A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and comments! I read them all at least 4 or 5 times when I felt stuck… no joke! I meant to update the story on Tuesday night, but there was something was wrong with the FFN servers and I couldn't log in.

Speaking of new stories, I published a new ItaKiss story earlier this week (rated M)… It's Naoki x Kotoko with a twist, so if you're into that sort of thing, go take a look!

Well then, without further ado, here's Chapter 2!


CHAPTER 2: IN WHICH NAMES ARE SIGNED


Kotoko washed her face and looked at her face in the mirror, and it reaffirmed just how red and blotchy she felt it looked. Grabbing a paper towel, she blew her nose one last time. Feeling the coarseness of the material against her nose, she regretted it almost immediately and threw it in the trash.

Then, fingering the yellow flipbook in her pocket, she tossed that in the trash as well.

Once Naoki walked off toward the back door, Kotoko locked herself in the bathroom and sobbed – but not too loudly, since she didn't want anybody to hear. Especially Director Irie, who could be right around the corner. The last thing she wanted was for the staff dinner to turn into was a pity party, especially when the entire department had come to blow off some steam due to their impending deadline. Sure, some had blown off more steam than necessary—namely, Yuuko—but it was all in the name of good fun.

Kotoko Aihara prided herself on smiling through tough times, especially in front of others. She couldn't let the others see her like this. Sighing, she patted her face dry one more time, and exited the bathroom.

However, something struck her – she couldn't just forget about her feelings for Irie-san just by tossing her "love letter" in the bin. And plus, she'd worked too damn hard on that. She quickly ran in and snatched the yellow pad back out of the garbage, not noticing that the last page had fallen off in the process.

Kotoko opened the bathroom door and peeked both ways before exiting. Good. There was nobody waiting to use the bathroom. She crept toward the back door, but saw that Irie-san was in the middle of a phone call. Eyes widening, she immediately turned in the other direction.

Quickly, she crept out of the hall and out the front door.

"Keita, come on! Just one shot?" Kikyou grinned.

Keita shook his head, a bit annoyed. "I'm good, Motoki. Plus, who's gonna take you home if all of us are drunk?"

Kikyou slapped Keita hard on the back, scowling. "Geez, Keita, I told you not to call me that! It doesn't sound cute! If you're going to call me by my ugly first name, at least call me Moto-chan…"

Suddenly, Yuuko stood up, holding her head. "Ugh…"

Ever the gentleman, Section Chief Takumi Sadou tried not to ogle too much at her breasts, which were very much visible due to her previous fall. "Yuuko-chan, you okay?"

Yuuko frowned, marring her otherwise perfect features. "Since when did I say it's okay for you to call me Yuuko-chan?"

Ignoring her jibe, Takumi rose to help. "Are you feeling okay?"

For a second, Yuuko though that it was nice that someone cared, since nobody else seemed to. Shinagawa and Ogura were too busy having a contest to see who could shovel the most food down their throats in the most undistinguished manner, apparently. Motoki was harassing Kamogari about his supposed crush for Aihara… no, more like Air-heada. And said twerp was nowhere to be seen, thankfully. The reverie ended, however, when she realized that Naoki was nowhere to be seen, either. And Takumi—no, Sudou was probably looking for an excuse to feel her up. Typical.

"Where's Naoki…?" Yuuko murmured, trying to wriggle out of Sudou's grasp. Rising to her feet, she clutched her head and let out a sharp breath of air as she fixed the front of her shirt.

"I think he went to the bathroom? I haven't seen him or Aihara in a while, actually. Irie's stuff isn't here, though… hmm."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that sooner, idiot?" she shrieked, grabbing Sudou's collar.

"Ah! Yuuko! Your nails… ow!" Sudou cried, now being the one trying to struggle free. Yuuko let go and waddled away, still clutching her head.

"Yuuko?"

"Toilet…" she muttered, not looking back.

It was only 12 a.m., and Yuuko already was feeling nauseous.

"Naoki-kun? Naoki?" she called, knocking on the door of the only bathroom in the restaurant. "Hello?"

The door swung open when she pushed, and she allowed herself in. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit her. She felt for the bathroom door in a frenzy to lock the door, her head hovering over the toilet.

Ungraciously, she emptied what little of the expensive yakiniku dinner she'd enjoyed that night into the toilet bowl and flushed it away. With the last of her heavings, she felt a bit sober again.

But somehow, feeling sober didn't feel quite right. She wanted to feel drunk again. And maybe Naoki-kun would let himself go tonight, too, and then…

And then…!

