A/N: Just a note; this chapter may have turned out a bit more... reflective of Aoi's senses, if I do say so. There's more in here that touches upon the physical aspect of his attraction to Suzuna-perhaps even a little too much. xD Ah... Teenagers and hormones... (Fret not to the readers who wanted something more fluffy; those chapters shall come eventually!)

Oh, and I've always thought of Suzuna as an orangey type of gal. (This makes more sense later) xD

Also, this chapter is slightly longer than the last two, although that was just me drifting off as usual. Enjoy! Read and review! And please give me more suggestions for future letters if you have any ideas!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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H if for Hair

n. 1) the mass of fine flexible protein strands that grow from follicles on the skin of a person or animal, especially those on somebody's head

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He had always wondered about her hair.

Of course, he'd never acknowledge this he, himself, denied interest in it. It was foolish of him to mull over such a trivial matter. Hair was hair—most everyone he knew possessed it. Hers, in particular, simply should not have intrigued him.

But it did.

The air of that afternoon chilled Hyōdō Aoi's bones through the thin coat he had tossed on as he hurried down the sidewalk in fast strides. His book bag clung annoyingly to his shoulder, thrashing against his legs with every step and his untidy navy hair was further ruffled beneath a cap pulled tightly over his ears.

I can't be late again!

As much as Aoi hated to admit it, he was falling behind in his grades and Suzuna had so graciously offered to tutor him. Of course, this suggestion was shot down immediately the first few times she had brought it up, but after several taunts and tiresome lectures, he reluctantly agreed. After all, they were only friends—no, classmates, helping each other study.

There was nothing wrong with that, right?

However, every time she invited him to her house for the study session—he forbade her entrance into his own; Satsuki would never let him live it down—Aoi always ended up running late, causing those calm amber eyes to gleam and the corners of those emotionless lips to curl up ever so slightly in a haughty sort of smirk that screamed, "Told you so!"

I'll show her this time—I'll be right on time!

It was all Suzuna's fault he even cared about this in the first place.

Heaving out snowy puffs of air as he raced down the street, Aoi scowled.

Stupid.

By the time he arrived, Aoi was ready to collapse from the cold and the ache in his knees as he stumbled to the door and rapped his knuckles hastily against it. He was shivering and wanted desperately to be somewhere warm—why was it taking them so long to answer the stupid door?

Just as he was prepared to yell through the wood, the sound of the lock turning stopped him and the next thing he saw was Ayuzawa Misaki regarding him curiously with a piece of pocky sticking out from her mouth.

"Yo."

"Oh, hello, Aoi-chan!" she mumbled as she chewed on the stick of chocolate, earning an exaggeratedly repulsed look from the younger boy.

"Eat with your mouth closed, Misaki-chi," the boy chided with a pretentious wave of the finger.

"Want one?"

"No. Where's Suzuna?" he brushed off the offer and got to the point.

Misaki raised an eyebrow.

"Inside. Ah… are you finally ready to make your move on her?"

Aoi wanted to wipe that grin off her face. He blushed harder which was, thankfully, difficult to notice in the cold weather. "No, idiot—she invited me over for some studying!"

The older girl laughed as Aoi crossed his arms.

"Come inside," she said, allowing him to swiftly step inside and away from the chilly breeze. "I think she's upstairs in the shower but you can wait in her room if you'd prefer."

Aoi froze at her words.

In the shower?

She's in the shower right now?

Crap.

He suddenly wished he was late again.

Not to mention that his cursed teenage hormones were now undeniably roused at the thought of Ayuzawa Suzuna drenched in hot water, cheeks flushed from the steam, supple skin lathered in soap—

Wet hair let down over her shoulders…

Cobalt eyes scorched.

Gaaah! Stop that! What the hell am I thinking?

His entire body felt uncomfortably warm, more than he'd have liked despite stepping inside from the harsh weather.

"R-Right, I'll just wait for her, then," Aoi muttered with hurriedness, slipping off his shoes and heading for the stairs. He jammed his hands in the pockets of his coat as his mouth was tucked behind his collar—he couldn't bear to look at anyone right now, not even Misaki-chi, lest he embarrass himself further.

"And Aoi-chan!"

