He finds that there's a big surprise waiting for him there.

When Shuichi got to work that day, the office-worker found himself in an unusually good mood. Perhaps it was the date he had the day before, or maybe it was just the fact that he woke up with someone and got to share breakfast with them for the first time, but either way he found himself with an unusual pep in his step as he walked onto his office floor. So, when he spotted his coworker, Kazuichi, walking by with a big box in his arms, he smiled and did something he didn’t do that often; he walked up to him and to say hello.

“Good morning, Mr. Soda,” Shuichi greeted cordially. “How are you doing today?”

“Wha!?” Kazuichi went unusually pale at the sound of Shuichi’s voice and nearly jumped out of his skin. “O-oh, hey there, Shuichi. I’m doing just fine, thanks for asking.”

“That’s good to hear,” Shuichi replied, though he couldn’t help but notice that Kazuichi was starting to quicken his pace as he walked away from him. “So… how was your weekend?”

“Fine, just fine,” Kazuichi answered, sweat starting to appear on his forehead. “Nothing worth talking about, though.”

“Oh… well, what do you plan on doing to-” Shuichi began to say, only for his coworker to interrupt him.

“Hey, sorry Shuichi, but I really don’t have time to chat. I’ve got, uh, business to take care of,” Kazuichi said rather brashly. “Plus, don’t you have your own work to get to?”

“I, uh… guess I do.” Shuichi rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly and stopped in his tracks. “I’ll, uh, see you later at lunch though, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Kazuichi said as he disappeared behind a door to a meeting room. “Whatever.”

“Well… that was strange…” Shuichi thought to himself as he began to head to his cubicle. “He’s probably just having a stressful morning, though. I’m sure things will be different with Makoto; he’s always a friendly face.”

Shuichi quickly booted up the computer in his cubicle before sticking his head into the cubicle next door, where he found his brown-haired coworker hunched over something at his desk.

“Good morning, Mr. Naeg-” Shuichi began to say, only to find himself interrupted for the second time that day.

“Gaaah!?” Makoto gasped and swiftly turned around, hiding whatever he was working on behind his back. “Oh, uh, hello, Shuichi! F-funny seeing you here!”

“Uh… no, it really isn’t. I work right next to you,” Shuichi pointed out.

“R-right, silly me!” Makoto replied, trying his best to laugh off his comment. “It’s still nice to see you, though. Did you have a nice weekend?”

“Yeah, I did… for the most part,” Shuich answered, flashing back briefly to his hectic Saturday. “I went to a concert, went to a new restaurant, saw a movie… could tell you a bit more about it at lunch if you’d like.”

“L-lunch?” Makoto began to sweat just like Kazuichi had. “Uh, sorry Shuichi, but I don’t think we’ll be able to have lunch at the World Famous today. You see, the whole engineering department is going to have a meeting, and it’s going to go straight through lunch.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, but… I understand.” Shuichi replied. “... hey, wait a second; I thought you weren’t in the engineering department.”

“Yes, well, I, uh… volunteered to help organize the meeting! You know, to get in good graces with the managers,” Makoto replied hastily. “Sorry, but there’s no way I’ll get out of it. Maybe some other time, okay?”

“Uh… sure. Some other time,” Shuichi said before leaving the cubicle. “Strange… there was definitely something off about that story. But, Makoto wouldn’t have any reason to lie to me… right?”

Shuichi moved to head back to his desk when he spotted Azura walking to the elevator out of the corner of his eye, carrying what looked to be a pink envelope in her hand.

“Ah, sure she’ll be more straightforward with me.” Shuichi began waving his hand as he approached where Azura was standing. “Hello, Ms. Nakano! How have you and Ms. Tojo been?”

“Huh?” Azura turned to look at Shuichi and her eyes instantly widened in panic. “Oh no!” Turning back to the elevator, Azura began furiously hitting the summon elevator button again and again. “Come on, come on, come on!”

