Disclaimer: The Kuroko no Basket manga is the property of its creator, Tadatoshi Fujimaki. The other Kuroko no Basket media is property of their authorised owners. These stories are created by the author. All original settings, characters, etc., remain the property of the author.
Author's Note: This story has been sitting in my computer for quite some time, never meant for publishing. I had fun writing it and used it to mostly relax. I also read it to take my mind off stress, daily life and other projects. I had fun reading it. Then I thought, if I love reading it so much, maybe some other people would enjoy it as well.
So here we are.
As for why Imayoshi seems like the main character - I don't get it either. Most of the chapters turn out to be from his POV, mostly because he is the outsider to these crazy people.
One last word to my dear beta reader, Valendra, who takes time from her busy schedule of sewing to read my stories. Thank you~~!
Enjoy!
Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionary: An Office Tale
A Kuroko no Basket fanfiction
by Galliechan
© Copyright 2016
Company Spy
Imayoshi was planning on leaving Akashi Holding when he got the promotion. Or demotion.
He was to transfer to the holding's smallest and poorest company to spy on the boss's son. Or babysit him.
He transferred to the audit department. He was supposed to assess this company on behalf of the holding and report his findings to them. An inner holding spy.
Imayoshi would have liked the job if it was a few years ago, when he was taking pride of being part of this powerful and huge holding, ready to do anything for success like this company advertised, seeing all his coworkers as rivals or stepping stones on his way to greatness. Nowadays Imayoshi wanted nothing in association with Akashi Holding, which made his grocery shopping more complicated that it should ever be.
In conclusion, he didn't want to work under the oppressing, cut-throat and unmerciful company culture of Akashi Holding.
And that was saying something considering Imayoshi's personality.
The funny thing was, there would be no problem if he was allowed to have a life outside the company or some time to play his basketball. This was a soft point Imayoshi didn't want to think about.
Therefore, Imayoshi wasn't a happy person when he arrived at the factory/office building of AkaBis on a Monday afternoon, three hours after learning his transfer. He didn't glare at the pink haired girl waiting in front on the office section's front door but it was a close thing.
"Good afternoon, Imayoshi-san," she said with a little bow as soon as he left the company car. "I am Akashi-san's Personal Assistant, Momoi Satsuki. Nice to meet you."
"Imayoshi Shoichi," he drawled, "your new audit member, so it seems. Nice to meet you."
"We don't have an audit department, you would be our only member. We call one-person department members as managers - would you like to be called audit manager?"
The holding skyscraper had a separate floor for audit department. Demotion, it was definitely a demotion.
"Call whatever you want to."
"Yes," she chirped. "Akashi-san is waiting for you, please follow me."
He took his box of meagre belongings seeing as the driver didn't bother to leave the car and followed the girl. To meet Akashi-san. He didn't want to do anything with the father Akashi, now he had to work with the son Akashi. God help him.
They left a small clearing with glass walled meeting rooms and took the stairs to reach a larger clearing working as an open office. There were sections divided by mid-range file closets, easily allowing someone to see the whole office floor while standing up, with only one glass walled office room, presumably Akashi's. Imayoshi nearly groaned, the whole office was smaller than a floor of the holding's main offices.
He followed the girl to a desk near the glass office, the whole office watching them without any shame, people from further parts leaning on separating closets to see him better. Their footsteps would have echoed in the silence if the floor wasn't carpet covered.
The son Akashi was waiting for him next to the desk, his colouring making him an obvious Akashi while not the splitting image of his father he was expecting. He was a lithe young man, quite small framed compared to the huge bulk of his father. The dissecting feeling of their look, on the other hand, was similar.
"Imayoshi-san," he said as he raised his hand for a shake without giving him time to put his belongings on the desk.
"Akashi-san," he said and then shook hands with the young man.
As befitting his small frame, his voice was also softer and leaning towards charismatic while his father's was strong and leaning towards thunderous. The commanding presence must be a family trait, unfortunately.
