Goro's eyes quickly scanned the room before he bowed, giving one of his practiced smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nijima-san. I hope we'll work well together." He squeezed his hands together tightly, thankful that the gloves his his white knuckles. His throat stuck under the tall woman's piercing gaze, but she gave a faint nod.
"Likewise, Akechi-san." Her cold tone chilled him to the core and he tried to swallow the knot in his throat. Shido had informed him he would be working with Nijima Sae but, given how Goro knew nothing about the world of law, the name had meant nothing to him. He wished he'd done his research first. It wasn't difficult to tell the woman was likely a very infamous prosecutor from her presence alone despite how young she was.
He ignored the cold gaze and walked over to his desk, pressed to the wall as he walked. He hated having his back to the only exist since it meant somebody could easily walk up behind him and he couldn't flee quickly. At least it was near a wall…
He groaned when he saw the already massive pile of paperwork and sighed. He still felt Sae's eyes on him and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, trying to ignore her as he opened the kanji program. Might as well get started…
He pulled a piece off the stack and began typing the kanji into the app as discreetly as he could. No matter what he did, he couldn't get more than a handful of basic kanji to stick. Hiragana and katakana were fine, but a child in fourth grade could likely read and write better than he could.
Of course, it didn't take him long to start moving the concealed strip of metal in his left glove with his right hand. He could still feel Sae's eyes on him and then paired with the fact he couldn't see the door, and the obscure kanji, he couldn't help but fidget. He hated sitting still for long periods, but he has little choice. His felt his breathing shallower than normal and a bead of sweat roll down his temple, but he kept the focus on the task at hand the best he could.
Eventually, a hand on his shoulder made him jump out of his seat and he pressed against the wall. Sweat clung to the sides of his face and he clasped his hands together, shaking as his eyes finally met Sae's. She held a water bottle out to him, a surprisingly gentle smile on her face. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out other than his rapid gasps.
"Here. Why don't you get some water in you? It's better than caffeine." He gave a tiny nod as he followed her gaze to the coffee on his desk. He'd read the stuff only made anxiety far worse, but it had been the only thing that had gotten him through working three jobs on top of an honors student.
With a trembling hand, he took snapped it away from her, though he kept her in his peripheral vision. He inspected the seal, cracking it open after a moment and drinking some of it slowly. Sae simply sat at his desk and he blinked when he saw her start working on his paperwork despite the amount she had to deal with.
"N-Niji—" His voice barely reached a whisper, though it died when she looked over at him. The soft smile never left her face though.
She held up her right hand, revealing a ring on it, and his eyebrows shot up when the smaller band on the outside spun around. She was kinesthetic like he was? There was no way she could have planned or even known something so oddly specific since he was such an obscure person. He felt he had little reason but to believe her even if he didn't trust her.
She got up and pulled her chair over near his, patting it. He hesitated for a long moment, glancing at the door before sitting in her chair. "Now, why don't you point out what you were having trouble with and I'll explain it to you."
For anybody that's wondering what's going through Sae's head...
Read onto the next chapter from her view.