"Team leader?"
Shiori's smile froze when she heard that title.
"You're the team leader?"
She frowned slightly, the joy in her eyes disappearing, with a certain disbelief: "Team leader means you're their boss?"
"Boss..." Takumi smiled bitterly, 'the word was too authoritative,' he nodded and said: "This department doesn't have a unified title yet, but I lead them, it's true."
He didn't want to admit it, but he chose to be frank.
Hearing this answer, Shiori slowly stepped back.
"Really?"
She pursed her lips, her expression complicated: "I always thought you had a normal job."
"I didn't say that."
"Yes, you didn't say that."
Shiori nodded and forced a smile: "Takumi, you are very powerful..."
At only sixteen years old, he was already a department manager of a company. In her memory, there was no one more powerful than Takumi. No wonder he was always busy. The two were not on the same level at all.
"I want to leave."
Shiori, uncomfortable, walked past Takumi.
"Shiori!"
Two girls ran towards him. They were Shiori's two roommates. They also belonged to Hinotori Publishing. They must have come to perform because they heard about the voice actor selection.
"Takumi."
The girls walked past Takumi and looked at him strangely. When Takumi smiled at them, they both lowered their heads.
"Yes, I'm sorry...",
they said coldly, and then followed Shiori.
Takumi lowered his gaze, a little lost. 'These girls were his few friends. After discovering his identity, it was difficult to know if they could resume their previous relationship.'
'Shiori and her two roommates were very simple children. Being a department manager wouldn't make them hate Takumi, but it would certainly pressure them.'
"This..."
Haru looked at Shiori's back in surprise: "Aren't you stopping her?"
"Let her go."
Takumi shook his head and said. He knew Shiori. This girl would never accept dubbing Satoshi. The role was different from the Pokémon. If she dubbed Satoshi, Shiori would become a real voice actress.
She wouldn't be a voice actress because of that.
The girls left the Hinotori Building. Takumi went upstairs and watched them walk away.
The sky began to darken, as if it was going to rain.
Takumi sighed, turned around, and said to Kenji: "Tell everyone to get ready to leave work."
Suddenly, he lost interest in continuing to select voice actors, and today was a holiday, so he should let the others rest.
Takumi asked Alice to go out of town to look for voice actors, so he took the company car home.
"What's wrong?"
The car had been stopped for a while when Takumi saw it.
"Takumi-sama, it seems there's a car accident ahead and there's a traffic jam."
"Car accident?"
Takumi frowned slightly. He thought Shiori had left recently and felt a little worried.
"I'll go take a look."
He got out of the car and walked towards the traffic jam. The distance wasn't far, and he arrived quickly. The accident scene showed the aftermath of two cars colliding, and Shiori and the others had taken the bus back to school, so the accident shouldn't have involved them.
Takumi was ready to return calmly, but he overheard people's conversations around him.
"Did you see the girl just now?"
"Yes, she was incredible! She kicked open the car window and pulled out the injured child!"
"I saw her running very fast with someone on her back. Is she an athlete?"
"Who knows? She went to find a clinic. I don't know if she'll be able to catch up..."
"I don't think there's any hope. The child is covered in blood and could die."
Hearing these conversations, Takumi stopped again. He asked those who were arguing: "Excuse me, which way did the girl you're talking about go?"
He guessed it was Shiori.
A few minutes later, following the instructions, Takumi blocked the three girls who were leaning on the street.
"You all..."
It turned out to be the Shiori trio. Her two roommates supported her left and right. Takumi frowned. He saw that Shiori's right leg was broken inside her pants and could see the bright red scratch marks from the glass.
"Takumi..."
Upon seeing Takumi, Shiori slightly pulled back her foot: "What are you doing here?"
"What's wrong with your foot?"
"It's nothing; it's just a small scratch."
Shiori smiled strangely. She didn't want Takumi to see her like that.
"Shiori just kicked the glass." A roommate replied: "She saved a child and sent him to the clinic."
Injured, yet capable of saving people and running so fast, Takumi remembered the conversation he had just heard, and the image of Shiori holding the child and running with blood on her arms came to his mind.
His gaze softened.
"My car is over there, come on, I'll take you."
Takumi approached, knelt down, and turned his back to Shiori.
"This..."
"You don't want to?" Shiori was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and gently leaned on Takumi's back.
"Thank you."
She thanked him in this way.
Takumi stood up with Shiori on his back, without much pressure. He walked with a steady stride. Shiori looked at him closely and whispered, "Takumi, you've changed a lot."
"Huh?"
"You were completely different when I first met you, and you are now."
"Why are you praising me for being handsome?"
Takumi joked.
"Yes, you've become handsome."
Shiori clenched her fists and rested her head on Takumi's shoulder.
The shop window reflected Takumi carrying her on his back. His body seemed very slender, and at first, Shiori thought he was very weak.
But boys are boys, after all. Takumi's body grew unconsciously, just like his heart, becoming very reliable.
"You're still the Takumi I know, right?"
"Of course, I'm the Takumi you know,"
Takumi replied.
"Really?"
Shiori smiled faintly and hugged Takumi serenely. 'They were just friends,' she thought. 'Shiori never imagined she would think about Takumi. This person was too strong, like the sun, too hot.' Shiori didn't like that person. She liked tranquility and normalcy. She dreamed of returning to her hometown to marry an ordinary man, be an ordinary wife, a gentle and kind mother.
But for some reason, Shiori was a little scared.
She didn't even know what she was afraid of.
"It's raining..."
It started to drizzle. Takumi looked up and quickened his pace.
"I'll take you to the hospital."
"Wait, I don't have money."
"...I'll pay for it."
The January air, even with the urban heat island effect, could not stop the cold from the north.
However, Takumi's back was still warm, and with that warmth, Shiori seemed to understand something.
- - - -
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