Re: Akira Pseudo-Route [Updated as of 6/18]
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:38 pm
Okay.
It's been about 5 weeks since the last update. Here's the new one.
August 24th is the day I'll resume college classes and living in a dorm, and for all the invasion of privacy it's still a better environment to write in than this place, so hopefully things will pick back up then, for now I'm still in limbo about getting any serious work done. I'm gonna try and have 5-2 out soon I've already written up most of it for reasons I'll divulge during the next update.
Anyway, this is the beginning of act 5. All of the threads are coming together and I'm hoping I'll be able to pull off a big enough finish to satisfy everyone or at least answer all of the questions that have cropped up over the past 9 months since I began writing the Akira route. I hope everyone enjoys this, and as always; comments and criticism are welcome.
Act 5 - Part 1: Come Fly With Me
The entrance to the massive building is marked by a brass plate, the engraving upon it reading ‘Satou Electronics & Communications.’ The imposing structure easily twenty stories tall, although everything seems to glimmer as though it were brand new, from the shiny black steel frame to the thousands of tinted window panes despite a sign informing me that the building is over forty years old.
However, for such a commanding structure, there doesn't seem to be a lot of hustle and bustle around it. The entire city block is vacant for the most part, save for a man or woman in a three-piece suit slipping in and out of the front doors every so often.
It's not the first time I've seen it, but I can't say I've ever been inside. Akira always makes a point of taking a detour and showing me around the area anytime we decide to have our evening walks after work, but I've never been invited inside. She never sees a reason to explain what it's like here either, maybe because today is the first time she's been back at work in nearly a month.
The glass door swings out against my touch, opening to a mixture of simple and modern designs embellished by an incredibly high ceiling and an indoor fountain. The size of it all seems very mismatched for how much business is actually occurring -- there can’t be more than three or four people in here.
Is this what Akira saw the first time she walked in? Maybe they’re just experiencing a slow day; no one ever wants to work on Monday. Either that or this has been reduced to a mere hub for business and redirection ever since their headquarters opened up overseas.
Then again, this is just the reception desk. It’s pretty grandiose for a reception desk, but I guess that’s to be expected with such an affluent company.
Three different elevator doors lay to my right, accompanied by a stairwell. A receptionist focuses on her work at the front desk, a pair of thick-rimmed glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and a shade of lipstick darker than blood on her lips.
“Yes, sir?” The receptionist says with one sharp gaze as I step up to the desk. Her fingers freeze in the middle of typing something and her eyes glance up and down my face, no doubt wondering why she doesn't recognize me.
Or maybe she’s wondering why this guy in a school uniform and carrying two wrapped bento boxes is in the lobby of an office for a multi-national electronics corporation.
I gather up my courage and take a deep breath. “I'm here to see Akira Satou.”
She tilts her head and begins sifting through some papers on the desk. “May I have your name, sir? We don't have anyone scheduled for interviews today.”
“Hisao Nakai.” I answer, hand already perched over my pocket in case she asks for an ID.
More shuffling of papers and a few clicks of her mouse lead to a negative. “I don't have you anywhere in our files. Were you hoping to apply for an internship?”
I shake my head. “Well, no. I was hoping to just see her for a short while.”
And now my inquiry is met with a raised eyebrow. “It's her first day back, I’m not quite sure that she wants to be disturbed even for a short wh-”
“Can you just page her or something? It's uh... difficult to explain. She knows who I am, though.”
As much as I'd love to state what I am to Akira, it's not quite something we've aired to anyone beyond Lilly and Hanako. I haven't even told my parents yet – what would I even say?
“Please?” I add as soon as she opens her mouth to object.
Reluctantly, she picks up the phone and taps a few numbers into the keypad, the long nails of her fingers clacking against the desk as she waits for the other end to answer.
“There's someone here to see you.” The secretary says, waiting a brief moment before mentioning “I think he's a student. He won't say why he's here, except that he needs to see you.”
I begin to shift back and forth in anxiety as she repeats my name to the receiver, “Hisao Nakai.”
Today is her first day back at work, after all...
I knew about it, and I wanted to do something nice to surprise her, but I didn't really stop to think about just how much work someone like her would have to do if they haven't been taking care of business for a while. What if the person that subbed in for them wound up destroying everything?
However, the woman at the desk happens to receive a different answer than what she was expecting, as indicated by the surprised look on her face. “Alright, Ms. Satou. He's down here in the lobby. I can send him up to you, if you would l-”
It would seem that the person on the other end decided to hang up.
Does that mean Akira's coming down? Or is she expecting me to go up and find her? The secretary doesn't seem to have an answer for either question, as she bows her head at me and then goes back to her work, typing with a thinly veiled fury as her eyes glance back and forth between a sheet on the desk and the computer screen.
Does she take her anger out on the keyboard or something?
Maybe I should have worn something else for today. I didn't need to put on a suit, but something nice at the very least. The school uniform I've got on isn’t very appropriate attire for a place where the norm seems to be a full course suit complete with expensive shoes and wristwatches.
Before I have any longer to contemplate my dress choices, however, I’m sent jumping a foot into the air as someone taps me on the shoulder, a reserved ‘hah’ sounding behind me as I grit my teeth in surprise.
“Hey there, big man.” Akira says as I turn around, her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face.
“Good afternoon.” I return, still a bit startled but unable to keep from smiling back. I’ve mentioned my heart condition a few times, but I guess she thinks a light scare is still alright every now and then. “Enjoying your first day back at work?”
She scoffs at the notion as we begin walking to nowhere in particular, both hands in her pockets. “It's been nice to see some old faces, but for the most part nothing around here has changed.”
“It's still the same office as when I left. I don't think anyone even noticed that I took some time off, heh.” Akira adds, a sly grin on her lips.
Some time off, huh? I guess a month is good enough for that. Enough for more than a few events to happen, anyway. Discounting the biggest things, I still managed to spend a week at my parent's and get well ahead of schedule for classes.
