"Of course, you don't! Did you forget that you forgot almost everything?" Kino exclaimed before asking another question in alarm.
"Do you remember what I told you a few minutes ago?"
"Huh?" Mina shot Kino a blank look, confused on what he was referring to. When the monkey lifted the stick, Mina shielded her head with her hands before saying something.
"I remember! I remember! You told me about the nodes, the Checkpoint Nodes!"
Relieved Kino placed the stick behind his back. Mina saw something and she quickly forgot about Kino's stick antics."
"Who's that?" she asked, genuinely curious. When Kino didn't answer, Mina repeated the question.
"Who's that?"
"Where?" Kino asked in a tone as if he was just humoring Mina.
"That!" Mina pointed at the opening of the pod. Following the direction of her fingers, Kino turned around and all Mina could hear was the monkey's troubled voice.
"Uh oh."
The pod opened and a young man entered. Mina couldn't help but stare at him. He was a tall guy with small eyes and an angular jaw. She couldn't tell the color of his eyes because his eyes were too small but he could sense that this guy did not look too happy when he entered the pod. With skin as white as snow and hair as black as ebony - he would be the perfect male version of Snow White. He was wearing a black suit which, paired with his other features, made him look like a formidable force.
Mina stared at Kino to ask him who that person was but the monkey disappeared and the cleaning cart was slowly inching further from her pod. She couldn't tell when Kino bolted away but the monkey moved at an amazing speed.
The man blocked Kino's path and pulled him out of the cleaning cart by his scruff. It was as if he was carrying a kitten.
"Hey Buddy! Long time no see!"
Mina looked at Kino who greeted the newcomer reluctantly. Her eyes eventually settled on the person who just entered the pod.
'Was this Kino's supervisor or something? The guy looked furious. It was like he would feed Kino to sharks and feed those same sharks to a T-Rex. He was that furious.'
"You!" The man's booming voice echoed inside the pod.
"You annoying orangutan. Everyone has been on red alert because of you! I have been detained for a long time because of your antics!"
The man shook Kino but the monkey appeared oblivious and his expression didn't change even with the accusations. Before Kino could reply, the man realized there was another creature in the pod.
"Who's that?" The newcomer's tone shifted when he realized Mina was also in the pod. He eyed her with suspicion before shifting his gaze to Kino. The man continued to hold Kino by the skin on his back and based on Kino's expression, the position was uncomfortable.
"Who's that?" He motioned towards Mina. Mina, on the other hand, wanted to disappear to somewhere else.
'Who knows who that man is?'
"Who's what?" Kino asked while rolling his eyes.
"That!" The man clearly lost his patience for Kino's antics and he didn't make any attempt to conceal it. He pointed at Mina with his free hand before turning Kino to face her.
"Ah... that!" Kino reacted in realization. "I almost forgot. They sent her here, didn't they?" Kino turned to face the man and looked at him as if he was being ridiculous. Before the man could answer, Kino acted up again.
"Let me go! You think I'm a cat or something?" Kino exclaimed while flailing both his arms and legs but the man ignored the monkey's words and asked again.
Despite his uncomfortable position, Kino still managed to slap his head. Without missing a beat he smacked the newcomer on the head.
"How come you don't know!" The monkey continued to mumble and Mina could hear stupid and idiot. To Mina's surprise, the man didn't react to Kino's antics.
"Isn't she your follower? Why else will she have access to this pod?" an intrigued Kino asked.
"No one sent anyone else here! That's why I've been pleading to return because that stupid follower of mine might be screwing things up big time."
Mina felt as confused as ever. She wanted to speak up to defend herself but Kino's sarcastic remarks kept getting in the way. The guy's suspicious look was slowly turning into an angry one. His voice was full of malice when he replied to Kino's question. His gaze shifted from her to the orangutan who looked exasperated.
"So, I see. You devious orangutan! Did you send someone else to hijack my shell?"
To everyone's surprise, Kino laughed.
"This node sure is interesting! We have one memory loss patient and one paranoid patient in the pod!"
Unable to get free from the man's firm grip on his neck. Kino used his hands and feet to hang on to the guy's body and come closer. He gave the guy's back a few pats before speaking with concealed chuckles in between.
"Devin, Devin! I will leave this problem in your hands. I am but a bored orangutan looking for some fun!"
Taken aback, the man's eyes almost disappeared when he heard what Kino had to say. Finally free, the monkey climbed down his body with ease before walking away while pushing the cart.
"By the way, there has been no inner or outer movement in this pod while I was watching over it for you in the past 10 human years." Annoyance passed through the monkey's face and he quickly added, "I can't find a way out of this pod! I didn't get to do monkey business outside the network!"
After a few more complaints Kino waved his hand and walked towards his cart. When the monkey was almost out of the pod where his cart was waiting, his steps paused and he looked back to give Mina an amused look.
"My friend, I leave you to the capable hands of the person in charge of this node. He should be able to tell you more about everything" After winking at her Kino continued to wheel his cart away before yelling at Devin.
"Thanks for taking over my place for a while, I didn't have as much fun as I wanted to! And Devin, that," Kino pointed at Mina before adding, "is the first soul I've met since I came here."
When Kino's words sank, Mina stared at the human in front of her. Just like her, she could tell that he was in his soul form.
'Is this Devin? The cat everyone was talking about?'
'Should I ask him?'
'Mina, just do it! Or you might end up in some scary place in this ... whatever this place might be.'
Not knowing how to get the man's attention who was still staring at the disappearing monkey, Mina blurted out the first thing she thought of.
"You!" Mustering enough courage, Mina went on to ask, "Are you the Devin who works with the old gramps from Covin?"
The question surprised the man in front of her who quickly turned to ask her something back.
"How do you know that person?"
"You see, I came from some other time, not that time but I think I died," Mina explained. Realizing how confusing she might sound, she tried to phrase things differently and said everything all at once in rapid succession.
"There was an explosion and I think I died, in my time. When I woke up, I became a cat and I met that old man, Barca, the general, I mean Jadon. They thought I was you at first because of something."
"Wait!" Devin interrupted. His eyes became wider and Mina could see hints of gold in them. In a gentler and more relaxed voice, the man added, "Start from the beginning."