Mr Angel: Hawks x Reader

Chapter 22 - Costume Party

     My stomach felt like a rag doll being repeatedly ran over by all-season tires. I breathed in the suffocating peach smell of my body spray, and stepped past the crowd into the grand hall. Everyone was adorned in fancy eye masks and dressed in either gowns or kimonos, like me.
     "Y/n?" a voice I hadn't heard in over a month.
     "Haw- Kenshin. H-hi," I swallowed a dry spell of spit.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was invited by Megumi-san."
     "Megumi-san?"
     "The owner of the company, it's a long story..."
     "Okay- Is that..." he sniffed the air, "you?"
     "Oh, yeah. I couldn't smell the body spray from the nozzle, so I opened it. But the smell was so strong I accidentally spilled it on my hands and kimono. So, what are you doing here?"
"Your mom-"
"My mom? That woman- I swear..." he's still wearing that... wig.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Megumi-san invited you too. She wants to meet you and-"
"About not saying anything to you."
"You- It's fine... I was just wondering why," my nails sunk into my palm.
"I thought... No, I shouldn't have ignored you regardless. I-"
"Y/n," I turned around and saw the ugly blonde of Bea's new hair, "my mother is waiting for you."
"Yes, excuse me," I began to walk past Hawks.
"Him as well. My mother wishes to meet with the both of you," she stared straight at Hawks.
"Right," I went to grab his hand, but reclined and placed my hand in my pocket with the bracelet box.

———

Megumi-san was sitting outside, in a small gazebo, stroking Choco's black-tan fur. Bea guided us to her 'mother' and straightened the tea set on the bench. After Hawks and I sat down, Bea bowed and walked back into the hall.
"Good evening Megumi-san. It's y/n. I trust you're enjoying your evening," I tenderly shook her gloved hands.
"I am. Is your boyfriend with you?" she turned her head towards the outside of the gazebo.
"Yes. He is."
"Hello ma'am. I'm-"
"Tanaka Kenshin. I've heard about you. You have a nice voice," her sweet smile brightened the moonlit night.
"Thank you," he bowed.
"Y/n. Do you have the bracelet?"
"Yes," I pulled it out of my pocket.
"Good. I want you to put it on when you get back in the hall. Then, find Abbea; I have something else to give you."
"Of course, Megumi-san."
"And Kenshin."
"Yes ma'am?" Hawks turned to her.
"I want to talk to you a bit longer. You're free to go y/n," Megumi- san dismissed me.
I stood up and nearly tripped off the gazebo. The lights inside glimmered barely as bright as Megumi-san's smile. I walked into the building as quickly as I could, while simultaneously trying not to seem like I was rushing.
     I pushed the door open and saw Bea waiting for me. Before I could open my mouth, she stuck up her hand and walked towards the stairs. I followed behind, securing the bracelet onto my hand. I forced myself not to cringe as the metal claws dug into my skin. I hope this works. At the top of the stairs were two long hallways, one to the left, one to the right. Bea turned left.
"So... why are we headed upstairs?" I tried my best to mask my nerves.
"....." she continued walking.
"Right... Um- What's in the left wing anyways?" sweat was pooling at my forehead.
"West wing," she stopped and opened a door.
     The room was deep black, but I walked inside. Bea went back to not saying anything and closed the door. I closed my eyes, trying to convince myself everything would be okay. Of course, I was wrong. I felt a foreign and rusty-feeling bit of metal slap my skin. A short click followed and I was pushed to the floor.
     "I'm sorry, y/n," Bea's voice was breaking.
     "Bea- You...?"
     "I do... But I have to do this. My mother-"
     "She's not really your mother Bea! Your mom's dead, isn't she?"
     "No. She is. Takeda Megumi is my biological mother," I heard her clothes rustle.
     "What have they done to you Bea...? They've got you saying stuff like this..."
     "It's true. She really is my mother. She was never dead. I- I've known that since I can remember," something soft hit the floor.
     "Then why-"
     "My mother knew something she shouldn't. There were people after her, so she was put into witness protection. Dad and I were too... But she thought it was best if we were re-registered as separate families. But Dad and I would visit a lot."
     "What about your step-mother? If your mother was still alive-"
     "She wasn't married to Dad. It was just a decoy to ease suspicion. I... wish it weren't though. I liked her."
     "What do you mean? I saw her-"
     "Throwing my toys at me? That was one of the exercises I had to do to practice using my quirk. She treated my wounds whenever we were done. She didn't want to- But they were watching."
     "They...?"
     "The people who kidnapped me."
     "Why are you telling me this?"
     "We're best friends y/n."
     "Bea..."
     "Also. I'm sorry for what's going to happen within the next thirty-ish minutes," she slipped a folded piece of paper into the obi of my kimono.
     "What-"
     "Alexa, lights on."
     The room filled with white and I squeezed my eyes shut. When I felt I could properly adjust, I opened my eyes. The room had ornate, Victorian architecture, but was barely decorated. There was only a regular office desk, and a large display of ten or so monitors. And... ME!?
     "Bea!?" I looked at the spitting image of myself, but wearing a blood drive t-shirt and jeans.
     "You mean y/n, my fellow y/n," she picked up her kimono and put it on at an unnatural speed.
     "H-how?"
     "I can't say," she pressed a button at the desks and the monitors flickered on. "Looks like your boyfriend is back inside."
     "He's-"
     "The love of your life, I know," she didn't wink, but her tone said it all. "That's what they're banking on."
     "What do..."
     "You'll see," Bea took off my mask and put it on herself.
"I'll-"
"You'll see," she pressed a finger to my lips, walked out of the door, and closed me inside.
     I watched as she descended the stairs, humming a random tune while she walked. I looked at another monitor and saw Hawks. He ran a hand through his hair and I saw his eyes glisten as Bea walked up to him.
"Kenshin," Bea drew circles on his chest.
"Y/n, what happened with Bea?" he eyed Bea's finger as it traced around and around his suit pocket.
"Let's talk in private," Bea grabbed his tie and dragged him to a corner that was being recorded on a different monitor.
"So, what did she say?"
"Nothing. She just gave me this," she pointed at her kimono. "Seems like she still doesn't remember me."
"Well-"
"You look good tonight. Things were kinda awkward before, so I didn't say anything."
"You too. Wait, isn't that Bea's-"
"They look eerily similar, don't they? But this is slightly different than the one Bea was wearing," she slowly forced his back to the wall.
"Y/n, did you accidentally drink alcohol? You really shouldn't drink the stuff they serve without asking fir-"
"No silly! I just wanted to be close to you. That's what couples do after all," she tapped him on the nose.
"You... Y/n, I thought you didn't want-"
"Maybe not... But you do, don't you? Otherwise you would've pushed me away. Isn't that right?" Bea was a breath away from his face.
"I... No, y/n, I think you must've grabbed alcohol by accident. Let's-"
"I'm not going anywhere unless you move me out of your way."
"Y/n-"
"Do it. Unless you want me to take you to one of the bedrooms in the west wing upstairs~"
"Y/n-"
"You'll be seeing a lot of me if you go up there~" she cupped his right cheek with her hand.
"My, my!" a husky voice guffawed behind me.
     "Hu- You!" the awful Cheshire grin that had started it all.
     "I never thought I'd see you after I kidnapped that ginger," his laugh suffocated the air around me.
     "You bastard! How could you! Bea-"
     "Your little friend is nothing but a lab rat. You should know as much, you've been snooping around, haven't you?"