Foreword: This AU idea is something I had been punting around my head for quite a while, but it took the extra push from this year's Sailor Moon Rare Pair Week for me to really sit down and flesh it out. The setting takes place in a fictional Japanese corporation in the year 2018. However, as a writer who has never worked in companies with more than 30 employees and has been to Japan only twice as a tourist, there may be some… artistic liberties. That being said, I do try to be diligent with my research, and each chapter will include endnotes on the setting and background.

I will post two versions of this story online: an explicit version, which can be found on AO3 under Night_of_Gales (which also has illustrations for each chapter, a feature I can't offer here as ff dot net sadly does not support image embedding within the text), and a non-explicit (but still mature rated) version here for those who would prefer to eschew NSFW content. With the exception of the first two chapters, my plan is to post one chapter a week. As of today, I have a little more than half the story written. My hope is that this release schedule will help buy me time to write.

Chapter 1: Proposal

The sliding doors of the Lawson convenience store hissed open and Helios Fukushima walked in, the nipping spring air replaced by the shop's warm, enticing scent of freshly cooked food. Dressed in a plain but well-fitted business suit, Helios sighed softly, grateful for the reprieve from the cold.

"Welcome in, Fukushima-san!" came the clerk's salutation.

Hearing his name, Helios turned towards the voice. To his surprise, instead of one, three pairs of eyes greeted him from behind the cash register.

One pair of eyes belonged to the blue-haired Gyomoku Aoi, a cashier whose slender build and high cheekbones made them appear more fay than human, whom Helios had become acquainted with from his daily trips to his neighborhood konbini*. However, the other two were complete strangers; Helios had never set eyes on before. One of them had spiky magenta-colored hair and looked more at home on the cover of a punk-rock album than in his striped button-down Lawson uniform. The third was a tall blond who sported a red headband, the glint of chipped razorblades dangling from his earlobes lent a literal air of edginess to his persona.

Giving the clerks a polite nod, Helios continued with his business, but not before overhearing the blond whisper to Aoi, "Hey, Fish Eye, is he the one you were talking about earlier?"

Aoi nodded as Helios strode past them. What was that about? The white-haired young man wondered as he grabbed a pack of bread and milk for breakfast tomorrow. He didn't have to wait long to find out, however.

Walking up to the checkout counter, Helios was further surprised when the two strangers, the blond wearing the name tag "Satoshi Taika," and the magenta-haired fellow with the name tag "Toshiyuki Takashi," unexpectedly bowed deeply to him.

"You have our gratitude, sir!" they declared in unison, drawing glances and stares from the other customers.

A dumb-founded Helios blinked. "Um, may I ask what for? I just came to buy breakfast, that's all…"

"For saving me that day!" Aoi chimed in, which only drew a further look of confusion from Helios. "You stood up for me when that old lady was giving me a hard time, remember?"

"Oh," Helios mouthed as the mention of that incident succeeded at jogging his memory.

The episode Aoi was referring to took place two weeks ago. Unlike today, Helios was dressed in winter running pants and a hoody sweatshirt. Having just returned from an evening jog he had stopped by the Lawson to grab a bottle of water. The store was empty save for himself, Aoi, and an older middle-aged woman who was in line ahead of him. Idly watching the people in front of him, Helios thought the woman must have asked for something, as Aoi leaned in, straining to hear her.

"Could you say that again, please?" they requested. From where he stood, Helios could not hear what the woman said, but it seemed neither could Aoi. "I'm so sorry, ma'am, could you please say that again?" they asked again, awkwardly.

There was an impatient sigh and the woman said something, but her voice was barely audible to Helios. Aoi, judging by their pinched eyebrows, did not seem to have heard her clearly either. Not wanting to ask the customer to repeat herself a third time, Aoi nodded in feigned understanding. "A café latte? What size would you like?"

At this, the woman seemed to have finally lost her patience, and her voice suddenly rose such that Helios could hear her loud and clear. "Oh, for goodness sakes! A medium! I've told you twice already!"

