Chapter Three - Part Four: Starting Line
Misaki quickly filled out the new employee paperwork on the computer screen, reading carefully through all of the legal jargon, which she was used to interpreting from drawing up loan agreements. When she had finished electronically signing her name, a paper printed out from a slot in the desk just below the monitor. She looked around for the lanky man, but found herself alone. Making her way back to the door from memory, she stepped back out into the long hallway and shut the door behind her. Turning to walk towards the lobby, she noticed that the receptionist was also missing as she headed for the elevator again. Stepping inside, she pressed the button for the fifth floor.
The elevator doors opened a minute later to usher her out into the fifth-floor lobby. She stepped forward to approach a similar receptionist desk to the one on the second floor. "Excuse me, I'm here to turn in my new employee paperwork, I guess..."
The receptionist looked up and offered Misaki a cheerful smile. "I'll take it. Welcome to the Hero Public Safety Commission!"
"Thanks," she said with a tight smile as she handed the paper across the tall desk.
Apparently noticing her apprehension, the receptionist leaned forward and told her in a reassuring tone, "Things around here can move pretty quickly. You'll get used to it."
"Right," she curtly replied, looking around the lobby apprehensively.
"Madam President's secretary? Oh..." The receptionists once cheery tone suddenly took on a concerned cadence as she trailed off.
Misaki cringed and looked back over at her with a grimace. "That bad, huh?"
The receptionist returned her grimace and leaned forward again, speaking to her in a conspiratorially hushed tone, "I've been in this department for about three months now. You're the fifth secretary I've processed since I've been here."
She gulped.
Sitting back once again, the receptionist smiled brightly and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm sure you're more than qualified for the job."
Misaki looked away again, muttering under her breath, "I wonder about that..."
"Anyway, good luck!" The receptionist smiled back at her almost dismissively before reaching down to pick up the ringing phone on the desk.
"Thanks..." She trailed off sardonically, turning around and heading back for the elevator. She stepped inside and pushed the button for the top floor.
An electronic voice suddenly filled the car. "Access denied."
"What?" Startled, she looked around for a moment before reaching out to press the button again while muttering under her breath, "I was just there."
The electronic voice rang out again. "Access denied. Please select a different option."
She frustratingly jabbed the button for the twenty-seventh floor and grumbled, "I'll just take the stairs then."
Getting off of the elevator on the twenty-seventh floor, she followed the signs for the stairwell, ignoring the odd stares she was getting from the people she walked past as she hurried quickly down the hall. Slipping through the door marked "stairs", she jogged up the last flight two steps at a time. Arriving at the door leading to the twenty-eighth floor, she reached out to grip the handle and pulled.
It didn't budge.
Looking down, she caught sight of the keypad next to the door in her peripheral vision and groaned in frustration. "How the hell am I supposed to get back up here?"
Deciding that she'd rather take her chances with the salty second floor receptionist than the sugary fifth floor lady, Misaki headed back to the elevator and jabbed the button for the second floor. She stomped off the elevator when it arrived and was relieved to find that the receptionist had returned to her desk.
Swiftly stalking toward her, she attempted to get her attention by calling out, "Hi. I was just here filling out new employee paperwork, but I can't get back to the top floor. Can you help me?"
The severe looking woman didn't look up, but she did reply, "Only authorized personnel are allowed on the top floor."
"Well, apparently I am the President's new secretary. Does that authorize me?" Misaki snapped, frustration clearly tinging her tone.
The receptionist's sharp eyes finally slid over to glare at her and she sighed haughtily, "You'll need to request a badge and key code from the security office on the main level."
She couldn't help but throw up her hands and exclaim, "Is there anything efficient around here?"
The receptionist didn't reply, just turned back around to continue typing. Rolling her eyes and heaving a frustrated sigh, Misaki turned on her heel and headed back to the elevator. Slumping dejectedly inside the mobile box, she reached out and jabbed the button for the main lobby. She stormed out of the elevator when it arrived on the main floor and up to the long desk with a lone security guard standing behind it.
He noticed her approach and cordially tipped his hat. "How can I help you, miss?"
Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly in an effort to get a handle on her frustration before responding as courteously as she could muster at the moment, "I have just become employed here and apparently I need a badge and a key code to access the top floor."
"President's new secretary, huh?" The guard asked, shooting her a knowing look.
"Too obvious?" She cringed.
The guard let out a jovial laugh. "It's a bit of a regular occurrence around here, you could say. We're still processing out the last one. I'll be with you in a moment. Have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?"
Misaki's frustration quickly began to evaporate in the face of the security guard's open and congenial nature. "Water, if you have it?"
