PASSIONATE - k.kozume ★

III.

You sat at the end of your bed looking dim-witted. Last night you let this interview get the best of you, it's currently 11:36am and you had just woken up. You didn't get much sleep as is so you had no time to waste, because you especially needed to eat breakfast today for the energy. But you were too busy in a trance thinking of the worst possible outcomes that could come from this interview instead of starting to get ready and keeping your head held up high.

'He might not hire me because I'm African American'

'I might not be a good look for his company'

'Maybe I should've got a silk press to fit the beauty standard more'

That one thought itself had the ability to snap you out of your trace. Fuck that beauty standard, I'm gorgeous as shit, I shouldn't need to change my everyday appearance to get a job or for anything else at that matter. That's one thing you couldn't agree with when you came to Japan, you were either treated like a child because people were fascinated by you being a foreigner or you were treated like a unknown species with many insults and dirty looks thrown your way.

"Y/n!" Janae shouted from down the hall.

"Yes?" You shouted back and started to walk to where the voice was coming from; her room.

Janae sat up in her bed when she heard you coming down the hall and you focused on her sitting up. Her expression changed from her typical resting face to.. her eyebrows becoming furrowed.

"Y/N? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN GOT READY, WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?!"

"I was thinking.. I was about how it'll come out, Janae. My anxiety is though the roof, my stomach has been hurting all night and I barely got sleep... I don't think I can go through with it Janae.. like honestly—" Your voice became shaky.

"No, I don't wanna hear it! You got this Y/n. When have I ever been wrong about believing in you?"

Silence.

"Hm?" Janae hummed. "Exactly. I always believe in you and you always get the job, you're gorgeous inside and out and you bring sunshine everywhere you go! You have an amazing personality and amazing visuals Y/n! You need to believe in yourself like I believe in you."

Warm tears started to stain your cheeks.. not because you were sad but because you felt appreciated. Janae never failed to make you feel like you actually meant something to someone, that someone was her. She never did you wrong and you didn't know what you did to deserve her.

"I.. I lov.. love you, Janae." You managed to hiccup through your sobs while wiping your tears off of your cheeks and out of your eyes.

"I love you more, Y/n. Now come give me a hug then you can go get ready. I'll help you choose your outfit."

☆ ☆ ☆

Kenma was walking down the mall, he knew exactly where he was headed and that's exactly where he went. Game stop. A new game had just dropped and he needed it. He had been waiting forever for it.

He was looking for the game and when he reached to grab it someone tapped on his waist making him flinch and drop the game.

"Um.. excuse me. Are you Kodzuken?" A small child who was about waist length to Kenma asked.

"Yeah.. why do you ask?" Kenma was a little uncomfortable but he put a small smile on his face for the child, assuming he watched him stream.

"Oh.. I watch your streams all the time you're really good! Are you buying Modern Warfare II to play on stream?"

"Yeah.." Kenma prolonged the ending of the word as he picked up another disc, he wasn't even going to play it on console. He was going to go buy it on steam but he liked having the game on all platforms, just because he could.

"Um.. well I have to go check out now.. thank you for watching my streams." Kenma was trying to rush because he had to be at the office in 30 minutes, the mall was already 15 minutes away. Also because he hated being recognized in public, one person turned into two, two turned into seven and seven turned into one hundred and so on...

He stood in line hoping it would go any faster then it was.. he was third in line.. second in line.. next in line.. and finally he was checking out. Kenma was very impatient, he always had been it's something that runs in his family, especially his mothers side of the family; his mom was impatient about everything even if it wasn't anyone's fault. This is where Kenma picked it up from.

"Is this all for you today, sir?" The cashier was looking at him with a foolish smile.

Obviously, it's all that I put on the counter. "Yes, that's all." Kenma was beginning to grow irritated, he was already noticed once today and this cashier was taking their sweet time and it was nearing 1:30 he couldn't be late to a interview he was the host of, it would be a bad look on not only him; but his company as well.

"Okay, your receipt is in the bag, have a nice rest of your day sir!" The cashier said holding out the bag for Kenma to grab.

Kenma hurriedly grabbed the bag. "Thank you, you too." He said with an extremely low tone as he quickly walked out of the mall avoiding making eye contact with anyone in hopes to not be noticed again.

His hopes were surprisingly heard as he wasn't noticed and he successfully made it to the parking lot.. but the hard part was hoping there wasn't much traffic... it was Tokyo after all. It was already 1:40 when he began to leave. "That cashier took too damn long." He mumbled under his breath.

☆ ☆ ☆

You looked at the building taking a deep breath. You remembered everything Janae told you this morning and nodded your head slowly walking in. To your left was reception and to your right was a waiting area with complimentary snacks, coffee, tea, etc. You slowly walked over to your right.

"Hello! How may I assist you?" She smiled as if she was overjoyed; not only was she happy to see a new face at the company but she was also mesmerized by how beautiful you were.

Your nerves were calmed as soon as you heard her sweet voice, it was the lady from the phone call that set up your interview! "I'm here for an interview with Kozume Kenma!" You smiled brightly back at the woman.

"Ah, he just arrived! Please take the elevator to the top floor and his office is to the right as you exit the elevator. Good luck, gorgeous!" She waved you goodbye.

You felt your face get warmer and the tips of your ears were visibly red. You made your way to the elevator and you were waiting for it to open.

It finally opened and you stepped in the elevator which was surprisingly empty. The top floor was floor 50. "So high up."  You said with a breathy voice.

You thought to yourself as to how the interview was going to go you were taking it up, there were multiple stops considering people had to go to all sorts of places throughout this building, it was huge and beautiful. There were windows and plants everywhere.

You finally had reached floor 50, as you exited the elevator someone with Orange-Ginger hair was going in, he looked familiar but maybe it was just an employee. Then again he wasn't dressed in a suit or a button-up shirt and dressy pants like everyone else. You took a deep breath in trying not to think about it too much, all you needed to think about was this interview.

You took your last deep breath in and exhaled it slowly as you raised your hand to softly knock on the door.

"Come in." You heard a monotonous voice say.