Track for this chapter:

Silver Line, by Yiruma, from the album Stay In Memory

"...Well YOU'RE a HORRIBLE SECRETARY!"

"WELL YOU'RE A HORRIBLE AGENT!"

"WELL YOU'RE A HORRIBLE FRIEND!"

"RYO'S A HORRIBLE BOSS!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT! YOU SLAPPED ME!"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR BEING SO...SLAPPABLE ALL THE TIME!"

"YOU ACT LIKE A GIRL!"

"I AM A GIRL!"

"NO, YOU'RE A LION!"

"YOU'RE A LION!"

"NO, YOU ARE A LION! I SAID IT FIRST!"

"YOU'RE A LION!"

"NO, YOU ARE THE LION HERE!"

"NO, KYOUYA'S A LION!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU BRING UP LIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BROUGHT IT UP!"

"I QUIT!"

"GOOD!"

"FINE."

Tsubasa stormed down the staircase and away from Hikaru, though he knew very well that he could not quit.

But somebody snagged his collar as he walked out the door.

"LET GO OF ME, LES!" he yelled. Les slapped him into silence, stunning him into sanity. They stared at each other for a moment.

"I'd say ah'm sorreh, but ah ain't. Ye needed that."

"What do you want?"

"You yellin' at that secretary again, ain't ye boy."

"It's her fault. She's a lion."

"I thought Kyouya was the lion."

"You don't even know Kyouya."

"How deh ye know? I might know yer dad, fer all ye know. Ah don't, but still." Les grabbed the collar of Tsubasa's jacket and dragged him into the building, to where a shadowy alcove caved in to meet the darkness.

"Wait here." Les walked away down the corridor and Tsubasa was left alone to stew in the shadows.

A few moments later, he walked back down the hall with Hikaru beside him. She looked angry. Tsubasa glared at her and she glared back.

"Nah lissen here", Les said sternly to Tsubasa. "Give yer seat te the lady."

Tsubasa grudgingly gave up his seat. Hikaru took it angrily. Everything they had done for the past week was done angrily, it seemed.

Les took Hikaru and Tsubasa's hands in each of his (presumably so they would not slap each other), and looked them each in the eyes hauntingly, as if this mattered, and this alone. In the dark alcove it was easy to believe that nothing existed outside the confines of its tapered arch, and time had flowed past them and left them in this one moment for a time.

Les drew them closer together and began to speak softly. "Lissen here.

"This compny's fallin' apart, an' ah know you's both been real real fed up wit it lately. Ah know ye feel like they's pushin' a weight on you that ain't yers ta bear, an' they's expectin' too much 'o ya to be fair. Yer right. They are.

"But neh matter hah ye figure it, ye got this weight an' it ain't liftin'. Ah know yer tired an' ah know yer fed up, but look on tha bright side: ye don't hafta bear tha weight alone. Ye got each other, an' ye got me."

"I don't want to work with him", Hikaru said, shooting a glare at Tsubasa.

"And I don't want to work with her!" he shot back.

"LISSEN HERE!" Les roared, and then regained his composure. "Lissen here, nah. Hik'ru. He din't steal yer shoes. It wazzat red-headed lillun, Gingka. And lissen here, Tsubasa. It ain't her fault yer in this mess. You two's the one what chose ta take this job, an' you two's the one what chose ta stay here. An' you two's the one what has ta deal wit' your choices. Yer tha pillar 'n ground 'o this comp'ny. It needs you ta survive, an' ye might's well learn a lil' bout teamwork, frustration, an' endurance along tha way."

Hikaru and Tsubasa bowed their heads meekly.

"That's better. Nah say yer sorry. Make up. Bury tha hatchet, kids, and try ta look out on the day wit' a bit more initiative. If ye kin git through tha day wi'out no more fiascos, ah'll take ye both te the bonfire tonight."

Despite himself, a small smile came onto Tsubasa's face, and he could see Hikaru looking a bit more perky. "Sorry", she muttered.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Thass bett'r. Nah go find some checks ta balance or customers ta handle. Go on, git wit' ye both." He let go of their hands and they exited the alcove.

Time restarted and space began to exist again; Hikaru slipped behind the desk with a slight smile and Tsubasa returned to Ryo's office to see if he had managed to stay awake. The promise of a bonfire that night bounced through their heads, and the thought of warm marshmallows and hot cocoa warmed them to the very core; with something to look forward to, Tsubasa thought, any day can get better.