A man wearing a hockey mask is running down a block of a busy street. He heads for an elderly woman who's leisurely crossing the road, her beige handbag strapped over her shoulder. The man with the hockey mask runs up behind her, snatches the handbag, and sprints across the street.
"Hehe! Too easy!" the man chuckles to himself. "Huh?!" he's suddenly halted and picked up into the air.
A red feather is lifting the man up from the neck of his gray jacket while another feather snatches the handbag from his grasp.
"Stealing from an old lady," Keigo descends toward the man. "Not exactly a tough guy, are ya?"
"Aw, damn it, Hawks!" the man groans.
The red feather carries the handbag away. I'm assisting the elderly woman, holding her arm as we cross the street.
"Oh, thank you so much, Nova!" the elderly woman smiles in relief. "You and Hawks are a blessing to have around!"
I give her a small smile and nod as the red feather brings me the handbag.
"Here you go," I hand it over to the elderly woman.
"Keep up the great work!" she smiles.
After giving her a small wave, I fly off toward Keigo. His feather raises the robber higher into the air above the street lights to our level.
"Ah! Please don't drop me!" the robber squirms.
"Busy day, huh?" Keigo turns to me as he stands on a street light fixture.
"Seems so," I hover in midair.
"How about we get some canned coffee? My treat!"
I give him a nod. Our attention turns to Minoru and Yamato running toward our direction.
"We got it from here!" Minoru waves.
"Aye, aye!" Keigo taps his temple with two fingers.
The red feather lowers the robber closer to the ground before dropping him on his butt. Minoru and Yamato cuff him as Keigo and I take off into flight down the street.
"Lots of robbers today," Keigo says.
"Perhaps it's because of the holidays that just passed," I suggest. "People tend to have more money or valuable items due to gifts from Christmas and New Year's."
"Exactly my thinking!" Keigo smiles with a nod.
After flying down some blocks, we stop in front of a convenience store.
"Anything specific?" Keigo turns to me.
"Matcha tea, please," I reply.
"One matcha tea comin right up!" Keigo does a slight bow.
Keigo heads into the convenience store. I stand outside in front of the large glass window, stepping aside to not be in the way of foot traffic.
"Nova!" a group of teen girls approaches.
"Can we get a selfie with you?" one of them asks.
"Sure," I nod.
Two of the girls stand to my left and the third to my right as she holds her phone in front of us. They smile while holding two fingers up in a peace sign. I copy the pose with a blank face as they take the photo.
"So cute!" one of the girls exclaims.
"Make sure to send me the picture!" another girl tells her.
"Thanks, Nova!" they wave goodbye.
I wave back with a nod.
"Mind if I get a picture, too?" a voice asks.
I turn around and see a man wearing a sapphire blue and white hero suit. His black spiky hair reaches just above his brows as he gazes down at me with his sapphire blue eyes.
"Sure," I nod.
The pro hero smiles and approaches closer. He puts an arm over my right shoulder as he towers over me at about six feet tall. He holds his phone out and smiles while I hold a thumb up with a blank face.
"Thanks!" he gazes down at the photo after pulling away. "I finally got a picture with that infamous poker face!"
"You're Sapphire," I say.
"Huh? I didn't think you'd actually know who I am," he's surprised.
"I only know because I've seen you on billboards."
"Oh, is that it?" he has a disappointed smile.
"Yeah. That's it."
"Well, they do say you are blunt with your words," Sapphire shrugs with a chuckle. "Do you know what my quirk is?"
I shake my head. He then holds his hand up as it hardens into sapphire stone.
"I'm able to turn my body into solid sapphire," he explains.
"It's so shiny," I grab his hand.
"Uh…" Sapphire has a sweat drop.
I pull Sapphire's hand to my face and admire it as it glistens in the sun. My fingers massage his hand, feeling the texture is solid yet smooth as it's translucent.
"Hey there," Keigo approaches.
