A/N: And I'm back with a new chapter of the AWA Stories! Glad that everyone enjoyed the recently concluded mission fic and enjoyed it's epilogue. I'm excited for this chapter because it will feature some characters that I've been wanting to add in this fic for a long time.
Number01BlazblueFan - The Grima Arc of Awakening will happen in the second part of the Awakening Mission Fic sometimes later.
And with that done, let's get this chapter started!
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters appearing in this fic.
-Normal Earth-
Uzumaki Villa, Japan
It's early in the morning as we head over to the Uzumaki Villa. Currently at the Orange Dormitory, it's tenants are doing their usual daily morning routine. At the lounge, we see Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha having a conversation at a glass table while drinking coffee while we see Meliodas getting a soda from a nearby vending machine.
In the middle of the lounge, we see Yuusuke Urameshi and Allen Walker sitting on two separate chairs with the latter reading a newspaper while on an orange couch, we see Izuku Midoriya, Fumikage Tokoyami, Guy Cecil and Koutarou Inugami watching TV about the news.
We then go to the room where Chizuru Tachibana, Yuuki Asaba and Connie Springer resides and as expected... the room is empty. Until the bathroom door opens and out came a refreshed looking Chizuru. The blonde is currently wearing a white t-shirt with a Trivago logo over a black long-sleeve shirt, brown pants, brown socks and white sneakers.
Chizuru let's out a nice breathe, "Wooh~ That was a nice bath." he mused. He then walks towards his work desk with a neatly, designed hamster habitat where his pet hamster, Curtis Pawpower resides. Curtis is currently lifting a mini-barbel, which is still heavy for an average hamster but not Curtis. Chizuru then looks at his pet, "Looking good, Curtis!" he praised, "Check out those muscles." he pointed out as Curtis placed down the mini-barbel and began to flex it's muscles.
Chizuru then opens his drawer and pulls out a piece of paper, "Let's see here..." he spoke, "... today's deliveries are..." he says as he reads the list with his eyes when he noticed something, "... Eagle Jump?'' he read in annoyance, "Ugh...'' he groaned, "My boss sure loves to torture me." he grumbled, "Doesn't he know that there's one person that I can't stand in that place!" he complained, "Though she's not really a bad person but sometimes, she gets onto my nerves!" he muttered as he grabs his bag, "Well... better get to work." he said as he turns to Curtis, "See ya, Curtis, and tell Hamtaro and his friends, I said hi." he stated earning him a thumbs-up from his hamster.
And with that, Chizuru left the room via door while Curtis jumps out from his habitat and left the room via mouse-sized door.
As Chizuru walks through the halls, he came across Ricken alongside two boys having a conversation in front of a vending machine. The first boy is really short with a spiky, brushed-up dark blue hair with a small, spike ponytail and has red eyes. He wears a black & orange, zipped-up vest over a maroon, long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans with folded ends and red & black rubber shoes. This is Kamui Katsuragi.
The second boy has a short black hair and brown eyes. He wears a a black, white & yellow tracksuit jacket over a black shirt, black track pants with yellow linings and a belt, and wears black & yellow rubber shoes. This is Subaru Natsuki.
Chizuru then approaches them, "What's up boys?!" he greeted with a smooth voice.
Subaru turns to him, "Oh hey, Chizuru!" he greeted back, "Have you met one of the new recruits on AWA?'' he asked referring to Ricken.
Ricken then turns to Chizuru, "Nice to meet you, my name is Ricken and I'm from Ylisse." he greeted and then introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you, too." Chizuru greeted back, "I'm Chizuru Tachibana." he introduced himself.
"Oh! So you're Chizuru!" Ricken pointed out, "Kenji told me about you." he claimed.
"Really?" Chizuru spoke, "What did he tell you?'' he asked as Ricken looks away in response. Chizuru took notice of this, "Judging by that reaction, I'm pretty sure that Kenji told you a lot of wonderful things about me." he pointed out sarcastically, "Anyway... what are you guys up to?'' he asked.
"We're about to head to the Card Capital." Subaru replied, "Ricken seems interested when we told him about that place." he explained.