She rinsed her mouth, reapplied her lipstick, and smiled toward the mirror. Flawless, as usual. She wiped her hands with a paper towel and was about to throw it into the garbage, when she noticed a single yellow sticky note stuck to another paper towel near the top.

Well, hello… what was this?


Naoki entered the lobby of the Pandai Apartments, sighing. This just wasn't his day. The department's coffee girl had been too busy to make his doppio con panna today. Then, Yuuko had invaded his personal space for the umpteenth time in a row. As if that hadn't been bad enough, he was forced into living with some stranger from his office. Then to top everything off, he had to leave the staff dinner early because of an awkward encounter with some girl from his department.

What was her name again? Aohara? Aihana?

Well, whatever – it's not like anyone else in his department ever really directly reported to him besides the Co-Section Chiefs and the girl who made his coffee. And the latter was someone whose face or name he didn't even remember.

Naoki pushed the up button of the elevator panel, jerking his two suitcases toward him. Seriously, couldn't this girl from his department have utilized some damn common sense? Undoubtedly, the news about this encounter would spread throughout the company like wildfire and become troublesome somehow. He was sure that many awkward encounters were in his immediate future.

He almost wished he'd taken a better look at the girl's face, though, so he'd know who to avoid. The buzz from the alcohol combined with the girl's stupid tendency to keep her back at a 90-degree angle for the majority of the time they'd talked certainly didn't help.

The elevator's door opened, and he sighed. Why hadn't he bothered to remember her name, at least? He was usually great at that sort of thing. But then again, he was quick to forget information his brain classified as useless or annoying. And in this instance, it had been both.

He dragged his bags into the elevator. Then, realizing that he hadn't even looked at the piece of paper that Funatsu had given him, he sighed. Reaching into his pocket, Naoki pulled out the slip of paper with his room assignment, key code, and roommate's name.

Upon seeing the information on the slip, his eyes widened.

"What the—!"

The doors rumbled shut.


"This stop is Nishi-Shinjuku, Pandai Corp. Nishi-Shinjuku, Pandai Corp." chimed the automated voice. Snapping out of her reverie, Kotoko got up abruptly and stepped out of the train. She trudged up the stairs to the gated station exit leading to Pandai Corp.

Kotoko approached a card reader at the gate, and tapped her company ID on it. Then, the reader flipped over to reveal a black, glossy surface. She placed her palm against it and the gates swung open, quickly closing behind her once she walked through.

The security guard nodded at her as she walked by. Usually, Kotoko was able to muster the energy to smile at the stoic man, but she wasn't in the mood today.

Sighing, she took the escalator to the main lobby of the Pandai Building, tapped her ID against the card reader in front of the Residential elevators, and waited. Just her luck – the elevator was making its way down from the 45th floor.

Then, Kotoko recalled that she'd gotten an email about a roommate assignment. She'd been so busy trying to make her deadline that day that she hadn't even bothered to check her company email once that day.

Wearily, she pulled out her phone and scrolled down to the email from the Housing Department.

[ SUBJECT: New roommate Assignment

BODY:

Dear AIHARA, KOTOKO (ART DEPARTMENT/CREATIVE TEAM), ROOM 2707A, CO-ED FLOOR,

This email is to notify you that a new resident has been assigned for ROOM 2707B. Please expect your new roommate to be moving in within the next 1-3 days.

Your new roommate's information is as follows:

Name: IRIE, NAOKI (ART DEPARTMENT/CREATIVE TEAM)

Phone Number: 123-456-7890

Email: naoki . irie at pandai . com

Room assignment: 2707B2

If you have any questions or concerns, please arrange an appointment with our office on the 6th floor.

Best,

Megumi Yamamoto

Director of Housing

Pandai Apartments ]

Kotoko almost dropped her phone in shock. What the…

The elevator dinged, indicating that it had arrived.


As Naoki read the name on the slip of paper, something clicked within him.

Kotoko… Aihara.

Kotoko… Aihara?

Kotoko Aihara?!

Yes, the name rang a bell. His father was friends with a family of Aiharas, but "Kotoko" was definitely the name of someone within his department.

Then, he pried through his memories and struggled to recall the first few lines of the love letter that he'd just dismissed.

"'Hello, Director Irie…'" he muttered, still half-drunk. "Uh… 'I'm…' um… what was it again?" he scratched his head, trudging down the hall.

"Oh yeah. 'I'm Kotoko Aihara, from your department.'"

I'm Kotoko Aihara, from your department.

I'm Kotoko Aihara.

From your department.

Goddammit. Goddammit.

