𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄? (𝗵. 𝗮𝗸𝗶) ✓

4

"This is the Tokyo Headquarters for our Devil Hunters," Hanasaki began to explain to Denji, striding through the lobby while he tailed after her like a lost dog. "We have over a thousand Devil Hunters here in Tokyo, including civilians... but Public Safety, which is what you'll be joining, is paid the best."

He wasn't listening to her in the very slightest. He had started off just gazing around the building in awe, having never been in such a 'luxurious' place before without having to be removed by security. His inconsistent focus had since gravitated back towards the woman walking in front of him. He set about making a plan, proposing to himself that if he got Hanasaki to like him, and they grow closer by working together, they might even end up going out!

Denji ended up somewhat losing track of time as he was occupied by his own thoughts, and it took a sharp instruction from Hanasaki to bring him back to reality.

"This is my office," Hanasaki clarified, walking into the room that she'd ended up leading him to the doorway of, and sat down at her desk. She gestured for him to come closer with a beckoning movement of her hand, and he practically stumbled forward.

She dug around for a moment in a drawer, and handed him a folded pile of clothing.

"We're supposed to wear uniforms here," she said as he held it out for him to take, her eyes scanning over his dishevelled, mismatched attire, as well as the very obvious chainsaw cord that hung from the middle of his chest. "Go to the bathroom next door and get changed. When you're done, come back here and I'll introduce you to a coworker... a good friend of mine."

She paused slightly at the 'good friend' part of her sentence, but Denji seemed not to notice, or care very much. He flashed her his signature grin before practically sprinting out of the room.

"Oh, and don't forget to bring back my blazer..." she called after him, even though she knew there was almost zero chance he'd heard her.

Hanasaki leaned back in her chair and sighed heavily, staring up at the ceiling and into space. To put it plainly, she was exhausted. She'd always had problems with maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, but the last few weeks had been especially bad, not to mention the added issue of her not eating properly. The stubborn dark circles shadowing the underside of her eyes had become so prominent they looked more like bruises.

The door, which Denji had forgotten to shut in his excitement, creaked slightly more open as another person entered the room. He took a few steps in, but kept a respectful distance from her desk before she acknowledged his presence.

"I received your message," Aki began, hands clasped together as he talked. "Where is he?"

No answer from Hanasaki. She continued to gaze upwards absentmindedly, much to Aki's uneasiness. He took another step forward before reattempting to draw her attention.

"Hanasaki?"

Her half-lidded eyes suddenly snapped wide open, and with a dazed nod of her head, she seemed to have been shaken out of her stupor.

"H-Huh? Oh– sorry, Hayakawa-san." Her words momentarily slurred together from fatigue, but she quickly recovered her usual matter-of-fact tone.

"Something the matter?" he asked, uncertain, tilting his head to the side in concern. Her eye contact with him didn't seem completely real, as if she were looking through him rather than at him. Her cheeks were drained of colour, and hollow, like the face of a ghost.

"Just tired. Nothing a cup of coffee can't fix."

Aki frowned as Hanasaki added to her last remark with a careless shrug of her shoulders. He didn't appreciate how light-heartedly she took the topic of her own deteriorating health.

"Hanasaki, as your elder, I am required to inform you that caffeine is not a substitute for sleep."

She didn't reply, whether out of shame or out of the fact that she knew she couldn't change his mind, he couldn't tell. With a soft sigh, he paced forwards until he reached her desk, leaning over it so that he wouldn't have to look downwards to address her. Hanasaki had broken eye contact and was now staring down at the floor, expression blank of any emotion. To bring her back to him, he cupped the side of her face, tilting it upwards with a gentle motion.

"Hanasaki," he began, voice hushed. "Take care of yourself for me, okay? I want you to stay safe. I know you don't think it's a big deal, but I do. I don't want you to be another one of the people I've had to lose."

As he spoke, he tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, his touch tender and careful. As she recognised the weight of his words as well as the affection behind them, her eyes widened slightly as heat rose to her cheeks, and she prayed that Aki wouldn't be able to see or feel her blushing beneath his hand.

Before anything more could be said, the sound of frantic footsteps pounding down the hallway outside the office reminded them there was a third party due to be present. They had both barely stepped away from each other before Denji hurtled through the doorway, almost bumping into Aki before he drew to a sharp halt beside him. His tie was slung loosely around his neck, only half-tucked under his collar, and he hadn't bothered to sort out his hair, which was terrifically rumpled, like he'd had an unexpected encounter with a hurricane.

Ironically enough, Denji didn't even seem to realise the presence of the other man until something like a few seconds had passed, which is when he turned around and stared up at him.

"Who's this guy?" he questioned, swivelling his head back round to face Hanasaki, eyebrow raised in a quizzical manner.

"This is Hayakawa Aki, the coworker I mentioned earlier," she answered smoothly, still hoping that the pink flush of embarrassment had since left her complexion. "You'll be shadowing him today in his patrol of the city."

"Wait, what? I'm not working with you?" Denji exclaimed, bewildered, jaw hanging agape at the end of his sentence in pure shock.

"No, you're not," Hanasaki resolved, putting a hint of feigned sympathy in her tone to fool Denji into thinking she was just as disappointed as he was. "We might work together in future missions, depending on how well you do in your current duties, but for now I will stay as simply your superior."

Denji didn't reply — he didn't even struggle to make a case in his defence — he, for the first time in what Hanasaki thought could be ever, was rendered completely speechless.

Aki sighed, and grabbed him by the back of his collar, like a cat being picked up by the scruff of its neck. Denji didn't fight against him; just let himself be dragged along, for he'd gone stiff as a board and seemingly unable or unwilling to move by himself.

"Come on, let's go," Aki told him firmly, sounding almost like a scolding parent, and Denji just groaned in response. Hanasaki struggled not to smile at the humour of the whole situation, particularly because of the unmistakable exasperation in Aki's tone that she knew would only make itself infinitely more obvious during their little expedition.

Just before they disappeared out the doorway, Aki paused and turned his head round sideways to meet Hanasaki's gaze. He rolled his eyes at her knowingly, and wrinkled his nose as he glanced back at the immovable lump that was Denji, before turning the corner and leaving the room.

What an exhausting day.