Kid
Enters
New
Destination
Overseas
Meaning of Understanding
Kimiko's perspective
I gulped as the kid with shades addressed as Numbuh One walked closer to me with an unreadable face. I stood still. I wasn't planning to run away. I predicted that they could come after me. Whatever he was going to say, I guessed it would be bad.
"You... you... I can't believe you defeated Knightbrace with just a pipe!" Numbuh One hollered with surprise. I just blinked several times with shock. "I have never seen anyone stand up against him like that before."
"That was amazing, Kimi. You never told me you could fight like that," Numbuh Five or Abby said once she was out of the gooey mass.
"Well, you never asked," I explained.
"You know her?" the boy with goggles by the name of Numbuh Two asked as he tried to pull the Australian kid, Numbuh Four out.
"Yeah, she's the new kid from the restaurant I've been talking about."
"Yay!" the Asian kid, Numbuh Three, who I was glad to believe that there were fellow Asians here, sang with joy. She had gotten out of that paste. The next thing I knew, she threw her arms around me and brought me into a killer bone-crushing hug. I couldn't feel the ground beneath me as Numbuh Three was hugging me off the ground. Neither could I feel my bones. "Thank you sooo much! A second more and we would all be goners!"
"No...problemo! ...Can't ...breathe...!" I choked.
Numbuh Three soon let go of me and I could finally breath easily again.
"So you're the kid's family who just moved in recently," Numbuh One said.
"Yeah. We moved from China," I stated.
"China? But you spoke Japanese."
"And Chinese and English. Just because I speak Japanese, doesn't mean I was born in Japan. My mom's Japanese," I explained. I am a third English, a third Chinese and a third Japanese. "Anyway, who are you guys? Abby never told me she was in a team."
"That's because you never asked, Kimi," Abby explained.
"Oh. Right..."
"We are the Kids Next Door, a top-secret society whose sole purpose is to protect the kids in need against the evil adults and teens and prevent any disasters from happening. I am Nigel Uno, Numbuh One. That is Numbuh Two, Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. This is Numbuh Three, Kuki Sanban."
"Hello!" Kuki droned.
"That kid is Numbuh Four, Wallabee Beatles," Numbuh One introduced as Hoagie finally pulled out Wally. However Hoagie sent them flying onto the hardness of the street. They both groaned with stars dancing around their heads.
"And Numbuh Five is Numbuh Five," Abby said. "You already know my name already."
"Wow, you guys are like heroes from a comic book." I uttered.
"What's your name?" Nigel asked.
"Kimiko Ikin."
A moment of silence hung. I knew what was coming. Bursts of laughter erupted into the atmosphere out of four kids. Abby kept her mouth shut. I took it that she knew I didn't like people laughing at my name.
"I knew I should have said my nickname..." I groaned. "Well, Abby, I'll see ya later. By now, I'm pretty late for dinner and if I stay longer, they all might choke in laughter."
"Wait just a minute, Kimi." Numbuh Five had stopped her from leaving and rushed over to the team's leader, who was down on the ground, laughing. It was soon they would have a discussion without me in it. I had wondered what they were saying.
Third person view
"Numbuh One," Numbuh Five called.
Nigel was still laughing his head off but quickly regained his composure and leadership. He did not want Abby to be upset for laughing at her friend's name or show his decease of awareness. "Ahem. Yes, Numbuh Five?"
"Numbuh Five has thought of an idea. What if we have her join Kids Next Door?"
"Wat?!" Numbuh Four yelled. "Are ya nuts? Have her join us?!"
"Are you sure?" Numbuh Two asked.
"Listen, guys. Kimi is just like us. She knows how to fight and she's a good friend. She treated Numbuh Five desert," Abby explained.
"Tat's because she may want to distract ya from what she's really doing! And wat about her parents? She may look innocent but I bet her parents all like the other adults!" Numbuh Four cried.
