Traumatism
"Finally! Feels like we've been working for hours!"
"Well, we have been working for hours, Hajime", Yun answered. "Are you planning to keep working tonight Aoba ?"
"I just want to finish something so don't wait for me", the purple haired girl responded with a smile.
"We'll see you tomorrow then", Hajime said.
"Thank you for your work", Aoba replied as her friend left the room.
Hifumi and Momiji had already left before so the only two still in the office were Yagami and herself. The blonde had not said a word since the two came back from the meeting on Peko's development. She had simply start drawing, without her usual smoothness. After a sight, the younger girl focused back on her computer and, when she finally got satisfied with her result, she saved and turned off the computer before looking in the direction of Yagami's desk.
"I will be leaving for today, thank you for your work today".
Her sentence met no answer. Aoba took a step towards her but eventually looked down and left the office quietly.
The subway was full as always, but the girl managed to sneak in thanks to her small length and quickly got back home, where a nice smell welcomed her. The girl answered her mother's usual questions about her day with a weak smile before going in her bedroom and sitting in a corner, head down. Her fake smile had disappeared.
It was the end … her end. Despite the congratulations she used to receive, she had been pushed away from the project in order to give her idol her place. Aoba wiped a tear at the corner of her eye. She would never reach her no matter how hard she worked. Lonelier than ever, the small girl buried her face in her arms and began crying silently.
This day, as doubts about the answer she was about to receive haunted her mind, Hazuki stopped right before entering the design section. As always, Hajime, Yun, Momiji and Aoba were working on their computer. Yagami's back could be seen though the rest of her body was hidden by the desk. It would be fine. There were no reason for things to get bad ... well, actually, there was no reason for it not to end badly, she realized as she stepped in.
"Kou, can you take a little break right now ?", Hazuki asked.
The designer and some of the girls watched at the newcomers with astonished looks but she purposely kept staring at the blonde.
"Sure, just give me some time to finish that", Yagami answered after a short pause.
Hazuki nodded and, when the other woman stood up, she asked her to follow with a small gesture. The designer frown but did as she was told and let Hazuki leading the way to an empty meeting room.
"As you know, the meeting about the next project starts tomorrow but Aoba has not given me anything. Will she be able to finish on time?"
The blonde's face suddenly darkened before quickly turning back to her usual expression.
"She only told me she wouldn't participate this year."
"But she didn't participate last month too. What happened ?"
Yagami walked to the window, turning her back to her superior.
"Leave her alone. You just shouldn't expect her to show anything this year, or the next.
"She doesn't want to write anymore ?", Hazuki enquired.
"I would rather say she can't write anymore."
The designer saw Hazuki's obvious disbelief and breathed slowly a bit to cool down the anger that had been building inside her for years.
"When you told her she wouldn't be allowed to draw the visual for Peco in order to put forward my name to get better sales, she didn't say anything in front of you. But when we had our next meeting together, she asked me to take over Peko, saying she was not able nor willing to work on it."
"She just lacks confidence, it's still her beginning in the company", Hazuki tried to explain.
"I thought that too. So, I asked her help during the previous project, pretending I was accumulating late. Yet the only ideas she could give me were cliché and already exploited in Fairies series."
Hazuki remained silent for a time before looking back to her friend, concerned.
"I guess you saw her quality decreased over the year. If she stops improving this early in her career, she might be fired sooner or later to give her place to someone else. Companies can't allow empathy to influence their judgement. Could you talk with her about that ?"
Yagami's hand slammed on the table.
"Did you even listened to what I told you ?!, Yagami shouted, raising her voice far above her usual standards. You decided to take her away from the project when …"
"We did not push her away from …"
"You did! You did, right after complimenting her for her results. And just in case that was not cruel enough, you gave it to me, the one she is trying to reach". The designer waited for herself to calm down, and then stared back at her superior. "You have been the one starting it, you will deal with it yourselves."
"So will you let her get fired without any doubts ?"
