Kuki woke up to the sound of low voices. Her head hurt. A lot. The bright light glaring at her from above wasn't helping, either. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes. Rather she tried to. Her arms, legs, and torso were all strapped to a cold, metal, bed. Suddenly alert, she examined her surroundings. She couldn't see anything past where the light ended. The voices she was hearing belonged to unknown people, hiding in the shadows. She whimpered softly when she saw the large syringes resting on a small table beside her. She tried to squirm out of the bonds anchoring her to the table, wriggling this way and that, to no avail. She remembered being attacked by somebody on the way home from school, and she remembered passing out. She didn't remember anything else after that. Her sharp ears began to pick up on the conversation progressing in the background.
"-the tests confirm that she has a recollection of 0%, sir," someone murmured.
"What does that mean?" asked a cool, female voice.
"Well," responded another voice with a smooth British accent. "That's both good and bad, Numbuh 5." Numbuh 5? thought Kuki. What is going on? Are they using code names or something? Have I been kidnapped by James Bond? Oh my god, that would be so cool. Her attention was drawn out of her thoughts as the third voice continued. "The good news is that the fact that she remembers absolutely nothing is proof that none of the other decommissioned operatives will remember anything. If anybody had the chance of remembering anything at all, my bet would be on Numbuh 3." Who's Numbuh 3?
"So what's the bad news?" asked the girl, this… Numbuh 5.
"It'll be that much more difficult to make her remember," answered the first voice. "Since the recommissioning module was destroyed, all the scientists have been trying to recreate it. Nobody has succeeded. But I think I might have something that could do the trick…" he trailed off. "We'll have to risk it."
"Precisely, Numbuh 2." Numbuh 2. Numbuh 2, Numbuh 3, Numbuh 5. There must be a Numbuh 1 and a Numbuh 4. Kuki wasn't an airhead. She could put together two and two. "This is the only way."
"Right." Kuki squeezed her eyes shut and allowed her body to go limp as the figures moved. She listened as their footsteps advanced towards her.
"She has to be awake for the test, Numbuh 1, doesn't she?" Numbuh 5 asked. Ah. Numbuh 1. Her theory had proven correct. But the real question was, who was Numbuh 1?
"Yes."
"Well, then, wake her up!" There was a slight hesitation before the response finally came.
"Why do I have to wake her up?"
"Because you is the leader! Get a grip!" Her voice echoed. Get a grip, get a grip, get a grip…
"You're second in command! And you knew her better." What? I know these people? Kuki didn't know these people. She didn't recognize their voices, the way they talked, nope, nothing, zada, zilch, zero.
"Oh puh-lease!"
"Will you two shut up?" interrupted Numbuh 2. "I'll do it. Jesus." Kuki held her breath as one pair of footsteps moved even closer to her. She felt a hesitant pat on her shoulder. "Uh… Numbuh 3? Can you hear me?"
"You fool! She doesn't remember who she is!" What, what, what? I'm Numbuh 3?!
"Ah, that's right." The tension in the air was so thick that Kuki could feel it weighing into her bones. "Uh. Hey, Kuki. Wake up." When she didn't respond, Numbuh 2 shook her. She didn't dare move a muscle. Numbuh 2 shook her again, hard. "Kuki, wake up! Uh, guys? I think she's dead."
"Here, lemme try," Numbuh 5 said, shoving Numbuh 2 aside. Kuki felt her prod her stomach lightly. Suddenly, the girl was tickling her. It was unbearable. Despite her greatest efforts, Kuki burst out laughing, squealing and gasping. Kuki Sanban was severely ticklish.
"Okay! Okay, stop… please…" she wheezed, blinking away tears. She opened her eyes. Leaning over her stood three unfamiliar teenagers, observing her curiously. Two boys and the girl, presumably people she knew, people she could trust. No. She didn't know these people. They had kidnapped her, brought her here… Kuki's mind drifted briefly to the syringes resting beside her and shuddered. God knew what they were going to do to her. But… they were just teens. And for God's sake, one of them had tickled her in order to wake her up.
