Rules Were Made to be Broken

‣ scene 30 [happy synthesizer]

"Maybe we could all study together, if it's so important?" He suggested. Yasuhiro just laughed again. Kiyotaka couldn't force everyone to take things seriously and Yasuhiro had refused all offers of help. Maybe his marks on the upcoming quiz would make him realize that he needed to buckle down.

Kiyotaka's phone rang. Leon grabbed Yasuhiro by the elbow and the two of them scampered off to allow him some privacy. Yasuhiro yelled something like "see ya, teach!" over his shoulder, which Kiyotaka suspected was because Yasuhiro could never remember his name.

Kiyotaka did not have to look at the screen of his cell phone to know who was calling at this hour.

"I was just packing up to go home," he said apologetically. "Classes ran a bit late. My students had a lot of questions. I think that's a good thing!"

"Guess so," Mondo agreed. "Better than not gettin' any just to find out nobody had a damn clue what you were talkin' about when it's time to grade the tests."

"Yes, yes... Did you need something?"

Mondo waited. As if he was leaving space for Kiyotaka to say something else. When Kiyotaka remained silent, he continued.

"Not exactly. Jus' had a bit of a surprise, so I was kinda itchin' to see ya."

"Oh?" Kiyotaka paused halfway through putting away his things. "What kind of a surprise?"

"Tellin' ya what kind of surprise it is defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?"

"I... guess so. But there had better not be any new pets when I get there!"

"Nah, nah— we're kinda at fur capacity, aren't we?"

"Okay, then. I'll be there soon enough."

"Right. Love ya. Bye."

Mondo hung up without letting Kiyotaka return the sentiment. Kiyotaka huffed and pulled up his text messages. He'd show that man a thing or two.

Taka: YOU DIDN'T LET ME SAY IT BACK, YOU FIEND!!
Mondo: whoops. srry, babe.
Taka: You had better be!! >:^(
Mondo: why
Mondo: why did you give it a nose??
Taka: People have noses!
Mondo: i'm gonna have to explain this to u in person, huh?
Taka: I suppose so. I'll see you soon and also I LOVE YOU TOO

He indignantly turned his screen off before Mondo could respond— that would teach him.

Kiyotaka was always getting lectured, now that he actually had friends, about being an "old man", technology-wise. He happened to like his smileys. They had character. Charm. Sophistication.

Two of his coworkers still lingered in the building's lobby, chatting over coffee, as Kiyotaka approached the front door. Kiyotaka asked Aoi if she'd heard anything about Nekomaru's massages, mentioning his own potential interest. Both she and Hajime laughed almost ominously at that.

"I'm sure he'll be VERY happy to hear that," Aoi said. "I don't know what it is with him and his massages, but everybody he gets his hands on is indoctrinated."

"Hey!" Hajime protested. "He knows what he's doing!"

"See? Indoctrinated. He already got to Hajime."