A/N Er… I've been a fan of this fandom for a long long time, and I've written two or three little one-shots for it, but never something like this. This kind of plot bunny just popped into my head, so don't expect too much out of it. After all, it's been a long time I've written het.

The pairing is Toganou/Karin, because of their obvious passions for manga. I guess this means that this is a futurefic, set when Toganou is 25 and… um, someone tell me how old Karin was in the manga please? XD I am so lame. I hope you enjoy this try at romance. It also contains a few spoilers for up until the ending of the manga because I have not watched the anime.

Disclaimer: Let's be reasonable now, shall we?

Prologue

Toganou was living the dream life.

Or at least, the closest thing he could get to it.

Grunting, he pushed his ringing alarm clock off of his bedside table. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he rubbed some of the newly acquired stubble that had gathered on his chin. After yawning for a few more minutes, he finally lifted himself out of his small bed, cussing when he accidentally stepped on the alarm clock that was still ringing.

Switching it off, he blinked sleepily at the time. If he hurried, he could probably get to work a few minutes early, and if he slacked off, he would probably make the appointment fashionably late. Either way, he didn't really care what he was going to do, since he had just been fired from a previous job and was rather bitter about it still.

Shaving off his stubble and gelling his hair into the usual wild mess, Toganou splashed his face with cold water. Even if he was bitter, he needed this new job. First impressions counted (a lesson he had learned from a certain high school quarterback), and if he wanted to keep living his poor life, he would have to suffer the consequences.

But then, his job was never really stable anyways. He was part of the team at Shounen Jump, a popular magazine that ran weekly filled with the coolest and most popular manga. His job was to help aspiring and hardworking mangaka by drawing backgrounds and filling in blanks. Yes, Toganou was an assistant. A helper.

Oh, fuck it. He was the person who sat down in front of a desk with an ink pen and large panels in front of him that was enslaved to the author of the manga he was supposed to be assisting in making.

As he thought of how dreary his life as a unsuccessful 25-year old was, he ran a final comb through his hair before shrugging on some decent clothes.

Hopping onto his motorbike (after fastening on his helmet and wild goggles, safety first), he revved up the engine and ripped away from the small one room apartment that he worked hard to live in, but ended up not spending much time in anyway.

Stopping at an intersection, he wondered what his new boss would be like. They had said it was a girl, and a young one at that. She had a lot of potential, and some great ideas, they had said.

Idly, Toganou wondered how long she would last in the tough world of manga. After all, he was pretty tough himself, but had broken down by the end of a few months. He just wasn't suited for it, the editors had told them. Maybe he should try being an assistant for a while, they had suggested.

He daydreamed for a bit on his way to the girl's house. He had been told that since she was very shy, he was going to be the only helper for a little while until she decided she could take on more people. Apparently she was pretty stubborn-headed and was always trying to spend more work on the drawings instead of letting her assistants do the work.

Fine for him, he thought. He was a slacker from birth, and the only time he had ever felt fired up was many years ago, in his high school freshman days. After that year, that wonderful exhilarating year, he had never been the same. He was determined. He had a goal. He was ready to actually work.

Over time, though, the excitement wore off. In college, his grades had dropped so low that he couldn't even participate in sports anymore. That year, he dropped out of school and never went back. School was for losers, and Toganou Shozou was certainly no loser. In fact, he had even gotten rid of his habit of always wearing his tinted glasses, except when he was about to really concentrate on something.

When asked if the sudden change had anything to do with Toganou's new obsession with Sket Dance, the questioner was soon given a fat lip. Nobody has remarked on it since.

Taking off his helmet and trademark glasses, Toganou got off his motorbike and stared at the apartment in front of him. It was one of the more common ones, very plain and modest with a touch of modern conformity. Sighing, he locked his bike to a pole and slipped his goggles/glasses into his bag. Slinging the messenger bag over one shoulder, he went to the front of the building, fumbling with the piece of paper where he had scribbled down the address of the apartment.