I also managed to keep my job, mostly since Tetsuo hasn't shown up at the testing lab ever since that night in front of the penthouse. Mr. Setou says that he's being shifted around to accommodate all of the duties he's been taking up, but I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I can never look him in the eye again.
Regardless of that, now's not the time to be thinking of these things. “Dang, I was under the impression that you'd be super busy. I guess the dinner I brought for you isn't going to be as enjoyable.”
She lets out an amused 'hah,' eyeballing the wrapped boxes with an interested glint. “The snack machines here are always empty, so any food I can get is more than welcome.”
Eventually we come to an elevator and Akira taps a button near the middle of the panel to the side, as if by instinct. “So what did ya get me?”
“I'm not sure what's in them, honestly.” I say, lifting one of the packages up and checking it once more for any kind of label, aside from the barcode and label indicating that it was made here in the city. “They were just putting them out on the shelf, though, so it shouldn't be anything stale. I got it from the restaurant a few blocks away.”
They're still warm, as well. Is it safe to assume that they’re insulated or something of that nature? I grew up buying lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else, my mom wasn’t too much of a cook.
My explanation is met by a short nod, followed by a ding as the elevator doors slide open. “As long as it isn't anything that was once part of a squid, I'm good. Then again, I'd probably eat it either way since you went through the trouble of treating me.”
She shoots me a warm smile before wrapping one arm around my waist and pulling me into a hug. I lean into her as best I can, wishing I could return the sentiment but being unable to without knocking one of the boxes against her head.
It's been almost five weeks since that night in front of her condominium, and yet time has blurred to the point where I feel like it was only yesterday. The past month of my life has sped by in the blink of an eye, between that first phone call I got during summer break and the dozens of nights I've spent roaming the city with her.
The only thing I'm certain of is that it's not an easy thing to describe -- what's developed between Akira and myself that is. One day during summer break she gave me a call, and... well, nothing much happened. We just talked.
And talked.
And talked.
And then I looked at the clock and it was four in the morning.
We didn't talk about anything important, really. Just making plain conversation. The things we wanted to see and do, stories about everything whether it be humorous or sad, what it was like in school for her, and... everything else.
Ever since that night, I feel as though we've been talking non-stop. Some days I wake up early just to tell her good morning, and others I can't get to sleep until she tells me good night. We certainly act like we’re a relationship, except there's the fact that I've never explicitly asked her out and she's never explicitly referred to me as her boyfriend.
The feelings are there, though. I still remember the night she called me up just to tell me that – to give me the reply I'd been hoping for all this time.
'Well, you know, I like you too.'
For the first time in months, my heart had stopped and it wasn't because of grief or stress.
I was perfectly okay with that.
Sometimes she waits for me outside the lab, and we'll go get a late dinner or something along those lines. Nothing major has happened ever since, since we haven't had an actual 'date' and we've yet to share anything more than a warm hug or a playful dance at the jazz club, but it's the fact that we've been spending a lot of time together that matters to me.
I can't think of a word to describe it, other than maybe 'warm.' I want to see how far I can go with this.
I'm released from her embrace soon enough as the elevator door opens to the seventh floor, our feet trading places with two women dressed in similar office attire. They exchange greetings with Akira as they pass, giving a light bow of their heads as the door closes between us.
This floor looks very similar to the lobby, with the same general design style minus the incredibly high ceiling. Offices are separated from the continuous hallway only by thin windows and doors that hang ajar. I'm not quite sure what part of the company this floor constitutes but all of the nameplates here have lengthy titles and prefixes, so I can only assume it has to do with the legal division.
The only strange thing so far is the fact that no one even bats an eye at my presence, offering a quick glance as if to size me up and discern my connection to the woman beside me before they return to their business. It's certainly a far cry from the 'welcome' I got at the entrance.
“So whaddya think?” Akira asks as we navigate the hallways on the way to her office.
Akira's a corporate lawyer and the director of human resources here, and considering the fact that this place reminds me of a law firm, “it's not too far off from what I was expecting.”
She lets out a short laugh. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“I was expecting people to be groveling around you since you're the daughter of the guy that owns the company, but so far they barely seem to notice you.” I reply, glancing at a pair of men in suits who pass us by at that moment, neither of them looking away from their papers.
My remark is met with a light shrug, “it's never something that's gotten in the way.”
“The opposite could be said, actually.” She adds as we finally approach what must be her office, a door much like the rest but with a golden ‘Satou’ nameplate rather than the regular brass. “I got a job here way too easily for someone who didn’t even have a two-year degree.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask, barely having enough time to read all of the titles beneath her nameplate, the largest of which reads 'Director of Hiring and Human Resources' in bold, proud lettering. One jarring detail is the fact that there seems to be at least a dozen spaces below it where some kind of label or name may have sat, but were scraped off of the wall.
It's something she's never gone into detail about for some reason. I know that she was working through college and that her uncle helped her get a job, but it's never a story that's been made clear to me. She's been here for almost five years by the sounds of it, so I can imagine she's had time to work her way up.
The inside of her office seems to sit on the halfway mark between bare and furnished. A stack of cardboard boxes sits along the opposite wall, some of which have already been opened and flattened into the corner. I suppose that's to be expected after a month-long absence where you thought you wouldn't be coming back.
Akira gestures for me to sit beside her as she plops down on a small leather sofa against the wall, nestled between a dozen filing cabinets – six on either side. “Unlike my father, who wanted me to become an accountant, my uncle was all for giving me a chance in this side of the business world.”
“As a coffee girl.” She says after a short pause, the aloof look on her face not revealing whether she's proud or embarrassed of this fact. “He was pretty generous with the recommendations, though.”
The beige walls lie bare, the only thing hanging up being a framed copy of Akira's two-year degree in corporate law. A large hardwood desk sits in the middle of the spacious office, looking as though a printer and a fax machine had both exploded atop it.
“I guess I was pretty fortunate to get to start out doing the job I applied for, rather than having to work my way up.” I say. Then again, 'sanitary technician' isn't exactly a job you should have to try for.
