As it turned out, Aliyah hadn't showed up a moment too soon. Just as she had left the office and set off down the hall, another set of footsteps touched down behind her.
Eiji Matsumoto was running late to the office. All thanks to getting stuck in traffic, his mood was already taking a downturn, and all he wanted was to get to his job at LAW Magazine at a reasonable time. But at long last, he had made it. He hurried up the stairs as fast as he could, turning the corner into the hallway to close in on the door to his office. Eiji let out a sigh of relief as he did - it had been a long and frustrating commute, but at long last, he was here. Everything would be worth it now.
Except it wasn't.
When Eiji opened the door to his office, he froze. Everything was a mess. The room was ransacked, papers were heaped on the floor in shreds, and his computer lay in a heap in the middle of it all. His teeth locked into a grimace, his body rigid as his fingers coiled tighter around the doorknob. Someone had done this - and someone was going to pay.
When he looked into the hallway, seeing the new announcer they'd hired - the same woman who, just a few weeks ago,
had done the exact same thing before, then
stolen the wheels from his car and forced him to get a ride home - everything made sense. Eiji knew how this had happened. But by no means was he placated by this knowledge.
"YOU!!!" he shouted, storming after the deparing Aliyah.
"Think you have a good explanation for this!?"