In which the author will make further apologies for the long delays on the chapter notes below and the sudden exposition dumps that takes up most of this chapter.

Guys. I love you for sticking around and being patient with me and my writing. And I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Mira sought for a better excuse to deviate the subject in her mind, but knowing Goro, he wouldn't give up until he'd be satisfied with the truth. That and the fact that he kissed her so casually made it even harder for her to resist in giving into his whims.

It's almost unfair. She blushed internally at the thought. Does he even know what he's doing to me?

A visit from agent Homura served as a reminder of her position. She had grown too soft and part of that was all because of this boy before her.

If she had been Koharu, she'd loath him; eliminate him to rid her of any weaknesses.

If she were Ayumi, she'd cut ties with him as a means to spare him from her own burdens.

If she were Miyu, she'd try to play it cool but would keep her distance from this point on.

If she were Ayame, she'd break up with him right then and there to make this matter easier.

But because Mira was neither of these girls, nor was this a role to play on a mission, she couldn't decide what to do with the realisation.

"…Akechi," she took in a deep breath. "This is all hypothetically speaking; if you had to choose between something you want to do or something you need to do, which would you choose?"

She half-expected him to give her his usual sarcasm or mischief, instead, his eyes reflected a solemn gaze.

"I'd do both, if it were possible," he answered. "As far as my understanding of the modern definition of needs and wants, the two are perceived as equal and the same. If the need and the want are one and the same, there's no room for an argument over it. But," -he made a side-glance at her direction- "I'd assume a principled individual such as yourself wouldn't be so willing to follow what your heart wants. Am I wrong?"

This guy…

Her chest panged at his words.

"You didn't need to put it so bluntly," she grumbled. "It was just a hypothetical question."

"Speaking of," he said thoughtfully. "Why did you call me here in the first place? Is there something you wish to speak to me about?"

She didn't expect him to not prod any further in regards to agent Homura's unexpected appearance. But upon bringing up the subject, not only had she wasted his precious time; she realised her earlier intentions were tangled up with a crumbling resolve.

Lifting her head up, Mira looked back at this boy before her.

Is this really the right choice?

"I'm sorry for calling you here so suddenly," she said.

To this person before me, do I really-

"The truth is, I called you here because I… I just wanted to see you…"

Hearing herself deflate in her words had her feeling incredibly embarrassed at the selfish act of calling him there on impulse. Half-expecting a sigh of disappointment or disapproval, once again, he surprised her with a strange look on his face.

"Wh-what?" her thoughts churned at the possible snide remarks he'd make.

"Is that really the case?" he asked. "Nothing related to any of your missions?"

"…Our operative's currently on hold until further notice. So, yeah. Nothing mission relative."

A smile graced his lips, chortling a little.

"Why don't I humour you a little," he said, tugging her hand as they continued to walk. "Since you've asked me so nicely."

Her heart galloped in her chest at his words, relieved to know he wasn't making fun of her nor had he seen her request as a bother.

"I-is that alright?" she asked timidly to make sure she hadn't misheard him. "I know that things can be tough on your end as well so-"

"I'm not as busy as the public paints me to be," he assured her. "That, and I would make a terrible boyfriend if I wouldn't concede to my girlfriend's request."

Mira's cheeks flared, realising how much those words meant to her. It's been a long time since she felt rewarded for being more honest with her feelings.

'Hotaru-chan. It's not wrong to want something.'

Remembering those words was enough for her to squeeze his hand a little, her heart filled with emotions she never knew she'd experience.

Evening

In the end, the two ended up talking as they walked along the streets of Akihabara until it was time for the two of them to depart. Upon his own insistence, they ended up taking a cab and were dropped off at Kichijoji station.

"There's no need to walk me all the way to the share house, you know," Mira said as they crossed through a narrow alleyway. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"What if I told you I want to; would you still push me away?"

"But, isn't it a hassle though?"

His feet stood still at her words, prompting her to turn and face him.