God-fucking-dammit.

This day just couldn't get any worse.

Why? Why was this happening to him?

Letting out a long sigh, Naoki punched in the key code and let himself in. Then he took off his shoes at the entrance, dragged his suitcase into the living room, and immediately scrunched up his nose.

What the hell was that stench?

Equal parts annoyed and stunned, he hurried inside – and stood still, stunned.

What.

A.

Mess.

…wasn't even the phrase that could begin to encompass the essence of the apartment that he found himself in. The sight alone was enough to sober him right up.

To his right, which was the island counters with three stools lined against it, had a stack of used cup noodle bowls. And the garbage can—which hadn't even been lined with a garbage bag—was crammed to the brim. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he stepped behind the counter to take a look at the kitchen.

Thankfully, the sink seemed empty. However, upon approaching, he saw that it was full of mugs with dried rings of coffee at the bottom. There was no sponge or dish soap to be seen anywhere, and spoons stained with dried milk littered the bottom of the sink. He paled at the sight.

Shaking his head, he opened the fridge and saw that there was only a sprouted potato, a metal jug filled with yellowing milk and a frother stuck in it (not even covered! Naoki noted, horrified), and a bottle of hot sauce.

He slammed the fridge door shut and opened the freezer, to see that it was crammed with resealable plastic bags with coffee inside. He saw every kind imaginable—SL28, Colombian, Blue Mountain, Vietnamese Robusta, Ethiopian, Brazilian—all neatly labeled. From what he could see, most of them seemed to be whole beans.

The cabinet yielded a similar sight, except that it was stacked with several different types of cup noodles. There was not a spice container, condiment container, or cooking utensil in sight.

Did this woman live off instant noodles, coffee, and takeout? He shot another glance at the garbage. And how the hell did she take out her garbage without a bag lining the inside of the bin?

Rushing past the upholstered chair, coffee table, and the couch in the living room area (which were littered with various articles of clothing), he slid open the balcony door to let some fresh air in. Though it was still the middle of the summer, there was a strong breeze due to the apartment being on the 27th floor. Naoki took a deep breath of fresh air, before forcing himself to face the mess of an apartment again.

He approached the rooms, down the hall from the living room and kitchen. To his left was a room with clothes littering the floor, to his right was a closed door, and in front of him was a bathroom. Rubbing his eyes, he opted to take a chance on the room with the closed door.

Well, this room was probably the neatest room in the entire apartment, he noted as he walked in. But still, the bookshelves were crammed with… what were they? Sketchbooks? Reference material? The desk had sheets of unfinished character designs and sticky notes covering its surface, with markers scattered over its surface. The bed, which was directly to the left of the desk, had piles of painted canvases stacked atop it.

Under normal situations, Naoki Irie probably would have found himself curious and have browsed through the sketches and paintings, quietly noting each work's strengths and weaknesses. He probably could have spent a good two hours in the room, engrossed in everything it had to offer.

But today was no normal day.

With an exasperated sigh, Naoki kicked his suitcases toward the closets near the foot of the bed, and slammed the door shut. Then, he moved the canvases off the bed and placed them on top of the desk.

He rummaged through his suitcase for sleepwear, got changed, folded his pants, and draped his shirt over himself as he tried to get comfortable on the bare mattress.

He'd have to have a long, stern talk with his roommate.

Tomorrow, though.


"Chris, this is an emergency!" Kotoko cried, ignoring the elevator she'd summoned. "Can I come over?"

She could hear Chris slapping something. "Sure, Kotoko. Let me just call the front desk."

"Thanks, Chris." She paused. "And, um… what was that sound just now?"

Chris laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not doing anything dirty with Kin-chan. Well, maybe…"

Just then, Kotoko could hear Kinnosuke's voice in the background. "Hey, idiot, don't give her the wrong idea!"

"A girl can dream, Kin-chan!" Kotoko could hear Chris singsong back to him.

"That's enough out of you, you silly girl!" she could hear him snapping back.

Chris laughed. "Oh, sorry, Kotoko. I'll call the front right now. And I'll send Kin-chan back."

"I was about to leave anyway, idiot!" he screeched, in the background. "Bye, Ko-chan!"

Kotoko laughed nervously. "Sorry about that… but thanks. I'll be up there soon."

"No problem!" Chris chirped, before hanging up.

Kotoko walked over to the elevator labeled "Floors 56-59" and waited, trying to figure out how she'd relay this story to Chris. Where would she even begin? She felt her pocket for the yellow pad.

