Hey everyone! Since the other chapter was a bit shorter, I'm doing another double chapter update! Besides, who can say no to that? *laughs* Anyway, hope you enjoy!
-Chapter Ten-
Hei felt his senses starting to come back to him as he pulled from his dreamless sleep. The feeling of warmth surrounding him and the soft jasmine scent that had calmed him to sleep permeated his nose. A steadily throbbing beat was felt against his forehead and arm that was against warmth with the slight tickling feeling of his hair from a soft but warm breath stirred him more to open his eyes slowly. His face was up against Mitsuki's upper chest and his head tucked under her chin enough that her soft breath could be felt against the back of his head. Aware of his arm being wrapped around her torso and up her back a little, he could feel her arm around him and up along his back in return.
Yesterday's events slowly started to filter back to him. He had been talking to Mao outside his apartment building as the cat Contractor laid up on the wall while he had leaned against it making it seem like he was just standing there casually to the average passerby. He heard his landlady come outside and see Mao, who had reacted quickly by jumping down and trying to run off before she could catch him. Hei had nonchalantly stood up and started walking off as the sun sank down towards the horizon; hands in his pockets and looking like any other ordinary person out for a walk in the evening air. He'd stopped at the tobacco shop where Yin was and set a piece of candy down for her, thanking her for helping pull him together after he had regained consciousness inside the Gate from the meteor shard's overwhelming display of power while fighting Nick. But as he walked on afterwards, he felt the piece of moonstone in his other pocket that Mitsuki had given him for good luck. He figured he ought to return it to her and had headed in the direction of her apartment.
Having seen the light on through the slider door from the road, Hei had gone around the front remembering he didn't have his gear on him to scale up to her balcony like the other times. But as he got to the door, he also remembered he needed a key to get inside and he didn't have his lock picking tools on him for once. There was a little buzzer with each of the tenant's names off to the side but he was hesitant on pressing the button with her name next to it. The next moment, someone had opened the door as they had come out to go wherever, holding the door open for him. He had nodded in thanks, going inside, and up to her door but stood there for a moment hesitating on knocking. Part of him wanted to turn around and go back to his apartment because he was still worn out emotionally from the ordeal with Nick and he didn't want her to see him in this state but a part of him also needed to see her face. For some reason, the thought of seeing her smile and hearing her voice seemed like it might help him relax. So after debating for a moment, he had knocked on her door. Sure enough, as soon as she opened the door and saw the look of surprise at him being there and hearing her voice, it made his stomach flutter a little bit.
Going in over to her living room after taking his shoes off while she went down the hall to grab his jacket, he ended up in front of her bookshelf where she had a bunch of books she had mentioned about since she had liked to read. But he had finally caught the two pictures there of her and her brother and also one with the two of them and what he guessed were her grandparents. Seeing them smiling happily made his heart ache at knowing he didn't even have a single picture left of his sister or from before the Gates with their parents. Or even the rest of his other family they left behind the night Bai killed their parents despite him saying he had no other family left. He'd only grabbed the essentials of some food, drinks, all the money he could find, and some clothes, before he had gotten her and himself out of there before anyone else found their parents and put two and two together with the odd way Bai acted for a few days prior. He had vowed to protect her like the older brother he was should do and hopefully find some way to change her back to normal. Granted it wouldn't have changed what she had done but he still couldn't let anyone take her away.
But when Mitsuki had asked him if he was alright and he'd lied about it, she obviously had noticed. When she had pulled him into her embrace, it was like every bit of the emotions he had bottled up all these years just popped open. It hadn't helped having seen the illusion of Bai in the Gate the day before either. The tears that had spilled out of him would have certainly had Mao and Huang question him on whether he was a Contractor or not. Well, Huang wouldn't probably have cared either way since he would have still only seen him as another monster as he saw all Contractors. As long as Hei had his powers, he was a monster in Huang's eyes. Then again, even before becoming a Contractor, the amount of people he had killed was more than enough to make his human teammate consider him a monster regardless.