All the remaining of the kind and carefree Hazuki were gone the moment the designer raised her voice, leaving the place to the company's director using her position to pressure her employee, but Yagami simply stared back at her.
"If she gets fired, I leave Eagle Jump."
Without waiting for an answer, the designer walked past to the other woman and left the tiny room after these words, getting some curious looks from a group that had formed in front of the door. Despite her anger, the blonde managed to fake a smile before going back in the design office and sitting back on her chair.
"What did you two talked about', Hifumi asked shyly.
"With Hazuki? She just had some questions about the next project", the blonde answered vaguely.
"Will you show something new or do you plan to work on the next Fairies ?"
Yagami picked up a pen and gazed at it for a moment.
"I'm still unsure of what to do to be honest …"
"I'm sure it will be good no matter what you decide", Hifumi replied in an attempt to cheer her up.
"That's the reason why I have to make a choice", Yagami whispered quietly.
Hazuki sighed loudly and shook her head. The night had come, and rain had begun falling shortly after. Adding to that her argument with Yagami made her day horrible. She stood up and moved towards the window where her cat was sleeping.
"Today has not been funny ..."
Somebody knocked smoothly at the door while the girl was lost in her thoughts.
"Come in", Hazuki said as she sat back on her chair.
The door pivoted to reveal the designer leader, a sheet in the hand. Hazuki hid her surprise and waited for Yagami to speak but she just approached the desk and pinned down the sheet in front of the gray-haired woman. She grabbed it and read at the words that were written on it. Peco 2. Hazuki looked up for an explanation on Yagami's serious face.
"That's the only way to get her back", the designer told her as an explanation.
"She told you that ?"
"She doesn't know I'm here."
"You want me to trust you with nothing but that ?", Hazuki raised an eyebrow.
Yagami didn't speak, but her look was clear. Hazuki walked to the window and fixed a raindrop running down the glass. Peck had had quite good sales, so a sequel would already have an existing fanbase, but the obvious condition was that Aoba would be the designer of the project, from the beginning to the end. But looking at her current state, it was difficult to believe she would suddenly wake up and create a game by herself.
"You would both create the game and your names would be quoted equally."
"You know very well she would be invisible if she's next to me."
That's why I proposed you that, Hazuki said to herself. The woman sighed and grabbed a bunch of files to quickly read them. She then put them down and frowned, her mind balancing the only way out of this conflict she could think of.
"I want a proposition for tomorrow, before 12.00. And you shall not give her any idea. If she manages to convince the rest of the crew that her work is reaching your level, only then will I accept your conditions."
Yagami nodded and slightly bowed before leaving the room. As soon as she got back on the designer room, she grabbed her phone in her bag and search among her contacts until she found the right person. The phone rang twice before Aoba finally responded.
"Yagami? Is there a problem in the company?"
"Sorry to call you this late. I know you're probably home, but I need to speak with you tonight. Face to face."
"I think it shouldn't be a problem. What is it about?", Aoba asked curiously.
"That's … It's difficult to talk about it by phone. But it's something I can't do without you."
"Then, do you mind coming at my home? I can't leave my brother alone in the house."
"Sure, if I'm not bothering you."
After Aoba gave her the address, Yagami quickly jumped inside her car and drove to her destination. She managed to find a place to park just in front of the house. It was quite large for someone this young, so Yagami guessed she was still living with her parents. And she didn't bring anything. The designer shook her head to clear her mind and rang the bell. Soon after, Aoba came to open the door. She was wearing an apron above more casual clothes. Yagami's face was probably showing her concern since Aoba seemed worried.
"Did something happen?" the smaller girl asked.
"Can I come in?"
Outro : Thanks for reading !
This is something I had completly forgotten about that I found yesterday on my computer, so I quickly corrected and posted the text. Since I didn't use a beta, there will probably be a few mistakes. If you want to, feel free to tell me the mistakes, and I will correct them as soon as possible.
Also, a sequel is not planned, but if people enjoyed it, I will see what I can do.