New Line von Xanderionas ================================================================================ Kapitel 15: Chapter 15 ---------------------- Rin never showed up the next morning. With no sign either when it came to heading to work, Yagami resigned herself towards taking the train again. Worry hung heavy in her heart as she wondered where Rin had vanished off to until she entered the office to find a rather unusual sight. Rin was sound asleep on the office floor under her workplace, a bed mat under her and almost completely out of her blanket, revealing a set of slender white legs and flowery underwear. She looked at complete peace with the world, breathing softly as she snuggled up to her pillow like it was a stuffed toy. Yagami was genuinely shocked as she continued staring, feeling the worst kind of deja vu. Quietly slipping past her, Yagami put away her coat and bag before kneeling down beside the sleeping woman. “I don’t look like this when I do it, do I?” she said in a quiet voice, causing Rin to stir. Faster than Yagami could react, Rin grabbed the hem of her skirt and pulled her down, throwing an arm around her neck and mumbling sentences, within which Yagami heard her name being repeated often. “Hey! Rin, let go!” she hissed, though it was clear that the other person wasn’t in any condition to respond. She struggled to free herself but to no avail. As she continued her efforts, the worst thing imaginable happened. She heard the glass door open, their sliding drowned out by heavy steps that she only knew from one person. Horror overcame her as Anders’ curious expression peeked over the rim of the cubicle, only for his eyes to widen in surprise as he caught sight of the two women. She gave a small peep and redoubled her efforts, somehow succeeding in freeing herself and standing upright. “I-it’s not what it looks like!” she sputtered. She recalled not having cared much back when they had ended up in a similar position with Aoba. Now however, she felt like a cornered rat. To her relief, Anders left it at a chuckle, before writing a message on his notebook for her to read: - I can understand that much, relax. Please get Ms.Toyama some clothing though. Before she could answer, Rin’s drowsy voice echoed in the near-empty cubicle: “Kou? Is that you? Why are…?” Rin fell silent as she recognized the situation, Anders’ amused smirk unmistakable now while Yagami gave a nervous laugh. Rin glanced down at her exposed legs before blushing scarlet, wrapping the blanket around herself while screaming. Yagami had to plug her ears to avoid getting deaf, while Anders merely laughed in his own silent way. Rin grabbed the nearest object on her table, it unfortunately being the heavy metal stapler, and chucked it at him. It bounced off his jacket before he could catch it, giving Yagami an imploring look. Taking a moment to understand his intent, she moved over to the teary-eyed Rin and handed her the skirt strewn on the ground. She gratefully accepted it and rapidly got dressed under the blanket. Rin tried and failed to make herself look presentable, giving a moan of despair: “This is why I didn’t want him here! How am I ever supposed to find somebody now that I’ve been seen like this?” “Hey, Rin, relax. Anders didn’t try anything. Besides, you’re at fault for sleeping here in the first place. Why didn’t you go home?” “W-well,” Rin stammered, “I...didn’t feel like it.” Raising an eyebrow at that but remaining silent for both their sakes, Yagami stood up and stretched a hand out. “In any case, come on. You need to freshen up before the rest come by.” Rin nodded as she accepted the hand with a strong blush. Just as she moved to head to the bathroom however, Anders had produced a page for both women to read: - I don’t know if this makes it up to you, but once Futaba had to spend an all-nighter in the office when she first began working with us. I didn’t like leaving her alone so I went to check. Only to find her engaged in a wrestling match with a giant teddy bear while in bunny pajamas. So I’ve seen worse, believe me. He gave an apologetic smile as if to accentuate his intentions, Yagami however unable to think over it as she doubled over laughing, even Rin giving a giggle. As they calmed down, Anders quickly had them read: - Don’t tell her I said that, she’d kill me for sure. “Too bad, Anders.” Rin said with a more cheerful tone than before, “You just gave me the perfect information to keep you in check. I expect a lot from you while you’re here, so you better get used to work quickly. Otherwise, there’ll be an anonymous phone call in the near future.” His face turned chalk white as Yagami held back from laughing again. “You’re evil, Rin.” Rin turned to her with an expression that more resembled her usual self, Yagami thankful to finally see it again. “I’m just teasing, Kou. It’s best that Anders doesn’t get too cocky for his first day, so I’m just reminding him who his bosses are.” “You mean ‘boss’. I’m his supervisor, not you.” “And we work as a team, so that responsibility is shared. Now, I need to go get ready. Give Anders the rundown, would you?” Rin departed before Yagami could give an answer, leaving the two of them alone. Clearing her throat, she motioned to him to follow her, pulling out the chair to Makimura’s old workplace. “Here. You’ll be sitting next to me for the time being. Lucky for you, Aoba had to walk back and forth constantly. Do you have any experience with character modelling?” His smirk was enough of an answer, making her feel stupid for asking. “Right, forgot. Anyway, sit down for the time being while I get some reference books for