Secretary. You said that word a bunch of times in your head, as you buttoned your shirt up till your chin.

It was kind of annoying, but that's what you had to do if you wanted to be convincing. After arranging your jacket too, you headed towards your new place of work, which was the office of the head of G Corporation.

«I have to admit, you're not that bad.»

Anna Williams appeared on your left, just before you reached the door. Unlike you, she was wearing a gorgeous short kimono that emphasized her womanly curves...you wondered if that was the right outfit for a bodyguard.

«Thank you, but I don't think it will help me much, since I know nothing about this field.» You admitted with some concern, proving that you were a bad worker was the last thing you wanted to do to fall further down.

But Anna didn't seem to be of the same opinion as you.

«Just do what Kazuya asks and there won't be any problems.» She said lolling on her high heels, a gentle and threatening warning at the same time.

She was about to say something else but chose to stay silent, whatever it was, she preferred to let you figure it out on your own or it wouldn't have been fun anymore...you noticed the smile hidden between her lips, but pretending nothing happened and just entered the new boss's office.

You didn't want to get scolded on your first day, no?

«...»

«You are late.»

There, your optimism was dashed by the baritone voice coming from the back of the room and with quick steps, you reached the desk where Kazuya was sitting.

«I'm sorry for that.» You weren't, but you preferred not to argue with him at eight in the morning «This place is so big that I still struggle to orient myself...»

Of course, Kazuya took the time to scrutinize your composed figure before answering you. With those office clothes and the tuft of hair neatly behind your right ear, you were definitely a different person; not even your expression showed any signs of insecurity and he understood why you had succeeded so well in being Reira...

And now it was his turn to play with you.

«Good, because you're about to get your opportunity.» You looked at the papers presented before your eyes and memorized their contents «Deliver these documents to office X on the 52nd floor.»

Well, nothing difficult for now and you nodded before leaving and heading towards the elevator pressing the button for the 52nd floor of the Millenium Tower.

«Child's play.»

You had completed the first task in just five minutes. And when they saw you, the staff looked surprised that it was a girl who delivered such important documents, but they didn't ask any questions and just let you go away.

You were satisfied and your enthusiasm grew for the next challenge.

«If this is the secretary's job, it's not so bad!»

But this was just the beginning of a long and perverse cycle. When he saw you again, this time empty-handed, Kazuya's expression suddenly frowned and for no apparent reason.

«Where is my coffee?»

You were sure he was joking, or doing that on purpose, because you remembered very well that he had never talked about it.

«I'll make it for you right away.» You let out a long, patient sigh before leaving the office again, heading for the break room a few floors down and without any desire to discuss it.

Boss was always right, after all...

• ● •

"Closed for maintenance."

Said the writing on the bar in front of the entrance to the room. Apparently, it was undergoing maintenance and you were forced to ask for informations.

But no one was willing to stop their work for you and Anna was nowhere, so the only solution was to check until you found a blessed coffee machine, floor by floor.

You could have let it go and gone back to Kazuya with a sincere apology, but you didn't want to be judged as incompetent because of a stupid cup of coffee...

«Here you are.» You took a breath when you found a break room available and without wasting time, you prepared the tray for your pissed boss, maybe a cup of chamomile would have been better for him...

«And now, let's go to the elevator!»

But you fell silent when the call light didn't come on. You pressed the button again, but nothing seemed to go.

«...is this another joke?»

It wasn't a problem to take the stairs. Except that, there were 80 floors between you and Kazuya's office, located at the top of the tower.

The elevator was still dead and the coffee had just stopped smoking...you had no choice but to continue on foot, causing amazement in the faces of the people who saw you climbing those stairs without ever stopping and carrying a cup of hot coffee in your hands.

You understood why Kazuya Mishima hadn't had a secretary until then, anyone would have died trying something like that!

Yet, you didn't give up and when you finally reached the destination, forty-five minutes later, you were tempted to fall to your knees. Your breath was short and your sweat was evident on your forehead, but you stepped inside Mishima's office without losing your balance and willpower.

«C-coffee is ready!» Your voice echoed sharply, catching the man's serious gaze.

«Where have you been?» You were focused on serving him the drink to answer his obvious question, letting your forced movements speak for themselves.

«A simple setback, but nothing more. I didn't mean to make you wait so long.»

As scheduled, Kazuya snorted and brought the small cup of coffee to his lips, scrunching his face in contempt.

«And it's disgustingly cold.» He muttered, throwing the cup but you caught it in time «I see you quickly forgot how to serve a customer. Do it again and make sure it's sugar free, I hate the sweet taste...I hope you won't make me repeat that again, Y/n.»

Seriously, you felt like hitting his face with the tray, but you let your hands slide and the rest of his provocation away.

«Understood, sir.» You turned your back on Kazuya, feeling a deep wound in your pride and spirit. You had always been diligent in your work, learning to make fewer mistakes over time, but the one you made in front of Kazuya became unacceptable for you.

«I will be perfect next time.»

