I don't see myself being able to update during school weeks too much, so if I ever am posting a chapter I would expect it on the weekend more than anything. I'm always thinking about what to do next for this fic though, so don't worry too much about it! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

A Week Later...

"Again?! Amano-sensei, we went over this last month, and the month before that, and the one before that!" A short haired woman held the receiver of her desk's phone to her ear, clearly exasperated. "I can't keep the printers that much longer! We'll take care of the typeset, so just worry about the last bits of inking and screentones!"

After another quick reminder of the time crunch they were in, Saeki placed the phone back down on its stand with a heavy sigh. As much as she loved her job, her authors always seemed to forget that they were under time constraints.

She stood from her seat to take a walk over to the vending machines, having nothing to do until the manuscript was faxed over.

After the short walk through the hell that was the editing floor and into the employee lounge, she found herself looking at a familiar brunet.

"Onodera-kun, save meeeee." She stumbled over to him, looking as if she was about to faint.

"Saeki-san! Are you okay?" He moved to support her, holding her up by her biceps.

"The printers aren't going to extend the deadline any further than tonight and Amano-sensei and her assistants still have seven pages to ink and twenty three to apply tone to! I'm not okay!"

"Tone?" The word was foreign to him, having never been all that interested in manga.

"Tone is-" A blush had spread on his face before she could even get her explanation in, confusing her. "Is there something wrong?"

"I told you... I work in literature, why would I know that?" The mumbled words didn't seem to be directed at her, but she replied anyways.

"Yeah, I know you're in our literature department, Onodera-kun. I'm fairly certain everyone in the company knows that." The dry response seemed to snap him out of whatever had been preoccupying him, only worsening his blush.

"O-oh, I'm sorry! I was talking to-thinking about something else! Hahah!" His nervous laughter only made her more suspicious of him, and it was only a matter of moments before the gears began to turn in her head.

"Oh, what's this?" A burst of energy took over the dark haired woman and his arms fell from their grip on her to his sides. "Did somebody find their special someone since the last time we talked?"

"...Yeah, I guess you could say that I might've met someone."

"You have to tell me about them! Gender? Age? Name? Height?" Not giving him space to answer, she went on. "God, Onodera-kun, you're so lucky! You have to tell me the details!"

"I don't know, Saeki-san, I wouldn't want to go and waste your time. Didn't you say your deadline is really close?" At this the burst of energy she had felt faded almost instantly.

"Gah, you're right! But," She gave his shoulders a few pats. "We've got to meet up later and talk about this. I'd love to find out more about them, whoever they are!"

"We can talk later, for now, I think that we both need to get back to work. I have some calls to make and you have duties of your own." He smiled slightly before going to show himself out of the room. "See you around, Saeki-san."

[Do you want me to come with whenever that happens?]

The brunet had decided to inform Takano on the development, and gotten a sort of mixed reaction that he couldn't pin down. It was between sarcasm and a sort of bluntness that he didn't see in many people.

[You two could talk about your jobs. I recall Yokozawa-san saying that you work in manga?]

[Yeah, and I know what tone is.]

Onodera let it slide, not wanting to argue about something so small.

[Could I ask what kind of manga you work on?]

[Shoujo manga.]

The way he said it was so incredibly plain and simple. like it had been the most obvious thing in the world.

[...]

[Surprised?]

[...Yeah. You could say that.]

[Why?]

He had the feeling that he could've gotten away without answering such a question; the answer so so obvious, so clear. But not so much to the raven.

[Well, first off, you're a guy-]

[And?]

[And…? I just...the image of a man in his late twenties doesn't come to mind when I think of product made for the consumption of teenage girls.]

[Well, get ready for this one. The whole editorial department for the shoujo magazine we run over here at Marukawa is male.]

[Really?]

[Really.]

The brunet settled in the chair at his desk, picking up the receiver of the phone as he readied to make a few calls.

[I have to get back to work, Takano-san. I'll try to keep my thoughts to myself.]

[Alright, my lunch break was ending anyways.]

[...]

[Bye.]

[Oh, bye!]

The now familiar static snap rang in his head and his mind was clear again. He got back to work, dial tone hitting his ear as he pressed a few numbers.

Having finished his work for the day, Onodera felt a sort of satisfaction as he slipped on his coat and grabbed his bag from under his chair.

Making his way to the elevator, he came upon Saeki yet again.

"Ah, Onodera-kun," She clasped her hands, looking as if she were about to collapse like earlier. "We did it... Sensei got the manuscript in on time..."

"That's great to hear, Saeki-san." The brunet laughed nervously, always apprehensive when she got like this.

"..." She swayed as she had done earlier, and nearly passed out before Onodera caught her.

"Saeki-san, do you need me to call a taxi for you again?"

"I don't have to money on me to pay the fee…" At this, the brunet only sighed, knowing she would need a number of reminders to pay him back if he covered it.

[Hey, Takano-san, are you off of work yet?]

[I'm driving home right now, why?]

[Are you close to the Onodera Publishing building?]

[Do you want me to pick you up or something?]

[It would be more for Saeki-san. She doesn't have the money to pay for a taxi and I have this feeling that I wouldn't get paid back any time soon if I paid it for her.]

[Alright, what's the address?]

"So, she just passed out?" Takano asked, looking forward at the dimly-lit side street.

"Yeah, apparently the magazine's deadline for the printers was tonight, so she's been more tired lately." In her state, she hadn't been able to notice just who had given the ride, let alone that Onodera hadn't owned a car and didn't even know how to drive one.

"I see." Came the simple reply.

"...So, you wear glasses?"

"Only when I'm driving or need to read something that's far away."

"Oh, I see."

Not having much else to make conversation of, the two remained silent for the remainder of the ride up until when they parked in the complex's garage.

"Thank you for the ride, Takano-san." Onodera said, making his way out of the car.

"Any time." He gave the brunet a small smile as he pressed for the elevator door to open.

Upon reaching their floor, they gave their own goodbyes, walked into their own apartments, and went about in silence.

'This is actually happening…' Onodera had settled in bed, lost in his own thoughts. 'I wonder what they'll think. Mother and Father and…' A frown settled on his face, a few memories surfacing. 'An-chan…'

[Who's An-chan?]