you to get started with. Hazuki needs to have the computer connected to the network again, so you’ll be reading mostly for today.” He gave a nod, Yagami walking off to get the necessary books. She barely turned the corner of the cubicle entrance when the air resounded with a crash, causing her to spin around and yell: “Are you ok?” She fell silent as she saw what the problem was. Anders was hunched over, holding his knee while the workplace looked significantly more disorganized from a few seconds ago. “Ah.” was the intelligent sound she gave from herself, Anders looking up with genuine regret. He grabbed his phone and typed something out, Yagami surprised when she heard an automatic voice call out: “Sorry about that.” Blinking at the change in communication, she shook her head and proceeded with talking: “Don’t worry about it, I should have figured. Since when did you start working with automatic voice messages?” “Since today. I hated using it in the office. If I’m starting from the beginning again however, I thought it couldn’t hurt.” She found his words just a bit sour, but she left it alone for the time being. “Fair point. Anyway, sit tight until I bring the books. Try not to break anything.” He gave a sheepish look as she left for the bookshelves, chuckling. Taking a few minutes to locate the right ones, Yagami nearly bumped into Rin, looking significantly more refreshed. “Better?” Rin nodded, checking once more if her hair was fluffed up the way she liked it. “Very much so. Where did you seat Anders? I recall Umiko had a free seat…” “I gave him Maki’s old place.” Rin gave a shocked look from herself, lips parted slightly. “But Kou, isn’t that…?” Yagami knew what was on her mind, so she interrupted her: “It’s alright, Rin. We talked it out yesterday.” “You met her?” “No, I had her on the phone. Turns out Anders and her are acquainted.” The look Rin gave was pretty much the same as she herself must have had yesterday. “No way, really?” “Yep. It seems like that, for the longest time, I failed to see the truth behind people’s intentions. Maki was never unhappy with me or anything of the sort. She actually made it into Hearts Masquerade, can you believe it?” “That’s amazing!” Rin’s praise was genuine, herself more than aware of the competition between their own company and Hearts Masquerade. “Yep. And above all, I’ve finally been able to get over my own misplaced guilt. So I’ve ended up owing Anders another favor. That guy can make you feel like there’s nothing he can’t do.” A wistful look briefly brushed Rin’s features, before she nodded quietly. “True. He is a person full of surprises. Come, let me help with those books.” Before another word could be traded, Rin grabbed half the stack and inspected the titles, raising an eyebrow at the first few. “You’re really pushing this level of work on him already? I thought he was going to start as a rookie. These books would be better suited for Aoba.” Yagami shrugged as they walked down the corridor, peeking down at the first book in her shortened pile. “I chose them because I knew he wouldn’t be able to do much with the beginner’s stuff. His problem isn’t that he can’t design but that he doesn’t know our programs. Once he knows how to handle our system he shouldn’t have any trouble.” “Isn’t that a lot of responsibility and pressure for a beginner?” A chuckle bordering on a chortle from Yagami made Rin cock her head sideways in confusion. “Believe me Rin, I know his skill. I wouldn’t have pushed the idea of him joining us otherwise, so just…” She halted as they turned the corner into the cubicle. Anders was still seated at his new desk, albeit with Hifumi beside him as they conversed over their phones. Putting her surprise at Hifumi’s early entry aside, she caught a slice of their conversation: “...doesn’t it hurt to be back at the beginning? I know what Hazuki said, but…” “Relax, Ms.Takimoto. I also wouldn’t have accepted the job if I didn’t feel ready for it. Besides, working at a company which I respect so much is a far better alternative to being jobless.” Hifumi didn’t send an answer, a small smile on her lips. The moment was broken though as Yagami placed the stack of books on the table, causing her to jump high enough to reach the stars. “Hifumin.” Yagami began, teasingly adding fake irritation to her voice, “While I don’t mind talking to the rookie, I’d prefer it if you kept it to the lunch breaks.” The shy girl merely nodded furiously as she rushed back to her seat, her face bright red out of embarrassment. It made Yagami feel slightly bad, but she knew she had done her job. Anders was in the midst of pretending to look interested in the first title on the pile. Rin seated herself with an amused expression. “You don’t have to hide anything. I’m just surprised that you’d already be talking to Hifumin. It usually takes days to get a word out from her. And from a guy nonetheless.” “I-it’s alright.” Hifumi whispered in the background, causing everyone to turn to her. She fumbled with the hem of her skirt before pressing out: “A-Anders reminds me of Sojiro, s-so I have less trouble.” “Sojiro, huh?” Yagami said out loud, noticing Anders’ sigh of relief, a mischievous idea popping into her head. “Isn’t that great, rookie?” she said cheerfully while patting him on the shoulder, “In her eyes, you’re equal to a hedgehog.” The shift from relief to shock in his eyes was too much for her, causing her to laugh while his expression turned complicated. Even Rin gave a giggle at the sight, while Hifumi gave a profuse apology to him with repeated bows. As everyone managed to calm down, Yagami decided that playtime was