A New Year

"…a New Year's party?" Masamune asked, his voice clearly displaying his skepticism. "I don't remember being told about that."

Kisa and Mino glanced at each other, but Hatori dug around on Masamune's desk until he unearthed a single sheet of paper with a few lines of text. "This is to remind all Marukawa Shoten employees of the annual New Year's Eve party on December 31st. If you plan to attend, please inform General Affairs." Hatori rose an eyebrow before putting the paper on top of Masamune's work pile.

Masamune sighed in a tired kind of way he'd adopted since starting as Emerald's editor-in-chief. He'd had so much to think about that the memo had completely slipped under his radar until it got swallowed by his desk clutter.

"Fortunately for you, I already went in, so you're accounted for," Hatori said, sounding more bored than anything.

Masamune smiled. "What would I do without you, Hatori?"

Hatori eyed Masamune's desk. "Good question." And then his phone rang, and he only had to glance at the caller ID before he was out of his seat. "On that note, however, it's time for Yoshikawa Chiharu's annual remorse meeting."

"Try not to make her cry this time, Hatori!" Kisa lifted his head from his laptop. "Yoshikawa-sensei is a delicate flower and you're always so harsh with her!"

"You don't know the half of it," Hatori said. He slung his jacket over his shoulder and headed out.

Masamune watched with interest before turning to Kisa. "I think Yoshikawa-sensei is one of the authors I haven't met." Although in the several months he'd been there, he'd heard Hatori making plenty of threats over the phone.

"I haven't met her, either." Kisa shrugged, indifferent. "Hatori always goes to see her if there's a problem."

Masamune glanced at the storyboards piled on Hatori's desk. The ones from Yoshikawa Chiharu were covered in red marks; when Masamune had looked over them earlier that month, he couldn't help but wonder if some of those marks weren't just to spite Yoshikawa-sensei for her perpetually late material.

When he realized he couldn't focus anymore, Masamune took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kisa, Mino, I'm heading out."

"Merry Christmas, boss!" Kisa gave Masamune a radiant grin from where he sat cross-legged in his pink, floral chair.

Masamune waved absentmindedly and reached for his cigarettes.

XXX

Yoshino Chiaki collapsed onto his couch as Hatori took the apron he'd left there for cooking off its hook. Hatori could be brutal when he wanted to be, and complaining about his constantly shirking deadlines all year didn't soften his blows.

"It's not like I do it on purpose!" Chiaki complained, flailing his legs in the air.

Hatori side-eyed him before pushing Chiaki's feet down. "You're pitiful, you know that?"

"You're harsh, Tori." Chiaki puffed his cheeks and laid his head on one arm of the couch. Then he rolled over onto his back and gazed at Hatori upside-down. "Are you visiting your parents for New Year's?"

Appliances came crashing out of the cupboard Hatori was looking for the rice cooker in. He seemed as composed as always, but Chiaki shrunk back. He could feel a deadly aura coming off his friend. Hatori turned around to face Chiaki. He had the rice cooker balanced precariously on top of his head.

Chiaki wilted even further, looking not unlike a kicked puppy. He ducked behind the couch arm to avoid Hatori's gaze.

"No." Hatori put the rice cooker down on the counter and proceeded to put the rest of the things away. "Marukawa is having their New Year's party. Am I really the only one who remembered?"

"You know I hate those parties." Chiaki was back to pouting. "Hardly anyone knows Yoshikawa Chiharu is a man so I never have anyone but you to talk to." Another side-eye from Hatori made him sink down into the couch cushions.

Hatori sighed. "I planned to introduce you to the new editor-in-chief."

"Suzuki-san left?" Chiaki actually looked interested.

"Which you'd know if you ever left your apartment." Hatori's eyes were in danger of being stuck that way if he kept giving Chiaki that look. "But yes, she was replaced by a man named Takano Masamune. I thought you should meet him, with all he's done for the magazine."

Chiaki smiled and watched Hatori wash the rice. "What's he like?"

