Notes: IT'S KUZUHINA DAY (FOR THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES)!

I know it's terrible that I didn't have something prepared in advance when I was the one to come up with this "holiday," but stuff happened; check the end notes of this chapter for details.

BY THE WAY, if you read the previous chapter when it first went up, it was kind of trash and I made vast improvements two days later. If you haven't seen those improvements, I highly recommend you go back and check them out.

(this chapter is also going up without being betaed/proofread but I promise it's not hot garbage like the last chapter was)

Enjoy!

Waiting for Rainbows
Chapter 18: Drops of water fell upon the scars

Early the next morning, Hinata idled just outside the koban door, trying to mentally prepare himself to go inside. He knew it was silly of him to be stalling—Kirigiri would have already arrived, and knowing how observant she was, she would also be fully aware that he was there. Somehow, though, the thought of her knowing that he had already hesitated made it all the more difficult to open the door.

He took a deep breath; he was only making it harder on himself the longer he stood there, so he might as well just get it over with quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. Without another thought, he twisted the doorknob and pushed it open. "Um... good morning," he muttered under his breath as he stepped inside.

Kirigiri didn't look up from the stack of reports she was skimming through, but nodded in acknowledgment. "Good morning. I take it you had a good night?"

Hinata paused, thrown by the implication. "Um... yeah. I did." It had been a very good night—he hadn't slept for very long, since he had to wake up before 4 AM to catch the train, but the little sleep he did get was restful and warm with Kuzuryu wrapped in his arms. But while her deductive skills were certainly top-notch, surely there wasn't any way Kirigiri would know without even looking at Hinata that he had spent the night with his boyfriend... was there?

"I see." Kirigiri nodded again. "Sakakura is having a bit of a fit that you didn't let him know you would be absent from the dorm."

Oh. Shit. "I, uh... forgot," he admitted lamely as he fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket. It was still powered down from the night before; he dreaded to think of all the texts and voicemails that were sure to be waiting once he turned it back on. "I'll call him to get that sorted out."

"You do that." Kirigiri jerked her head towards the back room. "Go on, then. Get changed."

"Right..." Hinata slowly started walking towards back, but stopped midway. "Um, wait, first... Sempai?"

Setting down her paperwork, Kirigiri finally looked up to meet his gaze. "Yes?"

He took a deep breath, then bent forward in a deep bow. "I need to apologize for yesterday. I was acting inappropriate, and you were absolutely right. And there's no excuse for what I said to you, so... I'm really sorry."

He heard her sigh, and when he stood upwards again, she was fiddling with a strand of her hair, gaze averted. "I... feel that I need to apologize, too. While it's true that you weren't being entirely professional, I think I was perhaps... more harsh than was necessary." She dropped her hair and looked him in the eyes again. "It's not a bad thing to be attentive to others' emotions, Hinata-kun. And while moderation is of course a necessity, and I'd prefer that you don't play favorites while on the job... being accused of a murder one didn't commit should qualify as an extenuating circumstance. I should have chosen a better opportunity to address the subject."

"No, that's not..." Hinata shook his head. "I really don't think you were wrong, after thinking about it..."

"Do you mean after talking to Kuzuryu-kun about it?" Kirigiri said, smirking.

Hinata flushed. "No! I mean, yeah, kind of but... I think I knew from even at the time that I was being unreasonable. I just... chose to get angry instead..." He paused, then slowly suggested, "But if you want an appropriate time to have that discussion... right now is probably as good a time as ever."

Kirigiri looked thoughtfully at him, then glanced at her watch, and finally gave a short nod. "Yes... there's still a half hour before we open. I think we have the time right now, if you're all right with that."

"As long as what happened yesterday doesn't happen again," Hinata laughed as he sat himself down in the visitor's chair.

"That depends on you, doesn't it?" Kirigiri sat across from him and absently tapped a finger on the desk, a light smile playing across her face. "So, to start... how serious is your relationship with Kuzuryu-kun?"

"Th-that's what you're starting out with?" Hinata chuckled bashfully, feeling his cheeks warm a bit. "Um... I mean, pretty serious, I guess? We've, uh..." God, only one question in and he was already beginning to regret his decision. "We're... um—"

"I get the picture," Kirigiri cut him off swiftly.

No please do not get the picture! he begged internally, already mortified.

"The point is that this isn't a fleeting thing." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "That's good for you personally, but I question how it will affect your professional life. Do you plan to try for the bar exam?"

The bar exam. The mere mention of it sent goosebumps prickling up Hinata's arms; his jaw tensed up to the point of trembling, and it felt like his stomach had turned to ice. "I don't think that's possible."

