It was nighttime when I awoke again. The lights were on and the sky outside the window was dark. The Director was drawing the blinds and looking tired. She looked over at me when I sat up.
That was when I realised that Shigure was already up. He was drinking tea and eating a beef rice bowl with green mustard leaf pickles.
I rubbed my still heavy and aching head.
Mr Holt wasn't in the room and from the looks of both Shigure and the Director, certain important decisions had already been made. They seemed determined and calm.
"Are you ok?" I asked Shigure. "I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"
"It wasn't you who hurt me," Shigure gave me a tired smile, pausing in his eating. "Your memory of those events took me by surprise. That's all. They were far stronger and more vivid than I expected. It was the smaller associated memories that didn't really seem connected but that you had identified as definitely related to those events in some way that were actually the most helpful. Thank you."
"You're welcome," I replied. "I'm glad I was of use."
"You aren't a tool to be used and abused," Shigure put his bowl and chopsticks down, taking my hands in his. His eyes shone with an earnestness and sincerity that calmed my jumpy nerves down. "You are Kim Na, the first and only City Agent to jump across the Blue Gulf and survive. You are far more than you think and that others have told you. Don't believe those lies. Your potential is extraordinary and infinite."
"Yeah. Right," I scoffed.
"I know you do, Uki-chan, because I've been in your head. Don't be so quick to put yourself down. Director, you might want to come over and watch this. Our Uki-chan has another very, very useful ability."
"I do? Why are you calling me Rainy Season? Do I cry that much?"
"Not that Uki," Shigure blew some air out his nose in a silent laugh. Meanwhile he pulled out books from his pockets and clothes. Where had he been hiding all these books? So many books. Was he a walking library?
"Not rain? Then you're calling me the gloomy Uki?" I asked, feeling a bit affronted.
"Not that one either," Shigure shook his head, sorting out the various books on the coffee table and swapping some of them for other books.
"Feather princess? Flotsam? Kind moon? Cheerful high spirits? Wish of the universe? Floater? A buoy that floats on water? What sort of a weird nickname are you making up for me?" I frowned, trying to think of any other similar names.
Shigure laughed.
"I'll let you guess," he told me with a cheeky smile.
"I don't think I like this nickname much," I scowled. "It doesn't suit me."
"I think it does," Shigure said in a cheerful voice. "Now, see these books?"
"Yes. Can I call you a walking library? Where have you been hiding all those books?" I asked out of curiosity, reaching out, wanting to touch him and see how he could hide so many novels on himself.
"Pick any one up and read a sentence," Shigure waved an arm at all the books, stepping just out of my reach.
The Director watched in curiosity.
I picked up a green book with a title that read Icha Icha and opened it to a random page.
"Her lips were as red as cherries and as soft as marshmallows. Her taste was as sweet as…"
Shigure snatched the book from me in a hurry and blushed, quickly hiding the book in a pocket.
"Oops. Sorry. Not that one," he said, while the Director raised an eyebrow at him. "Try a different book, Uki-chan."
I picked up a particularly thick book and again, chose a random page.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Shigure told the Director. "A classic of Zhongguo."
"I shall bend down to the task until my body breaks and stop only after I die," I read and put down the book. I picked up another book. "Han beheld the underwater palace of the Dragon King and marvelled."
"From a classic of Hanguk," Shigure told the Director. "Go on," Shigure pushed another book toward me.
I opened this book and read, "On this wise he continued for the space of three years; marrying a maiden every night and killing her the next morning, till folk raised an outcry against him and cursed him..."
"From the language we know as Arabee," Shigure explained. "Read a different one, Uki-chan."
I picked up and read several other books, wondering why Shigure was making a big deal of me being able to read. Almost everyone in the city was able to read because of the ten years of compulsory education.
"Do you see what I'm getting at?" Shigure asked the Director who was now smiling widely.
"Kim, when did you learn Nihongo?" Director Worth asked me.
"I didn't," I replied. "I haven't."
"How come you can read it then?" she asked.
"I can't," I told her. "I've never read Nihongo before."
"What about Zhongwen then?" Director Worth tapped on the thick book I had opened earlier.
"I can't read that either," I replied. "I've never learnt it before."
