Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a long day at the Charyman trading firm, and sadly, the day was barely halfway over. Feeling thankful for her long-awaited lunch break approaching, Chika found herself briefly staring out the office window as she steadily tapped her pen against her desk. Perhaps it was her growling stomach, but she was beginning to feel anxious. Working in the Purchasing Department wasn't easy-- all forms of budgeting had to be taken into account, and occasionally she often felt like she was at war with the budget she was left with when it came to office supplies. She tensed up as she recalled one of her first disasters placing supply orders.

When she first began working at the firm, she made a terrible mistake and purchased a very cheap brand of paper that caused a lot of excess bleeding on print jobs. To everyone else, it was a rookie mistake... to Chika? It was a disaster she'd never let herself live down. The tapping of her pen became a little more aggressive as she thought about it. The young woman could feel a large amount of pressure weighing down upon her, and she was supposed to be trying to relax during her break.

"Hey, Chika, did you pack any extra pickles in your lunch today?" One of Chika's co-workers snapped her out of her nervous trance as they hovered over her desk. "Your home-made pickles are great! I'll trade you a couple of my sausages for them." 

Chika, relieved to finally have a distraction, nodded, and cheerily reached into her bag, digging for her bento. "I think you'll like these radishes. My mom grew them in the garden back home..." Her expression and tone slowly changed as she realized her bento wasn't in her bag. Digging through her thoughts, she tried to recall why it might not be in her bag... when suddenly, she realized:

"Oh no... I set it on the table when I was looking for my keys this morning..." She sighed, "I completely forgot to bring it... I'm so sorry." 

"Hey, no worries, Chika..." Her co-worker frowned, "I don't have much, but I could-"

Chika held up her hand, interrupting her co-workers train of thought. She shook her head solemnly. She didn't want to accept their food-- after all, she knew they must have been hungry as well. "I might grab something from the vending machine on my next break but-"

"Oh no you don't!" Her co-worker chuckled, interjecting Chika is the same regard, "I don't want to hear that. Remember what happened last time you skipped out on lunch?"

Oh yeah, the time she fainted in the heat of the summer this year after carrying office supplies to all the departments... how could she possibly forget? Her face turning red, she looked away slightly. 

"You know," Her co-worker said, now munching on a hamburger steak from their bento, "I'm pretty sure there's a dude in Accounting that brings in his own bento boxes that he sells to anyone who wants one. If you hurry, he might have some left over, maybe?" 

Chika sat for a moment, debating on whether or not she should head that way... but before she could come to the conclusion that she wasn't going to bother a stranger about getting lunch, her stomach growled loudly and made the choice for her. With pink cheeks, she stood up next to her snickering co-worker, and scuttled out of her department at a quickened pace. 

Making her way up the stairs to Accounting's floor, she realized how seldom she really interacted with anyone outside of her department. Perhaps not an unusual thing-- she hadn't quite been at the firm for a year, and she mostly hung around the Purchasing workers. Almost all of them were older than her-- a good chunk of them significantly older, and close to retirement. She secretly hoped that they'd be getting a few new workers-- maybe closer to her age, so she wouldn't feel as lonely as often as she did.

"It would be nice to be able to have a few co-workers closer to my age... I know there's plenty in other departments... maybe I should try to interact with them more?" She thought, as she entered the accounting department. 

To her surprise, there was quite the crowd of people around a young man who was giving out small boxes left and right. Without thinking, Chika found her legs scuttling over there in hopes of getting one herself. Trying to peek over the crowd that had gathered, she overheard various compliments from nearby workers.

"Looks good as always, thanks Anai!" 

"I can't wait to sit down and eat this!" 

"You're the best, Anai!" 

"Thank you so much for the meal!" 

Finally, as she carefully inched her way though the slowly parting sea of employees, she found herself face to face with the young man selling these bento boxes. 

"Oh, hey! I don't think I've seen you before!" He said, a sweet chime to his voice, "I'm Anai! Did you want to buy one of my lunches?" He smiled, "They're only 500 Yen!" 

"Yes, Please!" Chika practically yelled, she was so hungry. With a quick motion, she handed him a small coin, grabbed the bento, and scuttled out of the office as quickly as she felt appropriate for work. Looking back over her shoulder after a while, she suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment. 

"Oh NO! I didn't even THANK him!" She felt her heart sink into her stomach. "I guess I could give him a proper thank-you next time I see him... Uhg, but first, I need to eat!"

She practically flopped down at her desk as she re-opened her email to check for any updates on office supplies that might be needed by different departments. Noticing a new email from R&D, she sighed, opened up the bento, and then the email. 

"Let's see... it says they're out of toner in 3 of their printers and they don't have any to replace it? That's not possible, I just placed an order for some two weeks ago... It should have been delivered by now... let me make sure they checked all the storage closets in their department... it could have gotten misplaced..." She muttered to herself, as she took a bite of the sausage that was carefully tucked away in the bento.

Suddenly, Chika felt her heart stop. Looking down at the bento box in front of her, she could suddenly feel her eyes begin to water... something about this food... tasted just like home. It wasn't quite like the lunches her mom used to make for her when she went off to school with her older sisters, but there was something very similar. There was... as corny as it sounded, a lot of love put into this cooking. As Chika quickly began to devour the contents of the bento, she knew deep down that she couldn't even compare her own cooking to this... she had to become a regular, and somehow, make sure she got a lunch from Anai every day! 

... But first, she had to thank him properly. 

------------------------

It was closing time at the office, and like everyone else, Chika was fairly anxious to get home and spend her time detoxing and relaxing for the remainder of her evening. She bundled herself up in her windbreaker, and quietly changed her shoes before she walked out of the locker room. Looking around the main entryway of the office building, she watched as other department workers began to make their way to the exit-- some rushing in order to catch their train. After a short time, she finally spotted Anai, and waved to him. 

He waved back politely, but continued walking. Chika felt a slight skip in her step as she scuttled over to him.

"Anai!" She chimed, grabbing his attention again. 

"Oh, uh..." 

"Chika." She bowed her head politely, "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier... I guess I was really hungry!" She laughed, scratching the back of her head.

"It's nice to meet you. What department are you in?" Anai asked, as the two began to walk through the doors together. A brisk, Autumn breeze blew by, which sent a shiver down both of their spines. 

"I'm from Purchasing." She smiled, "I drop supplies off to all the departments now and then, but I normally don't have a lot of time to chat..." 

"I understand. Work keeps us all fairly busy, after all."

"Yeah..." 

The two were silent for a moment, causing the air around them to tense up slightly. Unsure of what to say, Chika finally began to speak up again. 

"Actually, I... earlier, I meant to..." She looked down at the ground, feeling a bit sheepish about it. She wasn't sure why, but she felt as if complimenting his cooking the way she wanted to might be a bit excessive. If she compared his cooking to her mothers, would he be offended? Or, perhaps, more or less, disturbed by such a comment. Especially considering how emotional bringing up her mother made her... She didn't want to suddenly start crying around him! 

"Your cooking, I just... wanted to say that..." Chika took a deep breath, "Your cooking was really good! I'd love to learn how to cook the way you do! I usually pack my own lunch as well, but I'm nowhere near as skilled as you are!" She smiled, "I actually really like that brand of sausages you used-- they have a distinct flavor to them! Have you tried this other brand, though? The one with the cute character on the packaging? I think they're delicious-- a little more expensive, but totally worth the price you pay for them!" 

Suddenly, Chika felt her face turn bright red. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry! I kinda rambled on like that, didn't I?" 

"You're fine." Anai's voice sounded a bit colder, when he spoke.

"Haha!" She rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry about that! Anyways, what I was trying to say was-"

"If you'll excuse me, I really have to get going." Before Chika could even say goodbye to him, Anai was already briskly walking away.

With a sinking feeling in her chest, Chika began to make her way to the train station, feeling anxious about her interaction with Anai. As she wove through the crowds and made her way to the platform, she found herself lost in thought.

"Did I say something that could have hurt his feelings? No, that couldn't be it... he sounded really annoyed. I really do think I bothered him when I went off and rambled like that... I hope I didn't make him late or anything." 

As the train pulled up, and she quietly shuffled on, she looked out the window at the evening sky as the train sped through the city. 

"In the end, I never even thanked him for lunch... I really should have done that first! Why didn't I just muster up the courage to say a simple 'Thank you'?! There's no way he wasn't annoyed by that, either. There's gotta be a way I can make it up to him... maybe I could make him a lunch of my own? No, that's way to much! Plus, he might get the wrong idea and be super weirded out! I really should just give him a proper apology... I'll practice in the mirror and make it a long, drawn out, formal apology! ... Or, is that also too much? UHG! What do I do?!" 

