“Let me ask you something, Syameimaru.” Ryu said, tapping a finger on his desk. “If you were an editor, and you sent an intern to do a light, 500-word review of a club, and she came back to work the next day some time after lunch, without an article, what would you do?”
Aya's head was throbbing, and her eyes still stung a bit, even after rinsing her contacts. “Ask her if everything was alright?”
Ryu nodded and waved his hand. “Yes, OK, then?”
Aya didn't know where Ryu was going with this, but she answered honestly. “Ask her if she enjoyed herself at the club?”
“Hilarious. Consider this your first warning, Aya. You get three. After that, you're gone. Understand?”
Aya bowed politely. “Forgive my irresponsibility. Should I get started on the article now?”
“If it's not too much trouble.” Ryu sighed.
“Will do!” Aya smiled, and walked back to her desk.
Aya sat down at her desk, trying to ignore her headache, and plugged her dictaphone into the USB port behind the computer tower under her desk. When she rose back up, she saw Hideaki approaching, a knowing smile on his face.
“So,” he said. “Arriving late, in the same clothes you wore last night, eh? Have a fun night?” Hideaki took a long sip of his tea.
“Oh, definitely.” Aya said. “This amazing band played at the club. The guitarist was just incredible. I went back to their place afterwards and stayed the night.”
Hideaki raised his eyebrows. “Well! That was unexpected. I was just making a joke. You're pretty candid, aren't you?”
Aya detected an undertone in Hideaki's words that she didn't quite understand. “How do you mean?”
“You know, meeting someone, going back to their place, having fun … ?”
Aya blinked. “Right?”
Hideaki took another sip of tea, then nodded. “We're talking about two completely different things, aren't we?”
“I think we are.”
“Yeah. Well, I better get back to-”
“No, wait. What are you talking about?”
Hideaki hesitated. “I was just making a stupid joke. It was pretty out of line of me, actually, and really none of my business. I often shove my foot in my mouth, though. Just forget I brought it up.”
“Hideaki, please. Just say it. Whatever the joke was, I promise not to get angry with you. Alright?”
Hideaki moved his tea from one hand to the other. “OK, look, I was just making a joke about one-night stands, that's all. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I was actually going to congratulate you on getting lucky so soon after moving to town. But I'm guessing nothing like that happened, I'm an idiot, and the embarrassment is all mine.”
Aya furrowed her brow as she listened, nodding. After a few beats: “Oh! You're talking about sex, aren't you?”
Hideaki cocked his head, considering this response. “Aya, do you mind if I ask you a personal question? And please, feel free to tell me to go jump off a bridge if I'm overstepping here.”
“Of course.” Why was he being so serious all of a sudden?
He sat down at the edge of her desk, and leaned in a bit. “You've never had a … boyfriend, have you?” he asked quietly.
Aya shook her head. “No, I don't think I have.”
Hideaki nodded. “That's what I thought. Could I give you some advice, speaking from a man's point of view?”
“I suppose.”
“Men in the city are a bit different from the ones you might be used to in your small town. Everything in the city moves at a faster pace, and that includes dating. Don't let that pressure you, alright? If you're not ready, you're not ready. Any guy who respects you will understand this. OK?”
Aya smiled. “That's very good to know, actually, thank you.” She made a mental note to include something about courtship rituals in Bunbunmaru.
Hideaki seemed pleased. “Alright then.” He rose from her desk. “Guess I'll let you get to work now.”
“OK.” Aya nodded. She turned back to her monitor as he walked away.
By mid-afternoon, her article on the club was finished and she was nearly done with the police blotter, too. However, the headache she woke up with was only getting worse.
“Aya,” Ryu called. “Come over here a moment.”
Aya rose and walked to Ryu's desk, where he was reading his monitor. The tengu expected Ryu to have a problem with her article on the Indiscreet Cat – she more or less ignored the assignment, writing mostly about the band. Aya stood at Ryu's desk, prepared to defend her decision.
“You called?”
“Yeah … got a job for you,” Ryu said, distracted, still reading the monitor. “There's going to be a press conference at city hall in half an hour. The Transportation Committee chairman is going to unveil their new light rail plan. I need you to cover it.”
Aya brightened. “Of course! I'd be happy to-”
“500 words,” Ryu continued. “Take down the good bits of his statement. Get some photos, too. Also take down questions and answers between other reporters and the chairman.”
“Can I ask questions, too?”
Ryu looked up. “What would you ask, Aya?”
The tengu smiled. “I won't know until I hear what they have to say about the train, will I?”
Ryu nodded. “Alright. Sure, if questions come to mind, go on and ask.”
“You got it.” Aya waited for Ryu to say something about the article on the club.
“Anything else?” Ryu asked.
“Did you get my article?”
“The one on the club? Yeah, I got it.” Aya waited. Seeing she wanted feedback, Ryu continued. “You spent a lot of time on the band. A bit too much for a review of a club. But as a concert review? Yeah, it wasn't bad. Made me want to hear this band, anyway. You do interviews pretty well. Photos weren't bad, either.”