"Ah, that's right. The Numbuh 3 we knew always had a soft spot for being tickled," said Numbuh 1 softly. Kuki contemplated him. He wore a red turtleneck, with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Black denim jeans and… if she looked far enough, she could catch a glimpse of the large combat boots he wore. He was bald. But the most prominent thing were the pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes from view. He leaned against the metal post of the bed. His cool demeanor shouted confidence. Everything about him said I am a leader. And leader he was.
"Mmhmm," responded Numbuh 5 smugly. Kuki gasped in recognition. Dark skin, navy blue top, and that red hat tipped below her forehead, casting her dark eyes into the shadows. Must be her signature style, just like how the sunglasses belonged to Numbuh 1. Now that Kuki thought about it, the other boy had that same attribute- an aviator cap with goggles perched on his forehead. He reminded her vaguely of Ace, and she briefly wondered if they knew each other. Numbuh 2 was tall and lanky, and wore a smart blue dress shirt, sleeves gathered at the elbows, similar to Numbuh 1. Several oil stains covered the front of his jeans, and a large wrench was sticking out of his back pocket. He peered at her curiously, bright blue eyes examining her face as if she were some sort of machine or invention that he was about to experiment on. Well, Kuki supposed, that in fact was the case.
"So Kuki." Numbuh 2 began, clearing his throat. He shifted his weight around, looking extremely uncomfortable. His personality seemed to be in stark contrast compared to Numbuh 1. But what he lacked in poise, he amended with an air of friendliness and openness. Kuki could easily imagine Numbuh 1 as cold and even hostile, but as she surveyed Numbuh 2, it just wasn't possible. Of course, she reminded herself, looks can be deceiving. "So," began Numbuh 2 again. "I have an important question for you." She nodded. "Do you remember any of your friends from your childhood?"
"From my childhood?" she asked incredulously.
"Precisely," he said in a fake British accent, mocking Numbuh 1. The latter cast a glare at his friend.
"Well of course I do!" she exclaimed. But inside, she knew. She knew that these people were on to something about her. But what?
"Could you describe them? We don't want you to tell us their names, just for the sake of privacy," cut in Numbuh 5.
"Yeah, that would be totally creepy," added Numbuh 2.
"Well…" Kuki trailed off. "Uh… There was one boy who always pretended he was the king," she said, blushing. It was hard for her to talk about this. She noticed the three of them glance at each other.
"Sandy," declared Numbuh 5. Numbuh 1 punched her shoulder, shushing her, especially when he saw Kuki's shocked expression.
"Numbuh 5, that was unnecessary," he scolded.
"No! How did you know that? Have you been stalking me since I was a little kid?" Kuki exclaimed,
getting slightly hysterical.
"No!" Numbuh 2 replied. "That would've been totally creepy. Please, continue."
"No. I want you to tell me what you want, first," Kuki commanded.
"Fine," Numbuh 5 said. Numbuh 1 glared at her. "She deserves to know!" And then the three started arguing. Finally, the majority won.
"When you were younger, Kuki- or… shall I say, Numbuh 3," Numbuh 1 began, rubbing his forehead. "You were part of a secret organization that helped fight adult tyranny. It sounds ridiculous, but I'm being honest. It was called the Kids Next Door." Kuki blinked.
"My sister yelled that out at dinner last week."
"Yes, Mushi is currently an operative working in Sector V, our-"
"And your," added Numbuh 5.
"-old Sector." He glanced at her, waiting for a response.
"So I used to be a kid spy, basically?"
"Correct."
"Okay."
