Keigo stretched and yawned, having finally finished the last of the paperwork. He looked around but didn't see Hanako anywhere so he went out to Ryushi's desk to check with him.

"Hey, where's Miss Itami?"

"She ran across the street to pick up our lunch order. She should be back any moment."

"Oh, I see."

"Have you finished with the paperwork?"

"Yeah, it just needs to be filed."

Keigo and Ryushi looked over at the elevator as it dinged and the door opened, revealing Hanako with three large bags.

"Welcome back, I trust there weren't any issues?" Ryushi asked, hopping up to help her.

Keigo watched as Hanako shook her head, smiling at Ryushi as he took the heavier bags from her. 'She's really settling into this secretary position, isn't she?'

"Ah, thank you."

Keigo shifted his gaze down to the black card Hanako was handing to Ryushi, then back to Hanako as she handed him his food. "Thanks."

Hanako smiled and began handing out the rest of the order, stopping only to show Ryushi the name on the container and waiting for him to point out the person it went to.

Keigo smirked at that, glad to see that she was fitting in so well just on her first day, and turned to go back into his office. He sat down and popped the lid off of the container, the powerful aroma of his chicken shio ramen hitting him and reminding him just how hungry he was.

"Mmm... so good...!"

He glanced up, mid slurp, when he heard Hanako giggle as she came in. "Wha?" he asked around a mouthful of ramen, earning himself another giggle from her. He finished slurping and chewing the bite of ramen, watching her hang up her purse and jacket before making her way back towards the door. "Miss Itami?"

Hanako paused and glanced back at him for a moment.

"Would you... like to sit with me while we eat?" He asked, hesitantly.

Hanako smiled and nodded, coming to sit in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk.

Keigo tried to busy himself with "double-checking" his work as he ate, hoping to distract himself from that embarrassing moment. He sat with Hanako, eating in silence for a while, but the quiet was getting to him.

"So... how do you like working here so far?"

Hanako looked up in surprise, but she wrote down her reply on her notepad and passed it to him. 'I really like it. I'm used to clerical type work, so it has been easy to settle into the flow of things. I appreciate everyone being so patient with me, too, on a communication level.'

"I hope no one has been giving you a hard time about that?"

Hanako shook her head. 'No, sir. I do feel bad, though. I don't want to be wasting anyone's time because I'm mute.'

"Have you been able to figure out why that is? You said your vocal cords healed, right?"

Hanako nodded. 'From what the doctors have told us, it's probably psychological. They think it could be some lingering trauma buried deep in my subconscious or a form of PTSD. There's nothing they can do, either. It's all up to me.'

"I see. That must be frustrating." Keigo took another bite of ramen.

'It can be, that's for sure. I want to be able to talk and sing again.'

Keigo could see the sadness and disappointment in her eyes. "Well, it sounds like you just need to find the right kind of therapy to get the results you want."

'The problem is that I've tried everything I can think of, even speech therapy. It gets expensive, too, and I'd rather see that money go towards saving the shop and paying off Mom and Dad's debts.'

"I take it that your brother is the kind of person that tells you not to worry about it, that he'll figure it out?"

Hanako nodded, writing as she chewed. 'He's always been like that, though. Ever since we lost Mom and Dad, he's taken so many extra responsibilities just to support us and to keep the shop running. I feel bad that I can't do more to help out.'

"You shouldn't feel bad; it sounds like you're doing plenty."

Hanako smiled at that. 'I try, but there's only so much I can do with a weak quirk like mine.'

Keigo looked at her curiously. "What is your quirk?"

Hanako smiled and gestured towards the vase on his desk.

Keigo followed her gaze and looked at the bouquet she had gifted him the day before, his eyes widening when he saw some of the flowers that had yet to bloom open their petals wide while the others seemed to grow larger as she touched each one. "Wow."

'My quirk is botany. I can manipulate plant life, but only to a small degree. I'm no good with combative skills, so I focus more on growing the flora and strengthening it. Back at home, I'm in charge of maintaining our garden and ensuring the quality of the ingredients that we grow.'

"So that coffee you made..."

Hanako nodded. 'I grew the coffee beans myself.'

"That's impressive."

Hanako sipped the broth of her ramen, then wrote her next reply. 'Thank you, sir, but it's really nothing special. It's enough for me to be useful, but marginally at best.'

"Sounds to me like you're selling yourself short."

'Maybe. I'd like to be able to grow my quirk like I grow the plants in our garden, but I've always had a bit of a weak constitution in regards to my quirk.'

"It just takes a little bit of extra practice."

'Perhaps. To be honest, though, as much as I want my quirk to be stronger, I am fine with where it's at now. It still allows me to be useful to my brother.'

"You really love your brother, huh?"

'He's all I have left in this world after Mom and Dad died, and it's kind of hard to make friends when you can't talk.'

Keigo made to reply, but he saw that Hanako had a thought and waited for her to add to her sentence.

'I did meet a really nice girl at the ramen shop. Suki? She must have realized I was mute after reading my notepad. She signed to me while we waited for the order to be ready. I was rather surprised since I haven't met anyone else who knows sign language aside from my brother.'

"That's good, though, right? Maybe you two can become friends." Keigo suggested before draining the rest of the broth in his bowl.

'I hope so. I haven't had a real friend since the accident.'

Keigo's heart sank a bit when he read that last part and he wasn't sure what to say to it as Hanako finished her meal as well.

Hanako stood and took the empty containers to the sink, rinsing them out before depositing them into the recycle bin.

A knock came at the door and they both turned to see Ryushi waiting in the doorway.

"Pardon the interruption, but your three o'clock is here, sir."

"Thank you, Ryushi," Keigo replied, sighing as he sat back in his chair. "This is the last meeting of the day, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, send them in."