And then there was Yin. Despite her having her quirkiness for a Doll, it wasn't like she could still comprehend in full the weight that sat on Hei's shoulders all the time. Sure, she seemed to care about him to a point but he saw her like he saw his sister: someone that needed protecting because she couldn't protect herself from the world around her. Plus, he had to keep some sort of his sense of being an emotionless Contractor around the others. Given him crying his eyes out like that was well out of the ordinary realm for what a Contractor was supposed to act like...well it was a side he couldn't show to anyone.
And yet with Mitsuki, she saw right through him and his aloofness he usually showed to everyone else, whether as Li, the exchange student or as Hei, the Contractor. No, not Hei, but as the Contractor known as BK-201: the Black Reaper. What she saw was Hei, the man behind the mask he wore. The real him he hid from the rest of the world. She knew who and what he was and yet she didn't mock him or shun him. And with her comforting him and letting him cry, then turn around and have him lay there with his head in her lap while she hummed softly to him, massaging his head to help him relax more, it had meant so much. She didn't have to do what she did and yet she went out of her way to do so.
When he'd asked to lay with her since he couldn't sleep while out on the couch, he hadn't expected her to let him. But she obviously had seen his vulnerable state and had let him lay in the comfort of her arms. The jasmine scent of hers had an almost immediate calming effect on him along with the warmth of her arms around him. And for the first time in a while, he had found himself able to relax and fall asleep quickly as if she would be able to protect him against the world there in her arms. The nightmares that had plagued him didn't come that night either. He had been left to a dreamless, yet peaceful, sleep.
Pulling back slowly so as to not disturb her into waking, Hei looked to her peacefully sleeping face; her hair having fallen into it slightly. Gently reaching his hand up, he brushed it back behind her ear, letting his fingertips brush gently along her jaw, moving his thumb across her soft cheek as she continued to sleep. What was it about her that made his stomach flutter and his heart beat a little faster in his chest? The way her laugh and smile lighting up her face seemed to make him feel better. The warmth of her arms around him holding him close and protecting him when he felt like a vulnerable child. He was the Contractor with the power to protect or kill people, so how was it that she, a plain human seemed to be the one able to protect him right now? There was no way he could possibly be falling in love with her. Contractors didn't feel love. And yet, how else could he explain what he was feeling? The emotional instability he had from last night? Or the way he felt towards others at times? Yeah he acted a certain way around others depending on whether to be Li or the Black Reaper version of himself to keep up appearances. He had to. But with her unlocking all the hidden feelings he'd buried deep within him for years, it was just so...overwhelming.
Giving a small sigh, Hei closed his eyes as he returned to laying close to her with his head tucked under her chin again and his arm wrapped around her. He didn't want to get up just yet from the comfort of her arms as he tried to process everything that had happened and what was stirring deep inside him. Until he could figure out his real feelings though, he would keep them to himself.
Mitsuki felt her senses start to come to her as she woke up from her sleep. The warmth surrounding her and the soft scent of cedar and coriander permeated her nose as she felt the steadily throbbing heartbeat against her arm that was still wrapped around Hei's torso and back. His soft, even breathing could be felt against her upper chest slightly as he was still curled up next to her; his arm also having remained wrapped up around her torso and back. Memories from yesterday's events came back to her and she felt her cheeks getting slightly warm. She started to pull back hoping not to disturb him but his arm tensed up just enough to keep her from moving backwards any further.
"Don't," he muttered quietly, not moving anything other than just his arm from tensing up. "I just want to stay like this a little bit longer."
Feeling her cheeks flush with warmth even more, Mitsuki relaxed again. His arm also went lax once more. She laid with him there for a little bit longer, feeling his soft and even breathing against her upper chest. He seemed at ease there in her arms. But given she had said it would be okay for him to lay with her like this last night, she was at least glad that doing so seemed to have calmed him down.
Suddenly his stomach gave a small growl and she felt his hand on her back give a slight twitch. She suppressed a small laugh at his stomach obviously telling him it needed to be filled as he continued to lay there trying to ignore it. But when it growled louder a moment later, she couldn't help but chuckle softly as he seemed to curl closer to her. When it protested a third time, he gave an agitated sigh before seemingly reluctantly letting up on his hold and moved backwards from her. He rolled over to face away from her before sitting up, swinging his legs to the floor so he was sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from her. But before he went to get up, she reached her hand out and placed it on his arm. He turned his head slightly to look back over his shoulder at her.