"I am so sorry! I'll get it right away!" Bowing, Aoi hurriedly retrieved the cup the woman wanted and handed it to her as she slapped a bill on the counter.

Despite the clerk's apology, the woman seemed to have forgotten her earlier reticence and continued, "Honestly, first it was dealing with those young dawdling fools at work, and now this! I've been coming here to buy the bottled UCC Café Latte for years, but ever since the former store clerk left while I was away on business, I've seen it here only every once in a while. The only close substitute is the café latte from the machine."

Looking down at Aoi, who stood with their head cowed, she insisted, "I can't help but feel that the quality of service here has gone down since the staffing change. You need to be more diligent and restock the shelves accordingly. Young people these days—"

"Excuse me, ma'am," interjected a calm, polite voice, "that's not the clerk's fault."

The woman and Aoi both snapped around in surprise to look at Helios, who stood firm and met the woman's gaze. "The items in convenience stores are monitored daily, so if demand goes down then so does the supply. While you were away on your business trip, that item was no longer being purchased regularly at this location. The logistics system recognized the decrease in consumer demand and as a result, fewer quantities were allocated to this location. You can certainly request it to be restocked to its previous volume, but to insinuate its absence is due to laziness on the part of the employees is unfair."

The woman's mouth gaped open, seemingly too stunned to speak. Seeing an opportunity, Aoi handed the woman her change. "I'll be sure to talk to the delivery driver tonight and ask him to restock the coffee you like as soon as we can." With a clear air of wanting to conclude this conversation, Aoi said, "Have a good night, ma'am," and took a deep, 90-degree bow.

With no one to support her, the woman huffed, before collecting her change and coffee cup and storming off to the coffee machine. Helios paid for his water, and by the time Aoi counted out his change, the irate customer was gone.

At last able to breathe a sigh of relief, Aoi bowed again, this time in gratitude, towards Helios. "Thank you for speaking up for me! I wasn't sure how long she would've continued chewing me out had you not said something."

Helios shook his head. "I think she has had a bad day. I can sympathize with her, but it still doesn't excuse her for taking it out on you. Please do not take her words to heart."

The blue-haired clerk smiled back and glanced at the door, "I know. She claims to be a regular, but I haven't seen her much lately. Hopefully, she'll start to patronize the Seven-Eleven across the street instead," Aoi said with a scowl and wrinkled their nose, before looking back to the pale-haired man across the counter.

"I'm impressed though. Most people don't know how our distribution system works. Have you worked at a konbini before?"

"Oh, no, I haven't," Helios admitted with a wave of his hand. "But my company does a fair amount of logistical work, and this was a bit of knowledge I picked up while working with my supervisor."

"What company do you work for, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Chiba Medical Corporation. I just moved to this area about a week ago to be closer to work."

Aoi clasped their hands together. "Oh! I've heard of that company before! Or rather, I've heard of their CEO," they added sheepishly. "Didn't he change his family name to his wife's name when they got married? I must've been in kindergarten when it happened, but I remember reading about them in a magazine one time, and how they went through a lot of drama before they could get married. Gosh, what was the name of the CEO again?" Aoi touched their chin, not noticing Helios's knowing smile.

"Mamoru Tsukino. His birth name was Chiba. People still occasionally address him by that name, which is understandable, as it is part of our company's name. But he doesn't mind and usually makes a joke out of it to crack the ice."

Aoi's thin brows shot up. "Oh, so you work pretty closely with him, then?"

Helios chuckled. "I'm his executive assistant, so, yes."

"I see!" Aoi let out an exclamation. "You don't look much older than me! It's really impressive that you've already made it into that position."

Before Aoi could continue, a small group of college students walked in. The interruption also reminded Helios how long he'd been in the store and he glanced at his watch.

"I'm sorry, I need to be going. I have to get ready for work tomorrow." Turning towards the door, he nodded to Aoi, "Good night!"