Irritation. "What?"

"Don't do anything weird to my sister, okay?"

Shock. "What?"

He could literally hear the grin in her voice and it made him furious. Whipping his head around to glare at the older girl, Aoi screeched, "Of course, you old hag! Who'd want to do anything to that robot, anyway? Jeez, just leave me alone!"

Before she could even reply, Aoi scrambled up the stairs to get away from her as he heard her laugh echo from beneath. That crazy woman—what did she mean by that anyway? Did she truly think he was interested in her sister, Suzuna, the emotionless, unfeminine, weirdo robot of a girl? She had to be joking…

Yeah, that was it.

It's all just a joke.

Aoi blamed the cause behind his flushed cheeks on his haste up the stairs.

Her room had not changed since the last time he'd seen it. Same slightly stained, old walls, bed placed in the center of the room, shelves full of various books and manga, dresser and closet nearby. A familiar sewing machine, the one she let him use each time he visited to make clothes for her, sat with a sheet thrown over it. Except for the magazines and clippings scattered over her desk in the corner beside the window, her room was tidy in comparison to his own; one could hardly see the floor of his bedroom what with all the fabric and sewing materials lying about.

Pulling off his coat, Aoi plopped himself down on the chair in front of Suzuna's desk.

A sigh escaped his lips as he undid his scarf and threw it over the arm of the chair, reaching over to yank off his hat next. What a stroke of luck this was—the one time he decided to be on time for one of their tedious study sessions and Suzuna wasn't even in the room.

Jeez.

Aoi shook his head to rid himself of these brooding thoughts and picked up his bookbag, setting it on her desk beside all her papers.

Well, whatever.

Might as well get started without her.

His fingers wrapped themselves around a pencil as he pulled out yesterday's lesson.

So, how are you supposed to find the electrical configuration again…? Ah, that's right, I'll just look at my periodic table—eh, where is it? Don't tell me I forgot to put it in my folder…

Wait.

No way.

I think I used the back of it to sketch out another design—dammit!

"Guh… This is so stupid…" the boy muttered as his face met the surface of the desk. "Why doesn't she just hurry up...?"

His expression shifted to bewilderment.

Why am I thinking about that freak again?

I mean, I know I'm in her room, and all, but seriously… I need to focus!

Slapping his cheeks and straightening up, Aoi raised his pencil and began to scribble through his homework. He wasn't entirely sure of what he was doing but he figured if he could get some of it done, there would be less interaction between him and Suzuna; her telling over and over what he did wrong and him accepting it with a stubborn reluctance like always.

Speaking of which, maybe she had her textbook or period table with her… Aoi halted halfway through the worksheet and looked through the scattered papers on her desk. He scowled as he searched—all she had was a bunch of random magazine contest clippings and coupons lying around! Suzuna needed to get a new hobby; then again, it wasn't as if his own hobbies were any better… Aoi cringed at the thought and continued searching.

He stood up and looked beneath her desk. Her bookbag was nowhere in sight. Aoi opened the drawers of the desk and rummaged through her belongings—various knickknacks and journals full of useless information—nothing that could help him with his homework.

…I'm really getting sick of this! Where does she keep her—

Aoi froze.

A photo.

He blinked.

Before he could stop himself, he pulled the photo out from the drawer and leaned over it in an attempt to study it better. This is…

Suzuna was standing by a croquette stand, not looking at the camera. A bun of sweet bread was sticking out of her mouth and a bag of what looked like various pastries was draped around her thin arms. He was sure the photo couldn't have been taken very long ago as she looked nearly the same as she did now, perhaps only slightly younger. Even so, there was something strange about the way she looked in the photo—her hair was down! Aoi's eyes roamed her face as he took in this change of appearance.

Initially, he couldn't imagine Ayuzawa Suzuna without her hair up—in fact, he had simply begun to associate pigtails with her—without them, it just wouldn't be the same. However, Suzuna looked just as she always did regardless of the strands of dark hair that swept across her shoulders and back in the breeze of that day.

She seemed so natural in the photo that it startled him.

Has she always been this pretty…?