"Sure thing." He smiled, reaching down into a mini refrigerator under the desk and handing her a bottle of water.
She took it from him with a small smile. "Thanks, um..."
"Tanaka Tarou, head of security," the guard introduced himself with a big grin.
She returned the greeting with a warm grin of her own. "Torimodo Misaki. It's nice to meet you."
"You as well, Torimodo-san. For what it's worth, I hope you make it." Tanaka winked at her before turning and walking off to the other side of the security desk.
The not-so-subtle reminder about her new job's volatility caused her anxiety to flare and she cringed again, trailing off dejectedly, "Thanks..."
Misaki twisted the cap off of the bottle of water and brought it up to her lips before taking a small sip, scanning her eyes around the bustling main floor lobby. If someone had told her a month ago that she'd be sitting in the central headquarters of the hero law enforcement agency today, waiting to be processed into her new job as the personal secretary to the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission, she would have laughed in their face. She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around everything that had happened over the last two weeks. The second bank robbery, the sudden developments in her relationship with Hawks, taking him up on his offer to show her what being a hero was like, and now...
What the hell was she doing? She knew next to nothing about heroes or law enforcement; two things she'd been actively avoiding for over half her life. She should have just left well enough alone and stayed in her safe little bubble processing loan applications and—
No. It was way too late for that now.
She couldn't just ignore everything that had happened since she made the daring decision to save Ai from having to live the rest of her life with half of her face melted off. She was supposed to be here. Hadn't her academic advisors been trying to convince her of that for years? Wasn't that why Hawks kept pushing her to consider doing something more meaningful with her life?
Misaki looked down at her feet, seeing a white chalk line drawn at the tips of her toes and a brightly lit path on the other side leading into a shining white light on the horizon.
This was her starting line.
"Torimodo-san?" Tanaka called out from behind the security desk in front of her. "We're ready for you."
Misaki took a deep breath, feeling a weight like a heavy burden lift from her shoulders and melt away as she stood and took a big step forward. The sense of fulfillment that washed over her as she discarded the chains of her past that had been tying her to her guilt for the last eleven years almost brought tears to her eyes. More than the relief she'd felt after confiding in Hawks about her parents, and the sense of freedom that had encompassed her as she stared out across the horizon with him that day above the park; she felt more liberated now than she ever had before. Like she'd finally taken the first step toward atoning for her sin instead of running from it.
She walked up to the counter with her head held high, wearing a confident and determined expression on her face as she said, "Tell me what you need me to do."
Tanaka smiled and lifted his hand to rest atop the camera sitting on the counter behind the desk. "Just look here and smile for me. We'll get you processed in no time!"
Rolling her shoulders back, Misaki felt the sides of her lips lift in a genuine smile as the light from the camera flash blinked, signaling that her picture had just been taken. The whirring sound of the printer under the desk sounded out just as the door behind it opened and a security officer escorted her predecessor out. As they rounded the corner, she felt a sudden sense of trepidation snake through her just before the haggard looking man glanced up and their eyes met.
"You!" The man suddenly yelled. His wild eyes widened, and his face twisted in rage as he pointed an accusatory finger at her. "You some kind of spy? Sent to test me and steal my job?!"
"Hey, man! What the hell do you think you're doing bringing him out this way?" Tanaka yelled at the startled security escort just before the room suddenly went pitch black.
"What the—?" Misaki blinked in the darkness, terror striking her at the sudden sense of blindness.
"I'll teach you what happens when you steal from Kageyama Kuroto!" She heard someone whisper menacingly to her right and she gasped.
Her head whipped reflexively in the direction of the sound just before a searing light flashed through the lobby, knocking people over and blinding everyone in the vicinity. She hit the ground, momentarily stunned. Unable to really see or hear anything, her instincts sharply alerted her to a sense of imminent danger, and she rolled just as a nightstick slammed into the ground where her head had been. Bracing her hands underneath her, she kicked up and out with her right leg, feeling her heel connect with something soft. She heard a breathy "oof", right before a heavy weight hit the ground next to her.
A moment later, she felt two strong hands grip her shoulders and shake her. "Torimodo-san, are you alright?!"
She immediately recognized the friendly guard's voice. "Tanaka-san?"
"Can you see? Were your eyes damaged?" His frantic voice asked.
Blinking the spots away from her vision, she rubbed at her eyes and squinted, barely making out the shapes and colors of the main lobby. "I think I'm okay... That guy?"
Tanaka let out a hearty chuckle. "Out cold. You hit him pretty good right where his sun don't shine, if you know what I mean?"
