It was another day at Marukawa Shouten, which meant the editors of the team emerald shoujo manga division, consisting of only males, were busy with their daily work.
''Eh?'' Onodera flipped through his stack of papers and manuscripts on the table, searching for something.
''Ricchan, what are you looking for?' his seat neighbour, Kisa asked, hearing the sound of things being turned over and drawers being opened and closed.
''I'm looking for my pen,'' said Onodera, still flipping through his desk, trying to find his belonging. He'd been losing a few things recently. Just the other day, he'd lost another piece of stationary–his notepad. The office had always been a bit of a warzone.
''Has anyone seen my red pen?'' asked Onodera around the office. They were about to enter the death period, and it was already busy as it was. Now wasn't the time for him to lose something as basic as his red pen, which was used for making edits. ''It was just here a moment ago.''
''No,'' replied Hatori, not looking up.
''Me neither,'' Mino answered, wearing his standard smile.
That's strange.
''Hm, Ricchan, have you been missing things lately?'' asked Kisa, seeing the befuddled look on the youngest editor's face.
''Hai,'' Onodera told him, puzzled. ''My pen is gone and my notepad disappeared too.'' The editor continued shuffling around his desk, his actions growing increasingly hurried. ''Where could it possibly have gone?'' he muttered.
''Maybe a ghost took it,'' suggested Kisa.
''Hahaha,'' Onodera laughed drily. ''Kisa San, what are you saying?''
A ghost?
''Hai ,'' Mino added, continuing. ''Maybe it's a ghost that took your stuff.''
'' Huh ! '' Onodera laughed nervously. ''What are you guys insinuating? There's no such thing as ghosts.''
''Eh, Ricchan? Didn't you hear about the rumor?'' asked the youthful-looking senpai.
''What rumor?'' asked the newbie editor, suddenly alarmed.
''I heard the story of an editor being driven to the grave by her mangaka once, years ago.'' said Hatori, speaking up in his seat about the widely heard tale. ''They say that her workaholic spirit remains.''
''Hai hai!'' spoke up Kisa animatedly. ''That's the one.''
''Apparently she haunts the company now, looking for editors who don't do their job right, punishing them,'' said Mino.
''Eh, maybe she took a liking to Ricchan now, '' snickered Kisa in his seat. ''Ricchan, have you been doing your job well?''
''Of course I have!'' Onodera rebuked, starting to open and close his fist out of nervous habit. The brunette blinked uncertainly. There's no such thing as ghosts, right? But then how does he explain the disappearance of his items?
''There's no such thing as ghosts!'' Announced Onodera firmly, attempting to dissipate his fears. It was of better use to think of more important matters, like…how were the latest sales for his manga?
''There are a lot of things that can't be explained in the world,'' said Mino, sounding very matter-of-fact.
"Yes, but-but nothing strange has ever happened in Marukawa!" Onodera rebuked.
Kisa chuckled when he saw the fear seeping into the brunette's eyes. ''How would you know, Ricchan?'' The youthful-looking editor wiggled his eyebrows. ''Marukawa is pretty old.''
Onodera gulped at hearing the dark statement. Kisa's remark did have some truth to it; sometimes he would hear steps following behind him as he exited the building seemingly alone. He'd always assumed it was the other staff working late as well, but now that he thought about it, the sounds he'd heard weren't normal. The footsteps had a tendency of going from loud to disappearing completely, a phenomenon that he was sure was not supposed to occur. Onodera remained lost in his worrisome thoughts, until, just then the files behind them dropped from their shelf, startling him into attention.
''See, Ricchan?'' Kisa grinned. "Our department is haunted."
''Hai hai,'' agreed Mino, smiling away. ''Anything's possible in this world. Right, Hatori?''
''That's right,'' agreed said editor, adding fuel to Onodera's fear due to his always taking the logical route. ''Anything's possible in the world.''
Onodera stood unmoving, the man's words sinking in, when he felt a sudden hard smack at the back of his head.
''What are you guys chit-chatting about when we have a ton of work left to finish?'' Takano shouted, making his way back to his desk upon returning from a meeting. The editor in chief already had on his "here-comes-hell" expression as a warning. ''If you guys have enough spare time to hold a conversation, then you might as well use it to get your manuscripts done on time instead.'' He glanced over to his side, noticing Ritsu's lack of movement. ''Onodera, what are you doing standing there like an idiot?''
