Akihiko leaned back on his chair as he sipped his almost cold coffee. The taste wasn't good anymore but he didn't mind. He was too tired to complain about his own coffee. It wasn't his concern anymore for he was currently looking at his new work, probably a genre run old but he wanted to try it. He had nothing to lose but he needs to ask an honest person to look at it. So, he quickly dialed a particular number on his phone.
After a few rings, the other picked up. Akihiko was greeted by an annoyed groan, "What?" the obviously tired voice on the other end queried.
"Hiroki, I need you to check my work…" Akihiko mumbled as he managed to put a cigarette on between his lips and light it.
"Do you know what time it is right now, BAKAHIKO?" Hiroki exclaimed in anger.
Akihiko squinted to look at the time on the lower right-hand side of his computer screen; it was only 3 o'clock in the morning. He didn't notice that he missed dinner and midnight snack. He was too engrossed with his work that he didn't notice the time. Thus, it doesn't matter.
"It's exactly three minutes after three in the morning…" Akihiko flatly spoke as if it was nothing. He quickly moved the phone away from his ear.
"BAKAHIKO! DON'T CALL SOMEONE WHO IS PROBABLY SOUND ASLEEP! I'M NOT YOUR GODDAMN EDITOR!" Hiroki fumed which made Akihiko's phone vibrate madly.
"But Hiroki, you know that you're the first one to ever read my work… I can't get an honest judgment from anyone but you…" the silver haired Adonis explained.
A pause was the only response he got. Akihiko heard someone groaning and cursing under his breath.
"Fine, I'll drop by there first thing in the morning…" the other grumbled in response.
Akihiko smiled softly, "Thanks Hiroki…" he breathed. After that, the novelist crawled under his covers and quickly went to slumber.
BANG! BANG! BANG! The door went. Akihiko covered his ears and try to stop the loud sound entering his ears but to no avail, it only got louder. He grouchily sat up on his bed and massage the bridge of his nose to get his eyes focused when he open them. His hair was a mess and there was still sleep in his eyes.
'Who would disturb me so early? I already gave my damn manuscript to Aikawa!' he cursed as he threw the covers away and headed down the stairs and to the door.
He opened it madly with a foul expression on his face, "What?" he rumbled.
"You bastard, you called me in the middle of the night to set an appointment and you'll keep me waiting here all morning to wait for you to wake up?" Hiroki madly grumbled as he stood there in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. He was wearing a white long sleeve and a burgundy colored tie. He obviously has work for that day but he's running late thanks to his old friend.
"You know that I have work today so give me the damn material so I can criticize it to bits and head to work before I find myself strangling you for getting me late…" Hiroki marched in, threw his bag on the couch and slouched on it.
The silver haired novelist forgot all about last night's conversation so, it was his fault. Thus, without a word of argument, he went up to his office and got the manuscript he partly finished last night. He handed it to Hiroki and slumped on the other couch adjacent to where Hiroki sat. He wrapped his arms around Suzuki-san, his giant teddy bear, and leaned on it.
"If you want coffee make it yourself okay? I don't have enough energy for now…" he mumbled.
The brunette scowled at him and grumbled something like 'inhospitable' or 'lazy', though he didn't avert his eyes from the manuscript. He continued to read it. As a Literature professor (well, assistant professor actually), Hiroki is a fast-reader. He could finish a novel in less than three hours straight. Ever since they were in elementary, Akihiko knew that his friend loved reading and books. It was obvious to anyone who will enter his dwelling (which was shared with his lover, Kusama Nowaki). Mountains and mountains of books could be found. He was somewhat a collector of books but not just a collector; he knew each and every one of it by heart. He is a person of great literary taste. So, for Akihiko, Hiroki is the perfect checker of his works. If he doesn't like it, it's bad. If he really doesn't like it, it's worse. But the worst thing that any writer will get from Hiroki is an onslaught of destructive criticism, criticism that will send you to the depths of devastation (Luckily, Akihiko never got it). Thus, all his opinions are honest.
After thirty minutes of silence, Hiroki put the batch of papers down and leaned back on the couch. He folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at Akihiko. He wasn't scowling, much, but he didn't look pleased either. The brunette was a little bit suspicious of Akihiko but he was fighting it. Thus, he sighed and shut his eyes.
