Chapter two

Hayami, for the fifth time in the past two minutes, hissed in pain and glared at the nurse who was currently poking and prodding at him. She was enjoying this way too much. He could tell just by looking at her face.

It was bad enough that Iga had forced him to get checked out in the infirmary (He had threatened that if Hayami didn't comply, he'd send Kino after him), but the fact that he had to stay the night was even worse. If there was one thing Hayami didn't like, it was having other people take care of him. But, at the moment, he had no choice.

The nurse reached into some drawer, and pulled out a slim container. From the slim container, she produced a needle. Hayami's eyes widened briefly. Okay, he definatly needed to get out of there, and fast. He didn't like needles. He'd had a few run ins with them in the past, and they weren't his friends.

Right before he was about to jump out of the bed and make a mad dash for the door, a small head poked out. Blonde pigtails bouncing, Howan made her way over to the bed, her eyes twinkling. The nurse noticed the small girl, and was about to shoo her out, when she noticed the glare Hayami was giving her.

Flustering, she immediately made some excuse for having "Other patients" to attend to, and rushed out. Damn, he was good.

Howan, having not noticed the interaction, climbed up onto the bed and sat next to him, quickly getting comfortable in the uncomfortable pile of blankets and pillows. Smiling at him, she reached over and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, squeezing tightly.

Hayami, caught off guard by her action, paused a moment, before shifting so the little girl wasn't putting so much pressure on his ribs, and then carefully putting a hand to her back. He wasn't used to this. Kids usually ran away from him screaming. Having a little girl seem to trust him so much was surprising. But, in a way, it was refreshing. At least a few people still trusted him.

While he had been lost in his thoughts, Howan had climbed into his lap, still hugging him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said, softly. She paused a minute, before talking again. "Yuri said I shouldn't talk to you. He said you were a bad influence,"

Hayami coughed. Yuri was probably right about that… Hayami wasn't exactly the best role model for a little girl to follow.

"But I don't think so…" Howan continued. "How can you bad if you saved us all?"

He looked down at her in surprise. When he had first met Howan, he'd had the impression that she fairly mature. Indeed, she was. But she still had such simplistic views. She didn't understand that he hadn't meant to save them. It had been a fluke. An incredibly lucky fluke, but a fluke non-the-less.

What should he say to her, though? She was just a child, after all. Who was he to shatter the happy world she'd begun to build? Even if it did revolve around a lie…

Howan yawned, obviously drained of energy from the hurried string of events that had taken place. That much stress isn't good for a kid, Hayami thought.

After a moment, Hayami heard the child's soft breathing grow even. He knew he should call someone to move her to her room, but he really didn't mind having her there. It relaxed him, in a way. The fact that she could be so at ease around him told him that maybe he wasn't so hopeless, after all.

Kino wandered into the infirmary, for two reasons. The first being to check on Hayami; she knew how much he hated doctors. (And to make sure he hadn't ran off and/or killed the medical staff) And the second being to look for Howan. The little girl had mentioned going to see Hayami at one point, and Yamada was currently panicking, because he couldn't find the small child.

When she finally reached the door leading to Hayami's room, she stopped short. She wished she had a camera. Howan had found her way to Hayami, and was currently napping on his lap. It was adorable. And, Hayami actually didn't seem to mind.

Maybe I'll just come back later… she thought to herself as she began to inch away.

"Kino…" Too late. Hayami had seen her, and quietly called her over, motioning with the hand that wasn't holding up Howan's sleeping form. She complied, walking over to stand beside his bed.

"I didn't know you had a soft spot for kids…" she said softly, smiling down at him. He shrugged, not saying a word. Kino wasn't sure if he was thinking, or simply wanted the company. Either way, she was there, and the two of them, surprisingly, felt fairly comfortable in each other's presence, though for completely different reasons.

Kino for the fact that she was around familiar surroundings, and familiar friends. And Hayami because he was in the company of people who trusted him. Kino turned away, looking out his window. He had received one of the few rooms with a window due to the fact everywhere else was full. The infirmary was busy, due to Iga's order that everyone had to get checked out by the end of the week.

Looking out at the ocean, she couldn't help but smile. She felt completely at ease. She had missed this place. She was so comfortable.