''I'm cleaning up my desk!'' the brown-haired male told him hotly, re-arranging the files that had fallen.
''Oh?'' Takano leaned into his seat, resuming his work. ''So you're finally cleaning up that dump of a table, huh?'' Granted, all their tables were stacked to the sky with papers and other junk, but the rookie's table looked the most untidy.
Onodera looked over at him, and glared, feeling as if a dark cloud had descended over him.
This guy.
Onodera sighed, running a hand through his hair. The other editors had gone home hours ago, while he was forced to stay back and finish the rest of his work until the wee hours of the night. He scowled at the thought of the others tucked into bed, while he himself sat uncomfortable in a lone office slaving away.
Stupid Kisa San.
Having been left alone with only his thoughts, the editor's mind wandered back to the conversion he had partaken in in the morning. He shivered at the memory, shaking his head from side to side when he caught himself doing so.
There's no such thing as ghosts, the rational part of him reassured.
In the almost completely dark office, with only his table lamp on, the effect of the previous words won over his logical mind.
How would you know Ricchan? Marukawa is pretty old.
Tightening his grip on the pen Kisa had lent him, Onodera found his attempts at keeping calm to be fruitless. He had never been this afraid before, but hearing Kisa's tale had truly scared him. It was kind of creepy being all alone in an old office.
I better turn on the lights, just in case.
The editor felt his heart rate quicken as he headed towards the switch. In the quiet of the night, the only sounds were those of his footsteps hitting the tile floor.
There's no such thing as ghosts.
Tap, tap, tap.
Onodera paused, hearing another set of footsteps coming from a distance away.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Then, suddenly, it was silent once more.
There's no such thing as ghosts. There's no such thing as ghosts.
Hurriedly, the editor made his way back to his seat, fearing that one step further would only worsen his predicament. The brunette took the pen in his hand, tightening and loosening his grip in a pattern as a form of relief. It didn't work, and soon he found images from Japanese horror movies flooding his conscious, bringing with them an intense fear.
There's no such thing as ghosts. There's no such thing as ghosts.
"Apparently she haunts the company now, looking for editors who don't do their job right, punishing them."
Onodera mumbled a prayer as he circled an error on the paper.
There's no such thing as ghosts.
A tall shadow appeared from behind him.
''Onodera.''
''AHHHHH!'' The editor screamed as he was swiveled around, forced to face whatever horrifying creature that had come to take him.
''What the hell are you doing?''
Opening his eyes, the brunette breathed a huge sigh of relief at the sight of Takano in front of him. ''Takano San. . . '' he sighed, one hand clutching his heart, while the other held his desk for support. The relief quickly turned into annoyance. Takano nearly caused him a heart attack. ''WHY DON'T YOU PRODUCE FOOTSTEPS WHEN YOU WALK?''
''Sorry,'' said Takano half-heartedly. ''I didn't know that I had to announce my grand arrival to you every time I come in.''
''What are you doing here?'' asked Onodera, still reeling from his scare.
''I have a mountain of work left to do,'' Takano told him. His eyes landed on Ritsu through the lens of his specs, examining the recovering brunette, still pale from shock. ''You okay?''
''Hai. . . '' Onodera told him, his blood being pumped at twice the usual rate. ''I'm fine.''
Onodera glanced surreptitiously at his boss.
Why are we the ones alone here?
Dropping his eyes back to his manuscript, the editor let out a small sigh, not knowing whether Takano's presence was a good thing or a bad thing.
''Takano San.''
''Huh?''
''Have you heard about the rumor?''
''What rumor?''
''You know… that rumor…''
''What rumor?'' asked Takano irritably. He was working, for god's sake.
Onodera looked at him, as if saying it out loud would bring an unspoken evil, like Voldemort. ''Kisa San told me about a rumor concerning an editor working themselves to death here.'' He paused. ''That maybe she still lingers.''
Takano scoffed loudly. ''If you believe anything Kisa tells you, you're a bigger idiot then I thought.'' Onodera's expression scrunched up. ''What?'' asked Takano. ''Are you scared? ''
''Of course not!'' His subordinate denied. ''I'm just asking, that's all!''
''Uh huh.''
In silence, the two editors did their work.
Things remained that way for a while, silent with the only sounds being their pens scratching away at paper, until the temperature took a sudden drop, sending a chill down Onodera's spine.
''Takano San.''
''What?''
''Aren't you cold?''
''Uh-huh.''
Takano glanced at him. ''You can sit with me.''