"H-Hawks!" Sapphire has a sweatdrop. "Sorry! I don't mean to be holding Nova's hand…"
"Hm?" Keigo sees me studying Sapphire's hand. "Oh, she does that kinda stuff. She can sometimes invade personal boundaries," he smiles.
"Oh…" Sapphire nervously laughs.
I continue to closely study Sapphire's solid hand for a moment longer before letting go and turning completely toward Keigo. Sapphire is confused as I've completely turned my back to him, taking the canned matcha tea from Keigo.
"Don't get offended," Keigo smiles at Sapphire. "She does that a lot, too, and doesn't even realize it."
"Hm?" I open my can of matcha tea.
"Ah, I see…" Sapphire rubs his head.
I take a sip from my matcha tea and begin to walk off.
"Now I see why people are so intrigued by her…" Sapphire scratches his head with a smile.
"See ya!" Keigo heads off.
I take a sip from my matcha tea as Keigo walks up on my right.
"I wonder what I'll have for dinner tonight," I say. "I don't have many groceries after moving into the new home."
"We'll order some food for the housewarming get-together tonight." Keigo opens his canned coffee.
"Oh yeah, that's tonight."
"What do you want to eat?" Keigo sips.
"We can order some pizza."
"Ah, haven't had that in a while. Good choice."
"You think the guys will like pizza?"
"You know those guys will eat anything!" Keigo laughs.
I laugh a bit with Keigo when I suddenly feel something tug at my left hand. My gaze lowers to find a little girl with brown hair and green eyes. Her teary eyes gaze up at me with a timid stare, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Hey there," Keigo squats to her level.
The little girl hides behind me and timidly stares at Keigo as she peers from behind my leg.
"She must be lost," Keigo says.
"Oh…" I'm surprised.
"Do you know where your parents are?" Keigo asks with a gentle voice.
The little girl shakes her head.
"We'll help you find them, okay?" Keigo gives her a soft smile.
The little girl gives him a small nod. I gaze down at the little girl, seeing how frightened she is as she grasps my left hand. Understanding she needs comfort, I squat to her level and she immediately jumps onto me, wrapping her little arms around my neck. I hand Keigo my can of matcha tea and hold the little girl close in my arms as I stand up.
"Comfy?" I ask while wiping her tears away.
The little girl nods with a small smile. I return the smile and we begin to walk as she leans her head just under my neck.
"Wow, she really took a liking to you," Keigo walks with me before sipping on his coffee.
I nod as the little girl puts a thumb to her mouth, and I gently place a hand on her head to comfort her. The little girl seems more at ease as she leans on my chest.
"Hana!" a woman exclaims as she approaches us.
A woman with the same brown hair heads over with a police officer. The little girl happily recognizes her and reaches with open arms as the woman takes her from me.
"Oh, Hana!" the woman cries. "I'm so relieved!"
I watch as the mother embraces and snuggles the little girl in relief, in awe at how it must feel to have a mother provide comfort at her age.
"Not even surprised you two found the little girl!" the officer smiles at us.
"Thank you so much, Hawks and Nova!" the mother happily cries.
"Seems we were at the right place at the right time," Keigo replies.
"As always!" the officer says.
Hana glances over at me and holds her hand out. I reach out to her with mine and she holds it, giving me a small happy smile as she gazes into my eyes.
"She's thanking you," the mother explains. "She's on the autistic spectrum, so she doesn't talk much yet."
Holding Hana's hand, I return the warm smile.
"How can I repay you?" the mother asks.
"No need to!" Keigo smiles. "All in a day's work!"
I give the mother a smile and nod.
"Please be safe out there!" the mother pleads.
"Thanks, sure will!" Keigo nods.
With that, we give our last waves and continue on our way.
"You really know how to provide emotional support when it's needed," Keigo hands me my can of matcha tea. "That's a great trait of yours."
"Ya think so?" I raise a brow.
"Definitely. You'd make a great mom, someday…" Keigo gives me a soft smile.