By now, Chika had gotten off the train, and made it to her apartment. As she walked up to her little studio apartment on the top floor of her building, she looked off the railing at the sparkling city, taking in the view as she tried to relax her thoughts. She turned to unlock the door to her apartment, and silently entered, flicking the overhead light on to reveal a room that, while clean, was fairly empty. Chika never really spent time decorating her apartment, and mostly spent any extra income she had on quality food brands to cook with. If it wasn't that, she'd usually spend her time typing away at her computer, writing stories or poetry, and occasionally playing video games-- especially rhythm-based games-- in her free time.

"I think I'll just read another chapter of that book tonight..." She mumbled to herself, as she flopped onto her bed with a romance novel that was sitting on her end table. Opening the book for only a moment, she flipped through the pages, rolling her thumb against the edge of the paper when she finally realized that no reading was going to get done tonight by any means. 

"You know... I think I'll just take my contacts and call it a night." She sighed, "I'll just check my phone one last time before bed..." 

ONE NEW EMAIL: Accounting Department, A...

"Huh?" Chika's head tilted, "I thought I checked all my work emails for today..." As she opened up her phone, she could feel her heart skip as she read the full title of the message. 

Accounting Department, Anai: General Inquiry 

"OH!" Chika gasped, her eyes lighting up, "He sent me an email...?" Her heart fluttered a bit in her chest, "He probably wanted to continue our conversation after all! Gosh, I was way to paranoid about that..." She chuckled, opening the email.

"October 3rd, Aprox 7:30PM 

You stated in regards to my lunches: "I actually really like that brand of sausages you used-- they have a distinct flavor to them! Have you tried this other brand, though? The one with the cute character on the packaging? I think they're delicious-- a little more expensive, but totally worth the price you pay for them!" 

By making such a comment, you chose to insinuate that my cooking was subpar in terms of quality, and insisted that by purchasing more expensive product I could improve the taste of my food. 

Before this, you said: "Your cooking was really good! I'd love to learn how to cook the way you do! I usually pack my own lunch as well, but I'm nowhere near as skilled as you are!" Yet, by implying I need to purchase expensive ingredients, my cooking was not entirely meeting your standards. In regards to the other comments you made, saying you would like to "Learn how to cook the way (I) do," tells me that you have enough knowledge of cooking to create your own lunches. If this is your own way of telling me you intend to compete with me, and sabotage my relationship with my co-workers and fellow colleagues who enjoy my cooking, I will have to insist you no longer return to Accounting at any time during our afternoon lunch break.

I await your response in written form.

-Anai"

Chika's phone fell out of her hands. Her face went completely pale, and she felt what could only be described as her spirit leaving her body. Any anxiety she had about Anai was just presented to her in a manner that was tenfold the way her nerves had been warning her about. He wasn't just upset with her, he was flat out pissed. 

"Wait... Wait, what?" She quietly whispered, frozen in place on her bed, "What...?!"

Chapter Text

October 4^th, Aprox 7:40AM.

Between where the night ended and the daylight began, Chika almost comically did not sleep well. Shakled by her own anxieties, that text she’d gotten from that guy she bought a lunch from kept waking her up throughout the night. It seemed unreal to get such an abrasive, strict text message like that out of nowhere, and she kept going over it to make sure she read it correctly. The worst part of it all?

Everything she had said to him was taken completely out of context!

“It doesn’t make any sense…” Chika whimpered to herself as she brushed her teeth, trying to get her day started. “Was what I said really that bad…? Am I not remembering it properly?” She spat out the foam built up in her mouth from the toothpaste, huffing. “No-- No! This guy is trying to gaslight you!” Chika spoke to herself in the mirror, trying to put on a face of confidence.

“You know what you said to him. You know what your intentions were.” Chika muttered to herself as she closed the door to her apartment, locking it firmly behind her. She glanced around her neighborhood-- or, at least, the street her apartment was on. A bit dated, she noticed a trash can tipped over down the road. Some neighbors seemed to be bickering about something in broad daylight… Sirens could be heard a few roads down. Chika knew she wasn’t in one of the safest areas of Tokyo, but she often joked-- what part of any city was truly safe?

Anyways, it was affordable… and she needed to save her money.

On the subway, she couldn’t even bring herself to think about the tasks she had to do today. Everything plaguing her mind was Anai.

Anai.  

She couldn’t think about anything other than how she should apologize to him. All she had to do was just… approach him and say sorry, right? But then there was the matter of him requesting her response in written form… Chika didn’t feel right apologizing that way. Being raised by her mom and grandpa, she was pretty old-fashioned…

No. Saying it to his face, in person, was the right thing to do.

Finally feeling the sweet relief of escape from the subway, she got herself ready in the locker room and headed to Purchasing. She would have to wait until Lunch to apologize to him… But then again, he’d be handing out those lunch boxes he sells, wouldn’t he? Sitting down at her desk, she mulled over her options.

“Maybe I could just text him and see if he’d rather speak in person?” She thought to herself as checked her email for any updates on needed supplies. “He did seem pretty demanding, but maybe I’m misinterpreting his message...” She pulled up the email on her PC, hoping that maybe… just maybe she’d missed something.

If this is your own way of telling me you intend to compete with me, and sabotage my relationship with my co-workers and fellow colleagues who enjoy my cooking, I will have to insist you no longer return to Accounting at any time during our afternoon lunch break.

… Nope. Loud and clear. Chika groaned after closing it. Her co-worker, Kengo, from the day prior had passed by her desk after hearing her, a nervous smile on his face.

“Heavy workload today?” He asked, almost hesitating to sit down at his desk. Chika shook her head, laughing.

“Oh, no! I mean-- Well. The usual amount.” She clarified, her laugh turning awkward. Her co-worker sighed with relief.

“Man, it’s about to get pretty bad over the winter… end of the year is hell.” He nodded. “Though I guess around here it’s nowhere near as bad as those accounting guys have it… Purchasing just has to worry about making sure everyone’s got what they need.”

Accounting. Chika almost soured upon hearing that department, but nodded. “Yeah. We just… gotta be ready for it.”

Kengo softened up and sat down to her for a moment. “Hey, uh… You doing okay?”

Chika pulled away from her screen, giving him her attention.

“Hope you don’t mind me being blunt about it,” Kengo said, “But uh… I sorta saw you crying at your desk yesterday.”

The girl’s face went pale. Turning stiff as a board for a moment, she suddenly shushed him. “You saw that?!” She whispered loudly. He nodded in confirmation, and Chika burried her face in her hands, groaning loudly.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to embarrass you!” Kengo laughed, “I just wanted to see if there was any way I could help you out.”

Chika pat her cheeks, trying to compose herself. Kengo was a nice guy… And he knew his way around office politics a lot better than she did. He'd been doing this longer, at least. Maybe he could help her figure out how to approach this situation with Anai.

“Actually, Kengo… I sort of… upset someone? I think the best way to apologize is in person, but…” Chika frowned, pulling up her work email. He leaned over the back of her chair and carefully read over her screen. His expression slowly changed to one of shock as he continued to read on. A gentle ‘oh my god’ was mouthed from his lips as his content smile turned into a frown.

“Chika…” He muttered, “What the hell did you do to piss Bento Guy off?”

“I don’t know!” She groaned, “That’s what I’m trying to figure out!”

Before either of them could say another word, an elderly co-worker approached Chika.

“Dearie,” She spoke politely, “Could you please deliver this cart of paper up to Accounting? It just got in today and needs to go to their storage.” Kengo was about to interject, and was going to offer to take it up himself, but Chika stood up suddenly, taking a deep breath.

“Of course, M’mam!” She declared. The woman thanked her profusely and went to her seat. Chika and Kengo stood there for a moment before Chika mildly panicked.

“Wait-- She said Accounting!”

“Oh man, I was wondering what you were doing…” Kengo sighed. “Alright. Here’s my advice. Head up there, don’t interact with him. Get a feel for the atmosphere around him. If he looks pissed… Maybe just send him an email! If not… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to talk to him?”

Chika nodded, walking over to the cart, gripping the handle on it tightly.

“Let me know how it goes.” Kengo said, sipping a coffee in his hand. “And just play it cool.”

The elevator was taking forever. It felt that way, at least. Her mind rattled with all of the possible outcomes of this situation, ranging from realistic to ridiculous. What if he started to breathe fire? What if he was chill and didn’t even notice her? Honestly, the latter seemed more likely. Yet no matter how many times she reminded herself not to freak out over it, she couldn’t bring herself to calm down.

Finally, it stopped. The cart took a bit to push-- one of the wheels squeaked and didn’t seem to roll correctly. It took a bit more give to get it to move, which irritated Chika. Thankfully the hallway seemed empty, aside from the obnoxious squeaks coming from that wheel.

She was at the door of accounting. She took a deep breath--

“Here, let me get that for ya’.”

Chika turned around to see a rather tall man with a strong jaw reach for the handle.

“Oh, thank you-” She gave him a quick bow as she stepped in the room.

