Author's Note: Forgive me, I've been watching too much Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and just felt the publishing industry would be the best place for Kaoru. This was written off the top of my head, so it hasn't got a clear direction yet.

As always, thank you for any constructive feedback and/or support. I'm not really confident about the beginning, but maybe the rest works out. The characters are meant to be older and there are some nice OCs.

"NORO HOUSE"

Chapter 1: A Very Pale Blue

'You're going into publishing?' cried Hikaru, throwing off his shades at Kaoru's sudden announcement.

On the sun-lounger next to him, the younger twin flicked a page as he read a novel in English, answering just as Hikaru was on the verge of repeating himself. 'It's true. It's what I've decided,' he said.

They were resting by an open-air pool near the mansion, sipping a mixture of cocktails on a hot, cloudless day.

'So you're not taking fashion?'

'I studied Modern Literature. It's a little late for that.'

'Not really. You could be a journalist on the fashion scene. There's plenty of time…'

'No, thanks.'

'But you'd be good at it.'

'No, thanks.'

'But–'

Kaoru slammed his book shut. 'Why do you want me to go into fashion?'

'Because you're talented, aren't you? And you have some great ideas. We could work together and everything!'

'Well I don't want to go into fashion. I want to do something else.'

'Have you talked with Mum and Dad about this?'

'Of course I have. You were there.' Kaoru flinched as hands pinned his wrists, blocking his view of the sky. He could feel his brother trembling and sense the number of thoughts racing through the other twin's mind. 'Just because you've spent a few months travelling around Europe, doesn't mean that I have to stay still in one place,' Kaoru said, calmly. 'I've made up my mind. This is what I want to do. Will you try to support me?'

Hikaru softened his grip and placed a tender kiss on Kaoru's face. 'I'll support you,' Hikaru murmured, 'and I'll miss you a lot.'

'Thank you, Hika,' smiled Kaoru, and gave his twin a hug.

Everyone thought he was going to be in fashion, that he would inherit the Hitachiin portfolio and continue the work of his mother, expanding on her concepts and creating his own, but for the youngest Hitachiin, this was simply not the case. He wanted to do something different and his choice was to go into publishing.

While his family had contacts in the industry, they were not contacts he could have easily appealed to. Their specialities lay in areas such as telecommunication and marketing; they knew no one who could provide a proper introduction into publishing. So Kaoru tried his friends, casually enquiring if they knew any printers, editors, salespeople, anyone, only to learn that the traditional contacts of any business erred towards the boring side. For instance, they published medical journals for the Ootoris, and wrote business columns for the Suous – areas in publishing which failed to interest him.

But just as he was about to give up, one of his mother's friends recalled an editor they met at a function and presented the original business card for Kaoru's reference.

Yasushi
Noro Publishing

Editor-in-chief

What is he, arrogant? Kaoru thought when he first saw the name. It was etched in katakana like a foreigner's and the family name was missing.

'Will you be giving him a call?' asked Hikaru, peering over Kaoru's shoulder. They were about to part for the third time in a month, now that Hikaru was a businessman. The older twin had no taste for books, preferring the pursuit of graphic design and how to promote the Hitachiin label through the online medium. Rather than art (or even science, his other forte), Hikaru had studied international business and marketing, and spent some months in London, Paris, and Milan on various programmes intended to teach him the tricks of the trade. He was fluent in three languages – Japanese, French, and English – and though he often joked that Italian was too hard and would never become his fourth, he was more or less fluent.

Sighing, Kaoru called the number, and walked to the foyer to see his brother off. What do I have to lose? His major had been modern literature with English, and the extent of his travels had been to the States on an Ivy League language exchange. Compared to Hikaru, this was hardly something to brag and there were many times when Kaoru had considered altering his course. Should he have gone into business and become fluent in several languages? Maybe his parents would have liked him to choose a major in tune with the family business? No, the point of all this was to create a brand new Kaoru, the younger twin reminded himself, so copying his brother would never have worked.

'There,' said Kaoru, after speaking with Noro Publishing, 'it's done.'

And a few weeks later, he was able to finally meet Yasushi in person and brought with him a cover note, curriculum vitae, and references, just in case this was really an interview. So much time had passed since Kaoru made the call that he might as well have forgotten all about it, disguising his initial disappointment at hearing nothing back with frenetic attempts for a doctorate in both the States and Japan. In fact, he was about to complete an acceptance letter for Tokyo University when the Editor-in-chief deigned to respond and he dropped everything straight away to chase this one opportunity…

'Good morning, sir,' the receptionist greeted him, when he eventually arrived in the foyer of Noro Publishing. She was older than Kaoru imagined over the telephone, speaking with a youthful voice, despite her forty years. 'Do you have an appointment today?'

'Yes,' Kaoru told her. 'I'm here to meet the Editor-in-chief.'

Her eyes crinkled above the line of her desk, and swiftly, she issued a visitor's card, which Kaoru accepted with a charming grin. Unaffected, she nodded politely towards the waiting area, where comfortable seats and coffee tables were lined on the polished floor. Inclining his chin, Kaoru strolled over to the nearest table and idly browsed through a company magazine published by Noro itself, as well as a number of journals related to the publishing industry. As far as Kaoru could tell, Noro was the kind of publisher who liked to have fun and this was evident from the latest edition of Manga-me, a mini brochure of what the company had to offer.