"Was anyone else hurt?" Misaki asked in concern, blinking some more as her vision began to swim back into focus.
"Just some temporary blindness. A few bumps and bruises from when people fell. Nothing serious," Tanaka explained as he helped her to her feet.
"Thank goodness..." Misaki sighed in relief as she dusted herself off with her hands.
"You got some good reflexes. You train?" Tanaka's voice suddenly asked to her left.
She turned her head in his general direction and squinted at him. "Took jiujitsu in high school."
She'd needed the extracurricular credit and she'd gotten along well with the teacher who had coached her high school judo team. As a pretty young girl, living by herself in a big city, she'd figured it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to learn how to protect herself, just in case. She'd been apprehensive about joining the club in the first place, as she wasn't always the best at team-oriented activities, but it was something she'd thought she might actually use in the future. Apparently, she'd been right.
He clapped her on the back, and she jerked forward a bit. "You got skills. If the President doesn't keep you, we could sure use you here on the security team."
Misaki huffed out a short laugh, "Thanks, Tanaka-san. But—" She twisted her head to crack her neck before finishing, "I think I'd rather beat the curve."
Tanaka laughed jovially and replied, "Best of luck to you, Torimodo-san." He held out a badge and a card with a key code on it to her. "Your creds. It's official. Welcome to the team."
She reached out and took them from him with a small smile, her eyes having finally adjusted enough that she could see clearly again. She felt a lot more comfortable now than she had been since she and Hawks had landed on the roof nearly an hour ago. Screw their two-week turnover. She'd just have to prove that she could handle anything they had to throw at her. And if all else failed, well... There was always the security team. She chuckled to herself at the ridiculousness of the thought as she slipped the badge over her neck to replace the visitor's pass Hawks had given her.
Staring down at the pass in her hand, she felt a sudden twinge of guilt. Hawks had gone out of his way to accommodate her today. She felt kind of bad that she'd taken the job without talking to him about it. He'd been joking about wanting her to come work for him, almost from the moment they'd first met. She hoped he wouldn't take it personally. She'd practically been strong-armed into the position after all.
"What's going on here?" The President's voice rang out from the direction of the elevator, her stern toned voice instantly filling the bustling lobby.
"Madam President!" Tanaka gasped. He, along with the rest of the security team, immediately snapped to attention.
He answered her in a very businesslike tone as she walked up to the security desk, "Just a minor altercation with a disgruntled former employee, ma'am. The situation is under control."
The President looked down at her former secretary, twitching in pain as he lay curled around his midsection on the floor.
"Your work, Tanaka?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Tanaka smiled, tilting his head in Misaki's direction. "Actually, it was your new secretary, Madam President."
The President glanced over curiously at Misaki who was standing to Tanaka's left. "Torimodo-san?"
"Knocked him out cold in a matter of seconds," Tanaka explained, his tone a bit smug.
The President caught Misaki's eye and nodded to her. "Not bad."
Pride welled up in her chest at what she took as praise from her new boss, and she couldn't stop a small smile from stretching across her face. "Thank you, ma'am."
"You have the rest of the weekend off, Torimodo-san. I expect you here bright and early Monday morning, prepared to work," the President ordered with a curt nod.
"Yes, ma'am," she replied with a nod of her own.
"Now, hold on a second!" Hawks's indignant voice called out from above as he flew down from... Where, Misaki couldn't rightfully tell.
"Kei—" Misaki started but he quickly cut her off, turning to address the President instead.
Hands planted firmly on his hips, Hawks glared at the older woman from behind his visor and harshly asked, "Just what do you mean by stealing my trainee?"
The President stared coolly back at him as she replied, "It appears we both have an eye for talent, Hawks. While you were apparently pussyfooting around the issue, I prefer to get straight to the point. Torimodo Misaki will be my secretary starting Monday."
Hawks turned swiftly to Misaki with wide, shocked eyes, shooting out a hand toward the President as he incredulously asked her, "Why did you accept that?"
She crossed her arms across her chest and sighed. "I wasn't given much of a choice. Apparently, my resignation from Tythan Savings and Loan was accepted this morning."
He whipped back around to the President, glaring at her with narrowed eyes as he grumbled accusingly, "Underhanded."
"The early bird gets the worm, Hawks. Looks like this time, I was faster," the President replied somewhat smugly before turning and heading for the side door where her car was waiting to take her home for the day.
Dropping his hands back onto his hips, he set his lips into a thin line and huffed, grumbling to himself, "I give it a week, two tops."
Misaki swiftly swung the back of her hand into his unguarded midsection.
