The sun shone through the large windows of the office of Keigo Takami, aka the Winged Hero: Hawks. The No. 2 Hero sat back in his desk chair and sighed with boredom after his day had gone from an eventful morning to a dull afternoon.

"Pardon the intrusion, sir, your last interview is here."

Keigo looked over at his assistant, Ryushi Okita, as he stood in the doorway of his office. "Oh? Show them in, I suppose." He was about to look away but stopped when he saw a young woman with olive skin, dark rosy brown hair and silvery eyes step into his office, dressed in a simple white ruffle blouse and a maroon pencil skirt with matching heels.

"You're the cute girl from this morning." He noted, standing and coming around to her side of the desk- taking her file from Ryushi when he handed it to him.

The young woman was one of the citizens that he had saved earlier that morning. There was an attack by a small group of villains a few blocks away and she was caught up in the chaos. She had been trapped inside of the bank that was being robbed by the villains and was the hostage used by them when the police had shown up.

Keigo could see that she was holding something behind her back. "Whatcha got there?" he asked, pointing.

The young woman blushed and shyly presented a bouquet of flowers.

Keigo could see a collection of blooming agrimony, bluebells, dark pink roses, and daffodils within the bouquet. "These are for me?"

The young woman nodded and placed the vase the bouquet was in on his desk, then reached into her purse and took out a notepad and pen.

Keigo watched with interest as she wrote something down for him, reading over it quickly when she turned the notepad towards him.

'Thank you for saving me this morning. Please accept these flowers as a sign of my gratitude.'

Keigo saw her cheeks flushing a rosy pink. "It was my pleasure, Miss...?" He smiled when the look of realization appeared on her face.

'My apologies, sir, my name is Hanako Itami.'

Keigo watched as she bowed. "It was my pleasure, Miss Hanako Itami. And thank you for the flowers, they're lovely." He waited while she began writing again.

'I'm glad you like them.'

"So, you're my next interview, huh?"

'Yes, sir.'

"Then please, take a seat." Keigo gestured to the chair across from him and looked to Hanako as she sat down. "Miss Itami, can I ask you a question?"

Hanako nodded.

"Is there a reason why you don't speak?"

Hanako nodded again, writing her reply.

'When I was younger, I was in an accident that damaged my vocal cords. They've long since healed, but for some reason, my voice never returned.'

"I'm sorry to hear that," Keigo replied. "It must be difficult to communicate with other people, then."

'It can be a challenge when I'm on my own, but that's why I carry a notepad and pen on me at all times just in case.'

Keigo looked through Hanako's file, his brows raised with surprise. "Wow, I must say, Miss Itami, your experience and credentials are rather impressive."

'Thank you, sir. Clerical work is about the only thing I can do outside of my family's business.'

"What is your family's business?"

'My brother and I run a bakery.'

"And why do you seek work outside of the family business?" Keigo asked.

'Our shop has been struggling financially over the last few months and if we can't get caught up on our bills soon we'll be at risk of losing the shop. My brother, Shihei, would rather I didn't try to find a job but we could use the extra money and the shop is all we really have left of our parents.'

Keigo looked over the rest of her file, including her references. "Well, I must say, out of everyone that I've interviewed today you have the most impressive resume." He turned his attention to her. "Congratulations, Miss Itami, you're hired. You can start tomorrow morning."

When Keigo looked at Hanako, he was surprised at how adorable she looked beaming ecstatically at him.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise to do my best!'

Keigo chuckled. "I will see you here tomorrow morning, then, bright and early." He stood and escorted her to his office door. "Stay safe now, alright?"

Hanako smiled and nodded, giving him a quick bow and a wave before heading towards the elevator.

Keigo watched until the elevator doors closed and she disappeared from view. 'This should be interesting.'

"So, shall I inform the other applicants that the position has been filled?" Ryushi asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Ryushi followed Keigo back into his office and noticed the flowers on his desk. "That was rather thoughtful of her."

Keigo looked at him, noticing him observing the flowers. "They're pretty, aren't they? I don't think I've ever gotten flowers from a woman before, though."

"Well, these are special," Ryushi said. "Have you ever heard of 'hanakotoba'?"

"Can't say that I have."

"It's the language of flowers here in Japan," Ryushi explained. "You see, each flower has a different meaning behind it."

Keigo gazed at the bouquet. "So what do these mean?"

"Each one of these is a symbol of gratitude," Ryushi said pointing to the agrimony, bluebells, and the dark pink roses.

"What about the daffodils?"

"They symbolize respect."

"Huh."

"You must have really made an impression on her to receive such a thoughtful gift."

"I guess so," Keigo replied, then smiled. "I think I'm going to like having her around."

Hanako was so excited that she got the job, but she was worried about what her brother would say.

'I hope he won't be mad at me...'

"Hey, Hanako, welcome back home," Shihei said in greeting.

'Hi, Shihei. How were things while I was out?' Hanako asked, signing to her brother.

"They were pretty slow, as you can see. I think it had something to do with those bank-robbing villains this morning."

'That makes sense. It wasn't far from here.'

"You didn't get caught up in all that chaos did you?"

'Well...'

"Oh my god, are you OK?" Shihei dropped everything to look her over.

'I'm fine, Shihei, thanks to the Winged Hero.'

"Hawks saved you?"

Hanako nodded. 'And I had an interview with him today, as well.'

Shihei sighed. "An interview? Hanako, I told you that you didn't need to find work, that I would handle it."

'But Shihei, we need the extra money and I want to help however I can. I'll still work here at the shop in between my shifts with Hawks' agency. Besides, it's clerical work like I've done before so it'll be easy peasy!'

"Are you sure this is what you want, sis?"

Hanako nodded again. 'It's not just a way to help bring in extra money for the shop, but it's also a way for me to repay my debt to Hawks for saving my life today.'

Shihei sighed, rubbing his neck. "Well, alright... man, when did you get so grown up and stubborn?"

'Hey, one of us was bound to take after Mom and since you took after Dad more than I did, that just leaves me.'

Shihei chuckled, a sad smile present. "That's a good point. Well, when do you start?"

'Tomorrow morning.'

"Wow, so soon?" Shihei was still worried, but seeing his little sister so happy and excited quelled the worry a bit. "Alright, then I'll be getting up bright and early to make you a nice big breakfast. Deal?"

Hanako beamed up at her brother. 'Deal.'