Crescent Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Life Best Kept Secret ❯ Find out about me ( Chapter 3 )

Note to Disclaimers: I do not own Crescent Moon so don't sue me.This is standard by now, I hope. If you try to sue me…then, well…that's pretty stupid as I have nothing to give anyone. NO SUEING!

A/N: This fic will remain A/U and the ratings are definitely for a mature audience. There is cussing, violence and nudity to come. If there are any limes/lemons, they will be posted on Mediaminer.org. Also, I don't know if I mentioned the ages of the characters, but they are as follows: Mahiru, Mitsuru, Keiko are 20. Akira is 19. Nozomu is 22 and Misoka is 24. And yes, it's ok and legal—at least in my story—for Mahiru to work at the place she's working (a place that serves drinks…*cough*). Thank you. Enjoy.

Word Coding:

`Thoughts' and someflashback type thingies

“Speaking”

Everything else

A Life best kept Secret (Chapter 3)

Mahiru found her eyes becoming increasingly heavy as she made her way towards the bar. From where she was, the bar appeared fairly cleaner; cleaner than most—but the jury was still out in her mind. As she stepped through the doors she changed her mind. It wasn't a bar at all. It was a spacious opening that looked more like a restaurant than anything else. There were tables sprinkled about here and there with the main bar up towards the front of the room but off to the side. In the middle there was a stage with flashing lights and a glittering curtain. `This must be a show or talent agency or something…maybe even a really weird club…' her thoughts trailed off as a woman approached her. The woman appeared friendly but scary with her heavily applied makeup and fake lashes. She had bright red hair and wore a weird leather looking outfit that Mahiru found too tight. Her feet were covered in heels that looked painful to walk in and on her hands were a pair of curious looking biker gloves. Her bright, fiery red hair was also pulled back into a rather sloppy looking clipped-do that Mahiru found oddly attractive on the woman. Mahiru waited in her spot as the woman came to a stop in front of her. “Hi, you must be the new worker, Mahiru Shiraishi?”

 

Mahiru nodded. “Yes, I am.”

 

“Hm…Rupert said you were cute. Well, anyway, I guess I should start you off. Your first shift will be tomorrow night, all right?” The woman replied. “By the way, the name is Ms. Moro; but you can call me Lucy.”

 

Ok,” Mahiru answered as she followed the woman, amazed that she could walk in such high heels. “Um…Lucy, what is my uniform?”

 

Lucy laughed. “Well, most girls don't like our uniforms—they are a little risqué, but I don't think they're too bad. In any case, this is what they look like.” She suddenly shoved a pair of clothing in Mahiru's face.

 

Mahiru blanched at the outfit. In her hands were a short leather skirt and a top made of something that appeared vinyl. “I…um…Lucy…”

 

“You can wear any shoes as long as they're slightly dressy; absolutely no tennis shoes or sandals!” Lucy continued on as though she hadn't heard Mahiru's plea. “You can wear your hair back in a bun, pulled back in a ponytail or even in a sloppy clip, like mine. Long hair will just get in the way, so don't even bother. Also, it seems Rupert has taken a sudden liking to gloves so the workers are required to wear them now—stupid, in my opinion. In any event, you start training today and believe me, there ain't much to it. It's all just the basics like taking orders, filling orders, usual customer service type stuff except in a really annoying outfit.”

 

Mahiru's wide eyes softened a little as she nodded. “Ok…um…I guess I start now?”

 

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. “Sure thing! Let's just head on over to the back. I have a spare pair of heels that you can try to wear for today. Anyway, let's start, all right?”

 

“Sure,” Mahiru replied with a weary and somewhat tired smile.

