Chapter Text
The locker room
(Furuya, Haruichi +2 Others)
| Today 2:14 PM |
| LOOK WHO FELL ASLEEP AGAIN! |
| IMG_8264 |
| Tojou |
| Lol |
| Haruichi |
| Lunch always knocks him out, huh? |
| I guess you could say that… |
| But I think he’s really just slacking off because of the new interns we got |
| Haruichi |
| I guess you two take after each other |
| ??? |
| What does that mean? |
| Today 2:30 PM |
| I’m nothing like him btw |
| My work quality is a lotttttttt better |
| Today 2:36 PM |
| Jun even said that he hardly had to change anything in my last article. How about that? |
| Kanemaru |
| Dude, do you ever do your work? |
| OF COURSE! |
| Kanemaru |
| Instant reply. You’re lying. |
| I AM NOT! |
| Kanemaru |
| Then stop blowing up my phone whenever a new thought pops into your brain, dumbass. |
| Chris is gonna get on your ass again if you keep dicking around. |
| 2:45 PM |
| Kanemaru |
| I can’t believe that worked… |
| Haruichi |
| Always does |
| Furuya |
| Please delete the photo. |
Seido Sports HQ
(Miyuki, Kawakami +23 Others)
| Monday 7:51 PM |
| Yuuki Tetsuya |
| If anyone can do overtime today, please message me. |
| Yesterday 8:01 PM |
| Yuuki Tetsuya |
| If anyone can do overtime today, please message me. |
| Yesterday 8:42 PM |
| Kuramochi |
| drinks tonight? anyone |
| Zono |
| I can |
| Kuramochi |
| Anyone else? |
| Yesterday 8:50 PM |
| Kuramochi |
| ok some other night then |
| Zono |
| ? |
| Today 3:00 PM |
| Miyuki |
| What time are presentations? |
| Kuramochi |
| I wanna say 5-ish |
| Ryousuke |
| They’re at 4:30. Don’t give out information you aren’t sure of. Some of our less bright staff could get confused. |
| Kuramochi |
| sorry… |
| Kawakami |
| And we need to have a PowerPoint for each idea? |
| Ryousuke |
| You should read over the email again. Everyone got it. |
| Kawakami |
| Well.. that’s true. |
| But Yuuki-san’s emails are a little… |
| Uh |
| Ryousuke |
| What? |
| Yuuki Tetsuya |
| If you are confused, please send me a message. |
| Kawakami |
| …Can you just debrief again? |
| Yuuki Tetsuya |
| No problem. |
| The quarterly pitch session for the upcoming publication cycle will go as follows: everyone must present at least 2-3 new content ideas. Chris and I will make the final decisions as to which ideas will solidify a place on the roster. A successful pitch means increased visibility and potential for lead articles. If you have a PowerPoint presentation, please forward it to Fujiwara, as she will be operating the slides today. Thank you. |
| Miyuki |
| Talk about pressure~ |
| Kuramochi |
| you literally always get chosen |
| Miyuki |
| Well, I didn’t say the pressure was on me, now did I? |
| Kuramochi |
| /: |
| Ryousuke |
| Anyway. It’s pretty straightforward stuff. Do you understand now, Nori? |
| Kawakami |
| Yes! Thank you |
| Ryousuke |
| You should really work on breaking the habit of asking for things at the last minute. |
| Kawakami |
| Sorry… |
| Ryousuke |
| Don’t worry. I know how capable you can be in difficult situations. I’m looking forward to what you come up with. |
| Kawakami |
| Thank you? |
| Thank you!* |
The locker room
(Furuya, Haruichi +2 Others)
| Today 3:16 PM |
| Kanemaru |
| Aw man I didn’t know that was today |
| Oh really? Who’s unprepared now!! |
| Shut up |
| I have all my shit together. Have since the last time |
| Tojou |
| The one where two of your pitches got put on the back burner? |
| I remember that! |
| Kanemaru |
| I don’t want to talk about that… |
| Haruichi |
| Lol |
| Furuya |
| Lol |
| Kanemaru |
| Anyway. |
| I’m just a little nervous about presenting, is all. You (SAWAMURA) of all people should know how much of a tough grader Chris can be. |
| Whatever! I’m not even scared this time! |
| Kanemaru |
| You sure about that? |
| Well i’m positive that this time i’ll get one of my pitches chosen! I’m gonna shut his grumpy butt up for good. |
| Tojou |
| Come on. I don’t think he’s that bad. |
| Young Tojou… you haven’t seen the things i have seen. You haven’t experienced the horrors i’ve endured… |
| Tojou |
| I’ve been here for the same amount of time as you. ^^’ |
| His office is practically a revolving door. Haven’t you ever wondered why none of his assistants last more than a week in that role? |
| Furuya |
| No |
| Tojou |
| haven’t put much thought into it. |
| It’s because he’s nothing but a soulless corporate robot who lacks any sense of creativity or compassion! He’s a gloomy asshole who projects his own insecurities onto his subordinates by undermining their hard work! |
| Haruichi |
| That’s going a bit far, don’t you think? |
| Kanemaru |
| Yeah, I don’t know man… I think it depends. |
| It’s true! And this time I'm going to open his eyes to my creative genius! |
| Kanemaru |
| … |
| Haruichi |
| You’re a liability, Eijun. |
Quarterly Pitch sessions are held in conference room B.
