Chapter Text
When Shinya awoke that morning, he expected to hear the coffee pot running. He expected to hear her sing song voice jokingly urging him out of the bed. The first few weeks before her death she had spent with Shinya in his apartment, practically begging for him to hear all about her work back at the labs. Even though the two of them were not incredibly close, he would still listen to her blabbering.
Never once did he think that he would miss her constant speeches. Now, the house was empty, all of the time. Without the ashen haired woman’s voice, Shinya almost felt too quiet. Shinya himself was a rather outspoken man, not afraid to speak his mind, so he found that incredibly odd. Shinya did not appreciate her too much, but he still felt empty without her around.
The silver haired man threw his legs over the side of the bed, stretching his arms above his head and yawning quietly. He heard a quiet meow from atop one of the pillows on his bed. There laid a large grey tabby cat, blinking slowly and flicking his tail. “Oh, I’m sorry did I you wake you, royal Byakkomaru?” Shinya said with a grin.
It was true, his cat acted like the true man of the house. He would always stroll down the hallways like he paid the bills around here. Shinya, however, paid no mind to it. Byakkomaru had always been a loyal companion, even right after Shinya recused him from the streets. The cat squinted slightly, and laid back down onto the plush, pure white pillow.
Shinya sighed, standing up. Rays of the rising sun shot through his linens and into his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly and managed to escape the sun once he made it to the other side of his bed. He looked over at his side-table, gazing down at the manuscript he had to bring in to Kureto today. His newest work “Droplets in July” was finally due today.
He had wished that he had another day to go over it. Shinya did not feel as prepared as he would have liked, but he knew that Kureto and the others at the publishing company would not be happy with if he came in late. If it didn’t affect him, Shinya would always bring his novels in late. Shinya wasn’t looking to please the Hiiragi family. If anything, Shinya wanted them to be brought down a peg.
The Hiiragi family was known for their honorable work with the military centuries ago, and they are still referred to as gods by many citizens. However, while the eldest Hiiragi , Tenri Hiiragi, still worked with the military, the family’s predecessor owned a publishing company ad well. That predecessor was Shinya’s eldest brother Kureto Hiiragi.
The publishing company’s original use was to publish the family life stories and any of their doctrines that they had created throughout the years. In order to become more powerful and have more funds, the company expanded their views and were now publishing anything from autobiographies to elementary level fiction.
Shinya took use of his family ties whenever he took to writing, and figured that Kureto would accept him as long as money was assured. Kureto had made the right choice. Shinya was one of the most popular authors of modern day romance the country had seen in a long time. There was something about all of his novels that were intriguing and interesting to nearly all audiences.
However, Shinya used a pen name instead of staking his name on anything he wrote. The Hiragi’s had demanded this, they found Shinya’s work too “sappy” to be related to them, even though Shinya was an adoptive son. So, any of Shinya’s novels were signed “S.H.” an incredibly simple and ironic name. The way it applied secrecy almost seemed too fitting. Despite the stupidity of it, Shinya went along, and later appreciated his pen name.
Shinya took the stack of papers into his hands, grinning softly. He felt as though he had perfectly captured heartbreak in this one. Despite his usual works being strictly romance, this one was a tragedy as well.
“Well, I might want to hurry, I don’t want Kureto jumping down my throat the second I get there,” Shinya said to no one in particular. He took a rushed shower, unimpressed by the lukewarm water he received halfway through, and excited the shower with a towel wrapped around his thin waist. Shinya went into his kitchen, preparing toast before rushing off to get dressed.
He hurried down the cold hallway, and startled Byakkomaru when he threw the door open. He took a navy blazer, grey button-up, and a pair of black slacks from his closet. He dressed himself quickly, grabbed his manuscript and made his way back to the kitchen. He took the toast from the counter and placed the slice between his lips before stumbling towards the door. “Wshh mm luh!” (Wish me luck!) the man shouted to Byakkomaru as he left. But of course, the tabby only stirred in his sleep, unaware of his owner’s leave.
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Shinya stood in line at a local coffee shop, his vibrant blue eyes half open as he gazed out the window at the busy streets. He let out a soft sigh, digging in his pocket for his wallet. He heard a heated conversation from the front of the line. He could make out just a little bit of it, but not much. “It clearly says that all of them cost 200 yen, so you should be giving me the correct amount of change, you still owe me more than this,” he heard an angry voice, and it continued to argue, claiming that he wasn’t in the situation where he could just let money flow.
“What are you doing buy so many coffees anyway? Are you a little errand boy?” the boy at the register said with a snicker. The other man grew even more angry, but seemed to swallow it at the last second. “Damn brat, I don’t have time for this,” he said angrily as he stepped away.
Shinya’s eyes widened as he gazed at the man strolling towards him. He had never seen him before, he was sure of that. Shinya knew that he could never have forgotten such an attractive face. The man had wild raven hair and deep, handsome indigo eyes. He was about six feet tall and had a remarkable build, no doubt used to workouts of all sorts. He was wearing a dark red sweater and black trench coat, which showed off his muscular arms and broad shoulders. He had a determined look in his eyes, but an aggressive facial expression. The man also looked young, right around Shinya’s age.
Shinya hadn’t been paying attention, so it caught by surprise when he noticed something slip out of the man’s pocket and onto the ground. His wallet had fallen out of his trench coat pocket, and he obviously didn’t notice it. The silver haired man reached down and took it into his hands. He opened it up, reading his I,D.
“Guren Ichinose, 24” was as far as Shinya read before he remembered that he still had to return the wallet. He jumped out of line and hustled after the man carrying the coffees. He was almost at the door when Shinya shouted after him.
“Excuse me sir, you dropped this,” Shinya said calmly as he extended his arm towards the man. The man, who was called Guren according to his I.D., turned around. A scowl was present on his handsome face. “Oh, thanks,” he said with a dull tone as he took his wallet from Shinya’s hands. Shinya watched him go, and his heart skipped a beat as he watched him leave.
Shinya usually wasn’t the type to be attracted to someone just by a simple gaze, but he knew there was more to this Ichinose guy. Shinya knew that he would have to find him again, but that was a quest for another day. Today, he had to make to Kureto before the deadline. He knew he would have to rush, but it would all be worth it in the end. That man had given Shinya some inspiration after all.