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THE end of the workday arrived at last, and Akari joyfully began to pack up her things.
The Chinese bento lunch had been heavenly. Now she was excited for tonight’s dinner.
Akari headed down the stairs to the exit on the ground floor, wondering what Mayoi was planning to do about groceries for dinner.
“Mitsukuri. Your first day back, and you’re out the door on the dot? Tch. Typical woman.”
Akari heard the snide voice from behind her and turned to see the infamous Gosaka standing there.
Manicured mustache bristling, Gosaka came striding over to Akari with an air of menace.
Give me a break, Akari thought, composing her expression and giving him a brief, polite bow. She had to be civil. After all, he was her superior. And she wanted to keep her job.
“Hello, Chief Gosaka. If there’s nothing I can help you with, I’ll be heading home now.”
“Hmph. Taking time off for personal reasons… At least catch up on the work you skipped out on before leaving—”
“Thanks, Mitsukuri! I can leave on time thanks to you helping clear the work backlog earlier!”
“Always happy to help! See you tomorrow! …Now, Chief Gosaka, you were saying?”
Akari waved a hand in parting to the male employee who’d just thanked her, then returned her gaze to Gosaka, who was scowling.
She tilted her head to one side and blinked at him innocently. Looking deeply annoyed, he cleared his throat.
“A-HEM. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your snotty attitude, missy. You may be good at pushing papers around and making tea, but you’ll be sorry when the time comes to get married and no man wants you.”
Akari was far too busy just trying to keep a roof over her head and clothes on her back to care about marriage. So naturally, she didn’t care what Gosaka thought. But secretly, his words did sting a little.
Akari kept her expression still and composed. But Gosaka seemed to somehow know. His triumphant smirk proved it.
“Yes, you smarty-pants, marriage-delaying girls are all the same. Can’t find a man, and when you do manage to trap one, it’s always an ugly brute. Hahaha!”
Surely Gosaka was satisfied now. He had to let her go pretty soon, right?
Once she got home, tasty food would be waiting for her. The Chinese bento lunch was very rich, and she was in the mood for a nice mild fish dish. Not filleted, but a whole fish grilled, head and all. Maybe mackerel or sardines… That would be nice. Akari clenched her fists inside her sleeves, thinking soothing thoughts of dinner.
That was when she noticed something from the corner of her eye.
The crowd of workers parted and a strikingly handsome young man walked forward. As soon as he made eye contact with Akari, his face lit up like a firework and he came hurrying over.
It goes without saying the man was Tomohito. Akari blinked at him, his collar-length hair mussed by the breeze. She could almost visualize a wagging tail emerging from his suit pants.
“You must be tired from work, Mistr—”
In a panic, Akari ran the last few steps toward him and quickly clamped her hand over his mouth to shut him the heck up.
As if surprised by her touch, his cheeks burst into color. But Akari paid his blushes no heed, simply glaring at him with fury etched across her face.
“If you dare call me Mistress or act in any way like a servant toward me in this of all places, I swear to you I’ll call you nothing but Mr. Yagyou from now on! This is my job! Don’t you dare screw it up for me! In fact, help me if you can!”
“Wh-What?”
Tomohito seemed confused, but he could only nod, cowed by the fury of Akari’s hissing.
Just then Gosaka stomped over to them, purple in the face with rage. Oops, Akari shouldn’t have just walked away from him midconversation.
“Mitsukuri! Who is this man?”
“I’m terribly sorry, Chief Gosaka. This is the person whose house I’m currently lodging at. He was concerned about me and came to meet me at work.”
“What! You’re living with a man?! What a disgraceful scandal!”
Akari couldn’t explain without letting Tomohito’s identity as a Kotogami slip, and she couldn’t think of a suitable excuse. Besides, she was living with a man. Well, not technically. But for all intents and purposes…
As Akari stood there chewing her lip, unsure what to do, Tomohito stepped forward with a tight smile.
