The pair ended up arriving at the main office, and they both peeked inside to find Mitsuhara at his desk near the furthermost window, transfixed by his paperwork. Mamiya gave Hideki a silent nod to indicate his departure and made a bee line straight to the department’s head editor. Hideki noted almost instantly that Mamiya looked way more serious in his conversation with him, but that was to be expected of everyone when it came to Mitsuhara. Although his ideas were brilliant and Hideki thought his initial introduction to the position was passionately presented, the man was actually very difficult to read. Even the stickiest of situations never seemed to complicate his expressions, and he remained the epitome of professionalism, thus scaring the living hell out of the editors. Thankfully the magazine was small and manageable, so problems that usually arose at big publishing firms weren’t as common with Empower. At least, that was as far as Hideki could see while in his current position.

As Hideki settled into his partitioned desk, his morning routine was to start his computer and neatly arrange the items he needed for the day: a personal planner, his favorite pen, and a tin box with some supplies and tools. Hideki fished around in his bag for the toolbox, though it sank to the bottom of his bag. He pulled out some of the books he was reading for reference, such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and also the manga he read earlier on the train that morning. He had no choice but to plop the book right on top of his dictionaries in order to get to his box. When he finally held the box in his hands, Hideki felt a sudden presence loom over him. He noticed the manga was not on top of his desk like he remembered.

“You're not thinking of this guy, are you?”

Hideki’s body jerked to face the voice behind him, realizing that Mamiya had already returned from his conversation with Mitsuhara. Heat rose to his face as he noticed Mamiya holding the manga casually in his hands. It took a moment for Hideki to understand what exactly his co worker was getting at, but he quickly managed to understand Mamiya was continuing with their last conversation about editing. Hideki felt a little bit embarrassed, almost as if Mamiya just pulled his pants down or something. Of course that scenario was a bit outrageous to compare, but with the way Mamiya commented was making Hideki uncomfortable. Was this harmless manga actually controversial or something? Hideki lowered his eyes for a moment, then cleared his throat and returned his gaze to Mamiya.

“Uh, well—no. I actually just bought it this morning. It was on clearance and looked interesting, so I gave it a go.” Hideki reached to take his book back, and Mamiya was willing to let it go easily. “I thought it was good. But I haven't thought about looking into the author or anything...” Hideki trailed off while Mamiya leaned up against the desk, suddenly giving their conversation more privacy.

“I see, I see. Yeah, it's a pretty good book. Could you believe he did it all in high school?” Mamiya nodded quite a few times, gazing off at everything on Hideki’s desk. It typically wasn’t as messy as it was now, but Mamiya didn’t comment on that. Mamiya’s gaze fixed back on Hideki, but his tone, strangely, was tinged with spite. “He did another series called...Tempest Cross, I think, for a couple years. But after that finished, the publishing world hasn't had much to do with him.”

Hideki was instantly intrigued. The publishing world hasn’t seen Kazuhiro Tsuchiya for a couple years? Of course it could be possible that the author was simply taking a well deserved hiatus, or even retiring—but not even any one shots? Nothing, just like that? Not to mention, the way Mamiya spat out his words was beginning to sound like a personal vendetta. The sight of Hideki's face must have hinted to Mamiya that he was desperately searching for more information, so he continued, but this time with a hushed volume.

“If you ask me, though, the guy's a total loose cannon.” He paused to glance around the area with caution. A wicked smile refused to leave his face as he spoke. “Tsuchiya-sensei, simply put—does whatever the hell he wants with his stories, and that's his fatal flaw. He's super scary too!”

“You've met him?”

“Well—no, actually,” Mamiya strained, his smirk slightly faltering. “But a good friend of mine was actually his editor. He told me he couldn't take it anymore, though, so he asked for a switch.”

Hideki hummed an “I see” in response. Of course, Hideki thought. It wasn't surprising that Mamiya had some big connections, so maybe it all made sense. No matter how talented people can be, when it came down to business, productivity and discipline were top priorities. It also seemed that he was more than just touchy with his work, he expressed his dissatisfaction with conflict, and lashing out professionally meant disaster. And yet, Hideki recalled the comic he read earlier that morning and something still felt disconnected between the creation and the creator. He pondered to himself, how had he imagined the author of that book? He imagined him as someone...sophisticated, reserved, and possibly empathetic. However, Mamiya was painting this guy in a completely different light. He was downright stubborn and super “scary”, whatever that meant.

“He sounds like an interesting guy.” Hideki smiled, swiveling his chair around to face his computer’s login screen. Mamiya blinked with a superhuman speed, stuttering in amazement. Hideki was trying his very best not to show how amused he was with purposefully orchestrating Mamiya’s reaction. Admittedly, he was purposely trying to use some manipulation tactics in that respect.

“H-Hey!!! You better not be thinking about contacting him?”

“If I do, at least I'll have you to blame.”

To this, Mamiya growled in frustration, causing some of the other workers to look at him with confusion. He laughed to those watching before giving a quick, obviously forced wave and said his goodbye to Hideki. Before completely leaving the premises, Mamiya stopped mid doorway to look Hideki in the eyes and whisper, “I'm telling you, for real—that guy is bad news!”

Hideki only smirked as a response.