Chapter 2

*When the characters are speaking ,regular print means they're speaking in Japanese and italics mean English.*

I slowly open my eyes to darkness. Ugh, it's still dark outside and I have to go to work. Being a child genius sometimes sucks, I think as I stretch. I'm still not all the way awake. Thump. Now I am. I just banged my toe on the table in my room and my toe was crying out in pain. Ow. What a great way to start the morning.

I hurriedly got dressed not wanting to get to the library after it's opened. I don't want the glances you get when you don't belong. My plan is to get there, before everyone else so I'm not noticed. I just want to blend into the background.

I grab bag and stuffed a few snacks, the personal files for the Task Force staff, cell, wallet and keys into it. I put on my Converse and I'm out the door. The library was on the right of the apartment complex. So I set off, off toward the unknown.

I arrived at the library in record time. I nervously glanced around, checking to see if I was the only one here. I was. Mission accomplished. I made a beeline for the library stairs. I tested the doors to see if they were open. Yes, they were. I slipped inside and ran to the library book shelves, weaving in and out of the shelves, so I wouldn't be seen. Then it hit me. I didn't know where the office was. That meant I had to ask someone for help, which killed my plan of staying invisible.

Well, I had a few options. I could wander around until I found the office. The problem with that was I might get mistaken for a suspicious person and that wasn't how I wanted to spend my first day. Or I could ask someone. That would go one of two ways. Way number one, I could get laughed at and dismissed because I'm a 'minor' or I could whip out my badge and show my rank. The problem with the second one was that I didn't want the entire library to know I was here. I preferred to stay out of the limelight and becoming the new source of gossip wouldn't help.

While I was silently debating the best route to take that's when I saw her, my savior. Kasahara Iku, the Task Force member from the video game store yesterday. I rushed toward her and latched onto her arm. She gasped.

"You're the girl from yesterday!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. I need your help," I pleaded.

"Of course," she responded looking serious.

I dragged her to a behind a book shelf, so we wouldn't be seen. "Um, this is hard to say—"

Kasahara grabbed my shoulders and shook them. "Is it about the MBC creep?"

"No, it's not," I answered. In all honesty I had forgotten.

Kasahara dropped her hands from my shoulders awkwardly and asked, "Then what is it?"

"Um, how do I start? Ok! My name is Granger Charlie. I got assigned to the Task Force, but I don't know where the office is. Can you show me the way?" I asked. Now that we were close to each other, I noticed how tall she was. I was only an inch taller, but wow.

She blinked a few times, and I was afraid she was going to start laughing. "Okay, follow me," with that she grabbed my hand and led me through the library. I should have been paying attention, but I couldn't. She reminded me of my friends back home, always kind and ready to help.

"We're here," her voice dragged me out of my thoughts. She gestured toward the room. The windows were against the far wall, blinds drawn. There were desks throughout the room, each them owners of their personal clutter. I turned my head to the right and saw a desk facing the rest, and behind it was a map that seemed to be of the area. "Oh, I totally forgot to introduce myself," she brought her hand up to her forehead to face-palm, "my name is Kasahara Iku, Corporal and Library Clerk First Class,"

"That's nice, but would you please not do you're introductions in the doorway," a voice from behind us spoke. Kasahara and I hastily moved out the way.

A man about two inches shorter than Kasahara was standing in the doorway visibly ticked. Behind him stood two men both taller than him. One was blond and smiling and the other had black hair and looked completely serious. The serious one smirked at Kasahara. Kasahara was on him in a second. I now saw this as my chance to escape to an empty desk near the window. I backed up slowly, while Kasahara and the black haired man bickered. The blond, smiling man turned his head quickly in my direction. Nothing seemed to escape him. How can he see me, his eyes are closed, I thought.

"Okay, you two that's enough," he urged gently. "We have a guest," blondie said.

The bickering duo stopped and seemed to acknowledge my presence. This was the last thing I wanted, everyone's eyes on me. I started to panic.

The short man broke the silence and faced Kasahara. "Kasahara, why would you bring an unauthorized visitor to our office?"

"She's not unauthorized. She told me she was to start working for the Task Force, but didn't know where the office was. Plus, she's the girl from yesterday who got harassed by the MBC member," her tone turned sour when she mentioned the MBC.

The man turned toward me, scowl on face. "Let me see your identification."

I scrambled to get it out of my bag. Once I did, it slipped out of my sweaty palm. I willed myself to calm down. I handed the man my ID.

The blond man suddenly spoke up. "Maybe I should handle this Dojo. I think you're scaring her."

"I'm not scaring her!" Dojo he exclaimed. My head was spinning faster. I was naturally a shy person and didn't know how to deal with people, and this situation wasn't helping.

"Yes, I know you're not doing that on purpose, but you have that effect on people,"blondie responded. And before the short man could stop him, the blond man grabbed my ID from his hand, and dragged me by the elbow out into the hallway. He closed the door while chuckling. I was still in shock as the blond man looked over my ID.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"Um, is is he always like that," I stuttered.

"Yeah, sorry," he chuckled, "Everyone in here is a little," he paused, "different."

"Oh, okay."

"My name is Komaki Mikihisa, Librarian Second Class. When we go back inside, we'll get the self-introductions over. But before that, do you have questions for me?"

I was starting to like Komaki-san. "Um, noth—," then I stopped myself and looked him up and down. Then it hit me. "Do I have to wear a uniform because everyone else is…?" I trailed off, slightly embarrassed. This morning I hadn't even thought about dressing business-like. I threw on a t-shirt and jeans and put on Converse. I looked like I was high school student with a day off.