"So after stepping into a place like that, you quickly got inspired…" he spoke, breaking the silence of the spacious abode. Akihiko couldn't reply yet, he was still waiting. He knew that there was more to it.
"Akihiko, to whom are you basing this heroine of yours now? The beginning is as always, interesting, but she seemed to be of lack of profile description. She's too ambiguous and low-spirited, like most of your novels. I believe this still needs further research for the basis of material…" Hiroki explained.
Akihiko sat up straight and yawned in the most elegant way possible. He rested both of his arms over the backrest of the couch and crossed his legs.
"I know that part Hiroki, I'm still working on it. What I want now is your help…" he trailed off.
The other quirked a brow, "Help? For what?"
"I need permission on getting in and out of that orphanage whenever I want… I need to somehow feel the whole atmosphere there…"
"You don't even like children… Why are you writing something like this all of the sudden?" Hiroki scoffed.
Akihiko sighed and leaned forward; he rested his elbows on his knees and joined his hands. "He gave me a sign to write about it last night…" he reasoned.
Upon hearing this Hiroki felt his heart skipped a beat. He looked away and rolled his eyes, "You still turn to him for inspiration…" he muttered under his breath. The brunette knew it all too well. Ever since Takahiro died, Akihiko almost stopped writing. In fact, he stopped writing anything but after a year; he gave Hiroki a manuscript which hit the top of the best-seller list. It was sad but still, it was really a work of art. The young professor asked his friend how he came up with it and Akihiko's only reply was, 'Takahiro gave me a sign'.
With that in his understanding, Hiroki knew that this will be another great hit. However, he wanted his friend to move on from his lost. It was already ten years ago and turning eleven n two months time. Akihiko needs to free himself from the chains of torment he casted upon himself. Thus, Hiroki could never convince him. He would just pray for that time to arrive.
The young professor stood up and grabbed his things, "I think I can ask Nowaki for that but you can always pull some strings like you usually do…" he mumbled.
"But who will stop you from going there, anyway? It's an orphanage and visiting children there is normal as long as there's a house parent around…" Hiroki explained and headed towards the door.
Akihiko got on his feet, "About that… Can I also get some information about a certain house parent there?" he asked.
Hiroki cocked a brow, "What? You want to go through somebody else's file? You can't be serious Akihiko…" he nervously smiled. He knew that his friend was sometimes weird but this was too much.
"Your lover could get that information right? Just this once, Hiroki…" Akihiko coaxed.
The other looked away trying to hesitate but with Akihiko's stubbornness, they would just end up eating more time which will lead to Hiroki missing half the day of his job. He can already imagine his students rejoicing upon the absent of their professor whom they called 'Kamijou the Devil'. Hiroki grimaced at that thought and quickly turned to Akihiko, "Well, as far as I know, the only regular house parent there is brat named Takahashi Misaki…" he mumbled.
"He's the one…" Akihiko nodded and lit a cigarette.
"Okay, I'll ask Nowaki…" Hiroki opened the door. "By the way, I've brought you some instant food from the convenient store… I'll be going." He bid the latter goodbye and headed off.
Hiroki quickly rode the elevator and glanced at his watch. He was already an hour late and the ride from there to Mitsuhashi University was fifteen minutes or more. He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. This would definitely stain his punctuality record and he could already hear Miyagi teasing him about being a hypocrite who scolds his superior about punctuality though couldn't get a clean record. 'Damn that old man… I have pretty good reason for my lateness unlike him… He goes to work late in a very tired state and pushes all his work to me…'
'I'll tell on him one of these days… So he'll try to keep his hands and work to himself…' Hiroki smirked at the thought.
As he reached the ground floor, he reminded himself to ask Nowaki about Akihiko's favor. Though he knows that Nowaki doesn't really like Akihiko, Hiroki will somehow coax him. 'Stupid Akihiko…' he grumbled to himself.
'Why is he so interested on that Takahashi brat?' Hiroki thought as he walked on the way to the station. Suddenly, a particular idea entered his mind.
'Takahashi… Like Takahashi Takahiro?' The brunette thought as he glanced back to Akihiko's penthouse. He quickly shook his head and hurried.
'I must be thinking too much… Not just because they both are Takahashi's, they're related…' Hiroki pondered over it more and more as he rode the train to work. And somewhere down the lane of curiosity, he found himself seek the true identity of the house parent whom Akihiko was so interested to know.