Tales From Dragon Inc.

The Lunch Thief

Yuya hummed happily as he worked on his paperwork. It was almost his lunch break, and he couldn't wait to eat. Yuto had made him a special bento, and his cooking was absolutely delicious!

The tomato-haired boy checked the clock again. Just a few more seconds and it would be lunchtime! His tummy growled loudly at the thought of Yuto's cooking, and he licked his lips. He was so hungry! He couldn't wait.

"Five... four... three... two... one... LUNCHTIME!" Yuya cheered, jumping up from his chair. He rushed into the break room and threw the fridge door open, eagerly looking for his lunch.

But...

It wasn't there...

There were plenty of bentos in the fridge, each with another employee's name on them, but Yuya's was nowhere to be found. He couldn't believe it! He didn't want to believe it! This couldn't be happening! Oh no!

"No... nononononono!" Yuya cried, looking frantically through the fridge. "No, c'mon, tell me it's still here!"

"What's up, Yuya?~" Yuri purred, walking into the break room. "What's all the fuss about?~"

"My lunch is missing!" Yuya wailed. "Someone stole my lunch!"

"WHAT?!" Yuri was furious. "Yuto, Yugo! Get in here!"

"What do you want, Yuri?" Yugo asked, walking into the break room.

"Someone stole Yuya's lunch!"

"WHAT?!" Yuto was in the break room in a flash. He strode over to the fridge and began looking through it. When he didn't see the lunch he made for Yuya inside, he was outraged.

Their boss, Zarc, walked into the break room for some coffee. He frowned when he saw the identical murderous looks on Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo's faces, and the look of devastation on Yuya's. "Ok, what happened?"

"Someone stole Yuya's lunch!" Yuto said. "I worked hard on that lunch for him, and now it's gone!"

Now Zarc was pissed too. He didn't like the idea of having a thief working for him, especially one that stole the lunch of his favorite employee. He walked out of the break room and came back a few minutes later with a card.

"Yugo, take Yuya out to lunch. Use the company card to pay for it," Zarc said, tossing the card to Yugo. "Yuri, Yuto, you two figure out who stole Yuya's lunch, and tell me immediately when you do."

"Yes, sir!" they all said together. Yugo gently guided Yuya out of the building as Yuri and Yuto began looking for the thief.

"So, where should we begin?" Yuri asked.

"Well, we could start by making a list of who we don't trust, and interrogate them?" Yuto suggested.

"Sure. Let's see... we've got a couple of new employees right? The guy in accounting, the guy in IT, the girl in HR..." Yuri listed.

"Didn't Yuya say the new girl in HR is his childhood friend?" Yuto asked. "I think he even recommended her for the position. I don't think she'd steal his lunch."

"Can't hurt to make sure, right?" Yuri pointed out. "Oh, and there's also that new guy in sales. You know, the one that seems super sketchy. We should check him first."

"What was sketchy about him?" Yuto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, just the feeling I got when I saw him. He feels like the kind of person that would take credit for other people's ideas and throw people under the bus when he makes a mistake..."

Yuto blinked. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Yuri was very good at sensing that kind of stuff. If he thought the new guy in sales was sketchy, then he was probably right. "Ok... well, yeah, we can check him first if you want..."

"I do want."

So Yuto and Yuri went off to the new guy's cubicle. Said new guy was devouring a bento that looked awfully familiar to Yuto. He recognized the tomato designs on the box, and the homemade yakisoba with pork, homemade fries, broccoli, and strawberries in the box. There were even the sticks with the cute little octopus and shrimp tempura toppers that Yuya adored in the broccoli!

"I think we found our thief," Yuto muttered to Yuri. Yuri nodded, and they walked up to the new guy.

"Hey, there!" Yuri said with a smile that screamed murder. "Whatcha eating?"

"My lunch," the new guy said with a mouthful of yakisoba.

"Oh, looks good! What is it? Is that yakisoba, fries, broccoli, and strawberries?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"Hey, Yuto, isn't that exactly what you packed for Yuya's lunch? You know, the one that someone stole from the fridge before he could eat it?"

The new guy froze and looked up.

"Yeah, it is," Yuto said. "And hey, that bento box looks exactly like Yuya's too!"

"Mhmm!" Yuri agreed. "So... who was it that made your lunch that looks exactly like our friend's stolen lunch, hmm?"

"Uhh... my wife?" the new guy said nervously.

"Ah, your wife huh? Well she must really have the same tastes as Yuto! After all, she made the exact same thing he did!"

"Yeah, and she even used the same sticks I used in Yuya's broccoli!"

"Uh... heh, wow what a wild coincidence, haha!" the new guy said. He was starting to sweat a little.

"You know, Yuya is everyone's favorite coworker," Yuri said casually. "He's such a sweetheart! He makes everyone smile and laugh. Even the CEO adores him! In fact, I'm pretty sure whoever stole Yuya's lunch is going to really regret it when Zarc catches them! I doubt they'll ever be able to find a job in this industry again!"

"I-is that so?" the new guy was definitely sweating a lot more now.

Yuto looked down into the little wire wastebasket next to the desk. There was a little paper with some writing in it. He leaned down to pluck it out, and read the writing out loud.

"Yuya, I hope this lunch brightens your day as much as you brighten mine! Love, Yuto."

"So, still gonna stick with the My wife made this bento for me story?" Yuri asked the new guy.

"I-I..."

Yuto and Yuri looked at him for a few moments. Then Yuri turned and yelled loud enough to make everyone in the office jump. "ZARC! WE FOUND THE THIEF THAT STOLE YUYA'S LUNCH! IT'S WHATSHISFACE, THE NEW GUY IN SALES!"

"SEND HIM TO MY OFFICE!" Zarc yelled back from his office.

Yuri smirked at the new guy. "Welp, you heard the boss! Off you go!"

The new guy reluctantly shuffled to Zarc's office. Everyone he passed gave him the death glare. Yuri wasn't lying when he said that Yuya was everyone's favorite coworker. Stealing a coworker's lunch was already an unforgivable crime, but stealing Yuya's lunch was even worse!

The door to Zarc's office closed behind the new guy, and moments later the sound of Zarc yelling at him could be heard. Yuri smirked, enjoying the sound of a bad employee being yelled at.

"Well, I'm going to have lunch now," Yuto said. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm right behind you!" Yuri said, following Yuto to the break room.

Fortunately for them, their lunches were still in the fridge.