"Ow! What was that for?" Hawks asked indignantly as he shifted his eyes over to glare at her while he rubbed his stomach where she'd smacked him.
Jabbing her hands down onto her hips, she glared right back at him and told him haughtily, "That's some amazing confidence you have in me there."
His shoulders slumped and he held up his hands in front of him in a peacemaking gesture. "Misa-chan, it's not that I think you can't, it's just—"
She stepped forward and jabbed a finger into his chest.
"Get this. I will last longer than two weeks, Hawks. Watch me." Her eyes flashed before she abruptly turned on her heels and began stalking toward the front doors.
...
Hawks hung his head with a heavy sigh, one hand on his hip and the other rubbing the back of his head. "Damn it... That backfired on me."
Tanaka walked up to stand at his side, gazing with open respect at Misaki's retreating form. "Somehow I get the feeling she's gonna stick it out."
Hawks slid a wry glance in Tanaka's direction. "Care to make a wager on that?"
"With you?" Tanaka barked out a laugh, clapping the hero on the shoulder with his large hand and knocking him forward half a step. "No way, kid! But I hope you're wrong. I hope you're wrong."
Hawks shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh as he followed after Misaki out the front door. He should have known the President would take an interest in her. Her quirk allowed her to see the potential of someone with a single glance. One of the reasons she'd become the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission was due to her ability to single out the heroes with the most potential and cultivate them into the best possible asset for the cause, much like she had with him all those years ago. And now, because of him, she'd set her sights on Misaki. What a perfect disaster this outing had turned out to be. She had every right to be pissed at him. Hell, he was pissed at himself.
This was not what he had expected when he'd offered to introduce her to the hero business. He figured she'd get some experience helping people, something he knew she really wanted to do, and then he'd hit her with a serious job offer working in the back office of his agency when they got back home. That was how today was supposed to go. Not end up with her accepting a job offer to be the Hero Public Safety Commission President's personal secretary.
With any luck, she really would burn out after a couple of weeks and end up back in Fukuoka; not that he held out any real hope of that happening. He knew her better than that. She wouldn't just meet the President's ridiculous expectations, she'd exceed them. Not just because she could, but because she wanted to. The conviction he'd felt from that one little finger she'd jabbed into his chest when she'd pretty much threatened him that she would make it past her first two weeks told him as much. He had little choice but to accept it. The President had won this round.
Damn it.
Spotting Misaki walking down the sidewalk ahead of him, he quickly caught up to her and asked, "You gonna walk all the way home by yourself?"
"Maybe," she curtly replied, keeping her eyes trained straight ahead of her.
Hawks reached out and gently grabbed her arm before pulling her into the opening of a small alley. "Come on, give me a break. I didn't mean anything by it. I guess I was just a little annoyed that she'd poached you from me is all."
Misaki looked up at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
He sighed, dropping a hand onto his hip, and turning his eye away as he reached up to scratch his cheek with his gloved index finger. "I was actually planning on offering you a job at my agency again when we got back."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh. Um... Sorry?"
He tossed her a piteous glance when she grimaced. "S'not your fault. I was the one who dragged you into all this, after all." He held out his hand her. "Come on, I'll take you home."
She reached into her pockets and pulled out the headphones and visor he'd given her. She put them on and zipped up her coat before reaching out to take his hand. He hoisted her into his arms and lifted off the ground, ensuring she had a secure hold on her visor before launching them off toward the airfield.
"Thanks for bringing me home," Misaki said as she walked through the back door of her house before heading over to hang her coat up in the entryway closet and remove her shoes. Hawks stepped just inside the doorway, closing the door behind him, and leaning back against it.
"No problem. I'd ask how your day went, but..." He trailed off sarcastically.
She sighed, walking back over and pulling herself up to sit atop the kitchen counter opposite the back door. "I really had no idea what to expect when I got up this morning, but taking a job with the Hero Public Safety Commission was not even on my radar."
Hawks scoffed, "You neither, huh?"
Misaki smirked at the jeer and looked down at her hands. "That being said, now that it's had some time to sink in, I think it's exactly what I wanted. Not necessarily to be the President's secretary, but I just couldn't picture myself in a costume, doing what you do. At least this way I can still feel like I'm doing something meaningful, you know?"
He scrutinized her for a long moment before cocking a rueful grin. "I get what you mean. It's my loss, huh? I really was hoping to recruit you, ya know?"
She looked over at him suspiciously all of a sudden. "You're not gonna disappear on me again like you did when I brought your lunchbox back to you because I took this job instead of yours, are you?"
He let out a short laugh. "Nah, I'm not that petty. I'd miss you too much."