over. She clapped her hands to break up the mood. “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s get back to work for the time being. Speaking of which, Hifumin, why are you here so early?” Hifumi fumbled with her words again, Yagami having become used to waiting it out, before taking a deep breath: “I wanted to take my duties more seriously. Like you did, Kou.” Sensing her pleased attitude at having given her statement without a stutter, Yagami found nothing else to do but smile appreciatively. “That’s good to hear. Anders, you might as well take pointers from everyone here.” Said person merely nodded as he opened the first book, giving a despairing glance at Yagami as he saw what he was faced with. She gave a grin in response. “Look, you wanted to join the company. So it’s just fair of me to expect you to pull your own weight. And you have a lot to make up for, looking at you.” He could give no retort, instead sighing and resting his head on his arm as he began to read in earnest through the book, Yagami gave a satisfied nod as she booted up her computer and began to work herself. The morning passed slowly, Aoba and the rest soon present as well to make up for lost time. After a couple of hours, a technician passed by to help get Anders’ computer station set up. The process of getting Anders used to the programs didn’t take long, to Yagami’s surprise. It turned out that Anders had dealt with similar work in the past while handling his duties as a manager, having always invested extra time into learning about graphic design programs out of sheer curiosity. While he had little to no practical experience, his understanding of the interfaces saved a significant amount of time, making Yagami even more pleased with him. As lunchtime rolled up, Rin clapped her hands to signal to the others to halt. “Everyone, let’s pause for a moment to have lunch.” Hajime looked up from her workplace, her expression gloomy. “It’s already lunch? I still have so much to do that I feel like giving up now.” The blond twin tailed girl that was Jun gave a disapproving look. “Hajime, that’s not a good attitude to have. Even if it’s a lot, you need to rest.” “But Jun, it’s just so much! Couldn’t that hacker have done something better with his time than to interrupt our work? They didn’t even do anything to us.” Nearly everyone apart from Yagami drew a sharp breath, Hajime wondering what she had said when she noticed the troubled look of Anders in the background. Wide-eyed with shock, she shot up and bowed deep enough to point towards the ground: “I’m so sorry! I forgot your company was actually hurt by them!” Anders clapped his hands to break her bow, smiling while shaking his head. He grabbed his phone and typed out: “It’s alright, Ms.Shinoda, I’m not offended. I should apologise instead for having you all dragged into this mess.” As he bowed, Yagami sighed deeply, all to aware of what he was referring to. No news had come yet from the investigation around Takamura, herself aware that he must be pulling strings to avoid blame. She briefly let her resentment for him stew, before stuffing it in and snapping her fingers. “Alright, let’s not get too apologetic here. What’s happened, happened. Let’s eat lunch instead, I’m actually hungry for once.” “Kou, that’s only because you bothered to keep a proper sleep schedule since last week.” Rin added with a poignant tone, as if to raise the value of normality before her. Aoba and the rest of the team laughed as Yagami cleared her throat, her cheeks slightly red. “So what? I just thought it’d be better if I bothered to get some more sleep now and then.” Rin chuckled, making Yagami pout as Hajime tried to make herself useful by setting up the snack table. Aoba procured the usual tea and snacks, while Jun produced a bountiful lunch that she swore was for everyone to enjoy. Rin pointed to Yagami how she eyed the meat longingly, giggling amongst themselves. As they got around to eating, Yagami found a certain person missing. She turned around to find Anders facing the wall, eating away at something hidden through his wide frame. She frowned as she watched him, stepping to him and tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped slightly as he spun around to stare at her, the latter noticing a lunch box on his desk. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, adding more authority into her voice than usual. He fumbled with a pen and paper, writing out an answer so fast the handwriting became shoddy: - I thought I’d not disturb you during lunch. She eyed the answer with a scrutinizing look, before turning it into a directed glare at him. “And why aren’t you disturbing us? You’re also part of the team now, you know?” - But I haven’t even started properly yet. Besides, isn’t it uncomfortable to suddenly have a man in your midst? “I couldn’t care less, personally. Now come on, I’m not having you spend time by yourself. We’re not animals, we don’t bite.” A loud crunch interrupted their chat, revealed to be Hajime with a rice cracker nearly bigger than her head. Yun gave an irritated sigh. “Just where did you even buy that?” “Convenience store down the road. They come in over a dozen flavors, it’s amazing!” “Would it kill you to be a bit more dignified?” As the group giggled over the minor squabble, Yagami took it as her chance and swiped the lunch box underneath Anders’ nose, causing him to panic and try to grab it back. She jumped out of his reach though and stuck out her tongue. “Too bad, I’ve got it! Now you better join us or else you go hungry. What did you even make for....?” She paused as she beheld what was in the lunch