eastofthemoon

I ended up writing Nozaki fic. Will I wrote more in the future? Maybe, maybe not, but had to at least get this idea out of my head.

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Nozaki normally looked forward to his lunch meetings with Ken as a rare gleam of light in the gloom of a manga artist's life. However, his joy came to a crashing halt the second he spotted Maeno sitting in the booth right next to a disgruntled Ken.

Nozaki’s eye twitched as he sat down and growled, “What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I keep asking him.” Ken asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Maeno gave a grin. “Well, as Nozaki’s previous editor I thought I could add some useful insight for your next chapter. I have too many insights into stories of love to restrain myself to a mere handful of storytellers!”

“You had more than enough chances to share those insights before,” Nozaki said as his eyes narrowed. “What's the real reason you're here?”

Maeno hummed as he looked over the menu. “I also heard this place has a trendy drink that I absolutely have to post about on my vlog.”

And there it is, Nozaki thought.

Ken glared. “What about the pile of manuscripts waiting for you on your desk?”

Maeno laughed and waved a hand. “Oh those can wait. All work and no play is terrible for your health. If I didn't take a breather now and then, I would literally die!”

“That only applies to people who actually work,” Ken grumbled.

Nozaki sighed. Maybe he was lucky and Maeno would be too obsessed with taking selfies to actually talk. He had new ideas for a character and he would hate to scrap her because Maeno tried to claim credit again.

I might have to drop the red riding hood subplot idea too if he hears that, Nozaki grumbled as he reached into his bag. Too bad I don’t have my own wolf to drive him away.

“Nozaki?”

He froze. Slowly, he glanced up. Seo had stopped mid-step and was currently glancing curiously at him.

Nozaki silently cursed. First Maeno, and now Seo? I have nothing but bad luck today.

“Uh..hey, Seo,” Nozaki greeted with a small wave.

Ken frowned. “Who is this?”

Before Nozaki could reply, Seo spoke. “Oh, we're buds that go a long way back. Nozaki's like a needy little brother, you know? Though two adults...hey, Nozaki, tap three times if you want me to call someone. Not much reason for a couple of adults to hang out with a high-schooler, after all.”

Ken raised an eyebrow. “We work with Nozaki.”

“Oh really?” Seo said and chuckled. “I didn’t think Nozaki even had a job.”

Nozaki coughed. “Yes, well, if you don’t mind we have work to do. Actual work, before you insinuate anything.”

The last thing I need is Seo’s thoughtless comments bothering Ken.

Maeno beamed and he pointed. “Oh, nonsense! Why don’t we have your cute friend join us!”

Nozaki glared. Dammit Maeno!

Seo shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.” She gestured ahead. “There’s an old arcade game here that I want to play. Been trying to beat it all week.” She walked away and waved without turning around. “Have fun doing...whatever it is you're doing?”

Nozaki sighed with relief. Maybe he had a bit of good luck today after all. “Alright, so Ken, I was thinking-”

“Wait, Seo-chan!” Maeno cried cheerfully as he stood up and chased after her. “I can show you how to win at that game. I’m an expert gamer.”

“Ooh, really,” Seo said, eyeing Maeno up and down as he caught up. “Sure, lead the way champ.”

Nozaki let his jaw drop open before he quietly closed it. “What is he doing?”

Ken sighed as he massaged his forehead. “He is trying to impress your friend.”

“Friend is a strong word,” Nozaki muttered, but raised an eyebrow, “but why would he care?”

“Because he can’t resist impressing young girls by showing off how cool he is,” Ken grumbled. "I do not wish to contemplate his reasoning."

Nozaki quietly mulled this over. Wait, this means Maeno will be interacting with Seo one on one, and he actually wants to hear what she thinks of him...

“Whatever his motive, conscience forbids allowing him to harass schoolgirls.” Ken got up from the seat. “I’ll go drag him back here before he causes a scene-”

Nozaki stopped him by holding out his arm to block him.

“No, leave him be,” Nozaki instructed.

Ken raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Nozaki rose and resisted smirking. “Because if I know Seo you’ll be in for quite a show. Trust me.” He knew Ken was just as frustrated with Maeno as everyone else who had to work with him was. They would both get to taste some sweet revenge.

Ken still didn’t look convinced but shrugged as he followed Nozaki's lead. They peeked around the table. Just as expected Maeno and Seo were both playing the arcade game. Suddenly, laser and ‘You Won’ flashed on the screen.

Maeno cheered as he whirled around and puffed out his chest. “See, Seo-chan, I told you I could easily win at this game.”

Seo gave a low whistle. “Yeah, that is impressive.” She reached into her wallet for another coin. “I haven’t seen anyone my age be able to win this game. It’s so ancient, I’m amazed it still works. I’ve only seen old geezers win at this.”

Maeno's smile faltered, but he kept grinning. “Yes...well, I’ve often been told I have an old soul.”

Seo pointed. “Yeah, I figured you were old enough to have grown up playing this when it was new. The grey hairs were a total giveaway.”

Maeno froze and twitched an eye.

Ken blinked and turned his head to Nozaki. “Is...is your friend roasting him on purpose?”

Nozaki shook his head. “She just says the first thing that comes into her head.”

“Good God,” Ken muttered.

Maeno cleared his throat. “Well, people enjoy my good looks.” He held up his phone and was swiping through it. “I get so many hits on my vlog.”

“Oh nice, playing up the silver fox angle. Good call,” Seo replied with a nod as she crossed her arms. “I love checking out vlogs.”

Maeno grinned as he held up his phone with what Nozaki could only assume was a link to his vlog. “They’re fun, right?”

She nodded firmly. “Yeah, they're hilarious when I'm worn out from helping people.”

Maeno choked as he glanced up. “Hilarious?”

“Oh, yeah,” Seo said with a chuckle. “I can just spend an hour just laughing at the bad selfies. There was this one guy who took all of these photos of himself at the amusement park and never clued in that he had spinach stuck between his teeth.”

Maeno’s hand slowly reached his cheek.

“Or this other guy that wore this tacky shirt,” she snickered. “Man, it was clear he had no fashion sense - one of those guys that thinks flashy is appealing. The only thing better than the train wreck of his outfit was when I linked it to this fashion roasts blog - I just couldn't look away, they even tore into his shoes! You just can't look away from some of these train wrecks- Hey, where are you going?”

Maeno gave a shaky smile as he turned around. “I..um, just remembered I have a lot of work to do at the office. So, I need to go.”

Seo shrugged as she returned to her game. “Yeah, you seem like the kind of guy who needs to boost his career through hard work instead of personal appeal. Good luck, dude.”

Nozaki nudged Ken and they retreated back to their table just as Maeno slowly dragged his feet towards him.

“I’m going back to the office,” Maeno said without even stopping and aiming for the front door. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Neither Nozaki or Ken said a word until the door shut.

Ken sighed as he adjusted his glasses. “Since that business is concluded, we should return to our meeting before any other interruptions occur.”

Nozaki didn’t argue. After a few minutes of Ken critiquing ideas like turning Suzuki into a werewolf and recommending school plays instead, the meeting was done. Ken gathered up the papers and put it into his bag.

“Also, Nozaki,” Ken slipped the bag over this shoulder, “thank you for earlier. It was very satisfying.” He gave a small smile.

Definitely a day of good luck.