"Of course it's possible, it's just a bit more difficult than—"

"I don't think it's possible, Sempai."

Kirigiri studied him closely, and apparently recognizing the panic setting in, she backed off. "All right. That was just a little payback for bringing up the biggest thorn in my side yesterday."

Hinata released the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding as the stress instantly melted from his body. "Sempai, please."

Kirigiri chuckled lightly before taking on a more serious expression. "But returning to the topic at hand, you weren't chosen as a detective exam candidate either, and to be frank, I don't think you should find that very surprising. Are you sure you want to be a detective?"

"I mean... yeah, eventually?" Hinata shrugged. "I think it's the best option available to me, at least. I don't want to be a koban officer forever."

"Then why aren't you putting yourself out there?" Kirigiri leveled him with an accusatory glare. "You'll never be selected for the detective exam if you don't display an honest passion for your job. You should be going out there and putting in overtime hours in more active locations like Kitazawa. You won't get noticed otherwise."

Hinata was silent and glanced to the side to escape her glare. He knew the answer, of course, and he suspected that Kirigiri must have known as well.

Because if he did enough to be noticed as a viable candidate, the top brass would happily choose him over the far more capable one right by his side.

Kirigiri sighed. "Whatever reasons you may have," she said slowly, "they would not be enough to hold you back if becoming a detective were truly what you wanted."

Hinata grimaced. Right, Kuzuryu had mentioned that before, months earlier.

He didn't want to be a detective. Maybe it was about time he should stop pretending that he did.

"In any case," Kirigiri continued, and Hinata turned back to face her, "the fact of the matter is that, as things stand, you're continuing to work as a police officer for the foreseeable future. So what are you planning to do to balance that job with your relationship with a yakuza?"

Sighing, Hinata shook his head. "Honestly... I don't really know."

Kirigiri tapped her fingers against the desk. "I imagine that as your relationship deepens, you're coming abreast of more information that, should you stay silent about, puts you at risk of aiding and abetting, or even conspiracy."

"I haven't witnessed anything illegal."

"Or you're letting it evade your recognition in favor of keeping your conscience clear. You should take care not to obstruct justice, either."

Hinata took a deep breath. "Is it obstruction of justice if justice is a malleable concept to begin with?"

Kirigiri's eyes narrowed. "In your line of work, Hinata-kun, 'justice' is clearly defined by the law. That is the rubric you should be abiding by, even in plainclothes. Not your personal moral code."

"I maintain that I haven't witnessed anything illegal." Hinata was firm in his assertion. "Morally unacceptable by others' views, possibly. Obviously there are those that find it reprehensible for me to even be involved with Kuzuryu. But nothing more than that."

Kirigiri stared at him for a long moment. "Yet," she added.

A chill ran down his spine. "Yet," he agreed uneasily.

"And when that does inevitably happen, what will you do?"

Hinata couldn't answer; he didn't have an answer. He had been too blissfully focused on Kuzuryu and only Kuzuryu that he hadn't seriously considered what he would do when—not if—he someday sees his boyfriend involved in a crime. "I'm not sure yet," he admitted honestly.

Kirigiri nodded firmly. "If I were you," she said, "I'd begin considering whether your job or your relationship is more important to you. On the surface, it should be an easy answer, but the question then becomes how willing you are to make the appropriate changes in your life." She paused. "I think you'll find yourself facing some uncomfortable dilemmas in the process, but they're well overdue for consideration anyway."

Hinata nodded mutely, feeling the goosebumps start to return.

"We'll leave it there for now." Kirigiri waved her hand in the direction of the back room. "Now hurry and get changed, rush hour will be starting soon. And don't forget to call Sakakura."

"Right." Hinata stood up and, on legs that were too close to wobbling under his weight, he made his way to the changing room.

Before he completely disappeared into the back, however, he turned to look back at her.

"Sempai?"

"Hmm?"

"You have an idea of what I should do, don't you?"

Kirigiri paused. "I wouldn't use that phrasing," she said carefully, "but there is a compromise that I think you would be satisfied with."

Hinata's breath caught in his throat. "What kind of compromise?"

"Now, Hinata-kun." She looked over at him with a playful smirk. "You know that I'm not one to spoon-feed the answers to you."

For the next few days, Kibougaoka returned to its normal, peaceful, boring life. Hinata woke up, went to work, then went home to sleep, only to repeat the same thing over again. Every other day or so, Kuzuryu would come by and they'd go out for dinner and drinks. Aside from the persistent peripheral thought that Hinata had to decide on something, everything was normal.

