Elsword Sieghart wasn't someone who got nervous. Usually. But when he turned up for his job interview at Smile Industry Inc. - the biggest toy company in all of Elrios - and was immediately surrounded by at least ten security guards clad in black, he got nervous. I mean, he wasn't going to steal anything, he was just there for a job interview! Luckily for him, they were shooed away by a man shortly after. Unluckily, that man was just as terrifying - if not more. His black hair was wild and spiky, a shock of white running through it. Cold, amber eyes flicked over him as he hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his blue denim jeans. Strangely enough, one hand was mechanical, orange lights glowing and flickering on the black metal, several lethal-looking spikes protruding from it.
"Sorry about that," The man said, casually dusting off his white T-shirt. "These guy's don't know what they're doing. Trainees." He nodded gruffly to the security guards, all whom looked rather disgruntled. "The name's Raven." Raven extended his hand - the non-mechanical one, thankfully - which Elsword tentatively accepted. "I'm the Head of Security. Probably should wear my badge." Elsword nodded, a bead of sweat running down his face as he forced a smile.
"I see... Er, Mr. Raven, do you -"
Raven waved his mechanical arm in a friendly gesture. "Just Raven is fine. And to get to the CEO's office you take the first elevator to level ten. Got it?" Elsword grinned.
"Uh, yes. It's straightforward enough." Awkwardly shuffling past Raven and the security trainees, Elsword pushed past the glass doors, stepping into a rather... colorful lobby, bright splashes of paint of every color covering the walls, a geometric-patterned carpet lining the floor. Odd, exotic plants were crammed into corners, filling the air with a heady mixture of fragrances, the couches and chairs futuristic pieces. Pressing the button on the elevator to go up, Elsword tapped his foot impatiently, an annoying habit he'd picked up from a friend of his. The metallic doors slid open, revealing the crimson interior of the elevator, the panel glowing brightly. Pressing the tenth button, Elsword watched listlessly as the doors slid closed and a catchy pop song blared through the elevator speakers.
Arriving on the tenth floor, Elsword wasn't sure what to expect. Plush animals? Neon doors? More security guards? Instead, he was pleasantly surprised by another, more formal-looking lobby. The walls were painted a tasteful shade of pale green, a soft, white carpet lining the ground. A black desk was pushed off to the side, facing the opposing wall, several stacks of paper and a modern-looking lamp arranged neatly on it. Behind the desk on the farthest wall was a mahogany door, the brass knob shining softly. Seated at the desk was a woman who looked to be no older than twenty, her long blonde hair neatly tied up by a soft, velvety ribbon, two lily shaped clips holding back a few stray hairs. She was busy typing something on a sleek laptop, her green eyes trained on the screen, before shifting over to a white paper, filling something in rapidly. Hearing the door slide open, the woman looked up, smiling brightly.
"Ah, hello! You must be Elsword Sieghart, correct?" Her nameplate simply read 'Secretary.' She tilted her head, letting her hair cascade past her shoulders. "My name's Rena, Miss Eve's secretary and personal bodyguard~! I'll let her know that you're coming in." Pressing a button on her phone, she proceeded to say something in some sort of gibberish. Elsword shuddered. Personal bodyguard? If this 'Eve' had Rena as a bodyguard, why hire Raven and that gaggle of security guards? Beaming brightly, Rena pushed her chair back, beckoning for Elsword to follow her.
"Now, Miss Eve is a rather... ah, unique person, so don't be startled when you first meet her." Elsword grinned good-naturedly.
"I've been surrounded by bodyguards, casually threatened, and constantly pestered since this morning. At this point I don't think anything will phase me." Giggling, Rena pushed open the ebony door, pushing Elsword through.
"Good luck with your interview! I look forwards to working with you in the future~!" Closing the door behind himself, the first thing Elsword saw was snack food. Lots and lots of it. The shelves were filled with bags of potato chips of every flavor, pretzels, hard candies, fruit-flavored gummies, crackers, cookies, and sweets. A basket was overflowing with assorted chocolates, boxes of doughnuts, bubblegum bottles, and packets of marshmallows. The carpet was a bright bubblegum pink, the walls a crisp white with a pale pink flower print. A glass desk sat in the middle of the room, covered in papers haphazardly tossed everywhere and a fluffy, mint-green plush rabbit. Seated behind the desk was a young woman wearing a light tan dress with colorful flowers stitched into the bottom, a dark brown long-sleeved turtleneck shirt underneath it, white, knee-high socks, and yellow heels with cute little bows on the top. Her long silver hair was held back by an elaborate, faux jewel-covered headband, the rest parted in two and tied at the bottoms with what looked like twine. Golden eyes flicked over to Elsword as she picked up a packet of strawberry-flavored Pockey, boredly removing a single stick and biting the tip.
