Work Text:
There was only silence in the facility during this time of night. The numerous typing of one’s computer keyboard occupied the calming space in the quiet room as a certain brunet scientist finally stopped and yawned loudly out of mere exhaustion. It was clearly dark outside, being a quarter moon with the city lights dazzling as usual, and the man had lost track of time hours ago. Day after day the man has been working endlessly without taking much rest. There’s so much to do, so much to discover. It’s hard to take a break these days, he assumed, with them finding more details regarding the Shadows on a daily basis. Ikutsuki has been assigned to research on the more technical matter with the history of Shadows, but other times the CEO would throw him into an entirely different subject before he could complete his current work. Imbecile. The workshift can get chaotic like that, as the one running this project doesn’t know any better it seems. He stretched out his arms and back while pushing himself away from the computer to stretch out his legs as well. The man finally checked the clock on the wall, being just after ten. He could go for some coffee right about now…
He then got up and straightened his lab coat to make his way to the employee break room. The coffee machine in the room was always on no matter what time of day it is, making it super convenient for any night owl to grab himself a cup of joe. Or should he go for tea instead?
His mind became occupied with that kind of decision while passing by another room full of other various equipment. He noticed someone’s presence at the corner of his eye, pausing midway to take a better look at the other worker. A short-haired man with droopy eyes and a slumped posture focused on the computer screen while scratching down notes on some scattered paper across the desk. The man hasn’t looked to be shaven in days, his eyes halfway closed and his writing being sloppy and perhaps illegible. Ikutsuki then took a step back and continued down the hallway, only glancing back for a brief moment.
The scientist back in his workspace has been deep in his studies all day nonstop and was indeed exhausted. He didn’t bother to stop for a while however, as he continued studying the patterns he picked up on regarding the Shadows they’re experimenting with for their project. The room remained usually quiet, only a few squeaks here and there that he had tuned out hours ago. His peripheral vision was so narrow at this point, having only one sentimental goal in mind to finish what he started before calling it a night.
“Working hard, I take it?”
The early middle-aged man perked up rather suddenly, as if frightened by a calming yet random voice that came out of thin air. Ikutsuki smiled warmly at the man however, taking a seat next to him while placing a fresh hot cup next to him. “Looks to me like you need a little pick-me-up.”
Hesitantly, he lifted his arm out to reach for the cup, briefly nodding to the other man in gratitude. “Thanks.”
Ikutsuki only watched momentarily while taking his time sipping from his cup. He’s seen the man around before, being a well-known and very naturally talented scientist in the team. He didn’t know much about him however, as they’ve rarely crossed paths during their work time. Perhaps this is best to finally introduce each other while they have the chance. The poor man could use a break after all.
“The name’s Shuji Ikutsuki, by the way. I work at the other end of the building there with the smaller team that comes in later in the day. It’s strange, despite being in one huge structure of a work environment, we rarely get to see each other at all.”
“... Yes, I suppose so.” The man spoke quietly, not giving much enthusiasm in his voice. “I tend to work around here most of the time, since early in the morning even.”
“Hmm, I see,” While taking another sip of his drink, Ikutsuki then initiates the conversation once more. “And you must be Takeba, correct?”
The scruffy man blinked in mere startlement. “Oh, yes. I’m sorry, I should’ve—”
“Oh no. It’s quite alright, I understand,” Ikutsuki then placed his cup down. “It’s late. Our brains are running a little slow at this time while burning the midnight oil. Plus I can assume you weren’t expecting any visitors stopping by.”
The Takeba scientist finally let out a grin in response. “You could say that. So yes; I-I’m Eiichiro Takeba. I’ve been tasked to study the behavior of the Shadows and…!” Looking over his scattered notes on the table, he quickly gathered them up to make into a neater pile. His attitude became sheepish. “O-Obviously, there’s a lot that I’ve discovered, but of course I’m planning to simplify everything I comprehended so far so I could, y-you know, abbreviate everything in a reasonable amount of time.”