She lays back in the sofa, cradling her head in both hands as she lightly leans against me. “Well, yeah, it's always nice. You can't just start out in this kind of business, though. You've gotta work your way up, and I was lucky enough to get even that much of an opportunity considering my education.”
“Wanna know something funny?” She says, glancing over at me with a smile. “I inherited this position from my uncle because he decided that I was better suited than all of the men and women that had been with the company for years and years.”
“What makes that funny?” I ask, tilting my head.
The sofa creaks as she shifts around in her seat, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. “If you knew my uncle, you'd find the mere mention of the word 'inherited' to be hilarious. He's a tough man to impress.”
So wait, her uncle was previously in the position Akira's in now. I've heard that the company is owned by her family, but is the entire company run by it as well? Aunts and uncles in management positions, cousins and nieces and nephews delivering papers and serving coffee?
“Maybe I'll wind up meeting him someday.” I muse, laying back in the seat as she slides her shoes off and swings her legs up onto my lap. At first it makes me wary about anyone walking in, but I guess if she's taking a lunch break then she won't have to worry about being disturbed.
Suddenly reminded of something, Akira freezes in the middle of reaching for her bento and jerks up. “Oh yeah, I'm glad you came by today since I've gotta talk to you about some stuff.”
She shifts around in her seat in order to get into her pants pocket, fishing her phone out with one hand while unwrapping her dinner with the other. A 'clack' sounds as she opens her cell phone and begins tabbing through its contents, holding it out for me after a few moments.
“I could explain to you what's going on, but I think it'll take some context.” Akira says with a glum tone. Although I have to wonder just how dreary of a mood this puts her in when she can immediately give an excited expression like that just for the contents of her bento.
The bright screen reveals that she's calling her voicemail, making me rush it to my ear.
It only takes a few moments for the recorded message to begin, beginning with a rather stern-voiced male. “Yes, Akira, this is your father speaking. At first I believed that we could have sorted some matters out over the phone, but now that I know you won't PICK UP your phone I've decided to try another approach.”
Some background chatter fills the following long pause, sounding almost like a woman griping at him over something. All I can really make out is his response, a disinterested “then why don't you, I don't know, call them and tell them I won't be able to make it? It's not that difficult.”
Was that her mother? I can understand having a 'patriarchal' attitude when you've got two daughters, but this guy just sounds like a complete jackass.
Well, despite that, all I needed was a dozen words to see which side of the family Akira gets the sarcasm from.
“Anyway, Akira, I'd just like to inform you that I'll be coming to Japan in a few days. Phone calls don't seem to be enough with you, so hopefully some face-time will get you to drop this pointless and incessant behavior.”
“'Incessant behavior?'” I repeat as soon as I'm slapped with the 'beep' of the other person abruptly hanging up.
Akira lets out a semi-amused 'hah' at my reaction, shifting in the seat as she tries to get more comfortable. “Yeah, he's like that.”
“I'm in my mid-twenties and he treats me like I'm thirteen. Give me a break.” She says between mouthfuls of rice, seeming somehow disinterested despite bringing it up as something grave.
The sight of the steam rising off of her food helps me decide that now would be a good time to go ahead and dig into my own. “What do you think he's trying to do? I figured you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to go back to Scotland.”
“Yeah, no, he got the point -- he's just being a big baby about it.” She nods, eyeballing the fried shrimp in my own bento. “When you inherit a company full of yes-men from the father that spoiled you, of course your business ego is going to take a big hit from someone telling you 'no.'”
“That someone being your daughter no less.” Akira adds, reaching over and plucking a single piece of shrimp from my dinner.
I make a playful attempt to parry her chopsticks, only to fail. “The daughter that practically moved out and achieved independence nearly a decade ago.”
She gives a dismissive 'hmph' and continues taking pot-shots at my food, ignoring her own. “Either way, I'm sure he'll be here within the week, which is why I brought it up. He's not the kind of guy that makes idle threats.”
“So what does your uncle have to do with any of this?” I ask, deciding to snatch a piece of beef out of her box since she doesn't seem to want it anymore.
“Ah, hey!” She objects as I complete the deed. “All you've gotta do is ask, y'know.”
This time I'm the one that shrugs. “Well, you decided to sample mine without asking. I figured we were on open ground here.”
She shoots me a playful smirk as she worms her arm around mine and snatches up another piece of food. “So what's with all the objections?”
Before I can add anything more to the argument, she adds an “open up.”
My mouth opens by instinct and before my mind can even register what has happened, she places the bite of food on my tongue and nudges my jaw shut with the chopsticks, an amused grin on her lips.
“Tasty.” I remark after swallowing the food, frozen in my seat.
“I'll bet.” She jabs, crossing her legs in my lap.
A few moments of silence elapse before I decide to try the same thing on her, snaking my arm between hers and plucking the cherry off of her rice. As if expecting or even waiting for the moment, Akira leans forward and closes her eyes, snapping her lips shut as soon as I place it in her mouth.
“Almost missed my mouth there, cowboy.” She grins, relaxing in her seat and letting out a contented sigh.
Of course, it's only a few moments of silence before we both burst out in laughter.
“That was way too corny.” I say, setting my food up on one of the filing cabinets before it has a chance to get knocked onto the floor.
My remark is met with a playful smile, “I don't mind a few cheesy moments every now and then.”
“Don't go writing any love letters or anything, though.” She adds, shrugging and beginning to poke at her own food again. “Stuff like that happened all the time to both Lilly and myself and I never got the point. Just come out and say it.”
I let out a chuckle. “Alright, I'll just throw pebbles at your window at three in the morning if I have anything that needs to be said.”
She returns my grin, having to stifle a snicker. “Oh yeah, stuff like that is so romantic. You know what I like even more? Being proposed to after a week. With your best friend's class ring.”
“You sound like you speak from experience.” I muse.
Her chopsticks stop for a moment as she contemplates whether or not the stories floating in her head are worth sharing. “I'll tell you about all that some other time; I don't wanna use up all my lunch break.”
