The FURUBA ROUND ROBIN PROJECT 

Chapter One: New Challenges

by Ina-chan
First Posted Online: July 11, 2004
History: First FURUBA ROUND ROBIN PROJECT FIC. 

        "This is your first, isn't it?" 

        Her cheerful voice was dripping with syrupy sweetness. The sincerity of her smile seemed as genuine as the sympathetic look in her eyes. He couldn't help but return her sentiments with a small polite smile... even though smiling was really the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

        "Well, don't worry, sweetie. When I was in my first, I was just as nervous. Don't worry, that's the reason I'm here. Just follow my lead and you'll breeze right through it. So if you need help, just let Auntie Saori know, oooo-kay?"

        He gave the older woman a silent appreciative nod and meekly followed her frumpy mass through the building's halls and corridors. He made a silent prayer of gratitude when she continued on with her non-stop chatter without expecting any answers from him. He automatically tuned out her sweet syrupy voice and concentrated on trying hard to avoid the curious and amused looks those they passed. He bowed his head self-consciously and averted his eyes to look ahead... He should be used to this by now, people staring at him... watching him. While he did a good job of acting like it didn't bother him, there was still a part, deep inside of him, that couldn't shake off those old insecure feelings that people were measuring him up to see if he was meeting their expectations. Even if those feelings should actually be the other way around.

        Then again, these people didn't know who he was... let alone know that they were working for his family.  

        "Hmmm... looks like the evening crew is going home. It may take a while to wait for the elevator." 

        "Ele...vator...?" He echoed absently. EVENING CREW? The boy's eyes widened in fear as the words registered in his head. Being pushed around in a crowded elevator was definitely not a situation he wanted to be in at any given time, "Uhmm... if you don't mind, Saori-san... I would prefer to take the stairs. I... uh... would like to start as early as possible." Nice save. 

        The older woman blinked at him blankly, before breaking into a very pleased smile, "Well now. What an enthusiastic busy bee you are! I like that! Enthusiasm is the key to a productive team. I was wondering why the President would take it upon himself to hire someone for such a position... no offence sweetie. But seeing you... to be quite honest, I had some doubts. My first impression when you walked through that door... well you didn't seem the type who would do something like this. But now, seeing that sure-fire enthusiasm in you. I'm absolutely sure. You are a wish come true! Hahahahaha!!!" 

        "Ahahaha..." He forced out a half-hearted laugh, and let another grateful silent prayer to the heavens when the older woman led him to the stairwell. 

        /Be careful of what you wish for.../ He silently sighed to himself, trying to keep his thoughts from reflecting on his face. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he was finally here... and finally saw the reality of what he will be doing for the next few hours... He could feel twinges of an anxiety attack gnawing at the corners of his consciousness. No wonder Akito gave his permission. His lips thinned into a hard line as his thoughts sourly turned at the Souma Family Head, /He must have instructed them to do this. I bet he's laughing his head off in satisfaction.... the sadistic son of a.../ 

        He gave himself a swift mental kick. There was absolutely no way he was going to back off now. He knew that Akito didn't believe that he could do this. Nobody in his family believed that he could. Especially Shigure. The stupid dog even started a betting pool. To make things worse, everyone seemed to be more than happy to participate. Even Haru! EVEN HARU OF ALL PEOPLE!!! He could already imagine Shigure's triumphant grin if he quit before he even started. There was more at stake here than proving his family wrong. It was a matter of personal pride as well. He needed to prove to himself that he could do this. He fought very hard to get as far as this, so there was no way he was going to give up now. 

        It actually started right after the winter term and just before the new spring term started. They were entering the third and final year of their high school life. His term in the student council has finished, as all the third years will give up all after school activities in preparation for their college entrance examinations. Of course, unlike his classmates, he pretty much determined that attendance to cram school would pretty much be a waste of time in his part... so he was actually looking forward to a long stretch of after school idleness. On top of that, the Student Council gave him a taste of responsibility and relative independence that he was not ready to give up yet. That's why he thought of it... that's why he proposed it one Sunday evening... and that's why Kyou almost drowned on a bottle of Pocari Sweat (TM) while Shigure gave everyone seated around the table an instant shower via the tea that spurted out of his nose.