Hatori considered this as he worked. His first impression of his new boss had been that he looked flighty. He wasn't entirely wrong; Masamune worked hard but, every now and then, he'd get a look in his eyes as he checked over a manga page. It was like he had something on his mind. If Hatori knew anything, it was what a man looked like when he was distracted.

"He forgot about the New Year's party, too," he finally said.

Chiaki grinned. "I like him already."

XXX

At about eight o'clock, Yokozawa had shown up at Masamune's apartment with a six pack of beer. Masamune had been perfectly content with taking a shower and just going to bed, but Yokozawa had insisted that it was his birthday and therefore a time to celebrate. Whenever Yokozawa offered him a beer, though, he just waved it off.

"You going to Marukawa's New Year's party?" Masamune asked. He was on the couch, but Yokozawa had long-since laid down on the floor, looking content.

"No, I'm not high enough on the totem pole," Yokozawa said, sounding only slightly bitter. "My boss will be there, though." Then he kicked away the two empty beer cans he'd gone through before sitting up. "You're going?"

"Hatori implied that I have to." Masamune sighed and picked up one of the manga that was piled on his coffee table. "One of the perks of being in charge, I suppose."

Yokozawa suddenly seemed to realize something, and he reached into the bag he'd brought the beer in. He produced a wrapped object and held it up in the air, not quite within Masamune's reach. "I almost forgot: happy birthday."

Masamune took it and disposed of the wrapping in no time. He couldn't help but smile. "I didn't know Usami Akihiko had a new book out."

"From another publisher," Yokozawa muttered. He was back on the floor like he'd never moved. "You've been so busy I figured you wouldn't have gotten it yet."

Masamune flipped through it idly, back and forth until he stopped at the acknowledgments page. Yokozawa was popping open another beer as he read about Usami thanking his editor, a man named Onodera Ritsu, and Kamijou Hiroki, who always, apparently, looked over his manuscripts even before the publishing house. Masamune sighed and put the book on his coffee table. It'd probably get buried in all the manga volumes, but he didn't care right then.

"Got any wishes for the new year?" Masamune asked. Yokozawa had put the beer aside without even drinking any. Maybe he knew moderation after all.

"Yeah. I'm hoping you grow a spine so I don't have to take the blame whenever there aren't enough copies of your magazine printed." He scowled up at the ceiling like it was the source of all his problems.

"I work my ass off trying to compromise with the people in sales. It's not my fault if they don't have enough faith in my department." Masamune snatched the beer from Yokozawa's hand, along with the three still in the pack, and went to put them on the counter. "You should be getting home. You won't catch the subway if you wait too late."

"You really want to spend Christmas alone?" Yokozawa suddenly looked perfectly sober as he moved to sit up.

"Not technically alone. I can always go to the wall and hear my neighbors," Masamune said, only half joking. The walls were somewhat thin, and if it was quiet enough, or if they were loud enough, he could hear them talking or going around their apartments doing various things. "The guy over in 1202 does yoga, I think."

"Well good for the guy in 1202." Yokozawa looked pissed at the very thought that Masamune was throwing him out. "I'm serious, Masamune. You don't need to be alone just because you can't be with your family."

"Thanks, Yokozawa, but I'll be fine. I just want to get to bed and rest." Masamune smiled and waved him off. Left with no other choice, Yokozawa nodded and left with only a glance back as he closed the door behind him.

Left in silence, Masamune could vaguely hear the CD that his neighbor in 1202 always played during a yoga session. It had calming music for a backdrop as a smooth voice walked the listener through a routine. He knew nothing about yoga, so words like "parsvakonasana" and "chaturanga dandasana" meant nothing to him. More than once he'd ended up falling asleep to the thing. It was rather soothing.

He was out like a light before the CD even finished, a manga over his face.

XXX

When Chiaki walked into the Marukawa New Year's party, dressed only in some nice pants and a shirt since he didn't own a suit, the first thing he noticed was that Hatori wasn't there. Chiaki had ventured out of his apartment all alone because Hatori had said he needed to be at the hall early, and now Chiaki wasn't sure what to do with himself. The place was pretty busy, though, and it was making him nervous.