“I've got some stories you’d get a laugh out of, though.” She adds dismissively, avoiding eye contact as my own gaze slides up and down her expression. “Just because he's got a degree and a three-piece suit doesn't mean he knows anything about girls.”
“Am I doing better?” I ask out of curiosity, glancing at the remaining portion of my dinner as I reach up to retrieve it.
“So far?” She says with a curious look. “It’s too early to tell, honestly. Not that I’d like to make a habit of comparing you to my exes. I’d rather just have someone who I can sit down and watch a movie with.”
She takes that opportunity to nudge me in the cheek with her foot, which is clad in only a thin black sock. “I spend way too much time at work to worry about being stressed out by relationships on the side, and I'm glad you don't keep me thinking about that crap.”
“Well I'm happy to help.” I remark, wiggling the tip of my index finger up and down the bottom of her foot. “I can't say much about what I want out of a relationship because, w-”
My words are cut off as she gives my head a sharp push with her foot.
“Ticklish?” I jab as I try to keep from laughing. At the very least I can be thankful that she didn't outright kick me or even nudge me with enough force for it to hurt – maybe she just has soft feet.
“Just a bit.” She says, deciding to sit up in the sofa and slip her shoes back on. “Just be glad that wasn't my side. I accidentally punched my dad in the face when I was twelve because of that little detail.”
Punched her dad in the face when she was twelve because he tickled her? “I didn't know you and your father were ever close enough to have tickle fights.”
She shrugs it off, like an insignificant detail. “It's not like he was a total dictator. He had his moments...”
“Every couple of years.” She adds on with a wistful look. “Anyway, what I meant to tell you before you threw my train of thought off with all that mushy stuff was that my uncle was coming to visit.”
Does he know about Akira's father coming back to Japan? I haven't heard much about her family's relations with each other, but I can't imagine Mr. Satou having a very good track record if he treats his wife and daughters that way.
Unless all the men of her family are like that. “Is it really just to visit, or is it for something else?”
She waves her hand back and forth to dispel my thoughts. “Naaah, he comes down once a year to visit his daughter since she goes to school near here. He insists that it's to make sure I haven't destroyed the company, though.”
So the times just happen to sync up with this happening, then. Maybe it'll result in something interesting; Mr. Satou fighting to get Akira to go back to Scotland and her uncle opposing him just to keep her here. At the very least it'd be nice to know I'm not alone.
“His daughter goes to school around here?” I ask.
I thought Lilly was the only family she had nearby. I knew that she had other relatives in Japan since she’s made mentions of her cousin before, but I had always figured that they lived on the other side of Japan.
She nods. “She goes to Yamaku; same year as you and Lilly, actually. I wouldn't know if you've met her or not, though, since I haven't gotten a chance to meet with her in a long time.”
“Are there any parts of your family outside of Lilly who you’re attached to?” I inquire, relenting that every time she mentions a family member it's always followed by 'it's been a while since I did something with them.'
“Well...” Akira trails off, slumping forward in her seat as she tries to think of answers to the question. “I spend a lot of time with another cousin, but I don't think you've ever met him. He’s a real barrel of fun if you know how to deal with him.”
She says that last snippet as if it were both endearing and sarcastic at the same time. I can’t help but wonder if her entire family is the same way; endearing, but not without their healthy share of issues.
“Will I ever get to meet him?” I ask, standing up and looking around her office for a trashcan for both my empty dinner box and hers.
She nods and perks up, a sly smile on her lips. “Oh yeah, I'll be sure to tell you the next time he comes around. He might be over with my uncle tomorrow.”
I jerk around to face her. “What do you mean tomorrow?”
“I didn't mention it?” Akira replies, raising her arms over her head in an after-dinner stretch. “Oh yeah, he's going to be over here tomorrow. I actually meant to ask if you were gonna be working.”
No. I don't work tomorrow. I don't work on Wednesday either. “I'll be freed up, certainly.”
She gives a nod of her head. “You might wanna get ready for it, then. My father is enough to worry about on his own, the fact that my uncle might be around for it is just asking for something stupid to happen.”
“You say it like they’ll get into a fist-fight or something.”
“Not fists, swords.” Akira notes in a plain voice, as though it were a regular thing for her.
Before I have a chance to ask what she could possibly mean, though, a sharp knock on the door takes the momentum out of both sides of the conversation.
“Yeah, it’s about that time.” Akira sighs, glancing at a small digital clock on her desk.
She strides past me and pulls the door open, revealing a male aide holding a fairly large folder bursting with papers. He doesn’t even have to say anything for Akira to know what comes next, even if I’m left wondering what kind of business she has to take care of.
His eyes jump between me and Akira, unassuming and yet I know, in his head, he’s already passing judgment on me. The blonde-haired girl beside me takes the opportunity to face away from him and give a light shrug.
“Gotta get back to work. You know how it is.” She groans, seeming a bit annoyed with the person behind her.
A short pause follows her statement where she glances over her shoulder, shooting the aide a look as if to say ‘come back in a few minutes.’
And then, she reaches back with one leg and slams the door shut with her foot before wrapping both arms around my waist. “I'll call you after I get off work. You shouldn't have any trouble finding the way out, right?”
I shake my head and return the embrace, settling my head against hers. “I guess I should start getting ready to face down your uncle?”
She gives a mild laugh. “I think he’s a few inches taller than you. And he hunts bears.”
The smile on my face dissolves in seconds. “Oh.”
With that, she lets go of me and opens the door behind her, gesturing for me to leave despite the fact that she prefers my company over her co-worker’s. The co-worker who happens to be standing outside the door, still clueless.
It would be nice if I could come around here more often. The dinner was somewhat expensive, but it’s not like I have anything else to put the money towards for the time being. And any time at all I get to spend with her is well worth it, regardless of how much money, time, or effort I have to spend.
The important thing now is that I get ready to meet some of her family. I’m not entirely sure about how I’m supposed to feel, but it helps to stay positive, right?
