Hiii everyone ^^ I hope you guys like this chapter ^^ And I'm so very sorry to my readers for not updating this quick enough D: Truth was, I actually had tests this week, but I came down with a really bad fever of 39.8 degrees and I also had a sore throat so I had to skip those :( And I also have two assignments that are due on Monday and I'm nowhere near done. So now that I'm kinda recovering I hope I can get everything done next week, especially get another chapter up!

Anyways, thank you to Ricchan14, QueenFan16, Yaoifangirl89, ShairaHisako, Guest and mywinterfireflies for reviewing last chapter! So right now, for the next…two - three chapters, it will mostly be in Onodera's POV :3 Hope all of you readers out there enjoy it! ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.

Credit to white . affection!


Glancing up at the doorknob, I raise my hand to turn the latch just as Takano-san tried to open the door.

"Ritsu, unlock the door." I hear Takano-san say as he kept on knocking. Really, can't he just leave it alone?

"S-…sorry, but I'm getting tired…sorry for making you do all of this."

"Yeah, you should be." I felt my eye twitch. I resisted the urge to burst out at Takano-san and instead, buried my face into my knees and held my breath, hoping he would finally leave.

"You know…" Takano trailed off. "I've been noticing this for a short while now, but you seem to…how can I put it…act weirdly around Misako." I felt my body freeze up before slapping my hands over my face repeatedly. Ugh, come on! Get yourself together Ritsu! There. Is. No. Way. You. Can Be. Jealo—

"Do you have a problem with her? Did she do something to you?"

"N-no, she didn't do anything—"

"If she did, I'm gonna go and talk with her about it—"

"There's no need for that!" At this moment, I was standing up and looking towards the door.

"She didn't do anything wrong! It's just me…I'm just getting all these thoughts…going around in my head…about…her…" I said quietly, mostly to myself. An awkward silence soon settled in and I felt the heat rush to my face when I realised what I said aloud.

"No way, are you jealous?" I jolted up in shock and glared at the door.

"N-NO! I'm not!" I retorted!

"You are actually jealous of her…" I could hear the surprised tone in his voice, making me even more embarrassed. Actually, scratch that, kinda pissed too.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?! I said I wasn't! So stop jumping to conclusions!"

"I could say the same about you." I froze. Damn, that was a good comeback. Not that he knows anyway.

"W-whatever! I'm not jealous! You're just overthinking it!" I denied. Wait a minute, why am I getting so flustered! Gah! I'm NOT jealous! Stop it Ritsu!

"Then open the door and tell me straight in the eye that you're not, then I'll leave." I gritted my teeth in annoyance. He seriously should just give up. Exasperated, I opened the door to see Takano-san with an impassive face. I frowned at him and sighed.

"I told you Takano-san, I'm not jealous."

"Liar." He then tilted my chin up and leaned closer to me. As he slowly inched closer to me, in instinct I pushed him away, leaving him surprised as my hands trembled in front of me. I looked down and moved my hands to my side.

"Ritsu…" I watched as he moved away from me, my heart still beating rapidly.

"Look, there's something I need to tell you—"

"P-Please leave!" I interrupted, pushing him towards the entryway of the apartment in haste, grabbing his items and pushing them into his arms.

"Hey!" He called out. I kept my gaze down as I forced him to place his shoes on. "Ritsu calm down!" I watched as everything that he was holding to fell to the floor as he grabbed my wrists.

"U-Uwah!" I yelped as my back collided with the door.

"Why are you pushing me away?" I kept my eyes anywhere else but Takano-san. "Look at me." He demanded, inching closer to my face. I let out a small noise as I squeezed my eyes shut, his breath ghosting over my lips. I attempted to turn my head but Takano-san caught me in a kiss before I could do anything. It was just a simple kiss, yet it easily took my breath away. 'How does he even do that?'

Breaking apart, Takano-san stared into my eyes, as if the answers were all there for him.

"Other than Misako, something else is bothering you…am I right?" An inaudible gasp left my mouth before I began to struggle to move my wrists out of Takano-san's grip. But he held tight, so much that it actually hurt a little.

"T-Takano-san," I caved, hanging my head low. "P-Please…just leave me alone…give me some time…I-I need to think." I whispered softly, watching as he loosened his grip and rest his head on my shoulder. I shuddered as I felt his hands snake around my waist, pulling me into his embrace as he whispered in my ear.

