I shuffled in my seat slightly and stood back up. After what had just happened, I couldn’t just sit still and calm. I stood behind Charlotte’s chair, placing a hand gently on her shoulder, and stared at Rin, waiting for his explanation. But as Rin drew his breath, I was struck by inspiration. “Of course!” I blurted out, before I could stop myself. “It all makes sense! Rikku needed your guidance, meaning she wasn’t sure of the plan, and then when Charlotte turned to leave, you nodded slightly and don’t say you didn’t, I saw it, you tipped your head forward and you moved your hand, just as Charlotte gave a thumbs-up.” Brother looked at me in surprise, and I blushed slightly. “Anyway. Carry on.” Rin smiled and laughed softly. “You see, we needed to make sure you could handle yourself in any situation we threw at you. If the client was attractive, that shouldn’t stop you doing your duty. If the client uses force, you should use force back. Charlotte has shown perfect missionary skills. And you, in your outburst, have shown your ability to work things out from the tiniest details.”
Charlotte looked up at me and grinned slightly, but I fixed my stony glare back on Rin’s calm features. “So what does this mean?” Rikku positively jumped. “Oh Emm Gee! For someone so, like, smart and stuff, you are SO slow! Don’t you, like, get it? You’re like, one of us! Or… would that be two?” Rin waved her aside and brought himself back into the conversation. “We would like you to join us. There are a few matters to attend to first- Your lodging, your clothing, your family and…” Rin sighed. “Your names.” Rikku began clapping and shouting “Yay!” and people turned to look, but Rin remained calm. “All will be explained if you come here…” Here Rin paused to write on a small scrap of paper, “At eight pm tonight. Just relax. The man at the door will say something as you walk up to the door. Listen for the phrase ‘The forests of Timber sure have changed!’ and you will know you have reached the right place. To enter, you must reply ‘But the Owls are still around.’ The man will let you in. Is that clear?”
I nodded, and squeezed Charlotte’s shoulder gently. “Crystal. We’ll head back then. Meet you there.” Charlotte stood to follow me and we walked away. Charlotte questioned me as we walked, and I answered her queries in monotone. I was thinking too hard… Lodging, that meant we’d be staying with them. Clothing, we’d either have uniforms, or have to change our fashion, not happy about that. Family, Mum and our sister would be informed as to our decision. Names… could that mean Code Names? I was unsure. We arrived back at the hotel and entered our room. I fell back on the bed and sighed gently. This was quite a day.
As we wandered back to the hotel, I threw random questions out. I wasn’t realising I was even speaking, and yet Steven was answering, so I must have been. His voice was automatic and dull; almost robotic – and I knew he must be thinking as hard as I was. I wondered what this place we had to go to tonight would be like – was it an Al Bhed only place? Would there be lots of people, or just the five of us, like today? I was getting a headache from all the questions pounding on my skull, so I curled up into a ball on my bed, trying to clear my mind. But it wasn’t working; as usual. “I…” I started to speak, but I didn’t know what to say and gave up. Steven didn’t even look at me. I spent the next few hours pacing the room, allowing the thoughts to consume my head.
Eventually, it got to seven o’clock and Steven stood up. I stopped moving straight away to look at him. “I guess we should go,” he said, and I nodded, tugging my boots on again. The wind outside was strong, and Steven kept shivering violently, but it just passed over me with no effect. When we got to the address Rin had provided, Steven sneezed as he reached out to knock. “The forests of Timber sure have changed!” emanated a gruff voice, and Steven coughed slightly before replying as instructed. The door swung open and I stepped forward, pulling Steven along behind me.
Down some chrome steps inside was another thick door, and through that was a packed room with a wooden bar serving drinks and tables dotted around, sporting Al Bhed on three-legged stools. Spotlights were buried in the floor. The overwhelming warmth only served to increase my headache, but Steven smiled gladly to be out of the biting cold. He rubbed his hands together furiously, and a little of the yellow tint in his face dissipated, giving way to the usual white. “Oh, how awesome! You totally turned up, and like, right on time and everything!” Rikku’s shrill squeal reached us from the other side of the room, so we threaded towards her, filtering through the knot of Al Bhed.
Rin greeted us with a nod, and motioned for us to sit with him, Rikku and Brother. I felt a sudden surge of dizziness, so I slid down next to Rikku. Steven scanned the room twice before slipping down next to me. I smiled comfortingly at him, before turning my gaze to Rin, who was politely waiting to speak.
Rin’s thick, Sanubian accent became apparent to my thawing ears. “I’m glad you have come. We have many things to discuss. Firstly, your family. Your mother and sister will be informed of your decision tomorrow evening. Your sister will, due to her age, merely be told you are leaving on a school visit. It will be up to your mother how she decides to inform your friends. Secondly, your lodgings. Your stay at the hotel will be suspended, and you shall live with Rikku, Brother and I. There is a small apartment building on the corner of this street, number 29. That is where we stay. It looks modest on the outside, but inside it is far more enjoyable than the hotel you are staying at.”
I smiled. Rin had practically read my mind: I’d been very unhappy with our room at the hotel, and couldn’t wait to move on, the sooner the better. The thought of a warm fireplace and comfortable bedding wafted into my mind like the scent of hot chocolate… and I almost missed Rin’s next sentence. “Thirdly, your clothing. As spies, it is better for you to dress according to your personality, as you are currently, to blend in with those around you. However, in group meetings, we require that you wear formal clothing. For you, Steven, this will consist of a Tuxedo, and Charlotte, you will be required to wear a floor-length dress in a colour of your choice. All this will be paid for in advance, and Brother will accompany you on your trip to buy these.”
