I wanted to do a Japanese Light Novel style oneshot. Its lighter and softer, complete with a title that works as a synopsis Enjoy! Title: Rather Than Work to Death for a Black Company, I Chose to Work for Hell's Gatekeepers with the Sempai I’ve Liked Since College Synopsis: Working is hard! The people who tell you to go into something you like and it'll never feel like work are liars, you know! Ah, I thought that until I started working with my college upperclassman, Sara, as a magical girl an exorcist. Read on as I worm my way into sempai’s heart until she cannot live without me! Spoiler: Story It’s true what they say, you know? About getting a degree in the field you love and hope that they’re hiring. For me, they weren’t, so I was dragging my tired body back to my postage-stamp sized apartment after another week of irregular shifts at the black company that hired me. Another week that I’ve only been able to text my beloved! I’ll never be able to confess to her at this rate! Dawn was breaking, but the cheerful rays only pissed me off. *click* I swung open my door *slam* then closed and locked it. *pomf* My dear bed, give me sweet dreams! I opened my eyes and found myself standing before a standard office building. It would be unremarkable if it weren’t for the deathly silence and fog that surrounded it. What is this place? Should I run away? What if there’s an axe-killer in the fog? Or Shia LaBeouf? What if there’s someone with a chainsaw in the building? AAhh, I pinched my cheek but I didn’t wake up. This is too creepy! A set of automatic sliding doors opened, as my heart went into my throat a small black mass of fur charged out towards me. Run! I turned and sprinted as fast as my feet would take me but it tackled me to the ground. My life flashed before my eyes, but all I heard was, “Woof!” Woof? Was this some sort of man-eating dog? I gave my best impression of a dead body. “Woof!” A damp nose nudged my cheek and a wet tongue started to cover my face with spit. I cracked one eye open to see a little black puppy giving me kisses. I got up and examined the furball who was staring at me with shining eyes. I dusted off my clothes and tried to recover what dignity I had, “I’m not scared of baby animals.” Hahaha….Nobody else saw that right? ”You’re kind of cute?” I bent over to pet its head. Mmmhmmm, very soft. “How are you strong enough to knock people over?” I picked it up and gave it scritches on its tummy fluff. After a few minutes petting the puppy, I stared to wonder again what I should do. Hmm, I guess I’ll take my chances with the fog. Walking away from the office building, I saw another structure appearing through the haze. The same office building? The puppy squirmed to get down, grabbed the bottom of my work trousers I fell asleep in with its tiny chompers and pulled me towards it. I felt a little nervous. “Ok pupperino, but if I die my blood is on your hands…paws…heh…” I laughed nervously, and the puppy looked up and barked at me before biting my pants and leading me through the doors. Inside was actually brightly lit with modern décor, “Welcome to Cerberus!” A receptionist even greeted me professionally! “You probably have many questions; someone in meeting room B will clarify everything.” She waved at a room on my left marked “B” I turned the handle and saw my upperclassman from college, “Sara?” She was adjusting a bow on the collar of a black dog. “Mary!” Sara got up and hugged me, “long time no see!” The puppy that followed me in pounced Sara’s dog, only to be pushed down with a single paw. Its swiftly waving tail showed it was ok, though. Ah, I really don’t know what to say. You are the Aphrodite of my dreams? “Sara, you look good.” Mmhmm, she does. Black pantsuit with purple pinstripes really suits her, you know? “Oh! But what is this place?” I almost forgot the main point! She gestured for me to take a seat beside her, “I know you won’t believe me right away, but please listen. This is Cerberus. Like the mythological one, who guards the gate to the afterlife. Here, we help take care of netherworld beasts.” She pointed to the black dog and puppy. Uumm, what? The afterlife, netherworld? These dogs? I didn’t know my upperclassman was crazy! “People all over the living worlds give offerings for departed souls. We collect them, and the helpers help the netherworld beasts catch errant souls. A long time ago the beasts didn’t need helpers, but as the population increases so did the demand for services. So a mature beast hands off a young one to a helper, and you’ll raise it up. Simple, right?” “…No.” Why are the hot ones nutty? These are clearly just dogs! “I’ll show you. [Teleport]” A circle like in Nanoha or Overlord shone, and before I knew it we were in a decaying building. “In here should be an errant soul. I’ll show you how a helper like myself catches it to feed to the netherworld beast.” “Sara!” “Questions?” “Are you a magical girl?” That’s the only explanation for that! She almost coughed up blood. “No, while one of the criteria to choose a helper is the ability to collect mana, it’s more like life energy. The spells do look like magic.” “So an older magical girl? Like a witch? Sara, did your soul become a jewel!?” She