Then, around midday on Sunday, Hinata was biding his time in the koban when the door opened, and he sat up straight to greet the visitor.

But no one came through the door. That wasn't normal.

After about thirty seconds, a familiar redhead finally peeked around the door. "Oh, um, hi." Koizumi glanced around as she stepped inside, tracing the edge of her bag strap nervously. "Uh, is no one else here right now?"

Hinata cocked an eyebrow. "If you mean Kuzuryu, no, he's not here today. As for Kirigiri, it's her day off, but if you need her she's probably—"

"No, that's... that's fine." She paused, twisting her mouth into a frown. "I actually came here to apologize. To you."

"To me?" Hinata blinked confusedly at her. "Why?"

"Because I came here and caused a scene over what was basically just old, unfounded high school drama," she said. "And I could tell that it really upset you—though you shouldn't let yourself get so rattled when you're a man, and a cop at that!" She frowned disapprovingly, then sighed and bowed her head. "But the fact of the matter is that I caused you distress, and for that I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, that's... that's okay." Hinata gestured for her to raise her head. "Really, it's fine. If there's anyone you should apologize to, it would be Kuzu—"

"No."

Taking note of the way that Koizumi's expression darkened, Hinata backed off, letting the suggestion fade away between them.

Koizumi took a deep breath and looked up at him again, her expression cleared. "Look, as an apology, let me treat you to a drink after you get off work. Okay?"

It was a bit of a strange feeling to be sitting at his and Kuzuryu's booth at Kagayaki with a woman—a woman who hated Kuzuryu's guts, at that. But when it came down to it, there wasn't really any reason not to, so he headed to his regular table with Koizumi as if on autopilot.

Though, of course, Hanamura took the opportunity to have his say.

"Ooh, Hinata-kun, who's this?" he needled, approaching the table as they settled in. "I never pegged you as a two-timer, you sly dog!"

"I'm not," Hinata replied, exasperated. "She's just an acquaintance."

Hanamura raised his eyebrows. "Well, if that's the case..."

Hinata quickly caught the cook by the back of his collar when he turned to approach Koizumi, effectively halting his advances.

"Sorry," Hinata said, sympathetic to Koizumi's disgusted expression. "He's kind of... special, but he's mostly harmless."

"Mostly harmless?!" Hanamura huffed indignantly as he freed himself from Hinata's grip. "There's not a dangerous bone in my body! Unless that's what turns you on, of course..."

"All we really want you to turn on now is the taps, Hanamura." Hinata shooed him back to the bar. "And get us some edamame too, please."

Hinata watched as Hanamura sulked away, then turned back to Koizumi. For some reason, she was staring at his left hand, but quickly returned her gaze to him. "So you have a girlfriend," she said with a sly smile.

"Uh, no." Hinata shook his head. It was a bit of a disingenuous answer, but it wasn't exactly a lie, either. "Hanamura's just full of it."

"Uh-huh." Koizumi clearly didn't believe him, but she let the subject drop. Their drinks and edamame arrived then, and she took a small sip before speaking again. "So I feel like I should explain about... what happened. Like I said, it was basically just high school drama. I... there was never really any proof that Natsumi-chan's brother had anything to do with her death, but the girls at school always said it and... I guess it just stuck with me."

"I see." Hinata took a drink from his own beer, thinking. That was pretty much what Kuzuryu had already told him, so it wasn't so surprising. "I guess you were pretty good friends with her, then, if it affected you so much?"

Koizumi shook her head, laughing bitterly. "No, honestly she... we were in the photography club together, but we didn't really get along too well. She was rude to me and just never seemed to cut me a break. But does that matter?" She idly ran a finger along the condensation on her glass. "I never wanted anything bad to happen to her. I certainly never wanted her to die."

A silence fell between them; Hinata wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if he should say something. It felt like the best course of action was to let Koizumi keep her freedom to speak whenever she felt ready.

Finally, she did. "Our photography club didn't survive her murder either, you know."

Hinata blinked. "What, you mean... it disbanded?"

Koizumi nodded, her eyes cast downward. "She was bossy and foul-mouthed, but she was still a part of the club that couldn't be replaced. And when she died like that... the club just wasn't the same. It was too much for some of the girls to deal with coming back, so they quit. And with them gone, some others quit, too. And then it just became less and less of the club it used to be..." She sighed, causing ripples to form across the surface of her drink. "Can you imagine? In my final year of high school, all ready to graduate and pass the reins to the next generation of photography club members... but there's no one left to keep it going."

Hinata took a deep breath. "So that's why you took it so personally," he said quietly.

