(Volume 2) Morning at the Office

Granny has retired to bed early owing to another bout of aching knees, so after eating dinner alone Yoshiyuki went out to the nearby beach. The humidity has not returned since, and there was now always a wind blowing in from the sea, sometimes light, sometimes strong enough to knock down one of the clotheslines as happened yesterday while he was still up at the Kubo house. Poor Gran. But she managed to return it in place, prop it up even, though he suspected it triggered the latest joint pains. And with the strengthening winds come the dropping temperatures as the year began rolling to a close. He thought to ask Arisa if he could be home for more days so he could assist the old lady until things warm up again the following year. He got the phone out and stared at it for a bit. They are probably clearing the table at this moment.

He had told his grandmother about his dating the younger Kubo just this morning, before he left to meet up with her at Izu Mite. There was no comment. Even when he came home, she would ramble on about property deals and such and how she could not anymore keep her office open everyday. Nary a word about Ai. Was she somehow uncomfortable about it? That he might leave her alone eventually? What if he just said that it is Ai, being the girl, who will move in?

Are you going to follow her around?

The wind blasted a gust of salty spray in his face, so he shielded the phone with his hands, and dialed.

"..."

"..."

Is she in bed already?

"..."

"..."

She picked up. "Yoshiyuki?" went the sleepy voice.

"Whoa. Uh, sorry, did I disturb you?"

"Nuh-uh. Feeling tired, is all. There are a bunch of people in the rooms now. Postgrads, methinks. Onee-chan and I brought them supper."

"Sorry I couldn't make it."

"No-no. My sister wasn't looking for you, anyway, after all. I just figured you didn't catch the afternoon bus."

"You're right, I didn't."

Giggle.

"..."

"Yoshiyuki? Anything the matter?" And then, she laughed. "Oh, don't you worry Yoshiyuki, the guests were men and women. I think they are all couples."

"You sure?"

She let him hear a kiss over the line. "Does this answer your question?"

"Alright."

"You will be here tomorrow, right?"

"Of course, of course."

After hanging up, he got the penguin pin and let it sparkle in the light of the phone. Yeah, he will probably make it to the manor this time. The morning bus leaves after all the Nankaisei kids are in class, and Kanako opens the office by herself before eight.

He arrived at the Tourist Office at around seven, about an hour early. Sure enough, the place was still closed. Maybe he will just wait for her, it won't take too long. He took out the pin once again. Is this item really important to their job? Who knows? Suffice it to say it was hers and he has the time to drop by, so...

He heard chimes at the door rattled slightly by the wind. He went over and examined it; it was of the same penguin design. If anything, it looked nicer than the pin. He was curious for more detail. But it was at the top of a rather large door, so he would have to tiptoe a little. Reaching out to touch it, he missed, but his arm ended up hitting the door a bit.

What? It gave… a tad. It's not closed?

Letting himself in, he found the place already lit and tidy, and the ceiling fan was running. She's here. But this early? Could be another staff member. He will just tell her to hand over the pin for him, tell her he said hi. Gingerly, he walked past the empty front desk. Is it even polite of him to just wander around? Perhaps he'll just leave it at a table; he can't just put it on the desk, that's just awkward. He turned to the nearest cubicle and again let himself in.

The workspace was rather bare. There were none of the post-its, calendars, or pictures he had expected to find in a cubicle. Just a stack of envelopes on one side, files in a holder on the other, empty space in-between. There was a receptacle for pens next to the envelopes. The window was slightly open and it let the morning breeze in, lifting the hems of the curtains. There was a faint scent of... jasmine? honeysuckle? He looked around again and saw that there was no other platform in the cubicle, just the desk. So he will just have to plant the pin squarely in the middle of the empty space.

He fingered through the files to see if there was any unused paper he could write on, and found an unfolded pamphlet promoting the islands. It had one of the pictures he and Nanaka had taken from the air once, and another seemed to have been grabbed from the old Aquasports promotion video. So they really were this big back in the day, eh? It was good while it lasted. Hmmmm. Did Kanako choose to work here because she was kind of picking up where the club left off? Clubs die, huh? Well then, he mused, finding some blank space on the flyer, sorry for writing on your dreams. He took a pen and began to scribble a short note. Sorry for holding on to this, you blasted off so soon. Quit being clumsy, OK?

"..."

Huh?

The pen.

This is... He had seen it before. In Nankaisei.

Isn't this Shuka's?

What’s it doing here?

He clearly remembered her saying it was a birthday gift from her Dad. It was rare, certainly it would be a bit of a stretch if there were two of these out here in the island. She would always bring it to a club meeting.

"Why is Arisa-senpai bringing it up, zura?" complained Kanako that humid afternoon at the clubroom, back when they were in their second year with Ai. Everybody sat up stiffly despite the air-conditioning having broken down, fanning themselves to exhaustion. But that did not stop Kanako from raising her voice even more.

"She's too finicky with the administrivia, zura!"

"Kan-chan," said Shuka, "all clubs must have a functioning organization. The Manga Club just submitted theirs this morning."

"Then make your silly org-nization chart. Write down whoever you feel like."

"Senpai is a prude, have you forgotten?" chided Anju. "She'll randomly check clubrooms and see to it that the names she has in the list are doing what they say they're doing. She blasted Suzaki from 2-B for not knowing where the funds are kept even if he was Treasurer, remember?"

"And as she personally knows us," added Rikako, "it's more likely she will check on us first."

"Urrrrgh. But we have always, always done stuff without ranks and such, zura!"

"Gomen," Shuka sighed. "I haven't put much thought into preparing our positions." Shrug. "Welp, water under the bridge. Let's appoint our staff now!"