It took him about a minute to realize that the general murmur around him had gotten more concentrated, and everyone was looking towards the main entrance to the hall. Chiaki looked for himself to see a group was coming in, and Hatori was among them. He almost wanted to shield his eyes; it seemed like all four men were glowing as they smiled and greeted people that walked up to them.

Chiaki wilted. It looked like Hatori was going to be busy for a while yet.

"Yoshino!"

Chiaki looked up to see Hatori had broken away from the group of women who'd surrounded the Emerald editors, and he had a man in tow. The man was glancing back at the other two editors as they schmoozed and accepted drinks.

"Tori! I've been here for a while. I thought you said you had to be here early." Chiaki puffed his cheeks out, seeming to forget that they had an audience.

Hatori glanced over to the man and cleared his throat. "Yoshino, this is the new Emerald editor-in-chief, Takano Masamune. Takano-san, this is Yoshino Chiaki, who writes under the penname Yoshikawa Chiharu."

Masamune bowed, but he had his eyebrows raised in surprise. "It's good to finally meet you, Yoshikawa-sensei."

Chiaki smiled. "You can call me Yoshino if you want. No one actually calls me by my penname to my face."

Masamune nodded, and then he glanced around. Hatori had told him earlier that he should meet with his authors, and it looked like Ichinose Erika was just arriving. He said a quick apology and was off.

"Can I leave now, Tori? I met the new head editor," Chiaki said, adjusting his tie and looking uncomfortable.

Hatori didn't look particularly happy about that, but he had a lot to do. "Stick around. I thought we could go to a temple for the bell ringing and get hatsumode out of the way. I know you wouldn't do it otherwise."

"I leave my apartment!" Chiaki protested, but Hatori waved him off. Left with no other alternative, Chiaki just sunk into a corner to wait the party out.

XXX

"Have a good night," Masamune told Mino as he left. The after-party had started, but he had no intention of staying. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do; he doubted his yoga-practicing neighbor would be home on New Year's Eve, so he couldn't fall asleep to that CD again.

As he stepped outside, he spotted Hatori and Chiaki, who were waiting by the street. Masamune tossed his keys in the air once before walking up to them.

"Heading home?" he asked. Chiaki jumped in surprise, but as usual, Hatori was completely calm.

"No, we're heading to a temple. We just have to wait for a taxi." Hatori's eyes went down the street. Not a taxi in sight.

Masamune glanced at his keys once before making his decision. "Mind if I join you? I have a car."

Chiaki's eyes shined at the thought, and Hatori just rolled his eyes and nodded.

The temple was busy by the time they got there at 11:45. There were stands all over the place selling mochi and various decorations.

"I'll get some mochi," Chiaki said with a smile, and he was off before Hatori or Masamune could say anything.

"So why does Yoshino-san write under a female pseudonym?" Masamune asked after he and Hatori went to sit down on a bench.

Hatori shrugged, his eyes still on Chiaki as he attached himself to the end of a food stand line. "He was already writing under the Yoshikawa Chiharu name when I became his editor. He seems to be more comfortable with his readers thinking he's a woman."

"Does it matter if an author is a man or a woman? Yoshikawa Chiharu's manga regularly competes with Ichinose's in terms of popularity," Takano said.

People were starting to gather around the temple entrance, and a quick glance at the clock on one of the stands told Masamune and Hatori that it was almost midnight. The bell would start ringing soon.

"Well, as you've seen, it doesn't matter if someone is a man or a woman, as long as they work hard." Hatori stood when he saw Chiaki heading towards them, a small box of mochi in his hands.

"You have any new year's resolutions?" Masamune asked as he took one, thinking back to his conversation with Yokozawa.

"I'd like to get my stuff in on time more often." Chiaki smiled as he presented the box to Hatori.

"If that happens, I'll probably have a heart attack." Hatori was smiling, though.

The bell started ringing as clocks around them hit midnight, and all eyes turned to the tower. The new year brought new opportunities and maybe, Masamune thought briefly, he'd take the opportunity to put his life back in order just a little bit more.