Blues on the Canvas

3.3

June 26th of 2016

Yusuke woke up to the faint sound of the shower, but he quickly covered himself with the blanket in case Hanae would step out, as he would say, bare. 

He had to be a gentleman if he were to stay in the same dorm for 2 weeks. 

The first night was quite peaceful, she said a goodnight with a smile before putting her headphones on to listen to calming music, then taking them off after exactly 12 minutes and switched off the lamp. Yusuke, who could sleep even when the Sun was shining on his face or a spotlight was directed right at him, had already slept before she switched off the lights. Hanae, upon noticing this, giggled at him and covered herself with her bedsheet and hugging her dearest stuffed toy.

"Yusuke, you're not up yet? It is quite early actually...well its 8:30 right now, but sleep in if you want." she whispered, using a towel to dry her hair and stretching to heighten her senses. She giggled at him before walking to the toilet to dry her hair. "What a lazybone-"

But Yusuke heard this and scoffed, darting upwards. The blanket flew into the air for mere seconds and landed flat on the floor. Hanae got startled and turned to face the fully-awakened boy.

"Oh! So you were awake- Morning! Do you want breakfast out?"

Yusuke nodded and rubbed his eyes, she smiled and headed to the toilet. He quickly took back the blanket and folded it neatly. He knew she would take awhile, so he took out his sketchbook and wrote some potential ideas, drawing a small sketch next to the words. Then, in the corner of his eyes, he saw Hanae step out into the room again. He was immediately struck by her beauty, she was wearing a sapphire blue summer dress that slightly exposed her curves, her hair decorated with two braids that started from behind her fringe to the back of her head, decorated with a crystal butterfly which complemented her slightly curled cocoa hair.

"Hi Yusuke, do I look alright? I've not tried this look ever, I'm a bit worried..." she asked while scratching her cheek, nervous on her attempt to look dainty and elegant. Yusuke smiled and took a step closer to her. He gently placed his hand on her hand and gently put them to her sides, then slowly cupping her cheeks. She widened her eyes yet did not flinch, somewhat liking it, though she didn't know why.

"You look stunning Hanae." he whispered, smiling yet again and then releasing his hands from her cheeks. He bowed and left to the toilet to shower, leaving the pianist blushing in the centre of the room, frozen in place.

Hanae sighed, a silent sting of pain struck into her heart.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

They had breakfast in a nearby cafe, though Hanae got a few autograph requests, she had a good time just eating her waffles with fruits as Yusuke laughed every time her eyes gleamed with joy. 

"You have plans today right? Don't overwork yourself, it is a Sunday after all..." she said while sipping her iced chocolate with whipped cream. The cream got on her lips and Yusuke leaned close to her to wipe it off, making her blush yet again. Hanae didn't know what was happening, but she sure wasn't protesting.

"I won't, how about you? You seem dolled up for an occasion."

"I have a performance at Jazz Jin today! If you're free, do you want to come? It starts at 6 to 8 at night."

"I'll text you if I can then."

She beamed and nodded happily, then continuing to enjoy her waffles again.

Yusuke, upon realising he had to go to the hideout for infiltration, quickly apologised for leaving abruptly and dashed off. Hanae waved him off slowly, though he didn't see it. 

"What a busy artist..."  

He did try to not overwork, but he spent a good hour defeating shadows and constantly ran around the bank, up stairs and down corridors of many security cameras. By the time they found the treasure, everyone was too exhausted to search for additional things to sell in the real world so Akira immediately ran back to the safe room to leave.  

The team sat at the diner and eat snacks to regain their energy. Yusuke, realising it was nearly time for the pianist's performance, left a bit early and headed to Kichijoji.

At the same time, Akira received a message from Akechi to take a visit to a certain jazz club that night.