Shuichi tries to have a normal day.

When Shuichi woke up the next morning, he was surprised by how normal it felt. So much had happened the previous day that it had almost felt like it was some sort of dream, and yet he still had his presents and Paw sitting on his bookshelf to prove that it had happened. Maki and Mukuro were both there as well, each clad in their underwear, but that had felt shockingly normal as well. Instead of marveling over how he had two women sleeping there with him, he just went to the kitchen, made breakfast for all of them, and then hopped in the shower as the girls ate.

“Mmm, thanks, Shuichi. Your cooking is amazing as always,” Mukuro said as she wiped her mouth and Shuichi tightened his tie. “This wasn’t necessary, though; we could have both just gone out to eat.”

“It was nothing, really,” Shuichi insisted. “You girls are my guests, after all.”

“Yes, but I don’t plan on sticking around very long today; I’ve put off regular work long enough, and I have my own bills to pay,” Maki said as she stood up from her seat. “So I’ll be heading to the red-light district after this. What about you, Shuichi; do you think you’ll be able to actually have a normal day at work for once?”

“C-come on, things haven’t been that strange for me lately, have they?” Shuichi stammered, though Maki just stared back at him with a blank expression on her face. “... okay, I’ll, uh, try my best.”

“You do that,” Maki said as Shuichi left for his car. “And what about you? Got more business with your sisters?”

“Of course; Pandora has a new ‘Slutty Tiara’ idea she wants to try out, and she needs me to help handle the metal working,” Mukuro replied. “I think I’ll stick around and clean up a little before I go then.”

“Alright, I’ll leave the spare key with you then,” Maki said as she gathered up her things. “I’ll see you tonight… and don’t think just because we skipped sparring last night that I’ll have lost my edge at all.”

“Of course - though, you’d need an edge in the first place in order to lose it, you know,” Mukuro replied flatly.

“Heh, was that a joke? I guess you do have a soul in there after all.” Maki waved at Mukuro one last time before leaving the apartment, heading to the bus and officially separating the trio for the day.

“Oh, hey there, Shuichi! It’s good to see you again!” Makoto greeted as Shuichi got off the elevator to his floor. The brown-haired man was standing by a few of his coworkers, including Kaito and Kazuichi, around the company water cooler. “So, judging by that smile on your face, you had a pretty good birthday yesterday, huh?”

“Hey, was there ever any doubt about that? You know that I always hold the best parties!” Kaito boasted heartily.

“Yeah… except that one where Shuichi got a drink poured on his- ouch!” Kazuichi was interrupted by Kaito elbowing him in the ribs. “What was that for?”

“It was definitely a wild ride, I’ll give you that, Kaito,” Shuichi replied, smiling. “But, uh… please don’t take me to a place again without telling me first, okay? I’m not sure my heart could handle another surprise like that.”

“Oh? So does that mean you’ll want to make going there a regular thing for you, Shuichi?” Kaito teased. “Ha! I didn’t think you had it in you!”

“Th-that’s not what I meant, and you know it!” Shuichi insisted, but Kaito was unperturbed.

“Hey, no need to be so chaste, Shuichi! I’m sure we can afford to go at least once a month for some quality guy time together!” he insisted.

“Actually, I’m not sure I’d like that much either,” Makoto spoke up. “I mean, spending time in a strip club is kind of fun, but at the same time… I can’t help but feel guilty about it, you know? Like, I can’t even imagine all the terrible things those girls had to go through to end up dancing in a place like that.”

“Hey! If you really felt so sorry for them, then you’d be back to give ’em more tips every night, wouldn’t you?” Kazuichi countered.

“Heh, yeah, that would be a pretty good excuse to go, but… I’m not sure if I’d be able to look my little sister in the face if I became the kind of guy addicted to those places,” Makoto replied, causing Shuichi’s heart to skip a beat.

“Pfft, not even you're that sentimental,” Kazuichi scoffed. “I bet you just don’t want to head back because that one cute waitress liked me more than you.”

The others couldn’t help but snicker at the ridiculous accusation, but that laughter quickly died out as Haruka Nakamura, a.k.a. Kazuichi’s direct superior, walked up behind him.

“Uh.. I think we should probably change the subject right about now,” Makoto said, sweating a little.

“Please, like you don’t know which one I’m talking about! It was the one with the blonde hair and the massive fucking tits,” Kazuichi replied, gripping some imaginary jugs in the air for emphasis. “I bet I could have totally gotten her number if I was sober enough to ask for it. Hell, given the way she winked at me, I bet I could have gotten her to write it write on my d-”

“Ahem!” Haruka cleared her throat and finally let her presence be known to the engineer before he dug his hole any deeper.

“Oh… uh…” Kazuichi blushed as turned around and hid his hands behind his back. “Good to see you, Ms. Nakamura! How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing just fine, thank you for asking,” Haruka replied, tapping her foot. “I didn’t interrupt you, did I? Don’t mind me, go ahead. Finish what you were about to say. It sounds like a hilarious story.”

