Tokyo Camouflage Hour (トーキョーカモフラージュアワー)

Good morning.

Sorry.

Thanks for filling in again.

I don't do anything important so I can always come in.

I'm sure that's not true.

No seriously, other than this I don't do anything useful.

So you're always doing bad things?

No, it's just…

Everyone else works full-time. It feels like I'm letting them down.

Letting who down?

Like, the world?

If you're doing what you want to do then nobody has any reason to complain.

I want to be like you one day, Suzuki-san.

Then don't worry, you will be when you're older.

Welcome.

I'll do it.

Go ahead.

-To go, please. -Certainly.

Here you go.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If you don't act you'll be waiting forever.

The winners are the ones who take the first step.

Utsunomiya-san, want to do lunch?

-I'm already eating this. -You're always eating pizza bread.

See you.

This is really good.

Pizza bread…

…will be ready in five minutes if you want to wait.

Sorry, if you're in a hurry then something else--

No.

I'm always getting the same thing…

Me too.

I always pick the same thing every time.

Is that right.

Yes.

Then… I'll wait.

It will be a few minutes.

Okay.

Sorry…!

Good luck… with work today.

Thank you.

Well…

I'll come back again.

I look forward to it.

Hello.

Hello.

Heading home from work?

Ah, yes.

It's pretty late.

Well, I had to close up and stuff.

I see.

So…

Have you eaten dinner yet?

No… not yet.

Should we get dinner?

Yes.

Do you like Italian?

Yes.

So that's why you're always getting pizza bread from the bakery.

Yes.

-You like Italian food. -Now I'm embarrassed.

Even though her foot was plainly touching mine…

she made absolutely no attempt to move it.

And we were the only ones at that table.

There could be no stronger evidence… that she's into me.

Sempai, she just thought your foot was part of the table leg.

But the way she did was too deliberate…

I LEAVE THE OFFICE AT SEVEN

Not too strong, not too weak…

Just enough to hit that sweet spot…

As if she was spelling it out, F-A-T-E.

AND THEN I'LL MEET YOU AT THE BAKERY

It's fate.

Right?

-Utsunomiya, come with me next-- -Chief!

I sent the data for next week's presentation.

That was fast.

Back to work.

What about the changes to the budget from this morning's meeting?

All accounted for.

Way to go.

Hm? What?

No, just…

Uh, something's different.

Oh?

Seriously?

Yes, Tokiwa from accounting had an affair and the whole office knows.

All the girls are in the meeting room disparaging--

I mean, they're righteously indignant.

It's a trial in absentia, but it's the death penalty.

And by Tokiwa you mean…?

The guy with long eyelashes like a giraffe that a girl would kill for.

That would get people talking.

-You okay? -Meguro-san, did you hear the news?

Yeah,Tokiwa-san.

Everybody's fuming about it.

For sure.

I can't stand idly by, I must spread this gossip.

And I must join you!

Sone-chan, wait!

I…

I too am engaged in a forbidden love affair.

What if I get found out like Tokiwa-san

and everybody starts disparaging me behind my back…

My hands can't stop shaking.

What were they saying?

"If I were Tokiwa-san's wife I would stab him."

Everybody says that without thinking, gossiping is like breathing to them.

But it's not like they're actually married to Tokiwa-san

so they are being presumptuous to speak on behalf of Tokiwa-san's wife.

You can't be sure they would stab Tokiwa-san if they were his wife.

Right, maybe their relationship was already on the rocks

and his wife had been wanting a divorce for a while

so she's thrilled because now she can be awarded damages.

And for that matter maybe they had a sexless relationship

and Tokiwa-san's wife had been seeing someone else as well.

Everyone's mad at Tokiwa-san because he got found out

but they can't even imagine what his wife has been doing.

But even so…

It was hard for me to handle how heated things were getting.

I get it though…

People will condemn my actions no matter how many justifications I have.

But still…

Do they have to condemn something that has nothing to do with them?

People just get excited when they have a target to attack.

That's it!

People haven't given it serious thought.

I'm your friend Meguro-chan,

so I'm happy to entertain these self-serving delusions…