        "I think it's a wonderful idea," Honda-san commented soon after, when everyone recovered from the shock of the news, "I'll support you all the way, Yuki-kun!"

        If there was one person in the world that he could depend on, it would be Honda-san. He flashed her a grateful smile before facing Shigure's skeptical scowl.

        "I admit that it sounds great," Shigure replied, "But we're talking about 'Yuki-kun' here. The same Yuki-kun who can't even make a paper crane to save his life."

        "I've already proven myself with the student council," Yuki protested in annoyance

        "Yuki-kun, school is one thing, the realities of the real world is another story," Shigure said patiently, "You've never worked a single day in your life."

        "And we all know that he never will anyway," Kyou muttered sarcastically, "Not with his bright and shining future waiting for him after graduation..."

        "But... but everyone has to start from somewhere, right?" Honda-san interrupted suddenly, before the rat could retort to the cat's comment with more than just a dirty look, "I'm sure that Yuki-kun will do very well if he was given the chance."

        "It's not that, Tooru-kun," Shigure explained, "You know how dangerous it is for a jyuunishi to just even walk outside. It's already a miracle that nothing happened so far in your school. That's why all the jyuunishi either work in isolation or just within the Souma Family. Besides... regardless of anything else, you'll still need to get Akito's permission."

        All he could do was silently frown at his cousin's reasoning. It was true... all the planning and all the arguing would be useless without Akito's permission. And they all pretty much knew what Akito's reply would be... 

        "You'll get it. If Yuki-kun tries hard, I'm sure Akito-san will understand your feelings and Akito-san will give his permission," Honda-san stated firmly, her hands fisted in strong determination

        "Y-yes..." Yuki nodded, a little hesitantly, but completely carried away by the energy of her optimism

        "And if everything fails, Yuki-kun can always have a temper tantrum until Akito gives in like the last time," Shigure suggested cheerily before falling over unconscious as a flying yunomi sailed in the air and made a perfect landing right between his eyes

        Of course, it was Honda-san's unyeilding optimism that won through eventually. To everyone's disbelief, Akito did give his permission... with two conditions of course. The first was that the job must not compromise the secret of the family curse and the second was that his employment had to be under a company owned by the Souma Family. Thanks to Momiji and Momiji's father... Yuki Souma, age 17, will be spending three times a week after school in his brand-spanking- new-after-school-part-time-job as an "Archived Data Processor".

        "Well, this is it. This is what we fondly call as 'the dungeon'. It sounds intimidating, but I personally think it sounds very romantic. This cozy little nook is where you will be working... I'm afraid that there has been a backlog since we can't keep people to work down here. The last temp who was here quit after two hours. Though I don't blame them. I actually admire your courage for accepting this position. No offense, but this has got to be the worst job in the building. Usually, they give this job to temps that piss off... oops, excuse my French... "rub management the wrong way" during the interviews. Haha... so who did you anger to get this job?"

        "I don't know... God?" He replied weakly as he stared at the mountain-high pile of cluttered files and boxes in front of him. It was close to the truth anyway.

        "Ha-ha-ha-ha! That's funny! You are such a funny funny boy! I like that. A sense of humour is the key to a happy disposition. A happy disposition is a happy worker. Well, then... I suppose for now, you can start by sorting out these folders. Each folder has a barcode sticker on it. All you have to do is scan them with your portable scanner... like so... beeep... This is so amazing. It's hard to believe that something that looks like a toy can recording the info in your laptop AND also tell you which section the file will go. And this little diagram over here tells you which section is which. All the shelves and cabinets are labeled appropriately. Isn't technology amazing? When I was your age, we had to file everything by hand."

        The smile froze on his lips as he listened to the older woman recount her early employment experiences. His eyes darted around the room like a caged animal. The doubts that started lingering back when he scanned his surroundings while he was following his mentor through the narrow corridors in between the almost endless rows of shelves and filing cabinets in the vast, dimly lit, windowless, cluttered, dusty-smelling office basement were now crashing down on him in full force. The mountainous stack of neglected files stared back at him menacingly... almost mockingly.