smacked my head. Ah, I got excited over something dumb, I needed that. “We don’t accept children. Since it has to do with catching spirits and purifying them, think of us as exorcists.” A quiet laughter sounded behind me, I turned and saw what looked like hands made of hair reaching out to me. “EEEEHHH???” I clung to her back. A flash of light made me peek out. “That’s it.” Sara threw glowing papers at it then it made a fizzling noise, its shape shrank until it became a dark fist sized mass of cotton candy as it floated to the ground. Sara’s dog gobbled it up. “See? The beasts will eat it and digest the soul’s negative energy. It helps them grow.” When she tried to shake me off I didn’t want to budge. “…It’s rather nice back here, I think I’ll to stay.” She reached behind, took my hand, and pulled me forward. “That was the only one. [Teleport]” We were back in the office. Sara smiled at me as she picked up the puppy and handed him to me. “That’s really the basics of what we do. You get to learn magic, and use it to cast spells, write talismans, create magic items to fight with like enchanted swords or Taoist whisks. Defeat evil spirits. Feed doggie. Like a pet parent, but extra steps. I know you’ll like it. You always complain about your current job when you talk to me, right?” I looked down at the puppy who had its tongue out staring at me. “Yeah, but I don’t know, I mean, it’s dangerous, right? And I can’t do what you do…” It’s so much to think about. “I almost forgot,” she laid out several sheets before me, “Starting salary is 80,000USD a year. Medical, dental, vision is all covered. Retirement savings is matched by the company. You can work alone if you want. This is not an At Will company, so you won’t be fired for no reason. As long as your beast is happy, you get paid. Free vet visits for your beast, too. Oh, and 10 free [Escape] charms are provided to all new hires. Any other questions?” I tearfully took her hands, “Sara. Where do I sign?” I don’t even make a third of that! Do you know how many jobs I applied to that were listed as ‘entry level’ and required 5 or more years experience? Or how the job I work right now has me wishing a meteor would fall from the sky and strike my boss every time one of his favorites makes a mistake and he blames it on me? “Sign here, here…and here. Then list the name you give your netherworld beast here.” I observed at the derpy looking furball in my arms. “How about BarkLee?” Pfffftt, “Something else.” Sara don’t laugh at me! “Black Hayate?” “Nah.” “Makkachin?” She shook her head. “Vicchan?” “Stop that.” Sara looks annoyed. This is too sudden for such an important decision. “I can’t think of anything!” “It doesn’t have to be right now, but you’ll have to decide before you leave so we can get his I.D tag engraved.” She organized the paper, “I’ll go give these to someone to file, one minute.” She messed up my hair and left. I tried to comb it smooth with my fingers. Nothing came to mind, and I was a little curious, so I bent down to read her dog’s tag. Toebeans Sara, you’re not any better! She returned, “Come up with anything?” “Blackie, for simplicity’s sake? Or Whitey for irony?” She shook her head again, “There’s actually a Shiro in another department, except he punishes animal abusers…Forget it, we’ll just go with the first one.” And thus my life as an exorcist began! Or not really, basic training starts tomorrow. The next day I awoke to the ringing of my cell phone. From the screen I saw my work, or rather, previous work’s number. “Hello?” “Mary~ I need you to come in to cover the rest of my shift, I already told…” Ah it’s one of the boss’ favorites. *click* I hung up on her. *scroll* I went to contacts to dial one of the office’s other lines. “Mary! Why did you hang up on P-!“ I held the phone away so his screaming wouldn’t break my eardrum. How nice, were they in the same room? Mmm, screw this guy. “I quit.” “What? You can’t quit. You still have to cover-“ “I quit.” Two words have never made me so happy. I hung up and blocked the numbers. Hmm, knowing this company that liked to forget to pay me my mandatory overtime, though I doubted I would ever see my last paycheck I still smiled. “Woof.” A beady pair of eyes looked at me. “BarkLee is a good boy.” “WOOF” He got excited and came up to my face to give kisses. I looked at my phone again. 7 in the morning. After coming home yesterday I caught up on lost sleep, I still have a few hours before I go in, so let’s take BarkLee for a walk. I got dressed and clipped the harness and leash provide by the company onto him, and took him out. A couple hours later. The spell scroll turned to dust in my hand as I arrived outside Cerberus, Sara was waving at me with Toebeans beside her. She lead me to a room that looked like a library. “As your mentor, I want to first find out what kind of magic suits you.” The taliman paper became ash before I could finish painting the words. Sara was leaning over my shoulder; I could feel her breath on my ear. I tried again with the same result. The mana stones to set AOE magics called formations didn’t activate simultaneously and shattered. Sara held my hands and showed me how to pour in energy again but I still failed. The magic scepter broke, just like the enchanted axe. No matter how many times she showed me I couldn’t work it right. “I overlooked something basic,” Sara shook her head, took me out to a training field and pointed to a dummy, “channel your inner Minato and punch that.” *Boom!