"Ms. Aihara? Ms. Robbins would like to see you." A man, wearing a black suit and dress shirt walked over to her. Pulling out a small VIP floor key card, he swiped it in front of the elevator panel.

Kotoko nodded, and stepped into the elevator. The suited man stepped in after her and tapped the button for the 59th floor.

The doors closed swiftly, and the elevator shot up into the air.

After the elevator reached the 59th floor, the man escorted Kotoko to Chris's door and rang the doorbell. "Ms. Robbins? I've brought Ms. Aihara."

Chris opened the door, and a cloud of flour escaped the room. Alarmed, the suited man stepped back.

"Don't worry, Jun-san, I'm just experimenting with some yeasts." Chris said, smiling. "You sure you can't just give Kotoko a key card for the VIP floors?"

The man shook his head. "Sorry, ma'am, but you know the company's policy."

"Ah well, it was worth a shot!" Chris said, scrunching her nose while a silly grin graced her lips.

The man bowed to her before making his way back down the hallway, toward the elevator.

Chris brushed her hands against her apron, causing flour shower down onto the carpet lining the hallway. "Oops… oh well." She turned to Kotoko. "So, what happened?"

Kotoko's eyes filled with tears. "Chris…"

Alarmed, Chris grabbed Kotoko's shoulders. "Come on hon. Come inside."

"Ch… Ch… Chris…" Kotoko began, beginning to hiccup.

Pulling the auburn-haired girl close, Chris shut the door behind them.


"Where the hell is she?" Keita grumbled, redialing Kotoko's number for what felt like the millionth time outside the restaurant. It had been hours ago when she'd said that she needed to go to the bathroom. And then she'd disappeared without a trace.

The yellow pad he'd peeked at came to mind. Then, he realized that Director Irie had disappeared mysteriously that night, as well.

"Did they…" Keita muttered, clenching his jaw. Images of the two of them involuntarily flashed in his mind: a drunk Kotoko and Naoki, hailing a cab. The two of them arriving at a love hotel. Kotoko's naked body against the sheets on the mattress as Naoki…

No. They couldn't have.

Kotoko wasn't that type of person.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Keita dialed her number again.

Two boxes of used tissues later, Kotoko had finally managed to elicit coherent words from her mouth.

"Ch…Chris… water, please…" she finally rasped out, with much effort.

Chris, who'd just pulled a tray of cheese danishes out of her stone oven, placed them on her marble countertop and hurried to grab a cup.

She sat down next to Kotoko on the couch and handed the glass of water over, which was drunk with much gusto. Letting out a satisfied sigh, Kotoko rested her head on Chris's lap.

Chris smiled, and brushed her fingers through Kotoko's hair. "You ready to talk now, Ko-chan?"

Kotoko rubbed at her swollen eyes, and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I guess." She pulled out the yellow pad from her pocket, and passed it to Chris. Chris began to look at the pad one page at a time.

"Um… Kotoko? Why did you draw the same…"

Kotoko closed her eyes. "It's a flipbook."

"Ah."

She heard Chris flip through the pad about three times, and then felt Chris's lap shift as she laughed.

"So, let me get this straight… you used this to confess to Mr. Irie? From your department?"

Kotoko sighed. "Yeah…"

Chris put the pad down on her coffee table. "Well, it's cute. But judging from your reaction, he…"

"He asked me to act like this never happened, and then left." Kotoko looked at the pad glumly. "I worked on this for 4 days straight, too!"

Chris continued brushing Kotoko's hair with her fingers. "Well, what a cruel man, ignoring your efforts like that. Good thing he's the director of the entire creative branch of Pandai, so you'll barely need to see him, right? A man of his status should have enough things to keep him busy, anyway."

Kotoko sighed. "That's the thing. I'll probably be seeing him every day from now on."

Chris's hand stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Kotoko unlocked her phone to see that she had over 20 missed calls from Keita. He was probably worried, since she'd disappeared from the dinner without a word.

She'd call him back later.

Swiping past the missed call screen, Kotoko opened the email from the Housing Department on her phone, and passed it to Chris. She took the phone, and muttered aloud to herself.

"New roommate… 2707B… NAOKI IRIE?" she almost screamed the last line, causing Kotoko to jerk up, which in turn led to her smacking her nose against her own phone, still in Chris's hand.

"Ow… Chris!"

"Sorry, Kotoko… but…" Chris paled. "Is this real? Are they even allowed to do this? You're a man and a woman, for god's sake! And unmarried, at that!"