She looked up at him, smiling weakly. "Other students have reestablished a photography club at my alma mater now, but... I dunno. It's not the same club that I inherited from my sempai, and they inherited from theirs. That one is gone forever." She sighed. "Maybe that's just a ridiculous way of thinking, though."

"I don't think it's ridiculous," Hinata assured her. "But if you know that Kuzuryu wasn't the one who did it, I really think you should apol—"

"I said no, Hinata." She frowned stubbornly. "He may not have ordered it to happen, but he's still, to this day, propagating and benefitting from the institution that killed his sister. I can't apologize to someone like that."

They fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence then; Hinata stared down at the table, while Koizumi gazed out at the other patrons of the pub. There probably was no hope of Koizumi patching things up with Kuzuryu, then, and when she put it that way, Hinata couldn't in good conscience keep trying to convince her otherwise.

"Hey," Koizumi finally said at length, still staring out at the dining room. "Hinata, have you noticed the expressions of the people in this town?"

Hinata frowned; that seemed to come out of nowhere. "I don't think I follow."

"Umm, maybe it's not that obvious to most people." Koizumi turned back to him, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "But when I look at the people living here, it's like, I don't know... it seems like most of them are just kind of... stuck?"

Ah. Hinata felt a soft smile pulling at his lips. "I have heard someone say that before, yes. It's like we've settled for second-best."

"Right, that." Koizumi nodded. "And I've sort of gotten to thinking... I mean, I can't really say that I'm not the same."

"What do you mean?" Hinata gestured towards the bag slung across her shoulder. "You're a photographer, right? Maybe I'm misreading you, but the way you look at your camera, I can't imagine you'd want to be doing anything else."

Koizumi looked surprised. "Well... that's true, sort of." She took her camera out of the bag and turned it on, fiddling with some settings. "But I all I do is take pictures of local sights, seasonal dishes... stuff like that. I've always wanted to take pictures of people, though."

"People?"

"Yeah, like..." She gestured vaguely with one hand, holding the camera firmly in the other. "I've always wanted to travel the world and take pictures of all the people out there. You know how you'll look through magazines like National Geographic and you'll see photos of people of all colors, shapes, and sizes? They're from all different parts of the world, but, um..." She trailed off, her face turning red. "I think... a smile is universal. So those are the kinds of pictures I want to take. Pictures of smiles." She made a frustrated sort of sound. "Jeez, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. Long story short, I was never really able to make it happen, and I guess sometimes I just wonder what I'm even doing, and why I even try."

Hinata considered her words thoughtfully. "Well, I guess... I don't think you're wrong for trying hard at what you do. I mean, sure, ideally it would be something you really want to do, but once you've committed to something, you should try to do the best you can."

Koizumi looked at him thoughtfully, before her face broke into a sly grin. "Hey... is that something your girlfriend told you?"

"What?" Hinata could feel his face warming despite himself. "No! I told you that I don't have a girlfriend!"

Koizumi giggled. "Oh, come on. There's no way an unreliable guy like you would come up with something as good as that on his own."

"Seriously, it really wasn't my girlfriend..."

"Mm-hmm." Koizumi was obviously unconvinced. "Well, either way, you have a point. And after all..." She looked down at her camera, smiling. "I'm still making a living with my camera! It's not exactly the ideal I had hoped for, but at the same time, I wouldn't say I'm settling for something less, either. It's just... a little bit different." She grinned back at Hinata. "Right?"

Hinata's breath caught in his throat, but he couldn't exactly say why. "Uh... yeah. I guess you're right."

Koizumi's face fell again. "You were just taken aback. Don't tell me you just suddenly fell for me or something, did you?" She placed her hands on her hips and leaned slightly over the table. "You can't do that, Hinata! You obviously have a smart girlfriend with a good head on her shoulders, so you better stay faithful to her, got it? Hey— what's so funny?!"

Hinata just shook his head, unable to hold back the laughter. If only she knew who she was speaking so highly of.

Notes: Okay, so, I mentioned in the beginning notes that there's been stuff happening that has affected my ability to write in a timely manner. So...

I'm working on changing careers.

I'm taking an online certification course while still working my current full-time job, and I thought I might be able to still squeeze in regular updates for this fic, but then out of nowhere came this job opportunity and preparing for the interview has been this lengthy, involved process... thus, I was only barely able to finish this chapter on time.

And because this process is ongoing, I can't promise that I'll be able to update a chapter next month! I don't know when I'll have time for the next chapter, but I for sure want to update again at least once before the end of the year!

Thanks for your patience!