 

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, for the most part—with the exception of Mahiru tripping on her heels a few times as well as dropping a few cups. For the most part, however, she did fairly well, most of her balancing of records and such lending to her skill. As she waved goodbye to her new co-workers—all who seemed thrilled to have her—she contemplated a good way of keeping her new job a secret from Nozomu. He hadn't appeared to have sense when she got her job at the record store; he found out through Akira and her father. `But with no connections to this place…he shouldn't ever know!' With a decent amount of new found relief, Mahiru made her way home, content but tired all the same. As she entered the door that evening she found Nozomu waiting for her at the table. A tinge of worry and terror struck her at the chance that he might have found out; forcing a smile, Mahiru took a seat across from her brother who was idly sipping tea and reading the newspaper. Taking her own cup into her hands—Nozomu had prepared one for her—Mahiru took a sip, relishing as the hot liquid soothed her slightly aching throat. Leaning back into the comfortable cushions of the chair, she sighed, a deep sigh of evident sleepiness.

 

Nozomu arched a brow. “Tough day at work?”

 

Mahiru nodded, trying to play it cool. “Yeah…Akira worked me harder than ever today.”

 

“You're kind of late today, aren't you?” He asked, unassuming.

 

She smiled again, her eyes sliding shut at the same time. “Yes…about that…well, Nozomu…I've decided I need tutoring for Chemistry and well, I need to find a decent tutor. My teacher did the deed tonight…but he said I need to find someone else who can do it at a far more reasonable time.”

 

Her older brother looked relieved. “Thank the heavens. I thought maybe it was something else. You seem awfully tired today. But then again, I suppose Chemistry tutoring does take a lot out of someone. Anyhow…you'd better get to bed Mahiru. You have school tomorrow and work, if I remember correctly. Misoka and I will be out on business trips every now and then as well, so Akira, Mitsuru, Keiko and you will be managing the store, all right?” She nodded again, this time seemingly more unenthusiastically than before. “Well, off to bed then. Good night Mahiru.”

 

Waving to him in a sleepy manner, Mahiru managed to pull herself up to go to her room, practically dragging her feet the entire way up the staircase. The house sounded strangely quiet despite the fact that there were crickets outside as well as the distant shouts of children staying up late and barks of dogs. Nevertheless, Mahiru barely made it to her bed before passing out for the evening, coincidentally forgetting to set her alarm clock. As a result, the next morning she could do nothing but curse herself to the ground as she looked at the clock; it read 12:00 PM. `Great,' she mused as she rolled over, blocking out the offensive rays of sunlight. `I missed Chemistry class again…no wonder I'm not doing so well…' Sighing again, she forced herself out of bed and into the living room where there was a note lying on the coffee table as well as a pair of keys and some money. Picking up the note, Mahiru scanned the neatly handwritten letters. The note was simple in explanation as she processed it.

 

Lil sis,

 

I've gone on that short business trip with Misoka as of today. I'll be back in three days time. I trust you enough to leave my car keys here with you. There is money for gas, food and anything else you need in that pile. Be safe. I've also asked Akira and Keiko to keep and eye on you while I'm away. If you wish them to sleepover during my absence, feel free to have it so. Love you.

 

Nozomu

 

She blinked, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. `What is it with leaving and business trips all of a sudden?' Shrugging her shoulders she made her way towards the bathroom, figuring she could at least be to work on time since it didn't happen for school. Her mind was slowly wandering around the ways she would get to work while she was at the record store; she did actually have tutoring and extended classes for chemistry lab. Balancing school, work and her home life, Mahiru found that she was going to have to make the best use of her time or she would not be able to do what she needed to. She sighed. `I really could ask father to pay for everything…but he's already done so much since mom died…and he's really very busy teaching Nozomu the business…no, I can't. I have to do what I have to do.' She was washing her face rather slowly when a sudden thought struck her. `I know! I can carry my stuff with me and then change right before work…and hopefully no one will see my new uniform or suspect.' With a small congratulation to herself, the young blonde haired woman made her way to her bedroom to change for work. She selected a pair of normal looking black pants, a plain pink long sleeved t-shirt and a decent pair of tennis shoes. After changing into her outfit for the afternoon, Mahiru grabbed her new uniform and borrowed heels, shoving them tightly beneath her school books. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she dashed out of the house, barely grabbing a piece of toast before leaving.