Ikutsuki however took the opportunity to glance through the notes and skim over the words he could make out. He only did it so briefly, though, just to show he isn’t prying on any sensitive information he didn’t have to know. “Marvelous indeed. For an intelligent man such as yourself, color me impressed.”
“Heh, it’s all just gibberish right now,” Takeba tried waving it off, lounging on his office chair while straightening out his tie. “I just hope we’re actually making good use of this research. I-I mean, don’t get me wrong, but Kirijo…”
“Hm?” Ikutsuki hummed in curiosity. “Ah, yes, he has been straining away from our original goal as of lately I noticed. It makes things a little more complicated, don’t you think?”
The man nodded with a nervous look in his eyes. “So you noticed it too.”
“Mhmm…”
It came as no surprise to the team that the original objective had changed since their arrival to the facility, as their head leader became obsessive in the long run, changing anything the scientists had going on entirely to meet his standards. No one dared to question him, yet again, most of them didn’t care it seemed. As the team kept striving with their work and researches over time, it appeared some of them couldn't pinpoint their goal anymore.
“I’m surprised some of them are still sticking to this project at this point.” The Takeba scientist thought out loud. “Perhaps there isn’t a point in leaving after going this far, right?”
Ikutsuki nodded his head to the side as he felt that is his more or less the same reasoning. “Well, I do want to see what we ended up finding out after all this is complete. It leaves you curious, don’t you think? What kind of secrets can we unravel that may as well change the world!”
“Right…” Takeba gave an uneasy expression in general, finding some fear of the truth as if something was bound to go wrong at this very point.
Ikutsuki noticed his tense expression, but wasn’t quite sure how to express the concerns he may be feeling. Instead, he decided to redirect the conversation that could be in a more casual setting. “Well… once we accomplish what we’ve done, do you plan on sticking around?”
“Ah…” Takeba then looked over to Ikutsuki, his shoulders slumped down with an easy smile. “That I can’t say.”
“Oh?” Curiosity got the best of Ikutsuki at this point, curious what the kind gentleman meant by that.
The man remained smiling, only to pull out a folded wallet to look inside. He happened to have a line of photos in the folded part of the wallet, as Takeba only held out the first single photo to the long-haired brunet, showing a smiling young girl with a kind-looking woman kneeling next to her. “You see, I have a family to go back to. They mean the world to me, and I’m trying whatever I can to finish my work and go back to them once this is all settled and done.”
Ikutsuki pulls himself closer with the wheeled chair, taking a good look at the family photo he’s holding out. He doesn’t usually show much interest in others' personal family lives, ever since growing up and being his individual self. The girl in the photo looks to be a young child, smiling brightly and having that innocent charm to her that Ikutsuki can’t help but notice right off the bat. At this point he managed a small endearing smile. “I see. So this is all for them…”
The man nodded enthusiastically, showing his more sincere and caring side. “She has so much energy and enthusiasm, giving me the biggest smile everytime after a long day from my old job… it just turns my world downside up just to see her so happy like this.”
Ikutsuki glanced up at Takeba, seeing in fact that similar smile that showed that his day was made just by talking about her. It’s interesting to him, how someone so down and dreary earlier can perk up so brightly just by having a child to look forward to seeing. He never understood that endearing feeling one bit since childhood, but he simply couldn’t judge a parent like this, no matter how hard he tried. Not only that, he barely knew the man himself, yet just by seeing him like this gave him a good idea what kind of person he is. A cheerful, loving father that can’t wait to go back home. He has this warm… fuzzy feeling Ikutsuki couldn’t quite comprehend.
Eiichiro then unfolded more photos from his wallet, showing one of them at a time briefly. “This was her first day at pre-school, she was too scared to leave by my side and she started crying. Can you believe that? I started to tear up just by seeing her like this.”