"It was nice speaking with you and thank you again!" Aoi responded. Before Helios exited the door, Aoi hurriedly added, "Before you go, could I get your name?"

Helios looked over his shoulder, and as the door began to close behind him, answered, "Fukushima. Helios Fukushima."

Back in the present, Helios looked from Aoi to Taika and Toshiyuki, "So the three of you are friends, then?"

"You bet!" Satoshi answered, pulling in Aoi and Toshiyuki and the three flashed three fingers in unison, something they clearly have practiced many times together. "We're the Trio! The three of us have known each other since middle school and have been best buds ever since."

"Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye needed a part-time job, so I roped them into working here. They will be helping me with the afternoon shift," Aoi explained as they bagged Helios's purchases.

Taking the plastic bag from Aoi, Helios's brows drew together. "Fish Eye, Tiger's Eye, Hawk's Eye…are those nicknames you gave each other?"

"We sure did!" said the spiky-haired man who goes by Hawk's Eye. Gesturing to Aoi, or rather, Fish Eye, he explained, "It all started because of Fish Eye's given name, Gyomoku.* We decided since we all have an animal in our name, we'd go by Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye."

Here, Aoi leaned forward with a smile and whispered furtively, "You can call us that too if you'd like! To be honest, I prefer 'Fish Eye' or 'Fish' more than my given name. The English word sounds way cuter, don't you think?"

Helios hid a smile. As someone with a degree in English Literature, he couldn't help but be amused that someone was requesting to be addressed as a sea creature in that language. But then again, Helios reminded himself, his own given name was far from a traditional Japanese name.

A name is an expression of identity. As long as it makes them happy, what is the harm in that?

"If that's what the three of you prefer—" he began, but a buzzing noise from his pocket cut Helios short.

Pulling out his phone, a look of concern flashed across Helios's face when he saw the caller ID on the screen. Bidding the Trio a hasty goodbye, he ducked back out into the cool March air, the phone raised to his ear as the voice of Mamoru Tsukino came through the line.

"Hello? Fukushima-kun?"

"Yes, Mr. President," Helios answered as he turned a corner and up a stairwell towards his apartment, away from the noises on the street.

"Sorry for calling you so late, but I'd just gotten off the phone with Asanuma. He's had a bit of an emergency."

"Is he all right?" Helios asked, alarmed.

"He's fine, but his mother had a hypoglycemic episode. She fell unconscious at home and injured herself in the fall. Thankfully it's not life-threatening, but she had to be hospitalized. He has to rush back to his hometown to look after her," Mamoru explained. "He will be gone for a few weeks, starting tomorrow. During this period, I will temporarily reassign his tasks to others in the office, but there are a few tasks that I think you are best suited for. We can discuss this in detail first thing tomorrow morning, but I wanted to let you know at the earliest so that you are aware of the situation."

"I see," Helios stopped in front of the elevator, the purchases from the store hanging in the crook of his arm. "Thank you for letting me know. I will come to see you first thing tomorrow, then."

"Yes. I will speak with you then. Good night."

"Good night, Mr. President."

With a light tap of his finger, Helios ended the call and tucked the phone back into his pocket. Tapping once again, this time on the elevator call button, Helios waited for the carriage to arrive, but his mind dwelled on the conversation he just had with Mamoru.

Asanuma-san is the General Manager for the Tokyo office. Filling his shoes won't be easy, Helios thought to himself, a corner of his lips tugging back worriedly.

With a "ding", the door of the elevator opened, and Helios looked up, his orange-amber eyes lit by the light of the carriage.

Nevertheless, I will have to do my best and give it everything I have.

"The train is approaching Shibuya Station. Shibuya Station. Passengers for Shibuya, please be ready to exit on the right."

At the conductor's announcement, Helios—with one hand on the strap-hung handle—gingerly tucked away the book he had been reading into his work bag as the crowded train carriage gradually rolled to a stop. With the precision of a finely tuned instrument, the doors of the train opened exactly on the minute it was projected to arrive and Helios joined the throngs of other morning commuters flooding out onto the platform.

