Chapter 2
Her Highness
"Gatekeeper?"
"Yes, a Gatekeeper," Mimi said simply, "Now, if you would just allow me to call HQ, Kacho would be very happy to help you cope up with your potentials."
Kiko just stood there, befuddled at everything. The girl in front of him, the blue spirals that appeared and the giant worm, everything was still a mystery.
"You can help me by introducing yourself," Kiko told her hopefully.
"It doesn't matter who I am right now," Mimi sighed, "What matters is that I get you to my superiors immediately."
"But it does matter!" Kiko protested, "I don't know why but-"he hesitated for a moment, "I see you in my dreams almost every night and I'm not letting you walk away without knowing the reason why."
Mimi turned away from Kiko, a deep secret weighing in her heart. Yes, she recognized Kiko from the moment she saw him in the street. He was that boy she used to spy on when Kiko's family was still in Morioka. A silly little girl she was then, not knowing what true feelings really meant for her. The moment she laid eyes on Kiko, the whole world seemed to have fallen down on her. She never had a chance to get to know him well either. All she knows is that the day Kiko left for Morioka (which was 10 years ago), she got the chance to give him the thing she had been working on for months, a stuffed teddy bear she had sewn together with patches from her mom's laundry. Then she made a quick escape by running as fast as she could and leaving Kiko befuddled. And she still didn't get to know his name.
"Fine," Mimi breathed deeply, "I'm Mimi Relina Mignonette Renaldi Yagami, fourth year high school in Tokyo University, daughter of the world- famous Takaharu Yagami. Satisfied?"
"Well..." Kiko didn't know if it was right to introduce himself too.
"Since I foresee that we would be working a lot together, I think it would be wise if I'd know your name too," Mimi contained her excitement with her acid look.
"It's Kiko Rokuren Sakuraba, I'm also fourth year at Tokyo University, son of the Merchant of Morioka, Kenji Sakuraba" Kiko gave her a smile which was batted back by Mimi when she gave him an obvious frown, "Does that mean we're friends now?"
"Dream on, Sakuraba" Mimi frowned unpleasantly, "It's my rotten luck that I have you for a classmate."
Huh! As if the girl in my dreams couldn't be any nastier! Kiko thought really disappointed at his first meeting with Miss Yagami. Well, there goes my luck!
Sheesh! What a dufus this guy is! And to think he was a bit cute when I first saw him... was Mimi's thoughts.
"Mimi-chan!!!" called out a bespectacled boy from a van that came to them after a whole minute of confused silence
"Eric!!!" Mimi waved at him cheerily, "I've found us a new Gatekeeper!"
"Good going Mimi!" Eric punched her playfully on the shoulder.
Behind Eric's back, however, Mimi gave Kiko a really disapproving look, the one that involved having your lips pursed together so tightly that they turn really pale. Eric beckoned Kiko into the van and shut the doors tightly.
They drove in an uncomfortable silence, Mimi still pursing her lips, Kiko scratching his head and Eric throwing mischievous glances at both of them.
"Well, are you ready- uh... what's your name again?" Eric asked Kiko.
"Kiko, Kiko Rokuren Sakuraba," Kiko muttered.
They were in Tokyo University. Eric led them into one of the PE Storerooms, which actually was a secret passage under the floorboards. In a minute, Kiko found himself in a room where all the biggest computer screens, high tech weaponry and world-class surveillance systems collided. Sitting in the middle of the room was what the students called as "The vice Principal."
"Kacho!" Mimi saluted.
"This is the new Gatekeeper," Kacho examined the breathless and nervous Kiko, "No doubt he had never heard of the Gatekeepers before, am I correct? Well? Don't jus stand there boy, introduce yourself!"
"M-me?" Kiko gulped, "Well, My full name is Kiko Rokuren Sakuraba and I'm in class 4-A of Tokyo Polytechnic High School. I'm 16 and I'm originally from Morioka."