"Yeah! We're going to show him how awesome Cardfight! Vanguard is!" Kamui quipped with a grin.
Chizuru then turns to Kamui, "Aren't you and Aichi suppose to have a two-on-two showdown with Yugi Mutou and Joey Wheeler at ComicStop?'' he pointed out.
Kamui shook his head, "We were suppose to until we heard Joey got diarrhea for eating too much chicken parmesan." he explained, "So... I decided to kill time by assisting Subaru to show Ricken around at the Card Capital." he stated.
Chizuru facefaulted when he heard about Joey's current predicament, "What the hell is that guy thinking?'' he asked indecorously.
"Would you like to join us, Chizuru?'' Ricken offered.
Chizuru shook his head, "Sorry... but I had some delivery work to do." he replied, "Speaking of delivery... I better get going now as my first delivery is that fat lady's house at the other side of this villa." he stated, "The sooner I get to deliver her package, the sooner I can get away from her tantrums." he said as he walks off.
"See ya, Chizuru." Ricken said.
"Be careful out there." Subaru spoke, "I heard that she bought a pitbull recently." he warned as Chizuru responded with a thumbs-up.
The trio then watches Chizuru go when Kamui spoke, "Is it me or something feels different about Chizuru?'' he pointed out.
Subaru nodded, "Yeah... but I can't figure out what it is." he replied in agreement.
"What are you guys talking about?'' Ricken asked in confusion.
-BREAK-
Somewhere in Tokyo
Later that morning, Chizuru went on one place to another delivering various items such as new carving items for Cesaro Oohori at the wood shop, some new art utensils for Sai at the ComicStop and some new uniforms for Mami Tomoe at her cafe. Then Chizuru arrives at his final destination, no! not the movie, Eagle Jump, a video game company.
Eagle Jump Co., Ltd is located in Tokyo. The company building has a security feature where you cannot enter the office without scanning an employee ID. The building also has its own cafeteria for the employees' lunch breaks.
Most of the workers at the company are women, but it is mentioned that male employees also work there. Eagle Jump is not a large company, so they don't recruit often. It appears that the company recruits all year round and it is unknown what their recruiting standards are, but it seems that they support on-the-job training.
Employees are paid a salary every month, though the exact amount is unknown. Part-time employees are paid on an hourly wage. Evaluations happen annually, giving employees a chance to receive a raise or even a promotion. It is implied that the employees are paid lower than average, as part-time workers can earn more if they work overtime and over the weekends. Despite that, the promotion system and paid leave system seems to work, and few workers, if any, complained of their work environment.
Eagle Jump also has a custom where they sponsor company trips for their employees after releasing a product.
Chizuru has been to Eagle Jump numerous times before and he is quite known around the company. In fact... a lot of people at the company likes him due to his cheerful and funny personality, and his antics often amuses them. For some odd reasons, Chizuru is treated like an employee at the company despite not even working there, he even had his own employee ID... which for him is pretty convenient but it still baffles him to no end despite the obvious reasons.
Chizuru then enters the front entrance with a large box in arms, he then used the elevator to move up towards his designated floor. After exiting the elevator, he went straight towards the office's entrance door before using his ID on a scanner as the doors opened as he went inside where he came across a young woman.
The young woman has long, dark brown hair, she had cyan eyes, and a tan skin tone. She wears a dark-blue t-shirt with a butterfly motif, blue denim shorts over dark-brown tights and red & white rubber shoes. This is Umiko Ahagon, a programmer.
"Oh? It's nice to see you, Tachibana-san." Umiko greeted.
"Hey, Aha-" Chizuru was about to say when Umiko glared at him, "-I mean... nice to meet you too, Umiko-dono!" he squeaked in panic with a nervous grin.
Umiko's glare then vanished, "Another delivery?'' she asked.
"Yup! And it's for the usual suspects." Chizuru pointed out.
"We're currently on a break right now, so you might meet them in their cubicle." Umiko said, "You better hurry though if you don't want her to see you." she advised.
Chizuru shivered, "Crystal... thanks." he replied before walking off.