“You do realize that’s not going to make it come any faster, right?” Shuichi asked as he slowly closed in on her. “I think it should be fine if you just relaxed for a moment.”

“Sorry, Shuichi! Gotta run!” Azura said hastily as the elevator doors finally opened. “Can’t talk, stuff to do, bye!”

“H-hey wait!” Shuichi called out, but Azura wasted no time in hitting the door-close button disappearing into the elevator shaft - but not before Shuichi caught a glance of what was written on the side of the envelope she was holding. It was tucked under her arm so it was partly obscured, but his keen eyes still managed to catch it. “Wait… was that my name written on that pink envelope? Does that mean…?” Shuichi felt his heart skip a beat before he shook his head in frustration. “No… I must have just misread that somehow. There’s no way that they would let me go that suddenly… right?”

Despite what he told himself, Shuichi felt his heart begin to sink as he once again made his way back toward his cubicle and sat down. His mind began to race as he thought what he might have done to warrant possibly getting the boot. Did he say the wrong thing to the wrong person? Did he screw up a report and accidentally cause the company legal trouble? Did someone find out what he had been doing with Ms. Tojo? Or, perhaps most terrifyingly of all… did they just not need him anymore?

“Gah!” Shuichi slapped himself in the face to snap himself out of his stupor. “I can’t let myself worry about stuff like this; not again. I just need to be confident, and stay focused on my work, and everything will be okay.”

And focus on his work he did, plowing straight through all his reviews and submitting them all early as he could. He was so dead-set on showing just how valuable he could be to the company, and to himself, that he didn’t look at his phone once throughout the entire morning - but if he had, then he might have noticed that his parents and a few of his friends had tried to call and message him.

Then, just before noon, Shuichi felt a cold hand suddenly land on his shoulder.

“Mr. Saihara…” Korekiyo’s smooth voice intoned, sending a slight shiver down Shuichi’s spine. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“O-oh! Of course not, Ms. Shinguji!” Shuichi promptly answered. “Was there something you needed?”

“As a matter of fact, there is,” she replied. “I was hoping that you could come with me to my office for a few minutes. I know we normally give performance reviews once every six months, but management has decided that you are in need of a… special one?”

“R-really?” Shuichi swallowed audibly. “Uh… this won’t take too long, will it? I mean, lunch is right around the corner.”

“Don’t worry about that, Mr. Saihara; you won’t be needing your lunch hour by the time we’re done.” Korekiyo turned around and glanced back at Shuichi. “Come along now; we have much to discuss.”

Shuichi let out a long sigh and stood up, his shoulders slightly slumped. Part of him wanted to get upset or deny what was about to happen some more, but he simply didn’t have the will for it anymore. Whatever was about to happen in Korekiyo’s office, he knew he was going to have to face it like a man; whatever came afterward, he’d have to face it as it came.

Though, he had to admit that he was regretting buying all those things from Angel more and more with each step he took.

“Right this way, Mr. Saihara,” Korekiyo said as she held open an office door for Shuichi. “Trust me when I say it’s not in your best interest to delay.”

“Yes, ma’am…” Shuichi replied as he walked into the room. “Hey, wait a second… this isn’t your normal office. And why is it so dark in here?” On cue, the lights in the room turned on and Shuichi was momentarily blinded by the flash. “Gah!”

“Surprise!” A group of about ten people, including Shuichi’s closest coworkers, shouted as colorful balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling. Behind them, Shuichi could see a small table covered in colorful gifts and a large plate of snacks, and a wide banner hanging above it all reading what everyone was about to shout. “Happy birthday, Shuichi!”

“W-what!?” Shuichi gasped in shock. “What’s going on? Why is everyone here?”

“To celebrate, of course!” Kaito replied, stepping forward from the crowd and putting an arm around Shuichi’s shoulder. “You didn’t really think that we’d forget about your birthday, did you?”

“Birthday?” Shuichi nearly fell over at the revelation. “Today’s my birthday!?”