"Did you sleep alright?" she asked looking up into his dark blue gaze. She could see that the tired look was definitely gone. At least gone enough that it didn't show as much as it had last night.
"Yeah," he replied quietly before he turned his head away and stood, making his way towards the doorway. He gave a small pause once he reached it, his hand up on the door frame, looking out into the hallway. "Um...thanks..."
Giving a blink as he disappeared around the corner, Mitsuki gave a small smile as she sat up. Obviously he was still embarrassed about the whole ordeal with showing himself in such a vulnerable state. But at least he did seem more back to himself somewhat. Sighing, she figured she ought to get up and get started on breakfast.
Hei splashed some cold water on his face before looking up at his reflection in the mirror as he stood in her bathroom. When she had woken up as he had laid there in her arms, he hadn't expected himself to actually tell her what he had. He was going to play it off like he was still asleep and see what she did but as she had started to pull back away from him, he didn't want her to leave just yet. But he was equally surprised when she had stopped and went still again, listening to his request to stay like that for just a bit longer. Though, when his stomach had protested in wanting food, he tried to ignore it. But like the betrayer it was, it wouldn't quit until it got what it wanted. Of course, hearing Mitsuki chuckling had made his cheeks feel a bit warm with embarrassment. Leave it to him to ruin a moment because of his stomach.
When he had gotten up to leave the room, feeling her hand on his arm was like having an electric current suddenly give him a charge from such a simple touch. He wanted to turn around and go lay back in her arms and feel her warmth and protection again. He felt he could lay there all day like that but his stomach would have protested even more. So he knew he had to get up.
Looking up at the doorway as Mitsuki came to it, Hei grabbed a towel to wipe his face off before giving her a silent nod as he went past and let her use it. He went down to the kitchen to see what he could make.
"Oh you don't have to do that," she spoke up as she entered the kitchen a moment later and saw him starting to prepare breakfast.
"Think of it as a thank you for last night," he spoke up as he stood at the stove stirring the food he started to cook in the pan. He could feel her eyes still on him and he turned his head to look over his shoulder, giving her a soft smile to assure her he was serious.
Sighing softly at his look, Mitsuki figured there was no point in arguing with him. She went over to the table and sat, watching him as he cooked. It wasn't long before he had breakfast ready and sitting on the table as he brought over a couple of hot teas and set them down before sitting across from her. They started eating quietly.
"Um...can...can I ask you something?" she spoke up quietly as she looked down at her plate still holding her chopsticks in hand. She glanced up seeing him chewing a bite as he looked at her, inclining his head a little. "Um...I was curious as to what that bright blue light was the other night inside Hell's Gate." She gave a small pause as he stopped chewing, pinning her with his gaze. "I saw your star and another shining brightly so I figured maybe you were confronting another Contractor but I've never seen such a blue light coming from there before." She looked down at her plate again. "But you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Hei gave a blink remembering back to that day. He finished chewing his bite before taking a drink of tea. "Yes I was fighting another Contractor," he spoke up quietly. She raised her head a little to look at him. "It took us inside Hell's Gate since he had what I was sent in there for."
"W-what was it? If you don't mind my asking..."
"The meteor shard," he replied quietly as he looked away. She could see a slightly haunted look pass through his eyes as he had spoken the words before looking away.
"Meteor shard?" She tilted her head a little confused.
"No one's sure what exactly it is," he replied with a small shrug as he turned his head back towards her but glanced down at his food. "All I know is I've seen something like it before in South America five years ago." He gave a small pause keeping his eyes focused down on the table. "Contractors fought over it and many died because of it."
"But...why did they want it?" So he had been in South America around the time Heaven's Gate disappeared.
"Because it amplifies a Contractor's powers." He flicked his gaze up towards her. "I'm fairly certain it was what helped cause the disappearance of Heaven's Gate." He saw her blink as he glanced away again. "Nick, the Contractor I confronted inside the Gate, had it. It must have reacted to us and that's what caused the blue light." He pulled his lips into a thin line still looking off as if caught in his memories. "I don't recall much other than waking up on the ground, Nick gone, and the meteor shard in my hand."