“Hey, we should be thanking you. We were waiting for this to get restocked.” He smiled, putting his hand in his pocket, moving to the front of the cart to pull it as he looked over at a nearby desk where two women glanced up at him. Another desk nearby, there was Anai.

“Haida, did you bring that up here?” The ginger-haired woman looked up from her computer, not hearing their conversation.

“Did Purchasing seriously make you go all the way down there?” The platnium blonde huffed, “Those old timers need to stop being lazy pieces of cra-” She bit her tongue the second she saw Chika pushing the cart from the other end, a nervous laugh escaping her. “Craaaaa…azzzy helpful people that order all of our paper, supplies and utilities, wow, look at you, bringing it up for us…” Her voice trailed off nervously.

Chika couldn’t help but feel a bit stiff, but she cracked an awkward smile regardless. Haida interjected. “Don’t listen to them.” He smirked, “Fenneko’s just a little bit judge.”

“Didn’t realize they had fresh blood down there.” Fenneko commented. “It’s about time. You joined the company this past spring?”

“Yeah.” Chika nodded, giving a polite bow. “I’m Chika, from Purchasing. I’m not sure how often we’ll see each-other, but I’ll do my best supporting the company. I look forward to working together!”

“I’m Retsuko,” The ginger smiled, walking over to the cart and grabbing some of the paper. “Thanks so much for the delivery! We can take it from here.”

Chika glanced over at Anai. He had stood up and seemed to be walking towards the cart. She felt too stunned to look directly at his face, and quickly looked back at Retsuko.

“Here, let me help carry some to storage-” She spoke, picking up a stack of the papers.

“Oh, no, seriously!” Retsuko smiled, “It’s no need! This shouldn’t really even be your job, anyways!”

“Ah, well, I mean, it’s good for me to learn where everything goes, right?” She smiled awkwardly. At this point, Fenneko was fully invested from her chair, listening from her laptop and quietly observing the situation.

Retsuko’s mouth twitched slightly. “Uh… I mean, if you want?” She laughed. “The storage closet is-”

“Over here, right?!” Chika grabbed more stacks of paper than she could reasonably carry, balancing them in front of her face as she slowly walked in the direction Retsuko was motioning her towards. Retsuko froze horrified in front of the door.

“Chika-!” She called, “Wait, no, Anai look out--!”

The stacks of paper hit the floor with a thud, both Chika and Anai going down with them. One of the stacks had opened up in the process, causing paper to spill out onto the floor beside them. Anai groaned, grabbing at his shoe-- the stack of paper in question had hit his foot directly. Retsuko and Haida ran over to help the situation.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Retsuko breathed, reaching down to help Chika up, who could feel her knees wobbling.

“You okay there, bud?” Haida knelt down on the floor, picking up the paper that had spilled out by Anai.

“I’m so, so sorry.” Chika bowed, reaching down to help pick up the paper. “I shouldn’t have picked up so many! I don’t know what I was thinking…” She had avoided looking up at Anai, but when she finally did, he had stood to his feet.

“It’s fine.” Anai’s tone was… overly pleasant. “Really, it’s absolutely no big deal!”

The room felt cold all of a sudden.

“Anyways! I’m going to step out for a moment! I think I may have gotten a paper cut! I need to clean it up!” His flowery voice trailed off as he left the room, and suddenly, the trio’s eyes were all on Chika. Absolutely horrified.

“That tone he used…” Retsuko rubbed the back of her neck.

“Hold on a minute… You don’t think…” Haida squinted at Chika as she stood to her feet with a pile of paper in her hands.

Suddenly, Fenneko was in her face, staring at her intensely with a curious smirk.

“Oh boy.” She laughed. “What did his email say?”

Chika blinked, her face turning bright red. “Y-You know about the email?! Did he say something to you?!”

“Just a hunch he sent you one is all.” Fenneko smirked. “So… Spill. What did you do to piss off Anai?”

Chapter Text

October 4 ^th , Aprox 12:05PM.

Lunch time. Chika usually hung out at her desk for lunch. She’d chat with Kengo, get some extra work done at her computer-- Overall, it was a break from running up and down the building making supply delivery. Today was different. Today she’d be having her first informal work meeting with some new colleagues from accounting.

About Anai. Thankfully he was busy handing out lunches in accounting-- Everyone knew he wouldn’t be around.

Chika was able to briefly summarize what had happened to everyone, sharing the email in question. Haida, Retsuko, Fenneko and Kengo had listened with curiosity about the situation. Fenneko in particular seemed extremely amused about the situation, and had been laughing about it on and off for a while. On the other hand, Chika was embarrassed and confused.

“I’m surprised this happened again…” Retsuko muttered, crossing her arms and resting her elbows against the table the group had made themselves comfortable at. “He’s been pretty chill about things for months…”

“He’s sent emails like this before?” Chika asked, her hands folded tightly in her lap, fists nervously clenched as she focused on Retsuko. “What happened exactly?”

“Retsuko had it pretty bad with him, but…” Haida laughed, grabbing her attention, “The whole friggin’ accounting department got their fair share of inquiries from him…”

“We were pretty sick of his crap.” Fenneko spoke while on her phone, seemingly more fixated on the screen in front of her. “But like Retsuko said, dude’s been chill for a while. It’s hard to pinpoint what his deal is exactly.”

“You ended up emailing him after you got back from Accounting this morning…” Kengo glanced over to her. “What did he end up saying?”

The group leaned in with curiosity upon hearing this, but Chika’s face tensed. “Kengo,” She breathed, trying not to sound annoyed with him suddenly bringing that up. “What are you even doing here anyways?!”

“What?!” Kengo huffed, crossing his arms as he looked away with a sheepish smirk on his face. “C’mon, can’t a guy just be a little nosy about workplace drama?”

Chika sighed upon noticing that she had everyone’s curiosity in the moment. In defeat, she covered her face as she held out her phone to show everyone.

Re: Accounting Department, Anai: General Inquiry

Hello Anai, this is Chika from purchasing! I am so, so sorry for what happened earlier in accounting. I should have been paying more attention, and I hope you’re not hurt! I also wanted to apologize for the other day-- I think there was a miscommunication somewhere. I am in no way wanting to sabotage your relationship with your co-workers! I’m so embarrassed and completely at a loss for words, I never meant to upset you! I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed your cooking!

I hope we can start over and turn a new leaf!
- Chika

Re: Re: Accounting Department, Anai: General Inquiry

From the actions that were taken today, I have indesputible doubt in the sincerity of your words. You claim that you had no intention to harm me, but nowhere in your message did you clarify anything regarding the my concerns regarding your intention to compete with me.

In your message you state, “I am in no way wanting to sabotage your relationship with your co-workers!” And yet, here you are, showing up in my department, performing reckless behavior that resulted in not only a small cut on my dominant index finger, but you also could have potentially injured my toe. Had the injuries been any more serious, this would have caused me to struggle not only while cooking, but more importantly, at work. Typing this email alone with a bandaid on has been an irritant.

I will have to ask that henceforth you do not approach me at work unless it is something absolutely necessary for the company. Please do not respond to this email further.

- Anai

Everyone let out an uncomfortable sound of their own accord, mostly grunts, sighs and various tones of disappointment.

“What the hell, dude…” Haida’s head met the table in front of him as he groaned.

“I just can’t believe he’s starting this up again…” Retsuko looked uncomfortable as she crossed her legs, her arms hugging her just a little bit tighter. “He gets so bent out of shape over the craziest things…!”

Kengo shook his head. “Chika, are you sure you didn’t give off some weird impression to him in person?” He frowned, watching as a few older co-workers started coming towards the lobby. “No offence, but you do tend to get… kind of awkward when you speak sometimes, you know?”

Chika bit the inside of her cheek as she closed up, her mind rattling from that day. It felt difficult trusting her mind in this moment… Maybe she really did say something that could have easily been taken out of context. Should she have said what she did about the brand of sausages he used? What about that made him assume she thought she used better ingredients than him though? It was just… small talk to avoid bringing up something that would make him more uncomfortable.

How homesick his food made her.

“Anyways, it doesn’t really matter.” Fenneko chimed, glancing up from her phone. “He’s made it clear he doesn’t wanna deal with it anymore, so it’s all said and done.”

“Wait-- What?” Chika looked up at Fenneko, a bit shocked. “But-- I still need to apologize and try to make things right!”

Fenneko’s brow raised. “Uh… yeah. You already did that. He told you to back off.”

Chika could feel her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. This couldn’t be it. This wasn’t how things worked back home. She’d get in a fight with one of her sisters, they’d make up. She’d get in a fight with a classmate, they’d make up. Chika knew she was friendly, she knew that there was nothing wrong with what she’d said to him… so why?

“But it was just a misunderstanding…” Chika’s voice cracked a bit, and she winced at the thought that this was just… all said and done. “Isn’t there anything I can do to make things right?”