“Heh, I see…” Ikutsuki didn’t know how to respond at the time, only giving a half lifted smile as he heard his story. He didn’t hate hearing them either, as they sounded like fun times the father had with his daughter for someone who never showed admiration for children before.
The cheerful scientist then showed another photo, showing them in the playground. “Oh dear, this is an embarrassing one— my wife took this when we went to a park together. She was kicking a ball at the time when it hit me right square in the head. Fortunately it didn’t leave any marks, but my girl was laughing out loud after that. Thinking that was just funny…”
Well, Ikutsuki admits, that does sound pretty humorous. “Kids are one hell of a breed, aren’t they?”
“Yes, yes! Absolutely.” He nodded frantically after that, finding this to be true, yet not all that bad at all. He still loves her deeply, that much the other scientist can tell, and there’s no mistaking it. Flipping through another photo of Eiichiro’s daughter, his voice became more sincere. “She’ll be turning six real soon. I really hope I can make it to her next birthday…”
Ikutsuki could hear the hint of somber in that tone, indicating with his precious time being spent in the workplace, he may not be able to make time to celebrate such an occasion. As Eiichiro’s smile turned into a frown, so did Ikutsuki’s.
The lingering moment only faded once Eiichiro displayed another photo from his wallet, exhaling a breath before smiling once more. “And look at her here; swinging down at the playground. It was cloudy with a chance of rain, but Yukari didn't care at the time. She wanted to go and— well, how could I say no to that face?”
Ikutsuki then broke into a smile as well. “She is such a darling indeed. What’s her name, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Yukari.” The man answered simply, this time with a large endearing smile. “She does take a lot after her mother.”
“Hm? She got your eyes though. That much I can tell.”
The man laughed. “Oh please. Hers is a might lighter shade than mine.”
The two shared a chuckle as he showed off the remaining photo he had and talked about a story regarding that one. Ikutsuki listened long and considerably, finding himself lost in their conversation while their coffee cups began to get cold. With the two of them only in this part of the building, their sounds most likely won't bother anyone if there was another such night owl in the facility. Their conversation occasionally died down, exchanging a few words here and there coming back to its calm ambiance before Takeba decided to make a question.
“Do you have any children of your own, Ikutsuki-kun?” The scruffy scientist asked with a seldomly pleased tone, hoping the man sitting next to him has anything he could share.
The long-haired brunet paused on his words before speaking out quietly, as if saddened to disappoint the father. “...No. Not a girlfriend even, so…” He then shrugged it off. “You could say I have nothing going for me.”
The other man hummed, not out of disappointment, but curiosity instead. “What about for later?”
“Hm?”
“You know— after all this is over.” Eiichiro clarified, a tired smile forming on his face. “What do you plan to do? Find a special someone, maybe?”
“Now don’t be ridiculous,” Ikutsuki forced out a laugh before he pushed his glasses up with an awkward grin. “I never had such intentions of settling down. Women never liked me anyway.”
“Ahhhh— you just never found the one, that’s all.” The man just shook his head, glancing over at the mechanical equipment he was too busy working with regarding his research. Even this little bit of conversation lifted his spirits greatly, never taking the time to relax and chat with anyone in the facility until now. “Of course, it’s never too late either. You can take your time with it, everyone has their own way of life after all.”
The man then went to take a sip of his lukewarm coffee in delight of their conversation, giving Ikutsuki a moment to ponder about the type of choices he has. He can tell there is no judgment behind those words from Takeba himself, knowing he can do whatever he wants with his life, however this does give him something to think about, whether or not he desires anything once he is able to finish this project with the Kirijo Group. He never considered having children, or a family regardless. Not like it was in his interest to begin with...
After placing his coffee down, Eiichiro couldn’t help but ask him something else. “Are you perhaps interested in men instead? That could be the reason for your troubles.”
“Now hold on there—!”