"Why do you always," he bore a solemn gaze as he spoke. "Always do that?"

"Do what?"

He eyed their joined hands briefly before his vermillion gaze bore into her.

"Draw up a line," he answered. "Assuming everything someone does for you is a hassle. Have you ever stopped to consider that not all good things are made out of pleasantries?"

"I…I don't think that way, though," she said, lowering her head.

"Then why would you assume it's a hassle for me to walk you home?"

Despite the smugness in his intonation, even she knew something was different about the way he phrased those words.

"…Something's different about you today," she observed.

"Don't think too much of it," he said, brushing her concern away. "I'm just stating the obvious."

Something's definitely wrong.

"If there's something I can do to help, you can always tell me," Mira persisted.

Silence fell between them as Goro released his grip on her hand.

"Do you really want to know?" he finally asked.

Noting his change of mannerism, Mira nodded, fully prepared for whatever words that would come from his lips.

He took a step forward, his hand reaching for her cheek as he dipped his head.

"Mira," he said in a low whisper. "I'm going to kiss you."

"…!"

He pressed his lips onto hers once more. Unlike before, it was careful and a little more cautious, as if he was holding himself back. Mira didn't know what to do at that moment, her heart throbbing beneath her chest. Goro drew back for a moment, his eyes scanning over her as if to analyse her reaction.

She could've sworn her head was about to explode at that moment.

As if he wasn't satisfied with the results, he kissed her again with a little more force; his gloved hand now reaching for the side of her head to draw her closer. This earned a gasp from Mira, as instinct kicked in and leaned in to his touch. Her hand reached for the sides of the jacket she lent him and clenched on the fabric as though she were holding on for dear life.

The sound of his kisses rang in her ears, withdrew a little for breath, only dive back in; a little less restrained each time. It was only at the whimper from her throat did he stop and drew back, their laboured breaths being the only thing that occupied the silence.

"G-Goro…" she stared at him.

His gloveless hand caressed her cheek with his thumb as he gave her a tender gaze. Wordlessly, he drew her into his chest, his head now resting on her shoulder.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?"

Unlike his usual, confident disposition, whether it be his princely persona, or his dry smugness; she felt his arms trembling as he held her. Nervous, weak and in many ways than one, vulnerable.

"No matter how many times I've debated with myself towards you," his words were muffled by her shoulder. His breath warming her with every word. "You still managed to find a way to occupy my thoughts."

This softer side of him she's never seen before defined the feelings she had long since felt for a while now.

"I…I like you, Goro.*"

With her words laid bare before him, she felt him lift his head from her shoulder and bore his gaze onto her.

Wordlessly, he pressed his lips on her cheek before he returned to embrace her again.

"Goro-?"

"If I had met you earlier," he murmured. "Maybe I would have been… No. It's nothing."

If you had met me earlier, I doubt neither of us would be here now.

Mira Saito hadn't existed years prior; and even then, who she was back then was someone she hated the most till this very day.

Mira dampened the thought as she reciprocated his embrace.

The rest of the walk home fell in silence, hands woven tightly together as they steadily approached the safe house. Normally, people would be leaping for joy if they were in her shoes.

And though Mira initially felt that way at first, with every passing step, a creeping anxiety gnawed at her back.

"Looks like we arrived sooner than expected," he said, head pointing at the building.

"I hadn't realised," she followed his gaze.

Silence fell between them once more.

"…Ne, Akechi," She began. "What's going to happen from here on now?"

"Who knows."

"…Well then. Good night."

She took a step forward, only to feel him tug at his grip on her hand. Turning her head around to face him, she was met with a sly grin on Goro's lips.

"What?" she scoffed with a smile.

"Just for a little while longer, won't you indulge me for bit more?"

Mira reddened, only this time, her feet steadily took a few steps closer towards him. At the close proximity between them, he embraced her, resting his cheek on the side of her head. Despite her anxiety, she was lulled by the warmth of his body and basked in it; her worries temporarily forgotten.

