NeonHorizon: Somewhere in Sayuri's reality...there's a smooth-lipped Shigaraki. Let that sink in for a moment.
This looks okay, doesn't it? At least it looks better than it did yesterday. Sayuri tilted her head a little, examining her lips in a slightly different light and trying to decide if she should put tinted lip balm over them to hide the dryness.
She was still amazed that she had taken the cuts as well as the dry skin from the man she met in the store. She had taken a decent amount of injuries in the past, but this was new to her. Running a finger along her lips, she frowned.
They're still rough. As long as they look okay, it should be fine. At least they stopped bleeding. I just…need to be taken seriously. I have to look professional. The young woman brushed the tangles out of her pale hair and pulled it back into a simple ponytail for the day. Turning to look at the bed, she had to smile.
Dabi was still asleep. Sprawled on his back, the blanket resting at waist level, with his head propped up on one arm that was behind his head. He looked so comfortable, so content. It made her wish she could stay with him for longer.
This was her day off, though. She only had one thing planned for the day and that was her home visit with Eri. Once that was done and she was sure that the little girl was in a safe environment, she could return home and get into bed with Dabi again. She could even pick up their lunch and dinner on her way back so they would be able to lounge around the apartment without worrying about cooking.
Sayuri was in the middle of picking out a clean shirt when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. Warm flesh pressed against her back through her shirt and she felt herself begin to blush. "Dabi…go back to bed. It's still kind of early."
His arms tightened around her, his chest flush against her back now. "Where are you going?"
She frowned and ducked her head a bit, trying to hide her face. As much as she hated it, she knew she had to lie to him. If he knew she was going for the home visit, he might try to go with her. Chisaki had been firm in insisting she go alone, for the sake of Eri's feelings.
"I'm just…going to see Fuyumi. I shouldn't be gone for long. Ah…there are some leftovers in the fridge if you want something, but don't spoil your appetite. I'm going to bring some food back with me." Sayuri tensed as she felt warm breath skim along the side of her neck. He still smelled like chocolate, from the previous night when she gave him his Valentine's Day gift.
"What if I want to eat you instead?"
Her pulse raced and the pink flush of her cheeks turned to red. "D-don't…say stuff like that."
"Why not?" He turned her so she faced him, her back against the dresser while his hands rested on her hips. Seeing the warm hue of her face, he smirked and leaned down. "Just blow her off."
Sayuri felt a pleasant shiver run through her when he leaned down, his lips pressing against hers and the tip of his tongue running along her lower lip. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up and kissing back. His hips bucked forward against hers and he muffled a surprised yelp that escaped her.
When Dabi finally broke the kiss, he heard her quietly panting and saw her lower her head. He lifted her chin with a finger and took in the sight of her bright red blush and the way her soft lilac eyes were half-closed in bliss. "Tell her you can't go. I'll make sure you don't regret it."
She felt his thumb trace along her lip and bit back a whimper. "I…I can't. I'm sorry." She shook her head, breaking the lustful trance she fallen under. "I made a promise that I would be there. When I come back, though…" Sayuri lifted her gaze from the floor to meet his turquoise eyes. She smiled up at him and let her fingers run through his dark, spiky hair. "When I come back, we should do more of that."
She knew that compared to Dabi, she was vanilla. It was a struggle just to say those words. It was embarrassing and it made her stomach do flips. She always seemed to melt under his touch, though. It was only made more difficult when he was standing there without a shirt; his patchwork skin and toned build in full view.
Thoughts of Dabi's kiss continued to consume her as she made her way to the address sent by Chisaki. When she found herself standing in front of what seemed to be a large, gated, traditional Japanese-style home, she had to finally snap out of her thoughts of Dabi. It was a bit of a surprise. This house seemed too big for just two people, but Chisaki had only ever mentioned himself and Eri.
Does she have siblings? Maybe this is a family home they share with his parents? I've heard of that before. Sayuri called to say that she had arrived and a man in a long white coat came out to let her in through the gate. He had his hood up so she assumed he might have some sort of light sensitivity condition. His smile seemed genuine enough to her, even if it was small.
"So you're Naosu Sayuri, the kindergarten teacher," he remarked.
"That's right. Thank you for letting me pay a visit…?" She studied him as he opened the front door for her. Is he Chisaki's friend? Boyfriend? Cousin? He sounds like the person that I first scheduled the visit with.
"Kurono," the young man offered.
"Kurono-san." She bowed once they were inside. "Thank you for letting me into your home."
"What do you have there?" He nodded toward the paper bag she was carrying in addition to her purse.
"Oh. These are…a gift. I brought these as an apology for needing to reschedule before. It's chocolate."
"You brought him chocolate?"
"No. Kind of? They're for Chisaki-san and Eri-chan. You can have one, too, if you want. I made these with my friend a few days ago so they're still pretty fresh. They're just milk chocolate, but-"
"Eri's room is this way. He's already waiting for you there." He started down the hallway, not bothering to lower his hood. Kurono glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was following and led her to a door with little flower decorations and a cute sign that read the child's name.
When the door was opened, Sayuri was met with what seemed to be a normal little girl's bedroom. A child-sized bed, where Eri was currently sitting and staring down at a doll in her hands. A little pink wardrobe stocked with clothes. A shelf with various dolls and stuffed animals on it in neat rows.
Sayuri could smell that the paint on the walls and the wardrobe was fresh. It was a faint scent, but it was still there. The toys looked pretty new, but that could be attributed to Chisaki possibly spoiling his daughter. The man himself was standing against the far wall, wearing a black medical mask over his nose and mouth as he had been when they first met.
The second her eyes met the intense golden ones of the man, she felt goose bumps forming beneath the sleeves of her sweater. She shook it off and offered a smile. "Hello, Eri-chan. Hello, Chisaki-san. Thank you for having me in your house. How are you?" she greeted them, switching to teacher mode.
