#you could get into reasona behind it but she’s been doing this job for like three years

[rachealsaccount]

if my mom is gonna force/guilt trip me into being her work assistant could I at least get paid for it

[kenkaya-fanworks]

RK Round Robin Fic

A/N: I felt inspired to follow Kaoru a bit after @awritingpen ‘s segment. You can find @tact-and-impulse ‘s prologue here and awritingpen ‘s part here.

Words: 711

Kaoru sighed once Hiko’s door clicked shut and inhaled deeply. In... then out…  she fell back on childhood meditation lessons, imagining the deep, stern voice of her father reciting the words. Control the breath… bend it to your will. In, then out. Her anger faded quickly enough. Their boss may be an asshole, but he was hardly the most infuriating person Kaoru dealt with on a daily basis (that honor went solely to Yahiko).

“So, who gets first call?”

Speaking of… her number one irritant had pushed his cheap roller chair back to stare at the group exiting Hiko’s office, blocking the walkway, of course!  A loud crack of thunder provided an apt reminder of just why obstructed pathways were a pressing concern.

“I call dibs on the phone,” Sano cut off her impending tirade over evacuation safety (especially since we’re in the middle of a HURRICANE. This is not instance of ‘just in case’ anymore,Yahiko!). “My sister’s a worrywart. Bet she’s already havin’ kittens.”

“Now hold on right there!” Misao said, stepping outside her cubicle. “Jiya’s probably ready to brave the storm by this point… I need to reach him before he feels the need to hit the road!”

“Like you guys are the only ones here with family worried about them!” Yahiko scoffed.

“I just hope mine got home okay,” Tsubame mumbled from her seat behind him: unbuttoning and redoing the cuff of her white blouse in nervous habit.

Kaoru watched as her remaining coworkers meandered over, crowding the small space and momentarily overwhelming the building’s air conditioning with concentrated body heat. So much for keeping walkways clear. Guess we’ll have to add ‘reminder presentation about safety protocols’ to the list of things-that-need-to-be-done-around-here-but-probably-never-will. This is figurative and literal disaster. She squeezed the emergency phone, fingers sweat-clammy, as their squabbling managed to drown out the sound of rain sheets pelting against window panes.

Thank god not everyone in this office is a metaphorical five year-old, she thought- focus shifting between Saitou, still seated at his desk and rifling through drawers in search of his extra cigarette pack (clearly a much bigger priority than checking in with his wife), and the man standing beside her. Kenshin returned her side-glance with a sheepish smile. He was a sweet man, always hard working and never one to complain (no matter how much crap Hiko piles on him), but he sometimes struggled with taking initiative. He certainly won’t be defusing this situation anytime soon. Still, something had to be done before the noise rose to the point of filtering through Hiko’s office door. Kaoru was not in the mood to deal with Irritant Number Two twice in the same hour.            

“Alright, that’s ENOUGH!” she snapped, waiting for the group to quiet down before continuing. “I know everyone is anxious and feeling a little stir-crazy, but we’re all adults here. We can settle this debate civilly and fairly... with amidakuji.”

“Yeah?” Yahiko said with raised brow. “And who’s gonna draw it up? You?”

“Well, since it’s my idea…”  

“That’s bullshit! You’ll know the layout and end up the ‘lucky’ one who gets first call. I say you take the last one, just to keep things fair.”

“That seems reasona…”   

“This one will do it,” Kenshin spoke up before she could finish accepting Yahiko’s terms. “And take the last call.”

“How considerate of you,” Megumi addressed him with genuine fondness, placing a casual hand on his upper arm.  

“Kenshin, I really don’t mind,” Kaoru tried to take back the reins, but he had already pulled a sheet from his desk printer’s paper tray.   

Everyone shuffled in awkward silence, punctuated by pounding rain and howling wind, as Kenshin spent several minutes drawing interconnecting lines with the same meticulous detail he tackled any job. Once he deemed the pattern acceptable, numbers were scrawled across the bottom and creased over before being passed around for names to be added.    

“Well, what do ya know,” Sanosuke boasted after the paper was unfolded and order declared. Kaoru passed the phone to him without a word. “Ya know, we could’ve avoided all this if people just listened to me from the start!”

She answered his smug comment with a stone cold stare. Congratulations, Sagara. You’ve been promoted to Irritant Number Three today.