Junjō Romantica, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi 1. Junjo Interrupt

Clare was woken up by the obnoxious ringing of her phone. She grunted, picking it up from her side table, and confronted by an angry voice.

"MIRIAN! WHERE IS YOUR MANUSCRIPT"

Crap.

She quickly shrieked into her phone, a sure sign to her editor, what's-his-name, that her manuscript had not been sent in last night. She groaned as he began to scold her.

"I TOLD YOU TO SEND IT IN TONIGHT, IDIOT!"

He had a really deep voice. She still couldn't place his name, she would remember it later.

"Hey hey! Relax! I did it, I just forgot to send it in!"

She started before she was interrupted.

"WE ARE NOW A DAY OFF SCHEDULE, SEND IT IN!"

His voice commanded through the phone.

"Alright alright!"

She replied, hanging up.

Clare Mirian is a starting off BL manga author, and her first novel was to be put through by the Emerald Publishing Company. Manga seemed easy, she had a good plot down, but for some reason they suggested she turned to this BL novelist, named Aikawa Yayoi. Though she didn't understand why she had to turn to someone who didn't even draw manga, she sighed and looked at the address she was left. Huh. To her interest she found it was the penthouse across the hall from her.

_Isn't that a man…? _She thought to herself, before shaking her head. _Probably his wife or something._ There was also an apparently handwritten letter by the author herself. It was simple, but she couldn't help but admire her handwriting. "She must have been doing this for a while" she stated, before getting dressed to meet her. Oh yeah, the manuscript. She took it and stuffed it in the fax machine, sending it to the Shoujo manga department without hesitation. She then crossed her arms and huffed, heading out of her door, and straight to the door across from her.

The first thing she heard the minute she was in front of the door was glass breaking.

_Is something happening? _She wondered, until she heard a very feminine shriek.

"AIKAWA!" she yelled, banging her fist on the door. "AIKAWA ARE YOU OKAY?"

"USAGI…! STOP!" the feminine voice continued.

Out of sheer panic, Clare kicked down the door with all her might, and darted straight into the room, only to stop dead in her tracks.

There was no woman. Only two men. One, with brown hair, pinned down onto a glass coffee table, and the other one with white hair. She and the brown haired boy went red in the face.

"Oh… Uh… heh…"

She stuttered, and the white haired man got off the table, and the brown haired one scrambling off the table and hiding behind the couch.

"So, you're Mirian right?" the white haired man asked, like nothing had happened.

"Uh… ah… yes?" she answered.

"I'm Usami Akihiko, but you may know me as Aikawa Yayoi" he stated bluntly.

"wait…WHAT?" she yelled. "YOU'RE A MAN!" she said.

"And?" he said, his voice growing irritated, and giving her a cold glare.

"…nothing." She replied quietly.

At this, Usami went behind the couch, and picked up the brown haired man, despite his protests.

"PUT ME DOWN!" he wailed, flailing himself, until Usami placed him down.

"Go get volumes 1-10" he commanded, being met by a protestant look, but then Usami leaned in, close enough to kiss him, and the brown haired man instantly complied and bolted up the stairs.

Clare raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question.

"So, you're an American?" Usami suddenly questioned, making Clare jump.

"Oh well… Yeah" she stated, as she watched the brown haired one stumble down the stairs, handing her a stack of books.

"Do you mind if I read here?" she questioned, looking down at broken glass on the carpet. It appeared to be a bear holding… 10 salmon?

"Go ahead." Usami grunted.

Her eyes widened at how quickly it escalated. It was one thing that caught her eye though.

"Um… Usami?" she piped up.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Why are you one of the main characters in the book?" she asked.

Usami grinned and grabbed the brown haired boy around the waist before answering.

"Think of it as… my personal fantasies." He replied, making both Clare and the brown haired boy extremely red.

"So then he is..." she said, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"Yes. This boy is Takahashi Misaki, my lover" he stated, Takahashi pushed away, letting out nervous laughter.

"Don't listen to him! He's a little crazy, you know he barely goes outsi-"

He didn't get to finish before Usami took Takahashi by the chin and kissed him, causing the smaller one to go ballistic.

"Should I… Go?" Clare inquired, still utterly confused by everything going on.

Usami looked up and nodded. "Take the books with you, study up. I'll look over your next manuscript if you'd like"

Clare picked up the books and nodded silently, remembering the door. "Oh… I kind of… kicked your door down" she mentioned, Usami not seeming to care.

"Its fine, I can fix it" he said, before turning back to his lover.

"Right… Um… Thank you… See you later…?" she uttered before bolting out the door and landing in her apartment, red in the face.

Her phone rang obnoxiously loud again, and she blindly reached up and put it next to her ear, to be met by more frantic yelling.

"YOU IDIOT! THE PAGES IN THE MANUSCRIPT ARE OUT OF ORDER AND YOU DIDN'T NUMBER THEM!"

His editor was screeching. Clare screamed/sighed against the floor as she got up.

"WHAT DO I DO?" she panicked.

"GET OVER HERE IMMEDIATELY"

Her editor demanded.

"I'LL BE OVER!" she yelled into the phone, before snapping it shut and bolting out the door.

Clare's manager was extremely moody. He seemed to always be in a bad mood, and sometimes she would hear him yell at his coworkers while they were on the phone. Apparently he was head of the department, and it surprised her how she got him as her editor. _It must be really awkward for him to look over my manuscript, especially considering he's a man…_ she thought to herself as she walked down the road. At this point, Clare was finally awake enough to remember his name.

It was Masamune Takano.


	2. The case of Clare Mirian

Clare blindly stumbled into the Emerald Publishing building, breathing heavily.

"I'm Mirian Clare, where is the Shoujo Manga department?" she said panting.

The desk worker raised an eyebrow and looked up her name before she nodded.

"Floor four, far right corner" she stated.

"THANK YOU!" she yelled behind her as she ran into the elevator. The door was about to close when it was stopped by a foot. A man with brown hair and amber eyes stepped into the elevator, and it was obvious he lacked sleep.

"Sorry" he mumbled.

"Its fine, I'm sure my editor can hold off for a few seconds" she replied.

"Editor?" he said. "You're an author?"

"Yes, I'm Mirian Clare, pleasure to meet you" she said, extending her arm for greeting.

"Onodera Ritsu" he said, shaking her hand.

When they got out of the elevator, they both started to head in the same direction, until they were both met by the horrors of a disrupted cycle. Foul stenches reeked across the area, and some of them looked dead. She watched as Onodera slumped into his seat as if this was normal.

"Is it… Always like this?" she said, dumbfounded.

"No, there's been a break in the cycle" he said, looking around.

No sooner after Onodera had spoken, her editor, Takano Masamune, appeared behind her and started yelling.

"DO YOU REALISE HOW MANY DAYS ITS GOING TO TAKE TO SORT THROUGH EVERYTHING?" he scolded.

"MIXED UP PAGES IS ONE THING, BUT WHY DIDN'T YOU NUMBER THE PAGES?" he continued.

"I said I was sorry!" Clare huffed at her editor, who looked like he hadn't slept in days. "What am I supposed to do anyways?"

Takano sighed and plopped a manuscript onto Onodera's desk. "You are going to sit and re-order them with Onodera" he stated, and it was then Onodera stood up.

"WHAT? TAKANO I'VE GOT ENOUGH ON MY PLATE ALREADY!" he complained.

"Two rookies are better than one" he stated bluntly, aggravating both Clare and Onodera.

"Well I'll need a chair" Clare suggested, to which Takano replied

"Go get your own" and went back to his desk, and before she could stop him, he was yelling into the phone at a different author.

"Where do I even get a chair…" she sighed, and resulted in walking around the whole fourth floor until she found a spare, then carrying it back, to find Onodera passed out.

"HEY! IF I HAVE TO DO THIS SO DO YOU!" she yelled as she shook Onodera back and forth, waking him up.

"YOU COULD HAVE BEEN GENTLER" he argued

"YOU COULD HAVE BEEN AWAKE" she replied.