"No one else saw you?" He shook his head slightly. "Well I guess that's good. I'd have hated to have you get caught." She saw him look at her with a blink. "I mean, that wouldn't have been good for you and all." She felt her cheeks get slightly warm. "Um...w-what's it like? Inside the Gate I mean." He gave a blink at her. "I've heard the rumours that you can see ghosts and such in there."
"It's...eerily quiet," he replied looking away again. "Like some sort of ghost town I suppose. Always grey and shrouded in mist. Nothing makes sense in there either."
"Did you see any ghosts?" His gaze flicked back to hers and that haunted look passed through them again. It was all she needed for her answer that he obviously had.
Setting her chopsticks down, she stood and went over to him as he furrowed his brow while looking up at her standing before him. She reached out and pulled him into her embrace, he stiffening up for a brief second, before the small clatter of his chopsticks on his plate was heard; the feeling of his arms wrapping around and holding her in return.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that alone," she spoke quietly as she gently rubbed the top of his head in a soothing manner. "I won't ask who you saw."
"My sister," he replied, his voice slightly muffled from his face buried against her shoulder as he gave a slight squeeze of his arms. She didn't say anything as she held onto him for several minutes before he finally pulled back out of her arms. His eyes remained dry but she could see he almost did want to cry.
"I'm sorry I brought up something that made you sad," she spoke quietly.
"It's...okay," he replied with a small shake of his head as he turned and picked up his chopsticks again. She hesitated a moment before going over and took her seat again, picking up her chopsticks as well. They continued eating the rest of breakfast quietly.
Looking to the time as they got up and put their dishes over by the sink, Mitsuki gave a sigh. She had to get ready for work soon since it was an earlier shift tonight.
"Something wrong?" he asked quietly noticing her defeated look on her face as she sighed.
"I have to get ready for work soon," she replied as she looked to the dishes that were going to need washing. On top of that, she knew that she'd have to leave his company soon.
"I'll do these," Hei spoke up and she looked at him with a blink. "You go get ready."
"A-are you sure?" She didn't want him have to do all this work when he was having a rough time.
"I'm the one that cooked didn't I?" He gave a soft smile and shook his head a little. "I don't mind it. Honestly." Besides it would give him something to do and keep his mind off of things for a bit.
Sighing in defeat at Hei's point, Mitsuki turned and headed down to the bathroom to get a shower and ready for work. When she headed back to the living room after getting dressed, she found Hei there dressed in the borrowed clothes of her brother's that she said he could hang up and just wear tomorrow since he had only worn them for dinner basically last night. He was on the couch with a book in his hand from off her shelf and flipping through it.
"Which one did you grab?" she asked as she came over and he glanced up at her from the pages. He turned the book enough so she could see the title and she gave a smile. "Oh that's a good one. I know you'll like it by the end. But I won't spoil anything."
Turning and heading towards the door so she could grab her shoes and get ready to leave, she glanced back over her shoulder to see Hei stand as he grabbed a piece of paper on the coffee table and use it to mark his place in the book before setting it down. He went to grab his jacket and slid it on.
"You can take the book with you to borrow if you want." He gave a blink and paused glancing back at it then her as she gave a smile.
Grabbing the book, he put it in his jacket pocket before heading to the door with her and they both got their shoes on, heading downstairs, and outside into the sunny early afternoon. He walked with her all the way to her work.
"Um, thanks for walking with me," she spoke up as she stood by the employee entrance.
"Have a good day at work," he said softly as a small breeze shifted the air and blew a little bit of her hair into her face that had come loose from the clip she'd put it in. He reached up and tucked it back behind her ear, causing her to blush a little. "And thank you for letting me stay with you last night."
"Um...n-no problem," she stuttered feeling her cheeks get really warm. "Um...you have a good rest of your day too okay?" He gave a small smile as she took a step back and turned, opened the door, and gave him a last glance before going inside.
Sighing to himself as he stood there for a moment, Hei turned and walked on down the sidewalk again. He had no particular place to go and there wasn't a job he had to do tonight either as his alias or as the Reaper. His hand went to the book in his pocket and he figured he might as well find a place to go read for a while. So turning down another street as he got to the corner, he headed for a nearby park that he knew he could go sit and read without being disturbed.
