Bad News

Takamasa's phone buzzed as he sat in his office typing up a report on recent sales to educational institutions. Asuka had sent a message about Shingo. After sharing what he had a couple nights before, Asuka was worried about him and his state of mind. Usually, while at work, he would respond to any message she sent him but he was surprisingly and unnaturally quiet. Takamasa tried to reassure her that he most likely just needed some time to himself and to rationalize what he was thinking and feeling.

Setting his phone back on the desk, Takamasa's mind wandered back to his world just as Konomi walked into his office.

"Are you okay?" Konomi questioned noticing Takamasa staring off into the distance.

Without really noticing and hearing a ringing in his ears, his mind still wandered until Konomi walked over to him and shook his shoulder. Snapping back to reality and out of his memories, Takamasa greeted Konomi.

"Oh, good afternoon." he said after taking a deep breath and letting it out.

"Are you okay, Taka?" Konomi asked.

After a short pause, Takamasa pulled off his glasses, pushed on the bridge of his nose, and responded "Yea, maybe I'm just tired."

"Well, you are the boss, nobody would be upset if you took the rest of the day off. We all know how hard you work." Konomi reassured him as she sat on the corner of his desk.

"It's not that. Asuka's worried about Shingo, Yuki is busy with Ichiro, and I just let my mind wander back to my world." Takamasa sighed.

"You never really did talk about your world too much." Konomi said.

"Yea, I think, maybe the next meeting, I'll tell everyone about my world." Takamasa uttered low as he looked up to meet Konomi's smiling face.

"I know I'd like that!" Konomi exclaimed.

"Don't try to sound so excited. My world wasn't nearly as exciting or hard or problematic as other people's." Takamasa said as he look down to the ground. "I'd have to say the worst part of the world I was in...was me."

"I'm sure it's not as horrible as all that." Konomi tried to console him. "I think I know you as good as or better than anyone and you couldn't have been the worst part of your world."

"I hope you can keep that in mind once you start to hear my story." Takamasa got quiet and suffered in silence.

Konomi followed suit in how she got quiet and, after a few moments, reached her hand out to Takamasa's shoulder. He looked up at her trying to console him and, realizing the mood and predicament he made in the room, sat up, put his glasses back on, and said "I need to make sure everything is running as smoothly and orderly as possible."