Morning came and Hanako stirred at the absence of warmth at her side. She sat up, wearily rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and looked around.
'Where am I...?'
For a moment, she had forgotten where she was and how she came to be there, but as her mind cleared and she remembered, she had mixed emotions swirling tumultuously within her.
Keigo had brought her to his home, insisting that she stay there where it was safe until things blew over and she could return home again. Hanako had questioned why he treated her like a child and despite him explaining that was not his intention, Hanako could help but continue to feel that way. That is until Keigo kissed her.
Hanako had been taken by surprise when Keigo kissed her and despite her apprehensions on pursuing a romantic relationship with him, she returned his kiss. And that's all it was, never once going towards anything sexual.
When that last thought popped into her head, Hanako shook her head and smacked her cheeks to try and urge those smutty thoughts away. She slowly got out of bed, stretching as she did so, and her bare feet touched the fluffy area rug beneath the bed. She could smell the freshly ground goodness of her homegrown coffee beans as they brewed, along with fish, miso soup, rice, and eggs.
Stepping lightly from the bedroom to the main living area, Hanako saw that Keigo was hard at work in the kitchen making breakfast. Coming up behind him, Hanako slid her arms around his waist and hugged him.
"Mornin'," she mumbled groggily.
Keigo had barely heard her dainty feet as they walked across the floors and he smiled when she greeted him with a hug. "Good morning, how'd you sleep?"
Hanako thought back on the night before, recalling that Keigo had tucked her into bed and lay down with her at her request, staying with her the entire night just holding her as they slept. She blushed and was grateful that he couldn't see it as she stood behind him. "Good, you?"
"Better than I have in a while," Keigo turned the fish. "Breakfast is almost done and coffee just finished brewing."
Hanako saw that he had set out two mugs already and went about making them each some coffee. As she stirred the creamer into the coffee, she wondered where their relationship would go from there on out. She became so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Keigo announce that breakfast was ready or call out her name and it wasn't until he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek that she came back to herself.
"I think you need coffee more than I do," Keigo teased, looking down at her.
"Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About?" Keigo saw her cheeks go rosy and chuckled, having a feeling he knew exactly what was on her mind. "You that worried about it?"
"What was that kiss to you?" Hanako asked, turning around to face him. "Was it just an 'in the moment' kind of kiss?"
Keigo's brow raised with surprise. "Not at all." He rubbed his neck nervously. "I've been wanting to do that for a while, longer than I probably should admit." He looked at her, his own cheeks beginning to burn a bit. "What about you?"
"I-" Hanako sighed and looked down. "I really care about you, Keigo, but I don't want to lose you as a friend if we became romantically involved and something went wrong somewhere along the way."
Keigo lifted her chin and waited for her to meet his gaze. "Isn't it worth the risk? Or would you rather continue to spend your days wondering what could have been?" He stepped closer, pushing her to the edge of the counter with his hands on her hips. "As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to explore things further with you."
Hanako's cheeks erupted and she could swear her heart was beating loud enough for his keen senses to pick it up. "R-Really?"
Keigo smirked and nodded, "Be my girl, Hanako?"
Hanako's breath caught in her throat as he leaned in closer, his lips just centimeters from hers. "I-I'd like that."
Keigo's smirk became a grin and he kissed her in response. He kissed her for a few moments, then pulled back. "Good, now let's eat."
Breakfast went by quickly and Hanako stayed in while Keigo had to check in at the Police Force's headquarters. She had plenty of time to get to know her way around his home while she waited for him to return, even watched a couple of movies and read a book. But by the time the afternoon was fading into evening, Hanako began to worry.
Reaching for her phone, intending on calling Keigo, Hanako was surprised to see a text from Ryushi come in right at that moment.
'Hey, Hawks got held up but he should be home around 7. He wanted me to check in on you and see how you were doing.'
'I'm doing fine, just got worried when he didn't come back right away.'