"Shuka-shan's already President, so we will start with Vice-President." said Ai. But then everybody stared at her, and she recalled with an embarrassed chuckle, "Oh yes, that's me."

"I'll be the Treasurer!" volunteered Anju. "Ma makes me handle the purse at the ryokan these days. She kicks me in the rump if even a penny's missing."

"And I will be the one to kick you here," said Yoshiyuki.

"Urusai!"

Shuka laughed. "Yoshiyuki makes a great fallen angel, and therefore a magnificent Peace Officer." She now leaned forward to focus on the remaining two members. "Riho-san. Hori-san."

They both gulped at this ominous formal tone. "My beautiful rare-pair," Shuka swooned, "the ko-girls of Aquasports. Riho. Hori. Rihori."

"Can you cut that out?" muttered Yoshiyuki. "You're giving me the creeps."

Even more disturbing for the girls, however, was that the last two posts involve paperwork, one considerably more tedious than the other. Just then... Kanako realized something. Eh...? An-chan!? She turned to her in irritation; she was making a huge show of fanning herself and feigning ignorance. "Atsui da ne!" She volunteered for Treasurer to save her own skin!

"Shuka-shan, don't you think I handle money much better than An-chan? Nobody kicks me in the butt."

"Nuh-uh. I mean greater things for you, Riho-san, Hori-san."

"I will be fine either way," said Rikako.

"Awesome. I appoint you Accountant."

Kanako paled.

"Riho-san, I grant you the honor of being the Secretary of the Aquasports Club of Nankaisei!"

Everybody applauded her.

"No way, zura!"

"You can do it, Kan-chan!" cheered Ai.

"You keep incriminating me, zuraaaa!"

"Didn't you hear?" cut in Yoshiyuki. "It's an honor. Shuka chose you for the job because the secretary is the official eye-candy in the office. When people don't judge themselves cute enough, they opt for Treasurer." For which he got pelted with erasers from both girls.

"Shuka-shan," pleaded Kanako, "you have to reconsider, zura. Arisa-senpai will grill me at school AND at home for documents half of which I will forget about all the time."

Shuka shook her head. "Kanako. You're a hard worker. You just need to see it for yourself. You have the trust of the whole club." She took the special pen her Dad gifted her and handed it over. "Here. It's yours." Warm smile. "A fine writing implement, worthy of only the finest of secretaries."

"Heh? Er..."

"Come on, take it."

Truth be told, Kanako was enamored by the design of the thing, and it's fine sheen of gold and green. But is it really alright to just up and take something so beautiful? While her mind was still struggling with the question, her hands were already holding the pen. Shuka herself had gone over and placed it there.

Yoshiyuki raised the pen in his hand to the morning sun. It seemed to transform into a vision when lit at that angle. This must be pretty expensive.

Somebody took his other hand.

"..."

What?

His eyes widened, finding his lips joined to Kanako's. But his surprise quickly melted away into indulgence as he let that kiss take over him. She... She kisses so well. Her hand tenderly explored... and then possessed his. What's going on----Her form, cushioned against him.... her arms. Burying him alive. Ah... Ah... He wrapped all of him tighter and tighter, digging down and down to reach more of her heartbeat, more of her pulse crying out to him from under all that skin. Since when did she become so desirable? Ah... Ah... Urrrrgh...

Ahh... Urrrrgh... Uh...

Gurrrrh... Uhhhh... Huh... Huh... Huh...? Uh... Wait...

Ai... Ai...

That name called out to him from a distant corner of his head. But... He stirred to worm his way out of her, absently, an attempt to get up from a very comfortable bed. She would not let him, and he sank back into her warmth. Mmmmh... Urrrrgh... And yet the words were still there, tiny bubbles climbing from a great depth. Ai. Wait. Ai. Those echoes, all that was left of his own agency, kept bubbling up through the heavy darkness... through to his voice. Say it. Say it. Ai. Ai.

Ai.

He coughed. She let go.

"..."

He still could not look away.

In one sweeping gaze he took in the sight of her entirely. Her eyes sparkled. They sparkled even though she was in his shadow.

Since when did she become so lovely?

"Yoshiyuki."

Her voice took on a rich, full-bodied quality whenever she felt strongly about anything.

"Kanako."

She giggled softly at his voicing her name. She tenderly pushed his tousled hair aside so she could see more of him.

"Kanako?"

"Hm?"

"How... How long have you been feeling this?"

"How long till you start feeling it?"

Geh---

"Ask the right questions, idiot."

"..."

"..."

"You're late," he said.

"I am?"

"Are you telling me Ai is the one who's late?"

"No. Neither of us. You are the late one here." Huff. "I was so tired of dropping hints."

"Hints...?"

She pushed him away. "Figure them out yourself."

Finally, he's free. No, he's not figuring them out, and he has no clue. "Um, er, h-here." He handed back the penguin pin as well as the pen. "They're yours, right?"

She rolled the hand shut on the items and pulled him back to herself. "I want all three returned to me."

"But we can't..."

"..."

"What did you see in me, anyway? I'm not impressive, you know that."

Snicker. "Yoshiyuki... Dudes impress chicks all the time, zura. But I don't fall for men who impress me. Only for men who I care about."

"..."

"Isn't that how it is, zura?"

He began to sink back into her as she held him close again. He was in no shape to argue. All he could do was croak, "The staff..."

"One minute, one more minute, Yoshiyuki," she pleaded.

A little later the morning bus arrived, bringing in Nankaisei students from other parts of the island. It would stay until the school bell, and then some more, awaiting passengers for the return trip.