Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞 ⋮ Nanami Kento

Chapter 5

Of 47 prefectures, one is the capital of Japan. Chūō city is one of 23 wards inside the Tokyo prefecture and even further into this ward lies 3 major areas. In the area of Kyobashi, is a town known for its renowned sushi.

You walk the streets of Tsukiji and this road was relatively much less inundated in comparison to the heart of the city, which is always infested with people. It's a path that will lead you to a natural-colored brick building. This asymmetrical business establishment is home to, The Asahi Shimbun Company.

You're finally greeted by a large, elongated glass canopy that adorns this structure. It shelters the people entering and exiting. Upon entering, the bright circular lights fixed along the ceiling reflect off the tiled floor and it seemed to make the area much brighter than it needed to be. You make your way down the extremely long lobby until you reach the very end.

You had just returned from the displeasing stadium. The one you had originally invited Geto to. And now you're wishing you had just dragged the guy along with you. The people of interest always seemed to never have the time of day and were absolutely rude. It also didn't help that your unenthusiastic self likely showed more than you intended.

Your hand and arms are currently occupied with too many things. So your elbow, in an awkward attempt, tries to press the damn button for you. But someone beats you to it. A hand appears and a soft-white glow now encircles the brushed-nickel button that will call for the elevator. Unfortunately, when you turn around to thank the person, your things knock into his arm and a bunch of papers fly to the floor.

"Ah, shucks." You go to your knees. Your hair falls forward as you lean down. It shrouds your view. So you brush the loose strands behind your ear before you start picking up the pieces.

The man brings himself to a squat. His pace is much more calm compared to yours. He helps you.

Your immediate attention goes to only whatever is directly in front of you. Your hands frantically gather the notes. There's only one left now. You reach for it at the exact same time he does. Both your fingers touch but he's the one who grabs it subsequently.

"Thank you." You acknowledge the generosity as he hands it to you.

"Don't mention it."

The polished rhodium-plated steel glistens against the light. The dial is an opalin finish in the color black. This fine-brushed accessory is elegant, yet masculine. This versatile 41mm automatic chronograph known as Tag Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 sits against his wrist. All $4,650.00 of it. Your eyes go from this sophisticated, luxurious timepiece and up along his tan colored suit. With an inadvertent soft bite to the lower lip, your gaze may have lingered a bit too long on his chest and it may have even gone to the lower parts of his body for a brief moment. His blue shirt tends to (always) hug him way too nicely. The unwavering attention of your eyes go back up until it reaches a set of brown ones that seem to be questioning you in silence.

"Nanami." You tense upon seeing the man waiting on you. You take the paper, "Sorry..."

He doesn't say anything in return. He's likely unbothered though. Nanami puts his hands into the pockets of his pants, then he looks up at the digital indicator. The one that visibly announces what floor the elevator is currently servicing. The elevator dings at a distance with each upper level it stopped at. 

You arrange your papers in your arm to ensure they won't fall again.

A silence then ensues.

Ding. One of the elevators opens up on the 21st floor.

Nanami pulls his hand out of his pocket to check the time and he wonders why a building with 40 levels only has two sets of elevators. He likely just got back from his lunch break. Your mind goes back to his expensive watch. It was a tad bit funny. Of course Nanami Kento would put much investment into something that he lived by. Time. Yes, time is always of the essence to the blond. He lived with great constraint to the clock—down to the minute (maybe even the second).