“Wait… you’re not saying that this is actually news to you, right?” Kazuichi asked. “We didn’t screw up the date, did we?”

“Oh no, it was correct,” Korekiyo said as she walked in behind Shuichi. “I could even tell you the minute he was born, if you wish.”

“W-well, it’s just… it’s been a few years since I’ve had a party, and I’ve been so busy with work and other things lately that I guess… it kind of slipped my mind?” Shuichi replied bashfully.

“Ahahah! I guess I should have seen this coming; you always were the most humble guy on our floor!” Kaito laughed and gave Shuichi a hearty smack on the back. “Well, today, everything gets to be all about you, Shuichi; so let loose and have a little fun, okay?”

“I don’t know… I’m not sure if I’m really worth having a party for,” Shuichi said, still not quite believing that any of this was actually happening.

“Nonsense - you are just as valuable a member of our team as anyone else, Mr. Saihara,” Kirumi said as she stepped forward from the crowd, a small red party hat adorning her usual business attire. “Plus, we have already gathered here; it would be a waste to simply call the party off.”

“You… all really want to celebrate my birthday that much?” Shuichi asked, to which everyone in the room smiled and nodded. “Well, okay… I guess there wouldn’t be any harm in staying, then.”

“Great! Then let’s get this party started!” Kaito cheered as people began to eat and chat idly with one another. “So, what do you think of the decorations? I know they aren’t fancy, but I figured the less I spent on that the more money I’d be able to spend on your gift and cake.”

“I think they’re all wonderful, Kaito,” Shuichi answered honestly. “But… I don’t think I actually see a cake anywhere in the room”

“Oh, that’s because we’re going to wait to give you that, and my gift, until after work; it wouldn’t make sense to not save the best until the very last, right?” asked Kaito.

“I guess that makes sense… I just hope there won’t be too much of it,” Shuichi said as Makoto approached him carrying a small blue birthday present.

“Here you go, Shuichi,” Makoto said as he handed the box to Shuichi. “Sorry for lying to you this morning, but Kaito insisted that we keep everything a secret. He said that you’d appreciate it more that way.”

“Well, he’s not entirely wrong.” Shuichi laughed, still feeling the relief of discovering that he wasn’t actually in trouble. “Does this mean when I walked into your cubicle this morning, you were still busy wrapping this?”

“Yeah… I kinda procrastinated a bit on that one,” Makoto replied, embarrassed. “But I still finished on time, and I think you’ll like what I got you.”

Shuichi smiled and began tearing off the wrapping paper, revealing a small black book inside.

“Is this… a travel journal?” Shuichi asked.

“Yep! I remember that you said that you really wanted to see the world one day, and while I don’t have the cash to send you on a world cruise, I figured that this would be a good place to start,” the younger man explained.

“Thank you, Makoto… that was very thoughtful of you.” Shuichi said, smiling as Makoto filled with a small well of pride.

“Well, if you thought that gift was great, just wait until you see mine!” Kazuichi said as he handed Shuichi a red present.

“Alright, let’s see what it is then.” Shuichi tore off the wrapping paper and revealed the box for a very strange-looking mechanical device. “Wait… what is this thing?”

“It’s a radiosonde!” Kazuichi proudly answered. “I built that baby myself! With that, you’ll be able to take atmospheric measurements wherever you want! Isn’t that awesome?”

“Uh, yeah, it sure is,” Shuichi replied, feigning enthusiasm. “You… really shouldn’t have.”

“And here is our gift, Mr. Saihara,” Azura happily said as she approached with a yellow present. Shuichi noticed that her hair had been tied up with a blue ribbon, helping to make her look even prettier than usual. “Ms. Tojo and I spent the weekend shopping together, and while we had some debate about what to get you, we ultimately decided on getting something for you jointly. I hope you like it.”

Shuichi opened the present and found a new detective novel written by an acclaimed author.

