1 The Rising Sun

When you reach the point in your life where you have a job that allows you to pay your bills, it happens more often than not that you get married to your job.

Haruka Armitage is the grumpy and perfectionist Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of The Rising Sun, a monthly business magazine that runs in Tokyo. Her installment as EIC of The Rising Sun caused raised eyebrows among many of the employees of the Red Ink Publishing Company. After all, Armitage is seemingly unsuitable to the job and the only proof that one needs is a short conversation with the flamboyant lady. Yes, she's smart-looking and rumors say that she's good with numbers especially if they pertain to monetary amounts, but nobody can deny that she's not articulate. She mixes up the meaning of words that sound alike and it's certainly a big irony that such a person is entrusted with the prestige of The Rising Sun. But then, Haruka is the daughter of one of the founding members of the Red Ink. Thus, her family enjoys the perks of their influence.

If that was the kind of person behind The Rising Sun, how come the magazine maintains booming sales and popularity? Well, even though Haruka Armitage is utterly bad with words, she is surely an expert when it comes to people. Let's just say that she knows how to get the right people and she knows how to keep them working for her. She's generous. Now, who doesn't want to work for such a person when all your efforts are properly compensated?

It's been four years since Haruka was given the position. That time, The Rising Sun was still struggling in the print media market since it was only recently introduced by the Red Ink. But due to Red Ink's name, it didn't take a year before the sales of The Rising Sun became at par with the other magazines published by the Red Ink. Though the credit for such a feat was given to Haruka, the editorial staff knew about the real hero behind the booming sales.

Haruka Armitage hired two people whom she seems to know very well – Yukino Chrysant and Shizuru Fujino. These people define the term "workaholic" especially Yukino. Most members of the staff are amazed at how the bespectacled and no-nonsense lady can put up with a loud and arrogant Haruka Armitage.

Yukino is secretly called as "The Filter" by the insiders in the Rising Sun. A minor mistake in grammar couldn't escape the four-eyed woman, thus, the writers are always so worked up in editing their own work before Yukino gets a hold of all the articles prior to publishing an issue. A compliment from Yukino is more valued than a paycheck. Marie Howard, for instance, Yukino said in the meeting of the editorial staff that Marie's article "On the Education CEOs" was well-written and well-thought of; Marie fainted upon hearing Yukino's words. On the other hand, there were many contributors who were never again seen in the office of The Rising Sun because Yukino also has a sharp tongue when it comes to substandard work. An error in content and in form means the end of one's writing career in The Rising Sun.

If Yukino is busy with maintaining the standard for excellence, Shizuru Fujino serves as the spring of avant-garde ideas keeping The Rising Sun full of surprises every issue. Such a talent is totally unexpected from a seemingly laid-back person such as Shizuru. She is rarely seen at the office unlike Yukino. Her whereabouts are very hard to pinpoint. She would just come back at the office when she has finished an article.

One thing about Shizuru is the fact that her looks are deceiving. Behind her smiles and calm demeanor, lies a ruthless person who doesn't care about the effects of her articles to companies, large and small alike. Once she discovers something in the business world that's worth exposing to the public, she wouldn't think twice of doing so. The most notable case is the downfall of Nature's Best due to the most recent issue of The Rising Sun.

Nature's Best is a company that sells slimming products in different forms – tablets, capsules, lotion, soap, and tea. It's a giant company which has been successful for fifteen years which also means that their name is trusted by consumers until Shizuru's article came up in The Rising Sun. Shizuru found out that not all of their products keep up to their promise of having 500 milligrams of a substance that helps in burning body fat. The report was verified by chemists; most products only had 100 milligrams of the required substance.

In the same day that the bombshell article was published, the office of The Rising Sun was packed with reporters in search of one Shizuru Fujino. However, it was Haruka Armitage who took the pleasure of being interviewed. In face of the accusations that the author of the article was paid a huge amount to taint the name of a reputable company, Haruka only said, "They were discovered. We were the first one to find out about what their company has been doing but three other independent institutions did tests to prove that Shizuru Fujino's article only aims to disclose the truth. That's what the Rising Sun has always been doing – presenting a real and raw picture of what business is all about. If you'll excuse me, we're busy working on the next issue of The Rising Sun."

