Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi nor its characters. All rights regarding this anime belongs to Nakamura Shungiku

(? POV)

" We certainly hope that you'll have a good time in our company, Hiragi-san" Isaka-san said as he shook hands with me." I'll sure do"I replied as my small, thin red painted lips formed into a smirk.

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, I have to get going now. There would be a person from the general affairs department to fetch you so that you can finally start with your work." he informed. I then nodded and bowed as he left with Asahina-san, his secretary.

I got my black designer bag and fished out an envelope . I opened the said envelope and grabbed a picture that was inside it.

I hope that I'll see you soon...

...Onodera Ritsu...

(Ritsu's POV)

"Oi! Where the hell is your manuscript?" Takano-san's voice boomed out. I sighed tiredly as I checked Mutou-sensei's manuscript.

My stomach hurts...

Apparently, the emerald department is more stressed out than usual because of that god forsaken Christmas special issue that the magazine would be releasing.

"Ha?! Don't you dare tell me that you've got a cold and you couldn't finish it! I don't care if you sneeze your nose to death, your hands are still working!" Takano-san yelled over the phone.

"Takano-san, Kana-sensei said that she quits..." Kisa-san said as he slumped half of his body to his work piled desk. Takano-san's glasses glared sharply as he pushed it upwards.

" Tell her that she should finish her manuscript first and after that I don't care in the blood damn hell if she quits or not!" he yelled as he went towards the fax machine.

I sighed as I gently massaged my temples and stood up. I'm so tired. Maybe a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt. I was about to walk out to get some coffee from the vending machine when Takano-san interrupted me. "Where do you think you're going? Don't even think about chickening out in the middle of the battle!" he yelled.

I then glared at him. "I'm not planning on going away! I was just about to grab coffee!" I retorted as I scowled at him. "Fine! But if you're not back in 3 minutes, I'll drag you back here by your ear." he threatened.

"I know!" I then went out all the while cursing Takano-san under my breath. My thoughts then flashed on to what happened yesterday.

..."Tell me. Is it bad to worry about the person I love?"...

..."Unnecessary? Do you think my feelings for you are unimportant huh, Ritsu?"...

..." Ritsu, Haven't I told you before? The one whom I'm in love right now is the present you."...

Gahhh! Now my thoughts are filled with Takano-san!

Wait! What is wrong with me? Ah! That's right! Maybe it's because it's the end of the cycle and because of stress, I'm being delusional.

I then stopped by the vending machine and pressed a button to buy my coffee. I got my cold beverage and opened it. I was about to drink my coffee when I heard Takano-san's voice.

"Oi! Onodera! What took you so long!"

I then grumbled to myself.

I wasn't even out for a minute. I then turned around and yelled at him. "Ha?! I didn't even-" but I was interrupted when I heard a female's voice.

" My blouse..."

Ignoring Takano-san, I immediately looked towards the direction of that feminine voice until I saw a woman an inch shorter than me with short jet black hair and piercing gold eyes. She... kinda reminds me of... someone..." Takano-san's face then flashed into my mind.

Wait! What am I thinking?! Snap out of it, Onodera Ritsu! My eyes then darted towards her crisp white blouse which was now stained with coffee because of 'that certain demon' of an editor-in-chief called him all of a sudden demanding why he isn't back when he didn't even spent more than a minute on the vending machine.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to stain your blouse! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed while repeatedly bowing to her. " Don't worry. It's fine" her firm and sharp voice said. I then looked up and stared at her apologetically.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" I asked feeling really guilty. " As I have said, it's fine. I brought spare clothes anyway" she replied as she waved her hands.

"Ie. I insist." I said firmly. She then sighed and finally her lips curved into a smirk. "Fine. Just tell me your name to compensate for my stained blouse. That will do." she said. What? Just my name?

"Umm... I'm Onodera Ritsu from the Emerald Department. Nice to meet you." I said as I offered my hand to her. She then shook hands with me in a business manner, giving me a glimpse of her french manicured nails. "It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance. My name is Hiragi Yuko. I'm from the literature department."