"YOU COULD BOTH SHUT UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU" Takano yelled over at them, quieting the two instantly. There was a foul mood floating in the air, and everyone was breathing it in. Hours went by of constant resorting, and since Onodera didn't know what the manuscript looked like, she was the one doing sorting through, and Onodera was numbering them. After awhile, she received a book to the back off the head, and so did Onodera.

"Lunch break" Takano muttered.

Clare bolted out of the Shoujo manga department and over to the lounge, pressing money into the vending machines and drinking countless cans of who knows what. She wasn't allowed a drink of water or a break until now, and she needed it badly. Soon, she had compiled a lump of empty coffee cans, and was shoving them into a trash can with her foot when she heard something happening from around the corner.

She turned her head cautiously to see Takano kissing Onodera full on the lips, and Onodera full red in the face. She let out a slight yelp, and Onodera turned his eyes and went on a full out panic, while Takano just straightened himself.

"Oh… ah… Hi" she stuttered. _This is really familiar _she thought to herself as she watched Takano brush past while Onodera babbled on trying to explain.

"He's crazy you know he barely goes outsi-" he began before Takano's sharp voice cut him off.

"OI, ONODERA, GET BACK TO WORK" he yelled out from the hallway, the cherry red Onodera nodding and running off. Clare shrugged the event off and walked after him, and the two continued to re-order the pages until the entire thing was in perfect order.

"Good job" Takano stated as he looked through it. "I think we can submit it by tomorrow"

"Really?" Clare said in disbelief "Oh I'm so excited!" she squealed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself" he deadpanned. "Your book could be a crashing failure, and if it is, we will cut you off. Also, mistakes like that are never acceptable. Don't ever do it again."

"YOU COULD TRY TO BE POSITIVE FOR MORE THAN ONE SECOND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT" she snapped and walked off into the elevator. _Why did I have to get the moody editor? _she thought to herself as she arrived onto the first floor. She stepped out into the street to find it was already dark. _How long was I in that den of hell?_ She thought to herself as she walked down the street.

Oh well. Her book was being published, and even if it was a crashing failure, she would always have one or two small fans? Or maybe it would be a popular release, and she would be able to do book signings, or maybe even a reward! These thoughts lingered through her mind as she walked home, and looked across the hall to find even more feminine shrieking.

_For a man Takahashi sure has a high pitch. Unless it's not Takahashi. _The thought of Usami screaming like a girl despite his massive build almost made Clare burst out laughing, but she held it in until she reached her apartment, were a fax was waiting from her editor.

"Oh god, what is it now" she groaned as she picked up the paper.

_Hey. You did well today. Keep up the good work. Takano._

Clare read the note over a few times before grinning, until she read the next part.

_Now start on your next manuscript. And don't be late this time._

Clare groaned and put the paper next to the fax machine. She looked over at the clock. It was almost eleven, and she decided that for today she would go to sleep after reading some of Usami's novels that were left on the table.

_"Now Misaki" Usami breathed onto his neck, his voice strained. "Are you ready?" he breathed, and he felt Misaki tighten underneath him as he-_

Clare shoved the book closed and had thrown it across the room.

"HOW DOES HE EXPECT ME TO READ THAT!" she yelled at the book, her face cherry red.

"THAT'S IT I'M GOING TO BED!" she called to no one as she stumbled into her bedroom and passed out face first on the bed.


	3. Junjo Tag-Along

Clare looked cautiously over Usami's shoulder as he read her next manuscript.

The tension was really killing her, and she didn't know how much she could take. This was the first time she was being reviewed by someone who actually had written in this genre, even if it was a man. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Usami plopped it down onto the coffee table.

"Did you even read my novels" Usami sighed as he looked at Clare from the corner of his eye.

"I BARELY GOT THROUGH THEM! HOW MUCH OF THOSE- SCENES- DO YOU NEED IN ONE NOVEL?" she practically screamed.

It was true, her several attempts to read all 10 of the books to gain experience ended up in the same result every time: slamming it shut, throwing it at the wall, and then having to repeat to herself that she was an adult and that she could handle it before picking it up again and having the cycle repeat.

"As many as I need to satisfy my visions" Usami replied, earning him a choking noise from Takahashi, who was listening from the kitchen.

"Well I don't have 'visions' like that!" Clare stressed. "Especially not THOSE kinds of visions" she continued.

"Well then think about you and someone you love and imagine you're a man as well" Usami suggested.

This made Clare red in the face as she began to yell at Usami.

"WHY DO I EVEN COME TO YOU FOR ASSISTANCE? YOU'RE JUST A PERVERT!" Clare vented before she began to exit the apartment. But then she was stopped by Usami's voice cutting in.

"Or" his deep voice suggested, "You could go on a date with me and Misaki". This earned him another strangled choke from Takahashi, and an almost similar reaction within Clare.

"WHAT?" Clare and Takahashi yelped simultaneously, making Usami grin.

"I mean observe me and Misaki on a date" he explained further, calming down Clare but definitely not Takahashi.

"WE'RE NOT LIKE THAT!" Takahashi fumed, still cherry red in the face.

"Oh, it's okay! I don't mind gay relationships" Clare said, trying to ease the smaller man.

"WE'RE NOT GAY!" Takahashi wheezed.

Usami then gained an angry expression, and turned to Takahashi.

"Clare" he stated bluntly, "Can you step outside for a moment, I promise this won't take long".

A little frightened by his words, Clare backed out of the apartment, shutting the (noticeably new) door in front of her, and went red in the face as Takahashi's feminine shrieks leaked through the door.

_Oh, my manuscript _Clare thought to herself as she opened the door without thinking, to see Usami pinning Takahashi down to the floor. Her face still cherry red, she grabbed her manuscript and darted out of the penthouse without a word, slamming the door shut. The shrieking was continuing by the time she had shut the door of her apartment.

Clare sighed and put down the manuscript on the table.

_Will I really have to draw… that…? _She thought to herself.

"NEVER! I AM NOT GOING TO BECOME A PERVERTED USAMI!" she declared to her manuscript.

_Oh boy _she began to think to herself _If Takano could see me now, slacking off like this._

Clare then began to do her best impression of Takano, pinning her potted tree against a wall.

"Oi Onodera" she said in a mocking-husky voice. "I need you to work with me here, if you know what I mean…"

She then burst out laughing, and while whipping a tear from her eye she sat down with her manuscript.

"Okaaay" Clare said, coming back down to reality "How do I make the story good WITHOUT becoming a Usami?" she pondered to herself.

"It's too early for marriage…" she trailed off, going deep into thought.

_Observe me and Misaki on a date _Usami's word's echoed into her head.

"I guess that would be a good idea" she said, her glance carrying over to her doorway.

Out of curiosity, she leaned her ear against Usami's door and listened for Takahashi's shrieking.

When it seemed safe, she opened the door (without knocking) and was relieved to see that she hadn't just walked in on their love making.

Usami was sitting on his usual white couch surrounded by bears, and Takahashi was red faced as he tended to the food.

"So…" Clare spoke up, looking at Usami.

"When does this date thing start?" she asked, earning herself a grin from Usami

"Right now." Said Usami as he stood up and walked over to Takahashi.

"Usagi, the food…" he muttered quietly, still stirred by Usami's recent actions.

"Put it in the fridge" he ordered, and Clare watched as Takahashi stored it all away, and before she knew it she was sitting in the back of Usami's red sports car, pencil and notepad In hand.

"Where are we going?" the now moody Takahashi asked.

"The aquarium, your favorite" Usami replied, his eyes focused on the road.

"Oh! I've always wanted to see the aquariums in Japan!" Clare spoke up.

"You need to focus on note-taking" Usami grunted, sounding a lot like an editor Clare knew.

"Fiiiine" Clare huffed; remaining silent the rest of the ride, but taking note on the embarrassing stories Usami began to tell randomly about Takahashi. Usami was about to begin about his encounter with Usami's father when they had finally arrived, and Clare's eyes widened at the building.

"This place is much better than the Aquarium's back home!" Clare exclaimed.