"Why is Shizuru Fujino not answering the issues thrown at her?" a reporter asked.

"As I've said, we are busy working for the next issue. Fujino is a busy person and when she's doing field research, she could be anywhere. You should interview BayMed, CSBoard, and Fuuka University and asked them about what they found out about the products sold by Nature's Best," Haruka gave her scripted answer. Of course, Yukino had her memorize everything. Otherwise, her English would slip here and there and that would be a shame to The Rising Sun. Yukino wouldn't allow that.

Meanwhile, a brunette wearing brown sunglasses was seating in a cafeteria at the first floor of The Sky Tower in Metro Tokyo. She decided to eat there because there's a huge Plasma TV installed on the wall. She was calmly sipping her tea while watching Haruka answer all the questions about Nature's Best.

"What a nice speech you have written there, Yukino," she thought with a small smile. And then something caught her attention. There were two ladies occupying the table in front of her and they were whispering to each other. Shizuru, behind her glasses eyed them and then she took out a notebook and pretended that she was busy. She concentrated on listening at the hushed tones and she was able to hear what the ladies were talking about.

"Ne Nao, tell me, how did you get the position?" one of the ladies said.

"I negotiated with Kanzaki Reito," the redheaded lady replied with a smirk.

Shizuru looked at them closely and noticed that they were both wearing short and tight skirts plus pointed high-heeled shoes. Shizuru smiled because she was dressed like the two. It's the typical office girl attire. "Ara, I'm like a chameleon," Shizuru thought with a suppressed smile.

"Negotiation huh?" the other girl smiled knowingly, "I heard their family is known for liking negotiations of that kind. "Remember how they managed to execute a merger with the Tokiha Royal Holdings?

"Oh yeah, they gave the job to Kanzaki Mikoto. In two months time, Tokiha Mai announced the merger. I thought she was a smart woman. It turns out that she wasn't smart enough against seduction." The girls giggled.

"It's the ultimate secret weapon of one who wants to succeed. I knew Miyu Greer would get the position because of her credentials that's why I acted quickly," the readhead casually said. "Come on. Let's go back to the office."

"Interesting," Shizuru thought. She looked at her notebook and read what she had written while listening to the two girls.

Woman named Nao got a position.

She negotiated with Kanzaki Reito (appears to be a superior).

The family (probably members of a business clan) liked negotiations of THAT KIND.

Kanzaki Mikoto (appears to be related to Kanzaki Reito) closed a merger with Tokiha Royal Holdings in two months (negotiation period) through Tokiha Mai (implied that the woman was seduced)

"Hmm, this might be an interesting place to dig something for the June Issue," Shizuru thought. Her index finger was touching her cheek, it was her habit when she's contemplating about something. "But what shall I write about?" Shizuru fidgeted and then she playfully wrote, "Seduction: The Ultimate Secret Weapon of the Successful Career Person".

Shizuru laughed at herself. She thought that would be the end of her career because Yukino will definitely fire her. "A case study would be probably better. It seems interesting to find the percentage of men and women in a particular company who did "under-the-table" negotiations just to get ahead on their career. I have two months for this since I have already written my article for the next issue," Shizuru thought. And then she took out her laptop. It's good that the table she got is at the corner of the cafeteria.

Shizuru typed Kuga Marketing Corporation on the search engine of her web browser and then the website of the company turned up. She clicked the URL and now she's reading the homepage. She saw the organizational structure of the company.

"Now let's see who these people are and how they are related," Shizuru mumbled to herself while digesting the information. She saw Kanzaki Reito's profile. The picture showed a tall, young man with dark, clean-cut hair, well-defined jaw, sharp nose, and a toothy smile. "Certainly the playboy type," Shizuru thought.

Kanzaki, Reito. Director, Human Resource Management Department.

A related article showed up at the bottom of the page. Shizuru clicked it and she found that it was a feature of the 26th birthday celebration of Kanzaki, Reito. The article had details that she needed. She found out that the man is the son of the Director of the Legal Department, Kanzaki Jiro. He has a younger sister, Kanzaki Mikoto, serving as the Director of the Sales and Advertising Department.

