~Surreptitious~


Chapter Two


Word Count: 4993


After shamelessly slurping up the last few sips of coffee from her cup, the ebony-haired receptionist skillfully tossed it away with a flick of her wrist. It successfully landed into an empty bin that was positioned a fair distance away from her.

Internally, she celebrated her minor victory and immediately decided that another coffee would certainly grace her desk at some point of the day.

A fitting reward.

The woman proceeded to enter the Luminous Revival staff room. It was unsurprisingly empty because it was currently 6:30 AM. Most members of the organization would have still been enjoying some shut-eye, after all, Luminous Revival wasn't a 9-5 job. It was pretty flexible. But since she was a receptionist, Satsuki didn't enjoy the same sort of leisure as her peers.

The woman sighed before placing most of her belongings in her designated locked. She carelessly hurled her purple coat to the nearest coat stand before exiting the room to go to her workplace.

As she grew closer and closer to her desk, the receptionist had noticed another figure that was spinning around aimlessly on her swivel chair. He had his head tilted back and his legs were placed on the clean surface of her table.

Satsuki twitched her eyes in annoyance and hastened her pace to see exactly who was stupid enough to be at Luminous Revival ridiculously early and smother her desk in their disgusting rubbish.

"Hisoka!" she growled, finally identifying the man.

The said individual lifted up his elbows upon hearing his name and was instantly met with a stack of heavy files violently crushing his face.

"Get off my desk!"

"Alright, alright... give me a second Satsuki," he muttered under his breath before moving out of the way so Satsuki could set up her workplace. Completely ignoring Hisoka's presence, Satuki began to boot up her computer system, log into her account and open up her professional email account. Unsurprisingly, her inbox displayed a series of unread messages.

She sighed.

Hisoka peered over her shoulder.

"Looks like you've got a lot of your plate, Satsuki," he commented.

She glared at him.

"I'm sure I can handle it," she said.

"I guess," he said with a small smile before walking off.

Although Satsuki wanted to question his sudden appearance, she opted to place her curiosity to the side and continue with her work. She did have a lot to do after all, and she had not a single second to waste. And with that thought in mind, Satsuki dove straight into her inbox. She opened up important emails, responded to inquiries, deleted annoying spam and delivered daily reminders to the members of Luminous Revival regarding the collection of their files.

The tasks she tended to consume at least a good twenty minutes of her time and it was only when she heard the familiar sounds of whistling echo throughout Luminous Revival did she snap out of 'work mode' to check the time.

6:50 AM

It wasn't that long until the members would start pouring into reception to collect their tasks.

Satsuki glanced at the pile of folders before picking the one at the top. She was curious to see who was picking up their file at such an early time.

"Mizu Baundo Tenshi," she read out and traced the outline of the name.

"She's back?" Hisoka asked, coming back to the desk.

Satsuki had almost physically jolted upon hearing his loud voice unexpectedly.

"It looks like it... but didn't she just come back from a mission yesterday? I mean I saw her when she checked in. She looked really tired,"

"She's a busy girl, I guess,"

"Hm," she replied in agreement.

"I think it's a little bit unfair that she has to go out again so soon. I almost feel sorry for her,"

"I guess it comes with her title. She is 'Protector of Order'. It's only natural that she has to tolerate that kind of stuff so there's no point of feeling all down about it. She's probably used to it by now," he simply stated, no sympathy offered whatsoever.

"That's a bit harsh, Hisoka,"

"Well, it's what she chose to do. It's her reality... not mine,"

"It sounds like someone is hostile towards Tenshi," she giggled.

"It's nothing like that Satsuki, don't misunderstand me."

"Whatever. Anyway, It's pretty rare to have a visit from you. What are you doing at headquarters? You only come here a few times a month."

He averted his gaze.

"I just came to deliver the files that you attempted to murder me with! Apparently, the person who normally handles this is out with a cold, so the commander ordered me to do it instead."

"That must've been problematic. Is that all you're here for?" she asked. There was no way someone of his rank would have been obliged to do something so simple. Anyone could have delivered the files today. There must have been something more to it than that.

"No, not really. I'm just on standby for now. There's nothing assigned to me at the moment so I'll be heading out. By any chance do you want anything whilst I'm away?"