"We're fine. Aren't we, Eri? Say hello to Naosu."
The child briefly glanced over at Chisaki before looking up at Sayuri. Her crimson eyes widened and shone with tears. "Sayuri…you…came?"
"Didn't I tell you she'd come? Now, why don't you greet her properly?" The man set a gloved hand on top of the girl's head.
"Th-thank you for coming."
Sayuri maintained her smile and nodded. "It's my pleasure. I'm just here to…check up on you and see how you are, Eri-chan. I'm going to ask a few questions and…" Her eyes lowered to the bandages that were wrapped around the girl's arms and legs. "Eri-chan, did you get hurt? What happened?"
The little girl drew into a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head down. "I…I don't…"
"She's embarrassed. Aren't you, Eri? Tell her what happened."
"I was running and…I tripped. In the garden outside."
"She got a couple of nasty cuts, but she's doing better now. You know how kids are, don't you? You're a kindergarten teacher so you know how they get at that age." Chisaki lifted his hand off of Eri's head and approached Sayuri, his gaze briefly lowering to her lips. His eyebrows furrowed in disgust, clearly noticing her chapped, still-healing skin.
Sayuri was embarrassed that he had noticed, but decided to continue with the home visit. She sat on the edge of Eri's bed and managed to keep the gentle, warm smile on her face. "Is it okay if I ask you a few questions, Eri-chan?"
The girl looked up at her and gave a small nod. "O-okay."
She turned toward Chisaki, seeing the man now standing near the door with his arms crossed. "Chisaki-san, for protocol reasons, I'm going to need for you to step out of the room for me to ask her these questions. You understand, right?"
He lowered his arms and nodded. "Of course. I'll be back soon."
Once he was gone, Sayuri leaned down and gently brushed the child's pale, wavy hair away from her face. She drew a handkerchief from her purse and wiped at Eri's tears. "Are you okay? You're crying..."
Eri looked surprised for a moment and then shook her head. "No, I…I'm happy! I'm happy…to see you!" She threw her arms around Sayuri in a hug, showing much more emotion than before.
Chisaki-san said that her mother abandoned her so…is that why she's so happy? Sayuri half-smiled and gave her a small hug back. "I'm happy to see you, too, Eri-chan. I have a few questions, okay? Do you want to answer some questions?"
"I-I can answer," she confirmed, nodding again.
Sayuri went through her standard questions about if the child was happy, if she felt safe with her father, if she was being taken care of properly, if she went to school, and so on. Most of the answers were satisfactory, with the exception of school. According to Eri, she had never gone to preschool or kindergarten.
Chisaki returned to find Eri marveling as Sayuri braided her doll's hair for her. "Are you finished?"
The young woman jolted and looked up from her work. "Oh. Yes, I asked all of my usual questions for a home visit. Just a couple more things." She set the doll aside and turned to Eri. "Your cuts hurt, don't they? From when you tripped in the garden? I'll take those injuries for you, okay? I can handle a lot more pain and I don't want you to be hurting, Eri-chan. Show me where it hurts."
Eri glanced to Chisaki, who gave a nod. She pointed at her left calf and her right forearm, but she was frowning. Her eyes were filling with tears again and Sayuri assumed it was from the embarrassment of falling. The teacher gently put one hand on the child's forearm and one on her calf before she activated her quirk.
Tears sprang to her own eyes as there was a searing pain along the inner part of her forearm as well as in her calf. The pain was like having a knife slice deep into her flesh, slashing skin and muscle alike. Just as it became unbearable, it all stopped abruptly and she was left with a different sort of feeling. Something indescribable. Best put as unsettlingly refreshed.
Sayuri opened her eyes, letting the tears flow, and found Chisaki staring intently down at her forearm. She had pushed her sleeves up when she offered to braid the hair on Eri's doll so now the thick, deep scar along her inner forearm was extremely obvious. It was shiny, like new flesh.
When Eri saw the scar, she began to apologize. Sayuri shook her head, smiling, and rolled down her sleeve. "It's nothing to apologize for. Things happen, right? Accidents happen all the time. Just promise you'll be more careful, okay? I don't like it when you get hurt."
The chocolates were offered to Eri and the little girl's eyes widened. Chisaki said she could have two pieces for now and Sayuri felt immensely happy to see the child enjoy the sweets. It was almost as if Eri had never had chocolate before.
With the home visit over, Sayuri bid the little girl farewell with one last hug and was escorted out of the room by Chisaki. She rolled up her sleeve, careful of the tender scar, and frowned. "She's a good kid," she started. "And you seem to be providing her with everything she needs, but Eri-chan needs to start going to school. She said she didn't go to preschool and she isn't enrolled in kindergarten. She also said she doesn't have a tutor. Chisaki-san, it's important for kids-"
"I wanted to discuss that with you. I have a proposition for you, Naosu." He halted near the front door, turning to face her. "School isn't an option for Eri. She doesn't handle crowds well. I think it would be ideal for me to have someone come here to tutor her. This way she can have some…controlled socializing. And she can learn in a comfortable environment."
Sayuri immediately nodded. It makes sense. Eri-chan can at least get caught up and then maybe he'll want to send her to school. If she's caught up, she won't have as much trouble fitting in. She pulled out her phone to make a quick note. "I know someone that would be good for the job. I have a female coworker that-"
"I want to hire you to do it. I'll give you some time to think it over. One week should be long enough, right? Call me and give me your answer a week from today."
"Oh…okay." She frowned a little, but she could understand his reasoning. Eri already knew Sayuri so she would be more comfortable. I don't really feel comfortable around her dad, though. He kept staring at me. And what was with that other guy? Kurono? Who was he?