Umiko watches him go with a thoughtful look, "Is it me or he looks different?'' she said to herself.
Then Chizuru arrives at his designated cubicle and did the thing he knew best, "DELIVER US FROM EVIL!" he shouted with all his might.
"GWAAAAGHHH!" a voice shrieked.
Unfortunately for Chizuru, no one is at the cubicle at the moment, save for one girl. The girl has a petite frame and short stature, she has a long, light-purple hair tied in pigtails and has light-purple eyes. She wears a dark-blue uniform over a white dress-shirt with a pink ribbon-laced tie, dark-blue skirt, white socks and blue slipper-shoes. This is Aoba Suzukaze, a character designer.
Aoba then stood up and turns to him, "U-Um..." she spoke nervously, "... d-do you need something?'' she asked.
Chizuru then stares at her for a few minutes before speaking, "What's a middle schooler doing here?'' he asked rather bluntly.
Aoba then let's out a squawk, "What?! No! I'm not a middle schooler, I'm an employee here!" she exclaimed.
Chizuru then stares at her again for a few minutes before speaking, "The uniform?'' he pointed out.
"It's a suit!" Aoba exclaimed.
Then two young women enters the cubicle. The first young woman has long blond hair and light blue eyes. She wears a plain black, long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. This is Kou Yagami, a character designer.
The second young woman has purple eyes and short, dark purple hair. She wears a pink buttoned blouse with a scarf-like collar, black skirt and white slip shoes. This is Rin Tooyama, an art director.
Kou then noticed Chizuru and immediately recognized him, "Woh! I knew that shout is familiar." she spoke, "Hey, Chi!" she greeted.
Chizuru turns to her, "Yo, Yagami-dono, Tooyama-dono." he greeted back.
"It's nice to see you again, Tachibana-san." Rin greeted, "What are you doing here?'' she asked.
Chizuru presented them the box in his arms, "I had a delivery for you guys." he replied, "I came here but no one is around... except for this middle schooler." he stated while jabbing a thumb at Aoba.
"I told you I work here!" Aoba argued.
Kou snickered as Rin spoke, "Umm... Tachibana-san... Suzukaze-san actually works here." Rin pointed out.
Chizuru turns to Aoba for a brief moment before looking back to Rin as he spoke, "The uniform?'' he pointed out.
"It's a suit!" Aoba exclaimed as Kou bursts out laughing.
And with that, Rin explained that Aoba is eighteen years old and a high school graduate, and that Aoba has been working at Eagle Jump for a while now.
"I see... my mistake." Chizuru admitted.
"Um... Yagami-san, Tooyama-san..." Aoba spoke, "Who is he?'' she asked.
Kou then placed a hand on Chizuru's left shoulder, "This is Chizuru Tachibana!" she introduced, "The infamous delivery boy that we told you about.'' she pointed out.
"Who are you calling 'infamous delivery boy'?'' Chizuru demanded in annoyance.
"Eh?! That's him!" Aoba exclaimed, "But he looks far different from what you all described!" she pointed out.
Chizuru then glares at Kou, "What the fuck did you just tell her about me?!" he demanded.
Kou looks away, "N-Nothing important..." she replied nervously.
Then three more young women entered the cubicle. The first young woman has a long, dark purple hair that is tied up in a high-ponytail with a red ribbon clipped on. Her eyes are blue and her skin is quite pale. She wears a long sleeved, button up shirt with a red collar, paired with a matching red skirt. She also has a black ribbon with a gold brooch on her collar, black knee-high socks and white slippers with ribbons. This is Hifumi Takimoto, a character designer.
The second young woman has a short blonde hair kept up in two pigtails on the sides of her head, tied with small ribbons matching the color scheme of her attire and her eyes are light pink. She wears a white buttoned blouse with a cream-colored ribbon, red knee-length skirt, black socks and whit slip shoes. This is Yun Iijima, a character designer.
The third young woman has a short, brown hair, and has green eyes. She wears a blue hoodie on top of a yellow tank-top, black shorts with jagged ends and blue shoes. This is Hajime Shinoda, a motion designer.