"Me? A mom?" I wonder.
My eyes lower to my matcha tea in thought of being a mother. I wonder if that's even possible. I glance over at Keigo who's staring at me, his golden eyes with a pensive gaze as he softly smiles.
"What is it?" I tilt my head.
"Ah, it's nothing…" Keigo looks flushed as he turns away while rubbing his head.
I return to drinking my matcha tea, glad at helping Hana find her mother.
Now evening, I'm setting up the plates and cups alongside the four pizza boxes. Keigo is using his feathers to finish setting up decorative lights along the walls, giving the home a dimly lit ambience. The doorbell rings and I head over to answer it.
"Hey, hey!" Yamato greets while holding up two bottles of vodka.
"Hi!" I wave.
"We're not late, are we?" Minoru holds a couple of gift bags.
"Nah, right on time," Keigo approaches.
Minoru, Yamato and Hiroshi enter with gifts and a case of beer in hand. Keigo closes the door while I lead the group to the kitchen. They set the gift bags down on the kitchen island and Yamato begins to take out other items from inside the bags.
"We've got plenty of pizza," I say.
"Nice!" Hiroshi says. "Great food to eat while drinking."
"Nova gets the first drink!" Yamato says. "One vodka cocktail, comin up!"
Yamato pours vodka, cranberry juice, and sweetener into a cup filled with ice and stirs. After placing a straw in it, he hands it to me, and I curiously take a sip.
"How is it?" Yamato asks.
"Mm, it's good!" I take another long sip.
"Looks like you found your favorite kinda drink," Hiroshi says.
"It's my favorite color, too!" I take another long sip.
"I'll make some more drinks for us," Yamato begins to pour vodka into cups.
"Say, this is a nice place, Nova," Minoru glances around.
"It's a two-story loft style home," Keigo says. "Complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open deck balcony on the upper floor."
"Damn, it's really nice!" Hiroshi nods. "The 20-foot steel wall around the property gives some nice privacy."
"We bought you some household items to make it more like home," Minoru says. "I got you a toaster. Hiroshi got you a knife set."
"And I got you the bottles of vodka!" Yamato says. "To get your collection of booze started!"
"Let's hope she doesn't finish it too quickly," Keigo jokes.
"Can I have another cocktail?" I turn to Yamato.
"Sure thing!" Yamato obliges.
"Hawks got me this new red rug for the living area," I point out. "It's so soft."
"It keeps your feet warm from the cold wooden floor," Keigo says.
"Mm-hm!" I happily nod as I sip on the cocktail Yamato just made.
"We've set up some beer pong on the upper deck," Keigo says.
"Yes! Beer pong!" Yamato holds his fist up. "My kinda game."
"But first - a toast to Nova's new home!" Minoru grabs a cocktail.
Everyone holds their drink up in cheers.
It's later in the evening as we're out on the balcony deck. I'm standing at one end of the ping pong table, closing my right eye as I aim with a bit of a wobble. The ping pong ball is in my right hand while I hold a vodka cocktail in my left. On the opposite end of the ping pong table, Yamato and Hiroshi watch. There's one last cup of beer left on Yamato's and Hiroshi's side. Keigo stands on my right as he also watches. After a moment, I take my shot and it lands perfectly in the cup.
"Aaah!" Yamato exclaims. "You guys won!"
"Now drink up!" I point at Yamato.
"You're a pretty good shot, Nova!" Hiroshi says.
"Beginner's luck!" Yamato teases.
"Let's…Let's go again, then!" I lean to one side but Keigo uses his wing to prop me up.
"I don't think you can go another round," Keigo laughs a bit at me.
"Next time!" I exclaim to Yamato.
"Seems you're more playful when you're drunk," Minoru points out.
"Eh?" I raise a brow.
"You're usually socially awkward, but you're livelier after drinking."
"Sounds about right," Keigo agrees with a laugh.
