Author notes: The parentheses enclose the flashback/lookback events.
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Chapter 2: A twist of luck
Mikan stepped onto the tiled ground and stared about in wonder...
Beyond her extended a complementary garden filled with exotic plants and flowers, growing numerous by the heavy-looking green gate that was the entrance to the mansion. Wild, fragrant flowers and dark-colored bushes adorned the surroundings of the far stretching wall, while lush vine-creeping plants cover it till the top.
Hidden from any visitor's sight were the small spy-cameras, with its adaptive color and rod-like shape hiding behind the big china pots. Aware of Mikan's presence, they followed her as she moved past the line of trees then towards the gate.
She stared at the grand gate before her, somewhat forgetting her purpose of coming. Just beside the gate were two angry-looking dragons set in green marble and Mikan looked at it as if for answer at all these wonders, when the intercom box on the side wall buzzed on and a voice spoke:
"House of Nogi speaks..." its sullen voice droned somewhat menacingly, "What is your purpose?"
Mikan jumped at the sound and looked at all sides, frightened. "W-Who's there?? Where are you hiding, show yourself!!" she braced her arms in front of her offensively.
There was a pause at the intercom. Hashimitsu, the one in charge, looked at the monitor showing Mikan and thought, slightly amused, "What kind of devil is she, marching into this well-armed place with that kind of approach? Well, whatever it is, begging or not, it'll get her into trouble... Might as well keep her warned."
"Lady..." came the tone on the box beside her.
Mikan jumped again at the sound, "Don't scare me like that!!"
"...Lady, the voice talking to you is on that box right beside you." Hashimitsu's flat tone said.
The monitor of Hashimitsu showed Mikan glancing to her right and letting out an exclaim of surprise.
"A talking box! Amazing!"
"I am Hashimitsu, in charged of the box." the firm voice on the box said, "Now whatever is your business I suggest you leave before the dogs rip your butt out."
"Oh!" Mikan had spotted the camera above her and was looking at it queerly. "This thing looks funny..." she touched the lens of the spy camera with her finger and stopped, suddenly thoughtful.
"Hashimitsu right?" she smiled to the camera, "I'm Mikan Sakura. Pls. let me in... I'm going to apply for Mr. Nagi."
The old man at the other end felt himself twitching his nose in disgust, but he had enough experience not to lose his composure. "It's No-gi" he emphasized slowly, "Master Nogi." this girl will get it...
"Right! Mr. Nogi..." Mikan said the name out loud as if testing out the effect. And then, suddenly she realized the enormity of the situation she was in...only in the way her common sense told her.
(It never occurred to her that she was a simple girl of 18 with no experience good enough to be considered "business-like", and that she was applying in one of the most sought after, yet highly strict establishment in the world. That was too complicated to be summed up by her innocent mind.)
Rather, she thought about it. This Mr. Nogi is certainly a very important man... And important people were almost always busy doing the most important jobs in the world. Mr. Nogi was no exception, so that means...
"If this talking box will not let me in soon, I'm going to lose this job!" Mikan thought, angsty, "Oh no... Maybe Mr. Nogi is too busy and has to leave soon, and then he'll miss meeting me, and then, and then---"
"I know he'll hire me!" the suddenly anxious yet desperate girl told the box, "So... please open the gate and let me in!" she pleaded with pure, undiluted innocence.
It was probably the sure optimism in her voice that was purely positive, Hashimitsu later thought, that made him readily open the gate and let the jolly Mikan in with her hands swinging by her sides and the sun shining on her hazel eyes, as she walked past the gate and into the glamorous, tiled grounds of the Nogi gardens. But Hashimitsu remembered feeling pity for the girl...
He would have been a merciful man if he chose to send her away. But he didn't.
"It's been some time since anyone dared knock upon these gates... Let see how long she will last." the sly old man picked out his stop watch and begun the countdown.
It was 10:07 in the morning.
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-meanwhile inside the mansion-
"Where is that secretary?!" Ruka Nogi thought in frustration as he searched the disarrayed clutter of papers on his desk.
"Yusei!" Ruka ordered for his personal butler, slamming his desk drawer shut and opening the next one. His bleached tuxedo was a mess, his reading glasses askew on his face as he searched the document among the pile of scattered papers.
"Yusei-GACHI!!" Ruka called out the full name of his butler, and from the veranda was Yusei. He shook his head and made his way to the office of the Nogi's.
The mahogany double doors creaked open and in came the calm Yusei, sipping his cup of tea. He smiled pleasantly at the grumpy Ruka.
"Master Ruka, you look tired." he said jovially.
"The hell I'm tired!" he retorted, clearly fuming in frustration. For the past two days he had single-handedly done two secretary's work without a day-off.