“Oh, wow!” Shuichi’s eyes glittered as he stared at the cover of the book. “This is really nice! How did you know I liked this author?”

“Well, I recalled you mentioning that you liked mystery stories in one of our conversations, so it wasn’t that hard to deduce it from your personality,” Kirumi answered. “However, in case that wasn’t satisfactory, we got you a card as well.”

“Thanks, you two… I honestly don’t think I deserve to have colleagues as kind as you.” Shuichi smiled as Kirumi handed him a pink envelope - the very same that he had spied in the elevator - and tore it open. Inside was a cute card featuring a cartoon cat wishing Shuichi a happy birthday, which by itself was unremarkable. However, on the inside, Shuichi found something hidden in a fold underneath the cat, and when he saw what it was he nearly choked to **** on his own spit. It was a check addressed to him that was worth more than eight straight months of salary. All the money he’d spent on sex workers over the past few weeks, including Ruruka, was suddenly instantly made up for. “Gah!?”

“Huh? Something wrong, Shuichi?” Kaito asked curiously when he noticed the shocked expression on his face.

“O-oh, it’s nothing,” Shuichi replied as he stealthily pocketed the check. “It’s just, uh… the caption inside the card was just really funny.”

“Really? Are you sure about that?” Kazuichi asked. “Last I checked, Ms. Tojo wasn’t known for her humor.”

“Heh, yeah! She wouldn’t know a good joke if one snuck up on her,” said Kaito, laughing with Kazuichi before they were abruptly interrupted by someone grabbing their ears. The one who grabbed them had smooth, shoulder length black hair, fair skin, a professional sleeveless white dress shirt, a red lanyard around her neck for her ID badge, a black skirt with matching black stockings, and a small beauty mark on her cheek that accented her stern expression well. Shuichi recognized her as Haruka Nakamura, the regional project manager for CO Inc. and someone that Shuichi often reviewed reports for.

“And where do you two think you two get off for speaking about a superior so flippantly?” Haruka scolded the two men like they were schoolboys. “Need I remind you that this is the CEO of your company that you’re speaking about.”

“Ow, ow, ow!’ Kazuichi whined. “I’m sorry, Ms. Nakamura! It won’t happen again!”

“Y-yeah, we didn’t mean anything by it, honestly!” said Kaito, somehow subdued by a woman half his size.

“There is no need for such harsh treatment, Ms. Nakamura - I am perfectly fine with my subordinates making jokes about me in good fun,” Kirumi interjected.

“Tch.” Haruka let the two men go. “You really are too lenient with your workers sometimes, Ms. Tojo. How you ever expect to keep them disciplined is beyond me.”

“Man, you’d think you two would see this kind of thing coming by now...” Makoto rubbed the back of his head, sweating bullets in fear of the project manager scolding him next if he stepped out of line. She was known around the office to instill fear into slackers, and generally didn’t have much care for humor, either. Kazuichi and Kaito in particular were no strangers to surprise visits from her. Everyone in the office, even Makoto, had learned to look very busy whenever she was around.

“You boys aren’t hurt, are you?” A gentle voice came from a blonde woman as she approached Kaito and Kazuichi. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes that were natural, though no one would mistake her for a foreigner either. She was wearing an elegant white dress whose back flowed out like a cape, and what were easily the most expensive black high heels in the room. “Really, that’s no way to treat your workers like that. They worked really hard setting up this surprise party.”

“Heh, thanks, team leader! It’s nice to know someone appreciates us!” Kaito smiled as the woman helped straighten their clothes. It was moments like this that helped make her one of the most popular and well-liked leaders in the company, even if she wasn’t that high up in terms of the corporate ladder.

“Yeah, you’re the best, Margaret,” said Kazuichi. “Er, the birthday boy notwithstanding, of course.”

“Tch, don’t get me started on you; you make Ms. Tojo look like a drill sergeant.” Haruka scoffed, then took out a small black present and handed it to Shuichi. “Here, Mr. Saihara; in honor of you always being on time here at CO Inc. for all these years.”