It's been about 5 weeks since the last update. Here's the new one.
August 24th is the day I'll resume college classes and living in a dorm, and for all the invasion of privacy it's still a better environment to write in than this place, so hopefully things will pick back up then, for now I'm still in limbo about getting any serious work done. I'm gonna try and have 5-2 out soon I've already written up most of it for reasons I'll divulge during the next update.
Anyway, this is the beginning of act 5. All of the threads are coming together and I'm hoping I'll be able to pull off a big enough finish to satisfy everyone or at least answer all of the questions that have cropped up over the past 9 months since I began writing the Akira route. I hope everyone enjoys this, and as always; comments and criticism are welcome.
Act 5 - Part 1: Come Fly With Me
The entrance to the massive building is marked by a brass plate, the engraving upon it reading ‘Satou Electronics & Communications.’ The imposing structure easily twenty stories tall, although everything seems to glimmer as though it were brand new, from the shiny black steel frame to the thousands of tinted window panes despite a sign informing me that the building is over forty years old.
However, for such a commanding structure, there doesn't seem to be a lot of hustle and bustle around it. The entire city block is vacant for the most part, save for a man or woman in a three-piece suit slipping in and out of the front doors every so often.
It's not the first time I've seen it, but I can't say I've ever been inside. Akira always makes a point of taking a detour and showing me around the area anytime we decide to have our evening walks after work, but I've never been invited inside. She never sees a reason to explain what it's like here either, maybe because today is the first time she's been back at work in nearly a month.
The glass door swings out against my touch, opening to a mixture of simple and modern designs embellished by an incredibly high ceiling and an indoor fountain. The size of it all seems very mismatched for how much business is actually occurring -- there can’t be more than three or four people in here.
Is this what Akira saw the first time she walked in? Maybe they’re just experiencing a slow day; no one ever wants to work on Monday. Either that or this has been reduced to a mere hub for business and redirection ever since their headquarters opened up overseas.
Then again, this is just the reception desk. It’s pretty grandiose for a reception desk, but I guess that’s to be expected with such an affluent company.
Three different elevator doors lay to my right, accompanied by a stairwell. A receptionist focuses on her work at the front desk, a pair of thick-rimmed glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and a shade of lipstick darker than blood on her lips.
“Yes, sir?” The receptionist says with one sharp gaze as I step up to the desk. Her fingers freeze in the middle of typing something and her eyes glance up and down my face, no doubt wondering why she doesn't recognize me.
Or maybe she’s wondering why this guy in a school uniform and carrying two wrapped bento boxes is in the lobby of an office for a multi-national electronics corporation.
I gather up my courage and take a deep breath. “I'm here to see Akira Satou.”
She tilts her head and begins sifting through some papers on the desk. “May I have your name, sir? We don't have anyone scheduled for interviews today.”
“Hisao Nakai.” I answer, hand already perched over my pocket in case she asks for an ID.
More shuffling of papers and a few clicks of her mouse lead to a negative. “I don't have you anywhere in our files. Were you hoping to apply for an internship?”
I shake my head. “Well, no. I was hoping to just see her for a short while.”
And now my inquiry is met with a raised eyebrow. “It's her first day back, I’m not quite sure that she wants to be disturbed even for a short wh-”
“Can you just page her or something? It's uh... difficult to explain. She knows who I am, though.”
As much as I'd love to state what I am to Akira, it's not quite something we've aired to anyone beyond Lilly and Hanako. I haven't even told my parents yet – what would I even say?
“Please?” I add as soon as she opens her mouth to object.
Reluctantly, she picks up the phone and taps a few numbers into the keypad, the long nails of her fingers clacking against the desk as she waits for the other end to answer.
“There's someone here to see you.” The secretary says, waiting a brief moment before mentioning “I think he's a student. He won't say why he's here, except that he needs to see you.”
I begin to shift back and forth in anxiety as she repeats my name to the receiver, “Hisao Nakai.”
Today is her first day back at work, after all...
I knew about it, and I wanted to do something nice to surprise her, but I didn't really stop to think about just how much work someone like her would have to do if they haven't been taking care of business for a while. What if the person that subbed in for them wound up destroying everything?
However, the woman at the desk happens to receive a different answer than what she was expecting, as indicated by the surprised look on her face. “Alright, Ms. Satou. He's down here in the lobby. I can send him up to you, if you would l-”
It would seem that the person on the other end decided to hang up.
Does that mean Akira's coming down? Or is she expecting me to go up and find her? The secretary doesn't seem to have an answer for either question, as she bows her head at me and then goes back to her work, typing with a thinly veiled fury as her eyes glance back and forth between a sheet on the desk and the computer screen.
Does she take her anger out on the keyboard or something?
Maybe I should have worn something else for today. I didn't need to put on a suit, but something nice at the very least. The school uniform I've got on isn’t very appropriate attire for a place where the norm seems to be a full course suit complete with expensive shoes and wristwatches.
Before I have any longer to contemplate my dress choices, however, I’m sent jumping a foot into the air as someone taps me on the shoulder, a reserved ‘hah’ sounding behind me as I grit my teeth in surprise.
“Hey there, big man.” Akira says as I turn around, her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face.
“Good afternoon.” I return, still a bit startled but unable to keep from smiling back. I’ve mentioned my heart condition a few times, but I guess she thinks a light scare is still alright every now and then. “Enjoying your first day back at work?”
She scoffs at the notion as we begin walking to nowhere in particular, both hands in her pockets. “It's been nice to see some old faces, but for the most part nothing around here has changed.”
“It's still the same office as when I left. I don't think anyone even noticed that I took some time off, heh.” Akira adds, a sly grin on her lips.
Some time off, huh? I guess a month is good enough for that. Enough for more than a few events to happen, anyway. Discounting the biggest things, I still managed to spend a week at my parent's and get well ahead of schedule for classes.
I also managed to keep my job, mostly since Tetsuo hasn't shown up at the testing lab ever since that night in front of the penthouse. Mr. Setou says that he's being shifted around to accommodate all of the duties he's been taking up, but I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I can never look him in the eye again.
