Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Fifteenth String

Getting to work used to be a chore, but now Chishiya was looking forward to it.

He looked down at his phone when it buzzed and a new message just came in from Kurenai. It was a simple good morning text, but it was more than enough to put a smile on his face. Many people would say good morning to him. Even his scumbag roommate would occasionally greet him good morning. But it was different coming from Kurenai.

Everything was different coming from her, but he could not quite explain why. It just was.

Kurenai was already there when he arrived in the break room, focused on the screen in front of her. After a couple of weeks working hard, she was finally presenting her idea for a charity fundraiser. Must be a stressful day for her.

"Hey," she said, a smile on her face as she glanced up for a second to see Chishiya walking in. "There's coffee in the po-"

Chishiya lifted her chin and leaned down, cutting her off with a kiss. Their painfully passionate make out session was cut short the other day, and they did not have an opportunity since to see each other like this. Either he was busy, or she was busy, or they both were.

As he pulled away, Kurenai was quick to grab him by the collars and prolonged the kiss. It had been frustrating for her too, waiting to see him. Only when she asked Aoi did she realise that this was what it was like to like someone.

Walking into the break room, Honoka's shift had just ended and she was about to grab herself a cup of coffee before heading home. She was hoping that she would bump into Chishiya before she left too. She did get to see him, but it was a scene she did not want to see. Ever.

There, sitting in her little corner in the break room was Kurenai with Chishiya standing over her, kissing her over and over again.

Honoka could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces.

She spent the last two years trying to win him over and this woman walked in a couple of weeks ago, and here they were making out in a hospital break room. Why? Honoka did everything she possibly could for Chishiya. What did Kurenai ever do for him? Buy him expensive bottled water? Simply because she was rich?

Clearing her throat loudly to interrupt, Honoka walked over to the coffee machine.

"Oh, good morning, Honoka-chan," Kurenai smiled, tilting her head a little. "I made coffee for everyone."

"I'll see you later," Chishiya said, kissing her one last time. "Good luck on your presentation."

"There you are! Miss Chuya, the director would like to have a little chat with you. Do you mind coming with me?"

Within minutes, the break room was cleared out save for Honoka. She slammed her mug a little too hard on the counter, spilling the coffee inside everywhere. Not that she wanted to drink the coffee that Kurenai brought the beans for and made.

As she turned to leave in a huff, something caught Honoka's eyes.

Kurenai's laptop was sitting right there on the table. Completely unguarded. And she had a presentation today, did she not?

--

For the past half an hour, Kurenai had been searching every nook and cranny of the break room for her laptop. When she came back after a brief conversation with the director, her laptop was gone. She was pretty sure she brought it with her to work, and she did not take it anywhere else. Nor did she misplace it anywhere in the laptop.

So where did it go?

"Hey, the Smile Foundation people are here," Chishiya said, walking into the break room to see Kurenai trying to lift the sofa. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for my laptop," she groaned, straining herself but the sofa was not budging. "And why are they here now? They're early. Too early. And my laptop is gone. My entire presentation is on there."

"Can I help you in any way?"

"Stall them," she said. "Do whatever you can, stall them twenty minutes. Maybe thirty."

And that was what he did for her.

Chishiya took the foundation representatives on an unscheduled tour of the hospital, not that any of them complained or suspected anything out of the ordinary. He did the tour as slowly as he could, spewing information and technical terms at them whenever and wherever he could. He checked his watch every so often, wondering if Kurenai could come up with a solution.

Though, when he brought the representatives back into the conference room, it seemed like he was worried for nothing.

Kurenai was already waiting for them with another laptop set up with the projector. Not only did she whip up a simple presentation within the limited time she had, but it seemed like Kurenai even added to her original idea that the representatives absolutely loved. Even without a proper proposal in front of them, the representatives were already sold on her project.

"It's a pleasure working with you, Miss Chuya. We cannot wait to see the fundraiser in action."

"Thank you so much for coming out here," Kurenai smiled. "I will send you a proper proposal and if all goes well, a contract too."

"Well done," Chishiya whispered into her ear.

"As much as I'd love to stay and celebrate with you, there is a thief I need to find," Kurenai said, dropping her smile as soon as the representatives left. She had an idea as to who would steal her laptop, but she needed the proof to make her case.

--

Being called to the director's office could only mean two things: either you did a great job and were getting commended, or you did a terrible job and was getting a lecture. Honoka could not think of anything in particular that she did especially well, but she had an idea as to what she could be getting in trouble for.

Surely they did not find out it was her though?

She knocked on the door but the voice asking for her to come in was not the director's. It belonged to a woman. She walked in, closing the door behind her and approached the desk. Turning around in the chair, Honoka was a little surprised to find Kurenai looking back at her.

"Have a seat, Honoka-chan," Kurenai smiled, gesturing at the chair in front of the desk. "I needed a place to do this privately, that's why I borrowed the director's office. It's a little intimidating, isn't it?"

Honoka slid into the chair, feeling the tension in the air already. The office itself was not intimidating at all. It was Kurenai who was intimidating.

"Hara Honoka, that's a pretty name," Kurenai said, opening a folder on the desk. It was Honoka's employee folder. "Hm, pretty smart too. Top of your class in high school, and you're doing pretty well as a medical student too. So many professors and doctors are recommending you. No wonder they put you on my project team. What a shame though, if your career were to end here."

Her career ending? She barely started!

"I-I don't understand..."

"Honour student, and now you're playing dumb?" Kurenai hummed. She pushed the computer monitor so Honoka could see too, and pressed the spacebar, playing what looked like a security feed. "Is this you?" she asked. "Or do you not recognise yourself? Because I sure recognised you. And I recognise that laptop you threw in the bin."

"Please don't fire me! Please don't kick me off the programme! I really want to be a doctor. I don't know why I did that. I'm so sorry! Please, Miss-"

"Hm, the sound of your voice is really hurting my ears right now. Please, keep your mouth shut." Instantly, Honoka shut up. "I think you know why you did it. But don't worry, I'm not going to kick you off the programme. In fact, I think you should stay on. I like you, Honoka-chan. We're going to have so much fun."