His fingers combed her hair as he said; "You really are a handful sometimes. Do you know that?"

"Sorry."

"So stubborn."

"Sorry."

"And yet, surprisingly lovable."

"…"

He laughed at her silence. "You really don't know how to take compliments, do you?"

"I'm not used to it."

"You should, you know."

Goro then withdrew himself a little as he hooked his index finger and thumb on her chin and lifted it to have her meet his gaze. He looked like he was about to say something, but instead he gave her one last, chaste kiss on her lips.

As soon as they bid their byes for the day, with Goro returning her jacket before he left; Mira arrived home, using her own weight to push the door closed. Leaning her back against the door, she slid down, crouching as she covered her heated cheeks with her hands.

Dammit Akechi. How could he be so calm about this?

Just then, she heard the padding of footsteps pass her by, only to stop.

"Hmm? Mira? What's wrong?" she heard Thomas ask.

"…Sorry. I'm okay. I just need to calm down…"

"Are you sick?"

She shook her head.

"…The girl's in love."

Mira lifted her head and realised Cobe had been there sitting on one of the chairs by the window.

"She's just a little overwhelmed at the moment," the albino said in a matter-of-factly fashion.

Did he see that? She half-panicked, only to remember Cobe had the ability to feel other people's emotions.

"I'm so embarrassed!" she threw her head back as she covered her face once more.

"Whoa, whoa, Cobe didn't mean that!" Thomas said. "And Cobe, for goodness sake, have some tact. You're making her feel bad."

Calm down Mira, calm down.

Just as she told herself, the mere memory of it reminded her of her encounter of agent Homura.

'Tell your superior' she recalled his words.

That alone was a sobering thought to bring her mind back on focus.

May 22 20XX

Morning

Linda looked over her files one more time.

'Please reconsider' she recalled Daichi Saito's words.

Somehow, she knew it would tantamount to this. If she had to be honest, working with Homura and his team was more than an ideal choice. It was going to be inevitable.

But knowing that this team had a history with Mira was enough to spark some inevitable conflict. Based on her own experience from working with her own team, if two members have a begrudging history between them; it never ends well.

Just when I thought I managed to fix the issue, she sighed.

A knock clacked on the door.

"Come in," she said.

Thomas entered the room, wearing a sullen expression. "Are we really going to go through with this?"

"There's no other option," she said as she stacked her pages together. "I just pray that it'll go well."

The moment Mira entered the meeting room, the room was dimmer than ever as the air had a familiar cold, stagnant ambiance.

A fragment-! She panicked, grasping the pendant.

"Calm down," Cobe said to Mira. "It's just Reina."

The agent turned to the raven girl sitting on one of the chairs, a dark shadow casted over her eyes as she crossed her arms to hold herself back. The air felt heavy around her as she could've sworn Reina's shadow had doubled in size. It was only then Mira remembered this person was also a fragment carrier who managed to survive and overcome Dark Matter's possession.

"I'm guessing this is the first time you've seen her like this," the albino asked.

Mira shuddered with a nod. "What's going on?"

"My friend is still missing," Reina barked. "It's been days! Where had she gone off to?!"

Tinders gave out a huff, "She's throwing a tantrum again. Reina, please get a hold of yourself."

"How can I?!" the raven girl retorted. "Can you blame me?!"

"Your feelings are valid, Reina, but you have to go above and beyond this. You know what'll happen if you let that control you," the officer chided at her. "Look, you all know how Chamomile can handle herself in difficult situations like these. Just keep faith and-"

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," Thomas scoffed. "I'm more worried about what Chamomile would do. Knowing her, she'd purposefully make things harder for herself just for the fun of it. Who knows, she might've ticked someone off already and almost got herself killed."

"Thomas, you are not helping!" Tinders huffed once more. "Anyway. Since most of us have gathered here, there's something important to discuss. As you all know, there's been a slight change of plans."

Everyone turned to face the commanding officer.

