Part 15: Hana
"Well, I would call that a successful party." Takebe Saori said as the door closed behind her. She stepped past Hana and into the otherwise vacant Isuzu family house, carrying an armload of empty food trays into the kitchen.
Hana sighed, instead of offering a verbal response.
"I mean, besides that little hiccup between Saemonza and Oryou." Saori continued. "Or the Anteaters drawing those… drawings in the snow. Or Suzuki almost killing herself on the Char. Other than all that, that was alot of fun."
Hana looked down at the small container of leftovers in her arms. Most of her teammates had taken the rest, but the Gunner still felt as if she had brought too much.
She had hardly eaten anything herself.
"What did you think, Hana?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes." Isuzu nodded absently. "It was good."
Takebe tilted her head at her friend's unusually stilted attitude, but didn't comment on it. "Want some help cleaning up? Or putting stuff away?"
"No. Nono, I'll handle it in the morning."
The gossip girl eyed Hana for a moment as she set her items down. "Are you sure? I don't mind. In fact, knowing that one of my friends has a messy kitchen will probably drive me nuts all night." Realizing her choice of words, Saori backtracked. "N-not to say your kitchen is messy, Hana. I… I'm just -"
"I understand, Takebe-san." Hana interrupted, raising her voice much more than needed. "But its okay. I'll handle it."
Saori narrowed her eyes as Hana took a few deep breaths and rested one hand on the counter, using the other to repeatedly adjust her hair.
"Are you okay, Hana?" She asked slowly.
"Yes. Fine. Why?"
"You've been acting kinda weird tonight. You were unnaturally quiet, and you hardly touched any food. You of all people."
"I wasn't hungry." Isuzu waved her friend off. "I had a big lunch today."
"But… I was with you at lunchtime." Saori countered. "When we prepared all of this. You didn't eat anything then, either."
"Well, I don't know what to say, other than that I'm fine." Hana said dismissively.
Takebe took a step closer to her. She wasn't sure if it was just the lighting of the kitchen, but she had just noticed how thin Hana's face looked. Her chin and cheekbones were more prominent than she remembered, and her red-tinted eyes had deep shadows beneath them. As if she hadn't slept in days.
"Are you sure, Hana? You know you can talk to me."
She smiled weakly. "I know, Takebe-san. And if I need to talk to someone, I know who to go to."
Saori pressed further, despite the barely contained tears welling up in her friend's eyes. "Hana, I can tell something is bothering you." She reached out. "Talking about it might he-"
"Jesus, Saori! Just shut up already!" Hana suddenly shouted, making the Radio Operator jump. "I don't have anything to say. So please drop it!"
"If it is what I think it is, I'm sure there's plenty to say." Saori countered hesitantly, taken aback by the outburst.
"No there isn't. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to talk about it. Especially not to you." Takebe recoiled.
"What do you mean, 'not to me'?"
"I survived something horrible at Saunders." Hana began. "The last thing I need is someone blabbing about the details to the whole damn school."
Saori shook her head in disbelief. "Why would I tell anyone about that?"
"Who spread the news about Piyotan's mother cheating on her husband?" Hana demanded. "Who told everyone about Utsugi's boyfriend leaving her?" With each point, the furious Gunner stepped closer, jabbing her finger at Takebe's face. "Who blabbed to the entire carrier that Midoriko's little brother was dying from cancer?"
Saori hesitated. "Well, I…I mean, yeah. I don't have an excuse, when I'm put on the spot like that, but I would never share anything sensitive about you. Hana, you're my best friend. You know you can trust me."
"If you feel the need to say that, then you can't be trusted." Hana bit back. "I don't need a shrink right now. Especially one with such a bad reputation when it comes to sensitive information."
"Okay, you're right. I told everyone about that stuff. But you're different, Hana. You're my best friend."
"And that somehow makes what I tell you different? Special?"
"Hana, please! Look, I'm sorry. All of this came off on the wrong-"
"No!" Isuzu silenced her, turning her back on her friend. "I don't want to hear it!" The raven haired girl stepped back towards the counter and planted her hands firmly on the surface. "I think its about time you left, Takebe."
Saori shuffled her feet a few times, staring at her companion's back for a long moment. "Okay. I can see you're upset." She began slowly. "How about I just… head home, and we'll… talk about this in the morning? When we have, err… clearer heads."
Hana nodded dismissively. "Yeah. Yeah, good idea."
She didn't turn her head to watch her friend leave, instead staring intently at her own reflection in the kitchen window.
"Tomorrow, you can talk about whatever you want."