Shuichi opened the box and found a new black watch. “Oh my… Thank you, Ms. Nakamura. I had no idea my work was that important to you.”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me; it’s not,” she replied curtly. “If I was allowed to automate your job, I would have done so years ago. But the fact that you are so dedicated to your job and follow the rules so strictly does deserve a reward. If only your friends would follow your example more closely.”

“Y-yeah, following the rules…” Shuichi tried not to blush as he briefly thought back to his various rendezvous with Kirumi around the office. “No one’s better at that than I am.”

“And one more thing, Mr. Saihara… I don’t know when you abandoned that hat of yours, but I have to say… you look much better without it.” Haruka then straightened out her collar and turned to go to the snack table.

“Wow… a compliment from the ice queen? Now I’ve seen everything,” Kazuichi said, though he made sure to keep his comment quiet this time.

“Uh… thank you for that, I guess,” Shuichi said, not sure how exactly to react as Margaret approached him next.

“Here you are, Shuichi,” She said as she handed Shuichi a white birthday present. “I know it’s not much, but I hope you like it anyway.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kayano, but I’m just flattered that you got me anything at all.” Shuichi bowed respectfully before opening the present and finding a colorful set of Rock-Paper-Scissor cards inside. “Huh?”

“Wait, did you seriously get Shuichi, a children’s game? And the simplest one there is too?” Kaito asked, though he still tried to be as respectful to his team leader as he could. “Hey, Shuichi; you don’t have a kid or nephew out there that we don’t know about, do you?”

“No, but… it’s fine, really. I remember liking this game myself when I was really young,” Shuichi said as he put the box with the other gifts, trying to shrug off the wave of nostalgia that suddenly rose through his body. “It’s been so long, though. I can’t even remember the last time I actually played it.”

“Eh? You can’t remember?” Margaret blushed and looked away.

“I mean, it is really familiar… like, I think I’d play it with some friends every week, but it’s all so blurry. Kind of like a faded photograph, you know?”

“O-oh…” Her shoulders slumped. “Er, well… I’m glad you appreciated it though.” Margaret laughed sheepishly as she walked back into the crowd, disappearing behind Shuichi’s other coworkers.

“How quaint…” another blonde woman said as she emerged from the crowd of partygoers. Her locks were much longer and they curled at the ends, and she was wearing a rather expensive-looking black dress that contrasted sharply with the red tie that rested over her generous bust. Her name was Annie Scholten and, though Shuichi hadn’t interacted with her much, he instantly recognized her from her authoritative aura that she was none other than the company’s vice president. “I must say, I’m quite impressed with you, Shuichi. The last time I attended an employee’s birthday party, only two other people bothered to show up.

“Oh, uh, hello, Madame Vice President,” Shuichi greeted nervously, starting to sweat. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Well, you are still technically on company time, so it is my duty to make sure that no one here is wasting company resources,” Annie replied.

“Hey, told you not to worry about that, didn’t I?” Kaito interjected, slightly exasperated. “This was all paid for by pooling our money together, and not a Yen was taken out of any of our budgets.”

“Yes, well, I hope you won’t mind if I get someone other than Shuichi to audit the budgets for this month anyway,” Annie replied, side-eyeing him.

“Wow, what a penny-pincher…” Makoto whispered a few feet behind her.

“Oh, it’s not like that, really,” Azura assured him. “She just cares for the company in her own way.”

“Anyway, I hope you don’t mind if I didn’t get you a gift,” Annie continued. “Company ethics rules don’t forbid it, but I would still like to avoid doing anything that may appear as favoritism. Not to mention, I’m already here; that should be a gift enough as it is. Any gift I would’ve brought would be inferior in every way compared to me. So rejoice and cherish it.”

“Of course, Ms. Scholten. Thank you very much.” Shuichi bowed as Korekiyo came forward next, holding the last present in her hands.