"Remember that interview Nova had?" Hiroshi brings up. "It was a news reporter in the street and Nova abruptly walked away in the middle of it!"
"Ya know, that's gotten viral online!" Yamato says.
The group chuckles as I stand there confused, obliviously sipping my drink.
"She actually walked off on Sapphire today," Keigo brings up.
"She did? That's hilarious!" Hiroshi laughs.
"Oh, the guy with the pretty sapphire hand," I recall. "It was shiny, but then I wanted my matcha tea."
Yamato suddenly falls to the floor, his beer bottle clinking away.
"Welp, he's done," Minoru laughs. "Time to call it a night."
"You want me to order a cab?" Keigo asks.
"Nah, I'm the designated driver tonight. That's why I didn't drink much."
Minoru and Hiroshi help Yamato get up on his feet as they hold him up between them.
"Time to go, buddy," Minoru says.
They help carry Yamato downstairs to the main floor, being careful not to drop him as Hiroshi is also drunk. Yamato's feet flop along the stairs as they drag behind him. Keigo helps keep me steady with his wing as I have a wobble while we walk the guys to the front door.
"Thanks again for inviting us," Minoru says as he opens the front door.
"Thanks for coming over!" Keigo replies. "Drive safely!"
"Will do!"
Hiroshi bumps into the doorframe as they walk out. Keigo closes the front door as I continue to sip from my drink.
"I'm gonna need a refill soon," I wobble as I peer into my empty cup.
"You've had enough," Keigo chuckles as he takes the cup away. "Remember your last hangover?"
"Oh yeah…" I scratch my head with a smile and sweat drop.
Keigo places the empty cup on the kitchen island while I totter over to the living area. I plop myself on the new red rug, spreading my legs and arms out in silence.
"I love this rug you got me," I smile. "It really is so soft!" I make a rug angel.
"I'm glad you like it," Keigo chuckles.
Keigo joins me on the floor as we lay on our backs, facing up at the high ceiling toward the slanted skylight window that reaches across. I repeatedly roll left and right, a bubbly smile on my face as I hug myself. Keigo rests his left arm on the rug above my head as we're now less than a foot from each other. I roll to my right a little too far, bumping into Keigo which makes me chortle.
"You're such a dork," Keigo teases.
"Oh…" I realize a scent on Keigo and lean into his neck to sniff. "You're wearing your favorite cologne."
"Our favorite, actually," Keigo smiles to himself.
"It's very subtle," I continue to lean into his neck.
"I only spray enough that only you'll notice…" Keigo softly says.
Pulling back a bit, I'm laying on my right side facing Keigo as he mirrors me, his right wing resting over me. Staring at him, I caress that ash blond hair of his, feeling the tufts at the front with my left hand. His hair feels messy yet soft from the flying, the wind permanently combing his hair back as usual. Keigo watches with a curious gaze as his face is flushed a bit, some of his feathers floating down freely to the rug around us. I hold one in my right hand, gently brushing it between my fingers.
"Ya know, I've heard you're known to be an asshole," I smile as I begin to caress his wing with my left hand.
"What? Where'd you hear that?" Keigo laughs.
"People say you speak your mind too openly and honestly…though I don't mind it."
"You know I just adore the truth. Holding back my feelings is much harder to do…"
Keigo watches with an intrigued gaze as I caress the feathers of his wing that's resting over me. His red feathers are soft and fluffy, a sign that he's relaxed. I reach for his face, resting my hand on his cheek as I gently rub my thumb over his eyebrow.
"You have such pretty eyes," I say. "The markings around them…it's like you got natural eyeliner."
"Jealous?" Keigo jokes.
"And your lashes…it all compliments your golden eyes."
"They're not as beautiful as yours."
"Mine are beautiful? Even if I don't have any pupils?"
Keigo lightly chuckles. I move my hand to caress his stubble with my thumb as he continues to watch me.
"Remember the little girl we found this morning?" I ask.
"Mm-hm," Keigo nods.