* “I guess I’m a fighter? Or would monk class be more appropriate?” “Either works. Let’s go find you a technique book. If you’re really lost you could apply for someone with that skill set to tutor you through the company.” “I can study on my own. As long as you’re with me when we look for souls I’ll get the hang of it!” After a few nights I managed to work up the courage to punch a ghost in the face without being scared. But I still couldn’t work up the courage to ask Sara out. “I want you to take an exam.” Today Sara handed me several papers stapled together. I graduated over a year ago but that word still makes me cringe a little. “Exam? On what?” Math? English? I’m sorry! I haven’t reviewed in a while! “Stop looking like I’m about to pull your teeth out,” She pinched my nose. “No, this is just a practice exam for when you go from trainee to beginner exorcist.” Ah, no problem, no problem. I put my name in the top corner out of reflex. Types of netherworld beasts I know this: dogs and cats are most common, but there are rodents, birds, and even large animals like cows and elephants. Growing netherworld beasts have physical bodies that are similar to their mortal counterparts, what mortal foods can and cannot your beast eat? This is easy! *ticktock* *ticktock* I answered all the questions confidently and gave my finished exam to Sara. She started looking it over while I used a laser pointer on my keyring to play with BarkLee. “You’re doing well. I think you’ll be able to become a full-fledged helper and start going out by yourself soon.” “On my own? But you said working alone was optional.” I felt a little distressed. I didn’t even get to interact with Sara this much in college. She got up and placed a hand on the wall behind me, she was close enough I could smell the lotion she used. Was this the legendary kabedon? My heart’s not ready! “You’re a front line combatant, I’m more a back line combatant, and I think we complement each other nicely. But I’m more experienced than you with a wider range of attacks. Don’t you think you could suggest something else?” Sara! What! What’s going on! Her face grew closer. I tightly shut my eyes. It’s happening! “See you tonight.” She whispered and walked away. I slid down to the ground as BarkLee attacked my hand. Does she like me? I thought I was quietly pining for her while deepening our bond under the guise of friendship! That night I wore my best outfit and took BarkLee to the meeting point. It wasn’t in the middle of a forest, an eerie building, or a forgotten alleyway; it was a pet-friendly restaurant. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She looks good in pantsuits, but gorgeous in a casual dress. If only I had a mental camera app. Sara swirled her drink, “I want to talk about…” she started saying. I gulped. “I like you too!” I couldn’t keep it in anymore. I said it loud enough the tables next to us looked over, my face reddened and I reached my hand out. She wove her fingers with mine. “But if you say it so directly, how will I tease you?” And thus two women became a legendary exorcist duo! Or you could say we were the moms of many happy doggies until we became little old ladies. I cast a summing spell! @Moonpearl Spoiler: My thoughts I've been reading a lot of fluff on Mangadex and NU lately, so I wanted to do a soul crushing BE tragedy, but it just can't be done in 1500-2500 words with my skill. I read through some other stories in Community Fictions but none of them took a knife to my heart like I hoping. I'll be looking through NU and SH later, then. Has anyone seen the Bleach live action movie? It inspired this story a little. I haven't read the manga or seen the anime in forever, though. I remember shipping Rukia and Orihime, but that was over a decade ago. I guess its not really important. I think I should thank you for reading this far. Have a good day.
Hmmmmm decent i guess ? But for some i can't help but feel it's missing a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle something to make me vote for this.
I can't believe you were able to fit in that much story progress, nicely done! The concept of Cerberus is really creative and Mary has such an entertaining inner voice~
Ahaha I enjoy the concept; there was a good amount of story progress. Although it jumped to the confession out of no where. There were some scenes that indicate Sara likes Mc back but those were very subtle and didn’t do much for me. But I do love the last paragraph though. That’s very cute HEA are great
I think i got a clue about why i only like a little this series. It's because FL feels like a machine. She doesn't feel "real" enough to me. Not enough development or feelings. Heck the kabedon feels weird.
I can see it I was going for the cool calm collected sempai type, but without a defining characteristic besides that I think she might come across a bland. Thank you, I didn't see it before I'll do something else next time