"There's another operating team who's asking for our assistance," she eyed Mira briefly. "You may have heard of them before; they're known as the 'Homura operative'. A team of elites who dealt with cases of inter-world species trafficking. Team Homura's requested us for a temporary collaboration. 'Said that they'll need more firepower to handle their current mission, as well as our intelligence."

As of this point, Mira was no longer surprised of this outcome. Having Agent Homura's sudden appearance, as well as the cryptic message he had sent to pass onto Tinders.

"Then," Mira spoke out. "What will we do about the fragments? It's still a code red issue, so it'll still be a priority, right?"

"It is," Tinders nodded, but kept a solemn expression. "But there's a reason why Homura wants to cooperate with us. It's become apparent that our findings align with theirs, since the matter has something to do with the psychotic breakdowns and Dark Matter's fragments.

The Homura operative also specialises in hunting down specific persons of interest. But their current operation has been going on for nearly two decades. Their target of interest happened to be someone who had eluded them for so long. Homura suspects the culprit behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns might be caused by the same man."

Mira didn't show it, but the sudden revelation took her aback as she recalled what Goro had revealed to her.

Could it be-?

"Prior to the matter at hand," Tinders continued. "We received a tip from one of their operatives to look into something related to their case. Chamomile, as you all know, volunteered to look into the matter. Seeing how she's still missing already tells you something."

Just at that moment, the doorbell sang, alerting all members to stay on their toes.

"Thomas," Tinders gestured to her second-command.

Wordlessly, he nodded as he headed over to the video intercom to see who was there to greet them. From where Mira was, she wasn't able to see who was on the screen, but based on Thomas's frown, she knew something was wrong.

"It's them," Thomas said to everyone in the room. "Looks like our new collaborators have decided to visit."

Tinders wore the same frown as Thomas before she left the room to greet their visitors. Reina's mood seemed less gloomy than before, her crystal eyes reflecting passive concern.

"This spells trouble," the raven-haired girl muttered.

"I highly doubt it," said William. "Since we're collaborating, I'd only assume they're only here to formally greet us."

Mira walked over to Thomas's side to see the screen, and to her astonishment, she recognized their faces almost immediately.

Homura Operative.

Just seeing their familiar faces was enough for the guilt-ridden anxiety to resurface.

"…Maybe you should go and take a break or something," Thomas gave her a worried look. "It might be too soon for you to meet those guys."

"Oh. No, I'm okay," she quickly said. "I'm just surprised."

"If they say anything of that sort of trouble, I could always mess around with them a little," he grinned with a glint of mischief.

"No, no, please don't. I don't want to cause any problems."

Footsteps padded the floors from the level below, alerting the team of their impending arrival. Mira retreated back to her seat as calm a possible, taking a few deep breaths as she did. Within less that a minute, the door swung open, followed by three elite agents filing through the room.

Agent 'Homura': the leader of the entire operative whose skill and wit allowed him to climb the ranks of the SGI within a matter of two years.

Agent 'Erusa': a half-Mystic Islander endowed with the ability to project memory into hard-copy images.

Agent 'Hakurou': the operative's analyst, specialising in unmasking the underbelly network of crime lords.

It was strange for Mira to see them again after all those years. Their complexion much older than she had remembered, with each of them bearing an experienced, hardened gaze.

"Starcatcher team," Tinders announced. "Meet the Homura operative. This is elite agent Homura; elite agent Erusa and elite agent Hakurou. From here on, I will relinquish most of my authority to these three, so you answer to them for their instructions."

Tinders then proceeded to introduce every member of the Starcatcher team to the Homura team. But when Tinders proceeded to introducing Mira to the team, Mira didn't miss the cold stares from Erusa and Hakurou.

"So, you're now 'Mira Saito' now, eh?" even Homura's seemingly warm disposition felt sarcastic in Mira's ears.

"Ah, yes," Mira made a quick bow before the three.

"So, Tinders-san," Homura turned towards her superior. "If you're willing, may I have the honour of taking the floor from here?"