“Here you are, Mr. Saihara; I trust you’ll be satisfied with what I have in store for you,” Korekiyo said in her usual, over mysterious tone of voice. Shuichi took the gift and tore open the wrapping paper, revealing… two pairs of black boxer briefs. “I made sure to find pairs that were form-fitting, yet breathable at the same time.”

“Wow… I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so boring and creepy at the same time,” said Kazuichi.

“Uh, thank you, Ms. Shinguji; this is actually pretty helpful,” Shuichi said as he put the gift with the others. “I've actually been needing new pairs of underwear.”

“Really? Did you perhaps spill something on your laundry recently?” Korekiyo asked, though the confidence in her voice made it seem like she already knew the answer somehow.

“Something like that,” Shuichi replied, trying not to blush. “A-anyway, thank you all for doing this for me. This is easily the best birthday I’ve had in years.”

“Hey, it was nothing, Shuichi!” Kaito said as he put his arm around his shoulder again. “Now, we still have an hour before we have to get back to work, so let’s relax and enjoy this party to the fullest!”

“Finally; I’m glad the pleasantries are over,” Haruka said to Margaret as everyone began eating and casually chatting with each other. “It always bothers me that people make such a big ceremony out of this. Birthdays happen every year, it’s not like it’s a big deal.”

“Really? Does that mean that you didn’t want to go to this party?” Margaret asked.

“I never said that,” Haruka replied, blushing. “Like I said, Shuichi is a hard worker and deserves a little appreciation, it’s just… I’m not always the best with parties.”

“Aw, it’s okay.” Margaret placed a soft hand onto Haruka’s shoulder. “I think you fit in with us really well, even if you are a little older than most of us.”

“Eh!? And who said anything about my age!?” Haruka began to steam.

“Er, no one, it’s just… I think I better go get some food before we run out!” Margaret replied before shuffling off to the food table as fast as she could.

“So, this is that employee that you’ve taken so much interest in,” Annie said to Kirumi nearby as they stared at Shuichi across the room. “I must say, I still don’t understand what you see in him. There’s hardly anything impressive about him.”

“Well, great things often come in humble packages,” Kirumi replied confidently. “Need I remind you that I began my job at this company cleaning your trash bins - and now, I hold more authority than you do.”

“That’s because you were a massive overachiever who tried to underachieve - and failed,” Annie countered. “This man… no, this boy has achieved nothing of note in his life, and I frankly have yet to see any evidence that he ever will.”

“I do not blame you for doubting him, but trust me at the very least. I would not speak so highly of him if I did not have the utmost confidence in Shuichi,” Kirumi replied, firmly but respectfully.

“So you say… but if I didn’t know you any better, I would suspect that you’d be letting your feelings toward him cloud your judgement,” said Annie.

“Feelings?” Kirumi calmly placed a hand over her heart. “Hardly - I assure you that my assessment is purely professional.”

“So, uh… how’s it hangin’, Ms. Shinguji?” Kazuichi asked Korekiyo a few feet away as he munched on some carrots. “Are you enjoying the party?”

“Yes, of course I am - social gatherings are such amazing opportunities to observe how people act,” the head of human resources replied. “The way they stand, the tone of their voices, the things that they say… every little bit of it is the result of a combination of personal upbringing and the **** training of our society. And you can learn oh-so-much about a person by watching them interact with someone else. For example; do you see what Mr. Saihara and Mr. Momota are doing right now?”

“Uh… they’re… talking?” Kazuichi replied, squinting.

“Yes, but they’re doing more than just that,” Korekiyo corrected. “They’re laughing together, embracing each other, smiling. This is, in scientific terms… a bromance in progress. Though, I suppose it could be more than that; I’ve yet to learn anything about their personal preferences. Perhaps I should do a more thorough examination…”

“Uh… you go do that…” Kazuichi said as he began inching back towards the food table. “Hey, don’t hog all the spring rolls, Margaret!”