“Chika, really…” Kengo shook his head, concerned about his co-worker. She was a nice girl-- The last thing he wanted to do was see her get hurt through all of this. “You don’t have to try and make things right. It’s okay to let it go.”

“But I can’t just let it go-!” Feeling desperate, she looked over at the group, “I mean-- it just doesn’t feel right!”

“Well, no… It doesn’t.” Retsuko sighed, looking out the window out at the city. “There’s not much else you can do though.”

“What’s the big deal, anyways? You like the guy?” Fenneko’s comment caused everyone at the table to suddenly turn red and gawk at her. Fenneko was known to be pretty forward, but usually she’d kept comments like this to herself… The expression on her face, however seemed to indicate she already knew the answer to the question.

Chika immediately shook her head, denying this entirely.

“No, no way! I don’t even know the guy!” She exclaimed, her Hokkaido twang coming out in her voice in the shock, “I just really like his bento, that’s all!”

There was a short silence at the table before Fenneko burst into laughter, and Haida started to snort. Retsuko cracked an awkward smile, trying not to laugh herself, and Kengo forced back his own laughter. Horrified at their reaction, Chika’s face turned hot, once more hiding her face behind her hands with a squeak.

“She only likes him for his cooking--” Fenneko snorted.

“Please don’t make fun of me!” Chika pleaded.

“Sorry, sorry!” Haida chuckled, “I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting that response…”

“You said his cooking was pretty good, but…” Kengo snorted, “You only want him to forgive you so you're covered next time you forget your lunch!”

“Well, at least she’s honest.” Fenneko laughed.

“I can’t believe this is happening…” Chika groaned.

“Is that why you were crying over his lunch yester--” Kengo started, but then covered his mouth in a hurry upon seeing Chika stare at him with a look of dread, causing the table to erupt in shock.

“His cooking made you CRY?!”

Another voice pulled away the attention of the table… A tall, voluptuous, middle-aged woman with pleasantly pink hair stood before them. The grin on her face was unmistakably living for the juicy gossip she’d just stumbled across. Her hands were pressed to her cheeks, and her eyes were intensely sparkling. The accounting department’s resident blabber mouth. Nothing that entered her vault managed to stay there for very long…

“Kabae…” Fenneko sweat upon her arrival. The few from accounting began to stand up the second she showed up, all of them appearing a bit nervous.

“Kabae, you can’t say ANYTHING.” Retsuko whispered to her.

“Why not?!” Kabae’s happy-go-lucky expression didn’t leave her face as she leaned in closer to Chika who shifted back slightly as Kabae gushed over the situation. “I’m sure Anai would be so happy to know his lunches moved someone so deeply! He works so hard on them, it would definitely mean a lot to him!”

Chika’s lips pressed together tightly. She was starting to regret saying anything to Kengo at this point… She should have just apologized in an email to begin with. Now half the accounting department seemed to know about what was going on.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea…” Chika whimpered, feeling her soul slowly leaving her body.

“Don’t be silly!” Kabae chimed, “You should just tell him in an email! He’s very proud of his cooking you know… Did you know he’s working on publishing a cook--”

“OH! Hey, would you look at the time.” Kengo stepped in, looking at his phone as he stood up quickly, motioning Chika to follow him. “We gotta get back to purchasing for that crazy big delivery coming in, right?!” He winked at Chika, who nervously agreed.

“Uh-- Yeah, right!” Chika bowed to the group, “I-- Thank you for all of your help today!” In a hurry, she trailed behind Kengo, thankful for the save, and for his ability to read the room.

Kabae stood with the group and watched the girl run off, her hands placed on her hips. “That Anai…” She let out a light laugh as she turned to her co-workers that remained behind. “He’s got this idea in his head that someone’s trying to compete with him. Cooking is something so very special to him… Especially since his blog has taken off…”

“Oh…” Haida realized, “He told you about his deal with Chika, then?”

“That’s right. You two have become pretty close, haven’t you?” Retsuko realized, taking note of the lunch box in her hand-- One of Anai’s.

Kabae nodded. “The funny thing is… I’m pretty sure Chika wasn’t the one that put that thought there. Seems like she introduced herself at a bad time.”

“Huh.” Fenneko smirked. “Alright, spill. What exactly do you know that we don’t?”

“Get this.” Kabae leaned into the group and spoke in a whisper, “I'm pretty sure it was someone from Marketing.”

Chapter Text

The Day Before… October 3rd, Aprox 10:30AM.

Kabae entered the office a bit later than she normally did, though just as chipper as ever. It was a typical cold, autumn morning, and was looking to be a chilly remainder of the day. With Kabae present, the room somehow felt just a little bit more warm and cozy.

Or, at least it did to Anai. The look of relief was seen on his face as she waved a cheery ‘Good Morning’ in his direction.

“Kabae!” The man smiled, looking up from his email. “I take it the appointment went well, then?”

“Just fine and dandy!” Kabae smiled, “My oldest hasn’t been very thrilled of the dentist, but he was very brave this time around! I’m so proud of him.”

“Great to hear!” Anai laughed, “He’s got a good mom to help him through it, that’s for sure. I always hated going to the dentist as a kid…”

Kabae couldn't stop herself from giggling, her cheeks turning. She waved her hand at Anai, her wrist flicking as she gushed over the flattery. “Oh, stop it you!” She giggled, “Such a fine young man you turned out to be, despite that! Your mother must be so very proud of you.”

Anai tried not to break his smile, but at the comment of his own mother, he could feel his mouth twitch a little bit. “Yeah,” He forced, “She is!”

“Anyways,” Kabae looked around to make sure Anai’s desk mate wasn’t close by, and quickly swiped their seat for the time being. “Enough about my day! Your blog has been really blowing up! I just saw all the comments your recent bento post has.”

There was a proud smile that swept across Anai’s face upon the mention of his blog. He’d started it up as a hobby fairly recently, and what started as simply word-of-mouth around the office grew into a pretty big following within a couple months time. Now, he was reaching nearly ten thousand subscribers, and he couldn’t be more thankful for it.

“Actually…” He chuckled, “I uh… might be starting up something else, due to the popularity…”

“Oh?!” Kabae grinned, “An Instagram? A YouTube channel?!” Kabae leaned in as Anai motioned her to lean in closer, his hand cupped to her ear.

“A cookbook.”

Kabae GASPED, and Anai quickly hushed her, and the woman covered her mouth quickly in response.

“That’s WONDERFUL Anai!” She whispered, “I need to know all the details-- Who’s the publisher? When can I preorder it? Where will--”

“Hold on!” Anai held up his hand, letting out a nervous laugh. “I’m still in the planning phases… Just working on a draft right now. I have a colleuge that works at a publishing company… But I gotta keep the rest under wraps right now…”

“My lips are sealed!” Kabae lifted her fingers to her lips, locking them and throwing away the key. This would absolutely get out to someone else in the office later… It was only a matter of who. “What made you decide to start a cookbook so soon? Along with work and running a blog… Goodness, you have your work cut out for you.”

That eager smile didn’t seem to leave his face. “Actually… Believe it or not, it all started about a week ago… This guy approached me at work. I can’t remember his name… Tall, had this air of ‘cool’ around him…” Anai leaned back in his chair a bit, crossing his arms as he recalled the meeting with a sense of pride. “I saw him exit a room by the Lobby with Director Gori. They were talking about something when he and I made eye contact. Get this-- They were mid conversation when he abruptly stopped talking to her, and he just… Walked right up to me, and was like-- Hey, bento guy!” Anai did his best to imitate his deep voice.

“Ohhh…” Kabae’s gears turned in her head, trying to picture the face of the man he was referring to. “My friend Kara works in the marketing department,” Her brow raised as she attempted to remember past meeting and conversations with her friend, “I think I maybe know who you’re talking about…?” Kabae knew just about every face and voice in the office, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly who Anai was talking about. Tall, cool, deep-voiced matched several members of the Marketing Department alone.

“Yeah?” Anai grinned, “Anyways, he came over and complimented my blog, my cooking, and man, I was so flattered…” He rubbed his index finger beneath his nose, trying to stay humble. “He goes on to tell me that I should consider putting together a cook book. We talk for a bit, and… well, now I am.” Anai’s eyes seemed so bright as he talked about it. This chance encounter seemed to spark something entirely new in him, and Kabae could see it in his eyes.

“That’s so wonderful Anai!” The maternal pride was clear in Kabae’s voice as she beamed. “I’ll be cheering you on! Let me know if you need a proof reader! I’d be happy to help!”

“No can do!” Anai stated, rather firmly. “I can’t allow another set of eyes to see it-- totally confidential stuff!”

“Aww,” Kabae whined, “It’s that much of a secret?!” She looked at him with large, puppy-dog eyes. “C’mon, just a little peak!”