 

The entire time she ran to the store, which wasn't far from her school, had her thinking of her tasks for the day. `I wonder what I'll be stocking today. I hope it's not the foreign section…I just don't understand some of that stuff…and I don't want any…help.' The thought of having to ask Mitsuru for help was something she wasn't willing to do at the moment. Her mind always went into overdrive when it came to her silent, brooding co-worker. Shaking her head vigorously, Mahiru burst through the back door into the loading dock area, barely managing a missed slap for Mitsuru by her backpack. The enraged youth only stared as Mahiru yelled an apology before disappearing into the changing room for her apron and tools. At that precise moment Mitsuru was mulling over the fact that Misoka had left him in charge of the shipment needs, such as phone calls, pick ups and drop offs. He was even more bothered by the fact that Misoka insisted that Mahiru accompany Mitsuru in order to gain further experience in her job field. The green haired young man hissed as she reappeared in the doorway, her blonde hair tousled from a hasty change and her uniform slightly askew. It took her a minute to realize that he was giving her a bewildered look, which caused her to take in the state of her dress.

 

“Oh!” Straightening herself out and smiling embarrassedly as Mitsuru rolled his eyes, Mahiru greeted the grouchy young man. “Good Afternoon Mitsuru.”

 

“Yeah, and what of it?” He snapped as he went back to staring at the keys in his hands. He noticed Mahiru looking at him sourly as she stuck her nose up at him. Feeling his face aflame, Mitsuru spoke. “Hey, girl, you have to come with me today. That stupid Misoka is on a business trip with your prick brother, and we have to take care of all the shipping and loading of CD's and stuff.”

 

Mahiru blinked, ignoring the insults to her brother. “Um…so we are supposed to…go in the truck, then?” Mitsuru snorted. “Fine, whatever. Let's just go. I wish this day would end already.”

 

“And I don't want it to? I'd rather be six feet under than here with you the entire day!” He yelled as Mahiru winced at his tone, her hands over her face. “Let's go!”

 

Her eyebrows creasing, Mahiru balled her fists together. “Well, I at least want to TRY to get along today, Mitsuru.”

 

“Like I care what you want, stupid woman,” Mitsuru replied as he practically ripped the door open.

 

“Is it safe for you to drive when you're so angry?” Mahiru ventured to ask as she opened her own door before stepping in and buckling her seatbelt.

 

“That won't affect my driving!” He almost screamed at her as she put a finger to her ear to block out his constant yelling. He only felt his eyes blaze up more at the gesture. Shoving the key into the ignition, he pressed the button to open the docking gate before zooming out of the garage, his hands gripping the wheel so hard that Mahiru could have sworn they were white. “Just shut up and don't say a thing, you hear?”

 

Mahiru nodded, too annoyed to say anything anyway. Turning in the direction opposite to her co-worker, she sank down into her seat, arms crossed and her face a mask of boredom. `This so sucks…' She wasn't so sure she'd make it through the day; therefore, surprise washed over her when they pulled into their last loading schedule for the day. Mitsuru was busy talking to the shipping personnel that he hadn't bothered to ask her whether she wanted to know about it. Mahiru simply sat in the truck, her eyes slightly heavy as she thought about work that evening. Her feet throbbed in anticipation of wearing such high heels again, especially in her new uniform and around many guys. `It's an exclusive club after all…though I don't know what that stage is for; but I do have an idea.' She blinked away the first signs of sleep as she heard Mitsuru reseat himself in the vehicle, muttering and cursing the whole way in. However, only when he put his foot to the pedal did Mahiru awaken from her dreamy state as the ignition was revved and the loading dock door was opened for them. She watched as Mitsuru waved to the man before turning away to the window to stare at the scenery, once again, until everything was moving so fast she couldn't focus. Naturally, when they pulled into the docking area at their record store, Mahiru jumped out before Mitsuru could say anything, eyeing her watch furiously. She barely made it to the clock out area but she was fumbling for her timecard the entire way there. Mitsuru eyed her with curiosity as she shoved the card in the mechanism, grabbed her bags and scrambled out the door, her shouts of farewell reaching his ears, though faint.