"Certainly a family business," Shizuru mused, "but the company is named after Kuga." Shizuru continued her search and then she clicked the profile of the President of the Company, Kuga Toushiro. Shizuru noticed how old the man is and then she clicked the profile of the Vice-Presidents, there were four of them, three Kugas and one Kanzaki.

Shizuru started to get bored until she found out by reading some more that the Kanzakis were related to the Kugas due to a marriage between the only daughter of the President, Kuga Miyuki, and Kanzaki Hiro. By closely looking at the pictures, it didn't take long for Shizuru to conclude that Kanzaki Jiro and Kanzaki Hiro are identical twins. Thus, Kanzaki Reito is a nephew of one the Vice Presidents.

"Ara, it seems that there are too many of them, who could this be?" Shizuru mumbled as she clicked the picture of a young lady with green eyes and long midnight navy hair. "I wish my boss is as pretty."

Kuga, Natsuki. Director, Production and Packaging Department.

"Beautiful but looks grumpy and strict, but definitely beautiful," Shizuru thought unaware that she had been staring at the picture for minutes. The Director was wearing dark slacks and a matching fitted suit. "Nice frame, she seems the sporty type. Alright, I'd say it, she's sexy." Shizuru then massage her temples and closed her laptop altogether. She picked up her shoulder bag and laptop bag and then she went to the nearest powder room. She removed her sunglasses and she put on her amethyst contact lenses to hide her crimson eyes. She checked her laptop bag if she still had extra copies of her resume and she found four more copies. She pulled out her mobile phone and dialed Yukino's number.

"Yukino-san, I'll be out for two months so let's do the formalities,' Shizuru said excitedly.

"Alright, seems like you found a new place to dig," Yukino replied.

"Yes, I did. Here goes: I, Fujino Shizuru, resign from my post at the Red Ink Publishing Company."

"Resignation accepted by Chrysant Yukino. Please e-mail your resignation letter," Yukino replied in a bored tone.

"Ookini Yukino-san, I'm out," Shizuru said and she placed back her phone on her bag. She then asked for directions from the Information Desk until she found herself at 19th floor of The Sky Tower, that's the main office of the Kuga Manufacturing Corporation. A few minutes later, she was in front of the door leading to the Human Resource Management Office.

Meanwhile, at the conference room of The Rising Sun, Haruka was talking to Yukino as they go over the articles to be published for the May Issue.

"What, she said two months? Did she submitted her article for May?" Haruka asked.

"Submit, not submitted," Yukino calmly replied while reading. Haruka growled. "She did, do you want to read it? It's not striking. It's just about her mother's flower shop in Kyoto. But it's okay, she wrote it for Mother's Day."

"Uhm, Yukino, am I not paying Shizuru fairly? Look, their flower shop has been running for years and they don't even expand it."

"Oh, you know Shizuru-san. She and her mother are alike in many ways. They want a simple life."

"Simple life," Haruka contemplated while intently looking at Yukino and then she laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Is there something wrong with my face?" Yukino asked. Her confidence always fails her when she's with Haruka.

"Sorry Yukino, it's not you I'm laughing about. Come to think of it, Shizuru's life is not simple at all." Yukino chuckled at the comment.

"Haruka, tell me, do you still think of her as your rival? You use to say that a lot when we were in Fuuka Academy," Yukino asked. She lifted her gaze from the page she was reading to Haruka.

"Not anymore. She always wins so it's not right to compete with someone like her. I swear when I hired her I thought I beat her somehow, the Kaichou working for me. But she was so thankful for the job and I couldn't bring up the rivalry thing," Haruka casually said. She then felt a hand cover her own on the table filled with papers.

"You certainly grew up, didn't you," Yukino said with gleaming eyes. Haruka was suddenly shy and every nerve on her hand was sensitive to the touch of Yukino.

"I guess so. You're such a good influence. Maybe you should stay for life," Haruka said with a croaked voice as if her throat was suddenly dry. She wasn't expecting a reply so she pretended that she was reading.

"I'd love to stay," Yukino replied without looking and then they were silent and just went back to work.