Pressing the button for the correct apartment, he lazily drawled "It's your assistant," when asked who he was through the crackly machine. Sighing, he prepared himself for the worst as he walked through the doors to almost sure death.

Fixing his hair inside the elevator, he took his time getting to the right door, before realizing that it was unlocked and slightly open. Raising an eyebrow, he walked into the house and locked the door after him. At the sound of the lock turning into place, he heard a muffled "I'm over here" from another room.

Looking around, Toganou couldn't help but feel impressed. The shelves were lined of manga of all genres, from newly released to old-time favourites. At a closer look, he whistled in appreciation. By the looks of some of the older ones, she was a heavy-duty collector.

Running a hand over the covers, he couldn't fight the smile that blossomed on his face. So maybe this wasn't what he had planned his future to be. But that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy it once in a while. And someone with this great a taste couldn't possibly be mean, right?

Walking through the small hallway, he realized with a jolt just how big the seemingly small apartment was. It had a small kitchen just big enough to cook up a light meal, a little bathroom, and even a closed door where he suspected led to a small bedroom. It was homely, and entirely unlike his own condo. For one, it was actually clean.

Then he got to the last room at the end of the hallway. Eyebrows shooting upwards, he surveyed the mess that was supposed to be a study. Papers and pens lay scattered everywhere, with only the slightest room around to navigate carefully throughout the room. It was spacious, with room for one large desk and two smaller ones accompanied by a computer, a printer, a scanner and a fax machine.

At the large desk, Toganou could see a small bobbing head of blonde hair floating around the large stacks of paper that surrounded her. Coughing into his hand, he stood there awkwardly.

"Hm?" A small voice seemed to squeak out. After a bit of fumbling and other sorts of strange sounds, a stack of paper was taken away from the desk so that they could see each other.

They both blinked. Once. Twice.

"Aren't you-" They both blurted out at the same time. The girl, blushing, gestured for him to continue. Toganou, being a gentleman, shook his head. They went on like this for a brief period of time before Toganou let out a sigh.

"Aren't you that girl quarterback from the Alexanders?" He asked, eyeing the familiar face. Yes, she didn't look that different. Her hair, still that light blonde, was shorter and tied into a bun with a few strands hanging around her face, enveloped her red cheeks like a halo. On her nose perched a pair of glasses that she quickly took off and placed on her desk.

"Mm." She nodded, letting out a small smile. Toganou found himself fighting down the urge to smile back. "You're from Deimon… correct?" Her soft voice had a hint of shyness to it.

"Yeah." Toganou looked around. What was he supposed to do? Sit down and reminisce about how his former team had squished hers to the ground and torn up their dreams? He didn't think so.

Karin broke into a slightly larger smile that made her face look even more angel-like. Why Toganou was comparing his new boss to an angel, he wasn't too sure.

"Those were the good old days, weren't they?" She asked softly, getting out of her chair to walk awkwardly across the room to get to where Toganou was standing. Looking up at him, she felt herself slightly disappointed at the fact that she was a whole head shorter than he.

She didn't know why she felt so at ease already with the boy-no, man in front of her. Maybe it was because of the harmless half-asleep aura that he was giving off, maybe it was because he represented a very tender and sweet time from her past, or maybe it was something deeper than that. Whatever it was, she didn't feel the burning sensation to run and hide in a small corner like she usually did around people that weren't very close to her.

That didn't stop her from her very nasty habit of blushing, though.

"Karin Koizumi." She stretched out a thin, trembling hand.

Grasping it as a small smile worked its way onto his face, Toganou shook it, amazed by how delicate and small it seemed compared to his big gruff ones. Didn't she use to play American Football as well? Where had the calluses gone? "Toganou Shozou. I'll be in your care."

Still smiling lightly, Karin gripped Toganou's hand and gave him a firm handshake along with a small shock. At that moment, they both realized something about each other.

