Dovetailed solution of your heart
The title is taken from the 31 Days theme for September 8, 2007.
At 7 4M, Chrome Dukuro walks through the stark corridors of the Foundation headquarters with a hand towel and a bottle. It is Monday; that means that Hibari should be at the virtual training hall, running through a simulation duel against himself. True enough, she finds him in the cupola, tonfa out, eyes sharp, breathing heavy. His chest is slick with the sweat that he must have been working up since three in the morning – the time she woke up only to feel him rise from their bed.
"You're in the way," he snaps, without so much as a glance in her direction; her entrance paused the program, and he hates interruptions.
"Good morning" is her simple reply. Chrome sets the towel and bottle down by the door and steps out.
At 10:22 AM, Chrome heads for the library with iced barley tea and a bowl of shoyu ramen. He is seated at his usual spot by the picture windows overlooking the armory, smoking, staring at a virtual model of the box he has been trying to track down along the South African coast. The ashtray is overflowing with cigarette butts.
"I didn't ask for food," he says, eyes never leaving the projection slowly spinning in the air in front of him.
"Tetsu told me that you skipped breakfast," Chrome returns. She sets the food down, whisks the ashtray off the desk. "I'll clean this for you."
He does not speak to her when she comes around from dumping the cigs and the ashes. She hears the clatter of chopsticks and clink of ice against ice as she leaves.
At 3:46 PM, Chrome quietly slips into a sitting room with walls bearing murals depicting cherry blossom groves and devastating battlefields – it is where Hibari entertains enemies and unpleasant acquaintances. To his credit, there is no outward indication of his irritation; she takes a moment out to watch him as he performs the tea ceremony, perfect to a fault, eyes hooded, lips pursed.
They exchange a single glance, enough for Chrome to know exactly what he wants her to do. She leaves and carries out his tasks to the dot, for he will expect everything to be ready when he needs to clean the room and dispose of the bodies.
At 8:19 PM, Chrome is standing in the doorway of Hibari's office, watching him through her one good eye as he readies himself to read the thousands of papers stacked up on his desk, his floor and just about every available surface in the area. She could say a lot of things, maybe remark on the shade of his skin and the darkened look in his eyes. She speaks of something else instead.
"I will inform Tetsu about preparing the next set of reports for you."
"You do that."
At 2:02 AM, Chrome returns to Hibari's office and finds half of the reports read and Hibari himself sprawled on the couch, fast asleep and using his own coat to cover his shoulders. She tugs the clipboard out of his grip, trades his coat for a real blanket, brushes the hair off his forehead just long enough to kiss him and quietly leaves the room.