"Of course," Tinders nodded as she set herself aside.

"First of all, let's skip the formalities and go straight to the point. The Homura operative's current objective is to take down a man who has been plaguing Japanese society in the shadows. Not only does he have ties to certain criminal networks; this man is also responsible for the current serial incidents of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. Erusa-chan, if you will."

Agent Erusa walked over to the white board and flipped it onto the clean side before placed her hand onto its surface. Just like a photograph developed in analogue film, the surface of the board slowly developed an image of a man in his early fifties, bald and wore visor lenses. The image hazed initially, then with a little more clarity, it showed this man walking among ten SP agents surrounding him.

"The man's name is Masayoshi Shido," Agent Hakurou said. "An ambitious politician, who's aim to become the next Prime Minister of Japan."

I knew it. Mira narrowed her eyes.

She had long suspected the SGI would've at the very least kept a close eye on this man, even long before Goro had requested for her assistance.

But to think that I'd end up joining the investigation directly…

"As of now, this man is at the heart and centre of a revolutionary antisocial group who all share the same interests," the agent continued. "Some of these individuals have been engaged to a list of forgeries, to scams; money laundering to trafficking. Apart from the obvious crimes, certain members within his circle have the intentions of pushing through laws that breeches the line of control over the populace.

Though Shido himself may not have been directly involved with some of these schemes, his presence is the ideal honeytrap for our operative. Our main objective is to dismantle this web of corruption before his ideals become deeply rooted in our current system. Even worse still, if this man is left unchecked, he might end up rewriting the laws to make himself immune from any 'slanderous' claims.

Since the wake of the psychotic breakdown incidents; the uncanny coincidences pile up. Most of these victims either happened to be people who oppose Shido or his associates, or individuals who pose a threat to spilling their secrets. A handful of our team's insiders have either suffered these psychotic breakdowns or have been missing for the last two years. The man's good at hiding his tracks; apart from his enemies, he also chose unrelated victims to make it seem like it's an unnatural phenomenon."

"Where does this leave the Starcatcher operative," William asked. "Apart from the anomaly fragments seeded into victims of the mental shutdowns, as far as we're well aware, the connection between the two cases stops there."

"While we were in the process of dismantling one of his webs, we discovered that one of these members have been engaging in buying and adopting trafficked endowed children under their wing," Hakurou answered. "Though it is clear that Shido might not have been aware of this, a few of these endowed children have been used to eliminate certain individuals. What's worse is, based on our intel, we might have discovered the cause to the spread of these anomaly fragments."

Every Starcatcher team bore a solemn gaze.

"Have you, at least, verified if this is true?" Tinders asked.

"I can only make conclusions based on the intel we've gathered so far," Hakurou explained. "The sudden appearance of fragment carriers began from three years ago, correct? With that in mind, it just so happens that three years prior, there was a strange spike of orphans who happened to be of international descent. Most of which, who we later discovered, turned out to be children trafficked from the Mystic Isles. What followed was the mental shutdown of a dean of an orphanage and most of the children becoming victims to the anomaly fragment. Just for some clarification, these anomaly fragments supposedly thrive within the Mystic Isles, correct?"

"Not necessarily," Reina chimed in.

"Oh? Please elaborate, Orion-san."

"Dark Matter's fragments thrive within environments and people with a condense amount of energy," the raven girl began. "His ideal vessels are endowed individuals, since their body has a unique biology that prevents them from being broken by their own endowments. Unendowed individuals possessed by him are often the first to break since they don't have the same resistance as the endowed. Even more so if they from the Northern Realms."

"With that said," Hakurou nodded. "I suspect that among these orphaned children, one of them happened to be the original carrier of the anomaly. Because after this institute was shut down, one of Shido's associates took a child in, and from that point on, we've seen a spike of these breakdown incidents and fragment vessel carriers."

