What's "Help!" in Naikuno?

Ohiro-on, "The Blue Man"

   Eric’s eyes snapped open--then shut tightly as the morning sun glared down from the little window in his room. While his eyes tried to adjust to the light, his head seemed intent on imploding.

   Groaning, he threw one arm over his face. There came a light sound of scraping wood.

   “Ziato jin, Erik. Siar oru zi?”

   “Mirohya?” Eric said from under his arm. “I think I’m dying…”

   “Siiyofu liyo. Lihu jin ser’aiyilo kir…”

   “Can we just use English for now? I can’t think today.”

   “Liru, sorry.”

   The room darkened suddenly, and Eric tentatively uncovered his eyes.

   Mirohya was standing over him, dressed in the same white outfit from the other day and fixing a wooden shade over the frosted window. She glanced down and, noticing that Eric was watching her, gave a quick reassuring smile. She knelt by the bed platform and offered Eric a green ceramic teacup.

   “You’ll be fine,” she said. “All the same, now that you’re awake you’d best drink this.”

   Groaning again, Eric lifted himself up to lean on the wall, accepting the cup.

   “I can’t remember what happened,” he said between sips of tea.

   “Nothing? We’re not exactly sure either, but we think you might have eaten something that didn’t agree with you. Halfway through dinner you just started coughing. It was all Si-Si and I could do to move you in here for the night. After a quick trip to the kitchen sink, of course…”

   That’s right, Eric thought. He had been drinking something, and his stomach began to somersault up his throat. He lifted his hand to his mouth, as if anticipating a repeat performance.

   Eric sat bolt upright.

   “What time is it?!” he yelped. “Orientation! I have to get ready for…!”

   He tried to stand, but Mirohya seemed to disagree. With one finger, she pushed him back down.

   “Au liyo. You’ll go when you’re good and ready. You don’t want to be seen like this, do you?”

   “But… the meeting…”

   “Si-Si has already gone, but he said he will tell zera-Gihekiré that you’ve taken ill. It will be fine, aru?”

   “It will be fine. I feel fine. I’m fine, see?” Eric tried to rise again, and again Mirohya prodded him.

   “Rakato’ari, Ohiro-on. Patience….”

   She sighed as she retrieved the now-empty cup and made to leave.

   “Ohiro-on?” Eric asked.

   Mirohya turned back with a grin. “Well, you needed a nickname, and ‘Erik’ is too short to justify an abbreviation. We can’t just call you ‘hiyuman’ either, so Ohiro-on will do.”

   Ohiro-on? Eric felt his brain starting to catch up. “‘Blue Man?’ I don’t get it….”

   Mirohya simply grinned again before disappearing out into the hall.

***

   “Jirai-jirai, all is well.”

   Ayina was seated on the floor, resting her chin on the kitchen table as she watched Mirohya rinse out the teacup and set it up to dry.

   “No lasting damage, whatever it was,” Mirohya said. “If only we knew exactly what happened.”

   As Mirohya turned, wiping her hands on her coat, there was a fleeting look in her eyes that made Ayina uneasy.

   “Maybe he just doesn’t like fish,” Ayina suggested.

   “Maybe, maybe not.”

   Ayina forced herself not to look at her sister. She knew that if she did, Mirohya would see the truth in her eyes.

   Still, Ayina had no regret. It had happened better than she had hoped. Her intention was never to permanently harm the hiyuman, only cause him some discomfort to keep him from settling into place. And if he misses his big meeting today, maybe he’ll have to find a new job and leave faster! It took more effort to keep from smiling.

   “Any plans, Aya?”

   Ayina’s mind snapped back to the present. “Wha… plans? What plans? I…”

   She was aware of Mirohya’s gaze, but never lifted her own eyes from the tabletop.

   “Eya!” she said, leaping to her feet and rapping her head with one hand. “I forgot! I promised to meet Neia today! Later!”