"Note-taking" Usami reminded her, as he grabbed Takahashi's hand, startling him.

Clare took note of this action.

When they entered the aquarium, Clare stood by, writing down thing's they talked about or actions they did that would be good to put in the story. Clare then began to notice something interesting. While most of the time it seemed to her Takahashi was repelled by Usami's constant flirts, when she inspected closer, she realized the entire time, Takahashi had not let go of Usami's hand. This realization spoke volumes to her, and she smiled softly.

When the day was over, she had over 20 pages of notes, and it wasn't in the least bit Usami-like.

"Thank you both so much!" she said as she got into the back of the car, flipping over her notes.

"Did you see the baby penguins, Usagi!" Takahashi squealed, sounding just like an 8 year old.

"They were cute" Usami grunted as he started the car.

"Oh this is great! I can't wait to go home and start drawing this u-"

Her voice was cut off by the ringing of her phone, and she answered it, to be met by the voice of her overly-moody manager, Takano.

"We've got bad news" his voice rang over the phone.

"What is it now?" Clare groaned.

"There's been an error with scheduling, you'll need to submit your manuscript tomorrow" his voice stated over the phone.

"WHAT? TOMORROW?" she shrieked at Takahashi-level.

"Stop whining and get it done!" Takano ordered before hanging up.

"AAAAAAAAGH!" Clare yelled at the ceiling of Usami's car.

"What is it now?" Usami grunted, his voice slightly irritated by her yelling.

"There was a schedule error, now my manuscript is due tomorrow!" she whined, hitting her head against the back of Takahashi's seat.

"I'll take a short cut so you can get home faster. Work is important" Usami lectured, earning another unhappy groan from Clare.

"I'm going to be up all night" she complained as she got out of the car and walked with the two men to her apartment.

"If I die, tell my mother I loved her" she yelled to Usami as she shut her apartment door behind her.

Clare sighed as she took her manuscript to her treasured drawing table, and sat down, wielding her pencil.

"Right, I just need to draw up about 10 or 30 pages by tomorrow… No big deal…" she repeated to herself as she started out on the bases of the pages.

She was interrupted about 2 hours in by her phone ringing again.

"Hello?" Clare said, trying not to sound as if her hand was burning.

"Is your manuscript done yet?" Takano's voice grunted over the phone.

"DON'T BOTHER HER ABOUT IT!" she heard Onodera's voice in the background.

"I'm working on it" she yawned in reply.

"Don't go you dare consider sleeping" Takano warned, earning another screeching noise from Onodera in the background.

"I'm not!" Clare snapped at Takano.

"You know, I would be able to get a lot more work done if you wouldn't call me" Clare sassed, before hanging up on him and turning her cellphone off.

_That'll teach him _she thought to herself with pride as she settled back to her manuscript, and began working on her manuscript, that would take hours upon hours of sketching and coffee breaks, and not being able to stop until it was almost sunrise, where at which, she looked at the pages she had completed, made sure they were numbered and in order, before placing them in the fax machine, and sending them off.

Soon enough, she turned on her phone, to find a series of furious texts from Takano. She huffed in irritation before deleting them all, not bothering to look, and then promptly passing out of her drawing table.


	4. The case of the moody Editor

Clare was definitely done with her, editor that was one thing she knew.

Clare received a call about noon, where she had just woken up from an all-nighter drawing, when she received a call.

The label 'Stupid Moody Editor Takano' was all she needed to see before she answered the phone.

"What is it now?" Clare groaned.

"CAN YOU CALL THIS FINISHED WORK?" Takano fumed over the phone.

"EXCUSE ME, BUT I DON'T THINK YOU HAD TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT DRAWING" Clare shot back.

"YOU THINK YOU COULD OF PUT MORE EFFORT INTO IT" Takano responded

"HAVE YOU EVEN DRAWN MANGA BEFORE?" she screeched into her phone.

"I'VE EDITED ENOUGH TO KNOW THIS IS CRAP" Takano yelled back into the phone.

That was it, for Clare, as she hung up immediately, and rested her hand onto her forehead.

"Did I need to show it to Usami before I submitted? I thought the storyline was good…" she said to the counter of her kitchen. Without hesitation, she picked up the manuscript and knocked on Usami's door.

"USAMI! I NEED YOU TO LOOK AT THIS!" Clare yelled at his door. When no response came, she sighed.

_He's not home, fantastic _Clare thought to herself as she paced up and down the hallway.

She heard her phone go off in the kitchen, and rolled her eyes before looking walking back to it.

It was a text from Takano, and she opened it up.

_Maybe he's apologizing _Clare thought with a smirk, then frowning when she saw the actual message.

_If you're going to get so upset over one comment, you're going to have a bad day._

Clare grit her teeth as she rapidly texted back

_And what's that supposed to mean, oh great Editor?_

Her phone buzzed almost to seconds later with a link to a website.

The reviews were awful. Words such as "Cliché" and "Expected of an American" were in the summary, and it made her want to snap her phone in half.

Her phone buzzed a second time.

_Now do you see why we need this to look nice? I've manage to get you another week._

Clare was about to sit down and get to work when her phone buzzed again.

_And just to make sure you don't slack off, your going to spend everyday finishing in my apartment until I think it qualifies._

Clare yelled out in frustration. Not only would she have to spend all this week with Takano, she would have to be in his apartment, under his watch. Until it was perfect. By his standards.

The mere thought made Clare almost want to scream, but instead, she placed her manuscript into her bag, and headed out of the apartment building, over to his apartment.

When she had finally arrived, she found a spare key taped to the door.

"Idiot" she mumbled before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

It was actually fairly clean, despite what she had expected. She sighed and sat at the coffee table, put her manuscript down, and began to sketch finer details.

It was about 3 hours when Takano returned home, carrying Onodera over his shoulder.

"TAKANO! YOU IDIOT PUT ME DOWN!" Onodera wailed, until he was pinned against the wall.

"I'm in a bad mood" Takano grunted before he began to kiss the smaller man.

"GEE I WONDER WHO'S FAULT THAT IS" Clare yelled across the room at the two, beat red.

"Oh. You're here." Takano said, slightly disappointed.

"OH!? YOU INVITED ME!" She screeched.

"Yeah, I would prefer you'd be quiet and get to work" Takano retorted.

Clare let out an irritated huff before she turned back around and began to sketch, but it wasn't long before Takano was looming over her shoulder.

"You should have added a straight line here, not a curve" Takano commented, irritating Clare.

"Could you save the commentary until AFTER I've made the edits?" Clare said, continuing to work.

"Fine" Takano said, turning to Onodera.

"What are you doing?" his deep voiced asked.

"Making rice balls, we have a guest" Onodera responded.

"No, we can't have that, she needs to work" Takano stated.

"WHAT AM I A SLAVE?" Clare screeched.

"You know, you could save the commentary until AFTER your done working" Takano mocked.

"CAN I PLEASE GO HOME" Clare screeched, her sketching becoming furious.

"OI, STOP SKETCHING LIKE THAT, YOUR RUINING IT" Takano ordered, just irritating Clare more.

"I'M GOING TO GO BUY SOME PUDDING" Clare finally yelled, standing up and rushing out of the apartment

"OI, WHERE DO YOU THI-" Takano's voice was cut off by her slamming the door and getting into the elevator.

_Stupid idiotic moronic controlling Takano! _Clare thought to herself _I don't know how Onodera lives with that guy!_

After furiously buying more pudding than one human could eat (about 5 bags full) she walked right back into the apartment to find Takano marking it with a red pen.

"YOU IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Clare screeched at her editor.

"Editing" Takano grunted, making several swirling motions with the pen.

"IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR DRAWING ALL OVER IT!" Clare yelled running over to his side to see an entire series of red lines drawn all over the page, making the original page hard to see.

"YOU REALLY ARE AN IDIOT YOU KNOW THAT?" Clare yelled into his ear

"Oi, stop yelling, you're in someone else's house, that's disrespectful"

"I'LL TELL YOU WHATS DISRESPECTFUL, FORCING SOMEONE INTO YOUR HOME, NOT FEEDING THEM, TREATING THEM LIKE DIRT, INSULTING THEIR STORYLINE, AND NOT EVEN APOLOGIZING!" Clare snapped at Takano, before grabbing her manuscript and her bags of pudding, waving bye at Onodera, spitting on Takano's floor, and slamming the door behind her.