"Welcome to AkaBis," he said with a smile that didn't soften his piercing look, "we are glad you decided to join our company in the essential position of Audit Manager. We hope you would find our company worthy of the holding's standards and help us rectify any misgivings you might find."
Message received. He wasn't welcome. They knew it wasn't his decision to come here and that, above all, he was the father's spy for his son. The surprising part: Akashi son was going to try to win him on his side.
Damn Akashis and the underlying meanings of their words. And damn young, naive Imayoshi for deciphering it and showing it to Akashi-san like a puppy waiting for a prize. Here was the prize.
"Thank you for taking me for this position," he drawled, "I expect us to work together in order to raise this company to the holding's standards."
I know I am unwelcome but you didn't have any choice to take me in and, of course, this company is nowhere near the holding's standards. Imayoshi liked a good game though, this small Akashi could work to win him on his side. He learned from the - cold, unmerciful, strict - best and his loyalty lay with this young man's father or no one else. Damn the man for knowing it as well.
A phone rang. A fax came. Imayoshi didn't break eye contact with the red ones. Another phone rang. A walkie-talkie chirped. Someone shushed. A car honked.
"Your three o'clock appointment," Momoi-san murmured.
Akashi broke eye contact and turned his back to Imayoshi.
"Everybody, take care of Imayoshi-san," he called, looking at each of the faces. They nodded back or gave determined frowns. He finished his circle around himself when he reached back to Momoi-san. "Back to your jobs."
As if switched off, the eerie stillness of the floor vanished. Noise turned on, someone started shouting near the back, various voices started talking simultaneously and keyboards started clicking from every corner of the floor.
"Momoi, arrange the orientation with Alex. I will go and see what Miyaji-san wants." Akashi walked towards the stairs and Momoi, a few desks to the side.
Imayoshi glanced around to see that if all desks were the same size - small - and started settling to his new desk.
The blonde that Momoi talked to came to his desk just after he finished settling and began to wonder what he was supposed to do without a computer.
"Hey, I'm Alex, personnel and HR manager, let's give you a tour."
Imayoshi shook the offered hand. "Meaning you are an one-person-department as well?"
Alex laughed, not offended at all. "Yeah, there are quite a few of us here. Not as old as us, though."
Imayoshi understood her meaning as she began to introduce the staff. Their average age was below twenty five. Imayoshi groaned inwards. Babysitter. He was sent here as a babysitter. So he, with his age of twenty eight, who was considered inexperienced and a child in the headquarters, was suddenly the oldest man in the company. And he had to report to a twenty four years old CEO. In theory.
In practise, he was reporting to his father.
This was what happened when you gave a company to a new-graduate - he changed all the staff to kids.
Well, except, the previous management was stealing from the company, that was already losing money for its low quality products. The holding had to save this company from bankruptcy more than once.
In all logic, Akashi-san should have sold this company ages ago. Although it was one of the oldest companies of the holding, he was never one for sentimentality. He showed it again when his new-graduated son became the CEO of the crumbling company.
Imayoshi knew Akashi-san enough to figure out his plan - either his son was going to fail, without damaging an important holding company or he was going to be successful, gaining an important company to the holding. It was gain-or-gain for the holding and the most difficult road imaginable for his son.
After learning how he thought, Imayoshi was able to see Akashi-san's ingenious, but heartless acts throughout the holding. Even in this abandoned, but not forgotten corner of it. Imayoshi liked clever, but not to the point that whatever he did, it felt like he was playing another's plans.
He should have left the company instead of accepting the transfer - now he had to stay in the holding at least six months before gaining the right to resign.
Damn clever working contracts.
At least he would have fun with the young Akashi in the meantime.
When he returned back to his desk, a guy was preparing a desktop computer.
"No laptop?" he asked.
The IT guy gave him a blank look under his desk, "no laptop to the guy who transferred three hours ago and wants a computer."
Straightforward guy. Imayoshi grinned. "I hope you are giving me rights to access files at least."
"All server files accessible to the company spy, no need to worry."
Really straightforward guy.