"Then how come you can read this?" she tapped the book again.
"Because it's written there?" I looked at her with confusion and scratched my head.
"This is written in Zhongwen."
"Is it?" I picked up the book and opened it and closed it. I stared at it and the writing changed. "No, it's not. Wait. Yes, it is. No, are you messing with me?" I looked between Director Worth and Shigure, feeling a bit cross that they would be playing a prank of this level on me.
"We're not messing with you," the Director smiled. "Put up with us just a little longer, ok? All these books are written in different languages. You have picked up each one and read it out loud in English but if I'm not wrong, you have never learnt any of those languages. Correct?"
I nodded. I hadn't learnt any other language other than my tribal language.
"Then how come you can read these?"
"Because it's written there," I pointed. "I can read. Everyone can read. What's so special about being able to read?"
"Ooh, Kim," Director Worth rubbed her hands in glee. "You have no idea what sort of a national treasure you are right now. Wait a moment."
She went to her computer and played several clips to me of people speaking in different languages.
"Kim, I know you're feeling a bit frustrated but please be patient with me for a little longer. Tell me what you're hearing these people say."
"Mischa, you've come to fix your bike again… Young lady, what animal shape would you like your sugar figurine to be?... Stay off the grass. I've told you and told you hooligans over and over again… We have this suit in purple, yellow and blue. Would you like to see them?"
I didn't see the point in parroting, feeling like they were just making fun of me. I covered my head and curled into a ball.
"Stop it. Stop making fun of me," I cried, unable to take it anymore. "It's not funny. Why do you have to mock a useless person, like this? Is it fun? Is there a point? You asked me to read and I read. You asked me to copy what people said and I did. Everyone can read and parrot another person. Don't laugh. Stop laughing at me. It's not funny."
"Believe it or not," the Director cleared her throat, "but Kim, we weren't making fun of you. We're not joking around or teasing you. You're amazing. A treasure. If Shigure hadn't made you prove it to me, I never would have believed such a talent was real."
I glared at the man who'd been in my head earlier. It was all his fault.
Shigure sat on the floor beside me and gave me a little hug.
"You appear to have an auto-translate and auto-interpret function," he told me. "An ability other than your jumping. People with two special abilities are extremely rare and an auto-translator like you is very, very useful. I had to study all those languages over many, many hours over many, many years. And you? You have it inbuilt. To be honest, I'm a little bit jealous. From what I can tell, your mind automatically translates or interprets those languages for you, so that you can't tell that it's actually another language. Kim, you're amazing. I told you before. From now on, you're going to be very, very important. So important in fact, that once Headquarters hear about you, you're going to find yourself very, very busy."
"You're not joking? Not pulling my leg?"
"This is pulling your leg," Shigure tugged at one of my ankles with a grin, nearly making me fall.
"Hey!" I yelled, regaining my foot and righting myself.
Director Worth gave me a hug, sitting on my other side and then looked at Shigure.
"What do you want to do, Kimi? I mean, Shigure? You're her senior partner now. I'll let you make the decision."
What? Senior partner? What was going on?
"Keep it under wraps for now," Shigure said. "Wait until I've had more time to train her into one of the best agents we've got before we let Headquarters know anything. I want her to be confident enough to be able to stand on her own two feet and trust her own instincts enough to speak up when she notices something, so that what happened to her earlier today doesn't happen again. Knowing some of the dinosaurs in Headquarters, they might exploit her if we don't help her understand herself and her rights. We still need her and Howard's old team to deal with Chad. Chad's taken all her equipment and things. I'll see if I can get it back tomorrow."
"You call the shots," Director Worth nodded. "Let me know how I can help and cooperate. Keep her safe."
"Will do," Shigure gave a little salute and tugged me up onto my feet. "Come and grab your dinner, Uki-chan, and then we'll vacate the Director's office before we overstay our welcome."
He passed me a plastic bag with a warm covered takeaway bowl inside. He picked up his food and raised a hand at Director Worth, while leading me out of the office. To the bunk dormitories, he led me, all the way to a little office tucked away at the end of the corridor. Inside the office were two desks, a pot plant and two windows. Oh and a small sized photocopier printer.