box, having expected a man like him to at most have cooked rice and meat. Instead, what she saw was equivalent if not superior to Yun’s own lunchbox. She stared at the rich diversity of dishes in the rectangular box, before catching a strip of seaweed with the words “I believe in you!” etched into it. Rin and the others couldn’t even get a glimpse before a large hand appeared from behind and grabbed it from her. Yagami looked up to see a flustered Anders at the other end, his cheeks flushed as if embarrassed. A hastily scribbled note he held before her read: - Please don’t take other people’s food. Yagami gave a nervous laugh, now feeling slightly guilty. “Sorry, sorry. I just didn’t want you to be alone. We’re all working together, so don’t try to hold back from getting to know us better.” His unhappy mood persisted for a few more moments until he let go with a sigh, shuffling closer so he could join their circle. As he put the lunch box down, he added to the note so that everyone could read: - The first thing I can say is that I’m never trusting you with food-related matters. “Oh, is that right?” she said with a dangerous edge in her voice, the rest of the group falling silent after their brief giggle fit, “Then I guess we need to let you find out just what happens when you get sassy with your boss. You can start designing characters straight after this lunch break. Every design I’m not happy with, you have to do an all-nighter. And that stacks.” He grew a shade whiter at that, the rest taking a small bit of enjoyment from it until they got back to finishing up their lunch. Hajime bombarded Anders with questions about his previous job despite everyone’s imploring glances, him handling it in a mature manner and answering curtly. Yagami kept mostly quiet, content with seeing how he could integrate with the rest. She was pleased to see that Anders and the rest were getting along well, especially him and Aoba. Both had turned out to be hardcore fans of Yagami’s work, piling their experiences and knowledge to a level where she had to break it up in fear of them touching on something private. Hifumi and him also communicated well, their chats over the phone smooth and without hesitation, albeit with a bit of unease from Anders’ side as he likely still compared his standing to that of her hedgehog. She even inquired into his usual preferences for lunch, him only commenting that he needed a lot of food to sustain his high metabolism. Yagami quickly briefed Anders after lunch on the work he had to perform for the afternoon, the latter giving a nervous gulp at the prospect but still eager. As Yagami returned to her own work however, she felt unusually troubled. Her thoughts became preoccupied by the writing in the lunchbox, Anders having promptly eaten it up before anybody else could get a look at it. She wondered what it had been about, the characters having been written in the feminine form. A memory of her and Rin in Futaba’s car and the possibility of a partner resurfaced. Back then, Futaba had denied it after exiting Anders’ house, yet it was unmistakable that the home he lived in was designed for two people or more. She had no idea why the topic troubled her so, casting a glance at Anders as he was caught up with trying to adapt her drawing before him into a 3D model. The way his cheeks were sucked in just slightly and the crease in his brow caused an overall comical appearance that made her giggle quietly. She decided to take a page from his notebook and remained focused on her tasks. As day shifted to evening however, he did something that nobody expected. It was just as the day closed for most employees, Aoba and the others already packing up and deciding on what to do for tonight. Rin had gone off to discuss something with Hazuki regarding their promotion campaign. Yagami meanwhile was contemplating whether to try another all-nighter to catch up with her work, ultimately deciding against it as to not make a bad influence on Anders. As she moved to shut down her computer, said person stopped her via text message. She opened it, revealing a short question: - Already heading home? She contemplated what to answer with, before resigning to honesty. - Yep. Don’t need to be too crazy with the workload for today. Don’t want your first day to be too stressful. - Even if I wanted to stay longer? - You’re a beginner, take it easy. Even if you’re used to being on top with work, it’s important to not let it get too you. - Hypocrisy is a wonderful word, isn’t it? She coughed loudly and tried to distract herself by playing with a metal sharpener: - Anyway, I wanted to show you my work for today at least. Could you do that? - Of course not. I’d have to turn my head and everything. His answer was a shocked emoticon, causing her to laugh as she turned her head to expect nothing more than a skeleton. Yet instead, her mouth folded open as she beheld what he had to show. The sharpener in her opened hand was dropped unceremoniously into the cup Rin had just put down on her table. “Kou? Is everything alright?” Her concerned voice turned everyone’s attention to Yagami, who still gaped at Anders’ screen. Rin followed her vision, before giving a confused sound from herself. “What is it, Kou? It’s just one of your examples, isn’t it?” Yagami’s mind needed Rin to reboot, giving her the chance to resort her thoughts and cough out: “Rin... that’s not my design.” “What?” Rin inquired while moving closer and inspecting the figure on the screen, Anders keeping a respectful distance while looking nervous, “Don’t be silly, of course you did. You’re not trying to say that…” “Rin, that is