"I wondered why I knew what she needed in that moment of being scared and alone… but I understand now that it's because I saw myself in her when I was her age."
"Sounds about right."
"I knew what she wanted…" I gently rub Keigo's red earring. "Because it was what I needed back then."
"You're starting to get it," he softly smiles.
Keigo gently reaches for my cheek, both of us resting a hand on each other's faces. His hand softly traces down to my neck, his brows slightly furrowing as his eyes peer around my collarbone.
"What is it?" I ask.
"The hickeys that bastard Hideki left…" Keigo says. "They're still fading away."
"Oh…" I look down in shame, pulling away to hide the marks. "Even after almost a week…"
"Hey…" Keigo keeps me close with his wing. "Don't feel bad…"
I keep my gaze lowered in shame.
"He didn't go too far, did he?" Keigo asks.
"No…" I reply. "Not before I blasted him across the room."
"Good," Keigo lightly chuckles.
My eyes continue to stare down as I pick at the strings of the red rug. Keigo caresses my hair as I keep my gaze away from his.
"What's wrong?" Keigo asks.
"I just…" I begin to say. "I just feel bad…You warned me about guys taking advantage of me…and I let Hideki do this to me…" I touch my neck. "I feel…ashamed…"
"You have nothing to be ashamed of…" Keigo lifts my face. "The only one who did anything wrong was that bastard…and it wasn't right to have put you in that situation in the first place."
"I didn't know what to expect when the President assigned me the mission…I just…wanna stop people like Hideki…to help fulfill your goal."
"I know…" Keigo caresses my face with a sorrowful gaze.
"Are you…disappointed in me?" I timidly glance up at him.
"No, I'd never be," Keigo shakes his head.
I stare into Keigo's eyes, his pupils dilated as he stares into mine while he caresses my hair, tucking strands behind my left ear.
"Akira…" Keigo says. "Tell me… How do you feel about me?"
"Hm?" I raise a brow.
"How do I make you feel?"
"Umm…." I struggle to find the words. "You make me…feel safe…and secure…"
"And…?"
"My heart…it gets warm when I think of you…"
"Do you…really see me as only a brother?"
"Isn't that how a brother is supposed to make you feel?"
Keigo furrows his brows a bit, which makes me think I didn't answer his question correctly.
"Ah, I'm sorry I don't understand…" I look down. "I just…don't understand my feelings…or anyone else's…My mind…it's broken. It doesn't work right…" I put my hands on my head. "Why can't it just work correctly?" I grimace as my eyes tear up.
"It's okay…" Keigo holds my face gently in his hands. "You just need time to learn these things… It won't happen overnight…and you've come so far the last couple of years…"
Keigo leans into my face, peering his eyes to meet mine.
"You wanna know what people have told me?" Keigo asks.
"What?" I glance up curiously.
"They say you've picked up my sarcasm and sassiness."
"Really?" I'm surprised.
"Mm-hm," Keigo nods.
"Does…that mean I'm an asshole, too?"
Keigo bursts into laughter. I blink at him a few times, unsure of what he's cracking up at. Despite not understanding, just watching him smile and laugh makes me happy.
"There's that smile…" Keigo brushes his thumb on my chin.
"Aren't you gonna get in trouble if you're here too late?" I worry.
"The President enforces a curfew for you to be back home. You're here. She didn't say anything about me not staying late."
"I just wanna make sure it's okay."
"If the President wants me to be an asshole, then I'll be an asshole."
I giggle as Keigo continues to stare at me in thought while placing a feather in between our hands as he holds mine gently. Those golden hawk eyes of his always seem to gaze into my soul. I often wonder what he sees that I don't.
"What are you thinking?" I poke his forehead.
"I'm thinking I could just lay here with you forever," Keigo softly gazes with his lidded eyes.
I stare at Keigo warmly, unsure of the feeling I'm experiencing when he stares into my eyes. Whatever it may be, it makes my heart warm and my stomach flutter.