"Are you finished yet, Nanao-chan?"
Nanao looked down at the ridiculously tall stack of paper her captain was supposed to be signing.
"Not yet, Captain, I'm still forging your signature on this report."
Sarcasm and disapproval dripped from her words.
"Oh, good."
Nanao cast a look at the book lying on the desk. Was whacking him with it worth the effort? It never seemed to do him any good, though it did do wonders for her temper. She contemplated the thick tome. Then she stifled a yell.
Her bookmark was missing.
She ran her fingers along the edges of the pages, searching from the slight ridge that indicated her placeholder. Not finding it, she opened the book slowly, then flipped through the pages. The book fell open to a folded piece of paper that had slid to the middle of the page.
Thank goodness.
She nudged it back to the top of the pages, where it would show more clearly. Then, she hesitated. To read the book alone, especially here, at this desk, would be far more than blasphemous. But the note…
She carefully unfolded the ancient paper. It cracked as she smoothed it flat on the desk. It was 100 years old, and looked it.
The childish writing brought back memories.
"Dear Ms. Lisa," Nanao read, "I think you're the best shinagami ever. You are so smart! Thank you for lending me this book. I promise not to read any without you. I'll carry it with me until the next time we read together. I'll see you next month. Nanao."
She remembered every word. Carefully she refolded the note and slid it back between the pages. There was no danger now of her accidentally reading a word; everything was blurred. She whipped off her glasses and rubbed them with her sleeve, as though they were to blame. By the time she put them back on, her tears had faded. She pushed the book away and continued doing her captain's work at Lisa's desk.
Word count = 334