Authors Note: Hey all! Its been a while, right? Well, with the popularity of my previous Lights Out story for Sekaiichi Hatsukoi I decided to make a sequel. At first it started as 3,000 words…then it just got bigger and bigger and whelp, now it's a full story. Whoops.

Anyway, thank you so much for your patience during my hiatus over these past couple months. Now that the summer has finally come (finally) I am able to focus again on what makes me truly happy: writing! I have so many new stories that will be coming out so brace yourselves. First things first though, update for Beloved will be coming within the week since its been quite a while *shame shame*

Please read, review, and enjoy!

Thanks all,

~itano

ONE

First Takano asked him to find Kisa Shouta. When he located him in the janitor's closet, Takano asked him what the hell he was thinking.

He swivelled around in his chair, black plastic frame glasses sitting low on his nose. "You spent practically an hour trying to find him. You're wasting time, Onodera."

"You told me to find him!" Onodera protested.

The man narrowed his gaze, staring up archly at Ritsu with flat amber eyes that reminded Ritsu of the colour of beer…and piss, his pride interjected sourly. There was a pause, a moment where Takano was studying Ritsu just as intently as the brunet was scrutinising him.

His next words, however, sent a jolt of fear through his body. "Are Satou-sensei's manuscripts finished?" came the crisp question.

No, he was too busy hunting down Kisa for the past forty-five minutes, like Takano told him to. Plus, Satou had been being difficult all week long, which made Ritsu way behind in his schedule—even after spending twelve hours at the office yesterday he was still behind by hours. But, the worst part about that little question was that Takano knew that Ritsu wasn't done. Otherwise he wouldn't have been hanging around the office on a Friday night—but the question of 'are you finished with …' was Takano's universal entrance into publically humiliating his victim of choice.

Waiting for a response, whether he was expecting one or not, Takano began tapping his fingers against the desk impatiently. Ritsu floundered for a reply, caught within a lose/lose situation—no matter what he said he wasn't doing the right thing. After a few seconds passed, Ritsu saw that little triumphant spark in the man's eyes and he glowered. It was disgusting that he found some kind of perverse enjoyment out of watching Ritsu flail helplessly, like an old tomcat batting a baby bird back and forth.

"No," Ritsu finally admitted, when he found the breath to speak. "You...you said that I needed to find Kisa or you'd get him fired."

The guy blinked, eyebrows raising, staring for a long, silent moment before he lowered his gaze to the side and let out a soft chuckle. When he looked up at Ritsu once more, his expression had softened considerably. "That's sweet of you to look after your friends, Onodera. I always liked that about you."

Ritsu fumed. Swallowing his anger, he continued, mildly, staring at his shoes, "I just thought you were being harsh." He knew he was dancing around a real insult, but no matter how deeply he despised Takano, their roles within workplace seemed to override any of the bite to their usual bickering. Instead, he fumbled for the right words, explaining, "I…. I mean, he was panicking, and he needed someone to talk him out of it."

"Hmm, harsh," Takano muttered, considering the implications of that word. "Harsh or realistic?"

"Harsh," Ritsu replied sharply. "You need to be a little bit more compassionate."

Takano swung back round in his chair, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Compassionate doesn't sell manga." Then, just like that, he lifted a dismissive hand and shooed him away. "Get that manuscript finished, Onodera. I want it here in two hours or I'll personally castrate you." Before Ritsu could retort, Takano snatched the sleeve of his sweater, pulled him down so he could feel the man's warmth brushing against the shell of his ear. "Though it'd be a shame to do such a thing," he murmured, mischievously. And with that, he pulled away, turning back to his work as if nothing happened, as if he hadn't left Onodera standing there caught between gape and a scowl.

He ended up shuffling back to his desk, humiliated and thoroughly perturbed. Kisa, who was waking slowly from his comatose state, had his head in his hands, muttering some kind of jibberish that sounded like, "Riichan, there's no point. There's no point in even trying."

"What are you talking about," Ritsu asked, plopping down into his seat.

Kisa turned slowly, just enough to have one eye peeking out. "Morimoto-sensei will never be finished, ever," he said in a very small voice.

"Huh?"

"She's not finishing," he uttered, shaking his head. "Not this time. Takano-san is going to skin me alive…I'm so fucking stupid." He started smacking himself.

"No you're not," Ritsu protested mildly, wondering what on earth caused this. Normally Kisa, despite his jaunty personality, was able to keep on track with his deadlines—and this cycle, everything seemed fine until an hour ago, when suddenly he claimed he was going to the bathroom and never came back.

"I should have asked for the manuscripts sooner…I shouldn't have let her go to that wedding party…"

"Its not your fault," Ritsu attempted again, desperate, "Morimoto-sensei should be done soon. Any second you'll get the call and everything will be fine."