(The employees in charged of his typing, document managing and organizing were fired because of irrational reasons, but not without receiving a "parting" gift to take back home. That was two days ago. And now, Ruka as the sole heir of the most renowned and strict company in the world, must sweat himself all over his office to fulfill the requirements while his butler has all the free time.)
Ruka shrugged the thought off his head and tried to focus on the root of the problem, "What happened to the hiring ad?" he inquired his butler.
Yusei seemed to fumble for words and hesitated to answer, but finally he muttered, "Master Ruka, you know of Hashimitsu's job are you not?" There was doubt in his voice that was clearly in an attempt to ward off the inevitable.
But Ruka upon hearing the name of the family's personal manager and adviser he suddenly felt annoyance creeping up inside him that he can't help but blurt out, "HE was in charge of the ad? Let me guess." he muttered sarcastically.
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Upon the death of Ruka's father two days ago, 18 year old Ruka was forced to take over his father's position right away with as much experience as he can learn in his business management course. Hashimitsu took over the more complicated matters in decision since Ruka was not yet mature enough. And eventually, Hashimitsu soon changed several aspects of the mansion. Ruka was powerless to say anything against him; after all, it was Hashimitsu's job. All through the years of the family of Nogi's, Hashimitsu had served them most loyally and with utmost respect as their personal adviser, consultant, and confidante. To say anything bad to him would be like betraying the trust that they've had for him for so long.
But this had gone far enough. To withold Ruka the benefit of having a personal helper especially during this trying times... He had barely coped up with the sudden lost of his father, who's been suffering a malignant illness since, and now he had to cope up with the stress! Incredible. And this is what he gets for being rich beyond his years and owning the most reverred title in the world... Life was unfair, literally.
And now he realizes with dull amusement how his control was soon to be placed upon another man. Hashimitsu was the one who fired his secretary and he was left to do all the work.
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"He could've at least enclosed an 'immediate replacement form' along with the resignation letter..." Ruka thought, unsurprised.
"So what went wrong?" he asked his butler. He had a fair estimate of what his answer would be.
"The hiring ad, as you've ordered, was made right after the resignation of the secretary." Yusei narrated mechanically, "It went on air by radio for at least 1 minute, when Mr. Hashimitsu found a flaw in the script of it and ordered a complete withdrawal." he went on, pausing only significantly, "In fact, he withdrew everything concerning the advertisement for hiring even though the mistake was only in the radio advertisement. It never made it to the yellow pages and newspaper because of that."
Ruka frowned, "So that means?"
The poor butler sighed audibly, "There was never a hiring in the first place. Except for the 1 minute radio aired ad, that is, which the personnel in charged reported that it must've been broadcasted someplace far and rural, and there was probably no chance it could've been heard by people in those poor areas, much less taken an interest in it." Yusei finished matter-of-factly. But Ruka wasn't satisfied.
"Perhaps." he thought considering, "But I need a secretary right now!" Ruka suddenly lost himself. This was not very amusing in the first place anyway. All the freedom he once had, in the hands of one man he barely appreciated... It was too much.
"Yusei, I demand an immediate hiring, now!" he finally blurted out in helpless desperation, "I have to meet the deadline, and it's due this afternoon, if I can't find that document---" he trailed off, not wishing to tell the consequence.
"I'll help you find it, master." Yusei said helpfully.
And so the two began to fuss over the pile and mountain loads of document, searching under and over it.
---1 minute later---
Ding dong! Ding dong!
The faint hum of the mansion's doorbell rang out persistently, ringing along the halls. A servant dressed in a frilly uniform opened the grand doors of the mansion and for a while found herself staring at the strange visitor.
The first thought that occurred to the maid was that the visitor was probably mistaken; maybe took a wrong detour and found herself in this mansion. She was average of height and figure, average on looks with no make-up, very plain clothing of what the maid considered her best summer-outfit; a faded yellow, whole dress with floral pattern on the end of the skirt. She wore a sun-hat over her somewhat sienna-colored hair which reached just until her waist, and her cheery, yet simple face lit up in a pleasant smile.
"I'm here for the hiring ad." the visitor said simply.
"Oh..." the maid only managed. She was the new maid supposed to come from the agency... The maid smiled back at her, relieved, "You can come inside---"
But the visitor already slid past her and was open-mouthed at the sight of marvel before her very eyes. She spotted a golden ornament on the nearest side-table and squealed in delight. "Wow! Is this piggy for REAL??" she touched it with her finger and was amazed, and then noticed a grandfather clock by the bookshelf, "Amazing, a world time teller with swinging hands!"
"Miss, please stay still---" the maid's voice tried to follow through.
The visitor finally stopped in wonder and smiled wide to the exhausted maid, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Mikan Sakura." she said, then as if remembering what she was here for, asked, "Is Mr. Nogi home? Can I speak to him?"
