Chapter 3

"Papa!"

It had been a few months since Kirishima Hiyori showed up in Japun. It seemed that as she grew up, she wanted to spend more time with her friends and less time with her father. Kirishima wouldn't admit to it around his underlings, but it was obvious that he missed having her trail after him with an admiring look on her face.

Shizuko had to step out of the way as she came storming through the hall. Ijuuin was in a conference room working again; it was the only way they could get him to keep at it, short of sending Takahashi to stay with him for the rest of the month. And even though he was the newbie, they needed all the help they could get. Sending someone just to hold one author's hand wasn't worth it, even if it was their best-selling author.

Ijuuin leaned out of the conference room, ignoring the pleadings of his assistants to keep working. "She's on a rampage, huh?"

"Dunno." Shizuko frowned and folded his arms. From what he knew, Hiyori was a mature girl, understanding of the fact that her father had to work and couldn't always be there for her when she needed something. For her to run in like this, the world must've been ending.

And it wasn't even Hell Week yet. Damn.

Shizuko was back at his desk by the time Kirishima stood from his own, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair and throwing it over his shoulder. Hiyori started after him, but Kirishima sighed and shook his head. "Hiyo, don't worry, alright? It's just a broken leg. I'll bring him home once they've done their thing and Yokozawa will be fine."

Hiyo pouted and folded her arms but didn't fight her father's decision. She did, however, have one comment for him before he left: "Keep your phone charged, Papa! I had to ride the train on my own!"

Not that she really minded it, but she knew it was something her father worried about even now. He only had one child to focus on, after all. If you didn't count Yokozawa.

Kirishima poked his head around the corner. "Ishi, take her home, would you? I don't need my daughter on the subway at rush hour again."

There was a ten second pause as Shizuko sat at his desk, trying to process the request. Kirishima didn't wait for him to accept, instead heading off. In that ten seconds, though, Ijuuin slipped into the office.

"Oh don't worry, Kiwi, I'll bring her," he said. Shizuko stared up at him. "What?"

"I'd trust her to get home on her own before I'd trust you to escort her," Shizuko muttered as he stood and grabbed his own jacket. "Come on, Hiyori-san. I'll buy you dinner on the way."

Hiyori seemed happy with the decision, at least, but she looked confused as Ijuuin slung an arm around her shoulders. "And I'll pay."

"Sensei, you need to work," Shizuko said, his voice sounding slightly more world-weary than usual.

"Aw, Kiwi, I've been working all day. I deserve a break."

"Yeah!" Hiyori said with a grin. "Papa says all work and no play makes someone really dull."

"…he says that about Yokozawa-san," Shizuko muttered, putting his arm in his jacket. He wasn't going to fight Ijuuin when he was determined to do something. Maybe he was a lot softer than he gave himself credit for.

xxx

Hiyori ran off as soon as they entered the restaurant; a group of her friends was over at a table in the back, and her instincts were, of course, to spend time with them instead of her father's coworkers. Ishi shook his head and proceeded towards the counter, but Ijuuin grabbed his arm and spun around, directing him towards the dining room. "Go get a table, Kiwi, I know what you like."

"If only you knew." Ishi rolled his eyes but went to get a table, his eyes sliding over to Hiyori as she talked to her friends. The girl bowed and turned, catching Shizuko's eye in time for him to sigh again and look out the window.

Hiyori sat down beside him a minute later, kicking her feet against the legs of the chair and folding her hands in her lap. "Papa hasn't called you, has he?"

"…no." Shizuko looked at her, unsure what to do. It was obvious Hiyori was worried about Yokozawa, but if it was anything serious, Kirishima probably would've been hysterical. The head editor of Japun was calm and collected in the worst-case scenario at his job, but threaten someone he cared about and you better hope you weren't in the line of fire. Awkwardly, Shizuko reached over and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Hiyori-san. Yokozawa-san will be fine. It's… just a broken leg, right?"