"God, you look so happy you're gonna burst," Hayami muttered, shocking her out of her thoughts, quoting what she had said to him when he had first seen Blue Dome. She turned to look at him. He was smiling at her; it was a bit eerie… "Like a little kid."

She flustered, looking down at the ground. "I… I never thought I'd see this place again." She motioned with arm at their surroundings. "This submarine has been my home for so long now. It's all I have left… I'm happy to be back."

She stopped for a moment, turning back to the window with a wistful look. "They say 'Home is where the heart is'. My mother used to add something to that. She would say to me, 'Mayumi, Home is where the heart is, but your heart is with the ones you love,'" She glanced at him. "Do you believe that?"

Hayami thought about it. Really thought about it. The fact was, he had never really had anyone he really cared about. Not really. He had stopped caring a long time ago. Long before Katsuma. In fact, Katsuma had been the first person Hayami had been able to call his "friend" since he had been a child.

But what about now? Kino had certainly managed to weasel her way under his skin. In several ways, he considered her the only one he really did care about. Which only made him get even more frustrated, because after Katsuma, he had sworn to himself he would never get that close to a person again.

And yet here he was, with his "friend" standing beside his bed as he once again shifted Howan. The little girl stirred, before murmuring under her breath and slipping back into her sub-conscious.

Kino smiled at the little girl, and, gently placing a hand on top of the sleeping child's head, stroked her curls. Howan was such a wonder. She had to deal with so much, and yet still managed to maintain her innocence. Said girl immediately tilted her head in her sleep into Kino's hand, recognizing the feel of it.

Kino suddenly realized that Yamada was still probably panicking and tearing apart Blue Six.

"I need to take her to her room." She said softly to Hayami, nodding at Howan. He nodded, understanding, and carefully began to untangle himself from the girl's arms. Kino easily lifted her girl up, and Howan shifted in Kino's arms, looking for a comfortable position.

Hayami reached over and into the dresser beside his bed that was used to hold personal items while Kino struggled to get Howan in a position that she could stand. He pulled out the teddy bear he had taken from the beach and lifted it up for Kino to take.

Finally, Howan and Kino reached a compromise, with Howan resting her head on Kino's shoulder, and Kino holding the girl up. Kino smiled and took the bear. Somehow, despite how careful Kino and Hayami had been, Howan had woken up a bit and saw her bear.

"Mr. Nonaka…" she murmured, taking the bear from Kino and squeezing it. Kino looked the little girl over and decided she still wasn't awake enough to walk all the way back to her room.

Leaving the room, she left Hayami to his thoughts.

After leaving Howan to Yamada, Kino had wandered around Blue Six with no real destination, until she had come upon the cafeteria. Shrugging to herself, she wandered in and ordered some French fries.

Tsuji cooked them up in a few moments, and Kino took a seat at one of the tables, nibbling quietly at her food. She really wasn't paying much attention to anything.

Right now, she was going over the events of the last few hours. She had been worried about Hayami when she had gone to check on him. She really did consider him her friend, and that entitled her to worry. But, was that all it was? Simple concern for a friend? Or maybe a bit more?

She groaned. What was she thinking? And since when had she questioned her own judgment? This was getting way too complicated for her. At first, she had been positive that it had been only concern for her new friend. But then she had wandered in and saw him with Howan, and a part of her had stopped breathing.

She had never seen him like that before. He seemed so content, almost relaxed. She even caught the hint of a smile on his face. Not the cocky grin, or infamous smirk, but a real smile. That alone made her heart swell with something she wasn't familiar with.

She had felt like that only twice before. The first had been when she had first come to Blue Six, almost eight years previous. She had felt so out of place and alone. And the side-cracks and sarcastic comments most of the guys made hadn't helped. But then, something had changed.

Kino had been walking down one of the corridors, minding her own business, when one of the crewmembers that she couldn't place had seen her, and started the torment. He had laughed at her, murmuring about her being a "Little lost girl". She had gotten so mad; she had shouted some random insult. The man was less than impressed. He had advanced on her, cracking his knuckles. He had pulled back to strike her, shouting that he would, "Teach that little brat a lesson about who's in charge!". She had squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the hit.

