Today And Tomorrow

Today And Tomorrow

To say the very least, Megumi was having a bad day.

She had burned her breakfast first thing in the morning, and due to a traffic accident that detoured her path, she arrived late to work with the bitter taste still on her tongue. But before that, she had misplaced her keys, dropped her wallet and consequently lost half of her money to the breeze, and missed out in buying the newest issue of her favorite anime magazine.

Presently, she sat at her desk, mulling over her misfortune so far. She thought that seeing Taishi might make her feel a bit better, as it often did, even if she did not show it clearly on her face. She had not yet gotten the chance to greet him, as when she arrived he had been busy with a customer. She spotted him now at his desk, scribbling on some papers, and Megumi decided it would be best to greet the person she was dating, albeit secretly.

She stood to head for his desk, however her streak of bad luck only dragged her back. Her knee hit the edge of the desk as she got up, sending her neat pile of papers scattering to the ground.
Heaving a sigh, she knelt down to begin collecting them. But even as she did that, her misfortune followed her. As she reached out to grab a sheet, a shoe crushed her fingers before she could reach it.

"Ah! C-Chihaya-san! I'm so sorry!" Lucy fretted as she knelt down immediately to inspect her coworker's hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Megumi shook out her hand in an attempt to have the throbbing sensation dissipate.

"Here let me help you." Lucy assisted her in picking up the papers, and Megumi reached under her desk to retrieve the final one. Yet, naturally, when she went to stand, she banged her head on the underside of the desk.

"Ow..." She moaned, sounding more annoyed than anything.

"A-Are you okay?!" Lucy helped her up as Megumi rubbed her head.

"Yes. I just wanted to go see Ichimiya-san for a moment." She sighed, placing the papers down.

"Ah, he's just about to go help someone else, so you'd better hurry." Lucy said quickly.

Megumi nodded her thanks and began walking. But before she could take even three steps, the edge of her long skirt got caught on the corner of the desk, tearing a fine rip into the material.

"Oh no!" Lucy quickly swooped down to pull Megumi free. "It's ruined now!"

"It's fine." Megumi shrugged.

"It's not!" Lucy frowned. "You really liked this skirt, didn't you, Chihaya-san?"

"It's not a big deal. Such things have been happening to me all day. I can mend it."

Lucy could tell by her tone, which was duller than usual, that she was already exhausted, and it was not even noon. She watched as her coworker silently headed off toward Taishi's desk, but just before Megumi could get close enough, he headed away in the opposite direction.
'I hope she'll be okay...' Lucy thought worriedly.

Megumi stopped walking as she saw Taishi head away from her, and she let out another sigh. It felt like some kind of punishment game to her.
She decided to go after him, believing that just seeing his face would make her feel a little better, yet before she could get any further, an unpleasantly familiar pink blur appeared before her.

"Yo, Chihaya-kun!" Her boss gave a salute from his bunny form. "There's a package out back that just arrived full of fresh documents and supplies. Think you could go grab 'em for me?"

"...Sure." She replied in her monotone as she watched her boyfriend disappear.

"Thanks a bunch!" Her boss sang before bouncing off, most likely to harass the rest of his workers.

Megumi slowly walked to the back of the building to locate the indicated package. Upon lifting it, she found it to be heavier than expected, and her hand still hurt from being accidentally stepped on earlier, so it slipped through her fingers, crushing her foot. Keeping her thoughts to herself about the slight pain, she bit her lip and carried the package back to the office areas.
Placing it onto a table she found a box-cutter and began to tear at the tightly-sealed tape. She replayed the events of the day so far in her mind, making a list of everything that had gone wrong and wondering just how much could be added to it.
She found out not a second later when the box-cutter slipped and the serrated blade sliced through the side of her hand. Bright red quickly covered her skin as she dropped the tool and pressed her other hand against the cut, blood already dripping onto the package.

"Chihaya-san?" Another familiar voice sounded just then, and Megumi looked up to see Saya peeking at her from around the corner. "What are you doing?" As she got closer, Saya's innocent, curious expression quickly turned into one of horror. "C-Chihaya-san! What happened?!" She cried as she saw the blood on the table and rushed to Megumi's side.

"My hand just slipped." She explained, indicating the blade.

"Why were you cutting toward yourself?" Saya sounded like she was about to have a panic attack as she frantically moved Megumi's hand aside to inspect the wound, gasping loudly when she saw the deep cut. "I-In any case, come with me!"
Grasping both of her hands over Megumi's to apply pressure on the cut, Saya hastily led her into the women's washroom. She ran cold water over Megumi's wrist and apologized repeatedly whenever she saw her wince.
"Hold this on it." Saya instructed as she handed Megumi a paper towel. She then dug into her handbag and fished out a large band-aid, which she expertly tore the wrapping off of before putting it over Megumi's cut.
When she had finished, Saya let out a long sigh. "Are you okay, Chihaya-san? Does it still hurt?"

"Not at all." Megumi replied, offering a small smile. "Thank you, Miyoshi-san."

"If you're not feeling well or you want to go home, you should just say so." Saya's eyes wavered with concern.

"Thank you, but I'm fine. I'll get back to work." Megumi bowed her head slightly before exiting the washroom, her torn skirt trailing behind her.
Saya could not help but worry as she watched her friend's shoulders slump a little as she walked.