_Look at all these edits _Clare thought _I'd never be able to fix all this within a week._

Onodera stepped out from the door, and looked over at her

"Hi" he muttered.

"It's okay, I'm not going to yell at you, you were actually nice, thanks" Clare sighed.

"Takano is a lot to take in huh?" Onodera said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't understand how you can be in love with him if he's always like that" Clare responded.

"He isn't always like that, only when he's working. A-AND I DON'T LOVE HIM!" Onodera panicked.

"Cut the crap, remember what I saw?" Clare teased, making Onodera red in the face.

"D-don't tell anyone at work you saw that" Onodera stuttered.

"Me? Pfff, I'm no snitch Onodera, your forbidden love is safe with me" Clare said.

"I wouldn't really call it… forbidden…" Onodera muttered under his breath.

"Well, if he's okay out of work, how do you deal with him at work?" Clare asked

"Well, I just… do?" Onodera replied.

"There is no art to making Takano work-friendly" Onodera stated.

"You have that one right" Clare laughed.

"How did you meet Takano in the first place? He doesn't seem like a blind date kind of guy" Clare asked, startling Onodera.

"Oh, well we were lovers in high school… And then I round house kicked him in the face and ran away." Onodera explained.

Clare burst out laughing, making Onodera beat red.

"YOU ROUNDHOUSE KICKED HIM? BOY WOULD I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT!" Clare said, still laughing, until Takano's door opened, and the tall man grabbed Onodera by the waist, and pulled him inside.

"Get to work" Takano fumed before slamming the door.

Clare kicked the door with her boot, yelling "JERK!" before she began the journey back home.

When she arrived home, she found a letter inside her house.

The envelope read it was from Usami.

_Why would that idiot leave a letter if I live across the hall from him? _Clare wondered as she opened it up.

_Clare,_

_ I went over to your house today to see if you were working. You weren't home. I got some bear puffs from some fans and I don't want them, when your door was locked, I pick locked it and left the bear puffs in your kitchen._

_Akihiko._

Clare was irritated and turned around to face Usami's door, and yelled

"BREAKING INTO PEOPLES APARTMENTS IS ILLEGAL! AND THANK YOU FOR THE BEAR PUFFS I REALLY NEEDED THEM!" before slamming her door and digging into the bear puffs and pudding, eating off the irritated feelings of today's working with Takano.

_And I'm going to have to go back tomorrow _she thought to herself.


	5. Junjo Acheivement

Clare was running around her apartment, barely able to contain herself.

She had a book signing. Her books hand skyrocketed in popularity, and she had a fan base begging for a book signing, or that's at least what SIMET (Super Idiot Moronic Editor Takano) had told her.

"Oh I can't wait to meet the fans!" she squeaked, unable to contain herself.

"Calm down, you didn't win the lottery" Takano grunted, giving her a look of disapproval.

"Oh I'm sorry, who's book signing is this? MINE!" she boasted.

"COME ON LETS GO LETS GOOO!" she yelled, pushing him out of the door and into the Takano's car.

When she got to the book store, it was quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Clare asked, clearly confused.

"Moron, the event doesn't start for two hours" Takano said, making Clare a little upset.

"Come on, let's get to the table" Takano said, leading Clare to a table, where there was a display holding her books that was wonderful.

"Oh wow! That is so cool!" she said, taking one of the books from the display.

"I never got to see the cover, this is perfect!" Clare squealed.

"Who made the display? I love it!" Clare said, putting the book down.

"That would be me" she heard a masculine voice say.

Clare looked at a man with brown hair and ear piercings walk over to the table, a smaller black haired man who looked in his teenage years trailing behind him.

"Wait… Kisa?" Clare looked over at the smaller black-haired boy.

Clare knew Kisa from the days she went to the Shoujo Manga department when there were errors (that happened a lot), and she eventually knew everyone's names.

"Congratulations on your book" Kisa said.

"I wish you good luck on the signing!" The taller man said. "I'm Yukina Kou"

"Hi!" Clare said, looking between the two men.

_You know at the rate I've been witnessing people coming out I wouldn't be surprised if they were a couple too. _Clare thought to herself, sitting down.

"Have you practiced your signature?" Takano asked, watching as Clare wrote her name the best she could.

"Why are you writing in English?" Takano asked, watching her write her name.

"I'm American, it makes sense" Clare stated, not bothering to figure out how to write it in Japanese.

After two hours, the doors were officially opened, and Clare's eyes widened at the amount of women that streamed into the book store and formed a line. Looking at all these people made her extremely happy, and she got right away to the book signing.

Sometimes she would sign her books, other times it would be an autograph book or even people's arms. It made her feel like a celebrity, and she never wanted it to end. However as the day wore on, the line got smaller, and eventually the book store had to close, and the last of her fans got their autographs and left.

"My hand huuuurts" Clare whined, rubbing her sore wrist.

"You did well today" Takano said, patting her head.

"There is some food in the back, go get some while I help clean up." Takano suggested, Clare happily making her way to the back, before she heard something around the corner

"..ove you, Kisa" she heard Yukina's voice say.

Surprise surpise. They were gay.

Clare walked over to see them kissing against the wall, and clapped her hands.

"Award winning performance, 10 out of 10" Clare said, watching Kisa go red in the face.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that doesn't already know" Clare promised, calming down Kisa.

Clare then directed her attention to the buffet table, a single box containing a cake was all she needed, and she waved her goodbyes and said her thank you to the workers at the book store, and settled back into the car.

"THAT WAS GREAAAT!" Clare cheered, Takano cutting her off

"Don't get to excited, you have a manuscript to work on tomorrow" Takano deadpanned.

"I'm always so busy!" Clare whined, irritating Takano.

"Well then you shouldn't of decided to be a mangaka" Takano said as his car stopped in front of Clare's apartment building.

Clare waved goodbye, and went up to Usami's door, knocking.

"I'm back from the signing!" Clare sing-songed as she opened the door, finding Takahashi about to kiss Usami.

At Clare's walking in, Takahashi stumbled backwards onto the floor, red in the face.

Usami smiled.

"Good job" Usami said, inviting her inside.

"I got this cake for a celebration!" Clare said, putting the cake down onto the table.

"Oh, and Takahashi, I got you a signed copy of the book as well, since I figured you liked manga and all" Clare said, handing over the book.

Takahashi grumbled something about his sexuality before taking the book.

"Now let's eat some cake!" Clare cheered, looking down at the chocolate cake.

"I agree" Usami grunted as he went to the kitchen to get plates and a knife.

After eating all the cake and talking about what the next book should be about, Clare said her goodbyes and walked into her apartment.

Clare sighed in relief as she laid down on her couch and turned on the television.

"_The mangakapro awards are coming up soon, here are the lists of nominee's"_

Clare rolled her eyes and opened a pudding container, but then almost chocking when she heard

"_The Perfect Plan, Clare Mirian"_

"WHAT?" Clare spat as she looked up to see her novel on the screen for a brief moment before they continued count. About two seconds after this, her phone rang.

She answered it instantly

"Congratulations. You've been nominated" Takano's voice grunted over the phone.

"BE MORE EXCITED! I'VE BEEN NOMINATED!" Clare yelled.

"I'm sorry if my enthusiasm isn't enough around midnight" Takano deadpanned.

Clare looked over at her clock.

"YOU'LL BE EXCITED IN THE MORNING, I HAVE TO TELL USAMI!"

She cried before hanging up and racing across the hall.

"USAMI! DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS!" Clare cried, opening the door, seeing Usami watching television.

"Yes I did" Usami said.

"Good job" he grunted.

"YOU'LL BE MORE ENTHUSIASTIC IN THE MORNING!" she sang as she slammed the door and raced back to her apartment.

"AAAAAH!" Clare yelled as she danced around her apartment.