“S-story? N-no, no, you weren’t interrupting anything at all, I promise!” Kazuichi put up his hands defensively. “And it certainly wasn’t funny, either! In fact, I’m probably the least funny guy I know.”

“Hmm… you know what? I agree; you are about as funny as a butterfly in a blender.” Haruka snapped her fingers so hard, it sounded like a whip crack. “Now, get back to work right now, or you’re all going to get written-up!”

“Y-yes ma’am!” the boys all replied before rushing off to their respective cubicles.

“Phew… well, at least we’re off to a pretty normal start so far today,” Shuichi sighed to himself as he finally took his seat in his cubicle. “Let’s see if I can get some normal work done too.”

Shuichi turned on his computer and began to type, working away at the reports and other documents he had to review one by one. His coworkers had been sufficiently cowed by Haruka, so they stayed pretty quiet as they each went about their daily grinds. Shuichi could even hear Makoto typing extra hard on his keyboard next to him, as if his superior was still keeping an eye on him.

Shuichi was shaken too, but he just took a deep breath and tried to focus on his work. This wasn’t the first time Haruka had chewed him and his friends out, after all, so he knew it wasn’t anything worth getting too worried about.

Shortly before noon, however, Shuichi found his work interrupted by the subtle vibrating of his phone in his briefcase next to him. After checking to make sure no one was walking by, Shuichi reached into his bag and pulled it out to find a text from Komaru.

“Happy birthday, Shuichi!” the message cheerfully read. “Er, that’s what I would have said to you yesterday anyway, but I only actually found out about your birthday after my brother got home from your party last night. It must have been pretty wild, because he was super tired. But, I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything yesterday, or get you anything! I hope you don’t think I’m a horrible friend or anything!”

“Don’t worry, it’s completely fine; it’s not like my birthday is usually a big deal anyway,” Shuichi texted back.

“Hey, don’t talk like that! Birthdays are always a big deal!” Komaru quickly countered. “There’s lots of presents, and cake, and it’s the one day out of the whole year that gets to be all about you! And, well… you’ve just done so much for me that I feel like I should have at least done something!”

“Well, did you at least have a good day while you were out yesterday?” Shuichi asked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Komaru texted back.

“Then that’s a good enough gift for me,” Shuichi told her.

“Hey! That’s not fair! I know you’re trying to be nice, but you can’t just brush my feelings off like that! A young girl’s heart is a sensitive thing, you know!” Shuichi could almost hear her huff in frustration. “I’m going to get you something for your birthday, and that’s final!”

“If you’re going to be that insistent, then I suppose I could accept a gift,” Shuichi relented, unable to say no to the young woman.

“Great! I’ll think of something right away!” Komaru replied. “Oh, I know! How about I send you a few more dirty pictures? You liked the last ones, right?”

“Uh… maybe later when I'm not at work,” Shuichi hastily replied, his fingers passing over the dent still left on his phone from last time. “Oh, speaking of work, how is your new job going? You haven’t started to regret quitting your old job, have you?”

“What? No, of course not!” she assured him. “Being a sex worker is, like, the best thing that’s ever happened to me! I mean, sure, it hasn’t been the best for my sleep schedule, and I often go home with sore hips, but it is so worth it! The pay is so nice, and I’ve made lots of new friends out here on the street! Heck, I even got a bunch of my old friends to join me, so now I get to hang out with them every day! The only downside I can think of is, well…” There was a pause in the conversation. “Things are starting to get a little awkward around my brother.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Shuichi asked a little nervously.

“Well, he hasn’t said anything directly to me yet, but I think he’s starting to get suspicious about my income, and well… all the stuff I’ve been buying for the two of us,” Komaru explained. “Plus, I’ve had a few close calls with him and the stuff that I’ve been carrying in my purse for my job. You don’t think he’s onto what I do now, do you? I hope not… if he found out and told our dad, he’d have a heart attack!”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think he’s actually a lot less close than you think he is,” Shuichi reassured her.

“Eh? But… how can you be so sure?” Komaru asked.

“Trust me… I know,” Shuichi replied, thinking back to what Makoto and his friends said the other day.

“Well, if you say so, but I should still try to be a bit more careful from now on regardless,” Komaru texted. “Anyways, you’ll be getting a special gift from me soon, so keep an eye out for that, okay?”

“Sure; I’m looking forward to it,” Shuichi said just as his lunch hour was set to begin. “I’ll talk to you later then, okay? Have a good afternoon, and good luck hunting if you work tonight!”

“Pfft, I don’t need luck; I have my blueberry panties on today!” Komaru answered with a proud-looking emoji. “Thanks, though! See you later!”

With that, Shuichi got up out of his chair and began making his way toward the elevator, where his friends were all waiting for him to go to the World Famous. Just before he could reach them, however, Shuichi was stopped by a feminine hand on his shoulder.