   Mirohya nodded slowly, still smiling. “Of course. You two stay out of trouble, aru liyo?”

   “Li-li! Of course. Later!”

   Ayina scrambled up the staircase, closely pursued by Rin.

   “That was close,” Ayina said to the cat as they reached the front door and stepped into the morning sun.

   One of the reasons why Mirohya was so good at her job--indeed one of the reasons why Ayina respected her so much--was her ability to see truth in people.

   “Anyone can lie or deceive,” she would tell Ayina. “But no one can do it perfectly.”

   While an essential trait to a law-enforcement officer, it was slightly less desirable in a responsible older-sister.

   “We have to be careful,” Ayina said to Rin. “Mirohya can’t catch us. No, it’s better to keep hidden from her also.”

   Rin blinked slowly and yawned.

   “Exactly.” Ayina nodded. She turned and trotted off down the road, leaving the cat to stretch lazily in the sunlight.

***

   “No more coughing?”

   “No.”

   “Dizzy? Headache?”

   “I’m fine.”

   “Do you hear a sharp tapping sound?”

   “Only when you knock on the teapot.”

   Mirohya grinned and pushed the tea tray off to the side. “Well, Ohiro, you seem fine to me. You may get up now.”

   “Thank you.” Eric rose from the bed platform as Mirohya removed the shade from the window. By now the sun was fully awake and focusing on its more rigorous mid-day schedule.

   “Wait… did you just call me ‘Ohiro’? Do I have a nickname for my nickname, now?”

   “I’ll just be in the kitchen when you’ve finished dressing yourself.” Mirohya grinned and, retrieving the tea tray, excused herself from the room.

   Eric wasted no time in exchanging his light sleeping robe with a shirt and slacks. He refused to be late, even if it wasn’t technically a class. Apart from missing any valuable information, he was looking forward to meeting his future co-workers. Not to mention mapping out his workplace before he needed to get somewhere in a hurry.

   As he rushed down the narrow corridor to the kitchen, a thought occurred to him.

   “How do I get to the university?”

   Mirohya turned from the counter she was working at. “Jun? Oh, I can take you. I’m running some errands in town, so you get a free ride today.”

   “Oh. Thank you!”

   “Aikiroga.” She handed him a cloth bundle. “I imagine you’re hungry, and we’re leaving right now, so here. There’s also a map of the campus in there--you’ll need it.”

   “I… thank you!”

   “Aikiroga.” Mirohya plopped a similar bundle into a satchel, which she slung over one shoulder.

   “The tour is now leaving!” she said loudly. “No straying, no touching, and please, no flash-photography.”

   She grinned at Eric’s confused expression before turning to march up the stairs. Hesitating for a moment, Eric followed after her.

***

   “Ziato jin, zir-Zirega.”

   “And to you, zera-Hajia,” Aejik said as he ducked through the swarm of people. “Did I miss anything?”

   Enlae bowed. “Nothing yet. Zera-Gihekiré wanted everyone to meet each other before starting the presentation.”

   “And what are these?” Aejik gestured to the tray Enlae was carrying. Arranged in neat rows were a dozen earpiece devices, each marked with a different color.

   “Oh, it was zir-Zigurai’s idea. He says some of the hiyumans might not be comfortable with Naikuno yet. So when zera-Gihekiré gives the presentation in Naikuno, we’ll have translators transmitting through these.”

   “And the different colors?”

   “Zir-Zigurai says not all hiyumans speak English, so we have a few different options.”

   Aejik smiled. “That’s thoughtful of him. And I bet he’s one of the translators, aru?”

   “He was so excited to do it. He looked through the guest list and chose to do… ‘Doizu’, he calls it. Says it’s more challenging. Sinekira, one moment.”

   Enlae reached out, gently tapped a passing hiyuman on the shoulder, and offered the tray of transmitters. The man nodded and selected an earpiece with a red tag. “Mersii-pien,” the hiyuman said with a bow, which Enlae returned.