Over twenty chairs line up against an obnoxiously long table, and a flat screen that probably cost more than his weekly salary, against the wall at the tail end.
Eijun sits in the back, farthest from where Chris is.
Chris, who is President of the company, and Eijun’s unfondly named: boss from hell.
He’s in his usual spot, across the table from Yuuki, the project manager. Chris scribbles away purposely in his notebook like he always does as things get booted up while all the suits file in one after the other.
Eijun can’t help but glare at him from afar.
That completely unbothered nature he holds irritates him like a mosquito bite—moving on without a second thought as if one of his new assistants hadn’t just walked out on him the other day. He bets that those papers he’s shifting through so quickly are proposals that he’d rather burn than let see the light of day.
That’s just the kind of boss he is and has been for the past year that Eijun’s been here.
“You’ll burn a hole into him,” Furuya says, plopping down a binder the size of Eijun’s head right next to him on the table.
“What the hell is all that?”
“My pitch.”
Eijun sizes it up skeptically. “Why is it so big?!”
“Because I've been working hard on it,” he says, taking the empty seat beside him.
Eijun restrains the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, his may have been bigger, but Eijun’s is definitely more appealing.
“Are you starting to feel nervous? Seems like Furuya’s pretty strong competition,” Kanemaru says, across from him.
“Yeah, right! His last pitch was about horse racing! Can you even believe that? Horse racing, for christ sake! I mean, we’re a sports publication company. Sports I say!!”
“Horse racing is a sport,” Furuya says.
“You know I mean real sports!”
“Now you’re just being biased,” Kanemaru says.
Before he can list off the many reasons why equestrian activities shouldn’t be forked into a magazine that mainly covers baseball, basketball, and the like, the lights begin to dim, and all the casual chatter in the room drops to a gang of whispers.
The big screen lights up, and Yuuki shuffles some papers before standing beside it.
Yuuki clears his throat before speaking.
“Good evening, everyone. As you all know, today marks our fourth quarterly pitch session of the year. This means that the accepted pitches today will be published in Q1, our most popular series of issues. Chris and I both expect you to put your best ideas forward in the event that you are chosen. The spots are limited, thus making this event highly competitive. The pressure is on, and good luck, everyone!”
Everyone erupts into a medium volume of applause, and Yuuki takes a seat.
“Volunteers can go first, and then we will revert to alphabetical order by family name.”
Yuuki is always the one who takes the lead in conferences like this since he’s got the more outward and extroverted qualities of a leader, but it seems like Chris does much of the judging and hard-hitting critique that no one wants to hear; Devil’s advocate if not the devil himself. Eijun thinks it’s ironic that someone so soft-spoken could be the most critical. Everyone in the room remains silent when he speaks, too, his low rumble difficult to hear otherwise.
Each of his colleagues present one by one.
If Eijun were to measure it, he’d say that about 3/5ths of his colleagues would get a curt “Next,” without being able to further sell their ideas.
The most gracious Chris has ever been with a rejectee is throwing in a “work on it, and then we can consider it,” which he seems to have done today with Nori’s presentation. It’s not quite a yes, but it isn’t a hard no. Someone as nervous as Nori would probably be happy to get a non-failing mark.
Miyuki Kazuya, one of the company’s seniors, gets to finish his presentations in full, all while fielding engaging questions and firing back well-informed responses. He’s got some super fancy presentation about separating training regimens according to pitchers, launch angle analysis, spin rate, and… yeah. Eijun really couldn’t explain it if he tried.
All he knows is that Chris is playing favoritism with Miyuki, because he nods along to every word he says.