"Morioka, am I correct?" Kacho looked at Mimi thoughtfully who had begun to chew on her fingernails.
"Uh- you do know that's disgusting, right?" Eric muttered to Mimi under his breath.
"Let me explain Mr. Sakuraba, this Gatekeeper thing is no joke," Kacho told him, "Mimi, would you do the honor of presenting the Gatekeeper history to our young guest here?"
"I am honored," Mimi said sarcastically, "The year was 1969 when the Invaders started to infiltrate the earth. Invaders are aliens from another planet who are here to capture us humans and suck out our brains or do something similar-"
"MIMI!"
"Ok, ok," Mimi snarled, "The thing you saw back there was an example of an Invader run amok. Now, the first Gatekeeper team, Team Aegis, was formed. Now, a Gatekeeper's job is to make sure the earth is not run over by Invaders. What is a Gatekeeper you say? A Gatekeeper is a person who has the ability to open portals to other dimensions and get energy from it to channel into powerful attacks. The spirals you saw back there were what we call the Open Gates. The first Gatekeeper, Ruriko Ikusawa, had the same Gate as I did, The Gate of Life. You had the same Gate as Shun Ukiya, their loyal leader, The Gate of Vacuum. Got all that? Good. Quiz on Friday."
She said all that very fast.
"This is madness," Kiko said simply, "I am not a Gatekeeper, and I'm not paying this school to teach me cheap magic tricks."
"I knew we'd come to this," Kacho laughed, "Mimi believed me when I first-"
"Kacho, I was six."
"I knew you were," Kacho said matter-of-factly, "The point is, Kiko, it's up to you if you believe me and the others or not, it's your choice. But what I'm saying is that what you saw and what you did back there was not a cheap magic trick."
"I'm sorry, you have the wrong guy," Kiko explained, what he couldn't explain, how he did it, "I was Kendo champ, that's why I-"
"Yeah, as if it was a coincidence that you opened a Gate right before you hit that Invader smack in the face," Mimi groaned, "If there's one thing I hate..."
"You always seem to hate everything, Mimi," Eric pointed out.
"Well, you get the idea," Mimi snapped at him, "If you won't join us now then..."
"Mimi, Eric is right," Kacho told her (Kiko's heart leapt at the sight of this nasty girl being told off), "It's not our business if he doesn't want to join us, it's his choice and his right deciding not to. Kiko, I hope you have not completely made up your mind. I see a little of Shun Ukiya in you, doubtful at first but is willing to sacrifice everything for his mom and his little sister Saemi. If you ever want to come back, Team BLITZ is happy to accommodate you."
"I'll think about it," Kiko told them, "But don't expect anything from me."
Kiko made his way up the school where the students were enjoying their lunch period. Mimi came after him, still wearing the disapproving look she wore earlier.
"Kacho said I should show you to your room," Mimi muttered, "Follow me."
She led him up the second floor of the University through each and every staring eye and scorning mouth.
"Hey, I didn't know Her Highness would've a little boyfriend soon enough," said a dark-haired, popular senior standing near the 4A classroom.
"Ignore her," Mimi whispered at Kiko, but she had turned very red, "That's Jira Noriko Rentarou. She's the biggest bakero-saru this school has ever known."
Kiko finally began to laugh but Mimi eyed him dangerously. Jira made her way to Kiko's side and started acting pretty. Kiko raised an eyebrow and followed Mimi into the room.
"This is where I'm sitting," Mimi showed him a seat at the center of the classroom, "You could sit there since no one ever had the guts to sit beside me."
"That's because you're the biggest cakesniffer this school ever had the guts to take in," Jira spat at Mimi.
Mimi's knuckles were now shaking as Kiko took his seat beside her. Jira was now throwing insults at Mimi like hailstorms.
"Don't worry, they're always doing this to me," for the first time ever, Mimi looked as if she was going to burst out of the room and cry.