"I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL BE ABLE TO SLEEP!" Clare yelled.

After receiving a warning from the landlord, she decided it would be good to rest her head for now.

"Everyone will be more enthusiastic in the morning. Just wait" she mumbled as she fell asleep.


	6. The case of the dinner party

**((I wasn't happy with the ending, so I edited it slightly, enjoy!))**

* * *

><p>Clare woke up with her face resting against the floor.<p>

She was always a restless sleeper, but recently sleeping was becoming more and more alluring as she stayed up most nights. She hadn't won the award, but the nomination was enough to motivate her to work hard, and for once Takano hadn't said a word as she sketched. She still of course had to go over to his apartment every day, and her only true comfort was Onodera, who could understand having to deal with Takano every day.

However recently Takano had become bitter, and her stays at his apartment getting cut short, last time she had only been there for about half an hour before Takano kicked her out. Today was her nomination party, and she invited Takano, Usami, Takahashi, and Onodera, considering how much of a help they had been.

Of course Usami's editor had argued (even though personally she got along great with Aikawa), but in the end she won, allowing an hour for the white haired man to be there. It might have been awkward, with her being the only woman, but she brushed this thought off considering they were all gay.

She walked out of her bedroom in her favorite dinosaur pajamas, and found Takahashi passed out on the floor.

"TAKAHASHI?!" Clare yelled, shaking the small man.

Takahashi woke up with a start, looking around the room.

"This… Isn't Usagi's penthouse" he observed, looking around.

"What are you doing in here?" Clare asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Usagi forced me to go out with him, and I think I got drunk" Takahashi replied.

"You DID get drunk" Clare corrected.

Takahashi blinked a few times before getting up.

"I better go back to Usagi's apartment before he does something stupid" he grumbled, opening the door and walking out, leaving Clare's door open.

Clare let out a sigh and walked towards the door to shut it, and looked over at Usami's now open door to see a sleep-deprived Usami bear hugging Takahashi.

"Usagi! Let me down!" Takahashi cried, flailing his legs.

"I was worried sick, where were you?" Usami said, concern laced in his voice.

"I was in Clare's apartment!" Takahashi managed to choke out, and it became evident to Clare his hug tightened with every word Takahashi spoke. Clare held back a laugh, these two were quite the pair.

"Still coming tonight?" Clare asked, Usami's attention diverted to her.

"Yes, we still are" Usami confirmed, turning to Takahashi, turning around, and shutting the door with his foot. Clare had learned to shut her door before the shrieking began, but sometimes it would ring clear into her bedroom. _And Usami never gets warnings from the landlord._ Clare thought, grumpy.

* * *

><p><p>

Clare was sitting in a booth at one of the best restaurants in Tokyo, alone.

_This is natural. It's my editor and a famous novelist, they probably have good reasons to be late _she thought to herself, twiddling her thumbs.

When Takano showed up, with a red-faced Onodera in tow, he waved and sat down.

"Sorry for being late" Takano apologized, Clare waving it off.

"It's okay, was there traffic?" Clare asked, Onodera becoming an even deeper shade of red.

"Oh yes, _lots of traffic" _Takano said, Onodera racing off into the restroom.

Clare lifted an eyebrow, but decided to ignore it once Usami showed up, with Takahashi behind him.

"Sorry I'm late, Usagi lost his manuscript" Takahashi said, sliding into the booth.

Usami muttered something about Takahashi's pants, and Clare lifted an eyebrow.

"I see" she said, flicking open the menu.

"Don't worry about it, tonight's on me!" Clare exclaimed.

"You really don't have to, this is your nomination party" Onodera said as he walked back over to the booth, seemingly composed since he had run off to the bathroom.

"Psh, I've barely spent a drop of money since I've started working, _someone _has been making my meals the months I've been working" Clare stated, smiling at Onodera

"You really don't have to be so nice, 'the pressure is supposed to help me work'" Clare quoted, giving a quick glare to Takano, who shrugged as if he didn't understand.

Usami lifted an eyebrow to Takano, and looked as if he was about to say something, when Takahashi suddenly blurted out

"Oh wow they have Fondue! Let's get some Fondue guys!" he squeaked, accompanied by nervous laughter, Onodera nodding his head rapidly in agreement.

"Oh I love Fondue!" Clare said, looking down the menu, then swallowing at the price.

"They really don't waste any expense here do they" Clare said with a shudder.

"It can't be that ba- Oh" Onodera said, his eyes widening at the price.

"I'll cover it then" Usami said, pulling out a card.

"Usami are you sure?" Clare asked.

"I live in a penthouse and own a red sports car. I'm pretty sure" Usami replied.

"Oh my, is someone gloating?" Clare asked.

"I'm not gloating, I'm just stating the facts" Usami said, becoming slightly irritated

"Your gloating" Clare decided, but let him pay anyways.

When the Fondue came, Clare could barely hold in her appetite. She had resisted the urge to eat the remaining bear puffs earlier, to hold her appetite. But now that the food was infront of her, she reached forward and began to feast.

"Onodera, want some? This kind is really good!" Clare said, smiling.

Onodera smiled back and nodded, reaching forward for one, only to find Takano grabbing his hand as well.

"Let's eat together" Takano said with a smile. Onodera went red in the face and flailed his hand away.

"I-idiot! You'll eat the whole thing!" Onodera protested, making Takano frown.

"Ehehehe, guys, you don't have to share!" Clare tried to ease the situation.

"See? Clare agrees with me!" Onodera said, and that broke Takano's restraint.

"I would like it if you would stop talking about Clare" Takano's voice said, clearly irritated

"Takano, not in front of her" Onodera began, to be cut off by Takano again

"Why are you so careful about her? Do you love her?" Takano snapped, Onodera's eyes widening.

"Are you… jealous?" Onodera said, eyes widening.

Takano folded his arms, looking down at the table.

"Takano, there's nothing going on between me and Onodera!" Clare panicked.

"I know that, you don't meet anyone's standards" Takano grunted, making Clare angry.

"Then why are you upset?" Onodera asked.

"You're always making food for her and talking with her, you should be doing those things with ME" Takano argued.

Onodera went red in the face, and sputtered out a reply.

"W-well, if you wanted me to do that, y-you could have asked" Onodera stuttered.

Takano's eyes widened slightly, then he grinned and grabbed Onodera, pulling him closer to Takano's side.

"I'll make sure to take advantage of that" Clare heard Takano whisper.

Clare let out a sigh, she was glad that hadn't ended badly. Usami seemed to be focused on feeding Takahashi, who was having none of it.

"I'm- not- a- child!" Takahashi protested between Usami's attempts to put the food in his open mouth.

"You act like one" Usami muttered.

"I HEARD THAT" Takahashi yelled, Usami finally managing to stuff the food into his mouth. Takahashi looked defeated, but chewed and swallowed none the less.

"It's good" Takahashi decided.

The rest of the night was spent eating, and eventually drinking. Clare got herself incredibly drunk, as did Takahashi and Onodera, while it appeared Takano and Usami held their alcohol well. Clare only remembered taking about two drinks before effectively passing out.


	7. Junjo Help

Clare felt hopeless.

She had never experienced writers block before. However it was painful. Mentally painful. Perhaps she had drunken too much, and the hangover erased the thoughts from her head, but as she sat, looking down at her blank drawing board, she had never felt blanker in her entire life.

Clare picked up her phone, and dialed up Takano. When he answered the phone, she was met by his deep voice.

"GET TO WORK" his voice rang into the receiver before he hung up.

Clare sighed, putting her phone back. So much for editor encouragement. Quite honestly she didn't know what she expected in her moody manager, who was always giving her a hard time. Onodera had said he could be nice if he wanted to, but she hadn't seen that yet. He was mostly just a cranky old man who yelled at her to do her work.

Clare heard a knock on her door, and opened it to find a young boy at the door. About 18 probably. That's funny, she was told that a famous mangaka was coming over to help her.

"Can I help you?" Clare asked rubbing her eyes.

"I was told to come over today. Right Tori?" The boy said, and suddenly a taller man appeared behind him.