        "What have I gotten myself in to?" He mumbled under his breath

        "Oh, before I forget. Here is a two way radio, your connection to the outside world. And let me tell you, this place removes all sense of time. Stay here long enough, you wouldn't even know if it's day or night. So make sure you keep track of time with your watch, and your breaks, okay? Cellphones don't work down here. That radio is connected to security, make sure that you keep it on your person at all times. We wouldn't want a repetition of Hiroga-san's tragedy. Poor soul."

        "What... happened...?" Yuki's eyes widened at the revelation 

        "Oh... Hiroga-san was the last permanent person who worked here. He was a rather odd person, who kept odd hours. And back then, no one really came down here except him. That's why it was really a shock when they found him. Apparently he was trying to retrieve some files from the top shelf in the shredding section. He slipped off the ladder and the doctors said that he probably broke his neck. To make things worse, he was buried under all those "to be shredded" files. They didn't find him until a few weeks later when he started to... smell."

        /Things not to use and places not to visit in the near future: ladders and the shredding section/ Yuki noted silently to himself

        "Don't let that bother you though. It was a long time ago, and the place was thoroughly sanitized. Well, I'll leave you to work now. Once in a while, you might find a file retrieval request in your IN box..."

        "IN box?" the boy echoed in puzzlement

        "It should be right there, somewhere on your desk."

        "There's a desk in there?" Yuki eyed the clutter in front of him in disbelief

        "Ha-ha-ha-ha! You are SO funny. I really am glad that you're working with us. I will check on how you're doing later, oooo-kay?"

        With that, Yuki Souma, age 17, Archived Data Processor (a.k.a. Enslaved Filing Clerk)... puffed his cheeks as he allowed himself some time to mentally absorb the reality of the situation he was in, as he stood there alone and surveyed his surroundings. 

        "It's not too bad. It actually looks a lot neater than Shigure's room," Yuki said aloud to comfort himself, "I can do this. I am NOT going to lose to a pile of paperwork that will probably never see the light of day again."

        He knew he could stick to this. Honda-san had faith that he would be able to do this as well. He was going to prove Shigure wrong by getting through the end of his first day then go home together with Honda-san with a big smile on his face as proof of a job well done. He made a silent note to make sure to thank Momiji again for small favours. Momiji was probably the one responsible for setting up his hours to make sure it was the same days as Honda-san's. While it was probably more out of convenience, he was thankful at least that he had Honda-san's sympathetic company to look forward to at the end of what looked like was going to be a very long shift. He let out a deep breath and lightly patted his cheeks to psych himself up. With one hand holding his scanner ready, he reached out with the other to pick up the first file from the pile... only to watch the mountainous clutter to become an avalanche on its slope and scatter on the floor.

        Mocking him...

        Again... 

        "Crap."

End of Chapter 1
Continued on Chapter 2 

Author's Squawk:

First off, thank you very much to the FURUBA Round Robin group! A brave group of people I'm excited to be working with! Very big thanks to Adria, who very kindly made all the grammar corrections in this fic.

Some pop culture and background notes...

Pocari Sweat (TM) is something like Gatorade (TM). It's ionized water for athletes, and it tastes very nice when its ice cold. It's sweet and salty, like ripe grapefruit with a little bit of salt to taste. Yummy. But I think it's yucky when it's room temperature or warm... it tastes like sweat! <sweatdrops> Anywayz, if you have a japanese grocery near your place, they usually carry this. It's available via bottle or powdered (like Kool-Aid).

The basement story is loosely based on a mixture of several people's real life experiences. Yes, my first real summer job was as a temp filing clerk. The basement was where someone I knew worked (he filed the city's blueprints)...and it was creepy. It's so isolated from the outside world that you completely lose sense of time! No one died there, though... but there was this one guy who had a nervous breakdown... And legend has it, there was a certain couple in the office who did something very naughty down there... <shudder>

<passes the baton to Rose> Rose has kindly accepted her challenge, and I'm very excited and am looking forward to where this story will go!

Ja!
Ina-chan