not my work. Anders did it himself.” She spun around in stunned silence, the rest of the group now also gathered around them and staring in awe at the screen. Anders had, against everyone's expectations, produced a 3D model that exceeded anything a newcomer should be able to produce. The character’s proportions were near perfect according to the diagram, even the small features like the hairstyle and ends of the dress being close to finished. It was nothing compared to the half-baked version she had seen several hours ago. At this rate he only needed another afternoon to finish it. Nobody said a word as they continued inspecting the piece, Anders growing increasingly nervous as he awaited their response. The first to break the silent mood came from Anders himself, who used his phone to gather attention. “Is it any good?” “Any...” Yagami coughed out, before taking a deep breath and nearly yelling, “This is a near complete product! You even got the details down! How the hell did you manage that?” Anders gave a smirk. “That was my first draft. I used it as reference for my errors to improve. I also sneaked a few glances at what you were doing and used that to make it more appropriate for what I thought you were expecting. Did I do it right?” “More than that, you pretty much finished it! Aoba needed weeks to get it down to this speed and you simply did it within a single afternoon? You didn’t even finish reading the books I gave you!” “Oh, those? I speed-read through the sections that more directly concerned the problems I had. I got pretty good at that in Kerzo.” Stunned silence again persisted in the group, all eyes focused on Anders, who scratched his cheek in insecurity. “Should I...should I not have done that?” His answer came in the form of a downpour of praise and excitement, Aoba drilling him on how he had done it while Hajime clapped him on the back and congratulated him. Even Hifumi gave her praise through her phone, retreating with a blush as Anders acknowledged her words. Yagami leaned back in her seat, still gawking at the design in disbelief. She certainly had high hopes for Anders after his drawing skills were shown, but she had never expected him to reach such a high level in a mere day. Aoba had shown her true worth to the company, but she had always showed a fierce determination to improve her skills for her passion of producing games. What Anders had just shown bordered on impossibility in her mind, except for one possibility that she didn’t want to admit yet. Unfortunately, Rin was the wisest of the bunch and said directly to her: “Kou, isn’t that close to what you were like when you first joined the company?” She winced as Rin hit the mark, the latter giving a perplexed look. “What’s wrong, Kou?” “No, it’s fine. I just... didn’t expect what Hazuki said to be true.” “She thought the same thing?” Yagami couldn’t hold back a defeated sigh. “Yeah, she did.” Unwilling to go further, she stood up and turned to leave the cubicle, telling Rin without looking at her: “I’m going to grab a coffee. Be right back.” She didn’t wait for a response, heading out of the cubicle with rapid steps, nobody apart from Rin aware of it. She quickly reached the coffee machine and pressed the espresso button, before leaning on the table and giving a deep sigh. Her chest felt oddly burdened, having no idea what was causing it. Or to be truthful, she probably didn’t want to admit it. As such, she didn’t recognise the amused voice beside her: “Oh my, what’s this? Trouble in the workplace and on the first day? I should reconsider my employment schemes in future.” Yagami looked up to see Hazuki leaning beside her, a curious smile on her features. “Oh, hi Hazuki.” As if to torment her, Hazuki made a hurt expression. “Such a lackluster voice. It’s as if somebody sucked the enthusiasm of yesterday right out of you.” “Does it?” Yagami said mostly to herself, sighing again as the machine slowly finished its duty, “I just needed a moment to collect myself. Anders worked beyond any of my expectations.” “I caught a glimpse of it myself just now. He certainly has a rich set of talents, doesn’t he?” “Yes, frighteningly so.” “Is that fear I sense in your voice? You, Yagami Kou the prodigy?” “Prodigy, huh?” Yagami repeated in a dark tone, “I’m not sure what it is. I expected Anders to have reasonable trouble with handling his new job, apart from his drawings. Yet he outperformed Aoba over the course of a single afternoon. I remember doing the exact same thing on my first day as well, relatively speaking.” “Even I recall it. You had already caught my interest back then. It was why I decided to hold the Lead Character Designer competition. You won with flying colors not just because of my personal interest but your exceptional skills.” “Yeah, well, looks like you got two of us now.” Yagami said with a tense expression, still unsure how to take the news. Hazuki eyed her with a hint of concern, before landing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t get so worked up, Yagami.” She said with genuine encouragement, “You had a gut feeling about him and it simply turned out to be true. You cannot fault yourself for that. Be happy instead that you were able to give Anders the chance to prove himself in something else than his previous position. I’m sure he was only so successful because to a certain extent, he was also having fun doing it. So go out there and encourage him to continue. I understand how highly he regards you and believe me for what it’s worth, he would never want to make you feel insignificant. Like you yourself said, he has his own dreams and ideas to pursue. And