𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄? (𝗵. 𝗮𝗸𝗶) ✓

25

The yellow glare of the hotel lights had blinked awake once more to illuminate the now odd construction of the corridor. Those on the floor rested on smooth plaster instead of rough carpet, although it did not seem to bother Himeno, who was sprawled on her stomach, limp hand dangling over the edge of the doorway. Other teammates were scattered haphazardly around the room; both rookies were slouched against the wall, Arai having readopted his duvet-cocoon. Kobeni merely sat still, too detached to tremble, neck crooked in a state of open-eyed unconsciousness.

Aki and Power were the only ones on the beds. The Fiend lay spread-eagled on the one furthest from the door, face buried in the clean mattress. Every now and then she'd mumble something incoherent into the linen, the most common word being a muffled 'Meowy'.

Aki, on the other hand, had been tucked in, the edge of the duvet stuffed under his jaw, his stiff body outlined by creases in the fabric. He was awake, but only just.

Hanasaki, like the rookies, also sat leaned against the wall, hugging her knees with slack arms like she didn't even have the energy to hang onto herself. Her face had lost the warmth brought on by her running to the others, but her hair had remained frazzled, giving her the appearance of someone who had stuck a fork into an electric socket. She was the furthest away from everyone else in the room, and positioned herself so she wouldn't have to see Aki.

Every now and again, though, she'd catch herself shooting cursory glances at the bed-sheet covering him, searching for the telltale bloom of red as it flowered across its white surface. Hanasaki wasn't stupid — she knew that a few bandages wouldn't fix a stab wound. And no matter how strong Power's blood abilities were, she doubted they would last very long, especially as she was all but unresponsive currently.

Although she never let herself look for more than a second at a time, the reality was that she could stare for hours on end and Aki would not notice. Even from up close, one could only just see the faint glisten of Aki's eyes from underneath his heavy top-lid. They were glassy, like the fake eyes they put in taxidermied animals. The only sign he was alive was the wet shine of his tearlines, saltwater darkening his lower lashes.

His eyes had been the first thing Hanasaki had noticed about him, actually. Not currently in that hotel room, but a few years ago, back when they first met. Kishibe had been touring Aki around the Public Safety building — a rite of passage that every aspiring Devil Hunter should be put through, just to embarrass them a little — and had brought him to her by the collar like he was a trainee guide dog. He was slightly older than her, but his face was still young and soft around the edges, the memory of childhood lingering on the padding of his cheek. The sour pout of his lips and that beautiful look of tragedy weighing down his brow made him look like a Neoclassical painting of some unfortunate hero, although Hanasaki knew what he really was; no more than a little boy who had lost his family, and therefore decided that the best solution was to lose himself, too.

As Kishibe explained Aki's predicament and new position, he regarded her with a furtive gaze, his mouth remaining sealed for the entire interaction. At that time, his hair was not yet long enough to be tied up, and was cropped neatly at his jaw, like he'd had a recent haircut. She wondered whether he'd got it before the Gun Devil incident, and if his family was with him. She soon discovered she didn't like thinking about that.

She'd see him around regularly over the following years, usually tailing Himeno, his much more boisterous senior. Himeno was a nice girl, although a bit too outgoing and distracted for Hanasaki's taste. They'd even worked together on a few missions, although their age gap and difference in nature made it hard for them to have a coherent conversation about anything but tactics. Hanasaki did not dislike her, though — she was a more-than-capable teammate, and she knew that her vivacious personality was little more than a front to disguise the anxious child that lived in the heart of every Devil Hunter. She recognised that her and Himeno were not so unlike each other after all, although she could never quite totally rid herself of that feeling of muted resentment whenever she glimpsed her laughing face. Maybe it was because she joined Public Safety for the money, and had no family members to grieve over the same way that she did. Or maybe it was the fact that Aki was assigned to be her partner, and not Hanasaki's.