Regardless of that, now's not the time to be thinking of these things. “Dang, I was under the impression that you'd be super busy. I guess the dinner I brought for you isn't going to be as enjoyable.”
She lets out an amused 'hah,' eyeballing the wrapped boxes with an interested glint. “The snack machines here are always empty, so any food I can get is more than welcome.”
Eventually we come to an elevator and Akira taps a button near the middle of the panel to the side, as if by instinct. “So what did ya get me?”
“I'm not sure what's in them, honestly.” I say, lifting one of the packages up and checking it once more for any kind of label, aside from the barcode and label indicating that it was made here in the city. “They were just putting them out on the shelf, though, so it shouldn't be anything stale. I got it from the restaurant a few blocks away.”
They're still warm, as well. Is it safe to assume that they’re insulated or something of that nature? I grew up buying lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else, my mom wasn’t too much of a cook.
My explanation is met by a short nod, followed by a ding as the elevator doors slide open. “As long as it isn't anything that was once part of a squid, I'm good. Then again, I'd probably eat it either way since you went through the trouble of treating me.”
She shoots me a warm smile before wrapping one arm around my waist and pulling me into a hug. I lean into her as best I can, wishing I could return the sentiment but being unable to without knocking one of the boxes against her head.
It's been almost five weeks since that night in front of her condominium, and yet time has blurred to the point where I feel like it was only yesterday. The past month of my life has sped by in the blink of an eye, between that first phone call I got during summer break and the dozens of nights I've spent roaming the city with her.
The only thing I'm certain of is that it's not an easy thing to describe -- what's developed between Akira and myself that is. One day during summer break she gave me a call, and... well, nothing much happened. We just talked.
And talked.
And talked.
And then I looked at the clock and it was four in the morning.
We didn't talk about anything important, really. Just making plain conversation. The things we wanted to see and do, stories about everything whether it be humorous or sad, what it was like in school for her, and... everything else.
Ever since that night, I feel as though we've been talking non-stop. Some days I wake up early just to tell her good morning, and others I can't get to sleep until she tells me good night. We certainly act like we’re a relationship, except there's the fact that I've never explicitly asked her out and she's never explicitly referred to me as her boyfriend.
The feelings are there, though. I still remember the night she called me up just to tell me that – to give me the reply I'd been hoping for all this time.
'Well, you know, I like you too.'
For the first time in months, my heart had stopped and it wasn't because of grief or stress.
I was perfectly okay with that.
Sometimes she waits for me outside the lab, and we'll go get a late dinner or something along those lines. Nothing major has happened ever since, since we haven't had an actual 'date' and we've yet to share anything more than a warm hug or a playful dance at the jazz club, but it's the fact that we've been spending a lot of time together that matters to me.
I can't think of a word to describe it, other than maybe 'warm.' I want to see how far I can go with this.
I'm released from her embrace soon enough as the elevator door opens to the seventh floor, our feet trading places with two women dressed in similar office attire. They exchange greetings with Akira as they pass, giving a light bow of their heads as the door closes between us.
This floor looks very similar to the lobby, with the same general design style minus the incredibly high ceiling. Offices are separated from the continuous hallway only by thin windows and doors that hang ajar. I'm not quite sure what part of the company this floor constitutes but all of the nameplates here have lengthy titles and prefixes, so I can only assume it has to do with the legal division.
The only strange thing so far is the fact that no one even bats an eye at my presence, offering a quick glance as if to size me up and discern my connection to the woman beside me before they return to their business. It's certainly a far cry from the 'welcome' I got at the entrance.
“So whaddya think?” Akira asks as we navigate the hallways on the way to her office.
Akira's a corporate lawyer and the director of human resources here, and considering the fact that this place reminds me of a law firm, “it's not too far off from what I was expecting.”
She lets out a short laugh. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“I was expecting people to be groveling around you since you're the daughter of the guy that owns the company, but so far they barely seem to notice you.” I reply, glancing at a pair of men in suits who pass us by at that moment, neither of them looking away from their papers.
My remark is met with a light shrug, “it's never something that's gotten in the way.”
“The opposite could be said, actually.” She adds as we finally approach what must be her office, a door much like the rest but with a golden ‘Satou’ nameplate rather than the regular brass. “I got a job here way too easily for someone who didn’t even have a two-year degree.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask, barely having enough time to read all of the titles beneath her nameplate, the largest of which reads 'Director of Hiring and Human Resources' in bold, proud lettering. One jarring detail is the fact that there seems to be at least a dozen spaces below it where some kind of label or name may have sat, but were scraped off of the wall.
It's something she's never gone into detail about for some reason. I know that she was working through college and that her uncle helped her get a job, but it's never a story that's been made clear to me. She's been here for almost five years by the sounds of it, so I can imagine she's had time to work her way up.
The inside of her office seems to sit on the halfway mark between bare and furnished. A stack of cardboard boxes sits along the opposite wall, some of which have already been opened and flattened into the corner. I suppose that's to be expected after a month-long absence where you thought you wouldn't be coming back.
Akira gestures for me to sit beside her as she plops down on a small leather sofa against the wall, nestled between a dozen filing cabinets – six on either side. “Unlike my father, who wanted me to become an accountant, my uncle was all for giving me a chance in this side of the business world.”
“As a coffee girl.” She says after a short pause, the aloof look on her face not revealing whether she's proud or embarrassed of this fact. “He was pretty generous with the recommendations, though.”
The beige walls lie bare, the only thing hanging up being a framed copy of Akira's two-year degree in corporate law. A large hardwood desk sits in the middle of the spacious office, looking as though a printer and a fax machine had both exploded atop it.
“I guess I was pretty fortunate to get to start out doing the job I applied for, rather than having to work my way up.” I say. Then again, 'sanitary technician' isn't exactly a job you should have to try for.
