Yuuta had been trying to get back to his normal routine for several weeks. He had been having strange dreams, all of which made him think back to his trip to Paris. Was it real? Did he dream up everything including Gloria? He pushed those thoughts aside as he slipped into his business attire and left to catch the train to go to work.


After he got off the train he went to get his coffee. It was still a bit chilly, but it was supposed to be a mild day, according to the newspaper. Yuuta paid for his coffee and made his way to the office. He turned to glance back, hoping somehow this day would be different than all the others since he met, or dreamed up Gloria.

his outfit:

Outfit:

Gloria awoke and showered then dressed. Such a routine she became used to as being human. She reached into her shadow, and found a dress that was one she barely wore. Not that she didn't like it, but because she loved it. She rarely wore it so it wouldn't get ruined. Today, however, Gloria felt different. She was interviewing for....a job. She had come to the conclusion that she needed money in order to survive as a human. Also, she figured she should settle down at some point instead of staying at random unattended apartments. She fluffed her hair, and left the apartment she decided to call her temporary home.

"This must be it!" Gloria said happily. A giant skyscraper stood before her as she looked up. It was one of the tallest skyscrapers in Tokyo. She entered the building, as eyes glared at her. "Gloria has an interview today!" She said to the door man who showed her in. The old gentleman smiled at her.

She rode the elevator to the top floor, and was shown into an office for her interview.

Yuuta walked into the office, ignoring the door man as he did so. He got on the elevator and rode up to the top floor. He had a lot of things to review from various businesses. It was all getting overwhelming…if only he had an assistant, or a secretary, his life would be less stressful.

Yuuta walked off the elevator and towards his office. He was walking rather quickly, that is until he saw the girl. He stopped in his tracks and turned to get a glimpse of her. He nearly dropped his coffee when he realized it was her.


He walked over to her and spoke so only she could hear, “Gloria, is it really you, what are you doing here?” he asked a bit dumbfounded. So she was real afterall, he thought as he waited for her to respond.

Gloria was waiting for someone to interview her. She sat in a comfy leather seat and kicked her legs as she fixed her dress. Her shadow wasn't present because of all the lights in the office. She heard a door open, and smiled when she heard his voice.

"Yuuta!" She exclaimed. She jumped off the chair and hugged him" Gloria couldn't find your home after we returned from Paris. I was so tired from shadow travel that I forgot. Gloria missed you!" 

Gloria then had a moment of realization. "Are you interviewing as well?" She took a step back and looked at Yuuta. "Gloria needs a job so Gloria can have a real home." She said sadly. "Maybe we can both be hired?!"

Yuuta couldn’t help but laugh at Gloria’s question. “No, I am not here for an interview, I already work here,” He said as he set his coffee down. “I do hope your interview goes well. I may be able to put in a good word for you afterwards,” he said as he walked into his office.

Yuuta wondered what Gloria was doing here. She had been so happy to see him, but he would have to sit down and talk with her about sharing her shadow traveling experiences. He understood, but others may not be so accepting and might think poorly of her. Yuuta didn’t want that, he wanted her to have a clean slate, a fresh start to a new life here in Tokyo. He hoped she would get the job and that they could spend more time together.

After Yuuta left the room a women wearing a black female dress suit entered the room.  She shook Gloria's hand and sfter she introduced herself she sat down in the leather chair across from Gloria. The two women sat across from one another and the area between them was very small. This made Gloria nervous, a feeling she wasn't fond of. This was a new emotion for someone who wasn't human for all that long.

"What is your best quality?" The women asked, as she looked down at the clipboard clasped in her hands.

Gloria froze. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. How was she supposed to answer this question? Gloria didn't know what her best quality was. But when words finally released from her mouth, she hoped the reply was good enough.

"Gloria's best quality is making friends." There was truth behind this answer. It was the joy of friendship that yearned her to be alive in the first place. It was how she became not a doll.

The women nodded and wrote some notes on the paper attached to the clipboard. Her face remained expressionless, and this bothered Gloria. "Was is your favorite day time activity?" Was the next question.

Gloria smiled. She knew exactly how to answer this one. "Gloria loves to shadow..." but then Gloria stopped herself. She knew humans didn't shadow travel, so she stopped herself mid sentence.

"Excuse me?" The women sneered.

Yuuta was in his office. He hoped Gloria’s interview was going well. He got a sudden idea and got up and left his office rather quickly. He went and grabbed two water bottles. He pulled the wrapper off of one and drew a picture of a person hiking and wrote the word hiking in the wrapper.

He didn’t know why, but he sensed Gloria needed his help. He had been through the interview process and remembered being asked some questions about interests and strong points. He wanted her to pass the interview and get hired for whatever position she was applying for.


He placed the wrapper back on and taped it, making sure the tape was hidden. He took the two bottles to the interview room. He walked in casually. “Sorry to interrupt, but I not believe anyone has brought you two ladies your water. Please don’t mind me.” He said as he set the water bottles down- winking at Gloria as he did so. He was trying to send her good luck wishes. After  he had set the waters down, he made his way back to his office.