"Yeah, but he never gets hurt or sick or anything." Hiyori kicked her feet again, wringing her hands. Before she should say any more, though, Ijuuin dropped a tray down in the middle of the table. "…Ijuuin-sensei, I'm too old for a kid's meal."

"Well good, because this is for me!" Ijuuin grinned and took the colorful box, immediately tearing into it. He pulled the plastic-bagged toy out, and Shizuko immediately plucked it from his hands. "Come on, Kiwi."

"You get it after you eat," he muttered, pulling the tray towards himself and unwrapping his burger. When he glanced at Hiyori, he saw she was staring at him. "…what?"

Hiyori grinned and took her own meal, setting the soda down and unwrapping her burger so she could set her fries down on the wrapper. "You two act like Papa and Oniichan."

"…I'll take that as a compliment!" Ijuuin tossed a chicken nugget in the air and caught it in his mouth, chewing happily. "'S long as I get to be Kirishima. The Bear of Marukawa is much too tight-assed for me."

"Don't swear around children, sensei," Shizuko said, mostly sounding bored.

"It's fine, Ishi-san. Oniichan says a lot worse late at night."

"And I have a feeling I know why." Ijuuin wiggled his eyebrows.

Ishi frowned and picked up his straw, pealing the wrapper back and blowing the paper right into Ijuuin's face. "Could you shut up for once?"

"Shutting up!" Ijuuin still managed to grin, holding his hands up defensively as he sat back in his chair and started eating.

It was about halfway through the meal when Hiyori's cell phone went off. She put the fry she'd been about to eat down and pulled her phone out, glancing at the caller display. "Hi, Papa! Yeah, I'm still with Ishi-san. He got me supper." She glanced over at Shizuko at that, and then she smiled. "Alright. I'll tell him to bring me to the hospital. I told you Oniichan would want to see me!"

Ijuuin laughed at that, putting the last of his meal in its box and standing up. "Come on, Hiyo-chan. Kiwi. We'll go see if the old bear's recovering."

Shizuko didn't say a word.

xxx

Shizuko and Ijuuin stayed in the waiting room closest to the recovery room Yokozawa had been dropped in after the doctors had set his bone and drugged him up. Ijuuin had been ready to just march in, but Shizuko had a feeling that Yokozawa didn't need his blood pressure spiking right now. It wasn't just Japun editors who had problems with Ijuuin and his lack of deadlines, after all.

"Hey, Kiwi!" Ijuuin suddenly said. They were the only ones in the waiting room, and so Shizuko didn't even flinch at the stupid nickname. Not that he did anymore. "Feel like going on a cherry blossom picnic?"

"…right now?" Shizuko tilted his head. The cherry blossoms hadn't quite bloomed yet, but he wouldn't put it past Ijuuin to want to go on a picnic, especially if it meant delaying having to work even further.

Ijuuin rolled his eyes and leaned back in the formed-plastic chair. He'd dragged it over from a small table meant for children to use, Shizuko was sure, but Ijuuin had said it was more comfortable than the ones around the perimeter of the room. "No, not now. In a couple weeks, when I've finished the color pages and don't have to worry so much."

Shizuko glanced out into the hall as he thought, watching a doctor shoot by with about three children hanging off him and giggling. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes. Ijuuin had finished his storyboard earlier in the month than usual because of the extra work color pages would take, so if he could get him to finish early…

"Fine," he said, folding his arms and leaning back. "But only if you finish all your pages by then." Ijuuin started to protest, standing up from the kiddy chair, but Shizuko held a hand up. "It's all or nothing, sensei. We need your work done."

Ijuuin let out a long sigh as he stood up, stretching his legs one at a time, and then stretching his arms up into the air. "Fine, fine," he said, nodding. Just as he did, he glanced at the clock. "Well, time to get back to my assistants, I suppose. And Takahashi is likely missing me."

"Yeah, he must be disconsolate," Shizuko muttered as he grabbed his bag and followed.