 

Bringing a hand to his head, Mitsuru scratched his hair in irritation as he watched the door she'd just exited through. Unbeknownst to her, Mahiru had dropped what appeared to be an article of clothing on her way out—or at least Mitsuru thought it looked like clothing. However, when he picked it up, the silky material slipped through his fingers instantly and Mitsuru blushed deeply, thinking he had discovered a pair of spare underwear. Before he could stop himself or think “logically” about what he was doing, he had picked up the cloth again, eyeing it with sudden interest. `Does she actually wear silk underwear…? This is…nice…it's very…soft…' He had just started opening the piece of silky cloth when Misoka and Akira burst in, unannounced. Mitsuru dropped the cloth again, this time trying to seem as though he hadn't noticed it. A little too late, however. Misoka reached for the cloth and then turned to Mitsuru.

 

“What is this?” He asked nonchalantly.

 

Mitsuru shrugged. “I don't know.”

 

“Weren't you looking at it just now?” Misoka questioned again, still showing no outward signs of expression or emotion. Even his tone was blank. “Is it yours?”

 

“NO!” Mitsuru snapped rather nervously as he continued to pretend that he'd been checking the inventory in.

 

“Where's Mahiru?” the older man queried, glancing around for the blonde haired young woman. “Isn't she supposed to be working with you today?”

 

“She left, okay? She clocked out already, and that was on the floor when I got here!” Gritting his teeth, Mitsuru felt as though his face had been set on fire as his hands clamped down—harder than necessary—on his knife.

 

“You didn't move it out of the way? Hm…and…what exactly is this?” Misoka opened the cloth to its full form. “It certainly is not underwear, right?”

 

“Yes, it is!” Mitsuru shouted before he could control himself, his body suddenly feeling extremely jumpy and jittery. `Damn fox…he's so fucking sly, just like a damn fox!'

 

Akira, who had been quiet during the interrogation, suddenly let out peels of laughter. “Mitsuru, what were you doing looking at someone's underwear? Are they Mahiru's? Do you have a crush on her?”

 

The aqua haired youth hissed through his teeth at his younger co-worker as Akira smiled obnoxiously. “What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you and that stupid blood-sucking vampire supposed to be on a trip?”

 

Misoka simply adjusted his glasses. “Well, yes, we are. Nozomu needed some extra paperwork from Oboro's office, so yes, we had to come back to pick up the necessary documents. On the other hand, Nozomu is not a blood-sucker. You must learn to respect your co-workers, understand?” Mitsuru bristled as Misoka and Akira took their leave, the younger disappeared first. As Mitsuru was turning back to his work, Misoka whistled to him. “Oiy, Mitsuru, by the way, this is not a pair of underwear—it's an apron. But thank you for confirming my already apparent suspicions.”

 

Mitsuru felt his jaw drop as he retrieved the cloth. He practically ripped it open and indeed, it was a beautifully embroidered silk apron with heavily stitched writing across its front. In bright blue letters was the name `Mahiru,' and he could have sworn it looked mighty familiar. But instead of looking further into it, he shoved the apron into his pockets and went back to work, cursing the whole time. `I really need to stop drinking those caffeinated drinks. They're making me hallucinate…damn girl…' Nevertheless, as he moved onto the next box of CDs, he realized, in slight bewilderment for the second time that day, his fingers curling around the silky cloth in his pocket. `Damn it all to freakin hell!'

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Mahiru blew out an embarrassed breath as the older woman returned to her, a smile of triumph on her ruby lips. “Mahiru, my dear, we had an extra. So don't worry about it, okay?”