"Oh, sure, like you and Numbuh One agreed that restaurant of theirs was to be a villain's society hideout when Kimi lives there with her family because they have only enough money for the restaurant and not their own home?"
"Uh..." Numbuh One mumbled.
"And for your information, I've been to Oriental White Sands with Kimi. And her folks are the only employers running it. It's just an original restaurant."
"You've met them, Numbuh Five?" Numbuh One asked.
"Actually, Numbuh Five only met her dad."
"Tat gives us the more reason not to trust her! We've only just met her!"
"I want her to join!" Numbuh Three sang.
"It wouldn't be so bad to have an extra member in the team," Numbuh Two added. "She did fight Knightbrace."
"Wat?!" Numbuh Four couldn't believe his ears.
"And she's a friend of Numbuh Five!" Numbuh Five declared.
"How can ya say that when ya just met her yesterday?!"
"Numbuh Five didn't tell her real name just to see you all laugh about it," she said with a glare at Wallabee. "Kimi hasn't had a friend since she moved here!"
"Yeah, we were pretty rude just now," Hoagie stated.
"And she saved us! Don't forget that," Kuki noted.
The five kids looked back to the silent Asian girl by the name of Kimiko Ikin. Kimiko quivered a bit. They had been talking but she couldn't make up what they had said. The Kids Next Door turned back to their talk.
"True, she did save us. Without her, Knightbrace would have defeated us. Alright. Kids Next Door, we shall have a vote," Nigel affirmed.
"Wat!? Numbuh One, ya're not serious, are ya?"
"All those in favour of not allowing Kimiko Ikin to join Kids Next Door, raise your hand," Nigel commanded.
Wallabee raised his with his eyes shut. He knew everyone would have to agree with him. When he opened them, he saw his lonely hand in the air. No one else had voted. "Huh?"
"All those in favour of allowing Kimiko Ikin to join Kids Next Door, raise your hand."
Abby's hand was up first, followed by Kuki's, Hoagie's and Nigel's.
"Wat?!" Numbuh Four yelled.
"Four against one! Ha! In your face, Numbuh Four," Numbuh Five yelled.
"Alright, it's agreed," Nigel declared. Kimiko gulped once he walked to her. The results were going to be out for her.
Kimiko's perspective
This was like waiting for the results of your test or something. Something bad was going to happen, I thought. I felt a bit tense.
"Kimiko Ik-" Nigel called but I stopped him.
"Kimi," I corrected him. "Just call me Kimi. Please?"
"Okay. Kimi, the Kids Next Door and I have agreed to officially make you as an operative of our group."
I was shocked. "Really? Be a part... of your team? Wow, I don't know what to say..."
"Don't sweat it. You saved the Kids Next Door back there, Kimi," Abby said.
"Yay! Now we have another Asian with us!" Kuki cheered and was about to hug me. I tried to get away.
"Uh, thanks, this is – kaurgh!" Kuki had successfully seized me in her arms. I was gonna DIE FROM HER!!! "Such... an... honor...!" I could feel her ribs breaking until Kuki let go of me.
"However, we want to know whether you wish to join us," Nigel asked.
"...You sound as if joining you will lead to some disadvantages," I managed to speak. Most of the kids agreed to what I said. I could tell by their faces. "It's that bad?"
"Kimi," Abby began. "Once you join Kids Next Door, you'll have to face something once you become decommissioned from it."
This was something. "What do you mean?"
"You'll have your childhood memories erased after you are decommissioned. In joining the Kids Next Door, you're risking the loss of your memories," Nigel explained.
This was a setback. I had never expected this to happen. I was just about to join the coolest amazing team ever only to find out that I could forget all this in the near future. I kept quiet for a while.
"Not only that... if I join you guys, what would become of my folks and the restaurant?" I asked myself.
"What are you saying?" Kuki asked curiously.
I gave a sigh. "... I made a promise to my older sister."