She lays back in the sofa, cradling her head in both hands as she lightly leans against me. “Well, yeah, it's always nice. You can't just start out in this kind of business, though. You've gotta work your way up, and I was lucky enough to get even that much of an opportunity considering my education.”
“Wanna know something funny?” She says, glancing over at me with a smile. “I inherited this position from my uncle because he decided that I was better suited than all of the men and women that had been with the company for years and years.”
“What makes that funny?” I ask, tilting my head.
The sofa creaks as she shifts around in her seat, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. “If you knew my uncle, you'd find the mere mention of the word 'inherited' to be hilarious. He's a tough man to impress.”
So wait, her uncle was previously in the position Akira's in now. I've heard that the company is owned by her family, but is the entire company run by it as well? Aunts and uncles in management positions, cousins and nieces and nephews delivering papers and serving coffee?
“Maybe I'll wind up meeting him someday.” I muse, laying back in the seat as she slides her shoes off and swings her legs up onto my lap. At first it makes me wary about anyone walking in, but I guess if she's taking a lunch break then she won't have to worry about being disturbed.
Suddenly reminded of something, Akira freezes in the middle of reaching for her bento and jerks up. “Oh yeah, I'm glad you came by today since I've gotta talk to you about some stuff.”
She shifts around in her seat in order to get into her pants pocket, fishing her phone out with one hand while unwrapping her dinner with the other. A 'clack' sounds as she opens her cell phone and begins tabbing through its contents, holding it out for me after a few moments.
“I could explain to you what's going on, but I think it'll take some context.” Akira says with a glum tone. Although I have to wonder just how dreary of a mood this puts her in when she can immediately give an excited expression like that just for the contents of her bento.
The bright screen reveals that she's calling her voicemail, making me rush it to my ear.
It only takes a few moments for the recorded message to begin, beginning with a rather stern-voiced male. “Yes, Akira, this is your father speaking. At first I believed that we could have sorted some matters out over the phone, but now that I know you won't PICK UP your phone I've decided to try another approach.”
Some background chatter fills the following long pause, sounding almost like a woman griping at him over something. All I can really make out is his response, a disinterested “then why don't you, I don't know, call them and tell them I won't be able to make it? It's not that difficult.”
Was that her mother? I can understand having a 'patriarchal' attitude when you've got two daughters, but this guy just sounds like a complete jackass.
Well, despite that, all I needed was a dozen words to see which side of the family Akira gets the sarcasm from.
“Anyway, Akira, I'd just like to inform you that I'll be coming to Japan in a few days. Phone calls don't seem to be enough with you, so hopefully some face-time will get you to drop this pointless and incessant behavior.”
“'Incessant behavior?'” I repeat as soon as I'm slapped with the 'beep' of the other person abruptly hanging up.
Akira lets out a semi-amused 'hah' at my reaction, shifting in the seat as she tries to get more comfortable. “Yeah, he's like that.”
“I'm in my mid-twenties and he treats me like I'm thirteen. Give me a break.” She says between mouthfuls of rice, seeming somehow disinterested despite bringing it up as something grave.
The sight of the steam rising off of her food helps me decide that now would be a good time to go ahead and dig into my own. “What do you think he's trying to do? I figured you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to go back to Scotland.”
“Yeah, no, he got the point -- he's just being a big baby about it.” She nods, eyeballing the fried shrimp in my own bento. “When you inherit a company full of yes-men from the father that spoiled you, of course your business ego is going to take a big hit from someone telling you 'no.'”
“That someone being your daughter no less.” Akira adds, reaching over and plucking a single piece of shrimp from my dinner.
I make a playful attempt to parry her chopsticks, only to fail. “The daughter that practically moved out and achieved independence nearly a decade ago.”
She gives a dismissive 'hmph' and continues taking pot-shots at my food, ignoring her own. “Either way, I'm sure he'll be here within the week, which is why I brought it up. He's not the kind of guy that makes idle threats.”
“So what does your uncle have to do with any of this?” I ask, deciding to snatch a piece of beef out of her box since she doesn't seem to want it anymore.
“Ah, hey!” She objects as I complete the deed. “All you've gotta do is ask, y'know.”
This time I'm the one that shrugs. “Well, you decided to sample mine without asking. I figured we were on open ground here.”
She shoots me a playful smirk as she worms her arm around mine and snatches up another piece of food. “So what's with all the objections?”
Before I can add anything more to the argument, she adds an “open up.”
My mouth opens by instinct and before my mind can even register what has happened, she places the bite of food on my tongue and nudges my jaw shut with the chopsticks, an amused grin on her lips.
“Tasty.” I remark after swallowing the food, frozen in my seat.
“I'll bet.” She jabs, crossing her legs in my lap.
A few moments of silence elapse before I decide to try the same thing on her, snaking my arm between hers and plucking the cherry off of her rice. As if expecting or even waiting for the moment, Akira leans forward and closes her eyes, snapping her lips shut as soon as I place it in her mouth.
“Almost missed my mouth there, cowboy.” She grins, relaxing in her seat and letting out a contented sigh.
Of course, it's only a few moments of silence before we both burst out in laughter.
“That was way too corny.” I say, setting my food up on one of the filing cabinets before it has a chance to get knocked onto the floor.
My remark is met with a playful smile, “I don't mind a few cheesy moments every now and then.”
“Don't go writing any love letters or anything, though.” She adds, shrugging and beginning to poke at her own food again. “Stuff like that happened all the time to both Lilly and myself and I never got the point. Just come out and say it.”
I let out a chuckle. “Alright, I'll just throw pebbles at your window at three in the morning if I have anything that needs to be said.”
She returns my grin, having to stifle a snicker. “Oh yeah, stuff like that is so romantic. You know what I like even more? Being proposed to after a week. With your best friend's class ring.”
“You sound like you speak from experience.” I muse.
Her chopsticks stop for a moment as she contemplates whether or not the stories floating in her head are worth sharing. “I'll tell you about all that some other time; I don't wanna use up all my lunch break.”