You cheered yourself on, ready to face that unjust punishment and all those that would follow it. On the other part, Kazuya was amused to see you in difficulty because of him and couldn't wait to find out how long you would endure.

«...all elevators are turned off until new order.»

He spoke at the phone and without letting his evil smile fall, he thought about his next move to annoy you with.

• ● •

Eventually, you learned that Kazuya Mishima needed a cup of coffee every morning before starting his day. Office work was more demanding than restaurant and most of your tasks were delivering documents and checking the desk when he was absent, which was quite frequent.

Luckily, you learned quickly and were attentive to every detail and mistake and that's how you discovered someone was sabotaging you. You had no idea who it was, but was obvious that someone was putting you to the test to see how long you would survive under the Cold Blooded Leader's service...

«Too bad for them. I never give up.»

You said to yourself every day and with your head held high, as you smiled victoriously...and that day made no difference, as Kazuya would have been busy elsewhere, leaving you only a USB flash drive to deliver to the laboratory on the underground floor.

It was an extremely private place and so, you would have had the honor of setting foot there for the first time.

After passing a line of guards, the doors opened independently until you stopped in the presence of a man in a white coat and with a clear badge on his chest as recognition.

«By order of Mr. Mishima, I'm here to deliver this. I'm his personal secretary.» You said seriously and showing the small object to the head scientist, who looked at you with a hateful expression.

Here kindness was a word unknown to many, you thought in a bitter tone.

«These are top secret files, it's impossible that Mr. Mishima gave them to you!» He shouted, undermining his colleagues' work and drawing all eyes to the intruder «I don't know who the hell you are, but I won't let you ruin all our plans!»

Before you could reply, the man roughly snatched the USB memory stick out of your hand.

«Get out of here now!»

You did that without answering and massaging your scratched palm. That asshole deserved a punch on his glasses, but you preferred not to create any dispute and pretended nothing happened for your own good.

Getting the job done was the most important thing to you at the moment, as well as not attracting Kazuya's attention unnecessarily...

But maybe, you had spoken too soon and by the time you returned to his office, the devil had already returned to his lair.

«Welcome back sir.» You brought your hands together to greet him with a slight bow.

«I hope you did everything I told you.» Kazuya ignored your gesture as he turned to you with his usual frown, expecting a clear yes from you.

«Sure, the files have reached their destination, in the hands of scientists.» You simply confirmed, looking the imposing man in the eyes and avoiding adding the details of your chat «Do you want me to bring you something to refresh you? It'll just take a second–»

In the blink of an eye, Kazuya's hand was around your wrist. You tried to free yourself from his grip, but his strength was enough to yank you in his direction.

«L-let me go, it hurts!» You suddenly screamed, but Kazuya was busy studying the red mark on your palm to listen to your complaints.

«Who did this to you? Answer me.» The man in the gray suit asked you with a grim voice, sure that you didn't have a scratch on your hands before.

«I just cut myself with the paper, nothing more.» You lied and as a result, the grip on your wrist tightened, by now it was impossible doing that, not when his red eye was studying you scrupulously.

«That's an order, Y/n.»

You were forced to speak at the end and when explained the situation to your superior, Kazuya immediately called Anna to his office.

Something told you that something unpleasant would happen soon.

«Bring Dr. Tanaka to my office, now.»

After a couple of minutes, Anna returned there in the company of the scientist, the same one who had kicked you out of his laboratory with harsh words.

«Did you call me, Mr. Mishima? I'm happy to let you know the new prototype is ready for testing.» His voice was rather calm and confident in his actions, but he had to change his mind when his own boss nodded to his bodyguard, who threw him face-first to the ground.

«M-Mr. Mishima–!»

«Why did you hit my secretary?» You couldn't believe his words and watched the scientist beg on the floor, without saying a word. At Kazuya's request, Anna kicked the man a couple of times until his face spat blood and tears.

«S-stop please, I'm so sorry!» The poor doctor clasped his hands in front of his boss, who simply turned towards you.

«So, how do you want to get rid of him?» His massive fist was ready to throw itself against the other's nose and beat him to death, but he left that choice to be yours alone...

Why was he taking it so seriously?

«...his apology is enough for me.»

You said, breaking the tense silence and allowing the scientist to tremble with joy as Anna dragged him out of the office. Only you and Kazuya remained there and the latter didn't stop staring, as if he couldn't understand your behavior.

«Mpf, I thought you didn't tolerate injustice. This goodness of yours will kill you one day, just like it happened to your father.»

You didn't follow him, obviously you couldn't believe he had really known your father before and you had to confirm it.

«Please, you must tell me what happened that day, I need to know who killed my family!» You placed a hand on his forearm, making him turn with curved eyebrows; after many years of research you felt the truth so close and deep down, he could understand your pain inside that cold heart.

«What would you do if your mother were–»

«Enough!»

Kazuya warned you furiously and for you, that was enough to let go of your hold on him and slam the office door behind. You had enough of that irrepressible anger and coldness towards you, who did nothing but atone for your mistakes by obeying his every condition...

You were tired of feeling so meaningless.