"Coffee," she said, not missing a heartbeat.

He snickered.

"Sure. I'll be back in an hour, I hope you can wait."


Missed call: this person/number called at 7:00 on 10th October


I'm sorry, I couldn't complete the task - Hisoka


Dazzling golden rays sneakily seeped into the slumbering brunette's room through the tiny opening that was made available from Mikan's well-guarded thick curtain. Travelling past her belongings, the rays extended out further and further into Mikan's room until they could no longer outstretch anymore. Fortunately enough, the bright beams of light landed onto a quarter of Mikan's face.

Noticing the arrival of the sun, Mikan's face contorted in discomfort as she pulled her duvet covers over her face to safeguard herself from the blinding light.

But it was at that exact moment that Mikan realised it was morning. The sudden awareness led to Mikan jolting upright.

Her head snapped to her right to locate the time shown on her digital clock. Mikan internally prayed that she wasn't late or if she was, she hoped it wasn't too bad a time.

7:09 AM

"Argh," she growled out.

How could she have even slept through her alarm again?

"Oh well, better late than never."


Signing into Luminous Revival was as time-consuming as the last time she came in but Mikan had no time to think about how annoying their system was since she was already 49 minutes late.

Damn it all.

"Mizu Baundo Tenshi here!" she yelled, approaching the reception desk. Mikan heavily panted before aggressively pulling off her lanyard to hand over to Satsuki, who scanned it for her.

"Mikan Sakura, Mizu Baundo Tenshi..." Satsuki said as she opened up her drawer to locate Mikan's file in the midst of a dozen others.

"You're quite lucky that no-one took the opportunity to snag your mission since your file was supposed to have been collected at 7 AM. You're fifty minutes late. It's a wonder that it's still here. You know the rules Tenshi. You can't afford to be late, especially considering your rank," Satsuki scolded lightly evoking a pout from Mikan. She jokingly glared at the brunette before handing her the file.

"Keep it safe. It's not like your other files," she warned.

Mikan blinked.

"What do you mean? How would you know? Wait! You didn't try to look-"

"No," she said cutting the girl off, offended at the assumption. "I didn't take a look but I did receive an email from the commander. He just told me to relay this information to you," Satsuki explained.

"Okay... anything else?"

"They expect you set off at 8:30 AM. It's now..." she took a look at the corner of her computer, "8:03 AM so you've got a few minutes here and there to spare. I'd suggest you take this time to stock up on items if you haven't already," she advised.

"Hm, that's not too bad. I don't think I'll need to stock up but thank you Satsuki," Mikan said before retrieving her lanyard from Satsuki.

"Good luck on your mission," the receptionist said, smiling ever-so-slightly.

"Thanks, Satsuki!"

"No problem. I'll make all of the necessary calls to make sure everything is in place by the time you arrive at the pickup point. Just please... for the love of everything alive, make sure you're there on time!"

Mikan laughed before back away slowly.

"Will do. No need to worry! All I'm going to do is see a few people before I leave, it won't take that long,"

"Okay then take care, Mikan."


Everyone knew who Mikan's favourite member of Luminous Revival was. The way she carried herself around him in contrast to others in headquarters was obvious. She was familiar with him and the idea of being comfortable with someone in an organization like theirs was something to be wary of since getting too snug with a member could have resulted in manipulation.

So that's why boundaries had to be maintained.

But of course, Mikan didn't know that when she was younger.

Especially at the tender age of six when she had barged into a very unfamiliar room, interrupting an important presentation at Luminous Revival. Many had directed expressions of annoyance at her arrival. However, all their negative emotions had seethed down when Mikan had practically jumped one of their elderly but prominent members to the surprise of everyone.

There was a silence that lingered around n the air.

No one could believe their eyes.

How would the man react?

The attention was suddenly diverted from the meeting, which now fell on deaf ears and most were interested in the little girl and their superior.

"Jii-chan!" she exclaimed, "I finally found you!"

Instead of pushing the child off, as many expected, the man gave a slightly stern expression to Mikan as if he was telepathically telling her that she'd be in big trouble later but nonetheless, he hugged Mikan back with sincerity. He guessed that leaving his granddaughter alone in the care of headquarter's child section was a bad idea on his part. After all, he knew how she couldn't stay in one place by herself for too long.