Gloria smiled when Yuuta entered the room. It was hard enough for her to learn how to relax and act more human, but seeing Yuuta made it hard. She wanted to revert back to her bouncy non caring self, but she refrained. 

"Gloria thanks Yuua!" She smiled when she took the water. She saw the word Hiking on the bottle and looked at the lady in front of her. "Gloria likes to hike! Hiking allows adventure, and I don't like to back down from adventure or anything hard in my way. Gloria enjoys obstacles!"

The women smiled and asked her a few more questions.

Spoiler:

Yuuta nodded at Gloria and the interviewee. He then walked back to his office to check his emails. He had a meeting at two o’clock and it was only 8:15. It was going to be a long day. Yuuta paced around the office. He wondered why Gloria was back. Why was she looking for a job…and at his place of employment?

He wasn’t complaining, in fact he was happy to see her. He wanted to ask her about Paris, if it was all real or if it was a dream.


Yuuta sat down and drank his cup of coffee before he began drafting the designs for the newest marketing campaign.

After the interview, the woman left Gloria alone in the room. A guard came to show her to the lobby where she was free to roam or to leave. The women knocked on Yuuta's office waiting for him to allow her permission to enter.

Gloria was silent the entire way to the lobby. She was nervous, but she wanted this job more than anything now. She wanted to know Yuuta more. She felt silly for what she did, how she basically kidnapped him and took him to Paris. Did he think she was a freak for her power? She suddenly felt sad. She wanted to apologize to Yuuta. 

Gloria turned, but there would be no way for her to get back past security to his floor now that her interview had ended.

Yuuta was working away when he heard a knock on his door. “Come in,” he said as he continued his work. He stopped when the woman who interviewed Gloria came in with a folder of papers. She wanted to discuss Gloria’s interview. She presented the papers before Yuuta to analyze, but Yuuta could tell this woman didn’t like Gloria.

“This girl seriously thinks she can get a job here Yuuta, did you see her, she looks like an absolute joke? The woman had a disgusted look on her face.

“I think I will be the judge of whether or not she can be my secretary. Thank-you for bringing me the papers and now would you please go make yourself useful and go do the job you were hired to do,” Yuuta said as he motioned for her to leave.

After a rather exaggerated exit from the woman, Yuuta opened the folder, hoping to learn more about Gloria. Unfortunately there wasn’t much to go off of. Yuuta figured he could give her a chance. She was new to the area and needed a job where she wouldn’t be harassed and abused. Yuuta made the decision, Gloria would be his secretary and maybe if she proved successful could move up to be his managing partner.

Yuuta pushed his communicator and asked security to show Gloria in to his office.

A few moments later a guard appeared in the lobby.


“Miss Gloria, the boss has requested to see you, please come with me.” The guard waited for Gloria before leading her to Yuuta’s office.

Gloria being Gloria didn't realize who the boss was. "The boss?" Gloria asked confused, as she followed the security guard to the elevator. Back up they went, and the elevator chimed when it reached the same floor she had just left. "Is this Yuuta's floor again?" She asked the security guard, but he looked at her and rolled his eyes.

The guard walked off the elevator first, and knocked on Yuutas Door. Gloria waited at the door, confused, but her heart raced. Didn't Yuuta go into there? She thought.

The women who had given her her interview sat at a small desk outside the room she was about to enter. She sneered at Gloria.

Yuuta waited patiently until he heard the knock on the door. “Come in,” he said as he rose to met Gloria in the door. When he saw Gloria, he couldn’t help but form a tiny smile. “Gloria please come in.”

Once Gloria had entered Yuuta walked over to the couch in his office and motioned for her to join him.

“I want to congratulate you, after looking over your application, the committee has agreed to hire you as my secretary,” he said not wanting to tell her he was the one who decided she would work for him.

“What this means is you will answer and direct my calls to me, and well help me with anything else I need. I have some people who will come in tonight and get you a desk set up in here and tomorrow will be your first official day of work. But if you stay for a moment , there is someone I would like you to meet. She will give you a tour of the office and start you on your employment work.” Yuuta said as he pressed a button and a young girl walked in.


“Gloria meet Tessa, she will show you the ropes of how to be the best secretary in this building.” 

Spoiler:

Yuna smiled when she saw Yuuta. She was going to work for Yuuta. It was if destiny had intertwined their life path. She took in the office behind him. It was so neat, and a lot better looking then any of the appartments she had made a temporary and illegal home.

"Hi Tesa! Gloria is happy to meet you!" She went up on her tippy toes with joy. When she went back to being flat footed she shook her hand. "Gloria can be your friend too." Then Gloria froze. Did Yuuta hire her, was Yuuta the boss?

"Yuuta." She said, redirecting her attenion. "Gloria will work hard so Gloria can have her own home instead of...." She stopped and saw the weird face Tessa was giving her from across the room. "...so I can improve on making the company a better place." Gloria's tone fell flat. It was hard for her to lie when she wanted to be herself.

Yuuta smiled at Gloria’s words. “I am sure you will do great. He couldn’t help but chuckle at Gloria’s reasoning to have her job, though he felt for her. Did she even have a place to live. “Hey if you are looking for a place to stay until you can find something of your own, you can stay with me. I have an extra room I use as an office…..if you want of course.”