"Hei where the hell have you been?" Mao asked as he spotted the Contractor sitting underneath a tree reading a book. He'd been looking everywhere for him and stopped by to ask Yin to see if she could find him. She'd sent out her spectre and found him at a park nearby reading and told him the directions. "I went back to your place last night after your damn landlady went inside for the night but you weren't there."
"I was out," Hei replied as he kept his gaze to the book and turned a page. He'd managed to read for the past couple of hours without being disturbed. The book was getting pretty good now and he wanted to finish it.
"Out? All night?" Mao raised a cat eyebrow at him as he took in Hei's clothes, noticing that he wasn't wearing his usual white button up shirt and jeans but instead a red sleeveless shirt and darker blue jeans than he normally wore. It was then he recalled the outfit he had been wearing that one time after he showed up at Hei's apartment and found Mitsuki there with him with the knowledge of Hei and Contractors. "You were with that girl again weren't you?"
"Does it matter?" Hei continued reading, flipping another page, but could see the cat Contractor give him an unamused look with his ears backwards out of the corner of his eyes.
"It does when I can't get a hold of you," Mao replied with a small growl of annoyance. "Sure she's helpful with some things but still..." Hei looked away from reading and gave Mao a droll look.
"What? You think I'm going to let her get between me and my missions?" he asked in an emotionless tone.
"You know what Hei?" Mao started asking, annoyance clearly written all over his face as he twitched his tail. "Never mind. Do whatever you're going to do. But I'm not getting my tail lit on fire for you."
Watching as Mao turned around and trotted off, Hei brought his attention back to the book. But Mao's words and the ever present stirring of emotions he had felt earlier that morning when he'd woken up in Mitsuki's arms, watching her sleep for a few minutes wouldn't stop nagging at him. He gave up on reading just as his stomach gave a growl and he sighed. Sometimes having the appetite he had did irritate him but there was nothing he could do about it. He'd had it ever since he was a kid, but even more so since he had been taken in by the Syndicate and had started training to become an assassin. All the training had been vigorous and burned a great deal of energy up to stay in shape so he could be on top of his game against any enemy that came at him or had to hunt down. And constantly having to be on his guard didn't help either. His appetite also hadn't waned since becoming a Contractor.
Sighing, Hei stood up and brushed himself off before putting the book in his jacket pocket and started to head out of the park. He wasn't sure where he should go eat at but the thought of Mitsuki's cooking suddenly popped in his head. Since he wasn't far from her work, he might as well go check it out. He was always up for trying out new places to see if they were any good. And given she worked as a cook, he figured why not?
Getting back to the restaurant, Hei headed inside and was seated. It wasn't too busy but there were quite a few others dining as well. He was just glad it wasn't like some super fancy restaurant and casual clothes were fine to wear. The waitress came over and took his order after he looked at the menu for a couple of moments. As much as he would have loved to order a bunch of food, he figured it would be a good idea not to stand out too much, so he settled for only a few items. He wondered which items Mitsuki would be preparing as he sipped his tea and waited for his food to come.
"Well would you look at that," Minako spoke up as she peered out at the dining area from the little windows to the kitchen as she and Mitsuki were about to head on break. "That guy looks like he's got quite the appetite. I was wondering who got such a big order of food. I thought it would be like a small party but just one guy? Reminds me of your brother's appetite."
`"Guy?" Mitsuki asked with a blink as she went towards her standing by the doors.
"Yeah. He's kind of cute too."
Mitsuki looked out to see what Minako was talking about. Sure enough, she spotted who she was pointing out right away. Her cheeks grew warm as she gave a small squeak in surprise.
"Wait...don't tell me you know that guy?" Minako asked noticing Mitsuki's cheeks flush pink and the squeak she let.
"Um...y-yeah," Mitsuki stuttered still blushing. Her co-worker crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as if to silently say she better spill the juicy tidbits. "H-he's a friend of mine."
"Uh huh. And my ass is purple too," she replied in disbelief. "'Just friends' with that guy? Okay he obviously eats a bit but you can't say he isn't handsome."