Kotoko nodded, sullenly. "The thing is, the rooms on my floor are all co-ed. They're mostly meant for employees who are transitioning or people who have a friend or relative they want to live with, or something. But when I was hired, only that floor had a vacant room. And I can't exactly commute from Nagoya every day…"

Chris stared at the email, still in shock. "Yes, but… didn't Naoki have any objections to this?"

Kotoko curled into a fetal position. "I don't know. Probably. And now, after what happened tonight, it's going to be so awkward between us!"

"You can just live with me, Kotoko! My penthouse suite is more than big enough for-"

"Nah, I couldn't do that to you." Kotoko sat up. "I don't want to ruin the mood between you and Kin-chan when you two get steamy."

Chris blushed. "As much as I wish that were an issue, our relationship is completely professional—"

Kotoko sighed. "I don't know what I'll do when I see him. I'm not exactly thrilled with having to live with a guy who rejected me."

This was partly a lie, though. A part of her had been secretly thrilled. The fresh pain of rejection stung though, of course.

But the underlying cause of that pain was her feelings for Naoki, which hadn't had any time to be buried since the incident a couple of hours ago. Though she knew her chances with him were ridiculously slim, the very fact that the object of her affections for the past two years would now be residing in the same suite as her, using the same bathroom as her, and eating in the same kitchen as her sent tingles down her spine.

Maybe they'd eventually eat meals together? Maybe she'd be able to have an intimate conversation with him on the balcony? Maybe…

"Hello? Earth to Kotoko?" Chris said, snapping Kotoko's phone shut.

Kotoko blinked. "Oh, sorry."

Chris smiled. "Admit it. You're a little excited, aren't you?"

Kotoko refused to meet Chris's eye. "I have no idea what you mean."

Chris's eyes glinted dangerously. "If you're going to be so dishonest, maybe I won't let you sample one of the danishes I made with some special yeast I had flown in."

Kotoko toyed with her fingers, stealing glances at the cooling pan of danishes.

"From France."

Kotoko's eyes widened. Then, she abruptly fell to her knees.

"Please, Chris-sama! Don't do this to me!"

Chris got up, grabbed a sheet of wax paper, and picked up a cheese danish. "I don't know, Kotoko..."

Kotoko crawled over to her. "Please? Please!"

"Be honest, then." The golden-haired girl smiled smugly.

Kotoko got up, reaching for the danish. "Fine, fine! I still love him! It's not like I can switch off my feelings in a few hours, you know." Chris willingly held the danish in front of Kotoko, who immediately snatched it up and began scarfing it down.

"See how easy that was?" Chris laughed, beginning to remove the other danishes from the pan.

Kotoko nodded, her mouth still stuffed.

Chris moved gracefully, finishing her cleanup of the kitchen area, as Kotoko happily chewed. Then, she sat down next to Kotoko.

"Are you feeling a bit better now, Ko-chan?" she looked at Kotoko, with a sobering look. "I know heartbreak is hard… I think I'm a master of it, at this point." She let out a sigh.

Then, putting on a bright smile, she faced Kotoko again. "But you know, Kotoko… eating good food and being in good company always lifts my spirits. I hope I was of some help to you."

Kotoko nodded, still chewing, as her eyes began to fill up with tears again. She was so lucky to have friends like Chris.

Chris hugged Kotoko. "Why don't you spend the night here tonight? You don't want to face Mr. Irie with a blotchy face, right?"

Kotoko nodded into Chris's shoulder furiously.

Kotoko lay on the other side of Chris's huge king-sized bed, wearing a nightgown she'd borrowed from her. Since it was a bit small on her, it hugged her curves a bit uncomfortably. But still, it was comfortable enough.

She took her phone off the nightstand, and opened her texting app.

Choosing Keita as the recipient, she typed:
Hey, Keita. Sorry for disappearing tonight. Something came up. Will explain tmrw. Need to sleep. Gnight.

Almost immediately, her phone rang. And of course, it was Keita calling.

Being careful not to wake Chris, Kotoko slipped out of bed and closed the door as she stepped into Chris's living room.

"Hello?" Kotoko said, her voice somewhat hoarse from all the crying she'd done.

"Kotoko! Damn it, I was so worried!" Keita yelled. "Where the hell are you?"

Kotoko immediately felt guilty that she'd made him worry so much.

"I…"

"You're not... with Director Irie, are you?" Keita said, suddenly quiet.

"W-what?" Kotoko said, shocked. "No! Why would you even think that?"

She could hear Keita sighing over the line.

"He disappeared around the time you did, and it was all I could do to keep Motoko from-"

"Hey… I said… Kikyou…chan… BITCH!" Kotoko could hear Kikyou screaming in the background.