“I’m just asking, sheesh! No need to get so tense,” Ikutsuki’s reaction gave the man a chuckle, seeing that might’ve been the least expected question given to him. “Now if you’re not looking for anyone at all, that’s perfectly fine too. To each their own, as I would put it.”
The long-haired brunet made a huff before kindly responding, seeing he had indeed reacted rather defensively. “Of course, absolutely…”
Ikutsuki then took a moment to drink from his warm cup, rather slowly as if to consume the man’s words along with his own personal doubts to keep in mind for later. He never showed any romantic interest at all to anyone, but perhaps it’s for the best. He figured though that once he placed a foot in history of their grand achievement then that would be enough. But what then? Surely he wouldn’t care what occurs after that, as he liked to ‘live in the moment’, but maybe he should consider what to do next now that he is given the opportunity to think about it.
Their conversation possibly went on for a half an hour total, jumping from topics regarding their personal lives to how their school years were like back then. After noticing the time, Ikutsuki then decided to stand up from his seat. “Well would you look at the time— I should get going, I hope I wasn’t troubling you with your research, Takeba-san.”
The man only shook his head with a smile. “Not at all, good sir. I appreciate you checking up on me. It was nice meeting you…”
“Oh, you could call me Shuji,” Ikutsuki clarified before the man finished. “I don’t mind either or.”
Takeba’s lips along with his eyes smiled even brighter. “Very well then, Shuji. Have a goodnight.”
Ten Years Later…
“...And you said your name is Takeba, correct?”
It’s the start of March, and the school year is just wrapping up for their spring break as a young brunette stands before the Chairman as she greets him with a bow.
“Yes. Yukari Takeba. I’ll be going to my second-year next month, and uhm…” She makes a side glance at one direction, being at the faculty office where she happened to run into the Chairman. She gives him a document for her request to move into the dorms. “I want to help.”
Ikutsuki looks over at the document closely, somewhat puzzled by the request. “And what do you mean by that, exactly?”
The girl, despite looking confident, shows a more timid side as she hesitates to answer right away. “... I know something strange is going on. The green moon, the red puddles. Those coffins…?”
He then eyes the girl with astonishment, only glancing over her sheet once more before giving a thorough response. “You mean the Dark Hour.”
“I guess, I mean…” Her words shook for a moment. “If that’s what it’s called.”
Ikutsuki hums while mentally processing that in. Takeba. She couldn't be related to that man he knew from many years ago, can she? Yet again, he recognizes her first name too. This may be all too coincidental at this point, but being on this island of a town, it may as well be the same person after all. He continues thinking long and hard on this matter, which puts Yukari in an awkward position indeed as she goes to break the long enclosed silence.
“Is something the matter…?”
The Chairman’s head then perked up, with his eyes widening. “Oh! No, not at all. I’ll uhm…” He then glances over at the other door before heading over to that direction. “I’ll go process this and give you an update when the time arrives. Should be able to hear something from me in a week… tops!”
“Oh…” She watches him leaving, but doesn’t take it as a form of doubt she’ll be accepted. It may take some time, she supposed. What did he mean by processed? “Ok then.”
The man bowed briefly with a reassuring smile before taking his leave, trying not to rush out of the door right away in case that’ll leave any alarming notes for the young student to notice. He goes to open and close the door behind him, almost immediately laying his back against the door as he grimaces and clenches his teeth uncomfortably. So many questions go through his mind, trying to figure how she would know about the hour and what she’s in for. Well, he couldn’t just say straight-up no to her if she is requesting to help. He doesn’t have a very clear or valid reason as to why not, as they could use some assistance with anyone at this point. He sighs deeply, planning to give himself a moment before fully considering her assistance along with her moving to the dormitory. This is definitely something he needs to go over with Mitsuru as well, as she’s currently in charge of the operation after all.
But what could be her reasoning to join? Does she even have the potential? None of this can be answered at this time, so he thought it may be best to go with the flow until him and the team can know for sure.