"Hey, what's going on?'' Hajime asked. Then she noticed Chizuru, "Woah! It's Chizuru!" she pointed out.
"Hey, Chizuru! It's been a while!" Yun greeted with a smile while Hifumi just walks passed them and quickly sat on her desk, "What are you doing here?'' she asked.
Chizuru presented them the box in his arms, "Delivery... what else?'' he replied, "Seriously... it's the only reason why I come here." he pointed out in annoyance placing the box down the floor.
"Open it for us!" Kou, Hajime and Yun cheered.
Chizuru looks at them in annoyance, "You girls..." he grumbled.
Chizuru begrudgingly opens the box and began to bring out some items, "Shinoda... here's some junk to add in your collection." he said handing Hajime some boxes of action figures.
"Oh yeah! I've been waiting for this!" Hajime cheered.
Chizuru then pulls out a box of diet pills, "Iijima... your-" he tried to say but was cut off when Yun grabs the box of diet pills and quickly hid it behind her back, "I want to ask why your hiding that shit behind you but I value my life, so I won't." he stated with a blank look.
"Good." Yun said with a nervous smile, "That was close!" she thought.
Chizuru then pulls out a book of about expensive alcohols, "I'm pretty sure this belongs to Miss 'Who gives me the cold shoulder every time I come here' over there... so please give it to her." he pointed out making Hifumi flinched. He then handed the book to Yun, whom handed it to Hifumi, the blonde boy then pulls out a case of Red Gulls, "Red Gulls?" he spoke before turning to Kou, "Do you wanna die?" he asked indecorously.
Kou then snatches the case from him, "Hey! Red Gulls taste really good!" she argued, "It keeps me up at work!" she reasoned.
Chizuru rolled her eyes, "Welp! That's it." he mused, "All items are delivered...'' he says as he brought out a clipboard, "... so can one of you please sign this?'' he asked.
Rin, despite not getting anything from the package, decided to sign it in behalf of everyone. Aoba then spoke, "Um... do you often come here?'' she asked.
Chizuru tucks the clipboard in his right arm, "No... I only come here whenever I had something to deliver here." he replied.
Kou then spoke, "You are pretty much welcome to work here though." she claimed with a grin.
"I'm still in college." Chizuru pointed out.
"So? Once you finished college... you can start working here." Kou mused.
"How can you be sure that I'll working here once I'm done with college?'' Chizuru asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You're course is Computer Programming, am I right?'' Kou pointed out with a grin making Chizuru looks away in annoyance, "Besides... it's not like you haven't work on a video game before." she added.
"Eh?! You made a video game?!" Aoba exclaimed in shock.
Chizuru facefaulted, "Not really... I just helped a bunch of nerds by debugging their game." he clarified, "They credited me for the obvious reason." he muttered, "Anyway..." he says, "... as much as I love to stick around and chat, I had to get going before she sees..." he stated as he turns around only to come face to face with another woman, "... me." he finished, "Oh, fuck." he cursed with a blank look of annoyance.
The woman has a long, gray hair and amber-brown eyes, and wears crimson-rimmed glasses. She wears a white-loose v-neck blouse over a white top with black trims, calf-length maroon skirt, black socks and slippers. She has a woolen cape wrapped around her arms, this is Shizuku Hazuki, the director of Eagle Jump.
Shizuku smiled, "My, my... it's good to see you, Chizuru-kun." she greeted.
"Nice ta meet ya too, Shizuku-nee." Chizuru begrudgingly greeted.
Aoba turns to Rin, "Do they know each other?'' she asked.
Rin chuckled, "Tachibana-san is Hazuki-san's cousin from the mother's side." she replied.
"Eh?!" Aoba squawked in shock.
Shizuku then began to pat Chizuru's head, "Hehe... how is my little cute cousin doing these days?'' she asked.
"Don't call me, cute!" Chizuru complained. He then stood straight and struck a pose, "I'm a handsome stud~" he mused while slicking his hair back.
"You would be if your a lot taller." Kou teased as Yun and Hajime chuckled.
"Silence!" Chizuru exclaimed.