And when she was bored, she'd aimlessly wander around... or even worse, unintentionally cause trouble.

Wait... where were the people that were supposed to be keeping an eye on her anyway?

In that minute, the sounds of panting, cursing, and gulping were heard as a few members of the specialised security had arrived onto the scene. Some surely wanted to point accusing fingers at the child seated in Nono's lap. She may have been an angel in appearance but she was certainly a little devil. Every time they came close to finding her, she'd vanish into thin air.

"Are you sure she's not a Synthesizer?"

"Yeah... the Protector of Order told us she isn't one but she's a nightmare to deal with," another commented.

There was no way they could blame that child for anything even if they wanted to unless they wanted to be humiliated for not doing their job properly.

'Troublesome child'

Once Mikas had come to understand the situation she was in, she looked at her grandfather with a look of utter guilt. She didn't realise that her actions would lead to an interruption of a meeting and a cat and mouse chase. She immediately removed herself from the embrace of her grandfather and looked around to see many people looking at the girl curiously.

'What is she doing?' Nono thought, confused, just like the many around him.

Once clearing her throat, Mikan bowed down to her speculators as a sign of respect.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused."

Deciding to not wait for any approval from the members, Mikan walked over to the people who, she assumed, were there to take her back to the child section. She looked at the man, who she figured was the head of the unit and gave out a big smile as if to assure him that she wouldn't pull a stunt like that again. Acknowledging the surrender of Mikan, the man extended his hand forward to Mikan which she gladly took.

Most of those who were from the security unit had flooded out of the room once it was crystal clear that the child in their care wouldn't try to cause more trouble. But the man who has a hold on Mikan waited until the rest had left. He sensed that Nono wanted a word with him.

Nono stood up and dismissed himself from the formal meeting on the pretext of needing to settle a few matters down.

Pulling his granddaughter and the man aside to an empty room, Nono closed the door.

"I see she's caused some trouble for your team," Nono commented. "She's already apologised so I take it that this matter can pass. Anyways, seeing as though my granddaughter will be a frequent visitor here, I'm going to need someone to take care of her when I'm away and organise a few things for her. Her food, activities and so on," Nono said counting them all off on his fingers.

The man nodded, understanding what was being asked of him.

"Now Mikan..." Nono said turning his attention to the now quiet girl. "As I told you before, you're going to be coming here a lot so I hope you don't cause any more trouble. I really need you to settle down."

"Hai hai!"

"I know this is your very first time here, but you really shouldn't be wandering around unsupervised. I'll try to check up on you as much as I can, but I need you to cooperate with everyone here, okay? Now I'll come back later. For now, this lovely man here -Drayden- will take you back. Be a good girl," Nono said, resting his hand on her head. He then gave out a small smile before turning to exit.

"Make sure you come back soon Jii-chan!"

From that moment on, Mikan's world really did change.

For the next few months, Mikan continued to come into Luminous Revival with her Jii-chan. He made sure he dropped her off to the child section of headquarters before resuming with his duties.

It was all going well.

Mikan interacted with the other children, livened up the atmosphere and caused an unintentional ruckus everywhere she went. It was definitely a change from her previous routine but Mikan learnt to enjoy it.

That was until it all changed.

"What's the matter Drayden? Is my little Mikan causing you too much grief? Is that why you've placed her in the care of another guard?" Nono started, genuinely curious. Drayden had accompanied Mikan for approximately four months. They had seemed to be getting along with each other as well, so it had come as a shock to Nono when Drayden had abruptly given Mikan over to another.

To top it off, Drayden was extremely persistent about being listened to when it came to this matter.

"It's only temporary. The person who's looking after her owes me a favour and I needed some time away from your granddaughter to figure a few things out," Drayden explained.

"Like what?"

"I think there's something you need to know. I actually found out about this a month ago and I just don't think I could hide it from you anymore."

"What is it?"

"Mikan... she's a Synthesizer."

For a while, Nono stared Drayden out. He was looking for any sign that the man was lying to him. A muffled laugh, a change in expression... anything. He'd rather be a fool pranked by someone younger than him but Nono just didn't want Mikan to be a Synthesizer. When it became obvious that Drayden was serious, he began to think.

Why had it taken her so long to show symptoms of being a Synthesizer?