"Okay? What do you mean, okay? Are you that ready to accept this?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. You're right. I basically don't remember anything from my childhood. What I did, what my hobbies were, what I liked… nothing." She frowned. "And also, if you're friendly, can you unstrap me from the table if I promise not to run away?" Hastily, Numbuh 2 unbuckled the restraints. Kuki rubbed her wrists as she continued. "But how come you remember and I don't?"
"Well, here's the stupid part. Since this organization is for kids only, at the age of thirteen, we get decommissioned. But, some operatives go undercover as teens. One of the main things they do is infiltrate the Teen Ninjas, who are basically one of the main enemies of the Kids Next Door. Otherwise, there's a ton of other work. The three of us have a special assignment. I would tell it to you, but I need you to promise not to tell a single living soul. The Kuki Sanban we knew never broke a promise."
"The Kuki Sanban you know now never breaks promises either. I swear on my life I won't tell anyone."
"Excellent. Numbuh 2, why don't you explain?"
"Well, recently a splinter cell was discovered in our ranks. It was eliminated, but some top secret info was leaked out. And now we basically have a crisis on our hands. Luckily, we have undercover agents working with some of our enemies as double agents, so we now know beforehand that there is going to be an enormous attack on our secret base. Unfortunately, with our current ranks, the base will be totally wiped out."
"And?"prompted Kuki.
"We need you," said Numbuh 5.
"Why was I decommissioned?" Kuki asked. She didn't really want to hear the answer, for fear of hearing how maybe she hadn't been competent or useful. But instead of looking uncomfortable, the three of them looked relieved at answering such an easy question.
"Actually," began Numbuh 1. "You were supposed to be on our team, along with Numbuh 4, but some idiot left the decommissioning module on. You and Numbuh 4 went after Numbuh 5, because you wanted to stay behind and… uh… talk to each other. And since the recommissioning module was destroyed, there was no way to get you back… until now."
"Who's Numbuh 4?" asked Kuki curiously. Numbuh 5 and Numbuh 1 glanced at each other uneasily.
"We aren't sure we should disclose that information with you yet."
"Oh," was all Kuki could say.
"It's just that we don't want you to get disappointed if we can't convince him to tag along," amended Numbuh 2 gently.
"Is it someone I know?" she questioned. Numbuh 2 hesitated before answering.
"Yeah."
"Is it Ace?" she blurted out. It made total sense. And god, she would be so happy if it was.
"Ace?" Numbuh 2 asked. "Like, aviator jacket? Orange hair?"
"Yeah," she replied, doubtful now.
"No."
"But… you know him?"
"Yeah."
"Is he an operative?"
"No."
"But then how do you know him?
"Kuki."
"What?"
"Focus."
"Right." She sighed.
"We need you to make a very important decision now," Numbuh 1 cut in. He exhaled, rubbing his forehead again. "We need you. We need you to help us. Really, Kuki. Now that we have the means to, we can recommission you. You'll remember everything. I promise." He clasped one of her hands.
"You promise?" she asked, biting her lip.
"We promise," all three of them said at the same time.
"Okay."
"This might hurt a bit," muttered Numbuh 2.
"How many shots do I need?" she asked, motioning towards the unforgotten syringes. Numbuh 2 blinked, confused. He chuckled.
"Those are for a different experiment with how plants grow. There's only various levels of distilled water inside." He pulled out a small circle shaped disc out of his pocket.
"That's it?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Took a while, but it's done now."
"And you said that you're not 100% sure it'll succeed."
"...Yeah."
"What'll happen if it fails?"
"Theoretically, nothing."
"Theoretically."
"...Yeah."
"Okay."
"Okay." Numbuh 2 pushed the circle onto Kuki's forehead, right in the center. He pulled two wires out from under the bed and connected them to the disc, and then pulled out a sleek remote from the chest pocket on his dress shirt. "Brace yourself."
"You promise that this is for real, right?" she murmured, clenching her teeth.
"Promise. And remember, we need you… Numbuh 3."
Then Numbuh 2 pushed the button and Kuki's head splintered into eleventy million pieces.