But she didn't. She sat there and took all of Jira's insults without a word.
"Silence in golden, Your Highness," Jira scowled, "No wonder you haven't got any friends."
That was it. Mimi stood up and marched out from the room, her eyes full of tears. Kiko threw a nasty look at the guffawing Jira and pursued Mimi out of the room. She led him up into the rooftop, where no other students dare to go.
"Oi, are you ok?" Kiko sat down beside the sobbing Mimi and offered her a handkerchief, "You know you shouldn't just sit there and take their insults, and you have to go down fighting if you have to. I thought you would, I thought you were as tough as girls can get."
"I'm not," Mimi told him amidst her tears, "Jira always has her way and she's right about me having no friends, nobody likes to go in the wrong side of Jira. What's use of being the leader at everything and class valedictorian if you don't have any friends?"
"Now that's an insult!" Kiko exclaimed, trying to make Mimi smile, "I thought we were friends."
"I figured you wouldn't be my friend after how I treated you back there," Mimi's voice became halfway between a smile and a sob.
"Well, why did you treat me like that when all you wanted was a friend?" Kiko marveled at how strange this girl could get.
"I- I'm just like that with someone new," the real reason was on the tip of her tongue, but she decided not to tell him at the last second.
"Just one more question," Kiko couldn't contain his curiosity, "Why did Jira call you Your Highness?"
"Well, my mom was supposed to be the Duchess of England," Mimi told him, "But I'm an illegitimate child, so I could never be able to ascend anyone's throne although I am the eldest, let alone go to London. But you know what? I'd love to go to London someday."
"You would?"
"Yup," Mimi looked up into the sky, not a single tear in her eyes anymore and smiling widely, "I'm going to leave this country and live there someday, it's my dream to go there you know. I never told this to anyone before..."
"Well, I see you're smiling now," Kiko said, smiling himself, "Let's go down."
"Hey," Mimi put a hand on Kiko's shoulder, "Kiko- arigato."
Her Highness
"Gatekeeper?"
"Yes, a Gatekeeper," Mimi said simply, "Now, if you would just allow me to call HQ, Kacho would be very happy to help you cope up with your potentials."
Kiko just stood there, befuddled at everything. The girl in front of him, the blue spirals that appeared and the giant worm, everything was still a mystery.
"You can help me by introducing yourself," Kiko told her hopefully.
"It doesn't matter who I am right now," Mimi sighed, "What matters is that I get you to my superiors immediately."
"But it does matter!" Kiko protested, "I don't know why but-"he hesitated for a moment, "I see you in my dreams almost every night and I'm not letting you walk away without knowing the reason why."
Mimi turned away from Kiko, a deep secret weighing in her heart. Yes, she recognized Kiko from the moment she saw him in the street. He was that boy she used to spy on when Kiko's family was still in Morioka. A silly little girl she was then, not knowing what true feelings really meant for her. The moment she laid eyes on Kiko, the whole world seemed to have fallen down on her. She never had a chance to get to know him well either. All she knows is that the day Kiko left for Morioka (which was 10 years ago), she got the chance to give him the thing she had been working on for months, a stuffed teddy bear she had sewn together with patches from her mom's laundry. Then she made a quick escape by running as fast as she could and leaving Kiko befuddled. And she still didn't get to know his name.
"Fine," Mimi breathed deeply, "I'm Mimi Relina Mignonette Renaldi Yagami, fourth year high school in Tokyo University, daughter of the world- famous Takaharu Yagami. Satisfied?"
"Well..." Kiko didn't know if it was right to introduce himself too.
"Since I foresee that we would be working a lot together, I think it would be wise if I'd know your name too," Mimi contained her excitement with her acid look.
"It's Kiko Rokuren Sakuraba, I'm also fourth year at Tokyo University, son of the Merchant of Morioka, Kenji Sakuraba" Kiko gave her a smile which was batted back by Mimi when she gave him an obvious frown, "Does that mean we're friends now?"