Face flushing, Aoi wanted to stuff the photo back into the desk and furiously deny these thoughts but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. He knew how she wore her hair had nothing to do with him, yet despite this, he couldn't help but be drawn by it—by her.

He had always thought her hair unique.

Perhaps it was the color, something most people unlike Aoi would overlook.

From the very start, he knew it was not the simple shade of black one may conclude upon seeing her; he noticed the way it shifted from earthy tones in the light, raven sheened indoors yet a soft caramel wherever the sun hit it. In the photo, there was a subtle mix of chocolate in her dark locks as the shadow from the roof of the croquette stand only blocked some of the sun from shining on her; the rest of her hair was illuminated and bright.

His eyes softened as he continued to stare. Aoi had always thought he was the cutest girl there could ever be what with all of the wigs and outfits he spent time making for himself in the past when he was still a net idol.

But he realized how wrong he was.

She had beaten him long ago.

That girl…

And it pissed him off.

"…Hyōdō-kun?"

His eyes widened.

Aoi hastily moved to hide the photo in his sleeve, slipping it into his pocket before she could see. He took a deep breath before looking up to reply in his usual irritated manner when he was silenced into surprise once more.

Ayuzawa Suzuna stood, staring back at him with equally astonished tea-colored eyes. She was dressed in a pair of clean lounging shorts and a grey tank top as a damp, pink towel was draped around her neck and back. Her skin glistened slightly from the shower; it was obvious she was not expecting his company any time soon.

Though Aoi was almost positive he had never seen Suzuna with her hair down from her pigtails before the photo, at that moment, it was the darkest color of night possible—wet and shiny and strung carelessly across those slender shoulders, brushing against the soft, glowing skin of her cheeks.

His heart thumped loudly in his ears.

"You're early."

Her voice snapped him out of his daze. Aoi's fiery cobalt eyes narrowed back at the girl as he scoffed, retorting, "Of course I am, you're the one who's late this time!"

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you yet…" Suzuna apologized, though her expression remained neutral, if not a little surprised. "You are usually late so I figured today wouldn't be any different."

"Yeah, well, it was!"

Rolling his eyes, Aoi glanced over at her once more before suddenly reddening and turning away in the chair with a jump. "And, what's with that outfit? Put on something decent!"

"What do you mean?"

Are you freaking serious?

"A girl shouldn't show that much skin in front of a guy!" Aoi snapped through clenched teeth, avoiding her curious gaze. His skin burned. Didn't she have any idea what this did to him?—even if he didn't always act like it, he was still a specimen of the male gender! He was already suffering the textbook definition of everything he had learned in health class due to this awkward stage of adolescence and she certainly wasn't making it any easier for him!

This doesn't make sense… There's no way I'm attracted to that weirdo robot!

"Ah… One moment then," he heard the girl say as her footsteps shuffled to other side of the room and towards the closet. "Please do not turn around."

"Eh?"

Then the sound of fabric being removed entered his ears and Aoi nearly fell out of his chair.

"Wha—go change in the bathroom, Suzuna!"

"How come? I'm almost done, anyway."

"B-Because…!"

He could hear the smile in Suzuna's voice as she replied, "Oh? What's this? I never knew Hyōdō-kun could be such a pervert…"

P… Pervert?

His blood boiled.

"I'm not a pervert, dammit!"

Aoi risked a glance back at her, relieved to find Suzuna fully dressed in a pair of loose slacks and a long-sleeved T-shirt rather than her previously revealing attire. Athough it was horribly unfeminine and not at all cute on her, it was much better than having to deal with her hardly wearing anything at all. A breath of relief whooshed out from his lips, the color from his face slowly fading away.

Thank goodness.

Just as he was about to snap at her to hurry up so that they could start the lesson, Suzuna stepped in front of her dresser and picked up a brush. Aoi's face fell from irritation to horror as she began to run the coarse bristles through her wet black hair, yanking through the tousled strands without the smallest shift in expression.

"What are you doing?"

"Hm? I'm brushing my hair. Give me a minute, Hyōdō-kun."

Aoi glared at the apathetic girl, hands folding into fists in his laps. "That's not it, you idiot! You're not supposed to brush your hair when it's wet!"

Suzuna halted her actions and tilted her head at his reflection in the mirror.