Charlotte smiled gently at the mention of the dresses and I was looking forward to the dress code as well. A Tuxedo… I’ve looked good in those before, and combined with a crimson shirt… I’d look quite smart. Charlotte and I could pass for a couple in any situation, we could simply look like we were going to the Prom together. The perfect disguise. “Lastly, I come to the most important, if irritating, point of discussion. Your names can remain the same in present company, but in public and missions we will require you to have Code Names. These can be anything you wish, from a simple other identity to an animal. As it is your identity, you may choose these. Do you wish to decide now, or later?” Rin smiled at me politely and I turned to Charlotte.
“What do you think, Charlotte? Ready to decide? I’m certain of mine, it just seems so obvious to me. I dunno… it just popped straight into my head. What do you think? You think… HE will be the right choice?” Charlotte looked at me strangely for a second, before smiling widely. “Oh I knew it! Well, you do look like him, and his entire persona is just… so you, so go for it! I need a little more time to decide mine… I think I’ve got one, but I’m not sure. Just get yours sorted while I think of mine, okay?” I nodded and turned to Rin, his eyes gleaming, and Rikku hopping up and down excitedly behind him. “I’ve decided on my Code Name. It just makes so much sense to me. I’ll be on the Intelligence side of missions, right? So… from now on, my code name… is L.”
I laughed when Steven announced his code name; made total sense. He was really into the whole L thing, and if you looked at him in the dark, squinting a little, he looked just like him! “Okay then,” I announced, “if you’re L, then I’ll be Misa!” Steven chuckled, “Yeah, figured you’d do that.” I smiled, and Rin nodded. “Okay then. Do you want a drink or should we just go to the flat?” I was all set to order a drink – something fruity and alcoholic – but Steven spoke first. “It’s illegal for us to drink, and we’re both really tired. I think we should go back, please.” He had said it politely, but there was clearly no argument allowed. Rin nodded once more, and clicked his fingers. A man in a dark suit with aviator sunglasses appeared by his side immediately, and Rin rose. The rest of us followed suit.
Outside of the club, a silver stretch Aston Martin purred into view, its bonnet polished to perfection. I sighed gently at its majestic beauty, resisting the heavy urge to stroke it. Steven clambered into the back and I followed him, clumsily bashing my foot on the way in. The journey to the flat didn’t take long, and as I tumbled out of the car I gazed up at the building. As Rin had said, it looked fairly modest; although it spiralled upwards a great amount, it didn’t have many windows and was simply bricked.
Inside, we followed Brother up the many flights of stairs, Steven bombarding Rin with questions in front of me and Rikku. “So how will we get our things?” Rin laughed and answered, “I have already taken the liberty of sending someone to pick up your things. He will also check out of your room and settle the bills.” I turned to Rikku. “I wish I’d raided the mini fridge in that case,” I joked. She laughed until tears flowed from her eyes and she had to support herself on the banister. Looking around nervously, I muttered, “It wasn’t that funny.” I decided then that Rikku would be quite hard to get on with. I would try to keep my distance from her, I figured.
Eventually we reached the top floor, and I gathered that it was the penthouse apartment we were after. As we walked across the landing to the door, solid and oaken, I noticed a pair of metallic silver doors to the side. And then I noticed the button panel next to it. I crumpled to the floor, and Brother jumped over protectively. As Charlotte fell into view, I heard her concerned voice calling out, “Steven? What’s wrong?” I shuddered. Pointed to the doors. “We walked all this way… and there was a damn elevator!” Brother helped me up, my legs shaking with weariness, and Rin walked over, patting my shoulder comfortingly. “Sorry about that. It’s just that we need to remain in shape, taking the elevator would make us lazy.”
Rin opened the penthouse apartment door and stood back to let us through. I walked in, my eyes closed from tiredness, and heard Charlotte gasp behind me. Upon hearing that, I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. With perfect anime precision, my jaw dropped, my eyes widening in synch. I gazed around the room, and any doubts I had were erased from my mind. The large room (or, rather, huge, explosively enormous room) was furnished just like a student’s lodgings, with modern, artistic furniture and a lack of clutter. Every surface sparkled, every ornament was perfectly arranged, and the floor-length windows let in the light shining from the city streets beyond.
I walked forward slowly, and without asking sat down on the inviting crimson sofa. I sank slightly, sighing, and crossed my legs. Opening my right eye, I saw Rin grinning down at me. “I could get used to this.” Rin laughed gently and the others came and sat down nearby. Charlotte was positively giggling with excitement. I sighed once more, sinking further back, and frowned. “Okay… I’m really tired, I hate to be a bore but where do we sleep?” Rin pointed to a corridor to the left of the entrance and Brother grunted slightly. “Third on the left.”
I stood up, yawned and stretched. “I’m gonna call Julian, then I’ll go to bed.” Charlotte nodded, but Rin looked at me quizzically. Noting his puzzled expression, I said “My boyfriend.” And started walking away. Rin called after me. “You know what we said about trust?” I waved back. “I know, I won’t tell him a thing. Don’t worry.” I reached the doorway, leaning back against it, and waved. “Night everyone!”
