First fanfic awww yeah! R&R!

Cake and Sarcasm

Chapter 1:

Hitome Kataki

Hitome ran out of her house in a huff. It was very early in the morning, much earlier than she would normally get up, but today was special. Today, September the 12, was the first day at her new job. From this day forward, she would be known as the assistant to the assistant of Yumi Takeyumi, Japan's most prestigious ad consultant to almost every major business agency in twelve countries across the world.

Hitome was more than a little nervous.

Checking her watch, she realized she was an hour early, but she wanted her first impression to be a good one. Hailing a taxi, Hitome clamored into the smelly, dingy back seat.

"Corner of 21st and East," she said to the driver. The driver, an overweight and somewhat greasy man, turned his head to catch a glimpse of her. He regarded her with slight interest. She had a nice body- not excessively curvy, but still fit. Her medium hair was light brown with a strong red hint to it that gave the taxi driver the impression of an autumn morning. Her voice was light and pleasing to hear, but gave off an air of inexperience and hesitancy. Her eyes, however, were by far her most striking feature. They were wide and curious, but had such a depth that the driver could not determine their exact color. He decided that the correct term to describe them would be the color of the ocean.

Hitome sat in the back seat quietly, but not contently. She nervously shuffled through the papers in her briefcase, the only other object it contained being a box of pencils, and recited her introduction repeatedly in her mind:

'Hello, my name is Hitome Kataki, your new assistant.' Wait, does that sound too forward? Hmmm… 'Well hey there! I'm Hitome Ki-' No, no, that sounds stupid…

The cab suddenly jerked to a halt. "We're here," said the driver. Hitome paid him and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The building in front of her was extremely tall and completely sleek in design.

It's okay, Hitome, she told herself confidently. Just act like you belong.

She took a deep breath and walked through the front doors.

Well, she tried to at least. The glass doors were very shiny, but not translucent. As soon as she reached for the handle, and stocky young man in a tweed suit flung it open, knocking her head-over-heels, her skirt flinging out in front of her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and quickly blushed as she straightened out her clothes. The young man helped her up with hurried apologies and immediately took off for his previous destination.

Geez, what a way to start my day, Hitome thought before walking into the building once more.

The building she had walked into was a corporate jungle. Everywhere people were talking, running to catch elevators, answering incessant telephones, or merely walking in complete concentration of some unknown but urgent work assignment.

Hitome introduced herself to everyone she saw. As if sensing fresh meat, they all pointed her to the same place. Following their directions, she made her way up several floors in the elevator, stopping at the 25th floor. She then found her way to the secretary's desk, and was waved to a door at the end of the hall. Hitome walked towards it and gasped. The plank outside the door read Yumi Takeyumi. Steeling herself, Hitome knocked and entered.

A beautiful woman sat at a large wooden desk in the middle of a modernly decorated office. A window served as the back wall, showing a magnificent view of downtown. The woman stood up, her long black hair flowed behind her back.

"Who are you?" She said, somewhat annoyed.

Hello, I'm Hitome Kataki.

"Hello, I'm Hitaki Katome."

Dammit!

"Hello, Hitaki," Takeyumi said. "I assume you are the new assistant? You're office is across the hall. Have Tammy show it to you."

"Excuse me Ms. Ta-"

"That is all," Takeyumi snapped.

Hitome slumped out of the office, following Tammy to her own small office next door. Her thoughts were of sarcastic optimism: Best. Day. Ever!

-

Hitome exited the building at 4 o'clock that afternoon. She had spent the last eight hours trying desperately to learn the ropes of her new job while simultaneously trying to convince people her name was 'Hitome' and not 'Hitaki.'

She took another cab on the way home, staring out the window to the buildings whizzing by. This was how her life felt. A dizzying blur of people, places, and events with no real purpose or meaning behind anything. She had graduated college with top marks and landed a job at a prestigious ad agency, working under one of the most respected people in the country. So why did she feel so… disappointed?

There's got to be more out there for me, she thought with determination. My life will not be meaningless.

The taxi dropped her off in front of her apartment building. She trumped up two flights of stairs to her room and entered, grabbing the newspaper on the welcome mat as she did.

She went up to her room and collapsed on her bed, not bothering to undress. She unfolded the paper and held it up to the light. The heading was the same as it had been for months: Kira strikes again: Thirty heart attacks in local prison.

It was the talk of the world. Kira: a mass murderer of convicted felons. Was he an angel sent by God? Or a ruthless being with supernatural powers? Whatever he was, he was at par with L, a world famous detective who had recently taken on the case.

Hitome had been asked countless times which side she supported. Kira or L? As of yet she had successfully avoided answering such questions, but in the depths of her heart, she secretly urged on Kira. She would never admit it out loud, but Hitome found the idea of a person bringing justice to criminals who had done horrible things somewhat romantic in theory. She even wondered why the police bothered to investigate Kira. He was doing their job, though to the extreme, after all.

Sighing, she leaned over and turned off the lights. Tomorrow she would have to return to Yumi Takeyumi, and she needed to be mentally prepared.

Meanwhile, several miles away, a detective stared into a computer screen.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," said the hunched figure.

"I brought you tea, Master L," announced an old Englishman, who carried a tray which he set on the table.

"Thank you, Watari," said the young man. When Watari didn't leave right away, the young man turned to peer at him over his shoulder. "Is there anything else?"

"Sir, it has come to my attention that you have been sitting in this room for the past few months now. You hardly go out at all."

"May I remind you of the case we are working on, Watari?" The man leaned over and picked up the cup of tea and a handful of sugar cubes. He began to drop them in one by one.

Watari nodded. "Yes, sir. But wouldn't you agree that some fresh air would do your deductive reasoning skills some good?"

The detective thought about this for a moment. "Yes… yes I suppose you may be right."

"Then may I suggest you take a day off? Maybe tomorrow you can spend time in the city. Just for one day."

The man nodded, sipping his tea. Finally, he said, "Okay. For you, I will take the day off."

"Very good, sir," said the old man. He walked out of the room, leaving the detective to hunch over his computer screen once more.