“Sorry Kabae,” Anai held out his hand, motioning her to stop. “That guy I ran into? During our conversation he brought up how important it was that I keep things under lock and key. Said something about… me not being the only chef in the house. Then said something about files potentially going missing before Gori got his attention again.” His gaze returned to his computer, his brow furrowing. “As weird as it was at the time, he was really serious about it. I think he was trying to warn me about something…”

Kabae’s jaw was slightly agape as Anai spoke. What a bizarre conversation… Even more-so, she thought it was a weird thing to say to a young man who only just got started with a blog. Not to mention Anai had recently made so many wonderful connections after a rough start at the company. Poor guy was always on the defensive, sent a lot of nasty emails when he felt he was being attacked…

Who would want to instill that kind of fear into him again? Surely it was an innocent remark, but… The woman searched the maze of her mind for an ounce of information on who he might be referring to… Still, multiple people fit his vague description, aside from the comments that had been made. She turned up blank there. Maybe there was a new employee she hadn’t heard about yet?

“Anai,” Kabae breathed, “I don’t think--”

“Kabae!” The woman turned her head upon hearing her name called. Ton was giving her the stare down. “You gonna keep blabbing to Anai, or are you gonna get over here and tell me how your kid’s doing already?”

Kabae and Anai both sighed with relief, and Kabae let out a laugh as she stood up, rushing over to Ton’s desk. “Aren’t you sweet for asking?!” Kabae gushed, leaning against the side of Director Ton’s desk as she began chatting about her son. “It was just a trip to the dentist, you know! But this time, he was really brave about it…”

Kabae continued chatting, and Anai watched from his desk with a relaxed smile. When Ton met his eyes, however, he gave him a sharp glare-- a silent warning for him to get back to work. In a somewhat flustered mess, he turned back around and got straight back to work inputting data.

Present Time… October 4th, Aprox 12:30PM.

“... And that’s pretty much how it went.” Kabae finished her story, and took a sip of the sweetened coffee that Fenneko purchased for her. A little thanks for the tea she’d just served to them, so to speak. The curious glances around the table had everyone at a loss.

“So, wait.” Fenneko stared intensely at her phone, her eyes skimming a bit more furiously as the conversation went on. “Some Marketing dude basically told Anai to watch his back around that squirrelly chick from Purchasing? Am I getting this right?”

“Anai certainly seems to think she’s who he was referring to.” Kabae sighed, pulling out her own phone and looking down at the message. “He emailed me about it last night-- Said everything had made sense to him, now. I tried to make him see it differently, but… I think he’s a little tied up in his own head about it…” She frowned. “I’m worried about him.”

“I only just met her, so I can’t really say whether or not that’s her intention…” Retsuko smiled awkwardly, “But I mean… She’s been here since Spring and we only just introduced ourselves. Based on that alone… I’d say she’s not much of a people person, and doesn’t seem like the competitive type, but…” Retsuko bit the inside of her cheek. Of all people at the table, she was harboring her own double life, in a way. Who’s to say Chika wasn’t doing the same thing?

“No way in hell buck-teeth bumpkin is trying to compete with Anai.” Fenneko’s expression turned to a smirk, her fingers finally relaxing against the side of her phone.

“Maybe you shouldn’t mention her teeth…” Haida grimaced.

“Whatever,” Fenneko said, “Just found her Instagram. It’s practically empty. I’m surprised she even has one-- She hasn’t posted anything since August and it’s just a picture from the top of Tokyo tower.” Fenneko showed the group Chika’s page-- Sure enough, there were only four photos posted. Each one just a random photo she took around the city…

“Aside from her profile pic,” Fenneko continued, “She doesn’t have any selfies. She’s got like twelve followers, and most of them are random spam bots.” Opening a photo, she pointed to the comments on the picture. “Pretty sure this is her sister. Lives up in Hokkaido, works at a dairy farm or something.”

“How do you know it’s her sister?” Retsuko asked.

“Wow wow wow, sis! Soooo cool! Can’t wait to visit you soon! Let’s go to the top of Tokyo Tower together, hehe!” Fenneko forced a Hokkaidan dialect as she read the comment out loud.

“Okay, so it’s definitely her sister.” Haida muttered.

“Here I was expecting a whole page of nothing but foodie stuff…” Fenneko sighed, somewhat disapointed, but then quickly changed her attitude. “Anyways, enough of that.” Fenneko kicked back in her seat, looking satisfied. “She’s just gonna lay low and leave Anai alone, they’ll avoid each other like the plague, end of story. So much for drama.”

“Hmm…” Kabae hummed, “I wonder… Is she really though? It sounded like she really wanted to make her feelings clear…” There was a concerned frown that swept across her face as she wondered more, “What about Anai…? I’d hate to see him wind up where he was before…”

Chapter Text

The work day persisted per the norm-- a little less awkward than it kicked off to be, in thanks to Kengo saving Chika from further embarrassment when Kabae had shown up. Though Chika wasn’t fully aware of Kabae, Kengo had heard her name around the office from time to time. Always in whispers-- everyone seemed to know her, and after a while he’d she was the woman for any brand of juicy gossip.

“Hell, she’d even said some stuff to people about me…” Kengo sighed as he gripped his pint glass a little bit tighter. He offered to take Chika out for dinner after work-- it was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. The two didn’t really get a chance to talk about everything that happened, and a little drink with some fried food to decompress wasn’t going to hurt on a work night.

“What kind of stuff?” Chika felt a chill run down her spine. He’d been referring to Kabae as the two of them recollected the events of the day. Everyone from accounting seemed a bit more frantic the moment that Kabae had shown up…

“I dunno… something really weird, though…” Kengo frowned. “I’m still trying to put it together, but… some of the older employees seem to treat me differently when they see me…” Kengo rubbed the side of his neck as he recalled the glowing, happy faces of colleagues he’d hardly known greet him in a lighthearted manner the other day. “They like… thank me for my contribution… I’m assuming they mean to the company? I mean… I get that I don’t leave our corner of the building a whole lot, but if it’s some weird joke about me not getting out of the office much, I don’t really get it.”

Kengo had leaned back in his chair and Chika mulled over the information… great. Now some weird rumors were going to be circling about her as well. She quietly prayed no one would say anything about her crying over food… though she supposed that would be better than a rumor about her pissing off Anai.

Though… that wasn’t exactly a rumor. He was clearly fed up with her. Chika took a fairly large swig of her drink and dove into the spicy fried chicken in front of her before repeating the motion with her drink. Kengo laughed at her.

“Don’t worry-” Kengo snickered, “I’m sure you’ll be fine!”

“Says you!” Chika fanned at her mouth, “I’m taking this as a hard sign I should give up and move back to Hokkaido!”

“Aw, come on, don’t be so dramatic!” Kengo sneered, “Anyways, you say that at least once a month, so I’m not buying it. Don’t move back to the boonies over some random dude from work.”

“I know, I know…” Chika sighed, “I’m just being dramatic…” She looked at her nearly empty glass with a sigh. “I do like Tokyo… It would be hard to pull myself away from this city. Yeah, I get homesick… but…” Chika smiled slightly. “My eldest sister plans a visit every couple of months, and I’m planning on going back to visit everyone over the holiday. It’s kind of nice-- makes me feel like an adult… all that traveling between two places and having a space for someone to stay.”

“Gettin’ all sentimental on me…” Kengo let out a happy smile as he leaned back into his seat. “Well, the important thing is that you haven’t hit that breaking point yet. I dunno what I would do if I was working alone as the only millennial in that department…”

 Chika could help but chuckle at the notion. “You only took me out to make sure I didn’t quit work?!” She took another bite of the chicken as he gave her a sly grin.

“Well, that… and…” For a moment, he glanced down at his phone after getting a notification. His face shifted… he seemed fairly surprised, his cheeks blushing slightly as he looked back up at Chika. Kengo cleared his throat, watching as the girl helplessly took another drink to combat the spicy food. Chika looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. His mouth opened for a moment, but then he looked down at his phone, double checking to make sure he read it right.

“Hey guy. I’m starting to get why they call you the office  lucky cat LOL. I just won a bet and I’m crediting you for that. Hang out again during lunch on Monday?”

“Um…” Kengo scratched the back of his head. “I… Sorry.” He laughed awkwardly as he looked between his phone and his co-worker as he fumbled with his apps. “Y’know Fenneko, from this afternoon…? She, uh… just messaged me.”

Chika nodded, “Oh, yeah!” She wasn’t expecting him to bring her up, but Chika had her own developments to share. “I’m not sure how she found my Instagram, but she actually followed me after work.”

Kengo smiled slightly. He couldn’t tell if it was his one drink, or if he was feeling flustered over someone inviting him to lunch… Again, he was usually around his own department.

“I’m pretty sure she just invited us to meet up for lunch again on Monday…” He muttered. Was it in reference to both him and Chika? He assumed it was-- after all, he kind of just… popped in. It felt rude not to invite her.