“I've got some stories you’d get a laugh out of, though.” She adds dismissively, avoiding eye contact as my own gaze slides up and down her expression. “Just because he's got a degree and a three-piece suit doesn't mean he knows anything about girls.”
“Am I doing better?” I ask out of curiosity, glancing at the remaining portion of my dinner as I reach up to retrieve it.
“So far?” She says with a curious look. “It’s too early to tell, honestly. Not that I’d like to make a habit of comparing you to my exes. I’d rather just have someone who I can sit down and watch a movie with.”
She takes that opportunity to nudge me in the cheek with her foot, which is clad in only a thin black sock. “I spend way too much time at work to worry about being stressed out by relationships on the side, and I'm glad you don't keep me thinking about that crap.”
“Well I'm happy to help.” I remark, wiggling the tip of my index finger up and down the bottom of her foot. “I can't say much about what I want out of a relationship because, w-”
My words are cut off as she gives my head a sharp push with her foot.
“Ticklish?” I jab as I try to keep from laughing. At the very least I can be thankful that she didn't outright kick me or even nudge me with enough force for it to hurt – maybe she just has soft feet.
“Just a bit.” She says, deciding to sit up in the sofa and slip her shoes back on. “Just be glad that wasn't my side. I accidentally punched my dad in the face when I was twelve because of that little detail.”
Punched her dad in the face when she was twelve because he tickled her? “I didn't know you and your father were ever close enough to have tickle fights.”
She shrugs it off, like an insignificant detail. “It's not like he was a total dictator. He had his moments...”
“Every couple of years.” She adds on with a wistful look. “Anyway, what I meant to tell you before you threw my train of thought off with all that mushy stuff was that my uncle was coming to visit.”
Does he know about Akira's father coming back to Japan? I haven't heard much about her family's relations with each other, but I can't imagine Mr. Satou having a very good track record if he treats his wife and daughters that way.
Unless all the men of her family are like that. “Is it really just to visit, or is it for something else?”
She waves her hand back and forth to dispel my thoughts. “Naaah, he comes down once a year to visit his daughter since she goes to school near here. He insists that it's to make sure I haven't destroyed the company, though.”
So the times just happen to sync up with this happening, then. Maybe it'll result in something interesting; Mr. Satou fighting to get Akira to go back to Scotland and her uncle opposing him just to keep her here. At the very least it'd be nice to know I'm not alone.
“His daughter goes to school around here?” I ask.
I thought Lilly was the only family she had nearby. I knew that she had other relatives in Japan since she’s made mentions of her cousin before, but I had always figured that they lived on the other side of Japan.
She nods. “She goes to Yamaku; same year as you and Lilly, actually. I wouldn't know if you've met her or not, though, since I haven't gotten a chance to meet with her in a long time.”
“Are there any parts of your family outside of Lilly who you’re attached to?” I inquire, relenting that every time she mentions a family member it's always followed by 'it's been a while since I did something with them.'
“Well...” Akira trails off, slumping forward in her seat as she tries to think of answers to the question. “I spend a lot of time with another cousin, but I don't think you've ever met him. He’s a real barrel of fun if you know how to deal with him.”
She says that last snippet as if it were both endearing and sarcastic at the same time. I can’t help but wonder if her entire family is the same way; endearing, but not without their healthy share of issues.
“Will I ever get to meet him?” I ask, standing up and looking around her office for a trashcan for both my empty dinner box and hers.
She nods and perks up, a sly smile on her lips. “Oh yeah, I'll be sure to tell you the next time he comes around. He might be over with my uncle tomorrow.”
I jerk around to face her. “What do you mean tomorrow?”
“I didn't mention it?” Akira replies, raising her arms over her head in an after-dinner stretch. “Oh yeah, he's going to be over here tomorrow. I actually meant to ask if you were gonna be working.”
No. I don't work tomorrow. I don't work on Wednesday either. “I'll be freed up, certainly.”
She gives a nod of her head. “You might wanna get ready for it, then. My father is enough to worry about on his own, the fact that my uncle might be around for it is just asking for something stupid to happen.”
“You say it like they’ll get into a fist-fight or something.”
“Not fists, swords.” Akira notes in a plain voice, as though it were a regular thing for her.
Before I have a chance to ask what she could possibly mean, though, a sharp knock on the door takes the momentum out of both sides of the conversation.
“Yeah, it’s about that time.” Akira sighs, glancing at a small digital clock on her desk.
She strides past me and pulls the door open, revealing a male aide holding a fairly large folder bursting with papers. He doesn’t even have to say anything for Akira to know what comes next, even if I’m left wondering what kind of business she has to take care of.
His eyes jump between me and Akira, unassuming and yet I know, in his head, he’s already passing judgment on me. The blonde-haired girl beside me takes the opportunity to face away from him and give a light shrug.
“Gotta get back to work. You know how it is.” She groans, seeming a bit annoyed with the person behind her.
A short pause follows her statement where she glances over her shoulder, shooting the aide a look as if to say ‘come back in a few minutes.’
And then, she reaches back with one leg and slams the door shut with her foot before wrapping both arms around my waist. “I'll call you after I get off work. You shouldn't have any trouble finding the way out, right?”
I shake my head and return the embrace, settling my head against hers. “I guess I should start getting ready to face down your uncle?”
She gives a mild laugh. “I think he’s a few inches taller than you. And he hunts bears.”
The smile on my face dissolves in seconds. “Oh.”
With that, she lets go of me and opens the door behind her, gesturing for me to leave despite the fact that she prefers my company over her co-worker’s. The co-worker who happens to be standing outside the door, still clueless.
It would be nice if I could come around here more often. The dinner was somewhat expensive, but it’s not like I have anything else to put the money towards for the time being. And any time at all I get to spend with her is well worth it, regardless of how much money, time, or effort I have to spend.
The important thing now is that I get ready to meet some of her family. I’m not entirely sure about how I’m supposed to feel, but it helps to stay positive, right?
I look forward to the Jigoro/Mr. Satou/Hisao showdown; I have no doubts it will be thoroughly entertaining.
