Chapter Text
“Are you sure that the Marriage Path is for you?” thick glasses hung from the bridge of the woman’s nose as she studied the man across from her. This would be his third Assignment. The first had been unsuccessful since he had held affections for another man, and when he had finally attained that other man, it turns out that their marriage had been dysfunctional. When they’d gone to the Medical Ward and tested their Compatibility, it was low, and a Splitting had been in order.
The love hadn’t been there, though that in itself was why you could not marry a friend. Takafumi Yokozawa had loved his previous husband, Masamune Takano.. The first woman he’d married had been through the Government’s Assignment, yet that had dissolved. The marriage with Masamune had been by choice. He’d thought that perhaps if he married someone by choice, it would atone for the Government’s failure in placing a proper match. Though this had not been the case. Masamune had regarded him only as a friend, and when his old flame had returned to Tokyo, it had all been over, hence the Splitting, hence Takafumi sitting in front of the woman (he could still remember Masamune’s bored eyes as he regarded Takafumi within any romantic setting; a clear sign of disinterest, yet he’d held onto the hope that if he clasped Masamune tightly enough, he would fall in love with him. Human emotion was not so simple).
“Yes,” Takafumi answered clearly with a confidence that he did not feel. His hands trembled within his lap. The Marriage Path was simple, you were assigned a partner and domestic bliss was to ensue. Or, that was the proposed action from the Government. The Government Assigning a partner was not mandatory, though most preferred it to socializing and exploring options. Takafumi would have considered such if he were younger, yet he was twenty-eight and without a proper family. He had a proper career path as a salesman, was financially stable, well-respected, yet alone. The solitude threatened to smother him, for it felt as though all attempts of companionship were futile, that no matter how much faith he placed within his own abilities or the Government, he would be alone
The notion was terrifying in an era where the Government could provide and man could profit from such perfect order. Japan was in an era of peace with new technology; crime was low, as was unemployment and homelessness. There was no reason that Takafumi should not encounter such joy within a place of paradise, and yet still, he was alone. Perhaps there was something wrong with him, something rather unlovable, something that did not make a suitable spouse.
He wrung his wrists nervously, yet his gaze never wavered from the government worker’s. Normally a questionnaire was in order for the Government to best discern how one ought to be Assigned to another, but alas, it was not his first processing, hence the lack of need for such a line of questioning. He was grateful for this, for the notion of having to answer such questions again would have most certainly made his face burn in shame. He hadn’t meant to fail as a spouse twice, but alas, such seemed his luck. Quietly, he struggled with feelings of inadequacy, yet could not voice such. Silently he wondered what a third Assignment spoke to as his character. Those within his building would eventually find out about his third Assignment, for would he not have a third spouse moving into his abode?
The first Assignment was not always successful, and was often the most dubious in terms of satisfaction, the second Assignment, however, was usually the most favorable. But that was the issue, those within his building had thought that Masamune had been Assigned to him. No, Masamune had been a Choice, and a rather poor one at that.
Takafumi silently wondered how many times he would go through this mortification, the realization that he was inadequate and unfit for romance. He found himself hurtling towards the point of no longer wishing for love in matrimony. He no longer cared if the union happened to be one of convenience, he would stay within it, if only to save face. Such social qualms did not usually matter to Takafumi, yet there was a certain level of shame to be had in failing in a perfect system. Besides, not only was it a failing in a perfect system, but also one in personal relationships. He could not fathom what those around him thought of his character, especially for his being unable to hold a partner down. Perhaps these harsh realities left him bereft, willing to compromise then with an unhappy future. If he was lonely, at least he was going to be lonely with someone else in the room, and although it did not stifle the nature of loneliness itself, it saved face for the sight of strangers looking into his life.
They would think he was no longer dysfunctional.
“The Government has a suggestion,” said the Government worker. In his thought, he’d forgotten about the processing. “Is the man’s having a child an issue?”
Takafumi shook his head. A child? Even better, perhaps then he’d seem functional enough to continue within a perfect society. How grand is Takafumi, they’d think, no longer a failure, managing to keep someone, managing to help raise a child, even! They’d think he was cured. Perhaps if Takafumi was in the relationship long enough, he, too, would assume these false perceptions of being cured.
“The man’s name is Zen Kirishima, he works in the entertainment business like you do, but instead of selling things, he produces them. He has a daughter, ten-years-old, a Hiyori Kirishima. His wife died of an untreatable illness a few years ago, however, he did not request Assignment until recently.”
Takafumi carefully listened to the introduction of the man. It was unsettling, for he’d hoped for a woman, if only because his last relationship with a man had ended disastrously. Masamune had been the only man he’d ever been involved with and it had ended terribly, at least he had dated women in the past pleasantly enough. But alas, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and from the image she was projecting upon the screen, he was attractive enough. His thin lips were drawn into a smile within the profile, messy, golden brown hair tousled every this way and that. He was attractive, far too attractive to Takafumi’s liking, for the more he stared at the man, the more he felt horribly incompatible with him. This Zen Kirishima seemed the sort to have his life together, he hadn’t parted with his wife due to Incompatibility, but because she had died.
Perhaps the weight of the Assignment would have been easier upon him should it have been with someone who had placed themselves within the system for the first time, then Takafumi would have felt like he wasn’t stealing anything from anyone.
He paused, suddenly aware of the coldness of the room, his gaze darting around to study the office’s perfectly white chairs and simplistic decor. His gaze flickered back towards the secretary and he peered behind her to the great window that wrapped around the room. From over her shoulder and the glow of the screen, he could see the hour drawing later. Lights began to glow within the city as the orange of the sky seemed to wash out into a steady indigo. He ought to be getting home soon, he realized, though it was hardly as if he could cut the conference short. He looked towards her once again.
“Do you approve?”
Takafumi nodded, for what further could he say?
“I’ll contact him presently,” she said, with a smile at long last (perhaps relieved that her work for the evening was finished). “I will transfer the information in the morning, should he approve of the Assignment. Not only that, but his contact information, as well. A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Yokozawa.”
Yet Takafumi rather felt that was a lie.