Well…it's been over a month since I wrote anything. I came back to this fandom after wanting some good quality romance to read, so here I am again! I can't promise any regular updates as I am extremely out of practice, but you know, let's see what happens.
Uh, this might suck. Fair warning. I'm REALLY out of practice.
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. I'm not Nakamura Shungiku, am I?
Ritsu clutched at his bangs as he looked over his newest author's manuscript, red pen marking almost every white space on the paper. This was bad. This was so very bad. Not only was the storyline boring and cliché, the characters were flat and there were several errors in kanji. He glanced up at the clock with sore and tired eyes, letting out a ragged breath when the time read 20.42. The deadline for the storyboard was in two days; finishing it on time would be nearly impossible.
At this rate, he would literally have to travel to her house in Kyoto and breathe down her neck as she frantically tried to finish it.
But, no, there was no time for that. There was never enough time for anything.
Breathing out another tired sigh, Ritsu flipped through the manuscript once more for any corrections he would have to make. Though, with how many he did make, he doubted he would need to spend any more red ink on Miyuki-sensei's manuscripts. He'd just have to call her from here in Tokyo. He took a deep breath to steel himself and picked up the phone, dialing her number, his fingers feeling numb. No matter how many times he did this, the overwhelming anxiety of handling his authors at this stage always made him falter.
It rang once…twice…
"Ah…Onodera-san," Miyuki-sensei's voice chimed. "Did you look over the manuscript? How was it?"
How can I say that it was a piece of crap without making her panic or furious? "W-well," He began, holding the phone to his ear with one hand and looking over his corrections with the other. "Your art is beautiful—"
"I meant with the storyline. The characters. How were they?" She sounded…oddly sharp as she said this, a bite to her tone that Ritsu knew spelled only back luck for him in the next few minutes.
Well, he wouldn't be doing his job if he played nice with the author, would he? With another breath, Ritsu said firmly, "Miyuki-sensei, your characters are unoriginal, your storyline could use some work, and might I suggest that—"
"Onodera-san." Now, there was a definite acerbity to her tone when she said his name.
"Y-yes?" Damn his inclination to stuttering! Damn it all to hell!
"I'll have you know that I went to graduate school."
"A-ah? That's—"
"For writing."
"Yes, I see—"
"So I think I know whether or not my own characters and storyline are bad or not."
Then why are you writing shoujo manga?!
A vein twitched in Ritsu's temple as he grit his teeth and forced out, "That's…very accomplished of you, Miyuki-sensei, but as your editor for your manga, it's my suggestion that—"
"Hah. Your suggestion? How weak," she interrupted derisively, a sneer apparent through the phone.
"E-excuse me?! Miyuki-sensei, when I say 'suggestion', it's to let the author know that it's his or her choice whether or not their manga will sell. The editor, who is me for the time being, is only here to help you along the way. And, another thing," Ritsu was getting worked up now, but he always couldn't help it when someone questioned his strength of will. His author, thankfully, kept quiet, breathing harshly over the phone. "If you didn't want anyone criticizing your work, then why did you ask Marukawa to edit and publish it for you? We are all here only to make it better so it can sell more copies and make you more money. So please, think about the work that we are putting through for your manga before you say anything."
Fortunately, the office was in full-swing, so nobody heard his embarrassing scolding to the person who was helping them make money. But, well, why should Ritsu have any good luck?
"Onodera-san, what did you work in before shoujo manga?"
"P-pardon?" That wasn't what he was expecting. His supposed "strength of will" suddenly drained away.
"I asked what you worked in before shoujo manga."
"Literature…but why would that—"
"Because it's obvious that you don't know how to edit manga."
Ritsu's eyes widened for a moment, his heart skipping a beat. Nobody had ever said he couldn't edit manga before. Nobody. Not Takano-san, not even Yokozawa-san, and they didn't have the friendliest of relationships.
Finally, he was able to say, "M-miyuki-sensei, I believe that—" but she forced her way through his sentence before he could even say anything.