"Dream on, Sakuraba" Mimi frowned unpleasantly, "It's my rotten luck that I have you for a classmate."
Huh! As if the girl in my dreams couldn't be any nastier! Kiko thought really disappointed at his first meeting with Miss Yagami. Well, there goes my luck!
Sheesh! What a dufus this guy is! And to think he was a bit cute when I first saw him... was Mimi's thoughts.
"Mimi-chan!!!" called out a bespectacled boy from a van that came to them after a whole minute of confused silence
"Eric!!!" Mimi waved at him cheerily, "I've found us a new Gatekeeper!"
"Good going Mimi!" Eric punched her playfully on the shoulder.
Behind Eric's back, however, Mimi gave Kiko a really disapproving look, the one that involved having your lips pursed together so tightly that they turn really pale. Eric beckoned Kiko into the van and shut the doors tightly.
They drove in an uncomfortable silence, Mimi still pursing her lips, Kiko scratching his head and Eric throwing mischievous glances at both of them.
"Well, are you ready- uh... what's your name again?" Eric asked Kiko.
"Kiko, Kiko Rokuren Sakuraba," Kiko muttered.
They were in Tokyo University. Eric led them into one of the PE Storerooms, which actually was a secret passage under the floorboards. In a minute, Kiko found himself in a room where all the biggest computer screens, high tech weaponry and world-class surveillance systems collided. Sitting in the middle of the room was what the students called as "The vice Principal."
"Kacho!" Mimi saluted.
"This is the new Gatekeeper," Kacho examined the breathless and nervous Kiko, "No doubt he had never heard of the Gatekeepers before, am I correct? Well? Don't jus stand there boy, introduce yourself!"
"M-me?" Kiko gulped, "Well, My full name is Kiko Rokuren Sakuraba and I'm in class 4-A of Tokyo Polytechnic High School. I'm 16 and I'm originally from Morioka."
"Morioka, am I correct?" Kacho looked at Mimi thoughtfully who had begun to chew on her fingernails.
"Uh- you do know that's disgusting, right?" Eric muttered to Mimi under his breath.
"Let me explain Mr. Sakuraba, this Gatekeeper thing is no joke," Kacho told him, "Mimi, would you do the honor of presenting the Gatekeeper history to our young guest here?"
"I am honored," Mimi said sarcastically, "The year was 1969 when the Invaders started to infiltrate the earth. Invaders are aliens from another planet who are here to capture us humans and suck out our brains or do something similar-"
"MIMI!"
"Ok, ok," Mimi snarled, "The thing you saw back there was an example of an Invader run amok. Now, the first Gatekeeper team, Team Aegis, was formed. Now, a Gatekeeper's job is to make sure the earth is not run over by Invaders. What is a Gatekeeper you say? A Gatekeeper is a person who has the ability to open portals to other dimensions and get energy from it to channel into powerful attacks. The spirals you saw back there were what we call the Open Gates. The first Gatekeeper, Ruriko Ikusawa, had the same Gate as I did, The Gate of Life. You had the same Gate as Shun Ukiya, their loyal leader, The Gate of Vacuum. Got all that? Good. Quiz on Friday."
She said all that very fast.
"This is madness," Kiko said simply, "I am not a Gatekeeper, and I'm not paying this school to teach me cheap magic tricks."
"I knew we'd come to this," Kacho laughed, "Mimi believed me when I first-"
"Kacho, I was six."
"I knew you were," Kacho said matter-of-factly, "The point is, Kiko, it's up to you if you believe me and the others or not, it's your choice. But what I'm saying is that what you saw and what you did back there was not a cheap magic trick."
"I'm sorry, you have the wrong guy," Kiko explained, what he couldn't explain, how he did it, "I was Kendo champ, that's why I-"
"Yeah, as if it was a coincidence that you opened a Gate right before you hit that Invader smack in the face," Mimi groaned, "If there's one thing I hate..."
