: Act Two : My Eternal Spring, a My Beautiful Man/Utsukushii Kare FF.

2.10 : From The Ashes...

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Upon returning to the office, Hira expected there to be uproarious laughter and callous jeering from his co-workers. His imagination, however, proved to be far more grim than reality.

As Hira settled at his workstation, the first person to approach offered a hand with his workload. The next asked if he made it home safe, and another shrugged off the incident as if it were just another day. Even Director Shima, the boss with an endless task list, seemed almost hesitant to push the peasant into doing anything too arduous.

The only person who behaved oddly was Amano; he walked around the office as if in a daze, his lips permanently pressed together and forehead creased. While passing by Hira who was standing by the printer at the time, they clumsily bumped shoulders, causing the dot to nearly drop an entire stack of paperwork. The Supervisor apologized repeatedly, but Hira worried instead, "A-Are you alright? I-If you're upset about yesterday, I'm sorry again."

Amano blinked hard as he was brought back to reality, and gave a little flash of his signature, warm smile. "Oh it's not that at all, Kazu-kun. I just have some other things on my mind." Yet as he spoke Hira noticed a gloomy, gray cloud shrouding the Supervisor's head.

After clearing that up, the day continued on without any other strange incidents.

By the time it came to clock out, everyone packed their supplies to leave besides Amano and Hira. They stayed behind to finish up an assignment together; Amano was straddling the back of his chair, swirling a cherry-red lollipop over his tongue while watching the computer screen over Hira's shoulder. Meanwhile, Hira was diligently navigating the newest editing software their company adopted, his eyes stinging from hours of unbroken concentration. The Supervisor's eyelids grew heavier as the minutes passed, just listening to Hira's rhythmic clicking and typing. Whether it was the sleep deprivation Amano suffered from, or his intrusive thoughts finally breaking free of their chains - he did a quick glance around to check if anyone else was present, and as soon as he confirmed they were alone, he blurted out, "You like men, right?"

The strangely peaceful day was at last disrupted; Hira jolted upright in his seat as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"W-W-W-What?!"

But Amano did not miss a beat as he continued, "Kiyoi Sou is a really great actor, such a fantastic asset to this company." He pulled out the lollipop with a satisfying pop and playfully waggled it at Hira. "Do you like him as a man?"

A crick formed in Hira's neck as he fearfully turned to look the Supervisor straight-on. He thought maybe he'd been hearing things, but Amano was still sitting there, expectantly staring back at him. There was nothing about his demeanor that suggested the Supervisor had any ill-intention in asking; in fact, he looked like an excited child who was staring into the window of a candy shop. Yet his curiosity was unnerving nonetheless, because how did he even know to ask such a question?

Rather, the better question Hira asked himself was, How did I mess up this time?

"I-I don't like men, I just like Kiyoi Sou... a-as an actor..." Hira struggled to respond appropriately as he often did, and could feel the sweat already beading on the back of his neck. Not only was it stressful being under Amano's scrutinizing gaze, but it hurt having to lie yet again about the depth of his connection with the Star he'd die for. Thoughts of Kiyoi's pained faces made his mind feel conflicted, so he cautiously added, "A-And I-I like him a lot."

"Mm, interesting, Kazu-kun," Amano folded his arms beneath his chin, and swiveled over to Hira's side, "A lot, I'm sure."

"I-I-I-Is -" The weird dot tugged at his collar, fretting, "Is that weird?"