She laughed. "You're with Kikyou-chan?"

Keita sighed again. "Yeah, I'm taking him-er, her back to the apartment right now."

"So the staff dinner ended without a hitch?"

"For the most part, yeah. Motoki says that she has something to show you tomorrow, though."

"BASTARD! MOTO! CHAN! I! SAID!" she could hear Kikyou yelling again.

"And I said shut the hell up, or I'm leaving you on the street!" she could hear Keita yelling back.

At that, Kikyou fell silent.

"So, um…" Keita said, slowly. "where are you, then? Home, right?"

"Nope." Kotoko said, sniffing.

"What? Where-"

"Calm down, Keita!" Kotoko said, giggling. "I'm sleeping over at Chris's place."

"Oh." he finally said, lamely. "Okay then… good night."

"Night!" Kotoko said, and hung up.

She sighed, sinking into Chris's couch. How was she going to explain all of this to Keita?


Naoki Irie awoke with a throbbing headache. Flinching, he grabbed his head as he checked his wristwatch.

5:30 a.m. Even when he was hungover, his body operated like clockwork. He lay still for a moment, listening to see if he could hear Kotoko moving about.

But then again, a woman who lived like this probably wasn't an early riser. Sneering at the thought, he took his bag of toiletries and headed into the bathroom. Thankfully, the bathroom was clean enough.

He brushed his hair, changed into his athletic wear, and headed for the company gym on the 6th floor with his tennis racket.


"Good morning, Kotoko!" Chris called, opening her curtains. "Wake up, it's 8!"

Kotoko bolted up. "Oh, crap! I have to get ready for work!" Stumbling to grab her things, she bolted out of Chris's bedroom. "Geez… why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

Chris rolled her eyes. "I've been trying to wake you up since 6 a.m. I had some of my line cooks take care of the prep work today so that I could walk you down for breakfast, but you'll have to run down now and grab a fresh change of clothes if you don't want to be late."

"Dammit!" Kotoko cried, frantically trying to coax her bedhead into something presentable. "Thanks Chris. I'll see you in Pandissimo, okay?"

"Geez, that girl…" Chris shook her head, as her front door slammed shut.


After having finished his workout at exactly 7 a.m., Naoki headed back to his apartment to shower, brush his teeth, and change. Usually, he would prepare breakfast for himself, but the current state of his shared domicile did not allow for such luxuries. At 8:02 a.m., he readied himself to head out the door, when he heard the door beep open from the other side.

Had this girl not come home all night? Just what kind of girl was she, anyway? Hadn't she just confessed her love for him?

Kotoko barged in, still clad in the nightgown she'd borrowed from Chris. She frantically kicked off her shoes and started dashing toward her room – only to hit an obstacle.

Naoki found himself pinned onto the floor, with a suggestively dressed Kotoko atop him. His eyes widened. "What are you—"

Kotoko, realizing what had happened, scrambled off him, murmuring apologies. Her face turned a brilliant shade of red, as she bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, Director…"

Naoki huffed, as he got up and straightened himself up. "What were you doing, running around the building in that kind of outfit?"

Eyes widening, Kotoko placed her hands on her cleavage. "I… I slept at my friend's room, and she didn't…"

Naoki pushed her aside. "Whatever. I'm going now."

Kotoko left her head bowed in embarrassment. Just as Naoki was about to leave, he turned around.

"Oh yeah, bring your lunch to my office today. We need to talk about this…" he motioned around with his hands, "...situation."

Kotoko nodded, somewhat excited by the prospect of lunch with Naoki.

With Director Naoki…

"Oh, but where are you going, sir? It's still so early, and…"

"Pandissimo. For breakfast. Since I can't exactly eat in this trash heap. Not that there's any real food here, anyway." He motioned to the counter and the garbage can with a disgusted look, and turned around again.

"Wait, sir! I'll show you the way, since-"

Naoki rolled his eyes. "Are you seriously suggesting that I don't know how to take the elevator down a couple of floors?"

Kotoko winced.

"And just where are you planning to guide me to in that kind of outfit, anyway?"

Shaking his head, he slammed the door shut behind him.

Kotoko sighed, wiggling out of the nightdress and heading toward the shower. This was already turning out to be a terrible day.


"So, why'd you disappear out of the blue yesterday, anyway?" Kikyou asked, as she, Keita, and Kotoko walked into Pandissimo together for lunch.

"Ah, um…" Kotoko began.

"What, did you run off with the Director or something?"