"N-no really. We're just friends," Mitsuki replied with a stutter still as she shook her head. Though she was curious as to why Hei was there besides getting something to eat. Was he waiting for her to get out of work or something?
"Nope. Still not buying it," she replied shaking her head then grinned.
"Wh-what are you up to?" Mitsuki could still feel her cheeks flushed with warmth looking at her co-worker and best friend giving a mischievous grin.
"Oh nothing." She still grinned as she turned and headed to go take her break. Mitsuki gulped silently knowing that look was never a good thing before following her. She really hoped that she wasn't going to embarrass her.
After her shift ended a few hours later, Mitsuki was gathering her things to head home. Minako was already at the door and it was then she remembered earlier what her friend had said about Hei. She felt her cheeks starting to get warm.
"Oh! Hello," Minako spoke up with a blink as she went out while Mitsuki was still inside. Hei was leaning casually against the side of the building with his hands in his jeans pockets. His dark blue eyed gaze looked to her with an innocent blink. "Are you Mitsuki's friend?"
"Um yeah," Hei replied using his innocent Li voice as he stood back up straight, pulling his hands from his pockets. "Is she still working?"
"Oh she's just getting her things," Minako replied giving him a quick once over before leaning back inside. "Hey Mitsuki. Your boyfriend's here."
Hei gave a blink at being called Mitsuki's boyfriend. "Oh um, she's not..." he started to say putting his hands up in front of him innocently trying to play it down. Minako raised an eyebrow at him before putting an arm up around his shoulders, pulling him down slightly so his face was right next to hers.
"She's a sweet girl," she spoke up dropping her voice a little quieter but in a serious tone. "She's gone through some rough times in her life. So if you hurt her feelings, you better watch out."
"Uh...y-yes ma'am..." Hei replied stuttering in his Li voice still before she let go of him again just as Mitsuki came to the door.
"Hey I'll see you later then okay Mitsuki?" Minako spoke up with a smile at the other girl who blinked as her cheeks were slightly flushed in embarrassment. She gave a wave as she headed for the sidewalk and smirked at her, giving Hei a wink, then disappeared around the corner.
"Um...do I want to know?" Mitsuki asked flushed with embarrassment as she looked at Hei. He looked at her before shaking his head slightly.
"She thinks I'm your boyfriend," Hei sighed though he didn't miss the slight flush of her cheeks even more than they already were.
"Oh man. Is she still going on about that?" Mitsuki groaned putting her hand over her face to hide her embarrassment. "She thought that earlier when she saw you in the dining area." Hei raised an eyebrow at her as she dropped her hand away from her face. "Um well...we were going on break just after you had your food brought out to you and she spotted you through the doors to the back." She gave a small pause scratching the back of her head slightly. "She called me over to point out 'the cute guy' she was looking at and it happened to be you. I guess she must have noticed that I recognised you and made a comment about it. But I told her we were just friends. Of course she doesn't believe me since she knows I don't have very many friends. So I guess the first thing that came to her mind when she saw me with a guy friend was to assume that well..." She trailed off as her cheeks flushed more.
"Cute huh?" Hei raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh...uh...she says that about every guy she sees that she thinks is cute," Mitsuki replied waving her hands in front of her a little while trying not to stutter. "Even though she already has a boyfriend."
"Do you think I'm cute?" Hei asked raising an eyebrow at her again. What did she think about him? He was curious.
"Y-you...?" Mitsuki felt her face turn red hot and knew it had to be beet red. Was he joking? Or was he being serious?
"I'm kidding," Hei replied with a small smirk. The way her face turned red he had to guess that obviously she did but she was really embarrassed about it. After all, she knew who and what he was. Getting involved with him in that sort of way wasn't going to happen regardless if she confessed she liked him or not. Or these strange stirrings of emotion inside himself towards her. He had his jobs to do for the Syndicate and it didn't involve that sort of ordeal. He'd made his mind up earlier after finishing eating and had wandered around the area looking at whatever just to pass the time until she finished work.
Blinking, Mitsuki looked at him as he gave a smirk then seemed to shrug it off before turning and heading for the sidewalk. She quickly caught up to him. "Um, so exactly how did you know when I was getting off?" she asked curiously as they started walking down the sidewalk. He put his hands back into his pockets nonchalantly.