How did she pass the test if she's a Synthesizer?

"Mikan... what type of Synthesizer is she?"

"That's the thing... I can't tell."

"Are you saying that you won't tell me what her type is or that you don't know her type?"

"I don't know."

"Talk to me about this later. I've got a meeting to attend so I need to go now but thank you for telling me this. If she's still going to be in your care, you'll need a monitoring device. There'll be one available if you ask someone from the technology department or go into one of their stores. I'll cover the costs... just make sure she stays out of trouble."

"Okay."

That was where Mikan's journey began but it was also where Nono's regret had started.

At the age of seven, Nono started to see less and less of his non-biological granddaughter and it wasn't just attributed to his busy schedule but also the girl's sudden interest with Luminous Revival not as a place to play and learn but as a place to strengthen herself for missions.

At first, he had greatly opposed Mikan's wish to 'help society'. He tried to convince himself that she was too young, too innocent and not at all a Synthesizer but after a year and a half of mild training, he could no longer deny her the right.

After all, he had unexpectedly witnessed her powers in action first hand on that fatal night.

He still couldn't shake off the image of Mikan...

It was horrifying.

Besides, even if Nono wanted to deny her the right to participate in Luminous Revival, he simply couldn't.

She was a Synthesizer by right and many of his peers (Mikan's superiors) had been present on the day of the unfortunate incident so he couldn't hide her identity as a Synthesizer even if he tried to.

If only Mikan wasn't there at the wrong time.

She could have been saved from this fate... but she seemed to enjoy it.

"Jii-chan!"

Nono snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Mikan calling his name from a distance.

"Mikan," he acknowledged.

"Jii-chan I can't stay here for too long but I really needed to see you before I head out again. Are you okay? Is your health good? You haven't bee missing meals have you? Is there anything you want me to get you before I leave?"

Nono released a hearty laugh at his granddaughter's concerns.

"I'm okay, completely fine. I've been worried about you though. I didn't think it was possible for a one-week long mission to extend to a one-month long mission. I'm more worried about your health than I am mine."

"It was troublesome for sure to have my mission increased in days, but I've been able to manage it all. My health's all good, don't worry."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah, I know."

"I was told you were heading out today so I've prepared a bento for when you're hungry," he said as he handed her the bento box over.

"Ah, it's been so long since I've had homemade food made by you Jii-chan. My mouth is already watering," Mikan said with a giggle.

"Also... here's an early birthday gift," he muttered, passing over a small red velvet box.

"But... Jii-chan... It's October! My birthday isn't till next year."

"That's why it's an early birthday present," he reminded her "But... I've noticed your missions are starting to consume a lot of time so I'm not sure if you'll be home for your birthday so I wanted to give you something earlier," he explained.

"Jii-chan... don't worry. I'll definitely be back before January."

"I'm not too sure about that, Mikan."

"I promise!"

"Don't promise me something that you won't be able to keep."

Mikan pouted.

"Jii-chan have a little bit of faith in me! Anyway, can I open it now?"

"Hm. Mikan while we're on the topic of promises, you need to promise me that you won't open your present until a day after your birthday?"

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Mikan sighed.

"Okay. I'll open it on 2 January. 12:00 AM on the dot, I promise!"

Nono smiled, a rather bittersweet smile, as he watched his granddaughter try to figure out the contents of the box.

"Oh. I haven't got that long left until I leave." Mikan noted.

"Aren't you going to go see Mrs. Imai before you set off?"

"Is she still here?"

"She's on the third floor. See her before you go Mikan or else I'll have to endure her endless complaints."

"Okay. I'll go, I need to talk to her about a few things and I need some things that are necessary for the mission anyway. Bye Jii-chan, I'll finish my assignment and come back soon." Mikan said confidently. She bowed before turning and rushing off to find Mrs. Imai.

If only you knew...


The final person Mikan had to greet before leaving was a very significant woman, her idol. Everyone in Luminous Revival was aware of the bond they shared with each other. After all, she was the only person who had assisted Mikan when she had started out as a newbie in headquarters when her grandfather had other responsibilities to tend to and was unable to help her.