I don’t want to see my first paycheck for him have been in vain already.” Yagami blinked, before catching on. “Wait, you already paid him?” “Call it a bet of sorts. I asked him yesterday in the cubicle after you left if he would be willing to be completely honest for one night. Should he succeed, I promised him a reward. Be a shame for him to not enjoy it fully. He probably needs it anyway, given the home he lives in.” Now she truly confused Yagami. “And now you know how much he pays to live? Where did you dig that up?” Hazuki split from her with a twinkle in her eyes that felt nostalgic. “I’m his employer, Yagami. I received his papers this morning from Futaba and I saw what street he lives in. Some of our business correspondents live there with their families and they’re not exactly cheap.” With that Hazuki turned to leave, Yagami still staring at her perplexedly while she entered her office. The coffee machine beeped to signal it was done for the fourth time, waking her from her stupor. She grabbed the mug and walked back to the cubicle, finding Anders engrossed in chats with the rest. She set her mug down, making herself known to everyone. Folding her arms, she gave Anders a stern look, who now looked significantly more nervous. “Anders, we need to talk.” Her tone was a bit harsher than she wanted, but it had the intended effect. Everyone shut up, including Rin, who awaited her with something resembling relief. Anders merely nodded, his eyes both betraying expectation and worry. “Your first work went very well. Color me impressed.” He gave a small sigh of relief. “However.” Only to inhale sharply again. “You definitely went too fast for a single day. While having a quick pace helps our workload, it also brings about the risk of forgetting small details that everyone but the players can overlook. Therefore, please don’t try to rush production until I am comfortable with your progress.” She pointed to his screen, where the nearly completed model still hung in artificial anticipation. “You have until tomorrow evening to finish this one and the next one I give you to do needs at least three days’ worth of work before you hand it to me. Try to work yourself down to a pace where you can check everything at least ten times over before continuing with the next step. This isn’t to try and curb your talent, but to make you aware of how much effort goes into production. Are we clear?” To her surprise, he immediately agreed, nodding with a glint in inspiration in his eyes. A quick glance showed deeply impressed looks from everyone else, Aoba especially so. “That’s the Yagami I know!” she exclaimed, making said person somewhat uncomfortable. “I’m not always that uptight, am I?” Rin took up answering, relaxing in her chair slightly. “Not at all. But it’s good that you’re not going easy on him. Well then, Anders, I hope you had a productive day.” “I did indeed.” he answered with a wide smile, “It’s what I expected from the great Yagami Kou. Thank you again for all your help.” “Don’t sweat it.” she answered, “Let’s call it quits though, I feel that rushing you through isn’t right either. You know how to get home?” “I’ll be fine. I might not have the company car anymore, but I can take the train.” “Good. then I’d say it was time for me to finish up as well. Everyone, how about you?” Aoba and the rest looked between themselves, before giving a unified grin. Leaving both Yagami and Anders confused, Jun stepped forward with her hands behind her back, a sly smile on her face. “Well,” she began, moving so she stood before everyone, “We found it kind of abrupt how Anders joined us, so we thought we might make it more comfortable for him. Here.” She produced a box wrapped with elegant paper and a bow, handing it to Anders. Aoba and the rest gave a nod for him to open it, obliging and revealing a figurine that looked too familiar to be true. Yagami was stunned to find a figurine of none other than Boldur himself inside the box. The man himself was speechless, raising his head in bewilderment as Aoba explained: “You told us last night how you found Boldur to be your favorite character, right? Well, we were wondering after the party what to do to liven up your workplace since it’s so empty right now. Luckily, Hifumi’s cousin happened to have a Boldur model from when Fairies Story 1 came out.” Anders’ mouth hung a bit, the information clearly significant to him. He glanced at Hifumin, who blushed and meekly nodded as he typed out: “That extremely limited-edition figurine which only had thirty copies made before they fixed the error in production?” Yagami recalled that particular incident, it having been her that found the flaw when Hazuki had left her papers strewn about. The error had been fixed quickly but the models already made were now useless to them, so Hazuki had them auctioned off. For whatever reason, they had exploded in value, buyers giving out their life’s earnings to grab one. Yagami had never seen the point in it back then, finding the mistake embarrassing. Now, she saw how somebody could find value in even an error, opting to be quiet about the whole matter. Aoba grinned and continued: “Precisely. Seems like after Fairies Story 2 came out he lost interest sadly, but he kept the figure as a memento. So while Hifumin distracted you for the morning, we went to have it wrapped for you. Took a while, we couldn’t decide on what paper and color to use.” Everyone awaited his response, his hands shaking slightly as he took the figure out. He placed it down on his desk, gazing at it for a moment before standing up. He turned to the group and smiled almost as wide as he