“Wow, I knew we sent out a bunch of invitations, but I’m still surprised so many higher-up people showed up to this,” Makoto said to Azura toward the back of the room as they both looked at Kirumi and Annie talking to each other. “It’s a little bit intimidating… I was kind of hoping this would be just lower-level guys like us here, so we could be more relaxed.”

“Oh, don’t be like that! Just because they’re executives doesn’t mean they aren’t normal people,” Azura assured him. “Though, I’d still probably save drinks until after work is over.”

“You say that, but I’m still relatively new to this company - I still have a long way to go before I start feeling comfortable around them,” said Makoto. “How do you do it, Ms. Nakano? Don’t you ever get nervous being a few feet away from the CEO every day?”

“Well, I suppose I did at first, but the more I got to know her, the more I started to understand her. Her dedication to the company is impressive, staggeringly so. And I suppose I… admired that resolve.” She smiled as she pondered her next words. “Yet despite the burden on her shoulders, she carries herself with grace, and never fails to look after our well-being.”

“I see… and what about Ms. Scholten?” asked Makoto.

“Oh, she still scares me a little bit too, but… I just keep telling myself that she has to be human down in there somewhere, right?” Azura replied.

“Yeah… I’m sure you’re right!” Makoto said with a smile.

“Hey, Kaito… I just wanted to say that I really can’t thank you enough for all this,” Shuichi said as he and Kaito leaned against a wall together. “This party, all these people here, all these… friends… if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have any of this.”

“Don’t sweat it, man! It was nothing!” Kaito replied. “You’re the one who made friends with everyone, I just helped you get you out of your shell a little, so to speak.”

“Maybe, but… if I were you, I would have given up on me a while ago. And the fact that you haven’t, well…” Shuichi looked up into Kaito’s eyes and smiled. “I think you deserve a party a lot more than I do.”

“Heh, if you think I’m a good friend now, just wait until you actually see what I got you,” Kaito chuckled. “Trust me, it’s going to knock your socks off!”

After finishing up his conversation with Kaito, Shuichi worked his way across to the food table, where Azura was helping herself to a sugar cookie decorated with pink frosting. “Oh, hello again, Ms. Nakano. How have things been going?”

“Oh, things have been just splendid, Mr. Saihara, thank you for asking.” She replied, still munching away. “I hope you’ve been enjoying the party so far.”

“Y-yes, I’m having a great time. Oh, umm…” He noticed some stray frosting on the corner of her cheek. Without thinking, he reached up and gently wiped it away. “Sorry, you had some stuff there.”

The blue-haired woman stood dumbfounded for a moment, before her face began shining red as she blushed. “I-I, ummm… Thank you, Mr. Sai-er... Shuichi.” It took her a few more seconds to fully regain her composure, at which point she stepped a bit closer to him and began to speak. “So, have you taken a look at your new novel at all yet? I know it’s a bit soon to ask something like that, but Ms. Tojo and I are eager to know if we made a good gift choice.”

“Well, I’ve only had time to look at the first few pages so far, but I’m pretty impressed by the writing so far. Already, they’ve set up a mystery that’s got me scratching my head,” Shuichi replied. “Where did you buy this, by the way? Did you and Ms. Tojo order it online together?”

“Actually, we went out shopping together over the weekend,” Azura happily explained. “It’s something we do quite a lot together when we have spare time, actually. We just went to our favorite stores and just kept looking until we found something that looked like it would fit you! Granted, Ms. Tojo did offer some… unorthodox gift ideas, like a whole warehouse full of cleaning supplies, but I managed to talk her down into something more humble for both your sakes.”

“And… did you talk to her about the card too?” Shuichi asked.

“Yeah… she was rather insistent on that one.” Azura’s voice was a whisper. “But don’t worry, the the money is hers but the check is technically from an anonymous shell company, and it shouldn’t be able to be tracked back to her. So, you should be able to cash it without any fear.”