Navigating his way through the bustling station, he emerged from the underground tunnel into a gleaming glass and steel high-rise tower that housed Chiba Medical Corporation. Helios took the elevator to the floor housing the Administration Department. Smiling and greeting coworkers along the way in the noisy open office, he did not pause for conversation. Instead, he strode into his office, a small room adjacent to the President/CEO's, and proceeded to unpack his bag and check his emails.

When the clock struck nine, Helios stood up and with the same punctuality as the train he had arrived on, a figure walked past the door just as he arrived at the threshold of his office.

"Good morning, Mr. President," Helios said with a slight bow.

The man in front of him, with clear blue eyes and jet-black hair that was just beginning to gray at the crown and temples, turned around. Though he was in his late forties, Mamoru Tsukino still had the energy and mannerism of someone a decade younger. With an easy smile, he nodded, "Good morning, Fukushima-kun."

The light flickered on as the two men entered Mamoru's office, illuminating a large spacious room with floor-length windows, a hardwood desk, and a pair of sofas positioned on either side of a coffee table.

Settling into his chair, Mamoru chuckled as he pulled out his computer. "You're always so punctual. Makes me feel like an old man," he joked, then more seriously, "I hope you haven't been staying too late recently?"

Across the table from Mamoru, Helios took a seat in one of the two armchairs. "No, sir. Well," he paused before qualifying his statement, "not past eight p.m. this week."

At this, Mamoru's hand stilled, and he shot his assistant a disapproving look. "I am glad to see that that is an improvement from the 12-hour days you had been putting in before. But eight is still much too late." Getting back to the task of setting up his computer, Mamoru continued, "I know the concept of 'work-life balance' hasn't taken hold as much here in Japan as it has overseas, but I'd really like to see my employees live a more balanced lifestyle. It's healthier for the mind and the body in the long run. Trust me, I am a doctor after all," he raised a finger in the air as if to stress this last point.

Too polite to laugh, Helios nevertheless allowed himself to flash a broad smile, as he had heard this lecture many times before. Mamoru's management style was unusual by Japanese standards. Having trained as a physician and worked a number of years in the United States before returning to Japan to take over his family's business, he insisted that a company whose business motto is "to protect and extend human health" should first and foremost look after its employees' health.

That humanist approach to management had caused quite a stir, both in the media and within the company, when Mamoru first announced it. Yet, despite his ideals, Mamoru was also wise enough to know words alone were not enough. Mamoru knew many people took cues from him, the highest-level officer in the company, so he maintained a schedule of being in at nine a.m. and out no later than six p.m., least people feel obligated to stay because their supervisor is staying late.

That respect and consideration for the employee has made Chiba Medical one of the most sought-after companies for young people, especially those just entering the workforce. Helios, too, was silently grateful that he had the opportunity to work under such a thoughtful and progressive supervisor. He was more than happy to put in the extra effort… even if it meant being chided on occasion.

"About that matter from yesterday," Mamoru's voice brought Helios out of his thoughts. The dark-haired man retrieved a folder from his bag and handed it to Helios. "Asanuma outlined his projects and duties before he left. Most of them can be handled by the heads of the relevant divisions. The rest requires a bit more knowledge about the running of the office, and I thought you might be better suited to undertake them. Let me know if you have any questions."

Helios opened the folder and skimmed the pages. Most were relatively straightforward tasks, such as approving employee timesheets, managing office budgets, which Helios already had some experience with in the past. The last item on the list, however, caught his attention.

"'Supervise summer interns'… I didn't realize the interns were starting next week," he said, and for a fleeting moment, Helios thought he saw a look of sheepishness flit across the president's face.

"They are. I've also included their resumes at the end. As Office Supervisor, Morino-san will primarily be the one they'll be reporting to. However, I would encourage the interns to explore the various departments, to get to know our organization, and to do that, they will need your advice and guidance."