He chuckled. I didn't take offense because I sensed that he wasn't being mean, it was just who he was, smiles and giggles and all. "I don't think so because of your unique position, but I'm not sure. The Task Force has never had one of you before."

"Thanks," I giggled like a school-girl and mentally kicked myself. I moved toward the door and opened it.

The scene before my eyes was not pretty. Kasahara-san and the short man were arguing.

Komaki bent down next to me to whisper in my ear, "You can just ignore them. It's always this…"

"Noisy," I tried.

Komaki laughed, "I was going to say lively, but that works too."

I made my way to the empty desk, when a booming voice said, "Where do you think you're going without introducing yourself properly?"

I froze and turned around slowly to see a giant man standing in the entryway next to Komaki. The giant man reminded me of a bear. Suddenly everyone's eyes were on me. I started hyperventilating. The short man and the serious man seemed to be glaring at me, sizing me up. It was becoming too much to handle.

"Um, my name is Charlie Granger. I'm the new psychologist for this unit the Task Force. Please take care of me," Ibowed formally, while reprimanding myself mentally. Apparently when I get nervous I started speaking English.

When I looked up, I saw everyone giving me strange looks. Oh no. They didn't speak English and why would they? This was Japan, so I should be speaking Japanese, right? Inside my mind, it was a whirlwind of thoughts, while the Task Force was waiting for me to say something that made sense.

"Um, what I meant to say was…," I was doing it again. This was so embarrassing. How was I going to live this down?

"She said, 'My name is Granger Charlie. I'm the new psychologist for this unit of the Task Force. Please take care of me'," the serious man translated for me.

"Thanks," I offered weakly.

"My name is Tezuka Hikaru. Corporal and Library Clerk First Class," he answered, if that counted as an answer.

"Dojo Atsushi, Librarian Second Class," the short man said, following Tezuka's lead.

"Genda Ryūsuke, leader of the Task Force and Supervising Librarian Third Class," the bear-like man saluted.

"Okay," I stuttered, "It was a pleasure to meet you all. Let's get along in the future," I said quietly. I just wanted the attention off me.

Seeming to sense my wish, everyone got busy after that. I internally sighed. The worst was over. I made my way over to the empty desk and put my bag on top. I sank into my chair, wishing it was the ground.

I grabbed the files out of my bag and began reading them, starting with Dojo.

Name: Dojo Atsushi

Date of Birth: August 2, 1992

Name of Mother: Dojo Rin

Name of Father: Dojo Yuki

Miscellaneous Comments: Before entry into the task force, Dojo Atsushi was involved in a fight with the MBC. In the spring of 2014 Dojo Atsushi was involved in the claiming of books in Kanto Bookstore. He broke Law 30, as also he was not a high enough ranked officia to collect those books. He was subject to an inquiry.

Wow. That sounded rough. I sneaked a glance at him. Dojo was engrossed in work. It was hard to believe that he done what was in his file. He seemed to be the no-nonsense type of guy.

Oh crap, I forgot that part of my job was doing evaluations. (Private of course). Most of my job consisted of sitting and watching and when I felt it was necessary calling the subject in for a session.

Well, here were my evaluations so far: Komaki was a happy guy, but also dedicated to his work. His role was akin to a peacekeeper sometimes. Kashara was also dedicated to her work. She was strong, dependable and a good friend. She also seemed to overact easily, no, she was easily excited. Dojo was strict and dedicated. He was sometimes just as loud as Kasahara, but was a good leader. Tezuka, basically was a straight-A, know-it-all. But I sensed that wasn't there was to him. Genda liked his work and was clearly dedicated. He still scared me though.

Well, that was only a guess. I couldn't know more until I had actually talked to them. I glanced up at the clock and I was almost ten o'clock. I was starving. I had forgotten to eat breakfast because I was in such a rush. So now I was hungry, and when I was hungry I got cranky. Then I remember I had packed snacks. I'm such a genius, I thought triumphantly.

I rummaged through my bag and found crackers. Thankfully they hadn't gotten smashed. I glanced up. Everyone was working. It didn't seem to be the place to start snacking.

"Granger-san!" a voice called.

I freaked and yelped. I was afraid I had been caught. "Y-yes," I responded meekly.

"The Task Force also works in the library and it's one of those days. Are you going to come with us?" Dojo asked. I heard him under his breath, "What's with that response? Am I really scary?"

"Um, yes, that's a good idea," I started searching for my notepad and a pen, "thank you for telling me." I rummaged through my bag pulled out my notepad and wallet, replaced the personal files inside them and grabbed a pen. I stuffed my wallet into my pocket, hoping there was a snack machine near the library.

Everyone had left, except Genda and Kasahara.

"Are you coming, Genda-san?" I asked walking toward Kasahara.

"Nope. I have a meeting to go to," he responded.

"Okay," I said as Kasahara and I left. To Kasahara, "Thank you for waiting for me."

"No problem. I thought it would be nice to walk together with someone," she said.

"Thanks. Oh and sorry for this morning. I tend to speak in English when I get nervous," I said. She was thoughtful too.

"I totally understand. So you're the shy type?"

I weakly nodded. "Yeah."

"But I was surprised."

"Hmm," We turned a corner.

"When Tezuka, stepped in to translate. It wasn't like him, or so I thought."

"Really?" I had a lot to learn.

Then we stepped into the library. It was beautiful. The sunlight was shining through the windows as patrons wandered around. I had never seen so many books in my life. It was simply amazing.

And so started my first day as the psychologist for the Library Task Force.