“That sounds fun!” Chika smiled, “Oh-- I just noticed she messaged me too…”

“Your feed is boring. When you gonna add more pics? LOL. Also here’s Retsuko’s @”

Chika muttered the message out loud and bit the inside of her cheek. “I get it, but I just haven’t really used it… Maybe Retsuko’s is-- WOAH!” Chika yelped, “What the what?! Kengo-- look! Look at how many followers Retsuko has!”

“Holy crap!” Kengo laughed, “Wait a minute-- I think I remember hearing about Retsuko! She like… dated some super rich guy, I think?!”

“Seriously?!” Chika looked down at Retsuko’s feed-- lots of really nice photos of places she’d been, subtle selfies, food… It was a really nice picture into her life. If Chika started capturing the things she did in her day-to-day, it might be a good way for others to get to know her at the office. If people knew more about her, those hypothetical rumors wouldn’t pop up at all!

“Huh… maybe I should start using Instagram more often…” She muttered.

Social media for the win!

Overtime was a drag, but sometimes you just needed the extra time to get stuff done… especially with things getting busy towards the end of the year. The accounting department was in crunch mode, and Anai drew the short end of the stick today. Putting in those extra hours wasn’t ideal when he had some things he wanted to work on for his book tonight… And even worse he’d have to keep working with a bandaged finger. It didn’t hurt, but it was certainly cumbersome to type with…

 Thankfully, he finished up about an hour earlier than expected, and could feel himself racing to shut his computer down. Suddenly, a gentle knock caught his attention.

“Hey,” The familiar, deep voice spoke to him in a relaxed tone, “Didn’t realize I’d run into you here this late, bento guy.” His hair was cut in a fairly stylish manner and slicked back. There was this interesting brilliance to the color-- brown, but flattering highlights of gold and white that created an interesting layered effect. His eyes were relaxed, but the intense color of his golden irises was hard to forget. Anai couldn’t resist smiling upon seeing the man again, and he quickly stood up from his seat after getting his computer shut down.

“Hey, it’s you!” Anai bowed to him, feeling somewhat flustered. “I’m so sorry, last time I didn’t catch your-”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright!” The man laughed, “That’s on me for not introducing myself first.” He returned Anai’s bow. “I’m Nogami, from Marketing. My apologies for not starting off our last conversation that way.”

Nogami took a moment to look around the office, his expression becoming just slightly more stern upon realizing Anai was the only accountant around.

“Is Mr. Ton out already?” He frowned, “Making you work overtime?”

“Yeah, I was handed some extra data to input at the last minute… you know how it is.” Anai shrugged.

“What a way to end your week.” Nogami scoffed, “Some Friday, right?”

“Tell me about it.” Anai grimaced. “Did you need Director Ton for something, Nogami?”

“Ah…” Nogami sighed, “Actually, I was sent down to see if you guys had any cardstock in your storage closet. We ran out sooner than expected… making some mock up post cards for a spring project.”

Anai looked surprised, and a little uncomfortable… Paper again? “Well-- I’m pretty sure it’s still unlocked… Actually, I don’t think Ton ever locks it…” He chuckled, leading him over to the door in question. “They’re sending you down on a pretty mundane errand, huh?”

“Tell me about it.” Nogami scoffed, and the two of them exchanged a laugh as Anai began to poke around inside, his eyes shifting through the different bound stacks of paper they had on hand. Nogami’s intuitive gaze flickered over to Anai’s bandaged index finger, letting out a low hum upon seeing it.

“Did you injure yourself while cooking?” Nogami’s queries was met with a low grunt and a grimace from Anai.

“Actually, it’s a weird story…” Anai scowled, “Our paper was restocked today…” He wanted to vent his frustration about Chika-- but talking shit to someone he hardly knew just seemed… really rude. Anai didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, and instead, he took a deep breath and--

“Purchasing department issues?” Nogami interrupted his train of thought as Anai pulled out a fresh sheet of cardstock.

“Something like that…” He handed the stack to Nogami, who gave him an understanding nod.

“Trust me… it’s been going down hill for a while. Not sure when it started, but there’s less paper and materials around here anymore when you need ‘em…” He sighed. “Everyone’s noticed it. We’re trying our best to be patient with ‘em… y’know, they’re all inching towards retirement.”

Anai exhaled through his nostrils. “They do have newer hires down there, though.”

“That they do, Anai.” Nogami nodded, watching as Anai closed the door to the storage closet behind him. “Have you met them, by chance? The new hires.” Nogami watched as Anai’s brow twitch slightly, cross his arms, and let out a heavy sigh.

“Yeah… One. To put politely…” Anai held back the more choice words he wanted to say… he was in a professional setting. Still, he couldn’t help but look down at his finger upon admitting his feelings out loud…

“... I’m more than a little vexed.”

Chapter Text

October 6^th, Aprox. 9:45AM

Kissing goodbye to the weekend was never easy, especially when the weather decided to add to the dull mood by raining. Chika couldn’t help but mull at her desk over the fact the smell of petrichor was so much different than it was in Hokkaido. Unlike the earthy scent of home, she was greeted with the peculiar scent of asphalt and concrete, and occasionally caught a whiff of gasoline. It reminded her of the airport—and the first day she had arrived in Tokyo. As she recalled, it was a rainy day in springtime. The cherry blossoms had run their season, but she managed to see them windswept in the air now and then, caught by breezes from the ground.

A notification popped up on her computer, pulling her attention back to work.

To: Purchasing Staff

From: Komiya, Accounting

Subject: Restock on Colored Ink

Good Morning from Accounting.

Strangely enough, we are already out of colored ink for our general printers again. We may have miscalculated how much was needed to be restocked, our deepest apologies. If anyone is available to run some to our department, we request them as swiftly as possible.

Also, if anyone has any recommendations on how we may print black ink documents without the use of cyan, please let us know. It seems to be stumping even our more technology savvy co-workers…

- Komiya

“Out of ink already?” Kengo muttered, glancing over at Chika. “There’s no way… that ink supply should have been good another few weeks. We didn’t get them a cheaper brand, did we?”

Chika felt flustered, and quickly, she opened her purchase history log. Her nervous eyes skimmed the page, searching as quickly as she could for the last time she’d purchased a bulk supply of printer ink.

“K-Brand Ink, right?” Chika glanced at Kengo for confirmation, who gave a relieved sigh.

“Yeah, that’s what we always buy.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” An older co-worker walked by their desk, peaking into the conversation. She had turned sixty this year, and had gentle curls of dark hair that were fading into a silvery gray with her age. She wore a pair of reading glasses around her neck and seemed to move slowly, with mindful mannerisms. “I wasn’t sure what any of that meant, but seeing how relaxed you two seem, I’m assuming it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Nah, nothing to worry about Bibimi.” Kengo smiled, “Probably misjudged how much ink they needed.”

“I’ll place another order for more.” Chika smiled, “Should be a week or so… Kengo, do you want to run up to accounting and take them a week’s supply? We can bring them more later this week once that order gets here.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.” Kengo stood up, placing his hands on his lower back as he arched backwards, stretching his spine. “Might be good to see what else they might need and take a few notes. Seems like they’ve been going through a lot… must be busy times for those big-shots.”

“Well, well,” Bibimi smiled, “Looks like the office lucky cat is going for rounds today. Good for you!”

Kengo let out an awkward laugh… he really did need to get out of their department more. This weird rumor was starting to bug him… people treating him like they were witnessing a unicorn in the wild. Despite a few glances from his co-workers who seemed surprised to see him leave, he unceremoniously grabbed a box of ink from purchasing’s large supply closet and strode out the door.

Chika turned to her computer, but was distracted with Bibimi sat next to her, a heavy sigh escaping her.

“Oh, I do hope it’s not something our department did…” Bibimi sighed, “It really wouldn’t look good for us right now.”

There was a pain of guilt in Chika’s chest, being reminded of her own slip ups. Though her older co-workers had their own struggles with updated websites, technology, and how orders for supplies and services were now placed, Chika had taken a bit of time getting a reign on things. Once in a while she still found herself making mistakes in hopes of saving Charyman some money. It wasn’t like she was doing it without being advised… Still, she should just stick to what the company had been doing for as long as it had been.

“I’m sure they just used a lot of ink.” Chika tried her best to fight her downer thoughts, reminding herself of what Kengo had said about miscalculating their supply needs. “Anyways, we’re still well within budget for the remainder of the year—We could probably be a little less frugal with how busy the end of year will be.”

“While you’re right…” Bibimi sighed, cleaning off her reading glasses with a slump to her posture. “A friend of mine works in Purchasing over in B-Corp…” She hesitated, “Or… well, she used to work there.”

Chika could feel her heart sink into her chest as Bibimi spoke.