"What you believe doesn't mean anything. Only whether you're able to edit manga or not!" Her voice had steadily risen until it was nearly a shout now. Ritsu prayed to anybody who'd listen that nobody else could hear their conversation. "You said you worked in literature before? Well, it doesn't mean shit—" Ritsu winced at the swear word, "—in the world of manga, so don't you think for a second that that experience could be used here!"
By now, Ritsu had to hold the phone away from his ear, her voice so loud and resounding that he couldn't bear to have it closer for fear of breaking his eardrums. Because of this, Miyuki-sensei's severe tone rang shrilly through the speaker, echoing throughout the Emerald department and rendering everyone else silent. It was so embarrassing. He couldn't even handle his own author, but the misery he felt inside overpowered all of that.
He couldn't stand to listen to her anymore.
"— most incompetent editor I've ever come across! I can't believe—"
A dark aura settled over him as he continued to listen to Miyuki-sensei's barrage of insults and cutting words. He didn't even notice as a figure came up behind him and pried the phone from his hand.
"Excuse me," a familiar deep voice interrupted. "I'm not exactly sure what's been going on over here, but don't talk to my subordinate in that way. He works hard enough without having people like you beating him down and messing up his job."
"What did you just say—"
"Good-bye," Takano nearly hissed as he hung up, setting the phone down with a clatter.
Ritsu hardly noticed any of this happening. When Takano finally hung up, he brought a sleeve up to his face and wiped at it, giving an inaudible sniff. It surprised him—no, completely shocked him that he would get so upset over this as to cry. The number of times he cried because of something work-related was close to none. But he couldn't stop repeating the author's words in his head and the ache in his heart.
"Onodera," Takano said, almost gently. He put a hand on Ritsu's shoulder, which made the younger jump up suddenly and quickly wipe away at his face.
"S-sorry, I couldn't—" He sniffled, trying in vain to stop crying.
Takano, against his better judgment, moved his hand so it lightly cupped Ritsu's face. "Onodera."
"Can you please stop?" Ritsu had finally stopped crying, but he still couldn't erase the pain in his chest. He batted Takano's hand away. "I'm fine. I need to call her back to discuss her manuscript."
"How can you stand that?" Kisa's voice came suddenly, bewilderment coloring his tone.
"Stand what?"
Takano finally moved to stand behind his chair, not quite touching him but still a sort-of comforting presence.
"She just tore into you, with no regards to anything you said or all the work you've done for her."
"S-so…all of you heard what she said, huh?" Ritsu breathed out a dry laugh, lips curling up into a bitter smile. "It's nothing, Kisa-san. Really." Incompetent editor floated through his mind and his breath hitched.
"Nothing? How could you say it's nothing? Ricchan, don't believe anything she said! You're not…incompetent!" Kisa reassured, small face contorted in worry.
"Yeah, Onodera-san," Mino seconded. "You're the one who always goes above and beyond everyone's expectations, and you've only been here a year!"
Hatori nodded his agreement, the only sign of his concern the slight frown. "She had no right to say any of that to you."
Ritsu gaped as everyone in his department stood up for him against his author, even though technically, Miyuki-sensei carried more power over him than he did her. He managed a wobbly smile for all of them.
"T-thank you. You all are so kind to me."
"Of course," Kisa and Mino said in unison, as if they were born to do it. "We're your friends, too!"
F-friends? Ritsu's heart stumbled at the word. He didn't know when it had happened, but somewhere along the way, his co-workers had become more than that to him. They had become his friends, people he could trust and rely on for support.
"You heard what they said, Onodera." Ritsu had forgotten Takano was still there. A hand came to rest on his head. "You're good."
"Aha…" He laughed a bit wetly. "Thank you, Takano-san. It…means a lot."
Takano ruffled his hair with a smirk before heading back to his desk. As he walked back, he said over his shoulder, "We were thinking of dropping her next month, anyways. She violated the contract a few days ago."
Ah… That news made his heart a million times lighter. "I see."
Behind his bangs, Ritsu let a small smile adorn his face, not knowing what he did to deserve such kindness.
A/N: Insecurity is an important issue to discuss when it comes to Onodera Ritsu. I am glad that I wrote this.
-ChemicallyEnhanced