"You're Elsword?"
Elsword nodded. "Yes. I'm here for my job interview. It's a pleasure meeting you."
Eve nodded absently, motioning to a black folding chair that rested in a corner of the room. "Drag that up to my desk, will you?" Raising an eyebrow, Elsword silently picked up the chair, bringing in front of the desk. "So, Elsword. What do you think of toys?"
Clearing his throat, Elsword sat down, folding his hands professionally. "Toys are an opportunity for children to grow while having fun, something to teach them correct morals and live life happily."
Silently eating her Pockey, Eve leaned forwards. "And what do you think about using toys to change the world?"
Elsword smiled weakly, running a hand through his crimson hair. "I think that it would be great."
Giving a satisfied nod, Eve pointed a fresh stick of Pockey at him. "Okay then. You're hired." Blinking in surprise, Elsword gaped at her.
"Wha-? That's it? You're not going to ask about my previous job experiences or anything?" Eve shrugged, carelessly tossing her now empty Pockey packet over her shoulder, grabbing a bar of fudge.
"Why should I care about that? If you can do the job, you can do the job. Oh, you're the new head of Product Safety. Want some fudge?"
Elsword spluttered. "H-Head of Product Safety?! Miss Eve, I was applying for an assistant's job in the Sales Department!" Eve raised an eyebrow disinterestedly, taking a bite of her fudge.
"I needed a new head, and you're the only one we're hiring. Now come, we're taking a tour of the company." Elsword spluttered again.
"Shouldn't you be letting someone else give me a tour?!"
Eve shrugged. "Why get someone to do something I can do?" Picking up her push bunny, Eve marched past Elsword, pushing open the door. "Rena! I'm giving the newbie a tour! You're company CEO for twenty minutes. Got it?" Elsword gaped. How could she simply hand over her position to someone for a little under half an hour?
Rena nodded, pressing a button on her phone. "Attention all Smile Industry Inc. employees, I will be your new CEO until eight o'clock. Thank you for your cooperation."
Dragging Elsword out by the arm, Eve hopped into the elevator, pressing the button to go down. "On the ninth floor is the production level." Elsword blinked in confusion. Why the ninth floor? Wasn't that a bit... Dangerous?
As the doors slid open, Elsword was immediately greeted by conveyor belts that crisscrossed across a massive room, machines whirring and humming as strange products, both finished and unfinished, poured into brown cardboard boxes. A man with cerulean eyes was busy yelling orders at the gas-masked workers who scrambled around the freakishly large room. His blond hair was spiky, two longer parts sticking straight up with russet-colored tips like ears, another long ponytail running down his back. He tapped his clipboard impatiently.
"Come on people! We need to hurry up with production! We're already a week behind schedule because you slacked off while I was sick!"
Elsword peered around curiously. Eve strode ahead, casually karate-chopping the startling Pikachu-like blond. He looked back, breaking into a wide grin, his pearly white teeth showing. "Ah, Eve! Good to see you. Showing around the newbie?"
Eve nodded, passing him a small bag of popcorn. "Good work. Elsword, meet Chung, the Head of Production." Chung nodded gracefully, flashing a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you, Elsword! I'd love to chat, but right now I'm busy." From the other side of the room, a man with whitened hair and mismatched mauve eyes came darting over, a thin mauve tattooed line running down one side of his face, waving a grease-covered wrench.
"Miss Eve! You look lovely today! Did I ever tell you that your hair looks like starlight?"
Eve held out the rabbit plush as if to stop the white-haired man's advance. "Minty doesn't want to get dirty." Tossing him a pack of jellybeans that seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere, she turned to Elsword. "This is Add, the Head Mechanic. Say hello." Elsword nodded politely.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Add. I hope we get along." Add shot him a dirty glare.
"Don't you dare get to comfy with the beautiful Miss Eve! She's a goddess that's out of your reach!" Eve casually took a bite out of her fudge, poker-faced as usual.
"That's nice. Elsword, we're leaving, there's nothing else for us to do here." Walking past Elsword and the other two men, Chung already yelling as he flung pencils at people, Eve entered the elevator, eating more of her fudge. Elsword tore after her, barely entering the elevator before the doors slid closed.
