Mornings at Division 3

“Umm… Isayama…”

“Huh? Hey, Hiro.”

The next day, I returned to my usual routine. The office morning was passing by smoothly, under a bright and sunny sky.

It wasn’t common for all of us to be in the office at the same time, but today, the stars had aligned.

Shinpei was organizing paperwork.

Ilya, our collaborator from Division 1, sat next to Felix, reviewing the cases he needed our help with.

Irina, Ryunosuke, Carlos, and Katy were all at their desks. Hiro stood by my side.

Wait… again?

I knew exactly what lay behind that innocent face.

“Can I help you?” I asked, not particularly enthusiastic.

“Well, uh… the printer broke again…” He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

It’s not broken. I’m sure of that…

“I see…”

“Would the young Isayama kindly work his magic once more?”

It’s either the laser’s out, or there’s a paper jam. This is the fifth or sixth time this month…

I sighed.

“Leave it to me…” I took off my glasses and stood up from my chair. I glanced at Katy, who was focused on her work, humming one of the pieces we’d heard at the piano bar.

“Oh, Isayama!”

“Yes…”

“Oh, Isayama, you have no idea how blessed I feel to have crossed paths with you…”

“I know, I know…” I walked toward the printer without even listening to him.

The machine was located behind Irina, near the glass door.

This is what a newbie like me has to put up with…

“Alright, let’s see what’s wrong, my little one.” I pressed a button, and an old touchscreen display slid out.

“Just as I thought…”

“Paper jam,” read the message.

“Doesn’t Hiro even bother to read the message?” I cursed the poet as I opened one of the machine’s side compartments. “Let’s see where this damned paper is…”

“Again?” a familiar, sweet voice appeared behind me.

Exactly what I needed to hear to calm down.

“Yes, again… They could ask you to do this occasionally, too…” I joked, looking up to meet Katy’s gaze.

“This is rookie duty,” she said with a smile, closing the space of her skirt as if I’d dare to peek.

Of course, I wouldn’t. Not with her knee within striking range of my face…

“And what does that make you?”

“I’m a rookie, but I got to Shinpei’s car one minute before you, so I’ve been here longer.”

“Huh? So you came here just to make fun of me?”

“Not just that. Coffee?”

“Oh, yes. I’ll go as soon as I’m done…” I buried my head into the printer’s guts, hunting for Hiro’s dammed paper.

“Great…”

“KAAAATYYYYY!”

Two new female voices burst into the office.

Storming in like a stampede, they lunged to hug my coworker.

What’s going on up there?

I sighed, still inside the printer.

“Katy, it’s so great to see you! Right, sis?!” They squeezed her as if she were royalty.

“Yes, yes!” They shook her.

Meanwhile, Katy’s face was a poem. She knew her days as a model student had ended with the arrival of her two friends.

Their enthusiastic shouts monopolized everyone’s attention.

“Hey, Hana, Rin…”

“My dear Katy, I’m so happy! I never thought we’d end up working at the same company! Right, Hana?!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Neither did I…” Katy said wearily as the sisters tugged at her cheeks.

“How come you never visited us before?!” They started shaking her again.

“I thought you were at another company…”

Liar.

“I never imagined Katy having friends like that…” Shinpei muttered as he watched the scene.

There you are…

I finally found the damned paper.

“Katy, I never thought I’d see you again after high school!”

Dust on my nose, I surfaced and examined the two girls. For some reason, I was met with hostile stares.

What’s wrong with these two?

Twins with matching dark hair, they were nearly indistinguishable, except one had red eyes and the other blue.

Gold, rubies, and sapphires… possibly, I was in front of the most expensive stares in the world.

“Huh? And who are you?” asked the ruby-eyed sister.

“Yeah, who?” echoed the sapphire-eyed one.

What’s gotten into them?

“I’m Isayama…”

“Don’t tell me this guy is your boyfriend, Katy?!”

Immediately, they resumed assaulting her cheeks with pinches and shakes.

“W-what?! N-no, I-Isayama and I…!”

“Confess!”

“Yeah, confess!”

I had to admit it, the scene was funny.

While Katy fought off her assailants, I returned Hiro his jammed paper.

On the way, the pièce de résistance came into play: Shinpei’s infernal coffee machine, roaring at full power.

“Shinpei the Thunderer…” muttered the Division 1 agent.

The sudden mechanical screeches scared Katy’s twin friends, making them scream even louder.

It might seem ironic, but neither my colleagues nor I were surprised.

As contagion investigators of Division 3 under Shinpei Yamamoto, we were used to a bit of chaos at work.

It was just another morning at the office…

“We never thought…” Katy was jostled.

“…that the office…” Felix typed away.

“…could…” Carlos smiled as always.

“…get…” Hiro remarked.

“…any noisier…” murmured Irina.

“…still…” I handed Hiro his paper.

KLANG

Silence fell as Shinpei dropped his coffee mug.

Watching the hot liquid spill across the floor, Shinpei seemed shaken.

From the trembling of his hand, I guessed his implant had malfunctioned.

I didn’t know how to react. Judging by the others, they hadn’t noticed the gravity of the situation.

But Shinpei’s face didn’t lie. His eyes reflected uncertainty.

Concerned, he quietly fetched a broom after laying some paper towels over his spilled drink.