“I can assure you I have the purest of intentions. Mistr… Miss Akari is a rare jewel and I intend to treat her with nothing but respect.”
Akari could just sense the ears pricking up on every passing coworker who was leaving the building just then.
Among them, she noticed Mitsuko, and all the other female coworkers she was most familiar with. Akari rolled her eyes heavenward. Oh, good grief, she thought.
Gosaka seemed more shocked by Tomohito’s proclamation than anyone else. He was gazing stupidly at the young Kotogami, his jaw hanging loose.
Akari understood that look. After all, Tomohito was beautiful.
On top of his physical qualities, that restrained, polite smile he was wearing right at that moment made him look intelligent and disciplined, and his three-piece suit was very similar to the ones worn by the higher-class businessmen in the area. He could even pass for the son of a nobleman.
It appeared as if Tomohito had decided to play along with Akari’s frantic request for backup.
Yes, she had gotten through to him, it seemed, but was it her imagination, or had he actually grasped the whole situation quite sharply as well?
“Wh-Whaaat?!”
“Do excuse me. See you again tomorrow, Chief.”
Taking Gosaka’s confusion as her cue to escape, Akari quickly said goodbye and grabbed Tomohito’s hand. Then, doing her best to ignore the gasps and the commotion from the crowd behind them, Akari fled from the building as fast as she could.
Please let the world end so I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, she thought.
Once they were a safe distance away, Akari turned on Tomohito with a glare.
“I told you NOT to come to my office.”
“I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it. And you didn’t say anything about not being able to come and greet you outside the building after work…”
Tomohito seemed to know that he’d twisted her instructions for his own benefit. He cowered before Akari’s steely gaze.
The bookbag was slung across his shoulder. She’d forgotten that he’d been wandering around by himself when she’d met him, carrying his own Kotogatari around.
Akari heaved a put-upon sigh. Why do I always have to explain basic things to him? she wondered. Nonetheless, she launched into yet another explanation.
“This area is filled with activists who are trying to do away with the Narrators. They’re radicals, get it? So if any of them get wind that you’re a Kotogami, they’ll make mincemeat out of you.”
“So telling me to stay away was to…protect me?”
“Partly. And partly for self-preservation.”
Akari looked away as Tomohito’s smile brightened.
Still grinning happily, he placed one hand over his heart and bowed politely.
“Thank you. But please be assured. Only a fellow Kotogami or a Narrator could identify me by sight.”
“Hmm, you’re probably right.”
Akari rubbed her chin, thinking back on that scene at the company.
When she’d caught a glimpse of the faces of the other female employees, they’d all seemed very excited. Perhaps they were under the mistaken impression that Tomohito was Akari’s fiancé.
She cringed for a moment. Then she realized that maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
If she let people go on thinking they were engaged, then that would provide a convenient excuse for why she and Tomohito were living under the same roof. She wouldn’t have to explain about the Bookhouse at all.
All right, I’ll go along with it for now, Akari thought, just as Tomohito tentatively spoke again.
“So…you’re not angry with me?”
Akari blinked, then looked away in embarrassment.
“Hmm, well, you did help me out, this time. But this is not to happen again, got that?”
“I shall make sure of it, I swear.”
Tomohito nodded earnestly at her.
The excitement over, Akari realized her stomach was grumbling. Lunch seemed a lifetime ago.
“Let’s hurry back. I wonder what’s for dinner tonight. We might need to make a grocery run…”
“I already went shopping, and Mayoi has finished preparing dinner. She said she was trying some Western-style cooking tonight.”
“I can’t wait! I hope we’re all right for funds, though…”
Akari was always worrying about money. But right now, she cared more about getting some good food inside her.
Tomohito held out the book bag to her as if it were only natural for her to take it. He took her own bag in exchange and they started walking home together, the air between them a bit awkward.
Wait a minute. How did he know where I worked? …But Akari pushed that question aside. She was famished and didn’t have the energy for any further conversational battles with Tomohito.