toward the job's location, our magic sparking subtly around us, I couldn't help but feel a flicker of excitement. Who knew helping grannies could be this fun? And something told me this was only the beginning of our wild new hustle.
[Iruma's POV]
The first job led us to a quiet little neighborhood on the outskirts of Musutafu. The streets were lined with cherry blossom trees, their petals drifting lazily to the ground. It was peaceful—too peaceful for what Astro and I were about to get into.
"Alright, Granny Kagome," I muttered, reading the job description on the app. "Lost cat, answers to 'Princess Sparkles.' Last seen on the roof of the family bakery."
Astro groaned, stretching his arms behind his head. "Why do I feel like this is gonna be more work than it's worth?"
I smirked, nudging him with my elbow. "Because you're lazy, and I'm the one who actually gets things done. Now come on, let's bag this furball."
We reached the bakery, a cozy little place with a sweet aroma wafting from the open windows. An elderly woman stood outside, her wrinkled face lighting up when she saw us.
"Oh, thank you for coming!" she said, bowing politely. "Princess Sparkles is my darling baby. She's stuck on the roof, and I'm too old to climb up there myself."
Astro gave a quick bow in return, his usual grumpiness melting under the weight of her gratitude. "We'll take care of it, ma'am."
"Yeah," I added, summoning a blue platform of magic under my feet. "Piece of cake."
I hovered up to the roof, scanning for any sign of the elusive feline. "Here, kitty, kitty," I called, my tone dripping with faux sweetness. Astro stayed on the ground, his arms crossed as he kept watch.
"Try not to scare it, Iruma," he called up, his voice tinged with amusement. "Knowing you, the cat's probably terrified of a bad time already."
"Ha ha," I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. As if on cue, a fluffy orange tail peeked out from behind a chimney. "Gotcha."
I crept closer, summoning a glowing blue bone in my hand to distract the cat. "Hey, Sparkles, want a toy?"
The cat hissed, batting the bone out of my hand before leaping to a higher perch.
"Seriously?!" I groaned, summoning a small Gaster Blaster to nudge it gently.
"Careful!" Astro shouted from below. "You blast that cat, and we're out twenty grand!"
"Relax," I called back, guiding the Blaster carefully. The cat finally hopped into my arms, its claws digging into my jacket. "Got her!"
As I floated back down, Astro smirked. "You look like you just wrestled a tiger."
"Shut up," I muttered, handing the cat to Granny Kagome.
"Oh, my sweet Princess Sparkles!" she cried, hugging the cat tightly. Tears streamed down her face as she bowed repeatedly. "Thank you so much! You boys are lifesavers!"
"Just doing our job," Astro said, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Granny Kagome handed over a thick envelope, bowing again. "Here's your payment. And I'll make sure to leave you a five-star review!"
I opened the envelope, my jaw dropping. "Astro," I whispered, holding up the stack of cash. "This is way more than twenty grand."
His eyes widened. "Granny's got deep pockets, huh?"
[General POV]
Within hours, our profile on the Bounty Jobs app blew up. Five-star reviews poured in:
"These boys found my dog in record time! So polite!"
"They fixed my fence with their quirks—amazing!"
"Hired them to carry groceries, and they made it look like a show!"
Our magic became a selling point. Astro's red crystals were perfect for repairs, while my blue magic made heavy lifting a breeze. We even started offering "express services" using my shortcuts for teleportation.
The jobs varied, from cleaning graffiti off walls to delivering packages faster than the local post office. One guy even paid us ¥50,000 to prank his coworker with a harmless Gaster Blaster scare.
One day, we got a job to babysit three kids while their parents went out. Easy, right? Wrong.
The kids, all aspiring Pro Heroes, decided we were their practice villains.
"Prepare to be defeated!" one shouted, launching a pillow at my face.
"Hey!" I dodged, using a blue bone to block the next attack. Astro, meanwhile, stood in the corner, his red crystals forming a makeshift shield.
"Alright, that's it," he muttered, summoning a tiny red platform to trip one of the kids. They fell onto a pile of pillows, laughing hysterically.
By the end of the night, the kids were asleep, and we were ¥100,000 richer.
At our peak, we were pulling in nearly ¥500,000 a day. Between the ridiculous payouts and glowing reviews, we became minor celebrities on the app. People even started recognizing us on the street.
"Hey, it's the Judge and the Angel!" someone shouted one afternoon.
Astro groaned, pulling his hood up. "Great. We're famous."
I smirked, summoning a small Gaster Blaster to float above my shoulder. "What can I say? We're just that good."
Despite the chaos, the job was turning out to be more fun—and more profitable—than I'd ever imagined. And with Himiko's future on the line, we weren't stopping anytime soon.