had yesterday evening while bowing. “Everyone, thank you so much for this gift. I promise to work hard to meet your expectations.” Nobody complained, most giggling as he continued his formal display. Yagami, sensing the mood at a high point, shut down her computer and clapped her hands. “Alright, let’s break it up for now. It’s getting late and we don’t want Ahagon to come after us with complaints of being noisy.” As if eavesdropping, everyone heard a gun cocking in the background. Packing their remaining stuff, Aoba and the rest gave their farewells to Anders, who bowed again to them individually. Hifumi was the last to leave, giving Rin and Yagami a final farewell before trying to shuffle past Anders, who still stood at the cubicle entrance. “Hold on a minute, Ms. Takimoto.” Giving a peep, she turned slowly and looked up at him, a nervous smile on her face. “W-what is it, Mr Tansuke?” Yagami blinked at her speaking without her phone, before Anders continued typing in a steadfast manner. “Thank you again for the gift. I very much appreciate it, even though it’s obvious that you were the one who had the model rather than some cousin.” She gave a squeal and turned scarlet, Anders trying to rein her attention in with a snap of his fingers. Yagami leaned in when Rin placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. “Let them talk.” she mouthed, Yagami wondering why but remaining silent and letting Hifumi stutter out: “H-how did you f-figure it out?” “I’ve been dealing with people for a long time, Ms. Takimoto. Long enough to learn their various faces when hiding information from me. It was part of my job to read between the lines with customers and associates. Your attempts to keep everyone distracted without giving your motive was a clear indicator.” “I-I see.” she said with a faint voice, evidently ready to turn into mush. She was startled though when Anders smiled broadly. “That doesn’t change my appreciation for what you did. I hoped to be welcome in this company and you have all but proven that. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.” He bowed towards her, causing Hifumi to become even more flustered, her voice lacking any stutter due to her speed: “No, I’m thankful! I shouldn’t have gone and compared you to Sojiro, that was rude of me!” “Oh, that minor thing?” he typed out with a silent laugh, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve never heard of anyone having a pet hedgehog before. Is he friendly?” Hifumi’s expression lit up at the change in topic, a small smile dancing on her face again. “Y-yes, though he’s j-just as shy as me.” Her mood sank again as she struck a blow against herself, Yagami giving a mental shout of encouragement to her. Just as Hifumi gave a deep sigh, something seemed to click in Anders’ mind. “You know, Ms.Takimoto, you have much too little self-esteem.” “Huh?” she barely managed to squeeze out before he continued: “You might show a shy demeanor, but I can tell that you have a lot more potential than you let on. You worked admirably while helping Ms. Suzukaze with her latest character.” Hifumin’s eyes widened slightly. “Y-you were watching?” “Without ill intent, I assure you. I thought it appropriate to watch how my seniors perform their duties. I find that you are already unofficially the next Character Team Leader.” If her eyes were wide before, they became positively gigantic now. Not a word came out of her throat, before she fumbled with her phone and continued: “That can’t possibly be the case! I’m far too insecure for that.” “Ms. Takimoto, you’re only insecure because you don’t put enough faith in your abilities. I see how earnestly you perform and while you may struggle somewhat with interaction, I believe that is becoming a minor hurdle for you.” The scarlet which already decorated Hifumi’s face deepened in color, before the inevitable happened. She gave a weak sigh and collapsed on the spot, Anders barely catching her in time. He spun around with a concerned expression, only to see Rin sigh while Yagami shook her head. With him unable to ask or inquire, he was forced to listen to Rin’s chiding tone: “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve gone and made the poor girl fall unconscious. I think we need to reconsider his suitability here, Kou.” Anders grew chalk white again, turning to Yagami with an imploring look. Said person only gave a sly smile as she answered: “I think we do. Say Anders, is it in your interest to make girls fall for you? You’ve certainly proven it so far.” His white skin turned beetroot as he struggled to lower Hifumin gently, before pulling out his phone and typing: “I didn’t mean to do that! I was just being honest!” “And look where it’s got you. Honestly, you could do with a few pointers on how to deal with women. She’s going to be out for a while now. How is she going to get home?” Panic affixed himself in his expression as he contemplated what to do, ruffling his hair until it nearly stood up straight. Yagami continued staring coldly at him, until she couldn’t hold it anymore and burst into laughter, Rin also failing her mask and descending into giggles. Their reactions made him stand there utterly helpless, at a loss what to do. “Relax, Anders.” Yagami said after calming down, “Hifumin just does that from time to time. She’s never been well with compliments or interaction in general so when it gets too much, she just collapses. Rin, do you think you can take her home?” Rin nodded earnestly. “I think I can. Anders, however, will have to help me with getting her in the car. She should be awake by the time we reach her house so I’ll take it from