Shizuku chuckled, "By the way... do you have plans for the rest of the day, Chizuru?'' she asked.
"I had something to do later tonight but I'm free for the rest of the day." Chizuru replied, "Why ya ask?'' he asked.
"Nothing much... but there's something I want to talk about." Shizuku replied. Her face then turns serious, much to everyone's surprise as Shizuku rarely makes a serious expression, "About not telling any of your family members that you were in a coma some time ago." she pointed out.
This shocks everyone in the room even Hifumi is shock but Chizuru was taken aback the most, "Gulp... h-how did you know of that?'' the blonde asked nervously.
"Kazama-san told me about it." Shizuku replied.
Chizuru facefaulted, "That orange-haired tsukkomi-bastard..." he grumbled.
"Eh?! You were really in a coma?!" Hajime exclaimed.
"No wonder we haven't heard anything of you for a while." Yun pointed out in shock.
"Are you okay, Tachibana-san? What happened?'' Rin asked in concern.
Chizuru raised his hands, "I'm fine! I'm fine!" he reassured, "I just... climbed a post trying to fix some faulty wiring, got electrocuted, I fell down and hit the ground head first really hard." he lied as he can never tell them the real reason why he was in a coma.
"What? What the hell are you thinking?!" Kou scolded.
"You should have called an electrician for that!" Rin added.
Chizuru rubs the back of his head, "I was stupid and impatient at that time, so... yeah, I got nothing but myself to blame." he stated.
Shizuku then spoke, "Still... why didn't tell any of us about this?'' she demanded, "Do your parents even know you were in coma?'' she asked.
Chizuru gulped, "N-no...'' he squeaked, "But hear me out... I already had tons of guys worrying for me and I'm already feel guilty for making them feel that way, so I didn't tell any of our family members, so they won't get worried." he explained. He then realization hits him, "Okay... now I feel guilty for not telling them, so I'm sorry." he admitted and apologized.
Shizuku sighed, "It's okay... just don't do it again..." she spoke, "When I heard that you came from a coma, I was wondering if your doing fine.'' she stated.
"Like I said, I'm fine." Chizuru reassured, "Just go ask Renge, she'll confirm to you that I'm now okay." he said.
Shizuku sighed, "If you say so." she said. She blinks a few times when realization hits her, she then grabs Chizuru's shoulders, "Eh?! Renge-chan is here?!" she exclaimed in shock.
"Wow... way to change the subject." Chizuru muttered, "Y-Yeah... Renge is currently visiting me." he lied. After all, Renge is part of the AWA.
Shizuku then close to his face, "You must bring her here!" she demanded, "I haven't seen her in months!" she exclaimed.
"All right! All right! I'll bring her here tomorrow!" Chizuru exclaimed.
After that, Shizuku suggested Chizuru to stick around since he has nothing to do for the rest of day. He did get bombarded with questions and scoldings for getting himself in a coma. After that, Rin would request Chizuru to help them a bit by sorting some papers and delivering things to another office which he complied. Currently, Chizuru is at Kou's desk, checking out some character design.
"Woah... can't believe you guys are this far with Fairies 3." Chizuru complimented, "The crazy nerds would go bananas once this game comes out." he mused handing back the character sheet to Kou.
"Thanks... we're really working hard for this game." Kou said, "By the way... this character design is created by Suzukaze-san." she pointed referring to a character with pigtails.
"I can see why." Chizuru said with a blank look, "How long has she been working here?'' he asked.
"Quite a while." Kou replied, "She immediately started working here after graduating high school." she explained.
"Lucky for her." Chizuru spoke, "I had to go to college." he complained.
Kou chuckled, "Aoba is still new and a bit inexperienced..." she said, "...but she's a very hardworking girl." she pointed out with a smile.
Chizuru turns at Aoba on her desk, "I see." he replied.
After a few hours of work, the team decided to take a break and Chizuru used this time to get to know Aoba.
"Who knew that you'd get to work on a game that you'd admired so much.'' Chizuru mused, "Add that fact that your working under Kou, whom you admired, is also amazing." he pointed out.