“H-hey, Mr. Saihara. How’s it going?” Margaret greeted, her voice unsure if it wanted to be casual or polite. “Are you having a good day today?”

“Ah; hello, Ms. Kayano. I’m doing just fine, thanks for asking,” Shuichi replied with a polite bow. “I was just about to go to lunch with some of our coworkers, as a matter of fact. What about you?”

“It’s been going well; work has been steady, and I don’t have much to complain about… plus, it was nice having that break at your party yesterday,” Margaret said as casually as she could, though for some reason she seemed to refuse to meet his gaze. “Say… do you mind if I could join you for lunch? Maybe just the two of us, at a cafe nearby? I was hoping we could, you know… catch up.”

“Huh? Catch up?” Shuichi cocked his head curiously. “Catch up on… what, exactly?”

“You really don’t remember, do you?” Margaret asked, a painful sadness painted her face. “Shuichi, we used to-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid Mr. Saihara won’t have time to have lunch with you,” another voice suddenly cut in. It was Azura, and she had an usually stern look on her face as she approached the elevator. “I’m afraid that Mr. Saihara has a performance review scheduled with Ms. Shinguji upstairs, and he cannot reschedule.”

“Performance review?” Shuichi replied. “Er, I mean, right, of course! I can’t believe I almost forgot about that.”

“Aw, are you being serious right now!?” Kazuichi groaned. “During his lunch break of all times?”

“And right after his birthday, too,” Kaito added. “That’s just cold.”

“Wait, hold on a second Ms. Nakano!” Margaret interjects. “Are you sure this can’t be rescheduled to another time? I’m sure Ms. Shinguji would understand.”

“I’m sorry about this, but I’m afraid this kind of thing isn’t my decision; that belongs to upper management. He’ll get plenty of time to eat afterwards, though,” Azura replied. “Now, if you excuse us, we don’t want Mr. Saihara to be late.”

Azura grabbed Shuichi's hand and they went their separate ways, with Azura leading him to the other closest elevator while Shuichi’s friends all looked on disappointedly. Margaret in particular seemed to look jealous at the way Azura pulled Shuichi’s hand, but she seemed to push that from her mind as she turned to leave with the others.

“Phew… sorry about that, Shuichi,” Azura said as the doors to the elevator shut behind them, sighing as if she had been holding in her breath. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot in front of your friends like that, but Kirumi said she wanted to have lunch with you and I thought you might not have seen an email in time if I sent it.”

“It’s okay; though, I suspect Ms. Shinguji would probably have a lot of questions if she were around,” Shuichi pointed out.

“Heh, yeah, I got pretty lucky there.” Azura laughed and kicked her foot against the floor underneath her as the elevator slowly rose into the building. “Say… it’s been a while since the two of us had a chance to talk, hasn’t it? You know, about something other than work or you having sex with our boss.”

“Sorry… I know this whole situation must be pretty awkward for you,” Shuichi apologized.

“No, don’t worry; I like it when you have sex.” Azura gasped when she realized exactly what she said. “Er, I mean, I’m happy the two of you are getting along so well together!”

“Heh, don’t worry, I know what you mean.” Shuichi and Azura both laughed as the tension in the elevator seemed to dissipate. “So… do you know if I’m going up just to eat with Kirumi, or will she want more than just a meal?”

“Don’t worry, this is just a lunch date this time,” Azura assured him. “She made some salmon Wellington today, and she wants to share it with you.”

“Ah; that’s sweet of her.” Shuichi blushed as he imagined her making it for him. “Eating together like this… it’s almost like we’re a real couple.”

“Huh?” Azura looked at Shuichi in confusion. “You mean… you aren’t a real couple already? But you’ve been spending so much time together.”

“Well, it’s, uh, complicated,” Shuichi deflected. “I’m not quite sure what we’d call each other right now…”

“Ah, okay; that’s fine.” Azura nodded, more than experienced enough in the secrets of others to know when to stop asking questions. “It’s such a shame to hear that you’re not an item, though… I mean, you make Ms. Tojo so happy. I know that she doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve, but I can tell you already have a special place in her heart. To think that you would just ignore her like that….”

Shuichi tried not to fall through the floor as his heart grew heavy.

“But… I guess if you’re not dating her then that means you’re available, right? Hahaha, just kidding!” Azura smiled as she laughed, but he couldn’t help but notice some sweat on her forehead. “Anyway, it looks like we’re here; you go into Kirumi’s office and have fun, and I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Azura.” Shuichi bowed and walked to Kirumi’s door, but stopped just before he went in. “Actually, could I get your number before I head in?”

“Eh!? You want my number?!” Azura flushed so hard she felt she might pass out. “Is Shuichi actually interested in me? Goodness, what do I do? ” she thought to herself.

“Y-you know, just in case I can’t get in touch with Kirumi, or I need to talk to you about work stuff,” Shuichi hastily added.

“R-right, of course.” Azura wrote down her number onto a notepad on her desk and handed it to him. “I… look forward to hearing from you!”