Fate of Pandora - Book I

Juggling

Outside, little Risa was dragging Coalt around happily while the older boy, not really sure how to interact with the younger girl, simply let her guide him through the streets.

"So, what are you going to do? I'm going to look for a job, but I can't babysit you all the time." Coalt pulled his hand free when she stopped.

"Improvisation shows!" Risa explained as she searched for large crowds. "Let's see if you have skills in the art of gaining money... and world domination!" she added with a smirk.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Now, the first thing we must do is hide!"" Risa looked around quickly before trying to push Coalt behind a trash can, but the guy refused to move. Since she wasn't able to push him, she jumped behind the trash can herself, leaving him standing alone.

The boy sweat-dropped at her antics. He could still see her clearly, and he stood frowning down at her while she crouched in her 'hiding place'. "Um... Why are you hiding?"

"Shhh! Because the men in white might come back and try to put me in that jacket," Risa whispered with shifty eyes. "Now hide!"

Coalt rolled his eyes, not sure if the child was just joking around or if she really had been in a madhouse. The second option seemed plausible. Deciding to ignore her, he began walking away.

"Hey! Don't leave me alone!" Risa stopped fooling around and rushed to catch up to him. "Listen! I do have a plan. I know some tricks to call attention and entertain people. I can help you collect some money while you search for a job."

"Thank you, but I'm not accepting your money either," Coalt refused.

"Whatever. I'll keep with it and you can work your own performance to get yours." The girl shrugged her shoulders and unzipped the bag she was carrying around. Risa's backpack had more than only a change of clothes inside. She called it her bag 'full of magic and wonders', when, in fact, it contained only a little radio and five small batons. There were a few more items there, but nothing exceptional. "Now Pervert-san–"

"Stop calling me a pervert! It's disrespectful," Coalt complained.

"Okay, Grumpy-san," The boy sighed; grumpy was a little better at least. "What are you going to do? I've got everything you need in the world of performance art! So do you want to roll on a giant ball or the unicycle? Maybe you could breathe fire...? No, I got it! You can put your head in the lion's mouth!"

"Playing with fire is fine with me. Do you have cards too? I can use them." Risa wasn't sure if he had entered her game of imagination or if he seriously telling the truth. The boy smirked and asked her with a hint of sarcasm. "What about you? Will you do the trick to get rid of the chains before drowning?"

"Uhuhuhuhuhu, I will, I will..." Risa's eyes where shining with her evil plan.

Yup, she is totally nuts. Coalt had no more doubts about her sanity, and he could do nothing more than watch as the hyperactive girl jumped around with excitement while her brain was running away with ideas and imagination.

"What will I be doing, you ask? Well, I will ride a unicycle while juggling batons and blindfolded. You know, just one of your basic routines," she said matter-of-factly. "All you have to do is collect the money in this hat."

Coalt raised one eyebrow in disbelief. "Are you sure you can do all this?"

"Of course I can! I'm the super Risa-chan! I can do all that!" she affirmed confidently. "Except I don't have a unicycle...or a blindfold... But I bet I can do a lot of things that you can't!"