“Thank you.” Aya smiled. “I wanted to capture the almost ethereal tones of their-”
“Syameimaru. Press conference.”
“Right,” said the tengu, hurrying back to her desk.
“Try and make it back today, if you don't mind,” Ryu called after her. “As a little favor, for me, alright?”
Standing in a throng of other reporters in front of city hall, Aya could not help but smile. In this crowd, dictaphone and camera in hand, she was just another reporter. It made her content to know she could chameleonize like this, hiding in plain sight.
If only the headache would go away. It had only been getting stronger throughout the day. She knew it couldn't be from the sake she had at the café. As a tengu, only oni outclassed her in terms of tolerance to alcohol. She closed her eyes, taking a long, deep breath. Even her ears were ringing. What was this?
Suddenly, the group of reporters pushed forward, cameras flashing. The city officials had come out. Aya ducked under the shoulders of the men in front of her and quickly pushed her way to the front of the group. She ignored the murmurs of disapproval as she crouched at the front of the crowd, dictaphone switched on as she snapped photos.
“Ladies and gentlemen, members of the press,” began a man in a dull gray suit. Two smiling young women had wheeled out a table draped in a white cloth, and stood next to him. “It is my great pleasure to present you: our city's new light rail system.”
The women drew the cloth back. Aya, anticipating the crowd, quickly zoomed the shot and scooted forward a bit, snapping a string of shots of the model train.
Aya's headache began to throb, her ears ringing louder. The man droned on, but Aya couldn't pay attention. Fortunately the dictaphone was doing the listening for her. She could feel a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, and extending down her back. Her breathing started to get shallow.
The reporters were asking questions now. Despite how awful she felt, Aya saw she had a chance to prove herself. Taking a deep breath, ignoring the growing pain in her head, she spoke up.
“Excuse me,” she cut in, interrupting another reporter. “But why does the city need this train?” Her vision was starting to blur a little now, and she was starting to feel dizzy.
“Light rail,” the man corrected. “I'm glad you asked that question. The fact is -”
Aya waited for the man to stop talking. It was all she could do to keep from collapsing. When at last he finished answering her question, he took two more questions from other reporters before thanking the press. With that, the reporters began to disperse.
It took great effort just for her to turn around and put one foot in front of the other. She managed to make it halfway down the block before the contents of her stomach rose up, spilling onto the sidewalk.
This had never happened to her before, and it surprised her to see. She felt embarrassed, but no one reacted to the event beyond furtively stepping around the puddle. Aya took a few deep breaths and pressed on, headed for the office.
What could have brought this on? she wondered. Her diet hadn't changed since she moved to the outside world: water, fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, and the occasional sake. She'd even taken care to never drink tap water, even if the price of all those bottles added up. Whatever it was, she'd never felt this awful before. All she wanted to do was curl into a ball and go to sleep. But she couldn't. She had an assignment to finish. Aya pressed on.
By the time she got to the office, the tengu's headache was rising and falling in waves. Each time it rose, her vision blurred and tunneled, the ringing in her ears became a roar, and her legs weakened.
“Back,” she stammered as she walked past Ryu's desk. He nodded without looking up from his keyboard, intent on his typing. Aya made her way to her desk, and sat down heavily. She felt nauseous again. Fighting it back, she plugged the dictaphone into the computer tower, opened a text file, put on the headphones and began to type. The going was slow, as the position of the keys kept swaying left and right. She took deep breaths, trying to concentrate.
“Aya?” Hideaki said, tapping her on the shoulder. “You're as white as a sheet. Are you feeling alright?”
Aya shook her head. “I've got … to finish this article.”
Hideaki frowned, putting the inside of his wrist to her forehead. “You're burning up. What are you doing here?”
“Ryu said.” Aya took another deep breath. “Ryu said to cover the press conference.”
Hideaki scowled. “Turn off your computer. Go home.” He then turned from her, striding to Ryu's desk. “Hey, old man! Is this how we treat our interns now?” he said, pointing at Aya.
Ryu looked at Aya, then Hideaki. “What's your problem?”
“Don't you see how sick she is? You sent her to cover a press conference like that? Eh? Are you punishing her for being late or something?”
“Wait, hang on.” Ryu stood, defensive. “She was fine when she left. And where do you get off talking to-”
“You haven't changed since university, you know that? Same old stubborn Ryu.”
Ryu was fuming. “Don't think that just because we're friends that you can just shout accusations at me like that.” Then he saw Aya approaching his desk – deathly pale, sweating, eyes glazed. Ryu was taken aback by the sight of her. “Aya ...”
“I'm sorry,” she said hoarsely. “I'm … not feeling very well. I think I need to go home.”
“Mm.” Ryu nodded in agreement.
“You just take care of yourself,” Hideaki told her. “Come back when you're feeling better. Some things are more important than work.” He looked sideways at Ryu.
“Thank you. I'm sorry,” Aya said, and headed for the door.
Hideaki looked at Ryu, shaking his head.
“She wasn't like that when she left,” Ryu insisted. “You think I'm some kind of monster or something?”
Hideaki smirked. “Only on your good days,” he said, and gave him a clap on the shoulder before returning to his desk.
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