Aoba nodded, "Hai! I don't know if it's fate or coincidence but I'm really happy that I get work on this game." she replied cheerfully.
Chizuru grinned, "You've got a good reason to get motivated on working hard for this game." he pointed out, "Unlike some other game companies." he said, "EA... cough... EA... cough...'' he mused.
Kou then peaks her head out from one corner, "Oh yeah! EA sucks! Good thing that Eagle Jump is different." she cheered before retracting her head back.
"You guys don't have microtransactions and loot boxes, so you guys are okay with every gamers' books." Chizuru pointed out with a grin.
Aoba chuckled, "Still... making a game isn't easy, so I had to work hard to make it look good." she said.
Chizuru nodded, "True... but you had to remember..." he spoke, "Creating a game is hard, really hard but as long you put your heart in it and had fun..." he says before snapping a finger, "... the results will be fruitful." he claimed with a smile.
Aoba smiled back, 'Hai!" she said in agreement.
Chizuru and Aoba had a fun conversation with each sharing their favorite games and stuffs. But unbeknownst to the blonde, Aoba is slowly gaining interest on him.
Is this bad for Chizuru? Yep! Is it good for us, readers? Hell, yeah!
-BREAK-
After a whole day of work, the group and the blonde decided to call it a day with the girls decided to have a night out. As Aoba, Kou, Rin, Yun, Hajime and Hifumi exits the building, Chizuru then got on his scooter.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us?'' Yun asked.
"I would love to but I need to help an upperclassman from my college with her doujinshi for the Comifest." Chizuru replied, "We'll be putting an all nighter for this, so wish me luck." he stated.
"Delivery, games and a now doujinshi...'' Kou counted, "... you sure are busy with a lot of stuffs." she mused.
"Shut up." Chizuru replied.
"It was nice meeting you, Tachibana-san." Aoba spoke, "I hope you come-by sometimes when not visiting Hazuki-san or having a delivery." she stated.
"No promises," Chizuru replied, "Well then... see ya girls later, adieu~" he said before driving off.
Aoba watches him go with a smile. Kou took notice of this and quickly wraps an arm around Aoba, "What's this? What's up with that smile? Don't tell me your crushing on him?'' Kou teased.
Aoba flushed red, "N-No!" she squawked, "I don't have a crush on him!" she denied.
"That's not good, Aoba-chan, he already had a girlfriend you know~" Kou pointed out with a teasing grin.
"Mou! I told you it's not like that!" Aoba exclaimed as Rin, Yun, Hajime and Hifumi let's out a chuckle.
And with that, the group made their way towards an eatery with Aoba lagging from behind in deep thoughts.
"Chizuru Tachibana...'' Aoba thought with a blush, "... I hope I get to see him again..." she mused with a smile.
Meanwhile back inside the building, we see Shizuku in her office. She is currently at her desk staring at a photo of her younger self and a toddler-sized Chizuru, she let's out a smile when Umiko enters her office.
"Are you glad to see that your cousin is doing well?'' Umiko asked.
Shizuku nodded, "Yes... seeing him healthy and fine took the load off my chest." she replied.
"By the way... have you noticed something different with your cousin?'' Umiko asked.
Shizuku chuckled, "You've noticed too, huh?'' she mused, "I don't think he's aware of it... but Chizuru seemingly gotten a little bit taller...'' she says, "... and his face... gotten mature." she said with a smile.
And that's that for this chapter! Hope you all enjoy the new chapter and the addition of the New Game! cast in this story! I know someone of you are looking for Nene Sakura but don't worry, she'll make an appearance. As stated in this chapter, Chizuru Tachibana is related to Shizuku Hazuki.
These are the characters that debuted in this chapter:
Kamui Katsuragi is from Cardfight! Vanguard
Subaru Natsuki is from Re:Zero
Umiko Ahagon, Aoba Suzukaze, Kou Yagami, Rin Tooyama, Hifumi Takimoto, Yun Iijima, Hajime Shinoda and Shizuku Hazuki are from New Game!
Anyway... Comiket was mentioned in this chapter... well, we'll having that in the next chapter.
Until then paalam!