“Phew… that’s good to hear.” Shuichi let out a sigh of relief. “Did you manage to do anything else exciting over the weekend, though?”

“Uh… no, not particularly,” Azura replied, not wanting to mention the fun she’d been having with a certain silicon toy. “Mostly just regular stuff like exercise and cooking and whatnot.”

“Ah, well, sometimes a quiet weekend can sometimes be nice too,” Shuichi said, thinking back to the excitement he had over the last few days.

“Yes, that’s definitely true,” Azura said with a giggle. “Anyway, be sure to try some of the cookies before you leave, okay? Ms. Nakamura baked them herself.”

“Eh? Strange… I never took her for much of the baking type.” Shuichi grabbed two of the cookies and put them on a small paper plate. “Thank you, Azura. I’ll talk to you again later, okay?”

“Of course, Shuichi,” Azura said, bowing as she turned back toward the crowd. “Enjoy the rest of your party!”

After a while, the clocks on the wall struck 1 and signalled the end to the lunch break, and their festivities as well. A few people grabbed some remaining snacks to take back with them to their offices, and Korekiyo and Margaret helped to take down the decorations. In just a few short minutes, the room was so clean it was impossible to know a party had just taken place there. Shuichi, being the guest of honor, made sure to stick around, helping himself to a cookie or two, assisting everyone with cleaning up, and cracking a few jokes with Kaito, who refused to give any more details on the surprise he had planned.

Just as everyone was filing out of the room, Shuichi felt a gloved hand on his shoulder. “Pardon me, Mr. Saihara, I wonder if I might have a few more moments of your time?” He turned around to see Kirumi standing just behind him.

“Ms. Tojo? Of course, what did you need?” He asked, not sure what to expect. She had a fairly expressionless look on her face; but then again, that was practically her default appearance.

The green-haired CEO glanced briefly around the room, ensuring no one was within earshot. “There was one more gift I wanted to present you with, as a special thanks for your… service to the company.” Reaching into the pocket of her suit, she produced a flat, square box tied with an innocuous blue ribbon. Opening it with little fanfare, Shuichi unwrapped what appeared to be a headband with fuzzy pink cat ears attached to it..

“What is th-this fo--” The young man’s question was interrupted by a pair of lips locking with his. Kirumi had swiftly leaned in and began kissing him passionately. It only lasted a moment, however, as she pulled away nearly as quickly as she’d approached.

As she wiped her lips, Shuichi could see no trace of the heat he’d just felt from the head of CO Inc. As stoic as ever, she remarked, “Those are perhaps as much a gift for me as they are for you. That is, if you are so inclined to use them later. And with that, I think it is time to return to work.” With nary another word, she straightened her outfit and strode gracefully out the door, leaving the black-haired office worker alone in the room.

“Alright, I think that’s everything,” Kaito said as he walked back into the room. “Hey, Shuichi! What are you standing around there for? Did you lose one of your gifts or something?”

“Er, no! I was just, uh… waiting for you, Kaito,” Shuichi half-lied. “You said earlier that you’d give me your gift until after work, right? What is it, and why does it need to wait until then?”

“Heh, sorry Shuichi, but there’s no way I’m going to ruin that surprise.” Kaito smirked. “Just meet me and the other guys by the parking lot when work’s over, okay? Then we’ll take you right to it.”

“Okay… I’ll trust you on this one,” Shuichi replied. “Though, I can’t help but be afraid that this will turn out like those other special gifts you got me,” he added silently in his head.

Shuichi then gathered up all of his gifts into his bag and returned to his desk, planning on resuming his work content in the knowledge that his friends and coworkers appreciated him more than he ever thought. However, as he restarted his computer, he quickly remembered that he had finished almost everything he needed to do in his anxiety-induced fervor that morning.

“Oh, that’s right… I guess I didn’t have to do that after all.” Shuichi laughed to himself and rubbed the back of his head. “Well, no one would care that much if I look at my phone for a little bit, right?”