"This is the address" he replied.

"Wait…Yoshino Chiaki?" Clare asked.

"That's my name!" he said with a smile.

_He doesn't look old enough to live on his own yet! _Clare said in her mind, plastering a regular smile onto her face.

"Well come on in!" she said, gesturing inside.

The two men walked into her apartment, and Chiaki eyed the drawing table with concern

"Where's the manuscript?" Chiaki asked.

"I… uh… don't have a plot line rolling yet" Clare admitted, waiting for the yelling to start.

It didn't however, and Chiaki simply giggled. He sounded so young.

"Just for curiosities sake, how old are you Yoshino?" Clare asked.

"I'm 28, why do you ask?" Chiaki answered, Clare jumping a little.

"I.. was just wondering that's all" Clare answered with a nervous laugh.

'Tori' gave Clare a look that seemed to say _Believe me, I know how you feel _and she nodded in response.

"So… is Tori short for something?" Clare asked, the man giving a nod.

"Yoshiyuki Hatori" he grunted, and Clare smiled.

"Well, I'm Mirian Clare, pleasure to meet you!" Clare introduced herself.

Clare's phone suddenly rang, and she ran over to answer it.

"Hi! This is Clare" Clare answered.

"Hi! This is one of the editors from Emerald, can you please tell Yoshiyuki Hatori that he needs to come over now?" a voice asked.

"Oh, sure!" Clare replied, turning towards Hatori. "Yoshiyuki, Emerald called, they need you. Now"

Hatori nodded, and turned towards Chiaki, explaining to him.

Chiaki nodded, and Hatori leaned in and kissed Chiaki full on the lips before he left.

"Boyfriend?" Clare asked the cherry red Chiaki.

"Y-yes" Chiaki stuttered.

"I don't mind" Clare smiled.

"R-right. So, do you have any plot ideas at least?" Chiaki started.

Clare began to list off the ideas she had scrapped off, and Chiaki told her to keep some and throw away others. Eventually she had a plot, even if she didn't feel too strongly about it, but Chiaki told her it was just writer's block, and it always made people feel unsatisfied with their work. Clare offered some bear puffs, which mysteriously began to show up at her door since last month.

By the end of the day, she had the first few pages set up, and she was feeling good, though still slightly uneasy.

"So, who's your editor?" Chiaki asked.

"I got Takano Masamune" Clary said, glumly.

"Takano? I've heard Tori talk about Takano. He uses some choice wording" Chiaki said with a giggle.

"Well I certainly don't blame him. Who's your editor?" Clare asked.

"You couldn't tell? Tori is my editor" Chiaki explained.

"And he is your boyfriend too? How do you deal with him when he yells at you to get your work done?" She asked.

"Tori has never really yelled at me to get my work done. He offers some criticism, but that's really the worst thing he does" Chiaki replied, Clare becoming furious

"That damn Takano, he is always pressuring me to do my work! And even when I do finish it, he's never satisfied!" Clare growled, slamming her fist onto the drawing table.

"Calm down there! I'm sure he's just doing what he thinks is best! Have you ever heard him yell at his other authors?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, loads of times" Clare answered.

"Well then he is just doing what he's always done. Think of it like… Instinct" Chiaki tried to explain.

"Instinct?" Clare echoed, before letting out a snort. "Some instinct"

"Maybe he doesn't know better?" Chiaki guessed with a shrug.

"Probably not" Clare huffed, eyeing her manuscript.

Chiaki sensed her uneasiness, and attempted to comfort her.

"Its fine, I promise!" he said, as a knock rang on the door.

"I'll get it!" Clare jumped, walking to her door. It was Hatori.

"I'm back" he grunted.

"Welcome back Yoshiyuki!" Clare cheered, letting him in.

Hatori walked over to the drawing table, inspecting her manuscript.

"So this is just an idea right?" Hatori asked.

"Well, yes" Clare answered.

"Try to add more emotion into it, your emotional moments only run for about 2 pages, try to extend them" Hatori suggested.

"Alright!" Clare cheered, heading back over to the drawing table.

"Yoshino, there had been a problem with printing, you're going to have to redraw some things, which means we have to go" Hatori said.

"Oh! I'd better go then!" Chiaki exclaimed, waving to Clare.

"Its fine! I've got some pages to work on" Clare chimed, and smiled to herself when the door shut.

"Right! Work doesn't do itself!" Clare reminded herself. She was about to start when someone entered her apartment. It was Usami.

"It wouldn't kill you to knock" Clare deadpanned and Usami walked up and looked at the page.

"This…" Usami started, suddenly stopping.

"What?" Clare asked.

"It's nothing. Do you have any bear puffs left?" Usami asked.

"There in the top cabinet, why?" Clare replied.

"Misaki failed a test, I'm trying to cheer him up" Usami replied.

"Oh! That's too bad! Should I go wi-" Clare started, before she interrupted.

"No. Misaki is mine to comfort" Usami said with an amusing amount of clinginess playing on his voice.

"Alright, alright! But remember: Ravishing does not always make him feel better" Clare said, before receiving a smirk from Usami as he left.

_Poor Takahashi, I guess he didn't study hard enough. _Clare thought.

_Well you don't have the right, you BARELY passed college _her mind reminded her.

Clare brushed off college memories before she continued working on her manuscript. College was not a good time, this one kid had a pet chicken, it was so weird.


	8. The case of the redraw

Clare's terrible day started with a letter. This letter would soon become more letters, and they would all say basically the same thing.

"Stop using Usami as one of your characters… He's a perfectly straight man… Just because you're jealous doesn't give you a right…" Clare read over the last letter.

Clare's influence of being constantly surrounded by Usami and his lover must have rubbed off on her a bit too much. But the resemblance couldn't be that bad? Right? Clare picked up the most recent book that had been published, and to her horror there was Usami and Takahashi staring right back at her on the cover.

"I'm going to get hell for this" Clare muttered.

It was then when Takahashi burst into Clare's apartment, clutching the same book.

"WHAT… IS… THIS?" Takahashi choked.

"…I'm sorry?" Clare tried.

"Oh god, if onii-chan gets a hold of this…" Clare heard Takahashi mutter

"I-its fine! I can fix it!" Clare attempted to soothe him, but to no avail.

"USAGI OWNS 2 COPIES OF THIS" Takahashi screeched.

It was no sooner than he had said this, that Usami had appeared in the doorway.

"I was hoping no one would notice" Usami said when Clare made eye contact.

"NO ONE WOULD NOTICE?" Clare found herself screeching "ITS LIKE AN EXACT REPLICA!"

"That means your good at drawing" Usami said, calming down Clare.

"How am I going to deal with this" Clare groaned, falling onto her couch.

"Apologize and fix it" Usami suggested.

"I guess, but what kind of apology can I make to hundreds of upset women?" Clare replied.

"Any apology you want" Usami replied before throwing Takahashi over his shoulder and walking out.

Clare let out a yell of frustration as she attempted to take a nap on her couch.

This process was interrupted by another knock on her door.

"Usami" Clare muttered into her pillow before getting up and answering the door.

"I told you I'm-" Clare's sentence was cut off when Usami was not the person at the door. It was a butler.

"Hello, I am here from the Usami household" the butler introduced.

"Oh…" Clare muttered.

"The lord Usami wishes to speak with you" the butler continued.

"He lives across the hall, I can just walk ove-" Clare began.

"Ah, no. This is the older brother" The butler interrupted.

"Oh." Clare replied. Clare had heard Usami talk about his older brother's encounters with Takahashi, and it made him sound deranged.

Clare was about to close the door before he could come in, but found while she was thinking, he had slipped in and was sitting on her couch.

"Hello, " He introduced.

Usami's big brother was handsome. Did it run in the family? He had brown hair, and he was wearing a suit, black glasses perched on his nose.

"Please sit down, I need to discuss something with you" He continued.

"Oh… Okay…" Clare trailed off, cautiously sitting on the other end of the couch.

"My name is Haruhiko Usami" he introduced himself. "And I think your aware of your recent book's contents"

Clare swallowed before speaking.

