The office monkey tried all along to start a conversation with Fujiwara, but she kept being silent and emotionless. Honestly, compared to her, Ogawa seems cheerful, friendly and a very emotional extrovert. But she… it's like talking to a wall.
Ishida also ordered the same parfait as Ogawa. He thought, maybe Ishida loves coffee as much as he does?
"Does Ishida like coffee?" — he asked this, but stared at his own coffee cup, like it was going to answer him instead of Ishida herself.
"Huh?" — she was quite surprised by the fact that someone asked her something — "I do like coffee."
Until someone said something, she raised her palm.
"I know how you like coffee in your department."
Well, she was still angry. It was the worst-case scenario. However, Tamayo looked at us with Saru and sighed. Her eyes looked somewhere else, as she wanted to tell us something.
"Listen" — finally, she started, — "I can be too angry when it comes to equipment and tell some nonsense. I won't break your bones. It is the way I'd like to introduce myself, but what happened, that happened." — she closed her arms in a praying gesture — "Just please, be more careful with computers, okay?"
I am innocent! I looked at her and decided to repent myself, at least a bit.
"Understood. That will not happen."
At least, I'll take Masaru with myself into the grave.
"Fine! You promised!" — Ishida triumphantly bent her hand into a fist.
"So, what are you doing in life?" — besides threatening people.
"Um, I like fixing stuff. Building stuff. Do not like breaking stuff."
Do I speak with a junior school student…?
"However, you like those computers, don't you?" — Tachibana smiled at her friend.
The Redhead looked somewhere in the sky.
"There are always those who need protection and care. In this world, full of barbarians, office computers became victims of undeserved hatred. They are doing their best, giving employees much easier ways to do what they require. However, instead of gratitude they receive nothing else, but punches, shouts, anger and grief. That's why they need me." — she sipped her coffee with a heroic face.
"…"
"…"
"…"
We were all silent. It was such a powerful speech that nobody could even comment on it. If there was an artist, he could easily show Ishida in white armor on the white horse, ready to fight the barbaric creatures in the office suits. At least, she indeed saw herself so.
"More coffee?" — Ogawa breaks the silence.
"Yeah, sure" — casually nodding, she stood up.
They both left.
"I also don't mind taking one more cup" — Tachibana stood up. He looked at me with a shiny smile and hurried after them.
We stayed alone. Ah, I forgot about the big rock that sat in front of me. Saru again tried hard to start a conversation, but once everyone else except me left, she decided to speak.
Sigh
If I said that I noticed a cold steam coming out of her mouth, no one would believe me.
"Please, leave it."
Fujiwara said a short phrase. There wasn't any anger or frustration. Not even a note of disgust. Fujiwara simply stuck a knife into Masaru's heart with only three words. It was the coldest kill I have ever seen.
"B… bu…" — Akashi tried to restore his composure. Poor Monkey. If Tachibana told me the same words with the same voice and tone, I'd tonight kill myself, indeed.
"I told you."
With the same ruthlessness, she pulled out that knife, leaving his heart to bleed out.
Masaru, mentally destroyed, said he had to go to the restroom for a moment. Poor soul. He let me sit here alone with the ice demon. I felt like I was in a cage with a tiger.
Hm… maybe it's not that bad? She isn't aggressive… perhaps… everything will be fine?
However, silence began to become awkward.
"Hey" – I tried to make the first step.
The cold miss turned to me. She didn't say anything. Just stared at me.
"Uh… Fujiwara Yukiko, right? — I scratched the back of my head. I felt nervous, but it was necessary.
The girl nodded. Her unblinking gaze bore into me.
"Is that… you're…"
It was harder to start a conversation than I thought. Fujiwara just kept looking at me. But I didn't see a single muscle on her face flinch. It just didn't express anything. Not disgust, not hatred, not affection, not even polite interest. It was empty. Like snow in an impenetrable forest. She even had a cold air around her.
cough
"You're Tachibana's friend, right? Do you know her well?"
The girl nodded again. There was that awkward pause again. Finally, she sighed.
"You want to know what her interests are, what she likes, and whether she'd go out with you?"
The blunt question made me wince. No, I wanted to find out exactly everything she mentioned, but… I was hoping I could do it in a more courteous way.
"The answer is yes. But you need specific advice, don't you?"
The unperturbed Yukiko nodded again. She seemed to have a knack for seeing through people. She knew in advance what they wanted to ask. Pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket, she pulled one out and handed me a carton.
"If you want to talk about it, we'll go to the smoking room. Smoke for company or just stand around."
"I don't smoke."
"That's a shame."
Even though she said it, I honestly couldn't believe her regret at that fact. Her face didn't even flinch.
"Then you'll just stand there."
Ice Mask tucked the pack into her pocket and turned around and led me to the smoking room.
"So? Do you think I got any chance?" — I figured out there was no point in asking unnecessary things and got straight to the point.
She smoked her cigarette and answered, — "Probably."
Probably? Well, "probably" is better than a straight no.
"Though, you have to give your best."
"What do you suggest to me?"
"Nothing" – she said with a very calm yet cold voice.
"I thought you can help me?"
"I could, but why should I? It's a hassle. Moreover, you are already doing your best. Just keep going, until there are any real difficulties."