My eyes then widened. "You're from the literature department?! That's so cool" I exclaimed as my eyes shone with happiness. She giggled for a bit. "Not really. It's actually my first day here so I'm basically still adjusting with my surroundings." she said.

I then smiled courteously at her. "Don't worry. You'll do fine here. All the workers at Marukawa are kind and helpful." I said.

Umm... Well most of them actually. I added to myself, my thoughts drifting off towards my first day at this company where the other departments were avoiding me because probably, I'm from the emerald department.

"Hai. All my co-workers are really hospitable."she replied. She then paused for awhile until she looked at me directly in the eye. "I know. Why don't we grab some coffee after work. That way we can know each other better." she requested. I was about to reply when someone beat me to it.

"I'm sorry but Onodera still have many things to do after work, right Onodera?" Takano-san said butting in our conversation. I then glared at him .

" I already finished my work with-" but with just a single sharp glance from him I immediately shut up. "That's right, Hiragi-san. I still have many things to do. I'm really sorry." I lied all the while glaring at Takano-san. She then smirked at me as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Alright. Maybe some other time?"she offered. I smiled politely at her. "Okay. Some other time. I'm really sorry about earlier" I said and bowed.

"Hai. You should go now. Your boss looks like he's going to explode soon." she said, bid me goodbye and left.

I then turned towards Takano-san. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" I exclaimed as I glared at him. "Onodera, I told you that I don't want you to socialize with other departments, right?" he asked as he looked at me straight in the eye.

"But I'm just being polite with her! I protested but it was no use. "Onodera, listen. I don't mean to sound rude but I have a bad feeling about that woman." he said with his voice low. I then raised an eyebrow at him. "What the heck is that? Oh, that's right. Maybe you're just jealous of Hiragi-san"

After I said that, I immediately regretted it. With a snap of a finger, Takano-san dragged me to the rest room. He then pushed me towards the farthest cubicle, locked it and kissed me passionately. What in the bloody hell does he think he's doing?!

"Takano-san, we're at work right now!" I hissed through my breath careful now to draw any weird suspicions from others who might be entering the rest room. "What if I was? What if I was jealous? What's the problem with that?" he pressed on.

I couldn't answer him.

Why is that?

Is it because of my anxiety that we'll get caught?

Is it because of those eyes, his hazel eyes that stares deep into the very soul of my body?

Or... is it because of the erratic beating of my heart every time our skin touches?

My thoughts were interrupted when his soft, warm lips claimed mine again in a slow but tingling kiss.

I...couldn't push him away. My body was remotely in place. His lips pressed on mine, our tongues dancing together in a slow movement, his slim fingers entangled on my hair, his body pressed unto mine, sharing body heat...

I couldn't think straight. My mind is going into jumbles and tumbles. My legs are melting like putty into his arms.

He then pulled away from our searing kiss and looked at me straight in the eye. "Takano-san" I whispered.

Why is he looking at me that way? Why do his eyes look at me with nothing but pure love? Why do his arms hold me so tight like I'm a treasure that he'll trade any thing to have.

"I love you, Ritsu..." he whispered on my ear, his breath tickling my nape. He then kissed me again. My body was going limp against his arms. My head was going all mushy inside and I couldn't think of any thing else but...his voice whispering those sweet words

' I love you, Ritsu...'

(Yuko's POV)

"Hello? Ah, Aunty it's you. I already met Ritsu. What you said is true. He's really a gentleman." I said as I finished retouching my make up. I tapped my manicured nails in my desk as I stared at the bunch of manuscript I was editing before Aunty called. " Don't worry, I'll make sure that the two of us will get along well." I said.

I'll make sure that we'll get along well. Really well...

...Onodera Ritsu, you're an interesting one...

Let's see how long you last until you'll finally

...be wrapped around my little finger...

End of Chapter 4