Hatori, who was sitting on the other side of the room, suddenly stood from his chair. "Yoshikawa-sensei is finished," he declared, with a sigh. Kisa turned to face the man, expression morphing into a gawk—a result of poorly concealed jealousy. Hatori had a hefty stack of papers in hand, the finished manuscripts, setting them into Takano's desk before he asked the editor-in-chief, "Is there anything else that needs to be done here?"

Takano glanced up at him with a calm expression and shook his head. "No, you're done Hatori. Thank you for all your hard work."

"I suppose I'll be going then. Good night everyone," he bowed quickly, before grabbing his briefcase off the desk. All the guys gave their own weary goodbyes, sending him off. Once he was out the door, Kisa's shoulders slumped and he began spitting a burst of colorful curses to himself.

Ritsu, on the other hand, glanced down at his desk. A flurry of of papers, scattered round his desk haphazardly, were a bitter reminder for his own work worries and he blew a deep breath. With the way that things were looking, he'd literally be here all night.

The office slipped into a tense silence, voices void among the droning hum of computers, the clacking of keyboards, the occasional sniffle, huff, sigh. Twenty minutes passed this way, concentration keeping the men at Emerald under hushed tones, the sounds of the fresh night finding their way past the window, taking the role as the background soundtrack as they worked.

"Masamune!"

All the men jumped. "Do you have to be so fucking loud Yokozawa?" Irritably clutching at the phone receiver, Takano turned to glare at the other man who had come barrelling through the door. All the other editors in the room cringed. Whenever Yokozawa climbed the two extra floors, from the sales department to the shoujo manga, he was there to pick a fight.

"You know better than to fuck with me, Masamune," he snarled, ploughing past Kisa and Ritsu's posts, slamming his hands down onto Takano's desk. For a moment, Ritsu wondered if he was going to explode into one of his legendary outbursts. Yokozawa Takafumi, although he was known for being a shrewd salesman with a knack for numbers, he was equally notable for his preposterous displays of temper—for the Emerald department, the most popular occurrence of such behaviour was when he came to harass their editor-in-chief for one thing or another. Yokozawa was lucky that he landed a job at Marukawa—strong personalities dominated Marukawa, people who could be charming one minute and absolutely monstrous the next. But as long as they continued to produce worthwhile content, and as long as that content remained being the magazine world's darling, none of them would be punished for their rash behaviour.

A less confident editor would have been terrified, but Takano was unimpressed with Yokozawa's intimidation. He sniffed, bored, and with an impatient huff he asked, "What did I do this time?"

"You promised me you'd be done two hours ago! Two! You're cutting into my weekend!" he growled, glowering down at Takano with enough intensity to pull the bark off a tree.

Takano just rolled his eyes and rolled away to the opposite side of his desk, casually organizing a packet of papers. "You knew when you started working here that there wouldn't be any set schedule," he said, adopting a familiar tone of banter. "Anyway, what are you so worked up about? Got a date?"

Yokozawa sputtered, shaken. "H-hell no, I just need to eat and take a piss eventually!"

"Well, there's a mini fridge in the copy room and a bathroom down the hall to our left," Takano said coldly, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd enjoy my peace and quiet back."

"Listen, Masamune, I need your final drafts to be off to the printer in an hour. One hour. There's no way I'm spending the rest of the night here with you."

"Aw, come on, it'd be fun," Takano said sardonically. "It'd be like a sleepover."

Yokozawa just rolled his eyes, turning to retreat from the Emerald office. "As badly as you want to have a little pillow fight and braid my hair, I'll have to decline. Maybe next time," he sneered, storming out in a huff.

However, before he reached the door, Takano called teasingly, "For a man who wears a polka dot apron, I'm surprised at your hesitation!"

And then, Yokozawa did finally lose his temper. The man stopped in his tracks and threw a glare over his shoulder. "Where in the hell did you see that?" he spat. Ritsu glanced from Kisa to Mino, to Kisa again: when was Yokozawa wearing an apron? Kisa shrugged and Mino nibbled at his lower lip, a poor attempt to keep his snicker at bay.

Takano shrugged. "Here and there. It was rather…charming. A little Home and Garden for my tastes though."

"Mention it again and I'll fucking strangle you," he said darkly. "Remember, Masamune. One hour." And with that, Yokozawa stomped away, his curses audible all the way down the hall.

Once he was finally out of earshot, Takano sharply inhaled and grumbled, "Damn…" There was a moment of silence, awkward and shifting, until Takano finally announced, "Alright, everyone. We now have an hour and a half!"

Kisa groaned loudly, slamming his head into the desk; Mino nodded, though his perpetual glow was a little duller than normal; Ritsu gaped, swivelling in his chair to stare at the man in horror. He needed three hours at least—there was no way he'd get his part done. Satou had called a day ago, saying that her uncle had passed away and she had to ignore her work while she sorted things out with her family. Of course this was her fourth uncle who had "died" in the past two months, but after Takano hollered ruthlessly at her on the phone, Ritsu couldn't possibly scold the crying woman anymore and took her story in stride. She had tried her hardest tonight to finish, but with five pages completely text-empty, they both had a ways to go.