"…what's wrong, Ritsu?" I remained quiet. It wasn't like I could easily tell him.

Yeah, fine…I'll admit I was sort of…jealous, about Takashi-san…but I honestly wanted to find a reason for not telling him about the company. If I got into a relationship with Takano-san now, what would my family think? It would completely ruin my whole reputation as the son of Onodera Publishing and it would ruin Takano-san's reputation too. There's nothing great about two men as lovers except trouble. And in the end…do I really want to end up in a relationship at all? I sighed. In honesty, I feel that Takano-san was pushing this relationship onto me, but it's because of these lingering feelings that I wasn't able to push him away in the end.

"Ritsu…answer me…" I draw my lips to a thin line. I don't want to hurt anyone, not my family, not An…

…not even Takano-san. I just can't do that.

But either way my choices will affect him, whether I like it or not. If I told him that I'd be taking over, and we were to keep our relationship as it is right now…

…the rumours people make can even bring the greatest down.

That's why I can't bring myself to tell him. As much as he would us to get together, it would end up ruining everything we worked hard want for. And I asked so much from my parents already, I couldn't just face them and end up coming out with, "I'm in love with a man." I would be such a horrible son if I did.

But…even though there are dire consequences to this…I still told Takano-san about the dissolution. As if…I wanted to tell him it's okay…that he wouldn't have to worry so much about me…and that…maybe…just maybe…we could fall in lo—

I was drawn out of my thoughts as I hear a buzzing tone. 'Was it my phone?' I briefly thought, before I felt Takano-san withdraw from me to reach for his phone. 'Ah, it's his.' I thought as I watched him answer it.

"Hello? Yeah, I'll be there soon." I hear Takano-san say before he hangs up and grabs his car keys and wallet.

"Ritsu, I have to go and take Misako home, but we're gonna talk about this later." I sighed. Yeah right.

"I love you." I felt a bit of heat rise up to my cheeks at that statement. Ah goddammit! Quit it! I reprimand myself as I slap my cheeks. I heard the front door shut with a click and stood up.

I sighed. I know that when Takano-san says something that he'll do later, he'll stick to that word and do it. But I really don't want to be caught up in a discussion with him. I'm not even sure what might happen once I tell him. I'd say that he'll make me stay, but will he really? He knows my position as the only son of a famous publishing house, so…he might end up letting me go…

But shouldn't I be happy about that? I felt my chest tighten at the thought. But what if I didn't tell him? Another sigh came from my lips. Countless possibilities can happen if I went down that path. But, I know I can't just leave things the way they are. I need to talk it out with Takano-san, and my parents too. I need to settle this out, before…

Before I'll end up doing something I might regret.

To be honest, I felt tired of the whole thing. Standing up, I flopped onto my bed unceremoniously, blankly gazing out the window. I remembered the last time Takano-san and I had a conversation about me taking over the company.


- flashback -

"Cut it out." Takano-san gripped my wrist tightly.

"Huh?! Wait! What are you—" Was all I could say before he pushed me into my apartment.

"Takano-sa-!" I let out a small grunt as he pinned me against the wall.

"I'll never forgive you if you just run off on your own again." He kept an even gaze on me as I began to talk again.

"What…?"

"I'm speaking to you, one man to another. I…am scared to death…of never being able to see you again."

- flashback end -


Soon enough all of that resulted in him telling me that wouldn't let me leave, even if I tried to. But now it's different. My parents are now fully expecting me to take over, so it's too late to back out now. I slowly closed my eyes as sleep began to overtake me.

'Tomorrow…I'll tell him everything…'


- next morning -

*beep* *beep* *beep*

"Nngh…" I groaned softly as I opened my eyes. I felt really sluggish today. But then again, I felt sluggish every other day. I sighed as I turned off my alarm and stripped off of yesterday's clothes and chucked them somewhere onto the floor. Padding over to the closet, I changed in a matter of seconds before glancing at my bedroom. Ugh, I really don't wanna live like this anymore. But it's not like I can help it anyway. Grabbing an energy drink and my workbag, I swiftly left my apartment, knowing that there'd be an unmistaken presence right beside me.