 

Instead of going with the flow as the red haired woman had suggested, she sulked, her hands in her lap. “Oh…I'm so sorry Lu! I can't believe I dropped it! I was so sure it was in my bag!”

 

Lucy simply smiled, patting Mahiru's tousled blonde hair. “Don't worry about it girlie. Anyhow, you'd better get to serving.” As Mahiru made her way towards the throng of people, Lucy shouted at her. “By the way, nice job on the make up! Good luck!”

 

Blushing a little as she made her way towards the crowd of people who were screaming and thrashing about, Mahiru momentarily thought about the make up she had applied. A touch of rouge to her cheeks to give them a nice pink tinge; a light splash of mauve sat comfortably on her eyes with a thin layer of black liner underneath and atop her lashes, which held a thick layer of mascara; and a dab of carnelian was spread across her lips. `Yeah,' she mused. `I feel like a hooker…or a night girl…or whatever it should be called.' Pumping herself with as much enthusiasm as she possibly could, Mahiru made her way towards the first table where a man was waiting in anticipation. Bracing herself in the high heels that were already hurting her feet, Mahiru gave the man a sweet smile. “Hello sir. What can I get for you tonight?”

 

The man, who couldn't have been more than 30 years old, gave her a small nod. “You must be new here. I don't remember seeing your pretty face around.” Mahiru blushed brightly as the man laughed. “Well, a martini on the rocks would be nice and could you give this note to Lucy for me? She and I have been meaning to talk for a while now.”

 

Flustered, Mahiru nodded and went to her next customer, somewhat in a daze. He seemed polite enough in her mind but the rest of the crowd appeared relatively young—and boisterous. Sighing in slight frustration, Mahiru threw her shoulders back and headed towards the front of the floor where there was a particularly loud crowd of young men hitting a table. “Hello, I'll be your waitress tonight. What can I get for you?”

 

One of them turned to her, smiling mischievously. “I'd like a piece of ass, if it's available.”

 

Insulted, Mahiru simply granted him with a tight lipped smile, though her head was swimming with confusion. “I'm sorry, it isn't. What would you like to drink?”

 

The one who had just spoken turned away, muttering obscenities. To his right, a young man with black hair nodded. “Ignore him. He just tends to get drunk fairly easily. However, he'll have Lucy's usual elixir—tell her it's for Jim—and I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea, thanks.”

 

Glad that he was more polite and proper, she nodded before moving onto his friends. “And you, sir?” He barely looked at his, his hair hidden beneath his hat as he pointed to the menu. Mahiru strained as she leaned over his shoulder to see what he desired. He looked as though he was rather distracted for some odd reason. “Oh, a Demon Drop? Would you like it heavy on the Everclear?” He shook his head. She waited patiently for the rest of the men to order before repeating it for assurance. “So that would be Lucy's elixir, a Long Island Iced Tea, a Demon Drop, a Screwdriver and a round of Tequila shots with some Kirin Ichiban Beer. Your orders will be up in a few minutes.”

 

“Thank you again, miss,” the polite man responded. As she began walking off, the young man with black hair grabbed her wrist. “By the way, Mahiru, I didn't think you'd recognize me. But I didn't know you worked here.”

 

She blinked as she took a closer look at the man. “Hokuto?” He smiled. “Oh! Hi, how are you?”

 

“Fine, and yourself?” He replied cheerily, his dark eyes dancing.

 

“I'm all right. I just started working here. I've been in training and today is my first real shift. I apologize for not saying hi!” She blushed profusely when he waved away her embarrassment. “Well, I'd better go get your drinks. It was nice to see you.”