"Is that so?"

"Yes—you'll tear out all your hair! Wait until it's dry!"

"I'd rather it already by free of tangles by the time it dries."

"Then use a hair dryer!"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's broken."

Slapping his forehead, Aoi groaned in frustration. "Ugh, why can't you ever act like a normal girl? This is why I'll never—"

He paused.

"'Never' what?"

"N-Nothing. Just come over here!" Aoi suddenly changed the subject, gesturing for her to follow. When she didn't react, he sighed, stood up, and shuffled towards her, grabbing her shoulders from behind and pushing her towards the chair.

"H-Hyōdō-kun?" Suzuna murmured his name as she was forced to sit down. She stared up at the slightly taller male with puzzled tea-colored eyes that betrayed her otherwise emotionless disposition.

"Give that to me," he only replied, slipping the brush out of her fingers. Before he could get lost in that horribly uncute expression the robot was making, he harshly rotated the chair so that she was no longer facing him and instead, was given a view of the back of her head. "I'll brush your hair since you obviously can't do it on your own."

"You don't have to—"

"Stop talking and stay still."

"But, we should study—"

"It won't take long."

"Hyōdō-kun, I—"

"Trust me!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Alright," came the quiet response. Aoi was stunned at the meekness of her voice; it was almost as if she was shyabout the whole ordeal.

No, no, it must have been something else.

Ayuzawa Suzuna—shy?

Please.

What a lame joke.

The back of Suzuna's slender, pale neck was in view, causing the boy to do a double take and blush violently. He quickly pushed the thoughts away and proceeded to ready the brush in his hand, using his other to gently swipe the drape of damp, dark hair to her back and over her bare skin. Aoi bit his lower lip as the cold water coating the fine strands met his skin, only to shake off the momentary lapse in his concentration. Why was he fussing so much over this, anyway? She could've brushed this herself; why did he involve himself?

Oh, right. He… didn't want her to go bald from tearing it all out. I'm only helping her.

After all, it was certainly not as if he just wanted to touch her hair.

Ha.

That was absurd.

Fingers entwined themselves within the silky raven curtain, carefully undoing tangled knots as the bristles of the brush gently separated the locks from one another. Her hair was softer than he imagined—not that he ever imagined about her hair, of course. Even so, it tickled his hands each time they worked their way through another mass of entangled strands, fluttering apart ever so slightly.

As he ran the brush through Suzuna's hair, the sudden scent of her shampoo entered his nose.

Mild and citrusy and smelling vaguely of oranges.

Aoi felt himself grow light-headed.

He had the sudden urge to lean down and inhale her sweet scent deeply, only to realize how crazy he sounded and desperately snapped himself out of his stupor. Closing his eyes for only a moment, Aoi attempted to recollect his composure and steady his pounding heartbeat. Just hurry up and brush her hair so you can get to work.

"Hyōdō-kun," Suzuna suddenly spoke up, unaware of the internal battles the boy was facing. "Have you been studying the elements since the last time we discussed them?"

"Eh? Oh, uh, yeah…."

"Are you making that up?"

A vein twitched in Aoi's forehead and he yanked through a particularly knotted mess of hair with the brush, satisfied when he noticed Suzuna flinch with the way she jerked at his actions. "Alright, I get it," he heard the normally apathetic girl sigh, impressed with himself to have evoked such an unusual reaction from her.

"So, what's the symbol for Potassium?"

"Huh?"

"Symbol. Potassium."

"Oh, K."

He heard her giggle softly at his unintentional pun and rolled his eyes, tugging on hair. "Suzuna!"

"Ow—sorry, sorry. …Niobium?"

"Nb."

"Astatine."

"At."

Suzuna nodded her head slightly, causing Aoi to become frustrated with her. "Will you stop moving so much? I'm trying to do something here!"

"What element does Hg represent?" Suzuna continued on without a hitch.

Aoi paused to think about it. "Mercury."

"What is the symbol for Silver?"

"That's, um…"

The scent of oranges continued to linger by him and he wasn't sure if it had gotten stronger or if he was simply succumbing to the mildness of it on his own. Aoi took another deep breath. The texture of her hair was gradually becoming smoother with each stroke of the brush he ran through it.