It was Fujiwara's longest talk I've heard before. Not like I knew her before this day… She finished smoking her cigarette, didn't let me say anything, and returned to our table. Everyone was back again.
cough, cough — it was Tachibana. She closed her nose and looked at her colleague, — "Fujiwara has been smoking again, hasn't she?"
Yukiko nodded.
"We went out with Kazuya to have a lovely talk."
I felt like my heart lost a count on the first vowel of that world.
"What?! Does Kazuya smoke?!" — Tachibana looked at me with a deep shock.
"N-no! I do not…"
"He refused to smoke."
Tachibana looked at Fujiwara. I couldn't see her face. However, I could see how the Ice Lady blinked and moved a little back.
"Fujiwara offered him a cigarette?"
"Yes." — Yukiko slowly nodded. Then, a weak smile appeared on her face. I did not like it, — "You know, it was out of the blue. When someone is near to straightly confessing their feelings, it is natural to take a cig…"
W-w-what did she say?! I felt like my inner parts had become lost.
"Yu-ki-ko…"
Tachibana took Fujiwara's hand and forcefully took her elsewhere. Although, I could see how this Icy Demon looked at me and winked with an eye. What does that mean? I could feel nothing, but fear. What is she going to tell Tachibana? Why is she doing it? I thought I got an ally, not a…
"What is it all about?" — Tamayo looked at me and Ogawa with questions.
Furuya gave her a look under the glasses. However, until he said anything…
Saru returned. He came to us with a gray face, straightening the sleeves of his blue office shirt.
"Um? Where is she?" — he asked, sitting down and looking into nowhere.
Ishida blinked. She definitely was confused by our look and did not understand what was going on.
Ogawa tilted his head to the side. I gave him a brief look. I knew, in the choice between coffee and jokes, he would certainly choose the first subject.
"It is better to not raise this topic. Two warriors had felt into the void of loneliness."
"I see…?" — Tamayo's voice wasn't so sure.
After two or three minutes, both Demon and Angel returned. Tachibana seemed very nervous. I thought she was going to run to me. What will be next? Will I be rejected too? Would there be the same three short words? "Please, leave it"? "Stop embarrassing yourself"? "Leave me alone"?
She became closer and closer. I was mentally prepared to hear them. Instead, she ran pass me and came to Saru instead.
"Masaru has no right to give up!"
"W… ?"
"Eh?"
"He~?"
"Wha.."
Everyone: Ogawa, Saru, Ishida and me — was astonished by her words. The Angel went to Akashi and looked at him. Even Fujiwara, that was going much slower than her friend and was looking directly at my face, tilted her head to the side. She looked at her friend's back.
"She may not understand you! However, if you give up, there totally won't be any chance! She will never approve your feelings if you are weak!"
Saru looked at her, while blinking his eyes. Tachibana turned her head to me.
"Fujiwara told me everything. It is very nice of Kazuya to be so caring about his colleagues! However, you should have asked me, not Fujiwara! She has no clue about loving affairs!"
"Senior…" — Masaru looked at me.
I looked at Fujiwara's face. Instead, she was too interested in checking her shoes.
"Masaru, if there is an ice heart that you can't simply warm out, you have to increase your fire! Maybe not now, but later, she'll definitely feel sorry for it."
"I do not know what the topic is, but I agree with Tachichan!" — Tamayo raised her hand, — "Energy and hot head — can deal with everything!"
"Well, it has some reasoning." — Ogawa agreed.
Someone has read too many romantic novels. In real life, there is never something like this works out.
However, Masaru's face became bright as day. He hit himself with his fist.
"You are right, Tachibana! I do not have to give up now! I'll make her mine one day!"
There was clear confusion. Fujiwara changed what we were talking about, and it led to other actions. My Angel simply could not leave someone in despair. Furthermore, I do not know what exactly Yukiko had said, but I felt like Tachibana did not understand that the object of Masaru's love was her very own colleague.
"Ah! Also! Fujiwara!"
"Yes-yes, sure."
The White Ghost slowly walked towards me.
"Sorry for offering you a cigarette. I had to know that you can't smoke due to your age."
Tachibana smiled and continued with Tamayo to give other advice to Saru. Ogawa sometimes nodded his head.
But… there was a source of cold feeling in the room. It was just next to me.
I looked at Fujiwara. She looked at me with a completely blank face. After some pause, she finally sighed.
"Well, I hit myself. Moreover, I made you look better according to Tachibana and your friend, didn't I?"
"Why?" — Really, why? Why did she tell her? Why did she even start this topic? Why did she change the topic we were talking about? Why did she bother with all this "help"?
"Well. It is fun to tease people, isn't it?"
"No. Never." — she didn't tease me. She completely shook my inner sides twice.
Demon closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.
"You had to see your face. Such changes from complete despair to happiness and despair and then back…"
Yamazaki in dress. No. Yamazaki had at least some kind of respect for the feelings of his subordinates.
She opened her eyes.
"Think about it, as a price."
Tachibana then suggested that we sometimes go and eat lunch all together during the break.
On our way home, Masaru told again and again:
"I won't give up! I'll make her mine one day!"
Both Ogawa and I were genuinely impressed. Well done, Saru, well done.
Name: Akashi Masaru
Attributes: is a monkey, doesn't give up
Current relationship status: single, in love