At the first moment, Naruhiko was thrown off by the woman's entire self. Just like Ishida said, she was a rather beautiful one - ample curves encased in a well-tailored stark white shirt and a pencil skirt the color of tall mountains' rock, all complimenting the soft rose color of her hair - but she seemed... Oddly official. Not a look fit for a fan or girlfriend material... He wondered whether Ishida led him to the wrong office, but that could not have been the thing. This was definitely the right office - the mats on the floor, the tiny orchid placed in the ikebana on the table, the paintings on the walls were all distinctly marking it as the correct one. Maybe this woman was just accompanying the real Tachibana - though, where was she, then?<br/><br/>When Ishida addressed her as Tachibana, his doubts were cleared. That was why he was being so indistinct... He, regaining his footing on the mats, quickly bowed to her deeply, the curtain of untied dark hair sliding to his face and covering it. "Good morning, Tachibana Hinata-sama! It's a pleasure to meet you!" he blurted out, flashing a wide, albeit somewhat nervous smile at her. So wide he beat even the butler on his shirt. Though it didn't make sense why she was calling him sensei...<br/>Ishida gave him a soft tap on the back, still smiling in that strange manner of his, and set himself on the other side of the table. "Tachibana-san will be working as your personal assistant from now on, Izumi-kun. So that you can handle your matters properly while producing amazing manga without fail." he explained to him, serving himself some tea without even being asked.<br/><br/>Naruhiko was left so thunderstruck he forgot to even answer Hinata's question. Assistant? Oh... So that's why she was all official... The smile was utterly swept from his face, and he paled. Everything was almost frighteningly clear at that moment. Assistant. So he doesn't get lost or mess up... That took a while to stomach - a while of blank gazes and Ishida's silent drinking of his tea.<br/>"I... See. Assistant..." the young artist nodded slowly, and glared daggers at Ishida. Why was he not informed?<br/>Oh, right. Because if he was told that it was an assistant, he would not have come.<span style="font-style: italic">Ishida, you bastard,</span>that glare spoke clearly. The manager just shrugged, lavishly holding the small teacup between his thumb, forefinger and middle finger, and let out a soft sigh.<br/>"Indeed. After carefully reviewing the resumes of more than twenty candidates, and inviting three for an interview, Tachibana-san seemed to be the most fitting. I thought that employing someone your age might be more helpful than having an older lady oversee over your official matters; that can be quite unnerving, am I right?" Ishida chirped, proceeding to raise the teacup to his lips and take a small sip.<br/>"Yes. I already have an aunt, no need for a second one. Oh, and Tachibana-sama, it's perfectly okay to just call me Izumi, don't bother with the 'sensei'. It makes me feel old!" Naruhiko smiled at the both of them in mirth, quickly tying his long hair on the back of his head to avoid seeming even messier than he already did.<br/><br/>He reached for the tea, pouring an amount large enough to make Ishida's smile falter a little, and downed the cup quickly. "Nice tea... What is it, Ishida-san?" he inquired, curiously cocking his head to the side. "Barley tea. I didn't want to serve you the highly caffeinated and blood pressure raising black tea, and this one has a subtle, complimenting flavor. What do you think about it?" he turned to the two younger people, placing the teacup once more onto the table.<br/>"It's a tad bland." Naruhiko admitted. "It could definitely use a whole pack of sugar." He flashed his teeth to Ishida in a wide grin.<br/><br/>It looked like Tachibana was the only one not smiling. Ishida with his omnipresent wide smile, Naruhiko and his quickly appearing and similarly quickly disappearing grins, even that mysteriously smirking butler on his T-shirt.<br/>Wasn't this the epitome of having fun?<br/>Even office work could be turned interesting in the right company was what Ishida always said. Fun was his motto, it was some sort of mantra that he lived by, that he breathed in with every ounce of air he inhaled. Make everything interesting, entertaining, unusual. Maybe that was the source of his natural charisma, the strange air that drew people in. Maybe it was the reason why he worked for a manga-publishing company, among many other authors as the editor and manager of Naruhiko.<br/>Maybe that was why Naruhiko ran into him one early November morning, and accidentally scattered his sketches all over the pavement.<br/>Maybe that was why Ishida picked them up and stopped in awe upon holding them.<br/><br/>Incidents, accidents and coincidences were a mystery, and they always have been - to bad, or to good results, that was yet to be determined. Maybe this one, too, was one of those strange coincidences, a little tumbling rock that started an avalanche.<br/><br/>Incidents, accidents, coincidences. Wonderful surprise-fruits of life.