It never came. When she finally worked up the courage to open her eyes, she had seen something surprising. A large, dark skinned man had blocked the strike, and with ease, tossed the man away. Kino remembered what he had said to the man,

"Next time you want to play rough, pick someone a bit more willing, eh?"

The dark skinned man had introduced himself later as Shidora. He had been Kino's first real friend on Blue Six, and Kino still had a close relationship with him. He was like an older brother to her. And he had stood up for her on several occasions.

The second time Kino had felt so strongly had been very recently; in the midst of Hayami's fight with Verg, actually. When Verg had grabbed Hayami by the throat, she had felt fear rush into her. When the monster had finally released him, she had hesitated only a moment before going to him. She had been so relieved.

And then, Verg had leaned towards them, glaring harshly. She had been scared. She wasn't afraid to admit to her fear. And for some reason, she had grabbed onto Hayami. To her surprise, he had wrapped his arm around her, and while she was still terrified, she had the sudden feeling that she was safe. That everything would be okay.

Through out the entire thing, she had felt several new emotions towards Hayami. Fear, respect, and… and…

Oh, hell, just say it! She shouted mentally. Love. She had felt love for him. Grumbling, Kino buried her head into her arms. She was content to stay like that, slumped over her fries, until she felt a finger poke her in the back.

Shiro stood with Freeda, both of them looking over her. After a moment, she sat on one side of Kino, and Freeda on the other.

"What's wrong with you?" Shiro questioned, flipping a piece of her redish-brown hair over her shoulder, and then snatching a fry from Kino.

"Hey!" Kino protested, defensively moving her fries away from Shiro. Shiro laughed and shrugged.

"I'm hungry."

"So get your own!"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Tsuji hates me."

Kino snorted, trying to hold in her laughter. Freeda didn't even try. She just tilted her head back and erupted into a series of loud laughs. Shiro shrugged, and stole another fry. Tsuji was glaring at her again. Freeda and Kino noticed, and then both started to laugh. Shiro joined them.

After sobering, Kino leaned over to Shiro. "So why does Tsuji hate you?"

Freeda answered for her, "You remember when we docked at the remains of Los Angelus?"

Kino nodded.

Freeda lowered her voice so the chef couldn't hear. "Well, Tsuji had invited Shiro out for dinner. Poor Shiro was so out of it, after working almost forty-eight hours straight without rest that she didn't even notice she had accepted. Afterwards, she comes to my room in a panic. She worried herself to sleep, and slept right through the 'date'."

Shiro nodded and continued. "Since I stood him up, he's completely ignored me. I've had to get Alessandro to fetch me my food for the past month!"

Kino let out a low whistle. That was some grudge…

Shiro suddenly thought of something, and leaned a bit farther over the table to look at Freeda. "Speaking of Alessandro, how're things going on between you two?"

Freeda snorted. "They're not."

"Oh, come on! Give him a shot!" Shiro stated. "After all, you two are lucky. I'd give up quite a bit to have some handsome guy take an interest in me."

Kino choked. "What!"

Shiro sat up a bit. "Well, all I seem to be able to attract are old men who-"

"No, no!" Kino interrupted. "What do you mean "You two"?"

Freeda laughed. "She means me with Alessandro, and you with Hayami."

"What!"

Shiro and Freeda shared a look, before Shiro placed a hand on Kino's shoulder. "Oh, please. Hayami is possibly one of the cutest guys on this sub., hands down."

Kino shook her head. "What do you mean he has an 'interest' in me?"

Shiro and Freeda both shrugged, "We figured you two had something going on. You guys spend enough time together…"

Kino flushed, but said nothing. What could she say? For one thing, she couldn't really deny that she had an interest in him. Whether the feeling was shared, she wasn't sure. And she really didn't want to start another rumor.

Freeda paused for a moment. "Come on, you guys. Let's go to my room and talk more,"

They stood up and left, with Kino pausing only briefly to discard her now cold French fries.

Author's Notes: Yay! Chapter two is done! This is really fun, writing for nothing but fun. I should have done this a while ago. By the way, Howan's bear's name is Mr. Nonaka, right? I think it is…

And a big thanks goes out to my two reviewers: Chshr and I wont tell.

Please review you guys! It makes me feel special!

Graywords-girl♥