"You always seem to hate everything, Mimi," Eric pointed out.
"Well, you get the idea," Mimi snapped at him, "If you won't join us now then..."
"Mimi, Eric is right," Kacho told her (Kiko's heart leapt at the sight of this nasty girl being told off), "It's not our business if he doesn't want to join us, it's his choice and his right deciding not to. Kiko, I hope you have not completely made up your mind. I see a little of Shun Ukiya in you, doubtful at first but is willing to sacrifice everything for his mom and his little sister Saemi. If you ever want to come back, Team BLITZ is happy to accommodate you."
"I'll think about it," Kiko told them, "But don't expect anything from me."
Kiko made his way up the school where the students were enjoying their lunch period. Mimi came after him, still wearing the disapproving look she wore earlier.
"Kacho said I should show you to your room," Mimi muttered, "Follow me."
She led him up the second floor of the University through each and every staring eye and scorning mouth.
"Hey, I didn't know Her Highness would've a little boyfriend soon enough," said a dark-haired, popular senior standing near the 4A classroom.
"Ignore her," Mimi whispered at Kiko, but she had turned very red, "That's Jira Noriko Rentarou. She's the biggest bakero-saru this school has ever known."
Kiko finally began to laugh but Mimi eyed him dangerously. Jira made her way to Kiko's side and started acting pretty. Kiko raised an eyebrow and followed Mimi into the room.
"This is where I'm sitting," Mimi showed him a seat at the center of the classroom, "You could sit there since no one ever had the guts to sit beside me."
"That's because you're the biggest cakesniffer this school ever had the guts to take in," Jira spat at Mimi.
Mimi's knuckles were now shaking as Kiko took his seat beside her. Jira was now throwing insults at Mimi like hailstorms.
"Don't worry, they're always doing this to me," for the first time ever, Mimi looked as if she was going to burst out of the room and cry.
But she didn't. She sat there and took all of Jira's insults without a word.
"Silence in golden, Your Highness," Jira scowled, "No wonder you haven't got any friends."
That was it. Mimi stood up and marched out from the room, her eyes full of tears. Kiko threw a nasty look at the guffawing Jira and pursued Mimi out of the room. She led him up into the rooftop, where no other students dare to go.
"Oi, are you ok?" Kiko sat down beside the sobbing Mimi and offered her a handkerchief, "You know you shouldn't just sit there and take their insults, and you have to go down fighting if you have to. I thought you would, I thought you were as tough as girls can get."
"I'm not," Mimi told him amidst her tears, "Jira always has her way and she's right about me having no friends, nobody likes to go in the wrong side of Jira. What's use of being the leader at everything and class valedictorian if you don't have any friends?"
"Now that's an insult!" Kiko exclaimed, trying to make Mimi smile, "I thought we were friends."
"I figured you wouldn't be my friend after how I treated you back there," Mimi's voice became halfway between a smile and a sob.
"Well, why did you treat me like that when all you wanted was a friend?" Kiko marveled at how strange this girl could get.
"I- I'm just like that with someone new," the real reason was on the tip of her tongue, but she decided not to tell him at the last second.
"Just one more question," Kiko couldn't contain his curiosity, "Why did Jira call you Your Highness?"
"Well, my mom was supposed to be the Duchess of England," Mimi told him, "But I'm an illegitimate child, so I could never be able to ascend anyone's throne although I am the eldest, let alone go to London. But you know what? I'd love to go to London someday."
"You would?"
"Yup," Mimi looked up into the sky, not a single tear in her eyes anymore and smiling widely, "I'm going to leave this country and live there someday, it's my dream to go there you know. I never told this to anyone before..."
"Well, I see you're smiling now," Kiko said, smiling himself, "Let's go down."
"Hey," Mimi put a hand on Kiko's shoulder, "Kiko- arigato."