"Would you like more tea, Miss Hana?" Toni asked, smiling kindly down at his mistress. His face fell as he realized she was staring off into space and had not heard him. "Miss Hana?" he asked more forcefully, causing her to jump out of her reverie.
"O-oh! I'm sorry, Toni. Did you ask me something?" she smiled apologetically, a delicate blush coloring her cheeks. Vivi narrowed his eyes at her reaction. Something was off about Hana lately. For the last few months she had been in her own little world and startled easily. What he wouldn't give to be able to see the thoughts that so frequently took her away from the here and now.
"No apology necessary, my lady. Would you like more tea?" Toni repeated.
"No, thank you, Toni. Actually, I'm no longer hungry. If I may be excused..?" she turned her brown eyes at Vivi, starting to rise from her chair before she had permission to leave the table. He watched her for a beat too long and for a moment she thought he was going to deny her leave.
"You may," he assented, eyes dropping to her breakfast, which she had barely touched. He sipped his tea and watched her over the brim of his cup as she hurriedly left the dining room. Usually she would be off to school at this time, but it was the weekend. Hana spent most of her free time in her room nowadays.
"Toni?" Vivi turned his attention to his butler. "Have you noticed anything unusual about Hana's behavior these past few months?"
"Oh?" Toni made a show of thinking as he paused in clearing Hana's used dishes. "Besides not eating much, I haven't noticed a thing!"
Vivi frowned at his butler. Of course he wouldn't notice anything. He liked his butler well enough, but he was a bit of a fool when it came to things other than... well, being a butler. He sighed and stood. "I'm done, as well."
"Of course, Lord Vivi," Toni bowed his head as his master left the room.
Vivi mused as he walked through the house, not exactly knowing where he was headed until he stopped outside Hana's bedroom door. He paused before rapping his knuckles against the heavy wood, listening for noises of the young woman inside. His sensitive ears heard the flutter of paper. She must be doing her schoolwork. Vivi chided himself for being suspicious of her. The time was drawing near to when she'd be graduating school. Perhaps she was nervous for her final exams and was elbow deep in studying. That might explain her off behavior. But he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to it. With that thought he finally knocked and narrowed his eyes again as he heard her squeak in surprise. There was a commotion from within – she was moving things around before she answered the knock.
Finally she opened her door just enough for him to see her. She turned what she thought was a bored expression at him. Vivi smirked smugly. Didn't she realize he knew her better than that? Her face was slightly flushed and she gulped, giving away that she was flustered. Where was the girl that flung herself at him and embraced him any chance she got? It had abated a bit as she grew into a young woman, but lately there was an even further gap. He smothered the desire to reach out and grasp a lock of her tawny brown hair.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked softly, tilting his head to the side. His black eyes watched closely at her reaction. Her eyes widened a fraction and she began to bite her lower lip. She turned her head over her shoulder to look in her room and back at him again. Finally she shook her head no, her expression now wary. Vivi grasped her chin in his hand and leaned close. "You are hiding something from me and I demand to know what it is." His voice had dropped a few degrees and his eyes bored into hers.
"I-I'm just studying!" she said quickly, too quickly. He could hear as her pulse quickened and he drew back, releasing her chin. Was she frightened? Of him? Vivi frowned at the thought. Or was she afraid of him discovering whatever she so desperately didn't want him to see? If she was only studying why was she so apprehensive? All of these questions and he couldn't bring himself to ask. Perhaps he was scared of the answer.
"I don't want you in here all day! Too much of anything is a bad thing, even studying," he snapped. He immediately regretted it as she flinched at his tone. She was biting her lip again. He tugged on her chin, forcing her to release her bottom lip from between her teeth. "Do you understand?"
She cast her eyes down as she answered, "Yes, sir."
"Hana," Vivi growled, irritated at her use of the formal title. She was the only he had ever allowed to call him by his name alone. Why was she suddenly addressing him as 'sir'? He forced himself to speak kindly. "I am not leaving you alone until you smile."
She blinked in surprise at the warmth in his voice and rewarded him with a genuine smile, though small. Satisfied, he kissed her knuckles before stepping away from her door, dipping his head in farewell. Hana watched as he walked further down the hall until he turned the corner and was out of her sight.
Quietly she closed her door and leaned against it, exhaling in relief. She never would have been able to stop him from entering if he so chose, but somehow she knew he would respect it if she didn't want him to enter. With a blush she drew the hand he had kissed and held it to her chest. She still felt the warmth of his lips. Forget it, Hana! She mentally scolded herself and shoved that warm feeling deep down to bottle it up. As if Vivi would have any sort of romantic interest in you.
Hana returned to her desk, moving the jumble of loose-leaf papers that had everything from math equations and half-written essays aside. Underneath them was what she had really been reading and what she had hastily tried to hide. Upon the waxed wood of her desk sat a large book, bound in worn black leather. The cover and spine of the book was blank, as were the first few pages. But it was a textbook of sorts, almost like a history book. It was filled with information Hana had never been taught in school. The History of Demons. At first she thought it was a fiction of sorts. But it was written in the format of a book of learning; sometimes she had to struggle to concentrate on the details.
But it was in some of those details that resulted in her being nervous around Vivi. Him being sensitive to the brightness of the sun, the way the flowers she handed him withered before her very eyes and how he had never, not once, been ill. And the most obvious of all: he hadn't aged a day, not for all of her seventeen years. Plus it had been in his bedroom – not the main library. Even when she stumbled upon it, Hana sensed it was something she wasn't meant to find. The more she read, the more it rang with truth. It stirred something in her mind, something just beyond her reach.
She knew she would have to return it soon. It was peculiar that Vivi hadn't noticed its absence up to now. But he may make some sort of connection since it seemed he was catching onto her odd behavior. Perhaps she could accept it if he was something other, but a demon? Weren't demons supposed to be evil creatures? Hana hung her head as guilt ripped through her. Vivi wasn't evil. But why would he keep such a huge secret from her? Perhaps she was hurt he would keep something so large about himself from her.
With another sigh she returned the heavy book back to its hiding spot: underneath a bunch of her underthings in the top drawer of her dresser. It wasn't the best hiding spot but it seemed to have been sufficient until now. Soon it wouldn't matter; she would return it as soon as she saw an opportunity. But Vivi was cunning. She would have to do this just right in order to not be caught.
She threw herself across her bed, closing her eyes, willing herself to concentrate. Vivi was awake for most of the night and slept late in the day. Hana didn't trust herself to be quiet enough to return the book while he slept. It would have to be done when he was otherwise distracted. A trip taking him away from the mansion would be the most ideal. But he rarely did so and most of these trips Hana accompanied him. Would it raise his suspicions even further if she opted to stay behind while he was out? It was something she'd have to risk. Then there was the issue of the servants noticing her in his room. She supposed if she found the book without being caught, she would have to hope the same luck would be with her when she returned it. Feeling a bit more prepared with the outline of a plan in place, she left her room, seeking out Vivi.