The raven-haired lady openly guided Mikan to success when she was at the bottom of the hierarchy, showing her all the options she could explore within Luminous Revival before she could permanently select one. Within her tutoring days, the amethyst eyed mentor also made sure to engrave good manners, sympathy and other essential and desirable characteristics a person required. The lady's main concern when raising Mikan was that she'd eventually lose the ability to feel as many of her peers reached the greatest level of being void of emotion when encountering certain unforgettable situations.

The other fear was that Mikan would sculpt herself to be someone who'd disregard friendship, because of how their system worked. Friendships were dangerous in organizations, whether good or bad because it made room for vulnerability and deceit. So this would have led to people solely focussing on their occupation in a robotic way as if it was implanted into them. But luckily, Mikan wasn't one to give up her radiant personality.

"Mrs. Imai, I need your help again!" Mikan yelled out from the other side of the room catching the eye of the said person. With Mrs. Imai secure in her place, Mikan approached the woman with a grin smothered to her face. She raised her beige file in the air, shaking it slightly, so Mrs. Imai would understand her reasoning for calling her out.

Mrs. Imai only gave a smile as she saw she was being approached by Mikan, who she hadn't seen in over a month. With the intentions of engulfing Mrs. Imai in a hug, the bubbly brunette reached out both of her arms only to be stopped by both of her role model's hands.

"I know you've been away from Luminous Revival for one month, but Mikan Sakura... what have I told you about shouting in here?" Mikan paused for a moment with a look of utter confusion, but as soon as she understood she had violated one of Mrs. Imai's key rules, she opened and closed her mouth unable to give an answer. Ultimately, Mikan decided that giving her mentor a sheepish smile accompanied by a little laugh would have settled it for her.

Mrs. Imai sighed.

What was she so worried about in her earlier years? Mikan was obviously never going to change.

"Mikan," she started remembering the file Mikan waved around earlier "You're heading out so soon? You've only gotten back from your last mission yesterday."

"I didn't ask for the mission if that's what you're thinking about. I only found out when the commander summoned me once I literally stepped foot in Japan. It's pretty urgent, but as you know I can't reveal too much" Mikan said with a little laugh.

"I guessed that much, but you've only recently recovered from your past injuries."

"It's nothing, I promise you. You don't need to worry about me."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Mikan... overdo it, and you know that-"

"I know, I know," Mikan said avoiding her gaze "I know what you mean, but I think you already understand why I'm doing this. My role as Protector of Order is absolutely precious to me since that time. It made me realise many things, and if it wasn't for that incident, my present wouldn't be like this at all. I owe it to that person to fulfill my duties, and you know I won't stop until I feel like I've rectified my mistakes."

"I also understand what you're saying, but I'll still tell you this, again and again, it wasn't your fault Mikan, so stop blaming yourself. You should have realised this by now, it was Z, not you."

"I... I can't bring myself to believe that." Mikan said in a low voice. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Imai brought her hand forward and rested it on Mikan's shoulder. She guessed it was wrong for her to mention such a sensitive topic on Mikan's return, but it was well required. Mikan had to understand, the past needed to remain in the past.

"I'm sorry. I came here to prepare for my next mission, but instead, I've dulled the atmosphere."

"It's okay. Forget about it for now Mikan. Anyways, what did you need?" Mrs. Imai said disregarding their previous conversation temporarily. Pulling herself together, Mrs. Imai graced a smile back onto her face in hopes to bring back Mikan's cheerful nature.

"I'm not sure."

"Okay. Okay. Let's just sit down for a moment, so you can tell me about the place you're going to. I'll figure it out through your description, and get you what you need according to what you tell me."

Mikan nodded.

"Well, I don't think I'll need a uniform. According to the file, most of the things I need will be provided by them. But the file mentions that I need to bring a few of my own casual clothes, pyjamas, and I need a device that will disguise some of my equipment. Aside from that, I already have everything else on the list with me in my suitcase."

Mrs. Imai stood up.

"I'll be right back, I remember the commander telling me about the recent dispatch. Just sit down on the chair and relax, I heard your mission is going to be very lengthy so rest up as much as you can now."

With that, Mrs. Imai wondered off to another area leaving Mikan to ponder in thought.

'Was it really okay for me to have made everything tense already?'

