Lost
Yu Kanda
It was the second Tuesday of the Moyashi working as my full-time PA, and I could honestly say that this arrangement was providing to be more fun than I'd initially thought it would.
Going out of my way to anger him had turned into a game of sorts, one that left him looking like he was ready to blow a gasket at any given moment. It was interesting to watch him have to physically restrain himself from cussing up a storm. Though, he was definitely getting better at holding himself back and hiding behind those plastic smiles of his. Interestingly enough, he seemed determined not to snap as easily as he had the before.
That only made this that much more enjoyable. I liked the challenge.
Every one of our encounters only pushed him that much closer to the edge, and I was pleased to find that he was already so very close to breaking point.
The constant boredom and annoyance I'd felt all these years was forgotten; he made it all go away.
I didn't call him by his name again, but that one time I had, his reaction had made it worthwhile; he'd looked like his little world was crashing down around him.
None of this would be even remotely possible if he weren't such a pushover. This was probably the first time ever I was actually able to tolerated someone like that.
Smirking silently to myself, I rubbed the back of my neck.
The papers I'd been working on for the last two hours now were signed and dated; all they'd really needed was my signature to say that I'd read over them. Now they had to go downstairs and be stored away for who-knows-how-long. I, however, did not want to make the trip there and back, so I'd just add this to the ever-growing list of menial errands I'd had him run for me these past eight days.
"Moyashi!" I called, straightening the pile of papers and slipping them into a transparent plastic folder. After waiting a few quiet seconds -and receiving no answer-, my smirk grew as I readied myself for the next round.
I pushed myself up, hands on the hard wooden surface of my desk, and leisurely made my way to the door that connected my office to his area.
His head was down, soft-looking white hair falling down his shoulders.
I'd said lighter colours irritated me, and that was the truth. They did -he did-, but this pale, sorry excuse for an adult provided me with entertainment, so his kind of annoying was bearable.
Slipping closer, I took great care to be discreet with my movements and not make any noises that would alert him to my presence.
He tilted his head to the side, -working out a crick in his neck, if the small crack I heard was anything to go by- and it turned out that my caution was unnecessary. He had a pair of black headphones in his ears. With those things in, it was no wonder he hadn't heard answered when called.
I should probably tell him off for that.
His gloved fingers were flying across the keyboard as he typed, focus fully on the screen, where I could see the faint copy of him biting gently on his bottom lip as light reflected off of the lenses of his thin-framed glasses.
I peered over his shoulder and recognised the document as work related; the title of it suggested that it was what I'd given him earlier, and close to completion at that.
Since he was working so efficiently, I decided that I wouldn't scold him. Not this time, at least.
That didn't mean I couldn't find my fun some other way.
I leaned in closer to him, smug with the knowledge that he still had yet to notice me. This was a good an opportunity as any to give the brat a scare.
"Mo-ya-shi," I whispered roughly, nipping the outer shell of his ear with my lips.
He tensed, and then yelped, falling anything but gracefully from his swivel office chair, taking the dark piece of furniture crashing down with him. The movement ripped his headphones from his ears, and they swung, their arcs noticeably shortening as their swings gradually lost momentum.
I reflexively quirked a brow, eyes on the brat staring blankly up at me from the floor behind his crooked glasses.
He was clutching his ear, which, judging from his reaction, was a sensitive point. That was interesting to know, so I filed the knowledge away for later; it could be used to my advantage sometime in the future. Somehow.
Pretending as if I hadn't just mentally plotted yet another way to mess with my midget of a PA, I waved the folder in my hand, drawing his attention to it. "Take this down to File Storage, damn spaz."
He blushed, gave me a quick nod of acknowledgment, and then stood, still obviously dazed.
"Could this day get any worse?" He mumbled, removing his hand from his ear and taking his glasses off to set them down on the desk.
I don't think I was meant to hear that.
VWV
It should have been simple. He should have been there and back in ten minutes. Maybe fifteen, if he was stopped along the way.
So why, more than two hours later, had the Moyashi yet to return?
The elevator doors pinged open and I irately stomped my way to the damn sister-complex's office. Since the Moyashi would have had to have gone past Komui's section to reach the stairs that lead to File Storage, I'd ask that slacking bastard if he'd seen the brat.
I turned the knob and threw open the door, not bothering to go through the formality of knocking. I never had before, so there was no reason for me to start now.
"I sent him down here hours ago! Where the fuck is he?"
Komui and Reever started in surprise, quite literally dropping what they'd been doing.
Are those this year's winter designs?
"Waah~, it's rare for you to come here yourself," Komui said, scrunching up a piece of paper and throwing it in the trash.
"Answer my question."
Reever -who'd collected the ball of paper from the trash and was now carefully smoothing it out- gave a deep sigh. "Who? We're not exactly mind readers, Kanda."
"The brat!" I snapped exasperatedly, already regretting leaving my office.
"Allen?" Reever was frowning, his forehead creased. "Why would he be here?"
"Because I had him take something downstairs."
Komui and Reever both paled at the same time, then the sandy-haired Australian took a couple slow steps around the desk, the paper laying wrinkled and forgotten on Komui's cluttered floor. "Please… tell me that you didn't send Allen down to File Storage."
"Without supervision," Komui added worriedly, touching his glasses.
My chest clenched with apprehension.
Directly below Komui was Reever, our European Branch's Section Leader. His eyes were brown in colour, close to grey. His hair was a murky blond that could, on occasion, be mistaken for brown. His chin showed signs of stubble. His clothes were causal; not classy, but respectable. He was a focussed man with a good work ethic. He was normal, average in all aspects.