“Apparently, the company liquidized the department entirely… So they relocated the employees to different departments so they wouldn’t be out of a job…” There was a nervous tension in her voice, “But… for old geezers like us…”

Chika frowned. B-Corp wasn’t anywhere near the size of Charyman trading, but it was becoming much more frequent to hear of large companies downsizing to save costs. For a building this size, however, Chika couldn’t imagine how chaotic a transition like that would be… Especially when it meant having to learn an entirely new job on top of being stacked with the responsibility of supply management. Realistically, it was just a clever—no, a shady way companies could move out old employees.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Bibimi.” Chika reassured her with as confident as a smile she could muster. “Something like that wouldn’t happen here, I’m sure of it. The purchasing department is very much needed!”

Bibimi folded her hands into her lap as she stood up from her seat, bowing her head slightly. “I do hope you’re right,” The dreariness in her voice was apparent, “I’ve been doing the same routine here for almost thirty years now… It’s hard to imagine doing anything else.”

Chika turned her face back to her computer screen, her eyes glancing up as Bibimi sat back down at her desk. “Thirty years, huh?” She thought to herself, watching her email refresh itself. Gently gliding her mouse, she opened up a spreadsheet she’d been keeping for the month. Everything had become automated—All purchases and supply runs were recorded digitally, with minimal manual input. Still, things like today occurred where they underestimated a supply need. Sometimes, things went missing and it was becoming a headache to go through this confusing database to find out what got shuffled to where.

It wasn’t much, but she’d been keeping spreadsheets for all the departments since August. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary—and everything matched what was logged in the database. Once Kengo dropped off the ink supply, she’d watch as the ink supply on their end drop by a box, while the accounting department gained one. Simple as that. She recorded the new info in her own chart, and then leaned back, stewing a bit. Despite everything being where it needed to be, when she compared the data from August to October… Accounting seemed to use up more and more supplies than usual. Mostly paper and printer ink.

“Maybe their printer is malfunctioning…” Chika muttered to herself, “They’re annoying about needing color for a black and white copy, but it shouldn’t be eating that much ink based on their paper usage…”

As she opened her email to ask one of the guys from IT to consider reaching out to accounting and checking on their printers, she received one herself.

To: Chika, Purchasing

From: Kengo, Purchasing

Subject: More Paper Needed

Hey Chika,

How much paper did you happen to run up there last Friday? Based on the database they’re down three entire boxes more than they should be. No one used that much paper between then and now. That would be about 4,500 pages. I’m going to check their supply closet and see what else they need that they’re running low on. Just at a glance I’m surprised. I’ll get back with you soon with a more comprehensive list… but it looks like you and I are going to have a busy day.

Let’s do our best,

- Kengo

Chapter Text

October 6^th, Aprox. 12:00 PM

Confusion and chaos seemed to be circling through the Purchasing and Accounting departments. Lots of missing paper, pens, tape, staples… some in larger amounts than others. Many of these things came in larger quantities and it wasn’t as often things needed refilled at the desk—Boxes of bulk Highlighters, for example, would have probably been overlooked had it not been for the nearly-hour-long closet diving fest that Kengo experienced. All the while emailing lists upon lists of numbers of things still there—reports from Ton and other co-workers who didn’t have much to say on what they think was used… or, in this case, mostly wasn’t used.

Everyone in Accounting seemed to think the issue was arbitrary and silly. Despite Kengo’s largest concern regarding the missing cartridges of printer ink, Ton made a snide comment about wasting so much time on something. After all, the Purchasing Department could just order more and replace it, right?

“It’s irritating! You’re distracting everyone from getting their work done!” Ton had huffed about the situation. Kengo shuttered with his vegetable juice in hand as he recalled that glare in the man’s eyes… he hadn’t seen that unpleasant side of him until now.

Thankfully, it was lunch, and Kengo was able to meet up with his new office colleagues as planned.

“I thought for a second he was going to strangle me…” Kengo sighed, his head leaning back over his chair. He was clearly pretty worn out.  The heavy rain against the window went almost entirely unheard over the dull hum of the AC, and he noted just how close you had to stand next to that thickened glass to hear it.

“You get used to him.” Retsuko cracked an awkward smile.

“Yeah, if you’re a pushover…” Fenneko smirked, scrolling through her phone as she listened into the conversation. Retsuko bit the inside of her cheek, slumping forward a bit as the name ‘Calendar’ echoed through her mind. “Anyways, where’s Bucky at?”

“You really need to stop calling her that…” Haida grimaced, taking another bite of a his bento. Standing against the wall, he seemed a bit tense. There was plenty of room at the table, but despite being offered a seat, he insisted on standing with his food.

“Chika wanted to skip out and work on crunching numbers to reorder missing supplies.” Kengo sighed, “We’ve got plenty of budget, but… Now we gotta do a full sweep and see what could be missing from other departments. I’m sure she’s blaming herself for it…”

“It’s probably not her fault though…” Haida muttered through bites. “Aside from the essentials, not a lot of stuff moves from the supply closet. I’m not confident, though, since it’s not something I really paid much attention to…”

Retsuko shook her head as she chimed in. “Although I haven’t thought about it until now, I can see some of those things being used by other members of our department. Like… the staples? I swear I’ve watched Tsubone grab a whole box to keep in her desk… Actually, I’ve seen a few other accountants doing stuff like that.” Retsuko passed a sly glance at Haida, who nearly choked on his food.

“Hey!” He grumbled, “Don’t call me out like that! Sometimes it’s easier to just grab a whole box of pens!”

“We do go through some of those things like crazy…” Fenneko leaned back, mulling over everything, “But… I dunno, like the highlighters? When you’re inputting data as a newbie, yeah, but unless you’ve got bad eyesight I can’t imagine eating them up like that.”

Kengo placed his chin in his hand, letting out a heavy sigh. The entire situation was quickly becoming a headache. Having to go from department to department to check supply numbers, asking questions if anything was out of place… Not to mention getting the random pats on the back and thanks over this rumor he was some beacon of good fortune. Thankfully, he and Chika had already agreed to take turns running to different departments… especially since accounting was already done and over with. No more running into…

“Wait a minute…” Kengo’s attention was brought to the little box in Haida’s hand. “Is that bento one of Anai’s?”

Haida hesitated, a small ball of rice hovering between his chopsticks, just as he picked it up with a pickled raddish. “Well… yeah? What of it?”

“How did you even get one?” Fenneko placed her phone down on the table, suddenly becoming suspicious. “Anai wasn’t even handing them out yet when the three of us left the office.”

Haida averted his eyes from them, sweat forming on his brow. “Well, uh,” He stammered, trying to quickly find his words. “Anai and I are pretty good buddies, so, uh, yeah! He sold me one in advance.”

“That’s bull!” Fenneko spat, “Anai’s a stickler on not selling those before lunch hour starts! I would know, I tried to buy one off of him before!” Haida’s face went a bit pale, his eyes shifting out the window at the rainy city. Kengo couldn’t quite grasp why, but Haida seemed a little extra weird about it…

“If he sold you one in advance, that can only mean one thing…” Fenneko’s voice dropped as she spoke, glaring at Haida. He could feel his shoulders prickle as he anticipated her next words. Suddenly, she slammed her fists onto the table.

“He doesn’t think of me as a buddy at all!”

Retsuko sighed heavily shook her head. “That’s what I thought you were going to say… Pretty sure I’ve hardly ever seen you two speak.”

“I want one of those bento…” Fenneko’s face met the table, her platinum blonde bob flopping over her head and exposing the back of her neck. “He never sees my hand go up once the flood of people rush in for one…”

“You are awfully short…” Kengo mumbled, receiving a hard scowl as Fenneko turned her head to face him from the table. Looking away, he brought himself back to Haida, noticing his reflection in the window. Haida’s lips were noticeably tight, and his pupils glanced over at a clock in the room. They still had plenty of time to eat lunch… and he seemed to be savoring his meal. Maybe he had to leave a bit early today?

“Hey, sorry to change the subject…” Retsuko rubbed the back of her neck. “I wanted to ask… Mostly just curious and all, but… How would you react if a co-worker of yours had, um… a weird hobby?”

“No one wants to know about your virtual boyfriend, Retsuko.” Fenneko smirked, sitting up just as Retsuko began to blush profusely over the comment.

“That’s not what I’m talking about! And I’ve been over that for a while—I just tried selling that game! They wouldn’t take it back!”

“Oh yeah? Wanna share with the class how much you spent on him?”

“Fenneko!”

“Wasn’t I the one that suggested you ask Anai for that sweet, sweet cookbook money a while back?”

“STOP IT!”

Kengo couldn’t help but snort. “Don’t tell me it’s one of those otome games. My kid sister is obsessed with those. Mega time suck in my opinion…”

“Nah dude, it was a VR Unicorn.”

Kengo’s lips twitched as he tried his damndest not to laugh. “… You’re kidding me. That’s not a thing.”

“NO!” Retsuko covered her face, “Fenneko, why would you just randomly say that?!”

“It wasn’t random. It’s a weird hobby you got into, duh.”