Toganou found that she did have calluses if you searched for them along her not-so-smooth hands, and it seemed that she had developed a few tough calluses on her heart as well. Well, he would've thought that if he was the romantic sort. And one look at Toganou Shozou would definitely tell you that he was not the romantic sort.

Karin noticed that even though she had probably just given him the shock that sweet little Karin Koizumi had grown some resolve and could do a good handshake; it had only lasted for a few seconds before his face reverted back to its normal version. Had his eyes always been this nice? She didn't remember.

Suddenly, they both noticed that they were still shaking hands. Karin, red in the face (hey, old habits died hard), snatched her hand away, muttering apologies.

Toganou, not really minding, just shrugged, and sort of wished she hadn't found out that quickly. And could you blame him? He was a 25-year old guy now, and he didn't have a lot of luck with the ladies. This was probably the nicest thing he'd had happened to him since he had had that fling in that bar with that girl a couple of months ago.

Scanning the messy study again, he eyed the two smaller desks. "Where do I work?"

"Ah, over there." Karin hurriedly pointed at the desk closest to her, still a little flustered. Since she had decided to devote her life to manga, she really hadn't had much contact with the outside world, let alone guys. Which only destroyed a lot of the backbone she had grown over the years. Sure, she could handle herself a lot better and keep a straight head on her shoulders, but inside she was still that flustered, shy girl that really just wanted to be with the ones she enjoyed doing the things she enjoyed.

Toganou cracked another smile despite himself. "Alright." Trudging his way through the papers and junk lying on the floor, he started taking out the stuff he had been carrying in his bag.

His supplies littered the table after he successfully moved all the mess that had occupied it before, only looking slightly neater. After that, a water bottle and some manga to pass the time with were set on the floor beside him, close enough to reach out and grab if necessary. And of course, his beloved glasses were placed on the table as well.

Karin, who had been watching him, propped her elbows on her desk and stared at him.

"What?" Asked Toganou, feeling uncomfortable as he arranged some of his stuff into something resembling organization.

"Sorry," Karin immediately apologized, earning a raised eyebrow. "It's just that…" She fidgeted with the pen on her desk. "I thought you'd be the type to smoke."

Karin jumped at the sound of rumbling laughter. Looking up, she was surprised to see Toganou laughing, his eyes filling with amusement.

"Did some of your old employees smoke?" He continued on as she nodded. "Well, I don't. Not anymore, anyways. Haven't touched a cigarette since high school." And it was true. Although he could have taken to smoking again when he decided to quit college and football, he had somehow built up a resistance to it, making him unreasonably sick when he tried. After more failed attempts, he chose to just toss the whole habit in the gutter. It wasn't healthy for him, anyways.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Karin shuddered. "I'm happy that you quit. Even though I wouldn't have stopped you, it would have really bothered me if you were still smoking." Her voice trailed off at the last half of the sentence, tinted with something that sounded like sadness.

Choosing to not delve into the topic, Toganou cleared his throat and eyed the stacks of paper everywhere. "So. Are you planning on telling me what you're writing soon?"

Blushing, Karin let out a nervous titter of laughter. "Right." Picking up her glasses again, she put them on and searched around her desk for a while. Emerging with a manila coloured envelope moments later, she stretched out and let it fall onto the tip of Toganou's desk.

Reaching to grab it, Toganou opened it and gently took out the papers that were enclosed inside the folder. His breath catching in his throat, his lips pursed into a thin line.

Karin, not seeing his reaction, smiled. "It's a sports manga. I plan on calling it Touchdown."

Toganou's stomach dropped four storeys down into the ground as he stared at the all-too-familiar image that covered the front page.

It seemed that American Football wasn't ready to leave his life just yet.

For all of you who don't know these Japanese terms, I'll explain them shortly for you.

Mangaka An author or artist who makes manga for a living

Sket Dance A funny gag manga that runs in Shounen Jump (I think) with a main character who always puts on these goggle things when he needs to concentrate on something