Undercover

“Haru, from today on, you will have the room for yourself, okay?”

“Why? Where is he going, Bhante*?”

Today was my 6th birthday. It was supposed to be a happy day, but it didn’t seem to be that way.

I ran towards him and hugged him form behind.

“Please don’t leave me,” I said to him, crying.

He then pated my head and whispered softly to me.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

He gave me a lighter that emitted light which we always used to light up the room after the lights were off.

“Keep it.”

He handed it on the palm of my hand and let me have it.

“Be good here, okay? Don’t cause trouble for the monks.”

He then hugged me for the last time, before parting.

A group of people then escorted him to a carriage, driving away from the monastery.

He left me, leaving only a lighter behind.

That was the last time I saw him.

“Haru? Are you okay?”

Haru just woke up after passing from during his last match. He lost the final round to Zum, and was brought to his room afterwards by Meixia.

Meixia was sitting next to Haru’s bed, waiting for him to wake up.

“I lost, didn’t I....”

Haru sounded dejected. He was so close to winning, but he got defeated at the very last moment.

“Don’t worry. There will be plenty more opportunities for you in the future.”

Meixia was trying to console him. She knew that Haru worked really hard trying to win that tournament.

“If it makes you feel better, Zum is doubtedly the second strongest person in the team anyway. He only rivals to Arudo, so it’s completely normal for a newcomer like you to lose to him. They’ve been here way longer than we have.”

Meixia was holding Haru’s hands, cheering him up. As best friends, they truly supported each other, especially in times of need.

Later that day, Garuda Squad was having a get-together at the nearest bar. Saaya was treating them to have some drinks as a celebration for the tournament.

Haru was not feeling like he wanted to come, but since Saaya was also gonna be announcing the assignment for the Lantern Festival, he had no choice but to. Haru was going to come with Meixia, but something came up and Meixia told Haru to go before her. He then came to the bar on his own.

Meanwhile, Meixia stayed in her room a little bit longer to read a letter sent by someone.

“Oh no....” she thought to herself.

Meixia just received some news about the Lantern Festival sent by her superior. There would be an attack during the festival, and her utmost priority was to identify the perpetrator and kept the Temple Members safe during the whole event.

Unlike other members of Garuda Squad, Meixia was actually not a “real” member. She actually worked for the National Intelligence Agency, under the Military Soldiers Brigade. She received an undercover mission to pretend as a Sacred Guard within Garuda Squad to identify a spy within the squad. As of right now, she was working alone as the only agent, while her superior was giving support from somewhere else in the form of encrypted letters using codes. Nobody knew her true identity yet, not even the Temple Members themselves.

Meixia was listing several possible suspects. She found Zum, Arudo, and Kogane to be especially suspicious. Even though it was her best friend, she also suspected Haru, since it was her job to do so. She found it somewhat strange that Haru wanted to see the Premier that badly, without explaining his reasons. She was still trying to find more proof about the investigation, so she could not pin anyone down just yet.

After she was finished with her “real” mission, she got ready to go to the bar to meet other members of Garuda Squad.

Upon her arrival, Meixia was the last one to arrive. The rest of the members already ordered for some drinks and snacks, but waited for her to come before starting to have the meal.

“Meixia! Come, sit here!”

Saaya asked Meixia to sit beside her. That was strange. Saaya never did that before, so Meixia was weirded about her action.

After everyone was seated, Saaya finally started her announcement.

“Alright, everyone. Thank you for coming. First and foremost, congratulations to Zum for winning the tournament.”

Everyone clapped for him, congratulating him.

“As you all know, there will be important figures coming to the Lantern Festival. Aside from the Premier, his Advisor and the Holy Monastic are also coming. Several ministers and state governors will also come, but not all of them.”

While listening to her, everyone was allowed to have some drinks and snacks. Aside from congratulating the winner of the tournament, she also used this occasion to welcome Haru as a new member of the squad.

“As I told you earlier, Zum and I will be escorting the Premier and his Advisor. Arudo will be with the Lord Commander during the event, but I’m not sure if they’re coming to the festival or not. Are you coming, Arudo?”

“I will ask the Lord Commander later on, Chief.”

“Alright, moving on. Haru and Meixia will be escorting the Holy Monastic. Bing, Dasom, and Kogane will be escorting the ministers and state governors. Yara will stay at the Temple on guard in case anything happens there, or in case we need some back up.”

Even though Meixia knew that this was the standard protocol to leave a member behind at the Temple for security sake, she found it rather odd that Yara was staying at the Temple instead of Haru, since Yara was a member far longer than him.

“For minister and governor team, please make sure they move in a group and don’t let them split. It’s gonna be hard to escort them if they split from the group.”

“Chief, what about the citizens?” Bing asked.

“There will be Military Police taking care of the citizens’ safety. Our utmost priority is to escort the Temple Members during the festival safely, make sure the ceremony goes as planned, and escort them back to the Temple after the festival is finished.”

Everyone was listening attentively. They also took notes of Saaya’s explanation.

“I will give you the rundown of the whole festival later on. Don’t forget to bring Garuda Squad equipment with you on the day of the event.”

Saaya meant the lumina handcuffs that Haru received a few days ago.

The announcement was over. They were now enjoying the rest of the night by drinking.

After a while, some of the members were getting drunk. Yara who sat down next to Meixia suddenly put her head on her shoulder.

“You okay, Yara?” Meixia asked.

“After getting beaten by a newcomer? Hell no!”

Yara was feeling dejected after being defeated to Haru. She expected to win, but the result of the match said otherwise.

Aside from a legendary weapon that was passed down from generations to generations, Kizetsuya clan also passed down an ancient fyx skill that complemented the legendary weapon. It was listed as one of the 5 ancient national fyx skills of Virtue Vault. The fyx skill allowed them to stop the flow of fyx energy exactly at the spot hit by the arrow. Unfortunately, Yara did not possess this fyx skill, which made her claim as the next head of Kizetsuya clan come to question.

By not possessing the fyx skill, Yara had to always prove herself in everything she did. Her father, the current head of clan, expected her to do her best in everything she did to compensate for her “lack of gift.” Even though Yara’s electric fyx energy was extremely rare, her father only accepted the ancient fyx skill as a valid prerequisite that was worthy enough to succeed him as the next head of clan.

“Now that Chief Saaya is assigning me to guard the Temple.....even she thinks I’m the weakest of the group.....”

Yara was feeling insecure these past few days. She felt like she could have done better, and she shouldn’t have lost.

“No....don’t say that.”

Meixia was trying to console her, but it was not working. Yara was under the influence of alcohol that made her sunk to the whole negative thoughts.

“I don’t even know if I can wield the bow much longer. As soon as someone from my family turns out to be gifted with the ancient fyx skill, I will no longer be of use for Kizetsuya clan.”

Yara was the eldest child of the Kizetsuya household, which was why she was currently the one holding the Kizetsuya Bow. Her younger siblings had not developed their fyx skill yet, so she was still in possession of the bow. Yara needed a chance to redeem herself. That was the only thing that could make her feel better about this whole situation.

After ranting all of her stress to Meixia, Yara fell asleep on her lap, sleeping soundly.

Meixia smiled as she watched her sleep.

*Bhante = a title to address monks.