It’s all about the numbers, which is probably why he ends up liking it so much.
And Eijun figures that it’s either just that good, or that Miyuki is an ass kisser who only works to appeal to him.
They’ve got a running gag where Miyuki teases Eijun about his ability to get on Chris’ wrong foot so often, and he never misses a chance to show off how much he’s in his good graces. He flashes Eijun a cheeky grin as he takes his seat next to Chris, because of course he has to flaunt that he’s favored enough to sit next to the immovable Chris.
Yeah, a major ass kisser, indeed.
Aside from him, there are a handful of eccentric ideas, including Furuya’s, who, surprisingly, gets a pass…?
Eijun doesn’t know if he should be worried or relieved that something that out of the box had gotten the okay.
Sure, he was well prepared and his presentation was a little (only a little!) bit compelling… but not in a million years would he think it’d be an article they’d be willing to publish in something that gets over one million readers a month.
Eijun trots to the front after Furuya is finished.
“Break a leg,” Furuya tells him as they pass each other, and if they weren’t in a professional setting, he’d be jabbing him in the foot right now.
He’s never labeled himself as one for having stage fright, but every time he gets up there in front of Chris, and he feels those cold eyes gleaming at him, he can’t help but feel a bit strange.
There’s a part of him that wants to impress, that wants approval, even if that’s the last thing he should be expecting from someone so cold.
All eyes are on him, waiting for him to start, but he doesn’t do the usual introduction as his first move.
Eijun takes a deep breath, several in fact, raises his arms up and down with the rhythm of his rising chest. It’d be a little embarrassing for anyone else, but he’s never been afraid to put himself out there, even if his colleagues sometimes say that he’s a little too much at times.
“Oh, Not this again!” Ishaski groans.
Kuramochi chimes in too, “Stop being silly and present, doofus.”
Chris can make the aura all gloomy and strict if he wants, but it becomes lively again once Eijun takes the stage.
“Now you may be wondering why I have a habit of practicing breathing exercises before I present—or, do anything that requires a large amount of preparation for that matter!”
“Not really,” someone says.
“Well, I’ll tell you!”
Eijun’s segue is perfect, and he does what he feels is his best while presenting. He’s articulate, well animated, and his topic is clear and concise, if not a tad overbearing.
The superstitions and behaviors of baseball players before, during, and after games.
From pregame rituals to repetitive etiquette at bat, it’s an interesting yet quirky way to view baseball using an inside lens and gather a better understanding of what it’s like to be on the field.
Eijun would know, considering he’s a retired high school baseball player himself, and he’s had that experience firsthand. There’s no one better than him to delve into and execute a topic like this one.
It’s fresh, interesting, and he thinks that everyone else would be on board if they just gave it a chance—
“Sawamura,” Chris says sharply.
Eijun freezes, and Chris continues.
“You must think your enthusiasm makes up for the quality of your work. These ideas lack the practical application and mass appeal that we're looking for, especially for such an anticipated issue of the publication. Being ignorantly blind to what you deem as artistic will only get you so far. Perhaps you should focus more on fine-tuning your more generalized articles instead of attempting to relive your former glory days.”
His words are quick, like a knife jabbed clean between a ribcage. Eijun doesn’t get to rebuttal, he doesn’t get to say anything before Chris motions to move on to the next presenter, all without casting a second glance his way.
He was only half done with his presentation. He hadn’t even gotten to the selling bit yet.
A few more slides and he’d be able to convince them.
He’d be able to convince Chris.
But by the looks of things, Chris doesn’t even care about that.
Eijun feels his face flush first, frustration seeping in hot to his head. He balls his fists as the shakes take over. Quickly, he grabs his papers, not even caring if they’d gotten a bit wrinkled, and then walks—no, stomps, to his desk.
Perhaps it’s futile at this point, but he tries to appear as unaffected as he can. He’s never been good at concealing his emotions, and Haruichi’s worried glances at him only further prove that.
The longer he sinks into his seat, the more the itching urge to rant is trying to break free.
But he can’t talk here, lest he wants to get smacked upside the head by one of his seniors.
He doesn’t even think about it.
Before he knows it, he’s pulling out his phone under the table, and his thumbs begin typing away. The built-up rage that he couldn’t possibly share out loud with everyone present materializes itself in one lengthy, bitchy text.
Eijun feels instant relief when he presses send.
For a moment, there’s silence. A split second of peace Eijun wishes he could stay in, but it’s shortly interrupted by a sharp “ping!”.
