The Conundrum Corporation |Oumasai

Chapter 14

A crowd of people rushed past me. Geez, would it kill them to slow down? I sighed and carried on walking. I'm too tired to do this. I didn't even get any sleep last night. Sleeping was something that I never liked. I was always up doing something whether it was making plans for DICE or just playing video games. I'd fall fast asleep quicker if I was tired so I would usually strain myself. It became a bad habit and now I can barely get any rest. A person with purple hair bumped into me and I nearly fell down.
"Ugh, watch where you are going!" I yelled. She looked at me terrified.
"I-I'm s-so sorry!" she squealed and ran off. That was weird. Whatever, let's just find Shuichi. I walk down to the familiar elevator and press the button for the Security Department. The elevator descended down and the further down it got, the further I started to think. My attitude was great for today. Just great. I'm tired and moody and I bumped into someone and snapped at them to make matters worse. This was going to be an amazing day.

The elevator stopped and I got off. The department was different from the other departments. It lacked so much furniture that I don't think that you could even call it a department. It was a huge green hall, with fancy green wallpaper and white marble flooring. It was a weird combination yet it looked stylish. I frowned and walked over to Shuichi who was currently standing next to Tenko. She had a huge pile of documents in her hand and it looked familiar to the one Shuichi had in his office.
"Finally, you're here! It took you long enough!" she sighed. I frowned deeper and looked to Shuichi. He smiled and waved off the comment as if it was nothing.
"Well now I'm here, aren't I?" I questioned. Tenko rolled her eyes and looked at Shumai.
"Okay, so here's the plan...and I'm not repeating it so you better listen to me. Not that your kind listens anyways," she muttered. I rolled my eyes.
"I was sent twenty people this morning and I need help for them to settle in and to learn some self defence techniques in case the Hope-Lies attack them, got it?" she explained. "Aikido is the best option for self defence. I suggest you teach them that. If you know that of course...I bet you don't," she continued.
"What else do we need to do?" I sighed.
"Other than getting them ready for the Training Department, try to explain how work life is like," she stated.
"Alright got it," Shuichi smiled. I tried pulling on a smile but it just ended up being a loopy smile. Shuichi glanced at me concerned.
"Okay well, get to it. I'll let them in," Tenko ran off to the door on the side of the hall.
"You kept twenty people in there? Why didn't you just let them in?" I asked, annoyed.
"That's because we were talking," she yelled. I sighed. I shouldn't be a bad influence towards the new people.
"Okay then! Bring them in!" I smiled. Tenko nodded and let them in.
"Come in," she yelled. A couple of people came into the hall. Of course with twenty people there it was hard to pin point what they all looked like. A few people did catch my eye though. A boy with pink hair who was talking to a boy with brown spiky hair. The boy with the brown hair was holding hands with a boy that had marshmallow like hair. Are they boyfriends or something? I looked towards Shuichi, I wish we were like that. No! Now is not the time to be sad. Let's get this show on the road.

"Okay, did you understand?" Tenko questioned. The girls and boys nodded. Tenko had sorted the twenty people into groups. Group A was with Tenko, Group B with Shuichi and Group C with me. Each group had 6 people except Tenko's had 8. My eyes looked at my group and I noticed that the boy with spiky hair and the boy with marshmallow hair were in it. I studied them to realise that I knew the marshmallow haired boy. He had gone to my school- Hope's Peak. Nagito...Komaeda. That was his name, but who was the boy with brown hair?
"Get with your group leaders!" Tenko sighed. My group came over to me and the two girls in it immediately started chatting. They were probably gossiping about something which I would normally tease them about but I was too tired today to do so. 
"I know you," Nagito looked at me.
"Yep and I know you! Nagito right, we went to Hope's Peak," I grinned at him.
"Oh yes that's right," he smiled. "We talked a little, didn't we?"
"Yep, " I returned. Nagito and I did talk from time to time. He was interested in the organization I ran, DICE, and he often played card games with me. If I remember correctly, Nagito was the Ultimate Lucky Student.
"So what are you doing here Nagito?" I asked.
"Me? Oh, I was actually intrigued by the way The Conundrum Corporation shows hope to the world. Hope-fragments are ever so small, yet they mean a great deal. Without hope in the world, despair-" Nagito was rambling on when the boy next to him put a hand on his mouth.
"Not now Nagito, not now," he sighed. Nagito laughed nervously and the boy introduced himself.
"I'm Hajime Hinata, Nagito's boyfriend," Hajime smiled. So that is his boyfriend? Lucky him. Well...he was always lucky.
"Coool," I smiled. The side of my eye caught Shuichi staring at me. I turned my head towards him and smiled, he smiled back before a pink haired guy in the group slapped his back.
"What was that for?" I could hear Shuichi yelled. The boy said something to him which made Shuichi a little bit flustered and annoyed. He looked at me nervously and then looked away. What is going on with people today?
"Is that your boyfriend?" Nagito asked.
"What!" I shouted- a little louder than I intended to. "No," I continued.
"Well, do you like him?" Hajime teased. I looked at him seriously for a moment and he smiled. "You do, don't you?"
"Maybe," I muttered. Nagito clapped his hands excitedly as if I had told him that I was engaged.
"Are you going to tell him?" Nagito then asked.
I frowned and thought about it. It would be better to tell him and get it out of the way rather than being preoccupied with my thoughts. It even might get in the middle of my work which I can't afford to have.
"I think that I...might," I confessed. Hajime smiled a bright smile and Nagito did the same.
"Maybe later today?" I asked.
"That could work," Hajime muttered while thinking. Nagito nodded.
"We are only here for the day, so might as well do it," Hajime concluded. Only here for the day?
"Why only one day? Aren't you going to work here?" I questioned.
"No, I won a ticket for a special trip to The Conundrum Corporation. Well, more like the ticket flew into my face," Nagito explained.
"They said that we could explore the Security Department first," Hajime added. The Conundrum Ticket- it was a rare ticket that a person would randomly find and be able to explore the corporation for a day. Shuichi told me that last year a boy named Makoto had won it. It's no surprise that Nagito had won it too, considering that he was the Ultimate Lucky Student.
"I see, then...if you're only here for a day I might as well do it today. You know, if I get rejected and need to annoy someone about it, you guys can fill the role," I laughed.
"I'm not too sure about that," Hajime sighed.
"Then it's decided, today you will do it," Nagito smiled.
"Then it's decided," I confirmed. What if he says no? What if he says yes? Then what happens? Well, I can only hope for the best and tell him. For the better or worse.
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They're -y-ng to you.