"It was on your calendar in the kitchen," he replied. "I noticed it earlier before we left."
"Oh." That made sense since she did write her schedule up on the calendar all the time. She totally had forgotten all about that. Obviously he paid attention to a lot of things. Even now as they walked, she could tell that even though he seemed aloof, his gaze did scan the area around them. She guessed it was probably habit because of what he did as a profession. Making sure to keep an eye out for anything that looked suspicious was usually a thing that assassins did. At least in her books they always seemed to be that way. Maybe it was more true than just in the books. After all, who could say they had their own assassin for a friend? On top of that, a Contractor?
"Hungry at all?" he spoke up breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Oh um, yeah I guess." She looked over to him as he nodded his head towards a restaurant nearby.
Following him to it, they got seated and ordered food. Mitsuki looked down at her hot tea she'd ordered as she cupped both of her hands around it. His words from earlier asking her if she thought he was cute echoed in her mind. Of course she thought he was cute. How could anyone not think he wasn't? But she knew also that anything like that and being involved with him in any such way wasn't bound to happen. After all, he was an assassin and certainly whoever he worked for wasn't going to let him be involved in any such of a relationship. Plus he was a Contractor. Then again so was she. But she had her human emotions still intact. Hei...she wasn't sure. Yes, he had displayed such overwhelming grief and insecurities last night and this morning, and she saw bits and pieces of emotion show through now and again, but still, it had to be due to whatever his obeisance was. There was no way he would ever allow himself to even remotely think of something like that with anyone. Especially not her.
"...suki? Mitsuki?"
Looking up, she saw Hei looking at her with a slightly furrowed brow.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Y-yeah. Sorry," she replied shaking her head slightly as if to say it was nothing. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"N-nothing in particular," she replied taking a sip of her tea. "Um, I never did get a chance to ask how your injuries from that night were doing." She decided to change the subject off her as she looked at him. "They healed up alright?"
"Yeah. They were healed up by time I went to do the job at PANDORA," he replied with a small shrug as he took a drink of his own tea.
"I'm glad," she smiled at him. She had noticed last night and this morning when he'd been wearing her brother's lounging pants as pajamas without having a shirt on that he didn't seem to have had any leftover scarring. At least on his side he didn't. She didn't know about the bullet wound on his leg though.
Looking up as the food they ordered came out, they started eating. Mitsuki couldn't help but smile at how Hei seemed pretty content with food. It really did remind her of Yue, especially when she fixed one of his favourite dishes. And as she watched him eat, she suddenly was curious as to what his favourite dish was.
"Um, Hei?" she asked after she swallowed her bite.
"Hm?" He looked at her while he chewed more of his food he popped in his mouth.
"Um...do you um...have a favourite dish at all?" She looked at the various spread of food on the table between them. It was an assortment of different kinds so she couldn't exactly pinpoint a particular type of food that might be something he liked over the others. He gave a blink at her. "You know, like your favourite food?"
"Um...I guess I never really thought about it before," he shrugged in reply, a bowl of rice in one hand and his chopsticks in the other. "I just ate whatever was on hand at the time. It was either eat or go hungry. And I couldn't exactly go without anything from needing it for energy to do what needed to be done with my jobs." He remembered back to South America where most of their food was in ration packs ready to eat while on the run. There hadn't been time to make a whole lot of fresh food all the time. Once in a while there had been but mostly he'd stuck with rice and ramen with some sort of meat and vegetables to keep up his energy better.
"Is there any food you don't particularly care for then?"
"Nothing really comes to mind," he shrugged again. "Though I guess I find stir fry good to eat. It's usually quick and simple to make. And fried rice. Or ramen." He paused in thought of more foods he liked to make for himself as he took another bite of rice.
"Okay so is there anything in particular you like drinking?" she asked. "Anything other than water or tea? Coffee? Juice? Soda? Alcohol?"
"Oh no alcohol," he replied shaking his head. "I don't touch that stuff." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I prefer keeping a clear head at all times."
"True. That wouldn't be a good idea to be inebriated or have a hangover doing a job," she replied.
"Do you drink at all?"
