Love is not Extinct

Halloween Special: Eerie Office Hours

It was just another late night at the office of inSport! Magazine. Journalists were typing away at their computers, finishing last minute assignments to meet their deadlines, and the editor-in-chief was in his office working to make sure that everything was perfect before they submitted the work for the final print.

Akaashi Kenji was used to keeping these kinds of hours with his job. Especially when he had to constantly wrangle a group of talented, but unfocused sports journalists who, although they produced high quality work, were easily distracted and had to constantly be reminded of deadlines. Sometimes his job seemed much less prestigious than it sounded. Half the time all the editor-in-chief was, was a glorified babysitter making sure the children all got their homework done. Except if they didn't get it done, he was the one who would end up with a failing grade.

Leaning back in his chair, Akaashi arched his back to stretch his stiffening muscles, mentally preparing himself for the next piece he had to review. That was when the lights flickered. Stopping mid-stretch, he looked up at the fixture above his head curiously but brushed it off and turned back to the computer to continue his work.

Then the power went out completely. Akaashi sighed.

He was just standing up to go and check out what might have happened when he heard a slow creaking sound to his right. Looking over, he could see the door to the storage room was cracked open slightly. He knew that he had closed it after the last time he had gone in there. Walking over, he reached out to grab the handle so he could open the door and investigate.

Suddenly the door burst open and a large white blob lunged towards him with a loud scream. "Boo!"

Akaashi just blinked, confused, as he stared at the figure under a white sheet who stood there awkwardly for a moment before dropping their arms and their shoulders, slouching in defeat. Akaashi reached up and pulled the sheet off to reveal one of the talented but irresponsible journalists, Bokuto Kataro, looking dejected.

"Aa-kaaa-shii!" he whined with a pout. "That was supposed to scare you. Why don't you look even slightly startled?

"Sorry." Akaashi held out the sheet to Bokuto with the same blank expression. "Did you want to try again and have me act scared." Bokuto snatched the sheet with a frown.

"No! That defeats the point. I was trying to scare you!"

"Well, I apologize for disappointing you." Akaashi moved back over to his desk and sat back down. "Have you finished your work yet?"

"Well..." Bokuto started to say but his boss didn't let him finish.

"Then perhaps you should save the games of scaring people for later and finish your work so that we can all go home." Bokuto's shoulders slumped more as he drug his feet out of the editor-in-chief's office, turning the light back on on his way out.

"How did it go?" Komi Haruki, the magazine's web designer and tech specialist, asked once Bokuto shut the door on his way out. He had been waiting outside, being the one who assisted his colleague in flickering and turning out the lights in their boss's office. "He didn't look like he even jumped."

"He didn't," Bokuto pouted, slumping into his desk chair. "Not even a flinch!"

Kuroo leaned to the side to look around his computer screen and look at the journalist. "Akaashi is too calm for something like that to scare him. You need to be a little more creative."

"Oh! I have an idea, we should be able to at least startle him this way." Komi said excitedly, leaning in as Kuroo leaned over his desk to listen in on this new plan, all three men grinning.