Akira returned home from school and found Pako sitting before the television in the small living room. Akira had seen many funny cat videos that showed felines watching TV, but the scene Akira was watching now was different than those clips. Those cats didn't understand a thing they were seeing. But this black cat did, and the thing it was watching screamed nothing but bad news.
"What are you doing, Pako?" Akira asked as he dropped his school bag in one corner.
"Oh, I didn't notice you were back," Pako said, "this movie is great!"
Akira nodded. "Planet of the apes, huh. It's a decent film."
"Decent? It's amazing and inspiring!" Pako shouted and floated off the ground. "A group of intelligent apes overthrowing humans. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet considering how stupid and selfish humans here are."
Akira flopped down and began removing his socks. "You talk like you know everything about humanity."
"I do," Pako said, levitating his way towards Akira.
"How?" Akira asked.
Pako gave him a blank look. "I watched the complete first season of Friends."
"And that taught you about humanity? I..."
Pako shook his head. "Yeah, kid."
"Your words again don't match your body language!" Akira shouted and pointed an accusatory finger at Pako.
Pako rolled his cat-eyes. "Anyway, after gaining so much knowledge from the knowledge box--" He pointed at the television. "--I've decided to stay on Earth forever."
"What?"
"And assemble an army of cats." Pako went on.
"What?"
"And overthrow humans, and take over this planet as its only ruler," Pako said and tried to do a menacing laugh that was far from being menacing.
Akira rolled his eyes. "Are you done?"
Pako stopped laughing. "Yes," he said and went back to watching the knowledge box. "What are you making? I'm hungry as a wolf."
Akira started unbuttoning his shirt. "Nothing. I'm going to Rin's place, and I won't be coming back until evening."
It was Pako's turn to shout, "What? Kid. KID. I was waiting for you to cook up something good for me."
"I can't. Not today," Akira said and went into his bedroom and changed into a green sweatshirt and grey jeans.
"What am I supposed to eat now?" Pako asked, now trotting behind Akira's heels.
"Eat whatever you can find in the fridge," Akira said, walking back to the front door. "I'm out."
He stepped out onto his small lawn, got on his bike, and rode off. Finding Rin's mansion was not that difficult since he now knew how the structure looked and how far and in what direction it had been from the hill next to his school.
The late noon sun was touching the roof of the mansion when Akira finally stopped pedaling and made his bike stop next to a big, grey gate flanked by equally big brick-red walls.
Akira looked at the iron gate that loomed over and shouted, "Hello? It's me, Akira!"
No one answered. The gate didn't budge.
Akira looked around the deserted narrow street and then back at the gate. If he was not wrong, houses this big had security cameras and phones at the entrances, right?
I can't even see a doorbell, Akira wondered and again shouted, "Rin? How long are you planning to keep me waiting outside?" He paused. "Rin?"
With an audible grumble, the big gate began to slide left. Soon, the complete iron structure disappeared. It left behind a wide, square opening between the two, red walls, revealing a green lawn and a cream-color mansion. The garden was halved by a black, cobbled track that connected the gate to the front porch.
As Akira pushed his bike across the cobbled path, the front double-doors swung open, and a woman in maid uniform walked out and greeted him.
"Hello, you must be Akira, my mistress' new apprentice."
"Apprentice?" Akira said, looking around. He spotted a small fountain on his left, the water in its marble basin shimmering in the afternoon sun. The stream of water had created a tiny rainbow over the fountain.
"Lady Rin is waiting for you," the maid said, making Akira look back at her. "You can leave your bike here and proceed into the living room."
"Uh. Yeah. Sure." Akira dropped his bike on the lawn, walked up the white porch and into the foyer.
Rin was indeed waiting for him in the living room. She sat, rather smugly, on a brown couch with a fancy looking cup of tea and a tray full of cookies sitting on a table in front of her. She was sporting a full-sleeved, loose top and baggy pants, while a blue headband held her sleek, short black hair.
"Hey," Akira said and walked over to her. "Is this for me?" he asked and reached out to grab the fancy cup.
Rin slapped his hand away. "That's not for you."
Akira laughed. "Ha. I already knew it. I was joking around."
"What time did I tell you to come to my house?" Rin asked, raised the fancy cup, and took a sip.
"Uh. At two, I believe." Akira shrugged.
"What's the time?" Rin asked.
"It's three--"
"Nevermind. It's not like I expected you to be punctual anyway."
"What the... says the person who is always late to school."
"That's intentional," Rin said. She gulped the whole tea down and stood up. "Follow me."
"Oh, Okay." Akira began walking behind her.
She led him to an elevator. They climbed into the narrow room, and Rin, instead of choosing a single floor, punched multiple keys as if she were entering a string of code, which Akira realized she was.
Akira was expecting the elevator to move up, but the thing started rumbling and started descending. A moment later, the elevator's doors slid open, and Akira found himself staring at what looked like an underground gymnasium the size of a basketball court.
"Whoa..." Akira muttered as he stepped out of the elevator. "So this is where we'll be training," he said as the elevator closed behind him with a ding.
"Yes," Rin said. "Don't look so dazzled. It's not that impressive."
"Yeah," Akira said. "It's nothing compared to that huge room in the middle of the headquarters... but the fact that something this big was hiding below my town... that's something."
The enormous room was well lit and smelled like a freshly painted house. Akira also noticed how cold the air was in this underground arena.
Rin started walking and snapped her fingers. In response to that sound, the walls on either side began to shift and roll, revealing a row of shelves with what looked like weapons, drones, and many other weird things.
"I feel like I'm in Batman's hideout," Akira said.
"You and your childish thoughts," Rin said and shook her head.
"Why do you have to be rude all the time?" Akira asked.
"I'm not rude," Rin said and waved her hand. "I'm just brutally honest."
Akira glared at her.
"Give me that look for another ten seconds, and I'll not teach you anything."
Akira turned his angry look into a bogus smile. "I'm sorry."
"Better," Rin said.
"So what are we doing now? How are we starting my training?"
"We'll start with checking your reflexes, your physical strength, and most importantly, your ability to endure pain."
Akira swallowed hard. "Pain? How about we skip--" The elevator's ding cut him off.
He looked over his shoulder. The elevator's doors slid open, and a woman with pink skin and short white hair emerged between the two doors. Akira recognized her in an instant. She was the alien lady who had tried to erase his memories. Her name was Freta if he remembered it correctly. Also, wasn't she the one who had lost her planet? Akira could recall the scene of her fainting at the news of her planet's disappearance. Although she had tried to alter his memories, he had felt bad for her back then. He still felt bad for her now. But why was she here? Akira hoped she was here to wipe or alter his memories.
"Your maid told me that you are down..." Freta said in a cheerful voice. "Oh hey, you must be the new guy!" She added, waving her hand at Akira.
"New guy?" Akira said, scrunching his brow. He shook his head. "Ah... Nevermind. I-I'm sorry about what happened to your planet."
The smile on Freta's face faltered. She looked at him, clearly confused. "What do you mean? What happened to my planet?"