   “Eya, Enlae,” Aejik said. “Do you know where zera-Ginekiré is? I needed to speak with her.”

   “Aao… I last saw her with the agent from the Education Office.”

   “Ah, kiroga. Always a pleasure, Hajia.”

   “Ksie irrei, zir-Zirega.”

   With that, Aejik dove back into the crowd.

***

   The trip back to Atujak was much quicker than Eric expected. Granted, last time he walked. The time before that, he was with Aejik. With Mirohya, Eric didn’t notice how far they traveled until the carriage horse was ambling up to a set of enormous marble columns, which were draped with the white-river emblem of Jugir-Eviré University.

   “Here we are,” Mirohya said cheerfully.

   Beyond the columns lay an intricate maze of streams, pathways, and tree groves, punctuated occasionally by stretches of neat green lawn or clear ponds. It was as if a golf course had been overgrown by a Japanese tea garden.

   Farther still, nestled deep into the horticultural mosaic were scores of buildings. Small square ones, giant round ones, buildings of nearly every shape and size. And yet, despite their multitude, the structures successfully managed to blend in with their more natural surroundings. Eric had the distinct impression that there weren’t gardens planted around the university…

   “They built the school in a garden,” he said, awestruck.

   Mirohya laughed. “Kinda breaks the mood, doesn’t it?”

   “Well… but look at it!”

   “I’ve seen it before. My father works here, remember?” As if to prove this, she waved to a passing woman with a bundle of scrolls. “Ziato jin, Rian!”

   The woman jumped slightly, causing scrolls to rain to the pavement. Mirohya cringed apologetically as Eric hopped off the carriage to help.

   With Rian safely on her way again, Eric turned back to Mirohya. “As much fun as it is watching you terrorize innocent passersby…”

   “Li-li, I know. Don’t want to be late, do we?” Mirohya attempted to shrug.

   “Still need to practice that,” Eric said with a grin. “Okay, see you later.”

   “Liru, firjai, Ohiro.”

   Eric made to enter the university grounds.

   “Have a good day at school, sweetie! Don’t let the other kids bully you!”

   He spun around to see Mirohya driving the carriage away, a devilish grin spread across her face as she waved energetically. Eric stood silently for a moment, wondering how Mirohya ever managed to get into law enforcement.

   After a few minutes walking the myriad of paths, though, Eric was praising Mirohya’s foresight to give him a map to the university. With his path drawn out for him, he quickly navigated through the trees and buildings to a clearing as large as a standard soccer field. Surrounding the clearing were a dozen smaller buildings (lecture halls, according to the map) and a pair of massive libraries.

   In the center of the clearing was a single broad-leaved tree, spreading like a giant green umbrella over an arrangement of wooden chairs. At the front of the array was a makeshift stage, adorned with several Jugir-Eviré banners, another row of chairs, and an ornately-carved lectern featuring a swooping raven.

   Flowing through the chairs like water around rocks was a crowd of fifty people--human and Eraknian--in various degrees of clothing ranging from business suits and flowing robes to blue jeans and sportcoats.

   As Eric moved closer, an Eraknian woman separated from the throng and approached him.

   “Zi-ziato jin, zir-Furiiman,” she said nervously. Eric was sure he recognized her from somewhere, but couldn’t quite…

   Then he remembered. It was Enlae, the headmistress’s assistant. In contrast to the disheveled appearance when Eric first met her, Enlae was carefully arranged today. Her hair was set neatly into braids, and she was dressed in a formal black coat and sported a forest-green armband.

   She held in her hands a ceramic tray laden with what looked like wireless earbuds. Each was marked with a differently-colored ribbon.

   “Uh, good morning, zera-… Hajia, was it?”

   “Yes, zir-Furiiman,” Enlae replied, her eyes focused downwards. “How are you today?”

   “Fine, thanks. And you?”

   “Oh, fine, zir, thank you.”