'Obviously not you baka. Think about it, you've been gone for a month, how do you think everyone around you felt? They obviously missed you. I'm sure you need to consider your inconsistent physical state, they're bound to be concerned even if you tell them you're okay.' Mikan's conscious argued.

'Maybe you're right. That was wrong of me, but what do I do to rectify the situation?'

'Lighten things up, be yourself.'

"Mikan, do you think these will be enough for you?" Mrs. Imai asked approaching her with two filled up medium-sized mailing bags and a small black box.

Mikan stood up.

"Yeah, of course, that looks like more than enough," she said and reached out to retrieve the packages.

Maybe Mikan wasn't paying much attention at that moment in time, because her clumsy self somehow managed to have found a way to let all three packages slide out of her grasp. Fortunately for her, the bags must have contained soft items or materials or else she would have been able to hear some damage.

Mikan crouched down before she began to pick up the bags. They weren't heavy by any means so it was a wonder that she managed to drop them.

"Where's the box?" she mumbled under her breath looking back, forth and sideways to find it. She found the lid, but the box itself seemed to have vanished.

"Mikan." Mrs. Imai said in a rather amused voice.

"Yes?" she asked curiously, wondering why Mrs. Imai's tone shifted.

She held up the small black box and signalled for her to stand up. Her face lit up seeing that it was all in one piece. Mikan took the box from Mrs. Imai, sustaining her smile, that was until she saw what was in the box.

She blinked once.

She blinked twice.

She blinked three times.

"Eh?"

She looked at the books scattered in the box bewildered.

Looking closer and closer at the titles of the books, Mikan finally understood why Mrs. Imai was trying to hide her laugh. Immediately she covered them up by putting the matching black lid over them.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone." Mrs. Imai said with a laugh.

Mikan hung her head low.

The embarrassment was strangely overpowering.

"Mikan, Mikan there's no need for you to be uncomfortable about these things."

"B-but-"

"Don't worry, I'll forget I even saw them. Now, Mikan, you don't have much time left. You should start to head to your stand."

"Oh... okay."

She began to turn to exit the floor, but Mikan halted.

"Is something wrong Mikan? Are you okay?"

Mikan smiled and looked directly into Mrs. Imai's eyes "I like my job. I know you don't approve of me using my powers so often, but I'm telling you, I know what I'm doing and I've already confirmed my form with the medics. I still have a long life ahead of me. No need to worry, Mrs. Imai."

"I'll believe you. The results did say that, but you know how I can get. Your health is of top priority, remember that even when you're doing your assignments. I'll wish you the best of luck. Come back home soon."

"I will."


Responding to your reviews (Chapter One):

Linnado Mikado: Thank you for being the first reviewer of this story! It means a lot to me. And also, thank you for the constructive criticism too. If I'm honest, I always knew that I've had a problem with being a bit too lengthy for a long time, but it's been a habit that's stuck to me like glue. So I'm trying my best to work on it, I'm not sure if you can tell much in this chapter... I probably failed in this aim, but I'll work on it, I promise! :)

Rei: Thank you for making me realise a major flaw in my writing. This isn't something I've been aware of but now that you mention it my writing is too stiff with all the unnecessary words. I'll try to make this a target I need to tackle. I don't know how well I'll do with this though hahaha. :)

GAwriter: Thank you for your kind words, it really put a smile on my face! I'm glad I'm receiving positive feedback from all of you! :)

Wind of SilentBell: Don't worry I'll continue to update, but I'm not quite sure how quick I'll be. Thank you for your generous feedback and I hope Surreptitious will continue to appeal to you. :)

Mila: :) Well, I'm also looking forward to posting this chapter, even though, it should have been released a lot earlier. Thank you for the review. I hope this chapter will do for you. :)

I'm also going to take this little section to thank anyone who has followed/favourited this story.


Author's Note: I'll mention it again, but even if some details seem unnecessary, they really aren't. It'll all make sense in future chapters, I promise! I also understand that this chapter is probably more on the boring side, but the next chapter will not be like this one at all. It all gets more interesting. As always, if you have any questions or constructive feedback make sure you contact me.

07/18: Just a little side note, I normally post updates of my progress on my profile & some teasers for the next chapter. Feel free to have a look around if you wish :) Also, thank you for giving my work a chance.

02/11/18: Edited.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Beta reader needed!

Till Next Time :)