"Older sister? Kimi, you never told me you had one."
"Neither did I tell you I got a little monster for a brother," I groaned. "As I was saying, when my sister left for college, she told me to look after the family while she was gone. She had always looked out for us before she went away. Now I've taking her place. Ever since we lost business in China, I'm trying my best to save our restaurant here..."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to move again... not when I've only started to make friends. And to be friends with you guys, I would like to join you... I want to... But..."
Silence fell again for a very long. A growl muttered behind us. We spun around.
"Oh, crud! You should've finished him off!" Wallabee yelled. Indeed I should have. But I had thought I did.
Knightbrace had regained conscious and was now boiling with fury and irritation like a thermometer bursting from a great heat wave. "That's it! Now you've made me really angry!"
The Kids Next Door backed a few steps away from the approaching mad dental villain but I stood tall.
"You dim-witted little foreign brat! I won't let you get away with this! You and your pathetic honor of battle! Hah!" Knightbrace shouted.
However, as he was eyeing us, probably wanting to strangle each one of us and fix indestructible braces to our teeth, a tall shadowy being crept over him. It quietly seized the cover of a trash bin and held it about his head.
"Who's gonna stop me from doing my own battles?!"
CLANK!
The violet foe fell, once again unconscious. A bump swelled to the size of a grapefruit on his head. We gazed from the out cold enemy to the stranger. We were all shocked when we took one gaze at her.
"I hate people who dishonor in a battle," the stranger said.
A Japanese woman, wearing sharp-rimmed glasses stood there with a smile and the cover in his hands. Over her groovy out-of-the-world clothes was an apron that was covered with paint spills and nestled in its pockets were paintbrushes. She wore jade earrings and a pendant with the symbol of Yin and Yang. She was...
"Mom?" I gasped.
"That's your mom?!" the Kids Next Door said in unison.
"I see now why you took so long, Kimiko," my mom said, tossing away the cover like a Frisbee. I couldn't believe it. She just hit Knightbrace with a trash can cover. "People these day. They have a serpent's tongue and they don't even give a thought to control it properly! We'd better hurry before your father goes pretty upset. You know how he is when he makes meals late. Oh, who are your friends?"
"Oh, these are the Kids Next Door."
"Hello," she greeted with a bow.
"Nice to meet you," Kuki droned.
"And this is my mom, the one who taught me kendo."
"She's the one who taught you kendo?!" the Kids Next Door yelled in astonishment. Seriously, yes, she was the one who taught me kendo when I was eight. Her father was the teacher of kendo in our family. Cool, huh?
"It's so good that you're making friends, Kimiko," she uttered.
"Mom! It's Kimi! Just call me Kimi!" I yelled. What is it with parents?!
"Now, silly, just because your name sounds unique, doesn't mean they're gonna laugh at you every time I say it."
"Mom!!!" This was going a bit too far. I now wished she didn't come to look for me.
"It was nice meeting you all. Time to go, Kimiko."
I gazed back to my newfound friends. I had to go home now. It was getting late and my dad did expect her to bring the spices earlier. "Sorry, guys. Can we talk about this another time? My family always has dinner together. It's a sort of a tradition to my dad."
"Wouldn't mind ya leaving for good," Wallabee mumbled, only to receive glares from his teammates.
"That's okay, Kimi. We understand. We all have family dinners sometimes," Abby said.
"I promise to give you my decision of whether to join you guys when I'm free."
"Okay. How about tomorrow?" Hoagie asked.
"Sorry, but I still have to help my parents out," I admitted.
"The day after?" he asked.
"Same." Pain was stabbing right in my stomach as I looked down at the pavement.
"And the same the next day." I spoke just when Nigel was about to say his question.
"...Now hold a moment, here," my mom suddenly spoke. "We haven't had any customers yet. And the restaurant is still not as lively as we had hoped it would be. But... I don't see why you can't skip work to meet your friends tomorrow. And the day after. And the next. Kimiko... I mean Kimi, will see you again tomorrow. How's that sound?"