   “So what do we have here?” Eric asked, motioning to the earbuds.

   “Eya, they are for those not yet comfortable with Naikuno. They will transmit today’s presentation in various Earth languages.”

   On closer inspection, the multi-colored ribbons were labeled. English, Deutsch, Français, and one more Eric couldn’t even read (though he suspected it was either Chinese or Japanese).

   “I’ll be translating the English one myself,” Enlae said with a weak smile.

   Eric grinned and, with a reassuring nod, picked up an earpiece with a blue label.

   Enlae bowed deeply, and almost dropped the tray as she veered off after another human.

   In truth, Eric didn’t think he needed a translator, but he wasn’t sure if he would offend Enlae by not taking an earpiece. She’s a nice person, he said to himself as he clipped the device to his right ear. A bit timid, maybe, but still…

   “Erik!”

   Eric’s head whipped around.

   “Oh, good morning, Aejik.”

   “Good that you could make it. Feeling better?”

   “Much, thanks. I couldn’t miss this.”

   “Here, I would like you to meet someone….”

   With a gentle nudge on the shoulder, Aejik steered Eric into the crowd.

   “Erik, this is Professor Oerakna Zigurai. Zigurai-girnuré, this is zir-Furiiman.”

   Eric and the Eraknian man exchanged bows. Professor Zigurai looked no older than Aejik, but extra lines under his eyes made him seem tired. He was dressed in a long black coat with a green armband, similar to Enlae’s. Every movement he made was strange and jerking, and every so often he would shake his head as if to throw off an invisible fly. Still, his smile was genuine.

   “Jirai-ziriku, zir-Zigurai,” Eric said.

   “And you as well, Mr. Freeman.”

   Eric hadn’t realized how accustomed he had become to an Eraknian accent. Even Mirohya, whose English was better than anyone else he’d encountered, still held traces of Naikuno in her voice. It was all the more surreal when this Eraknian spoke with no hint at all of his native accent.

   “Your English is… excellent!”

   “So is yours,” Zigurai replied with a grin. “But thank you.”

   “Zir-Zigurai here is the head of the language department,” Aejik said. “No one in all of Eraknivan knows more about Earth languages than him!”

   “Thank you, zir-Zirega,” Zigurai said with a gesture that could have been a wink or a nervous twitch. “But I’m sure that’s not true.”

   “Would you show our friend here your little trick?”

   Professor Zigurai nodded and peered into Eric’s eyes. “If you’d be so kind, say something in English.”

   “…like what?”

   “Oh, anything, really.”

   “Uh… nice weather today…”

   “Keep going.”

   “Um… When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to… uh…”

   Professor Zigurai had closed his eyes. Eric glanced at Aejik, who pointed back to zir-Zigurai with a smile.

   Zigurai’s eyes snapped open. “Now then, born in New England, living mostly on the California coast, with an--oh, I don’t know--two-year period in the London area.”

   Eric’s jaw landed firmly on the well-manicured lawn.

   “How…?”

   “Speech patterns. Dialect and accents. You, my friend, speak mainly with a West Coast American accent, with a few formative sounds having a Northeastern American hint.”

   “And London?”

   “Your intonation. Your question intonation is consistent with London-area British, a trait that you only would have acquired with a fair amount of exposure to the language.”

   “That is… that’s amazing!”

   Aejik chuckled. “Liru, Oerakna here really knows his trade. How many languages is it these days?”

   “Ten?” Zigurai answered thoughtfully. “No, twelve, including Naikuno and Reasil’na.”

   “Twelve languages, Erik. Can you imagine?”

   “Still not fluent in half of them,” Zigurai said.

   Aejik laughed. “Even so, you’re a right old enira, aren’t you?”

   A sharp rapping echoed through the crowd. Enlae was knocking on the lectern with a baton.

   “Jihaiku’li!” she called as the crowd quieted. “Eya, if everyone could be seated please. We will begin soon.”