The maid arched a brow, surprised that anyone had actually dared to address their master with common honorifics. But nevertheless, she realized she was still a beginner. "Yes..." she said uncertainly, but then what's was wrong? This Mikan newbie will talk her new presence in this mansion, Master Ruka will nod agreement and go back to his work, while Mikan would have a briefing on her rounds and tasks for the day. Simple. "Please wait awhile in the waiting room Ms. Sakura while I go find Mr. Nogi and inform him of your appointment." the maid said to Mikan and then left.
Mikan was left alone on the receiving room, having no idea at all where the waiting room was...
"I wonder if it's some kind of room where there's food to eat for the guest in waiting?" she thought, "Maybe it's only for 'waiting' and not doing anything else!" she put the thought away, disliking its effect on her. She didn't appreciate that.
And so she chosed to explore further into the mansion anyway and help the maid find Mr. Nogi instead of waiting.
"Mr. Nogi!!" Mikan cried along the halls leading towards the office. Along the way was an indoor garden on the side, perfect architecture that was almost real to the eyes. Mikan stared at it for a while, then as she was about to immersed herself into its beauty, she suddenly remembered her true purpose and revert her attention. When she did, her sight met a beautiful polished double door ahead. There were voices coming from it...
"Hello?" Mikan called out. No answer. "Whoever is there can probably tell me where to find Mr. Ruka..." she thought.
Mikan touched the elegant door-handle and pushed it forward...
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"Master Ruka, if you've only been more careful this document wouldn't have been lost."
"I know that! But how can you expect me to be careful when I don't even have time for it."
"Even so, as sole heir to the wealth of the Nogi's..."
The conversation carried on between the young man and the old man as they searched the office desk and file cabinets in silent urgency. Mikan stared at the two talking men who were so deep in their concentration they failed to notice her standing by the open door. She too was too confused to do anything but watch.
"Exactly, what are they doing?" she thought, "They don't look like Mr. Nogi, I'm probably in the wrong room." she turned to leave when she stepped onto a paper. The sound made both men look up and to their surprise, only managed to look at Mikan holding the piece of paper.
"The document!" Ruka exclaimed, all further caution gone. "You... found it..." he trailed off, realizing she was a stranger.
"Master Ruka, do you know of this woman?"
"Oh, I'm Mikan Sakura." Mikan immediately supplied the predicament, "I'm here for the hiring ad for Mr. Nogi's secretary..."
Ruka couldn't believe what was happening. He looked to his butler, as if for help.
"May I see your resume?" Yusei offered helpfully, and Mikan handed it to him.
They stood that way, just three people amidst the clutter of papers in an elegant room that was the Nogi's office, and Mikan thought how funny it was, but she tried not to laugh as she watched a frowning Yusei hand the resume to Ruka, who was at the time as confused as they all are.
The young man read it slowly, then frowned even more than Yusei, "Is this a joke?" his accusing voice pointed to no one in particular, but Mikan felt it was for her anyway. Ruka continued, regaining himself as he looked to Yusei then to Mikan with an obvious disgust, "This is not a resume, this looks more like an advertisement for a freak show!"
"Now now Master Ruka, try to tone down..."
"Mikan huh. And how can you help me if you were my secretary?" Ruka challenged, his business-like stature assuming place.
But Mikan, though shock, was unfazed by this... And then suddenly came up with an idea. "I helped you find that document you couldn't even find!" she said to him, and then added in a mutter, "And all this time it was lying on the floor..."
Yusei considered, then said to Ruka in a whisper, "Master, I really don't think this is a very good idea... She has the background of a child."
But Ruka wasn't listening. Something was very challenging to this girl... She was very good in speaking and showed no signs of fear. But she was probably the most rustic employee he's ever going to have, with a resume that will probably make his father cry because it was so bad.
"I'll give you one week as my secretary." Ruka finally said in a firm voice, "But if you make a mistake, even just a single one, you're fired."
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chapter 2, fin
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Author's notes: Sorry for the late publishing! whaaa... I'll return after a while to publish, but I can't say it's very soon now. My resources are rapidly dwindling. :( But I won't forget updating, don't worry. Currently Mikan will be having trouble, but when her luck gets around, she'll be really lucky and everyone will start treating her nice. :) Meanwhile, when Natsume gets into the picture... hehe. won't tell.
Comment-er, there's your complaint. I fixed it. :P it does seem irrational... Thanks for pointing that out! (guess I've way too many medical terms to memorize, my mind's starting to get hazy.) Feel free to examine my work in the future, just don't make any mistake about it. And keep it genuine, ok :D
Hi Springfairy14! Yes, I forgot to mention that Ruka is a bit OOC here, but only at first. Anyway, thanks for making your view known! ;)
To all those who reviewed you have my thanks!! ;)
So, as a ritual, readers tell me what you think, don't hold back that thought and review:)