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TBF101
Always
Chapter Two: Entirely Unnerving
"Excuse me." An unfamiliar voice answered, the door creaking as it slid open. Yuu's eyes immediately looked the stranger up and down as he quietly entered the room. The voice belonged to a striking pale young man with light blond curly hair and wide, dull blue eyes. His face was heart shaped and prominent, and Yuu's eyes found their mark there first before peering over the rest of the stranger's body. He was about average height, probably several inches shorter than Yuu himself, and was thin and willowy, though it was a little hard to tell if he was just trim or anorexic because of the large, horizontally striped grey hoodie he wore. Yuu's knowing eyes peered down the stranger's lithe legs then traveled back up to meet the blond's eyes. The stranger almost flinched as he stared back into those cunning, almost predatory eyes, and Yuu instantly got a bit of insight into the young man before he'd even asked him his name. He looked deeper into the blue-gray irises and saw a menagerie of emotions.
Sadness. Restraint. Melancholy. Fear. A river of quiet feelings all pooled inside the stranger's eyes, and Yuu could almost guess what the blond was here for.
"What do you need?" Yuu asked, shifting his eyes back down to the table as he gathered some scattered sketches.
"I'm looking for an Ijuiin-Sensei." The blond stated plainly.
Yuu raised an eyebrow, but briskly answered.
"He's probably in the editing office down the hall. If not, he's probably gone home."
The blond nodded curtly and pivoted on his heel to leave.
"Thank you." He murmured quietly as he shut the door.
Yuu gathered up the last of his things and left the workroom shortly afterward, intending to go home and drink a couple dozen beers before crashing in his bed.
The blond soundlessly followed Yuu's directions and headed to the large office at the far end of the corridor. He reached a thin hand into the pocket of his sweatshirt and scanned the contents of a folded letter again before knocking on the door. He waited, but no sound or voice came in reply. The blond pursued his lips irksomely and was about to knock again when he heard footsteps come from the other side of the hall.
"Ah!" A flamboyant, energetic voice called. "Araki-kun! We've been expecting you."
The blond turned and his eyes lit up as he recognized Marukawa's executive director Isaka Ryuichiro walking towards him with several other people. He quickly gave a respectful bow to the director, who nodded his head and motioned to a tall, raven-haired man behind him.
"Ijuiin-sensei, I'd like to introduce your new assistant, Araki Hisashi, who came all the way from Hokkaido to join our manga department."
The tall, handsome mangaka stepped forward and offered Hisashi a hand.
"Welcome to Marukawa. I am Ijuiin Kyo."
Hisashi shook his hand, smiling amiably.
"It's an honor to work with you Ijuiin-sensei. I'm a big fan of "The Kan."
Ijuiin smiled in return.
"Thank you. Isaka showed me your portfolio and I was very impressed. You will be a great asset to our team."
"I look forward to working with you." Hisashi replied, dipping his chin again.
"Araki-kun," Isaka cut in. "Sorry to make you come down like this, but Ijuiin-sensei has just completed his deadline for this month, so we won't be needing you quite yet. Why don't you go and get settled into your apartment and tomorrow we'll introduce you to the rest of the staff."
"Thank you Isaka-san." Hisashi replied, bowing again. "I'll be going then."
After figuring out how navigate various elevators and find the bloody entrance to the huge building, Hisashi left Marukawa and made his way to the train station. He walked quickly, with his head down, but his eyes alert. He made it to the subway, and after much confusion of which train line he was supposed to take, he bought a ticket and boarded the packed train. Hisashi found a seat near the exit and sat down, his cloudy blue eyes staring dryly at the advertisements plastered along the walls. Those same eyes flickered over to a pack of schoolgirls briefly when he noticed them pointing and giggling at him. His sighed under his breath and scooted lower in his seat, hoping his presence could go a little more unnoticed in the future. But that was unlikely in a city such as this.
It had been over ten years since he'd moved from Tokyo to Hokkaido with his father and stepmother. He'd forgotten how the endless city moved non-stop like a hill of ants. Always racing. Always working. Always calling. Always talking. It was such a change from the less-crowded countryside of northern Japan. To be back here wasn't just uncomfortable.
It was entirely unnerving.
Once the train had reached his stop, Hisashi had slipped out of his seat and ducked out of the train before he could be bombarded by high school girls wanting to touch his wispy curls. With a bit more difficulty he managed to find his street and head into his apartment building. As he walked down the hallway, he glanced at what appeared to be a heated spat between two of the residents, one a tall black-haired man with glasses, and the other a petite brunette who was blushing madly. Hisashi sighed again. So much for a quiet apartment building…
Even though he'd only arrived late yesterday afternoon, most of his unpacking was already done. The main things he still needed to do were laundry and go shop for food, as he was getting dangerously low on convenience store pre made bento. But having neither motivation nor appetite, Hisashi retreated to his room to unpack his boxes of manga and various knick-knacks.
He took out each volume of The Kan and all his other mangas and arranged them on his bookshelf, organizing them by series but little more. They would all be in a disheveled pile by his bed within a few weeks anyway. When he was done, he took apart the box and stacked it with the others against the wall before beginning to unpack the last, and smallest, box that contained his alarm clock and a few assorted pictures. (Or so it was labeled. His stepmother had packed this one when he'd gone shopping for a microwave.)
He deftly cut through the tape and began taking out the pictures, glancing briefly at them before setting them randomly on the shelves. His father, his stepmother, a few cousins, the wintry landscape of Hokkaido, and…
Hisashi froze, so stunned he nearly dropped the last picture. But when his grayish eyes lost their surprise, his eyes began to pool with tears.
"Sashi-chan! Get over here so I can get one damn picture of us!"
"Oh come on! Why do you always need to have pictures?"
"Oh fuck Sashi, you ask this every time and every time I tell you the same thing. I want pictures so I can never forget."
Hisashi glanced past the dusty glass at the warm face that would forever grin at him, but do no more. He set the picture on the floor, facing away from him, and hugged his knees to his chest as he wept out the name he would never forget.
"Atsushi…."