Kanemaru is up at the front now, and he’s getting his papers together before scrambling to reach into his back pocket.
“Oh, sorry. Let me turn my phone off.”
At first, Eijun thinks it’s his message reaching The Locker Room group chat. Kanemaru’s the usual culprit for letting his phone blare at full volume, so when the familiar notification chime rings out, Eijun barely glances up.
Ping!
But then another phone goes off.
Ping! Ping!
And then another.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
And suddenly, heads are dipping as the illuminated glow of screens begins to fill the room.
It’s strange, really. Eijun doesn’t think much of it at first—he doesn’t want to. But as heads begin to snap towards him, his heart starts to race.
There’s a light rumble of chatter growing in the staunch. It’s dizzying, bewildering, even. But things slowly piece themselves together when Chris turns his way, his unlocked phone in hand, thumb frozen mid scroll.
His expression is unreadable, yet his eyes are locked dead on Eijun.
He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t even blink.
And somehow, in that silence, Eijun begins to understand.
He checks his phone, and his blood runs cold.
Seido Sports HQ
(Miyuki, Kawakami +23 Others)
| I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT MEGA CORPORATE ASSHOLE JUST HUMILIATED ME IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!! I spent like… THREE WHOLE WEEKS crafting my proposal! I skipped dinner!! I even turned down ramen!!! Where does he get off shutting me down when I'm not even halfway finished presenting?! It’s like he doesn’t want to give anything remotely creative a chance before adhering to his stupid “on brand” bullshit! Like, okay. WE GET IT. He’s a soulless, by-the-book downer that sits on his round ass all day drawing big x’s on anything that doesn’t appeal to him! He just makes me so….. GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! |
| Kuramochi |
| holy shit |
| Miyuki |
| Language. |
| But yeah, holy shit |
| Ryousuke |
| I think you’ve got the wrong chat, bud. |
Well, shit.
Chris whispers something to Yuuki, who whispers something to Takato, who’s standing at the podium near the front. She nods to his every word as she starts to close tabs and disconnect her laptop from the big screen.
“We truly apologize, but we will be ending this session rather suddenly due to unforeseen circumstances. Please look for an email in the coming hours about word of rescheduling. You may continue your individual work in the office or go home if you have completed your duties for today. Thank you.”
The room promptly fills up with the shuffling of papers, rolling of chairs, and soft chatter as the sea of whispers and chuckles leaves him still stunned in the dust.
Haruichi is the first to speak to him after the fact.
“You okay?” he asks.
And immediately, Eijun wants to tell him “hell no!”.
There’s so much wrong with what just happened that he can’t even begin to piece together a sentence that’s not an arrangement of the words, “I fucked up big time.”
There’s not even enough time to gather his thoughts before the source of his dismay chimes with a loud, “Ping!”
He thinks he’s heard enough of that sound today.
Takigawa Chris Yuu
| Today 5:38 PM |
| My office. Now. |
He snaps his head up to skim the room, but Chris is already gone.
“Yup. It’s definitely happening,” Kanemaru says, peeking over Eijun's shoulder to sneak a glimpse at his phone. “Hey, look, man, it was nice knowing you.”
Furuya hums in agreement. “Thank you for letting me sleep on the clock for these few months.”
Eijun swats them both away.
“Oh, shut up! I’m about to get my ass handed to me, and that’s all you can say?!”
“Good luck, Sawamura,” Tojou offers.
He needs a little more than luck right now.
Eijun makes his way past his stunned coworkers, some sparing him genuinely concerned glances and others, well, poking fun at his misery (namely Kuramochi and Miyuki (damn those bastards! This wasn’t funny, like, at all!)).
⚾︎
The door is unlocked when Eijun gets there.
Chris is sitting in his revolving chair, his back turned to Eijun like some kind of super villain. Eijun can’t help but think it’s a fitting comparison.
The silence upon his arrival has got him all nervous, and he seriously debates following in on his urge to just bolt out and act like none of this ever happened.
But, damn, he doesn't even want to think about how hard the consequences would affect him.
The bottom line is that Eijun doesn’t want to lose his job.
As much as he dogged on his boss, this company was one of the top choices for his profession and what he wanted to achieve. There’s not much more an entry-level writer can ask for than to be scouted for one of the best sports publication companies in the nation.
Eijun has only been in his office once, but that was for nothing this serious, let alone career-threatening.
He’s never had a serious infraction. Just a few warnings about “boisterous behavior” and extra paperwork piled on him to keep him dormant for the long work days ahead.
