Senpai - 00

"....Ugggggghhhh."

There.

Finally.

Fucking finally.

That's the last bit of code for the day.

Or should I say night?

Ah, whatever.

Everything's a blur when you're exhausted.

"Orimura-san?"

"?"

I turned to see with my dim eyes who it was calling me.

"Good work"

He handed me a canned coffee and opened the one in his own hand.

It was my co-worker, Ikeda-san. We came in together so we're part of the same employee generation.

"Thanks, man!" I chugged the coffee down my throat.

"Oi, relax! That drink's not going anywhere!" he said.

"Well my mind is! I need the caffeine!" I put down the drink in a show of mildly-exaggerated fatigue.

OK. I'm lying.

It was more than mild.

I'm fucking exhausted.

Ikeda and I work at one of those new game companies, which you'd think is a dream come true.

But, no! Oh, no no no no no no!

It's a nightmare.

The boss is an idiot. The backers make too many changes in the middle of production. Management is sycophantic and annoying to listen to and staff is overworked and probably mildly depressed.

OK. I lie again.

Very depressed.

Yes, I believe Ikeda-san and I have found our unfortunate asses in one of those "Black Companies" we used to hear about hahahahah!

God, someone save me….

"Uggggggghh" I bang my head against my desk. "I can't wait to go home…"

"Me too," Ikeda said while taking a sip from his can. "Haven't made love to my wife in weeks."

"Oh?" I turned my head towards him. "You're married, bro?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Nope. Single."

"Really? Not even a girlfriend."

"None" I shook my head, which was still stuck in the nice, stable desk. "I have my hobbies waiting for me, though."

"Ah, I see" Ikeda smiled. "I get it. New shows? Stuff like that is getting popular nowadays."

"It is? Huh? No, just some modeling and diorama work–wait, are we talking about the same thing?"

"Yeah. You're one of those people, right?"

"Those people being?"

I think I have an idea what he's referring to.

"Yeah, you're an otaku, right?"

"Well,yeah I am but, dude…"

*ringtone pop*

"Oh, sorry, man. It's the missus! Talk to you some other time!"

Ikeda left me before I could explain.

An otaku…

I sighed.

Yeah, I just wish I could have told him what kind I was.

...

I picked up my stuff, bought myself a pack of smokes, and made my way towards the station humming a song to myself:

"Confucius and Mencius must've been drinking ♪

And intoxicated when they wrote their stuff♪

How am I supposed to understand this bullshit?♪

God, I hate learning Kanbun!♪ "

But then…

…as I was strolling along my way?

In the corner of my tired eyes?

I saw someone who looked eerily familiar.

"Wait, isn't that Sakurai-san?"

Sakurai was my junior. Just one year below myself and Ikeda.

She's a pretty girl, and in the beginning a very enthusiastic worker.

But, as it usually goes with pretty girls…

Sakurai-san started receiving unwanted attention–from both male and female coworkers.

Bad rumors started floating about her…

None of which matched the Sakurai-san I came to know.

Sakurai-san wasn't able to take it and quit just last month.

It was a messy, sad affair.

"What is she doing here?" I wondered.

Sakurai slowly walked in the middle of the road–

"!"

–in the middle of a speeding truck.

"Oh crap!"

I stopped thinking.

What the fuck!?

Neither is she!

I gotta get her out of there.

I grabbed her body and tossed her out of the way with all the power left inside my aching, half-alert self!

Sakurai plopped facedown on the sidewalk.

Good!

I said to myself.

My stupid self.

My proudly stupid self.

The lights….got brighter.

I can hear the thundering of heavy wheels, and the cacophony of horns.

I smiled…As I saw Sakurai turn to look at me.

"Why?" Her eyes seem to be saying.

Ah….Fuck. I'm an imbecile.

That's what I get for acting while deprived of sleep.

I feel a thud on my side–

And—-

......….

......….

......…