Yuuko, who had been listening behind them, shoved past Kotoko. "I'm glad you actually finished something on time, for once, Aihara." She said, with a cold smirk. "Though you never would've been able to without relying on other people. Again." She eyed Keita in a knowing way, then sped past them to line up for lunch.

"What a bitch." Kikyou muttered. "Oh, speaking of the she-devil, I need to show you something!" Kikyou reached to pull out her phone, but Keita shook his head.

"Section Chief Matsumoto is right there, Moto. She's gonna notice, for sure." He whispered.

"Oh, you killjoy…" Kikyou muttered, putting her phone away. "Don't worry, Kotoko, I'll show you later. So anyway..." she said, turning her attention back toward Kotoko as they moved up in the line. "Where did you go, hmm?"

Kotoko sighed. "Well, the truth is, I confessed to Director Irie yesterday, and…"

"Bitch, you did what?!" Kikyou cried. "Oh my freaking god!" She jumped up and down, slapping Kotoko on the shoulder. Her eyes glittered. "So… what did pretty boy say?"

Kotoko approached the window, waving at Kinnosuke. "He rejected me. Hey, Kinnosuke, can you give me a packed lunch? I have to head back upstairs."

Chris appeared just then, from the depths of the kitchen. "Hey, Kotoko, can you take this up to Director Irie?" She gave her a look. "He asked for delivery, but lunch is the busiest time of the day, so…"

Kinnosuke grabbed the lunch out of Chris's hand. "Like hell, she will! I'm going to bring this up to him myself and give him a piece of my mind!" he yelled. "He rejected you, Kotoko? Who the hell does that cocky bastard think he is?!"

Chris snatched the lunch out of Kinnosuke's hand, placed it on the counter, and quickly placed another one next to it. "Hurry Kotoko, take these! I'll take care of him!" Kotoko waved a thanks, and ran off.

"Chris!" Kinnosuke snarled. "Don't-"

"Kinnosuke Ikezawa!" Chris roared back at him. "How dare you talk to your superior like that during service?"

Shocked, Kinnosuke's eyes widened. Chris had a fair point – in the kitchen, she was his superior. But she'd never yelled at him before.

"I'll talk to you later," she said, glaring at him. Turning around swiftly, she headed back into the kitchen. Kinnosuke, dumbfounded, just blinked, still standing in front of an equally shocked Kikyou and Keita.

"Um…" Kikyou began carefully, after a while.

"Sorry, but… uh… are you guys still serving lunch, or what?"


Kotoko knocked on Director Irie's door with the two lunches, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. This was the first time that the two of them would be alone for such an extended period of time!

"Come in." he said, drily. He was sitting on the couch in front of his coffee table.

"Um, here…" Kotoko said, offering the slightly mussed bag to Naoki. He frowned.

"Why does mine look like that?"

Kotoko looked upward, trying to figure out how she could explain the situation with Kinnosuke to him, when he sighed.

"Never mind. Just give me yours, since it looks fine."

Reluctantly, she placed her lunch on the table, and took his. He unwrapped it, revealing four rolls of delicately rolled sushi and an immaculate danish.

He gestured for her to sit down in front of him, so she did. She unwrapped her own lunch to see that her own danish had been crushed to bits, and her mangled mess of sushi resembled chirashizushi more than sushi.

But she was never one to waste food. Shaking the container of sushi vigorously, she mixed the ingredients more thoroughly before opening it to eat.

Naoki stared at her. What a weird girl. Well, whatever.

He looked back at her. "First, regarding last night. With the flipbook"

Kotoko paled. "Um... yes?"

"Remember what I said. As far as we're concerned, it never happened."

She nodded slowly, not looking up at Naoki. "Of course, sir."

Then, he passed her a sheet of paper, and broke his chopsticks apart. "Here. We need to establish some boundaries if we're going to live together, and this is how I figured we'd do it."

"But…" Kotoko started, in mid-chew. A grain of rice flew out of her mouth, and onto the sheet of paper. "What for?"

He looked at her disgustedly. "Clearly, you've never lived with another person. Because that dump you call an apartment is no better suited for human living than Chernobyl."

"What? But I just cleaned last Monday!"

Naoki shook his head. "Just read the damn thing."

Kotoko obliged, putting down her chopsticks to pick up the paper. It read:

" I, the undersigned, hereby agrees to the following terms and conditions for cohabitation.

I will not speak with my roommate, unless absolutely necessary, at the workplace.

I will not reveal my living arrangements to anyone, or anything.

I will adhere to a strict schedule regarding cleaning and taking out garbage, as illustrated on page two.