But there wasn't.

"Haah, thank god, he left earlier." I sighed softly before walking over to the elevator. But now that I think about it, isn't it a little too early? I shrugged. Whatever, it's not my problem anyway.

First thing I noticed when I walked into the department – excepting the eerie shoujo aura, that's normal now – was everyone crowding around the end desk, but Takano-san wasn't there, but Takashi-san instead. I blinked in confusion. What were they talking about? I continued to watch from my desk as they chatted.

"Yeah, it came as a shock to me as well." Takashi-san smiled.

"Ehh~~ What was your first reaction?" Kisa was asking.

"Well…just…nothing! I couldn't really comprehend it!" She giggled. In that moment I felt something strike me hard from the back of my head. I glared at whoever hit me, and it turned out that it was Takano-san.

"Oi, what's with the mothers' club?" Takano deadpanned as he glanced at the others who quickly moved back to their seats.

"I told them~" Takashi-san grinned. Takano made an unimpressed face at her and sighed.

"I did not let you come into my department to gossip, especially about us." Eh?

"Aww come on! It was noticeable though!" At this moment, Kisa decided to interrupt with a, "Yeah! Like seriously! Just look at you two!" I frowned. What's new about them? I stifled a sigh and slumped into my seat.

"It's still not a topic to be brought into the workplace." Takano-san stated coolly and sat on his seat. He began to list down what should be done for today and soon enough we all began to become engrossed in our work, every now and again making small conversations on how we should suggest changes to the author but other than that, everything seemed pretty normal in the workplace.


Soon enough it was already 3pm, with everyone still working hard as usual at their desks, well, minus Kisa and Hatori, who had to go to their author's house to discuss ideas. I yawned. Maybe I should go for a break in a few minutes and grab a coffee…

"Nah… I'm sure that it's about the same…" I heard someone murmur quietly. Lifting my head up, I saw Takano-san and Takashi-san talking softly among themselves. They also had their hands pressed together, as if they were trying to compare the size of their hands.

"I'm not sure though…what happens if it's not correct?" Takashi-san pouted. Takano-san only chuckled and squeezed her hand, letting his hand linger there for a while.

"I think I should be the one who's worried about that." Takano-san muttered quietly, swiftly letting go of her hand soon after and going back to typing on the laptop. Takashi-san only smiled softly and leaned over to look at Takano-san's computer. I frowned before finally breaking off my gaze and standing up. What the hell was that all about? He says that he has to teach Takashi-san the ropes of editing, but instead he's only just having fun with her. I sighed. I really got to stop getting so worked up about whatever Takano-san decides to do. It's none of my business anyway.

"I'm going for a short break." I announced quietly.

"Keep it quick." Looking over to Takano-san, I opened my mouth to say something, however he was already absorbed in his current conversation with Takashi-san. I drew my lips to a thin line and walked out. Why is he putting up such a nice front for her? Is it just because they're colleagues, or what? I frowned as I entered the elevator. And just when I was about ready to tell him, I don't think I even have the same confidence anymore.

Upon exiting the elevator, my phone began to buzz. Pulling it out, I glanced at the screen. One new message. From…Mother? What now? Well, at least it's a message this time, I already have Takano-san chewing me out from the last personal call I had, which I'm pretty sure was from Haitani-san again. Opening the message, it said:

'Hello Ritsu dear, are you well? An-chan just recently taught me how to message! So I'll be sending you emails if that's alright with you!'

No. Not alright with me.

'Anywhoo~ Just a small reminder about tonight, okay? Be sure to come over around dinnertime. An-chan's parents decided to come along as well to our place for tonight so we can dissolve it formally. Also…I don't want to make your decision harder but it seems that An-chan has been quiet for these past few days.'

I frowned. I let An-chan down again.

'Not that I'm trying to imply anything, but when you see her, please comfort her. She really did love the idea of being engaged to you, so as a last wish, make your time with her a happy one.'

Sighing softly, I closed my phone and placed it in my pocket. I ended up hurting An-chan. What must she be thinking right now? Walking over to the vending machine, I inserted a coin and bought my can of coffee. I need to make a lot of things up to her. I want to see her truly happy again.


Hopefully this is not too bad of a chapter hehe ^^;; Hopefully I can get back on track! See you soon!