Sitting back in his chair, belly-laughing with his co-workers was such a wonderful feeling. Normally not one to really feel it, but Kengo was enjoying the company. Aside from his family, he tended to keep close to himself. Once Chika got hired into Purchasing he began to put himself out there a bit more. There was a bit of guilt in his chest, however… this sinking knowing that, well, Chika wasn’t always the best company for him. Watching her anxious habits and listening to her complain a lot about missing home, he suddenly realized, was starting to drag on him a bit… Still, he saw her when she was at her best, and wanted to see more of that. Those were the days where Purchasing wasn’t so dreary.

He wanted her to feel this way more often. It was just… more lively.

Still, that good feeling was shattered quickly when Haida’s nervous voice spoke up.

“So there’s…” Haida turned to face the group, a look of shame on his face. “Maybe something I should have warned you about…”

Before anyone could ask him what the deal was, the sound of approaching footsteps grabbed everyone’s attention. There was an air of dread that seemed to penetrate the atmosphere around them, and upon seeing the aforementioned company join them, their expressions all shifted to one of discomfort. Fixated on him as he approached the vending machine, inputting his selection for a canned cold-brew, Retsuko spoke up for the group, finally finding it in herself to politely greet him.

“H-Hey Anai!” She chimed, trying to summon her usual cheery voice. “What’s up—”

“I think you know why I’m here.” Anai spoke plainly, the hiss from his tab pressing into the can seemed to echo through the room.

“… I haven’t exactly filled them in yet.” Haida covered his mouth nervously as Anai gave him an irritated glare. “I—I didn’t get an opening!” He whispered loudly as he sunk into a nearby seat at the table. Retsuko shifted her seat away from him to make space, rolling her eyes slightly.

“R-Right…” Anai muttered, trying not to sound too embarrassed, “Then… I guess I’ll go ahead and be direct.” Clearing his throat, he looked over at Kengo, trying not to look too pissed off. Even his resting face was a bit scary in the moment… “It’s about your co-worker in Purchasing.”

“Chika?” Kengo fixed his posture, trying to take this in more seriously. There was a clear amount of suspicion on his face—He didn’t know what Anai’s intentions were or why he was bringing her up when he seemed desperate to avoid her at all costs.

“Yes.” Anai took a sip of his coffee, sitting down at the table next to Haida, fixated on Kengo. Fenneko folded her hands in front of her mouth as her elbows met the table, invested in the drama that was unfolding right before her. Retsuko seemed unbearably uncomfortable, caught in the middle of all of this…

“You are all aware of my blog, and that I have been working with a publishing company to have my very first cookbook released.” His hand firmly gripped can as he placed it on the table with a clunk. “I have reason to believe she may be attempting to unnerve me and sabotage my work.”

The conversation with Kabae came full circle to the group, as all of them synonymously seemed to confirm with knowing glances what he was referring to. Though the accounting trio shared the same perplexed expression, Kengo was on the defense. He could feel his jaw twist slightly… this was clearly a misunderstanding, why was the guy so pressed about it?

“Listen, Anai…” Kengo began, “I think you need to—”

Without warning, a phone was shoved into Kengo’s face. Anai’s glare lowered as he held the phone towards him, insisting he take a look. His hands carefully held the phone at a distance he could read it a bit better… but upon witnessing the words on the screen, his expression changed. Anai simply stared at him, eyes locked onto Kengo as he sipped his drink. Kengo’s jaw slightly dropped, hardly able to believe what he was reading… still, with a low voice, he mumbled the saved posts out loud.

| sigNATUREdish | 10/4 – 3:34AM |

Pretty decent fried chicken. I just wonder why you’d use A-brand mayonnaise rather than K-brand. Everyone knows K-brand is superior when paired with fried foods. Bit of a rookie mistake.

| sigNATUREdish | 10/4 – 3:41AM |

Seriously, what’s with that frying pan? Did you forget to clean it? Bad photo? Or am I the only one that sees that? What a poor quality image. Makes me lose my appetite.

| sigNATUREdish | 10/4 – 3:59AM |

Sorry, I laughed out loud at this one. It doesn’t even look like food. I’ve seen something like that in my bidet before.

The room fell silent, the air thickening around the four of them. Retsuko had frozen, recalling her experience with mean comments online back when she was dating Tanado. Fenneko was already on her own phone, doing fast digging… Someone was leaving horrible comments on Anai’s cooking blog… and apparently, he was under the assumption that it was Chika.

“H-How do you know that’s even her?” Kengo finally cracked, defending her. “Chika wouldn’t do something like that. She’s not that kind of person.”

“She’s from Hokkaido, correct?” Anai snatched his phone back, slipping it into the pocket of his suit. “A region known for it’s nature?” He scoffed, referencing the strange username as he cocked his head to the side—crossing his arms protectively over his torso. “She likes cooking, she’s already made comments regarding my choice of ingredients, intentionally tried to cause me physical harm at work—”

“Bud,” Haida quickly interjected, “That last one was not intentional… and none of those things were—”

“I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT SHE’S UP TO!” He yelled, his hand slamming down on the empty can. It crushed under the pressure of his palm, causing everyone to jump.

“And you—” His head twisted towards Kengo, who leaned back into his chair as he met his focused pupils, “You tell her if she does this again, I’m bringing this entire situation up to HR—”

“Nah, definitely wasn’t her.” Fenneko chimed, rather casually from behind her phone screen. Becoming silent, Anai waited and watched as she passed her phone over to Kengo to read something.

“Her Instagram?” Kengo’s brow raised as he looked at the description of her post.

Chika.taka

Despite the later days, it’s still hard for me to stay up past 11PM anymore. The curse of being an early bird!

June 4^th

Displayed was a rather simple picture of what appeared to be her studio apartment. It was pretty plain looking, but the lights were dim and the room was lit with cute fairy lights. There appeared to be a sleep mask on the bed with a couple of pretty cozy looking pillows and a pale blue gingham blanket. There was a glass of wine and a book on her table, and in the corner was the dim light from a TV… and… was that a game system? He didn’t take Chika as the gaming type.

“… And what does this prove?” Anai tried to glance away. “She could be lying about it being hard to stay up late. People fake their lifestyle all the time.”

“Yeah, right.” Fenneko rolled her eyes, “Well, okay. Yes, she’s faking her lifestyle—but she’s really trying hard to looks less…” She tried to find nice words, but after grimacing, finished speaking. “Uhg, she’s trying to look less country mouse more city mouse! Which, by the way, she probably got up at the asscrack of dawn ever since she was a kid. Farm kids usually do that, weekend or not. There’s no way she was up until three in the morning.”

Kengo could feel his blood racing from seeing Anai’s bad side as Fenneko spoke. The girl was on point with her observations—and not to mention, he had an alibi up his sleeve for Chika.

“W-We went out drinking the night before…” Kengo’s brow furrowed, recalling the events following their dinner outing. Chika had drank way too much and was hobbling down the street. Not the first time it had occurred—the two of them both had experiences walking each other home when they were inebriated.  “I actually made sure she got home okay… she was pretty drunk. She passed out on the bed the second I got her inside…”

“There’s no way it could have been her…” Retsuko’s voice became stern as she looked down, “But… that still… leaves things pretty scary.”

Anai looked at his phone with an unreadable expression… he seemed disappointed, but even more so seemed… scared. Genuinely worried. His hand trembled as he looked at the screen, his eyes looking more tired than they had before.

“Bah, it’s probably just some internet troll.” Haida snapped him out of it by giving him a firm pat on the back. “Don’t feed ‘em. Or, well, do feed ‘em, since you run a food blog. You know.” Fenneko audibly booed him for that comment.

“Yeah, well…” Anai put his phone away again, “I… I guess it’s probably not her then.”

Retsuko’s brow furrowed as she looked at him. “Hey, Anai… Chika doesn’t seem like a bad person.” Her voice became soft, “Maybe you should try to start fresh with her. Y’know, we started off on the wrong foot too, and… Well, I’d say we’re pretty comfortable, right?”

Anai sighed, looking away. “I’ll have to think about it…” He muttered.

“That’s a start.” Haida smiled, “Just talk with her dude—maybe in person and not an email. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“I said I’ll think about it.” Irritation came back to his voice. Checking the clock, Anai stood to his feet stating he had to leave, and politely bowed to the group, leaving that gloomy atmosphere behind with the rest of them.

As he walked towards the elevators, he brought out his phone from his pocket once more, pulling up her Instagram page. He looked at the few photos shared on her profile, and mulled over something.

“Keeping a close eye might be more helpful than harmful… she’ll be more than aware it’s me, anyways. I don’t hide who I am online.” He thought to himself, his face souring at the thought she may still very well be the one behind those comments. With a bit of hesitation, he hit the follow button.

In Purchasing, Chika looked at the notification on her phone with a spark of hope in her eyes.