''Huh?''
''If you're that scared, you can sit beside me,'' Takano told him, not looking up from his papers.
''Who's scared?'' denied his subordinate, offended. ''I'm just asking a question, that's all.''
Seeing that the editor in chief made no more comment, Onodera brushed off his concern. That is, until the files behind him dropped. Turning around, the editor realized it was the same set of files from the morning.
''Aren't you going to pick that up?'' asked Takano, since the brunette was nearer.
''Uh… hai…'' Quickly, the brunette ran over and put them away in a wary manner.
Within a short moment, Onodera rolled his chair up towards where the editor in chief was.
''I'm not scared,'' he told Takano as he pulled up near him. ''I just . . . think it's better to sit here.''
''So it's more productive sitting close to me,'' concluded the raven for him.
''I don't mean it like that!''
''Uh-huh.''
Quietly, they resumed their work.
Takano San. . . won't try anything funny, right? We still have a lot of work to finish, after all.
Just as the brunette was beginning to get absorbed in his editing, the lights flickered. The office darkened and brightened erratically in a bizarre fashion as they switched on and off, slowly building fear in Onodera and making it overflow when they suddenly turned off completely. They were bathed in total darkness.
''Onodera,'' Takano called for him. In the pitch darkness, he could see his neighbour moving slightly. He reached for his table lamp, about to turn it on when Onodera grabbed his arm.
''Are you okay?" asked the raven, realizing the editor was trembling.
''I'm not scared,'' said the brunette, still insisting despite the obvious fear in his trembling voice. ''I'm just . . . cold!'' Takano would have told Onodera to get a grip if the brunette wasn't already grabbing at his bicep, squeezing it in uncertain intervals. Instead of shying away like he usually did, the editor scooted closer beside him, latching onto him as he held his arm.
''Onodera . . . '' Opportunistically, Takano pulled him in even closer, hugging him and giving Ritsu the chance to put his hand around his other arm. ''There's no need to be afraid,'' the raven told him gently. ''I'm right here with you.''
''I'm not scared . . . '' Ritsu whimpered into his shirt, though his heart beating frantically in his chest proved otherwise.
''Ritsu. . .'' Hearing Takano's deep and husky voice calmed him somehow. The raven placed his hand on his head, ruffling his hair. ''I'm right here.''
''I want to leave,'' Ritsu told him.
''Calm down,'' Takano tightened his embrace around the brunette. ''I'm right here.''
Closing his eyes, Onodera rested his head on the raven's shoulder, feeling his anxiety and fear slowly dissipating.
Takano San. . .
The next morning, Onodera entered the office, finding team emerald standing around as a group of workers fixed the lights.
''Oh Ricchan, I heard the lights in our office went out last night.'' Kisa updated him. ''Isaka San called maintenance in to fix them this morning.''
''Oh,'' Onodera flushed, remembering the way he'd clung onto Takano. ''I see…''
''You didn't think it was a ghost, did you?''
''O-of course not!''
Kisa grinned. ''We were just joking yesterday. None of us actually believe in it.''
''You don't?'' asked the brunette.
''Nope,'' said Mino.
''No,'' agreed Hatori.
A group of BL editors from Sapphire giggled. ''You didn't actually think that rumor was real, did you Onodera-Kun?''
''Of course not!'' answered the brunette blushingly.
''Ah! Takano San!'' exclaimed Kisa as the editor in chief arrived. ''Have you seen Ricchan's pen? He's missing some things.''
''Ah.'' The editor in chief reached into his bag. ''I forgot to tell you that I borrowed it for the meeting, and I've been using this too.'' He took out Onodera's notepad.
WHAT?! So it was Takano San all along ?! This guy…
''Oh, and –'' Takano took out a piece of yellow paper, passing it to Onodera. ''Here's a talisman for you, to ward off sprits. You were clinging onto me so much last night when the lights went out, I thought you might need it.''
A chorus of excited cheers went up. ''EHHHHHHHHHH?''
''RICCHAN, WHAT HAPPENED?''
''ONODERA KUN, TELL US!''
''I…We. . . ''
Onodera looked over at his boss, who has sipping his cup of morning coffee calmly. ''Why don't you tell them exactly what happened, Onodera?''
The brunette's hand wrapped around the thin yellow paper crushingly.
THIS DEFINETLY ISN'T LOVE!
HAHAHA . Here's a little oneshot for those who missed me on my hiatus.