As Mamoru spoke, Helios flipped to the end of the stack of documents, which contained three neatly typed resumes.

Kyusuke Sarashina, Momoko Momohara, Lady Tsukino…

Helios frowned. Tsukino? Could it be… Looking up, his doubt was confirmed when Mamoru gave a small nod.

"In addition to taking on Asanuma's duties, I have one more proposition I'd like to request of you, Fukushima-kun." With his hands folded on the table, Mamoru cleared his throat and said softly, "As you've already guessed, one of the interns this year is my daughter, Lady."

Mamoru glanced at a framed photograph on his desk. It was a family portrait, and featured Mamoru and his wife as a young couple, along with their daughter, who stood no taller than Mamoru's knees. Dressed in a white frilly frock, she looked straight at the camera with a wide grin on her face, a brightness that matched the pink fluffy hair fanning out from behind the twin cone-shaped buns on top of her head.

Turning back to Helios, Mamoru insisted firmly, "I don't want you to give her any special treatment or favor. She is to be treated as any other employee. That being said," the raven-haired man's tone softened, "please, keep an eye out for her. Lady is a very hard-working and independent young woman, but she has a habit of bottling things up and doesn't always reach out for assistance."

"Of course," Helios answered quickly. "I will guide her as I do all of my other reports. Please leave it to me."

"Fantastic. I know I can count on you," Mamoru exhaled.

Half an hour later, after reviewing some other unrelated business matters, Helios exited Mamoru's office. Though he had initially felt confident in taking on Asanuma's roles, as the idea of supervising his supervisor's daughter settled in, Helios couldn't help but wonder how this arrangement would work out.

Back at his own desk, Helios pulled out Lady's resume once again. She had gone to Waseda University in Shinjuku and had graduated as a straight-A student. Those qualities certainly backed up the President's assertion that she is a hard worker. Yet, a nagging feeling of doubt remained in the back of Helios's mind. Having good grades alone does not mean a person is a team player or is easy to engage with. And with only a resume and an outdated photograph as the sole basis of his knowledge of this particular new report, Helios was not sure what to expect.

The following Monday, as Helios walked into the lobby of Chiba Medical, his eyes caught on the three distant figures standing near the receptionist desk, listening to the bespectacled Morino-san. One was a young woman with purple hair done neatly in a bun, and though she at first appeared calm and collected, the small action of her lightly chewing her lower lip belied her giddiness and apprehension. Next to her was a young man with short forest-green hair. His inscrutable expression made him appear disinterested in what Morino-san was saying, but as Helios drew closer, he saw the young man's eyes were furtively scanning his surroundings and taking everything in.

As for the third figure, Helios knew who it was as soon as he saw her silhouette. Sporting the same pinecone-shaped buns, instead of fluffy pigtails her hair now cascaded down her back in two waist-length tails. Hearing Helios's footsteps, the figure turned, and Helios found himself staring into a pair of wide ruby eyes. The sight made him stop in his tracks as his mind registered the rest of her appearance.

She was half a head shorter than him, barely reaching one and a half meters in height. She wore a matching platinum gray pencil skirt and jacket over a silk blush-pink blouse with a bow at the collar, clothes that, despite their modest cut, were clearly tailored to perfectly fit her petite frame. Cherry lips and a small but well-proportioned nose were positioned on a heart-shaped face, framed by lightly defined cheekbones. Her pink bangs hoovered over her eyes, and Helios watched as she blinked one time at him, as she too seemed to be taken by surprise.

"Good morning, Fukushima-san!" Morino said, snapping Helios out of his trance. She then gestured to the three interns. "This is Momohara-san, Sarashina-san, and lastly" she glanced at Helios knowingly, "Tsukino-san."

