Humans (Chuuya Nakahara x reader)

11: Malaise

"Who are you?"
"If I tell you... I'll die"
"But-"
"I'm sorry"
—
I opened my eyes.

Another nightmare.

Somehow this time it didn't feel like a dream. It felt as if I was re-living an event that has happened to me in the past. I closed my eyes and tried to remember why this dream seemed so familiar to me.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door.

I sat up on my bed. "It's me" I heard. "Come in" I slowly said back. I watched as Chuuya entered my room. "Are you ready for today?" he asked. "I don't know" I mumbled back. "Don't worry" he said. "We won't do any physical activities" he added.

I looked at him surprised. "Then what will we do?" I asked. He walked up to me and handed me a little book. "We did some research on your ability. Apparently you inherited it from your grandfather" he said. "This is the most information that we could find about it" he added.

"Perhaps if you read about your ability, it will help you understand your capabilities and limits" he said. "I'll look into it" I said while looking at the book. "I have a mission today. At the end of the day I will come back to check on you" he said.

Once he left, I stared at the book.

Reading? Something I was never taught.

I was so young when I was taken away from my family and locked in seclusion. The only contact that I had with others was verbally. I have never needed to read.

Hours went by of me trying to understand the book. A few letters looked familiar to me while others were a complete mystery. I didn't think I'd ever have to sit down and read a book. To be honest, I had already counted my days when I got kidnapped.

——

Food was served in the main dining room. Mori made sure I was sitting separately from the rest. I could hear everything that was being discussed in the main room.

"Is he still not back?" I heard Mori ask, followed by mumbling and arguing from the other people. "He'll be fine" I heard someone else say. I finished my food after a while and got up to go to my room. As I made my way to the hall, I ran into Chuuya.

Our eyes met and I briefly scanned his face. "What are you looking at?" he asked annoyed. I looked away. "You missed dinner" I pointed out. "Whatever" he said and pushed past me. "I hope you studied well" he told me before walking towards Mori's office.

——

I was sitting in my room, trying to figure out how to read the words from the book. I still didn't seem to figure it out. I knew Chuuya would probably come here any second.

I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" I said. "It's time for your examination" he said and held the door open for me. I followed him to the training room.

He stood in front of me with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Question number one, how many qualities does your ability have?" he asked. I closed my eyes for a second. I tried to think whether I knew the answer without having to have read the book. "One?" I doubtfully said. His facial expression showed utter disappointment. "Wrong. Next question" he said. "When should you never activate your ability?" he asked. "When I'm around people" I answered back.

He dropped the paper to the floor.

"Do you think this is a joke?" he asked me. The sudden change of tone in his voice startled me. I remained silent. "The answers to these questions were literally on the first page" he said mad. "You didn't even try to read it" he added and looked at me.

"I did try" I said, but was greeted with mocking laughter. "If you're not much of a theoretical learner then we will go back to the physical trainings" he said. "I tried to read it" I said.

He walked up to me. "I didn't think you were such a good liar" he said. It took me by surprise. "It makes me wonder what else you're hiding from us" he added. I looked away, scared to meet with his eyes.

"I can't read" I finally said. He looked at me confused. "You mean.." he started but I cut him off. "I have never learned how to read" I said. "I tried very hard" I added. "Ever since you left for your mission I have been trying to figure out the words" I said.

He took a step back. "Sorry" he said. "I didn't know" he added. "I was way older than most kids when I learned how to read" he said. I looked at him surprised. "Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"How come?" I asked. He stayed quiet. "I was a slow learner" he said back.

Somehow he seemed different today. It made me wonder whether something had happened during his mission.

"What will we do tomorrow?" I asked.

"You'll see" he said before exiting the room.