"So, about that..." She trailed off, swinging her feet in a nervous gesture and looking down.
"Hm?" He hummed as he tilted his head to the side inquisitively.
"You realize that my new job is in Tokyo, right?" She asked, glancing up at him with her head still tilted down.
"Yeah?" He shrugged.
"You know that's at least five hours away from here?" She prodded, watching his expression carefully.
He huffed, "Maybe for you."
Lifting her head and cocking it slightly to the side, she glared back at him incredulously and asked, "You don't really expect me to make a five-hour commute to and from work every day, do you?"
He shrugged. "I figured you'd just move there."
"And that doesn't bother you at all...?" She tentatively asked.
She was being vague on purpose, trying to gage his reactions in response to the fact that she'd be moving so far away all of a sudden. They hadn't really spoken any more about the night she'd spent at his apartment, or their somewhat ambiguous relationship. As far as she could tell, he'd been sticking pretty steadfast to his desire to build their friendship before pursuing anything more. And now that they'd have even less opportunity to spend any time together, she was afraid that they would naturally begin to drift apart.
Hawks crossed his arms and shrugged again. "We'll both be busy with work most of the time anyway. If you have time to make the commute, you can always come stay with me for a few days. I don't mind."
"You sure?" She asked in a hopeful tone.
He cocked a half-grin and took a step forward. She spread her legs as he came toward her and he stepped into the hollow they'd left for him. He rested his hands on her hips as she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck. "Sure. I do a fair amount of work for the Commission, you know? I'm in the area pretty often."
His laidback reassurance succeeded in easing her apprehension. He didn't seem to be putting any distance between them, literally or figuratively. She held his gaze for a moment before sliding her arms back from around his neck so she could cup his face in her hands. His eyelids drooped and he let her pull him in for a light kiss. Her eyes softly drifted closed when her lips touched his. It was only a slight amount of contact, lasting no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to convey their still simmering feelings for one another.
Hawks gently ended the kiss, gazing languorously into her eyes as he pulled back. He cocked his head and tossed her a lazy grin before asking, "Want me to help you scout for a place?"
She dropped her hands to his shoulders and sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Actually, I think that's already been taken care of. When I was reading through my new employment contract, I noticed a movement and transfer clause. Apparently, for employees who are single and are recruited from outside the region, they offer an optional, fully furnished living space with an affiliated apartment complex in the city. Otherwise, they offer a pretty standard housing allotment. It seemed like a sensible option, so I went ahead and filled out the application."
His eyes grew wide and he whistled. "Nice goin'! Those places aren't cheap, you know?"
She leaned back, bracing her hands against the counter, and tilting her head to stare into the living room. "Which means... I'm gonna have to figure out something to do with all of this..."
He followed her gaze and quipped offhandedly, "You sure you shouldn't wait?"
She turned her head to glance back at him. "For what?"
"Two weeks?" He shrugged.
Misaki threw him a look that clearly said she was not amused.
"Kidding, I'm kidding!" He held up his hands and stepped back. Turing his head to look around the room, he suggested, "Yard sale?"
She hopped down off the counter and turned to stare into the living room, crossing her arms across her chest as she sighed. "I was thinking more of an estate sale. I'll have to put the house up on the market as soon as possible too. Until then, I guess I should be packing everything I can fit into a suitcase."
He walked up from behind her and glanced down at her from the side. "Want some help?"
She smiled up at him, leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder as she turned her gaze back to the living room and replied, "Thanks."
Preview of Chapter Four: Part One —
"What is that?" Misaki asked incredulously as she slid open the balcony door.
"Merry Christmas!" Hawks crowed and smiled broadly, one hand on his hip and the other holding up a wide, two-meter tall pine tree.
She cocked an eyebrow at him, her expression one of grim shock. "Is that real?"
"Hundred percent natural evergreen!" He replied proudly.
Misaki was not amused. "And you want to put that in my apartment?"
He shrugged. "I'll clean up after it."
She sighed heavily and stepped back to let him and his tree inside, watching warily as he set it in the open corner next to the door. "When I said you could bring whatever you wanted, a tree was not exactly what I had in mind..."
"Merry Christmas." He grinned as he reached an arm around her waist to pull her against him before leaning down to kiss her.
She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling against his lips. "You said that already."
What do you think about Misaki joining the HPSC? Looking forward to it? Wish she would have joined Hawks Agency instead? I went back and forth between the two, but this way ended up having the most potential for her character.
Christmas, part one, coming up next. Prepare for some serious smut!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, thank you so much for reading :)
LOLSAT