As the day went on, Megumi's misfortune only continued. She spilled her coffee, handed incorrect documents to customers, and got scolded by some higher-ups in the department.
But most frustratingly of all was how every time she made an effort to see Taishi, either something held her back or dragged him away.

By the end of the day, Megumi could feel the exhaustion creaking in every bone of her body. When the announcement was made that the building was closing, she sighed heavily and stood from her seat.

Her coworkers had noticed Megumi's distress long ago, and it took only a minute before Lucy, Saya, and Yutaka had gathered around her desk. Megumi's brown hair fell over her shoulders, hiding her face from her worried companions, her shoulders sagging.
Both Lucy and Saya were too worried they might make matters worse if they misspoke and sent silent pleas to Yutaka. He cleared his throat and casually spoke to Megumi.

"Yo, Chihaya-chan! Good work today!" He grinned.

"Thanks. You, too." Megumi replied, still unmoving.

Lucy swallowed hard before she noticed the bandage on her friend's hand. "C-Chihaya-san! I-Is that because of me?!" She cried.

"Why would it be because of you, Lucy?" Yutaka asked.

"I-I-I accidentally s-stepped on her hand before..."

"What?! You did?" He blurted.

"I-It was an accident!" She repeated.

"It wasn't you, Yamagami-san." Saya cut in. "Chihaya-san hurt herself with a box-cutter earlier today."

"What? Are you okay?" Lucy sounded dismayed. "And your skirt is also ruined, and you burned yourself with your coffee as well..."

"Not to mention all that other stuff you told us this morning," Yutaka added. "Like losing your money and keys, getting detoured walking here-"

"Hasebe-san!" Lucy and Saya chorused angrily.

"Ah, sorry for bringing it up." He muttered sheepishly.

All the while, Megumi remained as she was, trying to fight off the exhaustion. When she finally managed to look up, three concerned people gazed back at her.

It took her a minute, but Megumi offered a small smile to them. "Thank you all for worrying. And thank you for helping me today."

"Of course!" Lucy cried.

"You should go home and rest now." Saya suggested as she gently placed a hand on Megumi's shoulder. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"It's fine." Megumi shook her head. "But... where is Ichimiya-kun? I... never even got to greet him this morning."

The other three exchanged troubled glances before Lucy replied. "Ichimiya-san left early. You didn't get to see him because you were helping a customer..." She informed Megumi with regret in her voice.

"I see..."  When Megumi sighed that time, it was unlike the other times; the three of them could hear the trembling in her breath.

Fearing Megumi was about to cry, Saya quickly spoke. "You'll surely see him tomorrow, though! It'll be fine! Just go home and get some rest for now." She urged.

"You're right." Megumi picked up her purse and headed for the exit of the building.

"T-Tomorrow will be better!" Lucy called after her.

Megumi smiled back at them one last time. "Thank you." She bowed to them before opening the door, stepping out into the cool evening air.

As she began walking home, Megumi tried to concentrate on every little thing - the cracks in the sidewalk, the birds singing, the passing cars - anything to distract her and keep her mind from remembering the unlucky events of the day, but her efforts were to no avail.
Above all the little things that had frustrated her today, one stood high above the others.
'I didn't even get to speak to him once...'  She thought.

No matter how hard she tried to push the images away, all she could think of now was Taishi's face. Even though he was a man who would put his little sister above his girlfriend on Christmas and who could use a few lessons on relationships, Megumi's heart always skipped a little whenever she thought of him. His smile, the way he called out her name...

"Megumi!"

"Eh?" She halted in her tracks and turned around when she heard footsteps. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw Taishi running toward her.

"Megumi! Hold up!" As he reached her, Megumi could see that he had ran a long way, his hair and suit ruffled, and he appeared to be holding something. "Oh, thank goodness I found you! I wanted to leave early enough so that I could catch you before you left the office, but I got held up a bit." He straightened up to face his girlfriend, who was still baffled by his sudden appearance. "Anyway, here. These are for you." He revealed his right hand from behind his back.
He held out a small bouquet of white and pink flowers to her, a red ribbon addressing her tied around the stems. "I saw them this morning on my way to work and just knew I had to get them for you."

He passed them to her, but Megumi could barely manage to accept them due to her utter surprise. "You... why?" She was at a rare loss for words as she took the colorful flowers into her hands.

"No reason, really." He grinned. "Well, actually..." His smile quickly faded into a slight frown as he looked her over. "I heard you were having a rough day." He noticed her torn skirt, her stained sleeves, her frazzled hair. He also reached forward to gently take her injured hand in both of his. "You had a really bad day, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help you out." He kissed her bandaged hand softly. "These flowers are just an apology for my inability to help you when you needed it. But they're also a reminder that tomorrow will be better. I promise."
He smiled warmly as he gazed down into her eyes.

Megumi's heartbeat sped up as she felt an uncharacteristic blush rush to her cheeks. She closed her eyes and held her breath as he leaned down, gently kissing her cheek.
He rested his forehead against hers for a minute and Megumi tried to calm down. She then strained onto her tiptoes and quickly pecked his lips. He chuckled.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." He smiled. "Would you like to get something to eat?" He offered, holding out his hand. Megumi breathed in deeply, but failed to keep a small tear of happiness from slipping down her cheek.

"That sounds wonderful." She gingerly slid her injured hand into his palm, and he carefully interlocked their fingers. "Thank you, Taishi."

As they walked off together, Megumi believed that all of her misfortune had paid off the second she saw his face, and she eagerly looked forward to tomorrow.

-END
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