He wondered if the room had gotten warmer or if it was him.

Wait.

What did she ask me again?

Aoi found it more and more difficult to concentrate on the questions Suzuna was testing him with and took a shot at an answer.

"Au?"

"No, that's Gold. It's Ag."

Embarrassed for mixing the two up, Aoi flushed—he knew that he knew them! Why was it suddenly so difficult to focus? He desperately tried to straighten himself out again but something was clouding his cobalt eyes, something he simply could not rid himself of.

"Alright. Next one—What element does the symbol Os represent?"

His head felt dizzy.

He spoke before he could stop himself.

"Orange…"

"Hm?"

"I-I mean, erm," Aoi quickly corrected himself, turning red. "O-Osmium!"

Suzuna turned around fully in her seat to give the boy a peculiar look, the corners of her lips puckered downward into a curious sort of pout that made her seem oblivious to his tongue-slip; although he was sure she was inspecting him, trying to deduce his reasoning behind that random, 'orange'.

The moment she had opened her mouth to speak, the door of Suzuna's room open and Misaki popped her head inside. She caught sight of her younger sister sitting in a chair with Aoi-chan standing behind her, his hands intertwined with her glistening, black tresses, a brush hanging limply at his side.

"What's going on in here?" she playfully asked, leaning against the doorframe with a large bowl held in her arms as she studied the two teenagers. At once, the boy froze, reddened, and backed away, dropping his hands away from the back of Suzuna's neck; the brush was on the floor, forgotten.

"We were—"

"N-Nothi—"

The two spoke simultaneously, paused, and glanced at each other. Suzuna managed to beat him to an explanation faster. "Hyōdō-kun offered to brush my hair for me since I am unqualified for such a task."

"Damn right—hey, don't make me sound like some sort of jerk!"

"Rest assured; you're doing all that on your own."

"Why, you—"

"Aoi-chan," Misaki interrupted with a smirk. "Didn't I tell you not to do anything weird to my sister?"

"Hah?"

"Oh, Onee-chan, you won't believe how gently he brushed my hair. It was as if a beautiful blue angel from the heavens was caressing the strands of mankind."

What the hell?

The very image of the oh-so-apathetic Suzuna speaking that entire sentence with the most serious of faces was more than enough to make Misaki crack up with laughter. Aoi's own expression fell at the girl's words, wondering just what was wrong with her—there were many things, but this? His face felt the hottest it had been that afternoon and he scowled as Misaki eventually calmed down.

"Anyway, I brought a bowl of oranges in case you guys were hungry. I'll just leave it here, then," she said, moving to put it on the desk before Aoi's eyes widened and he suddenly rushed forward to shove the bowl back into her arms.

"No more oranges, take them with you!" he cried, ignoring the surprised look that crossed the older girl's face. He didn't stick around to hear her questions as he quickly slammed the door, turning the lock. With a relieved sigh, Aoi turned around and slumped down to the floor.

He eventually raised his head to glare daggers at the girl who was gazing back at him with amused tea-colored eyes. His words came out in a snarl.

"Beautiful blue angel? Seriously?"

Suzuna smiled as she unconsciously brushed back a lock of silky black hair from her face.

"Don't forget the strands of mankind."

A sigh.

There goes what could have been a normal study session with a simple classmate.

The strands of mankind, huh?

Like I'd forget something like that…

"Now, get up, Hyōdō-kun! We still have a lot of work to do!" Suzuna said, crawling beneath her bed to pull out her bookbag.

"That's where you keep it?"

In the end, the periodic table was enough to distract Hyōdō Aoi from repeatedly staring at the back of Suzuna's head, admiring the way it seemed to glisten. After all, he had always wondered about it, regardless of how many times he'd force himself to believe otherwise. He had memorized its texture, its color, its length. He knew what it looked like, wet or dry. Its fragrance was permanently etched into his mind.

He had even conveniently forgotten to return the photo of her with it down back to its place in her desk…

And now—

"Hey, open up! Are you sure neither of you are hungry right now? I can make something for you!"

"Anything but oranges!"

One thing was for certain.

He'd never be able to eat another orange without thinking about Ayuzawa Suzuna's hair first.