The interns bowed as they greeted him and once introductions and pleasantries were made, Helios smiled and said, "Normally you would be reporting to my colleague, Ittou Asanuma, but due to a family emergency, I will be taking his place for the first few weeks of your time here. In his stead, I would like to welcome you to Chiba Medical Corporation. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask me." Looking to Morino, he said "For today, Morino-san will show you around and will help you with the onboarding process. Once the onboarding is complete, you'll give a short introduction to the Admin team at an all-staff meeting."

"Thank you, Fukushima-san," the three interns responded in unison and bowed once more before Morino stepped forward.

"Very well, everyone. I'll first give you a tour of the building. As you all probably know, Chiba Medical is the largest privately owned medical device company in Japan. The building we are in is the Tokyo headquarter, but we also have offices in Osaka, Nagoya…"

As Morino spoke, Helios walked away towards the elevator. With his back to them, he did not notice Lady's eyes lingering on him for a time before she too, turned back to the task at hand.

Helios did not see the interns again until late afternoon. As the clock struck four, the staff in the various Administrative divisions put down their tasks, stood up, and turned their attention to the group of interns as they were led in by Morino-san. Walking out from his office, Helios glanced to his right, but the door to Mamoru's office was closed, which usually meant he did not wish to be disturbed. But today Helios wondered if the President didn't also want to put some physical distance between himself and his daughter, least his presence influence the reception Lady will receive.

When Morino-san saw Helios had joined them, she clasped her hands. "All right, looks like everyone in the department is here! Everyone," she turned and looked to the three interns behind her, "please step forward and give a little introduction about yourself."

"Um, like what?" Kyusuke raised a brow. "Could you be a little more specific, please?"

The corner of Morino's lips twitched as a few people in the audience hid silent laughter and smiles behind their hands, but she continued primly, "Well, let's start first with your name. Then where you're from, which school you went to, what your goals are… that sort of thing."

The interns looked silently at one another for a moment, before Kyusuke shrugged and took a step forward. "All right, I might as well go first." Clearing his throat, he continued in a clear, unhurried voice, "I'm Kyusuke Sarashina. I was born and raised in Tokyo, and I graduated from Musashi University in Economics. My goal…" Kyusuke twisted his lips, "I guess my primary goal is to get a good job," he said as a fit of giggles erupted from the audience, "but in the long run, I'd like to help build the company that I work for to bigger and greater heights."

The audience clapped politely, and evident by the lingering smiles on people's faces, Kyusuke's casual and easy-going personality has already endeared him to many of his new colleagues.

Taking a step back, Kyusuke nodded at Momoko, who took a deep breath and faced the audience.

"Hi everyone," she said, her voice coming out as a light squeak as she gave a small wave of her hand. "Ah, my name is Momoko Momohara. I'm from Yokohama. I also went to Musashi University and my degree is in Management. My goal is to become a successful administrator. I will be in your care!" She finished with a deep bow, which was met with another healthy round of applause.

As the clapping died down, Lady stepped forward. With her hands clutched in front of her waist, she looked demure and it seemed to Helios her figure appeared even more diminutive than when he first laid eyes upon her. Yet, despite her clear nervousness, there was determination in the upward tilt of her chin and her squared shoulders. This was a girl, no, a woman, Helios corrected himself, who had come here with a mission.

And with that, Lady began, "Hello everyone, my name is Lady Tsukino." A ripple of hushed whispers spread through the room at those words, but Lady continued as though she saw or heard nothing. "I attended Waseda University, and I graduated earlier this year in Commerce. My goal is to be accepted into an MBA program, and to become an exceptional leader and CEO in order to help improve people's lives."

Though she said those words with utter sincerity, fits of audible chortling broke out from various pockets in the audience. Helios narrowed his eyes and raised his hands in applause. The rest of the office followed suit and Lady, like Momoko, gave the audience a deep bow, before she stepped back to stand along with her fellow interns.

After Morino-san spoke a few more words and finished off the meeting, the staff drifted back to their tasks. Helios, however, did not leave, and instead approached the group.