"I promise I can fix it, I was just about to start on it!" Clare lied. She definitely didn't have the money to deal with a lawsuit from a family that had a butler.

"That's not what I wanted to discuss" Haruhiko interrupted.

"I would like you to redraw this novel, with me instead of my brother. But make no other changes" Haruhiko said.

"What?" Clare said. She was expected something much worse.

"Of course" Haruhiko said, snapping his fingers, causing the butler to place a suitcase on the table. "This service won't go without reward" he finished as the butler opened the suitcase to reveal it filled to the brim with money.

"…Oh" was all Clare could reply as she stared wide-eyed at the suitcase.

"So, do we have a deal?" Haruhiko proposed.

"Yeah" Clare replied.

Haruhiko was up and about to leave, when Clare realized something.

"What about the other character, who do you want that to be?" Clare asked.

"I don't want you to change the other character, only me" Haruhiko replied.

"But the other character is an actual person, I have to-" Clare was interrupted

"The other person is Takahashi, correct?" Haruhiko interrupted.

"Yes, that's why I need to-" Clare was rapidly becoming irritated with these interruptions.

"Exactly, I want Takahashi as the second person. If you change that, the deal is off" Haruhiko finished, before shutting the door behind him.

Clare had to seriously think this decision over. Takahashi would be upset, and she could handle that, but Usami would definitely hate it, and that's what would make this a difficult decision. Usami was Clare's mentor, and not to mention the pressure on Takahashi would become much worse. But then her eyes fell down onto the suitcase…

Clare knocked on Usami's door and waited patiently. When no one answered, she assumed they couldn't hear and opened the door to see Takahashi sitting on the couch, sleeping. Good, it would have been awkward to tell him.

"Usami…" Clare called out.

"What?" Usami said, appearing in the doorway of his bedroom.

"…I'm considering sending each letter an apology in reply" Clare lied.

Ugh, feeling guilty is awful.

But Clare wouldn't have to publish it, so what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"And you came to tell me because…?" Usami asked.

"I was just wondering if you were okay with that" Clare replied.

"Well its good, you can go work on that" Usami said, walking back into his bedroom.

"…Right" Clare replied, sauntering out of his apartment.

Clare sat down at her desk and found a picture of Haruhiko with a note attached.

_A picture of me, for refrence._

_ Haruhiko Usami_

Clare set the picture aside and began to draw. Every time she finished drawing a rough outline of Takahashi, she felt a pang of guilt.

"He won't see it, its fine" Clare breathed.

"Won't see what?"

Clare screeched and swung her hand behind her, and her wrist was grabbed before she could land a hit. It was Chiaki.

"Calm down there! It's just me!" he exclaimed with a grin.

"Sorry, I'm kind of on edge" Clare apologized.

"What are you doing?" Chiaki asked, looking over at her work.

Clare explained the situation, and Chiaki was frowning when she looked back over.

"Well if it makes you feel guilty don't do it" Chiaki stated.

"Do you see that suitcase" Clare said, pointing to the open suitcase on her table.

"That's my rent for about 3 or 4 years! I wouldn't have to worry about losing this place!" Clare stressed.

"I've been running behind on my rent too" Chiaki admitted.

"Well you and I have the same job, except I don't really have any assistants" Clare replied.

"You should get some! I have a friend who does really good edits!" Chiaki suggested.

"Is he gay too?" Clare asked.

"Well… Yes" Chiaki admitted.

"Then he sounds great! Send him over anytime!" Clare cheered.

"I bet he'll be happy to meet you!" Chiaki cheered in response.

Suddenly, Chiaki's phone rang, he answered it, and became visibly stressed after a few moments.

"I have to go. Right now" Chiaki said before running out the door.

"Bye!" Clare yelled after him.

Clare sighed and turned back to her drawing table.

Clare had some serious thinking to do.


	9. Junjo Assistant

Clare was sweating bullets as he kept her eyes focused on Haruhiko.

She had done it. She had redrawn the whole thing with him in it. And… Takahashi was there as well. Clare really hated it. She really did. But she could just buy something for Takahashi to make him feel better. A no-hard-feelings present.

"This is good" Haruhiko said, closing the manuscript.

"Tanaka" he said, snapping his fingers. "Take this to the mansion and put it in a book cover"

"Yes sir" The butler, Tanaka, said as he picked up the manuscript and replaced it with a briefcase.

"Your payment" Haruhiko said, laying the briefcase on the table.

He began to leave, when Clare spoke up.

"Wait" she said "You're not going to publish that, right?"

Haruhiko let out a chuckle and said

"I'm not going to publish it"

And then closed the door behind him.

Good. Clare couldn't begin to imagine the hell she would be given if it was published. She opened the briefcase and stared down at the money. She felt a pang of guilt, and slammed it shut.

"Just give it time, it'll blow off" Clare said out-loud to herself. She then remembered she had hired her first assistant from Chiaki, and had to tidy up the place before he arrived. She hoped he was nice, well he had to be if he was friends with Chiaki.

A loud knock resounded on the door, and Clare scrambled up from her couch and went to the door.

There stood a young man who did not look happy at all. In fact, he looked very, VERY angry.

"Are you… Chiaki's friend?" Clare asked cautiously.

"Yeah" he grunted in reply, brushing pass her into her apartment.

"An introduction would be nice…" Clare muttered to herself as she shut the door.

"I'm Yanase. Yanase Yuu" he introduced himself.

"Well I guess if your my assistant I can give you a nickname!" Clare chirped.

"Don't you dare" she heard Yanase reply, but she ignored it.

"Sooo, how about… Yan-Yan?" Clare tried, making him look more angry then when he had walked in.

"If you dare call me 'Yan-Yan' again…" Yanase warned, sitting down at the extra drawing table she had set up.

"What kind of manga do you draw? Chiaki wouldn't tell me" Yanase asked.

"Oh, I do BL" Clare answered, and went pale at Yanase's expression.

It was the purest form of disgust.

Clare then understood why Chiaki refused to say anything.

"ITS NOT LIKE THAT!" Clare shrieked "I PROMISE ON MY HONOR I HAVEN'T DRAWN ANYTHING LIKE _THAT_ SINCE I WAS BORN!"

Yanase seemed to seem slightly less disgusted, but he just sighed a long and very deep sigh and picked up a pen.

"Just hand it over" Yanase said, gesturing to the manuscript.

"Oh! Right!" Clare pricked, placing the manuscript gently on his desk.

Yanase frowned just by looking at the first page.

"Your editor must have a hell of a time with this" she heard Yanase grumble.

Clare felt like wringing his neck and apologizing sincerely at the same time.

They continued to work in an awkward silence, until Clare decided to break the ice.

"So, how did you meet Chiaki?" Clare decided was a safe question.

Looking down she saw for a only a millisecond a flash of hurt, then an ugly scowl took its place.

"Why do you want to know?" he snapped.

"I can't ask a simple question?" Clare retorted.

"…We've known each other since junior high" Yanase admitted after several moments, and Clare let out a mental sigh.

Now she just had to keep it steady.

"Oh? I've never really known anyone for THAT long" Clare replied, trying to word herself carefully.

"I can see why" Yanase muttered under his breath.

Once again, the strangling feeling was creeping up.

"I think I've only known this one guy from highschool, he became a barber I think" Clare attempted to talk again.

"Look, can we just work?" Yanase interrupted.

"Alright, if that's what'll make you happy" Clare gave up, and returned to her drawing table.

Well, Clare didn't give up for long.

"How about Hatori? How long have you known him?" Clare decided to ask.

Once again, baaad question.

This time his face contorted into a look full of hatred, his maroon eyes making Clare feel suddenly very pressured.

"Right. Personal. Sorry" Clare quivered, turning back to her table.

Then, Yanase began to talk.

"How long have you known your barber friend?" Yanase suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, since we were in highschool. I kinda had a little crush on him" Clare giggled.

"Really? How is he now?" Yanase asked.

"Oh. Well I called up on him last week, apparently he's dating a celebrity!" Clare explained.