"T-Takano-san, there's no way I can finish in that time!" he protested desperately. "There must be another way we can buy more time."

"Stop whining, Onodera. You have enough time, just work faster," Takano replied sharply.

"I'm trying!" Ritsu snapped. "We all are trying! But one hour is just not enough time!"

"You should have been on Satou-sensei's ass since day one and this wouldn't have been happening to you! You say I'm so cruel for yelling at my writers, but they get their shit done fast! If…."

Suddenly, the lights went out.

There was a moment where everything was quiet – whether it be shock, fear, confusion—the world stopped for a second. The buzzing nightlife below them came to a halt, the computers hums cut off abruptly, every voice in the office silent.

Then came the first scream, one of the women from the Sapphire department, followed by the sound of several horns blaring below them as slue of sirens went off all at once. Two emergency lights flickered to life in the hall, between Sapphire and Emerald's front doors, their glow only blanketing the front of the room, leaving the corners of the room swamped in darkness. The editors with laptops were illuminated by the light from their personal computers, each of their expressions contorted with confusion.

Takano, who happened to be located on one of the "edges" of the room, without his laptop open, was enveloped in darkness. His attention snapped up to the others in the room, barking, "What in the hell is going on!"

"Uh, I think the power just went out in our building," Mino pointed out.

"Yeah, I think so," Ritsu agreed. He grabbed the phone off its receiver, lifted it to his ear and frowned. "Phone is dead. And, listen, the air conditioning stopped."

Takano exhaled a deep, huffy breath, before he stood, heading to the window, put out by the whole matter. He slid open the blinds, peering out into the night before he muttered, "Fuck."

"What? What?" Kisa asked, frantically.

When Takano didn't immediately respond—he tore a hand through his hair instead, smashing his eyes shut as he turned his chin up to the ceiling, groaning—Ritsu hopped to his feet and marched over to the window. He blinked. The traffic on the road that passed Marukawa Shoten's building was in a snarl. There was a flurry of horns, people getting out of their cars. His eyes followed their gestures to the traffic light that swayed over the intersection a couple hundred yards down. The light was pitch black. He then trailed the highway in the distance that snaked its way past the Ikebukuro and into central Tokyo. Somewhere among the buildings a plume of smoke billowed.

"We're in a black out," Ritsu declared.

Kisa wailed in frustration, folding his arms onto the desk before he lay down and cradled his head between his elbows – he was working on a laptop but without his power cord, the computer was destine to die in the next fifteen minutes.

"Shit, I thought this was over with months ago!" Takano howled. There were blackouts for months early last year, but seeing that the power supply had been seemingly stabilized according to their politicians, to have another blackout like this was curious.

Ritsu shrugged, hopelessly as he peered out at the city that sprawled below them. It looked rather lonely without the glow of neon lights and billboards running up and down the buildings. "I did too," Ritsu muttered as an afterthought.

"Wait!" Kisa suddenly perked, eyes darting around the room. "Does that mean the printer is shut down for the time being? Meaning that we can't do anything?"

There was a brief silence. "Well, I suppose," Mino guessed with a shrug.

Takano drooped against the window, hopeless. "I need a smoke," he muttered angrily, smashing his eyes shut.

"Yay!" Kisa cheered. "We can go home!"

Takano opened one eye, ominously, and growled, "Not until you have your final manuscript done." Kisa scowled at him resentfully, before his pout came bursting out in full force. Takano just ignored him, slamming his eyes shut once more, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Anyway," Mino added, "The trains are probably all shut down right now and taxis probably don't want to deal with all the traffic, so even if we wanted to go home, there's no way out of the city."

Kisa stared back at Mino, eyes wide, horrified. "…You mean we're stuck here?" Mino, unnervingly positive, just nodded.

Ritsu swallowed hard. He'd be stuck here with Takano all night long? He remembered the last time there was a black out, when Takano nursed his wounds and eventually took advantage of their isolation…and there was no avoiding it. And this time, even if the others were here, he knew how cunning Takano could be. Almost everyone else from the other departments had long left, besides the occasional straggler or editor-in-chief who was overseeing their own printing processes; their floor in particular was bare for the evening, beyond two of the lead editors from Sapphire. In fact, the whole building was a privacy haven, perfect for Takano's seducing—just pick a dark room of choice! The obnoxious side of Ritsu mind supplied at least ten of the most optimal places in the building, setting up hundreds of imaginary situations that left him and Takano isolated from the rest of the group, in one of these private rooms. He too, groaned and flopped against the window.

There was really no escape this time.