"I think that's the last item for the interns today, is that right, Morino-san?"

The bespectacled woman nodded. To Helios, she asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to say to our interns today?"

"No, but if any of you have any questions, please feel free to ask," his eyes drifted to Lady, but she did not seem to have noticed. Instead, Kyusuke raised his hand.

"I have one question. On our welcome package, it says we're expected to write a three-page proposal and give a presentation at the end of our internship. I think it was called a 'Pitch'? Can you give us a little more information on that?"

"Certainly," Helios responded. "The 'Pitch' was an idea our President created about ten years ago. We would like for you to come up with an innovative idea that the company could develop as a product or other business-related venture. The reason for this exercise is to help you develop your critical thinking, teamwork, and presentation skills, as well as to assess how well you understand the company's product and mission. Members from the senior executive team will sit in on the presentation and the report will also be reviewed by your supervisor. If the idea for the pitch and the presentation are both well received, the company will extend a hiring offer to you."

Kyusuke twisted his lips once again, something that Helios was quickly beginning to realize was a quirk of his. Flashing a quick flitting look at Lady's direction, he asked, "So that means only Momohara and I have to do this?"

It took Helios a second before he realized what Kyusuke meant. Quietly but firmly, he said, "All interns are expected to work together and present the Pitch as a group, Sarashina-san. It is to be a collective team effort."

Standing off to the side, Lady did not move or make any sound, but the resolve in her posture from earlier seemed to have deflated, and her chin was now drawn in, towards her chest, her eyes fixed to the floor.

Exhaling a soft sigh, Helios addressed the three interns, "Are there any other questions?"

When they shook their heads, Helios extended his hand to Morino. "Very well. Feel free to come see me if you have any further questions. In the meantime, I will have Morino-san bring you to your desks."

With the interns thanking him for his time, they parted ways. Helios began the walk back to his desk. In an open office, the conversations of those around him drifted in, unbidden. On a normal day most of the chatter was work-related or on mundane subjects, but today the topic of conversation seemed to have shifted, and they all seem to focus on one particular person.

"…From what I heard she came here because she couldn't get into business school, that she needed the work experience…"

"…Can you believe she actually said that? 'Help improve people's lives!' It sounded like something straight out of a commercial…"

"…her being an intern is purely a gesture. She's his only child, the company will be hers one day anyway…"

The more Helios heard, the deeper his frown grew. The chattering finally stopped when he entered his office and with a "clack," closed the door.

She'd been here barely a day and already everyone is talking about her, Helios shook his head ruefully. Though he had his initial reservations about Lady, it seemed it was not her personality, but rather her presence and the effect it would have on the other employees that he should have been worried about.

Tapping his finger on the table, Helios contemplated whether he should speak to Mamoru about this. But the fact that Mamoru had his office door closed for much of the day was a signal he wished to put some distance between his role as President and the new interns. It was, after all, only Lady's first day here. Perhaps the dust will settle soon, and she will be accepted into the fold? Helios thought to himself. After all, there is a fine line between protecting an employee from power harassment and coddling the President's daughter.

He recalled how she'd started off her introduction with such determination, but it had dissipated in the face of the none too subtle sniggering she had received in response. He only hoped her resolve was not so easily extinguished, and that she would continue to hold her head up high in the days ahead.

Author's Notes:

*"Konbini" is the abbreviation for "konbiniensu sutoru" (lit. "convenience store"). Due to limited space availability, stores rely on computerized distribution systems to tailor their stocks to the local area and often make changes in inventory by taking into account the local demographic, weather, events, etc.

*Gyomoku in Japanese literally means "fisheye". Though the name is uncommon, examples of people with this name include the 20th century Japanese poet and calligrapher, Gyomoku Usami. Takashi contains the character for "hawk" (taka) while "Taika" sounds similar to the Japanese word for tiger, "taiga". Helios's last name, Fukushima, means "blessed island". This is a nod to another name for Elysian, that of "Isle of the Blessed".