there.” She began to pack her things together, Anders taking the hint and rushing to get his own workplace tidied up while Yagami watched over Hifumi. The young woman was breathing steadily, her red flush replaced with her normal skin tone. She pondered to herself how she had managed to keep up a conversation with Anders. Back when Hifumi had first joined, she had also gone and fainted on her during her first week. Yagami had merely wanted to introduce herself properly, but the attention had been too much for her. Back then, she had wondered if somebody like her would be able to keep up in the workplace. Once she got used to the electronic communication system though, she flourished, able to focus on the workload while interacting with the rest. The fact that she had pushed herself so far with Anders however made her slightly concerned. It was unlike Hifumi to want to speak so much with somebody, even Aoba who she seemingly established a close relationship with. “Maybe…” she began muttering, before shaking her head and returning to her seat, Rin already having Anders try and raise Hifumi up on his back. Yagami agreed to meet Anders before the building once he finished, getting her things together as they left the office. She quickly went and said farewell to Ahagon and Nene, the latter of which evidently wasn’t looking forward to the all-nighter which surely laid before her. She could only give an encouraging wave before she departed, heading down the elevator in eerie silence before reaching the evening foot traffic outside. She decided to occupy her time by letting her mind wander, finding to her pleasure that nothing stood out from her usual dreamland. It was an odd thing to describe to someone else, her having an eternal playground where features and body parts came together like puppets. Yet, it was what allowed Yagami to come up with so many different characters in a short period of time. It was her storage unit, in a sense. When she had lost her control over it several weeks ago during the competition it had frustrated her to no end. Even now when she was back to her usual routine, she shuddered to think what could have happened if she hadn’t found a way to escape the hole she dug herself in. It would likely have put her out of commission for longer than she’d like to admit. Despite her talent and training, Yagami knew that she was overly reliant on her dreamland, unable to think in the same way as Aoba and the rest of the team. One day, she knew, she had to grow out of the comfortable shell she still occupied. Her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of fingers snapping right next to her ear, causing her to jump and turn mid-air to find Anders. Taking a moment to collect herself, she breathed out: “You surprised me!” He smiled while taking out his notebook, scribbling in it and showing the first written text she’d seen in a while from him: - Ms. Toyama has Ms. Takimoto safely stored in her car. Feeling a bit nostalgic at their original means of communication, Yagami answered cheerfully: “That’s good to hear. So, your first day could be regarded a success, couldn’t it?” - I agree. You certainly held yourself up as a proper senior in the workplace. Completely different from what certain co-workers have leaked to me. “Wait, what?” Anders chuckled silently as he turned around, deliberately ignoring her demanding look for answers. “Hey, don’t ignore me! Who told you anything? What did you hear?” She tried to get him to face her, but they ended up playing a form of ‘Red light, Green light’ where he moved whenever she came into view. After a minute of this, she began to realize the stares they received, halting her actions promptly as she blushed. That just released a bigger chuckle from Anders, whose shoulders were now noticeably shaking. Aware she wasn’t going to win with normal means, she resorted to underhanded play: “Oh forget it. I just remembered I forgot to call Futaba to report on your first day. I promised her no secrets.” Anders was quick on the uptake, his panicked expression her small victory over him as he rapidly wrote out: - Anything but that! “Then spill it.” she said in a triumphant voice. Anders slumped his shoulders. - Aoba and Hajime. Don’t be too harsh on them, I was the one who inquired. “Were you now? And why was that?” - Certain ‘events’ this morning gave me room to doubt. Now it was her turn to falter, nearly squeezing her throat shut as she forced out: “T-that was an accident! Rin pulled me down and pinned me!” - And normally, it’s the reverse, I gather? “No!” she said, a bit louder than intended, ”I never did anything like that with her! We’re…” She stopped suddenly as Rin’s actions last night replayed in her mind. Her blush deepened a slight bit as her voice became quiet: “We’re… not like that.” She had no idea why, but her words weighed her heart down immensely, making her unsure what was going on. Surprisingly, Anders picked up on it: - I presume this is a more private matter. I won’t pry. “N-no, it’s fine. I don’t even know why I acted like that.” He raised an eyebrow at that, but kept silent about it nonetheless. She could appreciate his earnestness in that regard. - I see. How about a drink to forget about it for the night? “You mean by Maria?” she asked in surprise, Anders giving a happy nod. - Of course. It’s the quietest place around and cheap to boot. Come on. Without asking, he began to head in the direction of the bar street, looking over his shoulder. She chewed on the idea in her mind for longer than expected, before sighing and following him. Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)