"So, how about I pick you up around six?"
No response.
"Seven?"
Still no response.
"How about you leave her alone, Yugi-san." Kou rolled his eyes, hand on his hip.
"How about you stay out of this, intern," Amane remarked, smirking.
Still, Nene Yashiro said nothing, her eyes boring into the computer screen in front of her. She bit her bottom lip, blinking furiously before writing something down on her notepad. When she was done, she read it over before typing something.
Yet Amane couldn't help but admire everything about her.
From her eyelashes to her bangs, from her hair clipped back to the cherry blazer that complimented her hair, she was beautiful. Her big eyes kept him on his toes, and though she was quiet, they said a lot about her. How they widened in surprise when he brought her an extra coffee, when they're focused on her work, when they stare off during break. They were always a wondrous sight.
"I'll have you know," she began, "that this will be the twelfth time you've asked me out, and the twelfth time I'll say no."
Amane pouted. "C'mon, Yashiro, what harm can be done on one date?"
"A lot more than you think," she curtly responded. "My answer is still no."
"See, Yugi-san," Kou said smugly. "She said no."
"See, intern," Amane fake smiled, "how I didn't ask for your opinion?"
The young blonde only rolled his eyes, walking away to—most likely—find his supervisor, and brother, Teru Minamoto. When this fact dawned on Amane, he only hoped that Kou didn't take his comments to the big boss. That man terrified him.
"Don't you have work to do, Yugi-san?" Yashiro typed away at her computer, her eyes never leaving the screen.
Amane beamed, scooting his chair closer to hers. "Worried about me are you now, Yashiro?"
His fair-haired coworker frowned slightly, her lips turned down the tiniest bit. "No, I just wish you'd leave me alone to take care of my own work."
"But that's no fun," he protested. "Things are more enjoyable when you do them together! Which is why—my dear Yashiro—you should let me take you out to dinner tonight!"
Nene only bit her lip, but Amane knew better. From the way her eyes danced, he could tell that she was holding back a smile. It didn't happen very often, but when he played his cards right, he could've sworn he'd seen her toothy grin, or, even better, the jingling of her giggle. And that's a big reason why he keeps trying. Because deep down, he knows she's not as indifferent about him as she wants him to think.
"You're too much, Yugi-san," she said softly. "You never give up, do you?"
"Nope!" Amane grinned. "Not until you give me a shot."
Nene rolled her eyes, a cryptic sign in of itself, and sighed. However, the sparkle never left her expression when she said, "Maybe in the afterlife."
"Which can be arranged," a cool voice replied.
Both Amane and Nene snapped their necks to see Teru Minamoto, their superior, on the other side of the computers they were sitting at. Kou stood behind him, arms crossed and a smug expression plastered on his face.
Little snot, Amane thought to himself. Tattle-tailing on me to the big boss.
"Amane," Tero continued, "don't you have meetings and check-ups you should be doing right now?"
"Yes," he replied nervously, "but I thought Yashiro here could use some company."
Teru smiled, a murderous flash in his eyes. "Yashiro-san doesn't need your company out of everyone else's. Go to your damn meetings and check-ups, Yugi-san."
Amane jumped so fast out of his chair he hit his knee, but that didn't stop him. He kept running down the hall until he could be sure that Teru wasn't going to follow him. When he was well out of reach, he leaned over, with his hands on his knees.
Sheesh, he thought, that guy's still scary.
Once he was gone, Teru turned to Yashiro. "He hasn't been bothering you all that much, has he? I could talk to him for you if you'd like."
"Oh, no," she responded, starting to look back to her work. "I actually don't mind him at all. He's...interesting to talk to."
When Teru gave her a curious look, Nene blushed before quickly adding, "Not in that way! He just makes things entertaining. Don't tell him I said that, though."
"Sure," her boss agreed. "But don't let him distract you from your work, Yashiro-san. You are still a vital part of our group."
Yashiro nodded, and Teru returned to his office, a meek Kou tailing behind. They left her to her thoughts, and she couldn't get a certain flirtation raven-haired man out of her head. Of course, it was squished and subdued by all the other thoughts running around. They had their next launch this month, and she was still figuring out the details.
I have to focus, she thought.
She couldn't let Amane distract any more than he already was! Not when she's got a mission to complete, and with people counting on her!
Nene, unbeknownst to Amane, pushed back any thoughts relating to him to the very, very back of her mind. And she was determined to keep them there.
Oh, if only he knew.