"Really? The only celebrity I would know is Chiaki, and he pretends to be a girl" Yanase said, accompanied by what sounded like… soft laughter?

"Yeah, I was confused on that to, has he always done that?" Clare asked.

"He thought it would be weird to draw girly manga like that as a man, so he got a female penname" Yanase explained.

"Well, I guess I can't blame him, Usami has a pen name for his novels as well" Clare said.

"Wait… Usami? Award winning novel author Akihiko Usami?" Yanase repeated.

"Oh! No! Well… Yes. He writes BL novels on the side with a female pen name" Clare admitted.

"Pff, I can't believe it" Yanase smirked.

"Don't tell anyone okay? Usami could lose some serious credit as an author if this got out!" Clare stressed.

"Its fine, I won't tell" Yanase replied.

"Hey Yan-Yan?" Clare asked.

Yanase looked like he was going to protest his forced nickname, but he suddenly decided against it.

"Do you think this is good. I mean, Usami's novels are REALLY good, and I'm kind of unsure as of late" Clare confessed.

Yanase looked down at the manuscript, then up at her.

"Well, I wouldn't really ever read something like this, but I think the emotional moments need to be increased slightly more. The people who read Chiaki's novels go crazy over those emotional moments" Yanase recommended.

"I have trouble with drawing cheesy stuff like that" Clare whined.

"Well its your novel, I'm just helping" Yanase continued.

"You mean you'll be back tomorrow Yan-Yan?" Clare squeaked.

"Don't call me Yan-Yan!" Yanase complained.

"You will be back tomorrow?" Clare pressed.

"It's not like I have anything better to do" Yanase admitted.

"Woo! Yan-Yan! I'm happy!" Clare cheered, looking over at the clock.

"Oh! It's almost midnight Yan-Yan! You should go home before you get too tired to drive!" Clare said, helping Yanase put away his things.

Yanase muttered something about Yan-Yan and began to pack up his things.

Before he left, Clare yelled down the hall

"SEE YOU TOMORROW YAN-YAN!"


	10. The Case of the Caught Criminal

Clare could be doing so many things work-related and beneficial to her job, and yet here she was eating bear puffs and watching television. She didn't really have to finish her manuscript until tomorrow, so she could take the day off if she wanted, right? It was for the most part relaxing if she managed to ignore Takahashi's shrieks coming from across the hall. Usami didn't really have a lot of self-restraint when it came to his flatmate, did he? She chewed on another bear puff as she considered her life. For the majority of her career as a mangaka, she had been surrounded by men (Kind of surprising considering the genre she worked on). All of them had been homosexuals. There was Aikawa, she was nice, thought most of the time Clare saw her stressed out as Usami's house, yelling at him to finish his work. Perhaps if Clare herself wrote novels instead of drawing manga, Aikawa could have been her editor? It would have been leagues better than Stupid Idiot Moronic Editor Takano-

Before she could finish her thoughts, her cellphone rang. She had several guesses as to who that could be. She answered the call, and immediately was met with his grumpy Editor's voice. "Are you working, Mirian?" He grumbled, and Clare let out a sarcastic laugh. "Of course I'm working Takano! You think I, a human being with basic needs, would even consider taking a break because by stupid Editor won't stop shouting at me? I would never!" She could hear his irritation rise with every word she said.

"Don't make me come over there, Mirian!" Takano's voice became intimidating, but Clare had heard that tone far too many times to be scared of it any more.

"Yeah, yeah Takano! I'll get to work!" She sighed before hanging up, not listening to Takano's lecture. By then Clare had noticed her neighbor's shrieking had finally stopped. She grabbed her manuscript and headed across the hall. She used to knock, considering their privacy, but if one of them was going to keep her up all night ravishing his lover, then Clare would bust in on them whenever she pleased without mercy. There was the common scene she always saw: A flustered Takahashi, standing at the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with a certain silver-haired Akihiko Usami.

"Usachi? I've got the manuscript ready!" Clare had started calling him Usachi a few weeks ago, and he didn't seem to mind the nickname. She just could never bring herself to call him Usagi. He was definitely not a cute and cuddly rabbit!

"Alright, let me see it." Usachi held out his hand for the manuscript, and Clare handed it over. She casually looked over at what Takahashi (now nicknamed 'Misachi' to match his lover), was cooking. He wasn't actually cooking anything, he was just doing something to keep him from looking at Usachi. "Ehh? Misachi, why aren't you cooking anything?" Clare asked, slightly disappointed. Misachi looked up, startled by her presence. He was definitely thinking about something.

There had always been times where Clare would talk to Misachi, where he would just look like he was in deep thought. Granted, it irritated the crap out of her when she was ignored for whatever homo thoughts floated in his head. Of course, it was still kind of difficult to talk to him after the whole ordeal with Usachi's brother and that manga edit. She had for the most part gotten over it, but sometimes looking at Misachi made her feel just a tad bit guilty again.

"I-I just got a little distracted and forgot to take out the ingredients! How silly of me!" He let out a bit of nervous laughter, and Clare lifted a suspicious brow but decided to ignore it. Usachi was lingering behind her, also staring disappointingly at the lack of food. "Hurry up and make something then Misachi! I'm starving!" Clare whined, and the brunette nodded, walking to the fridge to pull out ingredients."

Usachi had returned back to his place at the couch, looking over her manuscript again. It of course made her nervous, thinking of high-class award winning novelist like him judging BL manga that she herself had slaved over, but she supposed that was more of a blessing than a curse. She was sure there was a line of people (especially women) who would probably murder Clare on the spot to get the advice she normally got.

Clare's phone began to ring again, and she sighed before she picked it up and read the contact.

'Haruhiko Usami' was the name on the screen. _'B-BIG BROTHER USACHI?!' _Mirian mentally panicked as she darted out of the apartment without saying a word. She gingerly answered the call, anticipating what would be said. "Hello? Is this Miss Mirian Clare?" The voice on the end asked. "A-Ah, yes! That's me! Is there something you needed?" Her voice was clearly nervous, and she was met with what sounded like soft laughter. "You must remember me, yes? We had business quite a while ago." Clare swallowed. So it really was him. What could he possibly want with her now?!

"I'm afraid I must inform you of some... unfortunate mishaps." Haruhiko's voice was calm, but it was doing nothing for Clare's accelerating heart beat. "M-Mishaps you say?" Clare laughed nervously, and Usachi's big brother continued. "You see, one of my family members has found that present you made for me, and intends to bring it directly to Usami."

"...What?" Clare could only really say one thing as her mind processed these words, and then she said it once again. "...WHAT?!" She panicked, her grip on her phone tightening it. "W-What do you mean they're bringing it directly to him?! When are they getting here-" Suddenly, Clare found herself looking directly at a well-dressed woman staring judgmentally at her. "I'm afraid that's all I have to say. Good day, Miss Mirian." Haruhiko hung up, and Clare stood there staring at the woman in front of her. "U-Um... Miss...?" She stuttered, and all the woman did was huff and brush past her into the flat.

_'...SHE HAS THE MANUSCRIPT!' _Clare mentally panicked and went after her, only to see the woman talking to Usachi, handing him a book that was most likely the object of importance. "Can you believe he had this? He's disgusting, honestly!" The woman was talking in a snobbish tone, and Clare watched helplessly as Usachi's mood plummeted with every page he looked over. There was the small string of hope that he wouldn't recognize her art style, but that cord was cut once Usachi began glaring right at her.

And to make things worse, Misachi was reading it with him.

"I... I..." Clare tried to form up some kind of excuse, but that had triggered the attention of the woman from earlier. "And you! You are the one who made this for him?! I'm appalled!" She immediately scolded her, reminding her of a certain editor. Misachi looked generally shocked and flustered, and Clare was 100% terrified by the look Usachi had on his face. "I... I'm just going to... leave..." She mumbled weakly, then bolted out and back into her own apartment.

She was definitely not going back into Usachi's apartment _ever again._

...At least until she had to get her manuscript back.


End file.

Junjō Romantica, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, Humor, Romance