Either my mom had a hit on the head or she's gone crazy.
"Mom, what you're saying?" I whispered.
"That sounds great," Abby uttered and then whispered to me. "Your mom is quite cool, Kimi."
"Ah-hee-hee..." I laughed with wide eyes. Cool mom? My mom isn't cool! ...Okay, maybe sometimes but she does do embarrassing things!
"Tomorrow, it is then," Nigel said. "...Wait! Did I just agree with a grown up?!"
"I take you don't trust adults," my mom uttered.
"Well, no, I mean, yes, I mean... some adults are-!"
"Don't worry, I understand. Some adults can be mean in their own ways. Disrespecting children's liberty and wanting them to grow up faster to get to university."
Nigel could not believe what she was saying. An adult understood what he'd meant. He could not find the words to say next, except these. "I can't believe a grown-up just said that."
The grown-up laughed. "Well, I hope you will be great friends to Kimiko. And take care of her in case of trouble. She does have a temper."
"Mooom...!" I growled through her teeth. Why did she have to mention that?! I DON'T HAVE A TEMPER!!!
"It was pleasant meeting you. Goodbye." Yay, she was finally leaving! If she stayed longer, she could have spill out anything bad, like maybe talking about the stuff I did when I was a baby.
"You are quite an unusual adult," Nigel said.
My mom smiled. "And you are all very lively, inspiring, smart kids."
The Kids Next Door all blushed at her comment, appreciating it. All except Wallabee. We soon said our goodbyes and left our different ways. I could have sworn I heard Wallabee mumble, "Good riddance." The others glared back at him.
Vickie: Sorry if this seems mostly just talk. Well except for the hit-the-villain part. I wanted to add more about Kimiko's mom and her reason for allowing her daughter to have fun but this is my limit for each chapter. Cliffhanger for now. The next chapter has a bit of something to do with her mom's past and some unexpected turns. Probably, Kimi might get captured by KND's foes in this next chapter. Who knows. Now on with the reviews.
To Numbuh 111, thanks for your review!
To A. Nonymous, sorry if I had the second chapter in 3rd person view. I was still experimenting around, only to find out that 1st and 3rd person view is needed for my KND fanfics. I hope that is okay. And if the team didn't ask her to join, there wouldn't be the existence of this fanfic. The fact I posted up this and many more to come is that it's about Kimiko and her adventures in KND. Note: she is not going to be the heroine ALL the time. I hope you will understand that without her being in KND, these fanfics will go down the tube. –Cries- And I have thought up a lot of wicked things for her and KND in my fanfics too... waahh... TTTT
I am glad you liked the battle between Kimi & Knightbrace. There will be more actions in future. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and have a good time on your trip.
Now, I like to add something extra in each chapter since I think this chapter may be a little disappointment to you readers. About Kimiko and her family and friends. Each character will have an appearance and purpose in stories to come. Announcing the first few relations.
Hotaru Ikin: Hotaru is the oldest in the family and is currently in college in Hawaii. She has passed the responsibility of looking after the family to Kimiko, as she's the second oldest in line. Unknown to Kimiko and the KND and even her parents, Hotaru is actually a secret agent spy in training. Her training missions are to help kids and teens in trouble around the world, almost like what KND is doing. What organization she's working with is unknown. Her main goal for career is... well a spy, fighting against evil and saving the world. A good teen with a good heart. Her appearance will come in a future fanfic.
Arika Ikin: Arika is the youngest in the family, considered as the monster to Kimiko. Beware of him as he deceives everyone with his innocence while outsmarts them with his intelligence. Only Kimiko can stop him. But can her newfound friends stay up to him? May appear in the third or fourth fanfic.
Kimiko's dad: The chef of Oriental White Sands. Makes great meals and ice-kachang. Appeared in first fanfic.
More relations to come later.