Not much has changed about this place. It’s still as impeccably tidy and minimalist as ever. Everything is hyper-organized, including the assortment of framed baseball jerseys hanging around the walls of the room.
“That was quite the display,” Chris says as he gazes out of the window at the Tokyo night cityscape.
His mind starts racing too much to come up with something cohesive to say. And as Chris turns around in his chair, he can't stop the blabberfest that comes out.
“Listen—that, back there? Pfft. That was a total mistake.” He knows his words of apology are useless. He knows it won’t matter, and yet he persists. “I would never, and I mean never, say anything like that to your face. Let alone to the entire employee base of this company. Nooooo! Not this guy. Definitely not me. Maybe if we had a secret group chat, WHICH WE DON’T, I would consider it, but I… I was just really caught up in the moment and things slipped out, and—”
Chris holds his hand up for Eijun to stop midsentence, and in that instance, he knows he’s fucked.
So he clenches his eyes shut and braces himself for the inevitable, fatal blow.
“As I was saying,” he starts off. He clicks his pen in idleness, almost as if it were helping him think. “Your words were undeniably harsh.”
Oh, boy…
“Twice were they inappropriate for the professional setting, to a disclosed group or not. Your display of ignorance is undoubtedly deserving of some level of corporate punishment.”
Oh yeah. Here it comes.
“And for that… I must praise you, Sawmaura.”
He knew it—! Wait… what?
“Your message showed a certain passion and unfiltered honesty that I, frankly, haven’t seen in a while. Out of anyone, for that matter.”
Eijun opens his eyes in caution, tension in his body dying down. “You’re not… mad?”
“Do I look angry?”
Eijun wants to say yes, but if he really looks at it, he’s wearing the same dead expression he usually does, and using that same, gloomy monotone voice.
Apparently, he takes too long to answer, so Chris averts his eyes downward and lightly sighs. His pen clicking slows until he stops completely.
“My newest hire quit on me this morning.”
“Uh, you mean your assistant?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Yeah. I heard. But what does that have to do with—”
“Listen, Sawamura,” he says, and it’s with conviction. “I understand that you do not have a very positive opinion of me as your superior, and that for some reason, you are not afraid to express it, even to your detriment.”
Man, he’s dragging this out, Eijun mentally says to himself, but he guesses he deserves it. He’s never heard Chris yell—doesn’t think he ever has in his life—and at the very least, Eijun was lucky he didn’t feel like trying it out today.
“As I was reading your message… I felt that it embodied what so many of my former subordinates lacked.”
Chris doesn’t say what that quality is. He just looks at Eijun until it becomes uncomfortable.
“So… effective immediately, I am appointing you to be my assistant.”
Eijun blinks.
And then again.
The words finally register in that slow-ticking brain of his, and he just about short-circuits.
“WHAT?”
Chris doesn’t repeat himself, and the silence leaves Eijun to spiral.
“Your… your assistant? But… I just. I just… I just shit talked you, real bad, might I add—To the ENTIRE team of operations!”
“I’m aware.”
Eijun’s mouth moves in wordless shapes as he tries to find words, excuses, if he even has them.
“But I'm a writer! I want to write! I didn’t come to this company so I could bust my butt doing your dirty laundry all day!”
Chris is already back to paying him the minimal amount of attention possible, already busting the stack of paperwork sitting at the corner of his desk. He’s quick with his pen, and his momentum doesn’t stop when he responds.
“I’ll allow you to continue your former work, so long as you adhere to your duties as my assistant effectively. Your payroll will mirror that.”
He hates that it’s so, but Eijun can’t argue with money.
“Now, if everything is settled... go get me a coffee. Straight.”
“Coffee? It’s nearly six pm!”
“Exactly,” Chris glances at Eijun. “It takes fuel to sit on my “round ass” all day.”
⚾︎
The locker room
(Furuya, Haruichi +2 Others)
| Today 6:23 PM |
| Kanemaru |
| Burger |
| Haruichi |
| Cream stew |
| Furuya |
| Neither. |
| Kanitama |
| Are you guys going out to eat tonight? |
| Furuya |
| No |
| Ok then what’s with the random food |
| Furuya |
| We’re deciding what to cook for your going away party |
| HUH? |
| Haruichi |
| You got fired, didn’t you? |
| NO! |
| Tojou |
| ? |
| Furuya |
| ?? |
| Haruichi |
| ??? |
| I GOT PROMOTED! |
| Kanemaru |
| ????????????????????????? |