"Have you ascertained this child's identity?" Tinders asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Homura stepped into the conversation. "Every agent sent over to determine this child's identity were either found dead or missing. The intel we've received from them all share the same data; that this child has the symptoms of a fragment vessel and undoubtedly happens to be an endowed individual."

"So, in other words, the tip you sent to us-" Tinders crossed her arms.

"-Was a means to determine if a Starcatcher agent is capable of handling this unknown individual," Homura nodded. "As far as we're concerned, this child's endowment could be the one responsible for the psychotic breakdowns whilst spreading the anomaly fragments unto every individual they've encountered. But since agent Chamomile Sprngs has yet to come back alive or in a body bag- we'll have to wait and determine the results."

Save for Cobe and Tinders, the rest of the Starctcher team slumped their shoulders at the elite agent's words.

Evening

The briefing ended at midday, with the Homura operative leaving the safehouse after Tinders gave them a full report of their activities since the start of their operations.

"Our joint operation starts on Wednesday," Homura declared. "From there, I will be assigning groups among this new operative as well as make some changes in how we're going to manage this team. Mira Saito."

"Y-yes," Mira stood up.

"Tomorrow we will need to discuss the current arrangement with your part-time status as an agent," he said. "I have already arranged a meeting with your grandfather to see it that your current school life will not be affected by this operation. Prepare yourself."

"Yes," she nodded.

"Anything that may come to light between now and Wednesday, please inform us as soon as possible. I will not tolerate any stone left un-turned. And secrets you keep in and out of my watch, I will eventually find it and will not hesitate to take this to standard protocol punishment. That is all."

Thinking back on what Agent Homura had said, Mira had already suspected that Homura may have found out about her relationship with Akechi.

That shouldn't be a surprise by now.

Despite having lived under the same roof with two former elite agents for ten years, she never really had the experience seeing an elite agent taking command with such proficiency. Elites are expected to be an all-rounder agent, who's skills are almost limitless in gathering information. Most elites often work in solo missions, reliant on their own set of skills and connections to accomplish their missions. The only times footman-level agents are required is when they need two or three insiders/assistants to infiltrate into certain situations or places.

It was at that point of realisation did Mira have a small epiphany of what it was that her parents wanted from her. They wanted their very own 'insider' who could act as the canon fodder to their dangerous infiltrations.

The mere thought of it disgusted her.

As she continued to lounge at the guest sitting room situated next to the saferoom's entrance, the front door was unlocked from the outside. Mira sprang to her feet, snapping out of her own reverie of thoughts.

And just like a telepathic clockwork, Mira heard several pairs of footsteps thundering from the floor above and the floor she was standing on. Thomas, Reina, William and Tinders hastened their strides towards the door. As soon as the door swung open, there Chamomile stood there, carrying a tote bag over her shoulder that you could only find within tourist trap markets.

"Haha… Hi guys," the sunshine girl greeted nervously.

"CHAMOMILE?!" everyone with the exception of Mira screamed unanimously.

"Uh… look," the girl fidgeted her fingers. "I know I've been out for too long… buut-"

She turned to her tote bag, (to which Mira realised has been squirming on its own), rested it on the ground before she dug her hands into it; pulling out a familiar black and white cat with a yellow collar around its neck.

"-Look what I found!" Chamomile said almost too proudly. "It's an endowed cat!"

"…M-meow?"

Soo...Hey. Sorry for the long delay, I must confess, I knew this chapter was gonna be a very big chapter, so I've had to revise my ideas and the breadcrumbs I've been sprinkling from past chapters to keep things consistent.

It was hard to write, because I knew this was gonna be a heavy load of info dumping, so I kept rewriting the transitional scenes as well as the info dump dialogue to make it less jarring. (I still think I'm not good enough yet though, so sorry for to the readers who are overwhelmed by the info dumps)

I literally kept badgering my bro about it to help me refocus on the established ideas I created, as well as figuring out a way to flesh out a little more of the SGI side of things. (bro, if you ever read this, thank you and I am so sorry for you putting up with my pestering).