*ding*
'I can't give you all the details, but there's some intense shit going down within the Police Force right now. Hawks is trying to help mediate for Officer Yumoto.'
'I hope everything smooths over soon. This Yakuza business is getting out of hand.'
*ding*
'Agreed, but there's not much we can do about it until things settle back down and we can get the information we need to proceed.'
'Well, hopefully, that's sooner rather than later.'
*ding*
'Ya. Anyway, did you need me to pick you up anything? I can drop it off for you on my way home.'
Hanako thought about that for a moment and just happened to glance up at a nearby mirror as she did so. "Hmm..." she fiddled with her hair for a moment, then replied. 'Actually, would you mind getting me some black hair dye?'
*ding*
'Sure? Anything else?'
Hanako sent Ryushi a small list of other items she needed. 'Thanks, Ryushi, I really appreciate it.'
*ding*
'Of course :) it should only take me an hour.'
'Alright, see you then. Please stay safe.'
"What do I do for an hour?"
Ryushi arrived sooner than he thought he would and let himself in, using his copy of Keigo's key- the one he had for emergencies. "Hanako?" he called, closing the door behind him and locking it before looking for her.
"Hey,"
Ryushi turned towards the bathroom, his eyes widening when he saw Hanako. "Your hair."
Hanako reached up to touch her hair, blushing a bit. "Does it look bad?"
"No, not at all, it's just..." Ryushi set the bags down on the couch and reached up to touch her hair. "It's just so short!"
Hanako chuckled nervously. "Well, I thought that maybe I could help Keigo out a bit by changing my hair." She started to explain. "If the Yakuza are after me and they've infiltrated the police force, then they'll probably have a picture of me." She reached up to touch her hair, which had gone from hanging to the middle of her back to just above her shoulders. "I figured if I cut my hair and dyed it, maybe that would help throw off the Yakuza."
"Does Keigo know?"
Hanako shook her head. "No, it's kind of a surprise?"
Ryushi sighed with a smile. "Well, it will definitely be a surprise." He turned to the bags. "I brought what you asked for. Would you like some help dying your hair?"
"Sure, I could use the company."
"Good," Ryushi gave her a wink and grabbed the box of black dye. "Then you can tell me all about you and Keigo."
Keigo landed on his balcony and shook the snow from his feathers before stepping inside. He kicked off his boots and set his coat to the side, then looked around for Hanako.
"Hanako, I'm back."
In the bathroom, Hanako was standing in front of the mirror looking over her hair yet again and hoping that it wasn't a huge mistake. When she heard Keigo calling out to her, she took a deep breath then turned and went out to greet him.
Keigo looked around, stopping short of himself when he saw her walk out of the bathroom.
"H-Hey," Hanako offered him a sheepish smile and wave. "Welcome back home."
Keigo almost didn't recognize her. Her hair was cut short, resting just above her shoulders, and was now a raven black. It still maintained its waves, but it was so different from what he was used to.
"W-Well? Don't just stare, say something..."
Keigo walked over to her, reaching up to touch her hair. "You changed it?"
Hanako nodded. "I know you're really worried about keeping me safe, so I thought maybe if I cut and dyed my hair a different color, it would help throw off the Yakuza a bit." She looked up at him nervously. "Does it look OK? Ryushi stayed to help me color it."
Keigo looked her over a few more times, then smiled. "You look hot."
Hanako's already rosy cheeks began to burn with a new intensity at his comment. "T-Thanks. I was thinking maybe I should get colored contacts, too, since my eyes are kind of a giveaway."
Keigo sighed. "Hanako, you shouldn't have to worry about all this... I'm so sorry you got dragged into this..."
Hanako shook her head. "No, it's alright. It's part of the price we pay to live in the world that we do."
Keigo smiled at that, then reached up to touch her hair again. "It does look good, it'll just take some getting used to."
"Tell me about it."
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
Hanako giggled at that. "Let's make some dinner then."