Chapter Two: Look Before You Leap
Two days later Yomiko was standing in front of Joker's desk in the British Library. Joker was rubbing his face, clearly agitated. Yomiko had just created and brought a new problem to him; with the rest of his workload leering at him Joker couldn't afford to set aside more time for this.
"Do you realize how much trouble you've caused?" Joker demanded irately. "It took five hours between me and Mr. Gentleman to settle STN down and even more to compensate for the two men you killed! Your Government Craft User designation barely saved you from them!"
"Joker-san, they were trying to kill her!" Yomiko argued, her voice passionate. "It was an act of self-defence!"
"Yomiko, I know you mean to do the right thing, but you cannot interfere whenever you feel like it," Joker said. He looked up at his agent. "STN is a very powerful group and trying to do what is right."
"What about me?" Yomiko demanded. "What about when Donny came for me?"
"That was a different matter altogether," Joker snapped, sitting up suddenly. "You were to be trained as the next Paper Master. As for the girl you...'rescued'," he continued, hesitating over the verb choice, "you must take her back to Tokyo at once." Joker ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sure her parents are worried."
"Joker-san!" Yomiko protested. "She will be killed if she returns to Japan!"
"She certainly cannot stay here!" retorted Joker angrily. "What do you intend for us to do with her?"
"Take her in!" Yomiko yelled back. "Train her as a Special Agent. You have ones that don't use powers like me."
"No one is available to train...her." Joker paused, thinking.
"Ah, Joker-san?"
"STN-J was attempting to capture her, were they not?" It was a statement, not a question. "Then she clearly has a power worth worrying over. And since you've mastered your power..."
Yomiko was a bit slow on the uptake. "I don't see your point, Joker-san."
"My point, The Paper," Joker said patiently, "is that you must train her to be a field agent."
"M-m-ME?!" Yomiko flailed. "Teach THAT? Teach WHAT?"
"You are a teacher by profession, The Paper," Joker reminded her.
"World history!" Yomiko protested, backpedalling furiously. "Literature!"
"Yomiko, at this moment no one else is available to train her," Joker said. As an afterthought he added, "I would be able to cover your expenses."
"Expenses?"
"Anything you buy while training this girl will be paid for by us." Joker smiled at Yomiko's happy, then guilty look. "Don't feel bad. I have a feeling that this might be an education for all of us."
Yomiko pumped a fist determinedly. "I'll...I'll do my best!"
Hisaki Ito, age thirteen, citizen of Japan and wanted target of STN's Japanese division, sat on a bench outside Joker's office, desperately attempting a casual eavesdrop. She had been suspicious about someone following her, ever since a downtown bar somehow managed to catch fire. A small confrontation between her and three others had escalated and, well, the rest of the story wrote itself.
Yomiko Readman was a very strange lady, if not flat out insane. In a matter of hours she had put Hisaki on a private plane straight to London, no questions asked. The woman had been very polite and cheerful, but showed hesitation when explaining her actions.
And she absolutely loved books. Walking into the secret level of the British Library had rendered the woman speechless. Hisaki, on an afterthought, had been stunned as well: gigantic bookshelves simply stole her awe. It was like a whole new world existed, just for the book lovers of the planet.
Then what was she doing here, Hisaki asked herself. She stared at her palms. Were they working with the men in black coats? If they were, why had Readman-san gone through extraordinary lengths to rescue her? Hisaki's brown eyes lit up when she recalled the woman's magic. Paper magic. It must be amazing, to be able to do so much with such an ordinary thing.
The door opened and Hisaki looked up to see Readman-san. The woman looked pensive, as though something was bothering her.
"Readman-san?" Hisaki asked cautiously.
"Ah?" Yomiko's head jerked up, then settled for a smile. "Hisaki-san, please call me Yomiko. And we need to talk."
That, Hisaki had learned quite quickly, meant that whatever Yomiko or another official of the British Library said was about to be passed as law on her. Hisaki was getting annoyed at all these adults taking charge of her life, but if they didn't she would more than likely be dead.
"Not here," Yomiko continued. "I have a...house, to stay at. I'll talk when we walk there, it's a long walk." Hisaki didn't argue; it was obvious this was bothering Yomiko too much for Hisaki to try and talk around.
The two girls left the British Library and caught a bus to the edge of town. Yomiko didn't say anything during the ride, but when they got off and started to walk through a field Yomiko broke her silence.
"Hisaki-san, you can't go back to Japan for a while," Yomiko said. "The...people who were hunting for you, they will likely try to...catch you if you go back." Hisaki nodded; she had been expecting that.
"On the other hand...why were they looking for you?"
Hisaki stopped short. "I'm not telling you."
"Hisaki-san, please do not try my patience right now. That organization does not hunt people out of sheer amusement."
"Look," Hisaki said huffily, "I appreciate you saving my life and all, but I'm not going to divulge a thing about why they wanted me."