I will not ask invasive questions about my roommate's life, personal or otherwise.

I will not create a disturbance or create loud noises of any kind after 9 p.m., GMT+9, until 8 a.m., GMT+9.

I will clean up after my own messes immediately after they have been created. This includes, but is not limited to, food wrappers, packaging of any kind, dirty laundry, takeout containers, food stains or splatters, and unwashed dishes.

I will ask permission before touching my roommate's things. In this instance, the term "things" encompasses all items belonging to a person. This includes, but is not limited to, personal toiletries, clothing, utensils, foodstuff, and appliances.

I will not have guests over at my shared domicile without giving my roommate a 24-hour notice in advance.

All "things" (definition clarified in clause 7) will not be shared between roommates, unless permission has been granted by the owner in writing. This includes items such as, but is not limited to, toilet paper, toothpaste, groceries, shampoo, cleaning supplies, and dish soap.

I will not enter my roommate's room without receiving verbal permission. In a case where a roommate whose room is to be accessed is not currently in the suite, the other roommate may not enter their room under any conditions.

The clauses in this contract are subject to amendment, through a discussion involving both roommates.

Failure to adhere to the clauses within this article will serve as grounds for eviction. "

Under the contract, there was a spot for both her and Naoki to sign and to indicate the date. Naoki had already signed above his own name, with the date next to it.

Kotoko put the paper down and picked up her chopsticks. "Why should I sign this?"

Naoki glared at her. "Really? These terms aren't even that harsh, considering your terrible lifestyle."

She felt a dull pain in her heart. It was bad enough that she'd gotten rejected by him the day before – he didn't need to rub salt into the wound by insulting her.

"Oh, and I want that mess in the kitchen cleaned up. That garbage on the countertop is disgusting! And how could you put garbage in a bin that isn't even lined with a plastic bag?"

Kotoko gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, it's usually not that bad… but I've been working overtime lately because of the deadline, so I didn't…"

"That's no excuse for living like a slob. And you do know that you have milk rotting in your fridge, right? You should, since it's about the only thing that's in there. Besides your budding potato farm."

Kotoko brightened. "The potato sprouted?"

Naoki slammed his hand down onto the coffee table. "That's not the point!"

"Yes, sir…" she squeaked, digging into her mangled sushi again.

"Anyway, sign the damned thing. It's my way of saying I'll respect your boundaries, so you need to respect mine. And such."

"Yes, sir…" Kotoko said, putting her chopsticks down to reach for a pen.

"That's all, so you can leave. And stick this contract on the inside of the cabinet at the apartment."

Kotoko sighed. "Anything else, sir?"

"Yeah, actually. Clock out early today. You can go home now."

She frowned. "But Section Chief Matsumoto still needs me to…"

Naoki waved his hand dismissively. "Forget about that. I'll deal with her. I need you to clean your crap out of my room by the time I get home, so you should get a head start." He passed her a box of 13-gallon garbage bags. "And here. I picked this up. Make sure the place looks semi-presentable before I get back."

"Wait, really? I can leave?" Kotoko said, excitedly.

He glared up at her from his lunch. "Don't get any stupid ideas. I swear, if that place isn't clean by the time I get back, I'm going to dock your pay for today."

Kotoko stood up abruptly, saluting him. "Sir, yes, sir!" She repackaged her lunch haphazardly, signed her name, grabbed the lunch, and headed for the door.

"Wait, Airhead!" he yelled. Then, he chuckled to himself, in his head. He liked the sound of that. Aihara... Airhead. What a genius he was.

Frowning slightly, Kotoko turned around abruptly. "What is it, sir?"

"Take the damn contract and the garbage bags with you, idiot!"

"Yes, of course, sir!" Kotoko rushed over, grabbed the two items off the table, and headed back out the door. As she exited, she saw Section Chief Sudou walking down the hallway.

"Oy, Aihara!" he smiled, waving. "Did the boss yell at you for screwing up, or something?"

Kotoko laughed. "Something like that. He's making me clock out early today, so I'm leaving now, sir. See you tomorrow!"

Sudou furrowed his brow. "Wait, what? Is everything—"

But Kotoko had already turned the corner.

Sudou knocked on Naoki's door, and entered.

"Hey, Director."

Naoki looked up. "Oh, Sudou, good timing. Can you get the regular girl to bring me coffee?"

Sadou looked at him, somewhat confused. "Well, she just told me that you sent her home… remember?"

"Oh… yeah."


A/N: Hope you enjoyed! And remember, faves and reviews make the heart grow fonder! And writey-er! ;)