Momentarily, he glanced up at the sound of sliding doors and the brisk steps of a dark-eyed man striding silently through the foyer. The receptionist smiled warmly in the man's direction, only to receive the briefest of nods as he passed the high counter of her desk and headed for the stairs.

Who was that? Kaoru wondered, watching the man disappear. Don't tell me everyone who works here is actually serious? He finished reading Manga-me and was about to reach for another magazine just as one of the elevators opened and revealed a yawning male.

Instinctively, Kaoru sensed that this person was important.

'Sir, you have Hitachiin-san to see you,' said the receptionist, her smile very different to the one from earlier.

'Thanks,' replied the newcomer, as he approached the waiting area. He removed the slim shades resting on his nose and rubbed vigorously at his face, then slipped them into the pocket of his wrinkled shirt. 'I'm the Editor-in-chief, Yasushi. Sorry we couldn't meet earlier.'

'Hitachiin,' said Kaoru, bowing as Yasushi bowed. 'Pleased to make your acquaintance.'

'Honestly, we had these deadlines and we nearly missed two of them. In fact, it's lucky that we're still in business. We nearly lost a big contract, hahaha!'

Cautiously, Kaoru smiled, uncertain what to make of this casual admission. He was baffled as to why the Editor-in-chief would disclose such an issue so frankly. Had his mother or father done something like that, their business ties would never be the same and they would instantly lose face across more than one industry.

Who is this Yasushi guy…?

They moved from the reception hall of Noro Publishing into one of the private conference rooms, taking the first available elevator, regardless of the people already crammed within.

'Good morning,' Yasushi said to them. 'Traffic really bad?'

Nodding, everyone clutched their bags (almost in a frightened way, Kaoru noticed) and hurriedly escaped once the elevator stopped on the third floor. Slowly, he gazed from the shiny plaque announcing the sales department to the amusement still lingering on Yasushi's lips. If Kaoru was not mistaken, those were ID cards he saw for the editing team, so why was everyone getting off at the sales department? Kaoru swallowed and kept his eyes ahead. He tried not to think too deeply into this.

On the fifth floor, the elevator opened and he followed Yasushi in silence, side-stepping random bits of manuscript littering the corridor. Before he could ask if this kind of thing was normal, Yasushi paused and picked up a sheet of paper, turning it this way and that, as if he had never seen one. 'Hmm,' he remarked, 'good job that's an oldie,' and let the paper slip from his hand, much to Kaoru's consternation.

'Isn't this a manuscript? Shouldn't we be picking all of this up?'

'If you're here to be the cleaner, then be my guest, but you came here to be in publishing, am I right?' Yasushi said, coolly.

Kaoru pursed his lips. 'Of course,' he said, in a neutral tone, and walked through the door that Yasushi held ajar. The conference room was simple, designed for in-house meetings rather than impressing clientele. Tables were arranged with almost classroom precision, forming an arc in front of a whiteboard declaring the word "Fighto!"

For some reason, Kaoru knew that Yasushi had written it.

'Sit,' Yasushi commanded, panning a casual palm across the arc of tables and chairs as he yanked at the cheap plastic blinds shading the windows. There were two on either side of the whiteboard, and while Kaoru would have liked to keep them both shut for the sake of his eyes, he voiced no protests, carefully selecting a chair as distant from the windows as possible. 'Well,' said Yasushi, and took his own seat near the left end of the arc, so that his face was deliberately in shadow.

He seemed to be smiling.

'I appreciate you seeing me today,' began Kaoru. 'I know you've been busy.'

Yasushi nodded. 'I like your hair.'

Kaoru stared, not knowing what to say to that. From his leather-bound folder, he produced a brown A4 envelope and stood so he could bow to the Editor, envelope held out, but instead the man grabbed his wrist and brought him suddenly close.

'Don't you want to talk first, before we start business?'

'Is – is this some kind of test?'

For a moment, Yasushi leaned back, allowing the light to pour onto his skin. He had an intelligent face, quite like Kyouya's, except his was rugged from lack of sleep and a two-day beard. But it was not Yasushi's face which had struck Kaoru the most: it was the eyes and the fact that they were a very pale blue.

'Contact lens!' winked Yasushi, and let Kaoru go. As the younger man recovered, the cover note and curriculum vitae were quietly read, with the occasional "hmm" marking every page. 'So you don't know what to do with your life?'

Kaoru winced. Was it actually that obvious? 'I want to work in publishing and you came highly recommended.'

Yasushi raised a cynical brow. 'Who said?'

'Now that would be telling,' answered Kaoru, unable to remember.

'Hmm,' mused the Editor. 'You must be really desperate, wanting to work with me… As you've never worked in the publishing industry before, you'll have to learn everything from scratch. For the most part, you'll be shadowing my assistants, and sometimes, even myself. Six months probation, free parking, company pension – should you live that long. And I should probably call your referees to make sure you check out, but you don't look like a con or a psycho to me, so maybe I won't have to bother with that. Anyway, welcome on board. Let's go meet the team!'

Kaoru blinked, a little stunned. Did I just hear him right? Have I really got a job? He followed Yasushi from the conference room and into the elevator, dumbstruck.

I'm in publishing!

Afterword: It would be nice to hear what you thought, but if you're more into reading and marking me as a favourite, then that's okay ;)