 

With that said, Mahiru disappeared behind the counter to make the drinks for the men, aware that Lucy would be making one of them. Beside her, Lucy was mixing a strange concoction as Mahiru took out the Everclear to pour into the man's Demon Drop. She felt her face aflame as she saw Hokuto and his friends watching the stage intently. She, too, was rather curious as to what was so entrancing about the stage, but she was so busy that she didn't have time to look as Hokuto's groups' drinks were placed on a tray and whisked away. She barely registered that the men had moved to a more private area, surely to discuss business affairs, Mahiru concluded. The club she was in was rather classy and private looking, a place where big business people hung out. She was looking at her schedule and organizing her work days with school when Lucy popped up beside her. Mahiru gave a slight jump as the older woman looked at the little organizer in the blonde's hands. Raising a brow, Lucy took out her own clipboard, which held a pen and what looked like and address book. Mahiru peered at it from the side of her eye, curious all of a sudden.

 

“What's that Lucy?” She inquired as she placed her pen down for a minute.

 

“I have an organizer, you know, for important notes and things. I'm still trying to get my Master's in Psychology. This place helps pay the bills so…you know how it goes,” Lucy answered with a wink. “How about you?”

 

“More or less the same,” she said as she pulled out a piece of paper from her apron. “By the way, the man over there, in the corner, asked me to give this to you. He said something about needing to talk to you.”

 

Lucy's eyes traveled to the corner, suspiciously for a moment; however, seconds later she smiled and waved. “Thanks. By the way, that's Yama, one of my colleagues. We were supposed to get together to discuss a project last week but it didn't work out. I told him we'd talk here on my break.”

 

With a small nod of encouragement, Mahiru sent Lucy on her way, assuring her that everything would be fine. Mahiru kept her eyes glued to her schedule as she realized that she would be working at the club Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for half the day. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday she'd be working at the record store and she would also be attending school full time. As she looked at her time sheet she frowned. `This is going to take some work…if I want to have a life and do well in school…plus the tutor…' She blanched when she remembered that she had yet to find a tutor. `I need one to convince Nozomu and Father.' Her mind in a whirlwind, she barely had time to think when Lucy came and ushered her into the back for her to clock out. Mahiru glanced at her watch. `Oh no! It's already 10:30 PM! Thank gosh Nozomu isn't here to know how late I'm getting back!' Shoving her clothes in her bag, Mahiru made a mad dash for her car. She saw a few straggling drunks exit the club doors as she drove off, but paid them no real mind as she was eager to be home and in her bed. When she arrived home she saw the message machine beeping with messages, most which were probably from Keiko and Nozomu. Instead of checking them she walked straight past the machine and into her room. Tossing her stuff on the floor, she changed into her pajamas and plopped onto the bed, hugging her pillow tightly as she fell asleep, oblivious to the message being left at that precise moment.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Mitsuru stared at the phone, willing it to break as he slammed it onto its receiver, his cheeks a brilliant shade of red. He couldn't believe he'd actually called her. He'd left a message about her piece of clothing—Misoka's orders. But what was more perturbing was the fact that she hadn't answered her phone. He'd been told by Keiko—a very reliable source—that she stayed up late and woke up late, too. But she hadn't answered her phone and it was barely 10:40 PM, which he thought was a decent time to call someone who usually stayed up until 12:00 AM on a daily basis. Cursing at the contraption, Mitsuru settled for fuming about his night at work tomorrow. `It's Tuesday…and we're going to have a Chemistry project due soon…I just know it,' he thought bitterly as he shot his Chemistry book a bored look. Outside he could see the moon perched high in the sky, glowing—it was a full moon. His eyes stared at it for quite some time, not sure why he was so engrossed with it. He felt like something was missing from this scene as he continued to silently watch the moon from his little bedroom. Downstairs he could hear Akira bouncing about, most likely listening to music on headphones while cleaning or cooking, whatever it was that Akira did on a daily basis. Oboro's room was silent next door as was Misoka's. Nozomu hadn't ever decided to live with them, especially since his father had remarried and Nozomu had been cursed with a little sister. At least Mitsuru thought she was a curse—at first. But lately, every little thing she did caught his eye; in class, at work, when they were walking to work, when she was doing things with Keiko—everything. It bothered him.

