Katawa Shoujo - Akira Satou Route

Act 4-8 Shatter

"So, Nakai, how's it going today?" He asks after a short pause, laying his phone on the desk without shutting it. It looks as though he contemplates working on something else before simply laying back and clasping his hands together in his lap like some kind of a mob boss.

I shrug my shoulders. "It's been alright. Not much to do today."

"Yeah, we have days like this all the time. More often than not there's nothing to do but paperwork, but that's just the nature of the job. Not everyone gets to build a time machine, you know." He smirks, his usual demeanor dulled but not erased.

"I'm not complaining." I state, having to keep adjusting my position in the seat thanks to the large object in my pocket. "Days like this are good, although you still seem kind of stressed out."

His eyes seem dull and his movements are lethargic, however precise.

"Thinking about it now, I should have gotten Solus to give you a few pointers for cleaning up when it comes to live specimens." He remarks, scratching his chin. "Maybe you'll have time on Thursday. I've been mixed up about some things since it's been so hectic lately."

He does an internal double take, giving a surprised 'ah' before returning with "not around here, of course. Just a lot going on behind the scenes - you're an employee, so naturally you should know that the previous vice chairman of public relations decided to leave the company last week."

I haven't heard a single word about it, but I nod my head just the same. He pauses for a few moments to check his phone again, as if he's expecting a call and he's afraid it might somehow go without ringing.

"Well, I don't mean to sound cocky, but I think I've got a pretty good chance at it, since he didn't name someone to take his place before he left." He says, flashing an exciting grin for just a moment. "Anyway, things are going much better than expected. At this rate I should be able to move up by next spring."

Spring, huh? That's around seven or eight months from now. I don't know where he gets the idea that Akira would be willing to put up with this for that much longer, even if she were staying here.

"I'm a little in the dark when it comes to procedures for stuff like this." I admit, pausing to scrape together the right words. "If he just resigned, then shouldn't they be trying to fill the spot as soon as possible?"

Tetsuo shakes his head. "Well, yes and no. For now, the office is temporarily occupied by someone who may have worked in PR before while they look for someone to fill a permanent spot."

"It's all corporate semantics, really, but this is exactly the kind of opportunity I've been waiting for." He adds, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

He then proceeds to give me a textbook rundown of how exactly the company works at its highest levels, droning on for what feels like a solid ten minutes and yet somehow sounding totally interested in the subject all the while.

"It's just a real hassle, especially with this particular position. All that matters is that either the CEO or the shareholders will pick someone to fill the spot, and I've gotta put up enough of a fight to make sure that someone is me."

I try to keep from letting on that I'm not the least bit interested by any of this. "I understand that much, I'm just curious as to how it could take until next year. Shouldn't it be pretty clear who the next person to move up is going to be after a week or so?"

He lets out a short chuckle. "You'd think so, huh? They'll keep trading around temporary positions until they finally settle on one person. The issue with settling on one person is that no one up top can ever agree. Some of them want to promote someone in-house, whereas others would rather hire a PR rep who just retired from a different company."