"The eighth floor is Concept and Design."
As the doors slid open, an oriental girl with warm orange eyes tripped in front of the elevator, sending papers flying everywhere as she fell flat on her face.. The room was full of cubicles, several tables filled with pencils sketches and blueprints. Elsword deadpanned, a bead of sweat rolling down his face as he stared at the fallen woman.
"Hello, my name is Elsword. Are you alright?"
Eve didn't even blink.
"That's Ara, the Head of Concept and Design." She threw a package of peanuts at her, hitting the poor girl on the head. Ara muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Hello, it's nice to meet you, and I'm fine,' but the elevator doors slid closed before he could confirm her response.
"Seventh floor is the Sales Department."
Pushing Elsword out of the elevator, Eve casually strode towards the back, finishing her fudge, neatly folding the wrapper and disposing it in a garbage can before pulling out a box of grape juice. Unwrapping the straw, she kicked open a door, causing a purple-haired girl with rather well-curled pigtails to yelp in alarm. "Oh, Eve, it's just you. How can I help you?"
Eve nodded towards Elsword, stabbing her juice box. "Newbie."
The purple-haired girl's violet eyes lit up as she examined Elsword, her white dress-shirt stained with what looked like paint. "So this is the new guy? He'd make a good spokesperson; got the looks and probably the personality to go with it." Turning to a petite girl with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair wearing a blue dress, she winked. "See? This is the aura of a spokesperson. You've got to be doing your best to advertise our toys for the next commercial!" Graciously accepting Eve's box of chocolates, she turned back to Elsword. "I'm Aisha, by the way. Nice to meet you."
Elsword smiled back. "My name is Elsword. It's a pleasure meeting you." Aisha chortled, twisting a pigtail.
"He really does have manners. Lucy! Hurry up and get good at this or I'll kidnap Elsword and have him take your place!" Elsword shuddered, allowing Eve to drag him back to the elevator.
"The sixth floor is Security Headquarters, but Raven's out right now so there's no point in going there. Floor five is the meeting rooms. There's only office cubicles on floor four. On the third floor is the Financial Department."
Elsword beamed. "Ah, my elder sister Elesis is the head of that department." Eve raised an eyebrow.
"Really? I didn't realize Elsie had a brother." Elsword tried not to snicker at the nickname. Taking a calm sip of her juice, the elevator landed on the first floor. "First floor is Product Safety." As the doors slid open, Eve walked down a corridor that Elsword hadn't realized was there before, leading them to a large, spacious area with a sturdy Plexiglas wall separating two areas. The side they were on was filled with chairs and beeping computer monitors, while the other side was heavily padded. The workers looked up to stare at Eve and Elsword as they entered. Eve waved around her now-empty juice box. "This is Elsword, the new Head of your department. You guys can't run around like headless chickens anymore. Be nice to him." Pressing a bag of cotton candy into Elsword's palm, she clapped him on the back harshly. Elsword, not expecting the sudden surge of strength, stumbled forwards. "Good luck."
And then she was gone. Elsword sighed, looking at his new co-workers. "Uh... Hi?"
This was going to be a long year.
Me: I'm back!
Aisha: This is what, your second released story within a week?
Me: Well, yeah, I'm trying to challenge myself with different writing styles.
Elsword: Isn't this one just your typical comedic story though...?
Me: Eh, I'm going to be approaching several very philosophical themes through a light-hearted tone. Basically it's all about being yourself and helping others and finding what really defines you but in a really wacky toy company.
Eve: And now I have a snack-food obsession.
Me: Well who doesn't like snack foods?
Rena: You're digging your own grave with this!
Me: Maybe I am, maybe I'm not! But hey, while this lasts, let's have fun~
Raven: How much longer are you going to ramble to fill up this author's note?
Me: For a little while longer. I think.
Chung: I think it's working.
Me: So how's life everyone? Make sure you tell me if you like this story!
Ara: I think they will. And my grand debut is me falling on my face -.-
Me: Necessary comedic relief. Now, ROLL THE END CREDITS!
Elsa: Don't forget to R&R!
Add: Follow and favorite if you want.
Me: ZOMG THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN YOU IN MY AUTHOR'S NOTES LIKE EVER!
Add: ...Okay then?
Raven: *sighs* See you all next chapter.
Me: Love y'all! Chu~