Yomiko sighed and shook her head. "I am warning you, Hisaki. Tell me why they wanted you."
"Make me."
Faster than Hisaki could blink The Paper held an index card to the side of Hisaki's throat, hovering just over a major artery.
"You know what I can do with paper," Yomiko said in a clipped voice. "You have an ability that is dangerous enough to have STN-J try and capture you. I cannot let you loose because you may only generate more problems. Either you tell me what your power is or I make sure nobody finds out."
"You wouldn't," gasped Hisaki. She stared at Yomiko. The girl had never seen Yomiko so cold before and suddenly she realized just how serious the carefree woman could be.
"I will. Now talk."
"Fire!" Hisaki babbled frantically, feeling the edge of the paper press against her skin. "They...some boys cornered me a week ago, and I was yelling at them, and suddenly I was throwing fire and I don't know how PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I don't know, it just happened, and I did it again and - "
"How do you throw fire?" Yomiko asked curiously. She lowered the card.
"Um..." Hisaki looked away, then turned and flicked her wrist. A thread of gold fire unfurled from her palm, extending outwards. After a few feet the thread broke, extinguishing the flame before it fell into the grass.
"Can you light things on fire with that?" Yomiko asked.
"Yes," Hisaki answered. She looked uneasy. "But it's stronger when I'm angry."
Yomiko held out her index card to the side. "Hit this."
Hisaki frowned, then threw out her hand again. The gold thread shot out to lash at the card. Immediately the card began to burn; with a twitch of Yomiko's fingers the fire went out, leaving behind a smouldering card.
"You'll need to practise this," Yomiko said thoughtfully. She tucked the burned card into her vest and started to walk away; Hisaki hurried to catch up. "I'll be training you in your power. When you're strong enough, the British Library will hire you as an agent and you'll be protected from STN-J."
"An agent?" Hisaki asked eagerly. "Like a secret agent from those spy movies? That's so cool! Are you one - "
"IT IS SERIOUS," Yomiko snapped, spinning on her heel suddenly. Hisaki ran straight into Yomiko's chest and was greeted by Yomiko's furious face. "Being an Agent is a serious matter. It is not fun. It is not 'cool'. And more likely than not, you will be sacrificing something. Do not treat it like a joke. Have I made myself clear?"
Hisaki swallowed. "Yes, Yomiko-sensei." Yomiko quirked an eyebrow at the title.
"Sensei?"
"Well, you're teaching me something, right?"
"I guess..." Yomiko sighed as she turned around to keep walking, Hisaki hurrying to catch up. Personal emotions kept flaring up whenever she talked to Hisaki - was she being too hard on this girl? Hisaki was reminding her of her sudden introduction to the British Library. Was she doing the right thing, trying to train someone whose abilities naturally didn't mix with her own? The agitated agent ran a hand through her hair, thinking it through.
"That's the house we'll be staying at," Yomiko said after a while. She pointed out a one-storey house off to the side of the path. It was run-down and the white paint was peeling, but the front porch looked new and the windows recently cleaned. Hisaki thought that it looked a bit old, but compared to all the apartment buildings back in Tokyo this house looked like one of those mysterious dwellings sought out in storybooks. Yomiko led Hisaki up the steps and with a piece of twisted paper unlocked and opened the door. Inside the house was furnished with wood and whitewash, with a sparse amount of furniture.
"This is your room," Yomiko said after leading Hisaki down the narrow hall and opening one of the doors at the end. A plain and serviceable bedroom, with a hardwood floor and white walls. Bed, desk, chair and dresser. The bed had a fluffy down comforter and large pillows; next to it was a nightstand with a lamp. A half-open folding door revealed an empty closet. "Tomorrow we can go shopping for anything you need. I need to restock the food, anyway.
"Ah, and ground rules." Hisaki looked up at Yomiko, curious. "You do not go into my bedroom, and you do not go downstairs."
"Why?"
"Because." The look in Yomiko's eyes was enough for Hisaki to nod in agreement.
"Good. I'll make some dinner."
Yay! Reviews! I'm so happy! But I feel kind of bad demanding them when within twelve hours of posting I get two. Anyway. If anyone has any specific questions, I'll answer them down here.
I don't like throwing random Japanese into English fanfics. It just sounds...strange, especially when I don't know Japanese. On the other hand, I can't imagine Yomiko without her 'ano's and '-san's and whatever, so only Yomiko gets to keep the Japanese-isms. Er, and I guess Hisaki does too. 'Cause they're Japanese. And stuff. (This excuse stalled on me.)
I also loathe this QuickEdit thing for I'm very particular about the spacing in my HTML and it always frustrates me when it doesn't work properly
Finally, thank you for the reviews! ::bows politely::
Reviews liked. Constructive criticism loved.
Monday, December 6, 2004