What had he just said, this was so unlike him. Normally, he would never offer to help anyone, especially a lady, but here he was offering Gloria a room at his apartment.


He cleared his throat before giving Gloria her first assignment. “Gloria, do you see those stacks of papers? I need them all filed in the appropriate folders. I am sure Tessa can help you if you need it, but I did leave a detailed memo on how to file them on the desk, so if you need help just come get me.” Yuuta said as he disappeared into his office.

"Gloria can stay with Yuuta?" She said softly to herself. "Gloria.....I....." She didn't want to say how she lived. But how had he known she was in need of a place to call home? Gloria knew it wouldn't be a temporary home, but somewhere she could count on going home to. Sometimes she would go back to her empty apartment and find a family moved in.

"Gloria thinks you are a nice man, and will accept your offer. Gloria will do her best" She walked quickly towards the stack of papers and allowed Tessa to show her the basics

Yuuta felt a smile pull at his lips. “It’s not a problem really, I don’t mind,” he said as he walked back into his office. Yuuta worked away until it was time to go home. He noticed Gloria was still there. He walked to her little area that she was settling into and cleared his throat before speaking.

“Time to head out for the day, you ready to go home?” he asked as he clocked out. He had skipped lunch, so he was exceptionally hungry. 

“I don’t know about you, but I am famished, would you like to go get something to eat before we head home? I know a great place to get the best teriyaki chicken in this part of Japan,” he said with an awkward grin.

Gloria saw Yuuta approach her from the corner of her eye, but pretended to not notice until he began speaking. She stood up straight, careful of the papers she was holding. "Gloria would love to get food with Yuuta." She smiled. "Are we walking, or shadow travel?" Gloria asked. She wasn't being funny, but totally sincere in her question.

She then looked around to make sure no one noticed her, and then wondered if Yuuta was afraid of her. She had approached him one day out of the blue. She felt comfortable with him, easily, not afraid to show her true self to him. Normally she was like this to Senshi, not strange men that were walking around in Japan.

"Are you afraid of Gloria?" She asked, her eyes locked on his. The tone in her voice shook a little.

When Gloria asked how they would be traveling, Yuuta chuckled as he answered her question, “I think its best if we walk, plus there’s a lot of stuff to see on the way to the restaurant.  Yuuta’s eyes widened at Gloria’s question. “No, not at all I am not afraid of you,” Yuuta was being honest. He was not afraid of Gloria. He could not pinpoint what it was he felt towards her, but it definitely was not fear.

“Shall we go?” Yuuta asked as he extended an arm to walk Gloria out of the building and down to the restaurant.

As they walked, he continued to wonder just what it was he felt for Gloria.

Gloria remained silent on their walk. She took in the sites of the city, and even though she had seen the city many times before at night, something seemed special about being with Yuuta. She was happy to know he wasn't afraid of her, but she was also feeling guilty about what she had done to him. She was a care free soul, soul, did she even have one? She knew she was alive thanks to the special gem she obtained, but what did it make her? Yes she could now live like a human, but would she age? When would she die? 

Gloria's head was full of questions about her own self. Was Yuuta now her friend? She wanted to share so much, but they barely knew one another.

"Gloria, is happy that Yuuta is being nice." She said suddenly breaking the silence. Her face however was plain, discouragement crossed her expression.

Yuuta walked at a brisk pace towards the restaurant. He was thinking about what to do for the weekend. There was a festival coming into Tokyo and Yuuta was thinking of taking Gloria. He wanted to show her all the wonderful things Japan has to offer, especially since she seemed like the girl who would enjoy festivals.

He barely heard her when he came back down from his thoughts. “oh, yeah? I guess you are just easy to be nice to…” he trailed off wondering if the words he thought had just came out of his mouth. He was normally quite a grump, and knew he could be a jerk who pushed people away.


A few moments later they arrived at the restaurant and Yuuta opened the door, “after you,” he said as he gestured for Gloria to walk through the door.

Gloria walked into the brightly lit restaurant and stared at the decorations on the wall, but something caught her eye. "What's that?!" Gloria asked in excitement as she dragged Yuuta away from the entrance towards an aquarium. 

The aquarium held many types of fish, and a little boy poked at the glass, who was soon scolded by his mother. "Gloria has never seen these things before!" Her hand squeezed Yuuta's fingers tighter. Gloria didn't know she wasn't supposed to walk across the restaurant without properly being seated first. However, she ignored the stares that came from the people around them.

Yuuta had to hide his chuckles at Gloria’s amusement with the aquarium. Had she never really seen one before? Why was Yuuta so amused by this, he wasn’t used to smiling and the sensation felt quite weird.

“This is an aquarium Gloria, all of the fish that live in here get along. They are a lot of work, but I find aquariums quite calming,” Yuuta said as he laced his fingers though Gloria’s and pulled her towards him.

“We can look at the aquarium later, but first let’s find a seat and order some food. I don’t know about you, but I am starving.” 


Yuuta found the menus and handed one to Gloria. “If you need help picking something to eat, let me know. I can tell you what is good and what is not.”

Revived