Komui was the Chief Officer, the person in charge of the Section Leaders, who were, in turn, the boss of all the regular workers doing the grunt work that formed the foundation of this business.
His eccentricity was widely-known throughout the company, and it was Reever's normalcy that reigned him in and actually managed to get the idiot to produce such outstanding results -with the occasional mishap, but Reever couldn't be with Komui 24/7, so these things were to be expected. However, if Komui tried to feed the printer coffee one more fucking time…-.
An odd relationship, yes, but it worked.
They were competent workers that I, myself, had employed.
And that was why the reactions they displayed to my questions raised warning flags in my mind. "I did," I said, watching the two of them share a look I didn't understand.
"Oh dear…" The Chinese man brought the palm of his hand to his forehead and groaned, squeezing his purple eyes shut. "You see…"
"Allen can't find his way out of a wet paper bag," Reever said, looking at me wearily, like he didn't have the strength to deal with this anymore.
"What? He's in File Storage. Are you trying to tell me that the Moyashi's lost?"
Reever rubbed the back of his neck, moving to lean against Komui's desk. "His sense of direction is horrible. It wouldn't be the first time the kid's done this."
"What happened the first time?" I demanded -asked with a firm tone-. While I normally wasn't one to inquire about such a thing, I had to admit that my curiosity had been piqued.
Finding out people's weaknesses was a hobby of mine. This made four for him: weak to authority, naïve, sensitive ears, and no sense of direction whatsoever.
"It took us six hours to realise he hadn't returned." Reever covered his face with both hands, sighing tiredly. "We found him a couple corridors away from the stairs muttering about how stupid the building's layout is."
Picturing it, -picturing that little white-haired brat all irritated and muttering and lost- I snorted. Yeah, this would most definitely be something to hold over the Moyashi's head.
VWV
There was a thin sheet of dust that had found its rest on the door handles, and the air down here was stale and undisturbed.
No one came down here that often; things were stored in office cabinets until they were either forgotten or there was no longer any room for them.
Really, it wasn't that complicated. File storage was an area consisting of roughly three-dozen rooms and less than half as many corridors. This was where all the company's documents were stored: copies of contracts, employee information, etcetera, etcetera.
I personally, came down here even less regularly than everyone else. My PA's had always done this stuff for me, allowing me to stay holed up in my office -or my personal training room- until the end of the day.
Even with that, it wasn't that complicated.
I peeked down the nearest intersection of walkways.
Nothing.
I opened a door, my eyes scanning over the huge cabinets filled with records of meetings and discarded designs.
Nothing.
I shut the door and looked around myself.
Nothing.
"So fucking troublesome…" I grumbled. "How the fuck do you even get lost down here?" I stuffed my hands into my pockets to protect them from the fucking freezing chill that the AC units were creating. "…do we have to put up signs or something now? Che… This isn't a fucking day-care centre…"
Deducing that he wasn't in the section of the storage area, I made for the next hallway, continuing on with my mission.
My search ended when I finally spotted that annoying head of white curled up in a ball, arms wrapped around his legs and chin resting on his knees, glaring sulkily at the floor like a child.
I sighed on reflex, running a hand through my long ponytail. "Hey, idiot."
Silver eyes -that had filled with hope the moment he'd heard me speak- turned dismayed when they registered who exactly it was that had found them.
"Can't you do anything right?"
He stood, visibly offended. "Apparently not," he muttered, not looking me in the eyes.
His reactions were what made this interesting and worthwhile. It was a good thing I'd come down here. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the show of his shame showing through in the red that crept up his neck and stained his cheeks. A magnificent sight indeed.
"Hah. At least you're aware of it."
Suddenly, the Moyashi caught my wrist in a surprisingly strong grip with his left hand, squeezing it to the point that it actually hurt. "Are you punishing me for something? S'tha it?!" At the slip, he hissed, and took in a breath to calm himself. "If… it is, please tell me, and I'll fix it. I swear."
By now, he was looking up at me with those pleading grey eyes.
It wasn't a complete victory -and it wouldn't be until he swore-, but he'd slipped back into that accent of his, if only momentarily. So, for today, I was satisfied.
People had way too much pride. Myself included.
They thought that they were the best, that they were infallible, and they pushed themselves to the limit to prove it. But this kid was different. He wasn't above lowering himself, wasn't above sucking up and pretending everything was just fine.
And he kept his true thoughts and feelings at bay until he could take it no longer. Until he was pushed to the very edge.
That was my goal.
Calmly, I twisted my wrist out from his hold, resisting the urge to rub where he'd touched and check to see if he'd left a mark. "Maybe I should leave you here to cool off for a few more hours."
All colour -or what little of it there was- drained from his face. "Don't leave me here!" His hands made to grab at me again, only to stop short of actually making contact, hovering barely a centimetre away, unsure of what they were supposed to do.
I smirked down at him, folding my arms loosely across my chest. "Fine, but you owe me for this."
The Moyashi's eyes went wide as dinner plates, then he glowered at the nearest wall, jaw clenched, but dropped his hands to his sides. "You…" He took in another breath. "Thank you… for helping me," he grumbled, tone harshly contradicting his words.
We both knew he wasn't truly thankful, but he had the manners to at least give thanks when it was due.
"I'm going to collect my favour whenever I see fit, Moyashi. You hear me?"
The kid nodded glumly, and beneath his breath he mumbled, "When I asked if this day could get any worse, I didn't intend for you to take that as a personal challenge."
I had to place a hand over my mouth to hide the grin I'd failed to supress.
VWV
In my last chapter when I said that the twins' mother is a no-names OC, I actually meant that she has no name, as in she, as a person, was not given one.