"Me?" He gave a nod. "Nah. I tried it a couple of times but I never got past the burning sensation as it went down my throat. Not exactly something I enjoyed." She gave a small pause. "My brother never cared for it either. We had better things to spend our money on anyway." She gave a small chuckle. "Usually it was for food." Hei gave a small chuckle with her as well.
"Well, with an appetite like what you said your brother had, I suppose that's more than enough excuse," Hei replied with a smile.
"Yeah I'm surprised we didn't go broke on food alone," she replied still chuckling. They both gave small laughs for a moment before continuing to eat their food.
Finishing up, Hei paid for the bill again despite she saying she couldn't let him pay twice in a row for when he had treated her to dinner, but he said he didn't mind. He walked with her in the late evening air back to her apartment just as the stars started to show in the ever darkening sky.
"Um...thanks again for walking me home," she replied as she felt her cheeks warm up a little. He gave a little shrug as if to silently say it wasn't a problem. "Um...I guess I'll see you around then." He gave a nod before she turned, unlocked the door, and started to go inside.
Pausing, she looked to him but he was already walking away; hands in his pockets in that usual aloof manner he did. Part of her wanted to call out to him and ask if he wanted to come inside but the other part of her said maybe it would be best to keep at least some sort of distance. After today's weird ordeal with Minako and last night's emotional episode, she had noticed he seemed a little more distant like he usually was before last night. Like he kept everyone at arm's length even if it meant he was lonely. But she knew it was because of him as a Contractor and his assassin work.
Sighing, she turned and headed inside up to her apartment. But as she went in to the bathroom to get a shower, she noticed the basket that had his clothes from last night in it. Giving a raised eyebrow, she wondered if he had done that on purpose to make sure he had an excuse to stop by besides after doing a job. She couldn't help but give a small smile to herself as she picked up the basket and took it to the laundry room to wash before returning them to him at least.
Going back to the bathroom and grabbing a shower before getting herself ready for bed, she went to her balcony and looked up at the stars. She found his right away like always. And she found the one she'd come to realise must be hers since whenever she used her power, it glittered brighter. It sat nearby Hei's star. She wondered how ironic that was with it being that close to his. She was curious as to what Messier code Astronomics would have given it but she hadn't had the slightest clue. She knew her brother's was MN-008 as he'd told her in his letter but she didn't know which one in the night sky that would have been. And given he was gone now, it wouldn't be there anymore.
Turning and going back inside after a few moments, she went over to read a little more on her book she had started reading the other day. She wondered if Hei was enjoying the book she let him borrow. She hoped so.
Getting back to his apartment, Hei walked in quietly, flipped on the light, and looked at the nearly empty place. He gave a small sigh as he took his shoes off, went over to the window, and opened it before sitting down to look up at the stars. Part of him had wanted to ask Mitsuki if he could stay another night but he knew that he shouldn't overstay his welcome. After all, it wasn't like they were involved in that sort of relationship. Plus, he needed to get his mind back into focus after last night's emotional breakdown. There wasn't room for dealing with that sort of thing while on a job. He had to have his mind completely cleared and focused if he wasn't going to get himself caught or end up dead. He needed to have a little time away from her for a couple of days. That was the only way to keep himself at arm's length and aloof. Though he still couldn't help but think back to the way she had blushed so much when he had asked her if she thought he was cute.
'Stop it Hei,' he thought to himself as he shook his head and went to hang his jacket up, pulling out the book he'd borrowed from her. He'd have to finish it and return it to her soon. But for now, he would have to distance himself from her just enough to keep himself in check. It was the best thing to do.
Well that's the chapter. Looks like Hei is starting to finally realise his feelings for Mitsuki. But of course, he knows the Syndicate certainly wouldn't like him acting on those feelings. What is he going to do about them; the feelings? Guess you'll have to wait and see. *grins*
Also, the books Mitsuki has are a mix of Chinese (Mandarin) and Japanese titles she's collected over the years. The one Hei grabbed was a Chinese one (because why not since they also use Mandarin when speaking with each other when they're alone by themselves). *smiles*
Again, thanks again for reading. I'll hopefully get the next chapter up soon! I look forward to any and all reviews and comments! Thanks! *hands out pocky*