Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Crossing Stars
Chapter Twelve: First Day
Kagome glowered at her computer screen. She known that Touya said he'd filed his claims on his own previously, but she'd wondered how he ever got any of them approved. All the paperwork was a mess and absolutely nothing was correct. About the only thing that was done right was the information the care had sent over to them.
"You," She shot the man a pointed glare. "Are an idiot."
He gave a hearty laugh at that, "I never said that I was any good at any of this insurance crap. Why do you think I hired you? I actually needed someone to fill the role for me."
She rolled her eyes at him as she set to work on fixing the documents. No insurance in their right mind would approve this claim the way it was now.
"You wrote 'I broke his ass' on the reason clause." Her eyes narrowed into thin slits, "On top of that you put the emergency response phone number on the contact page."
She really had to know if he was just screwing with her or if he just really didn't care.
"I don't like giving out my number to just anyone." He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But you gave it to me," She gestured towards Ohagi who was currently napping on her desk, nestled between herself and her keyboard. Clearly, her cat didn't want her working just yet. She continued, "You just tied it to his collar and told me to call you."
Touya cast her a wayward smirk that caused a familiar coiling of heat to pool in her stomach.
"I thought you were cute," He answered honestly. "So I wanted to hear your voice. I'm a simple man."
She had to question the sanity of a man who gave a virtual stranger his phone number because he thought the letters she'd sent him were cute. Then again, her own sanity was currently in question for taking a stranger's offer and picking up a job at his hero agency.
"I've got to start on my patrols. Once you're finished with that claim, you can do some organization with the archived files." He gestured towards a large, metal cabinet that's looked like it had t been opened let alone cleaned in decades. "I try not to cause too much damage but we still have to file claims every now and then. So work will probably be slow for you for a while."
She nodded in acknowledgement, "I'll figure something out if there's a slow period."
Worse case scenario, she could start by reorganizing everything. She could tell that Touya had thrown most of his documents in haphazard heaps with no sense of organization whatsoever.
"If Nagisa from dispatch calls in, just tell her to do her damn job." Touya casually reminded her, "She'll pawn calls off on anyone she thinks she can sucker into it. So don't pay her any mind." He pressed on, "Also we shouldn't be getting any visitors this high up. If any women come up here, they're intruders. Have security remove them immediately."
The sharpness of his voice made her pause.
"Do fans break in that frequently?" She'd known that he had an issue with the public fawning all over him, but she'd had no clue that it was this bad.
His expression turned dark, "It's common enough."
Clearly, that was a sensitive subject for him.
"Understood," Kagome answered. "Be safe out there."
She offered him a short smile, "I'd rather my employer come back in one piece."
His lips curled up into a smirk, "I'll be back before you know it." Touya reached down to scratch under Ohagi's chin, "I've got an extra mouth to feed after all."
Kagome laughed at his reference of them sharing custody of her cat.
He turned on his heel and made his way towards the door.
"Oh I almost forgot," Touya cast her a grin from over his shoulder. "Head to the third floor when you get the chance. I've left you a temporary card so you can use the elevator but Kanna in the processing department will make you an official ID badge with a security clearance. You'll be able to use that ID to gain access to the working floors and your dorm floor."
"Your security is surprisingly tight." She commented to herself rather than him.
Touya's smirk sharpened, "I like to keep out the trash. See you tonight, kitten."
With that he gave her one last parting wave and made his way into the elevator.
Kagome blinked.
Kitten?
Was that his new nickname for her now?
She felt her face flush at the insinuation. Well at least now she knew how he saw her.
Kagome turned her attention back to the insurance claim. By now Ohagi had shifted positions and laid across her keyboard. His tail twitched and his emerald eyes flickered with his desire to play.
Clearly, this was going to be a challenge.
"Mister, either you can move yourself or I can smother you in affection. Your pick." She fleeced her fingers as she waited to see what her cat would do.
Ohagi rolled further on his back and his tail swished even faster.
Kagome grinned, "You asked for it!"
She gathered the feline up on her arms and pressed her cheek against his face, planting kisses on him incessantly.
Ohagi let loose an annoyed meow before he leapt out of her arms. He darted to the far corner of her desk. His eyes had narrowed into slits and he meowed again, voicing his annoyance with her show of affection.
"Hey I asked you to move first." She grinned at him.
With Ohagi out of the way—and now sulking at her—she could finally get started.
Taking care of the claim and submitting it had taken a surprising amount of time. Just about everything Touya had filled in was either wrong or maliciously compliant. He had a certain mean streak in him that seemed to come out both in his personal life and his work life.
Kagome sighed as she leaned back in her seat. Her gaze drifted towards the panoramic glass that filled the whole wall, stretching from her office all the way to the end of Touya's. Being on the tenth floor, the view was quite nice without making the people below look like ants.
She'd seen plenty of agencies in movies and in real life where the pro would put their office on the top floor of the building. The usual belief was that it gave the a bird's eye view of the city. However she also felt that for some heroes, it was a way for them to feel as if they were above everyone else. With Touya, she didn't get that vibe from him. The position of his office made it seem as if he wanted a clearer view of the people he was protecting. From the soba joint he seemed to love so much to the little taiyaki stand sitting in front of their building. Something about him was more personable than most heroes.
Kagome blinked as she spied a crowd of women screaming and squealing outside of the agency. They held signs in their hands with 'I Love Dabi' and 'Please Marry Me' painted across them in red ink. There was something oddly disturbing in the sheer fanaticism in which the women pursued Touya with.
When he'd saved her at the café, she'd been shoved to the ground with so much force that she was honestly terrified that she'd might get trampled. She'd managed to escape the crowd but the thought of being near those women terrified her. She could understand why Touya was so stringent with his security measures.
Kagome glanced at Ohagi who had now reclaimed his spot on her keyboard.
"I think it's time I went to get my ID card. Want to come with me?" She opened her arms to him.
Her cat gave her a suspicious look before his tail flicked in annoyance.
"Okay, suit yourself." She laughed as she made her way towards the elevator. At hearing the bell chime, Ohagi leapt off of the desk and darted towards her. He swiftly climbed on to of her shoulder and made himself comfortable.
Her smile widened, "That's what I thought."
She'd talk to Touya later about the insurance claim and security protocols. Right now, she had an ID to get.
Her gaze drifted towards the city beyond the elevator's glass window.
She hoped that Touya would be alright.