 

Sighing in annoyance and anger at how soft he was becoming in his thoughts, Mitsuru crossed his arms over his chest as he kicked his bed. `I can't stand her!' Just the thought of her enraged him and he had to hit his head on his desk to keep from breaking something. Defeat overtaking him, he slipped into bed, unplugging his phone incase she checked her messages within the next few minutes. As his head hit the pillow, Mitsuru could've sworn that he heard Akira answer the phone and say “Hi Mahiru” in his usual perky voice. Shutting all the noise out, the aqua haired youth buried his head under the covers as he tried to block out all thoughts of his new found infatuation. Anything that had to do with her would drive him mad, he knew. His strange attraction to her—which he denied at all ends of his logic and heart—was beginning to become apparent whether he realized it or not. He was as clueless to everything, especially the fact that Akira had been standing outside his door when Mitsuru had cursed her name in frustration.

 

As for the hyper active youth, his suspicions were only confirmed by what he heard. Part of him wanted to rush and alert Keiko of the news, but the clock to his left told him tomorrow might be a wiser time to do so. Even for the brown haired young man, he found the thoughts of school looming over his own head to be a tragedy as well. He was a grade below Mahiru, Keiko and Mitsuru but was in some of their classes due to his intelligence. It almost didn't feel like they were in college, especially since neither of them was yet 21. Misoka and Nozomu were 21 and over; it was expected that they did things that younger people couldn't do. Nevertheless, Akira felt like something was amiss as of the late, particularly with Mitsuru. He'd noticed certain things, and Mahiru had even mentioned it to him—she'd been working at the store for at least half the semester now. She had seemed genuinely concerned and Akira was forced to wonder what was happening with his friend. Placing the cordless on its cradle as well as his headphones on the desk near his bed, he too slipped into bed. His eyes took in the moon briefly before settling down into his own sheets, his mind occupied by his conversation with Mahiru the day before.

 

“Akira, I've been meaning to ask you something,” Mahiru said as she tapped his shoulder.

 

“Sure, anything!” He'd replied as casually as possible while he led them to Oboro's office. Once inside, he turned to her. “What is it Mahiru?”

 

She bit her lip in nervousness as she looked around. “Um…is Mitsuru working to hard or something…? I mean…I've noticed that he's been pretty tired…and the other day well, I…I could have sworn I saw him almost collapse from cramps in his legs or something.”

 

Akira blinked—he'd noticed too. Despite that, he waved his hand at her, not sure what to say about it. “No, Mitsuru is fine. He just tends to overload on the amount of boxes he carries in, sometimes. That's the most likely cause. Was that…all?”

 

Twiddling her fingers, Mahiru nodded before disappearing outside the door. Once she had gone completely, Akira peeked outside to catch a look at Mitsuru. Indeed he stood there, leaning against a stack of boxes, sweating a little too much for someone who had started working only an hour prior. Raising a brow, Akira pondered Mahiru's words, trying to decide whether he should ask Mitsuru about it or wait until Oboro returned to gather some information. Mere minutes had passed before he figured he'd wait. Sighing, he returned to work, his eyes catching a brief glimpse of Mahiru talking to Mitsuru, who looked infuriated. However, all thoughts of his co-workers died as Keiko came up to him, her smiling face clouding his thought process.

 

Shaking his head at the memory, Akira buried himself into his covers as sleep managed to overcome him.

TBC

(Yay! The 3rdChapter has been completed. I hope everyone like it, more or less. I had a lot of fun writing, despite the fact that it was somewhat difficult to accomplish. There will be more Mitsuru torture in future chapters…perhaps not in insane amounts like a humor story since this is a more mature story—at least I think it is—and it would just defeat the purpose of it. Teen Titans fic was erased from my sister's computer so…I have to go in search of a backup on my disks…hopefully it was too far along that I'm going to have to rewrite the whole damn thing. I doubt it though. Well, that's all for now. Chao. Hope you enjoyed the fic and please R&R, if you'd like. Thanks.)

Chocomintswirl