Rui wasn't sure what to think when Hinata suggested they meet up at his favorite cafe; it seemed far too mundane a prospect after the soul-bearing experience they'd shared only a few days ago. But it wasn't as though she had any reason to deny him. If she was to keep her end of the bargain, the one they'd struck up following her pitiful attempt at nursing him, then playing normal was going to be the least of her worries.

So she doesn't begrudge him the chance to play pretend and act as though nothing's changed between them. Anyway, it's Hinata; she doubts, even despite recent events, that she could refuse him anything that would only make him smile. He's someone, one of those people (ghouls?), that looks so impossibly out of their depth when they aren't smiling, and it manifests itself outwardly by making discomfort and anxiety blossom in the people around them. Rui's already pestered by her own demons, and she doesn't really need the added unease of an unsmiling Hinata.

And, in light of that, she also attempts to squash the flutter of ambiguous wings in the pit of her stomach when she sees the gray-haired ghoul pass through the cafe's entrance with a (somewhat) suitable chime. 

Her schoolgirl crush feels ancient, like it exists in another lifetime, another plane of consciousness she's become incapable of reaching even with her hands outstretched to their limits. Too many factors separate reality and desire for her to even consider a romantic venture on top of what she's currently dealing with.

Plus, Rui thinks bitterly with a rueful glance at her bandaged shoulder, nothing good would come of it. I can't... see anything good down that path.

Before Hinata's even spotted her, she's fixed an appropriate smile onto her face, hoping against hope that the lingering fear tickling the back of her mind stays locked out of her expression, especially her eyes; she can't do much about them, in any case, so even if there's darkness blotting out the blue she doesn't want to see Hinata react to it.

We made a promise, she reminds herself, shoulders sagging minutely in stark relief when he slides into the seat across from her, exuberant and amiable as ever. It's a far cry from his blood-streaked self-loathing from before, and it hits her now how much more she prefers this Hinata - even if it's a facade, even if he's holding back everything different about himself just to exist in a world where he's despised for merely having been born. 

She thinks, perhaps only to placate her guilt, that he prefers himself this way, as well; otherwise, why bother trying to integrate himself into human society? If the act was too much for him... why put up the pretense in the first place?

"Rui-chan! Couldn't stay away, could ya?"

"Hinata-kun..."

"Right, right," he laughs, relaxing in his seat, arms hooked on the back of his chair. "Don't mind me, just stroking my own ego here. It's just nice to see you, Rui-chan." 

His foot brushes hers under the table and she makes an effort not to flinch; instead, she busies herself with adding a touch too much cream to her coffee, diluting the dark brew into a much subtler, milky brown.

Just like the color of--

No. Not a good idea, Rui.

Emotions are so terribly fickle, but just as equally stubborn once they've taken root. Rui hates them, really she does. 

"It's... I'm glad you're okay, Hinata-kun," she murmurs. 

And she is, truthfully. The sickly pallor of his skin has disappeared, replaced by his healthy glow from before; no remnants of injury remain on his skin as far as she can see. It's a weight off her shoulders to know he really heals as quickly as he claimed, especially given that they haven't seen one another since he decided that four in the morning was as late as he was going to allow her to stay awake to take care of him. He sent her home, made her promise that she wouldn't worry (which they both knew she answered while lying through her teeth), and assured her he'd have the bloodstains in the hallway cleaned up before anyone took notice of them. 

Before she'd left, she'd made him promise something as well.

"Um... you can't avoid me, Hinata-kun. You... can't just disappear. I know.... I know what a risk you're taking, letting me keep your secret, but, um, I hope you know I won't... go back on my word. Nomura-san... he's not going to find out, not from me, unless..."

"Rui-chan... I'm not gonna vanish, okay?"

"Promise?"

"...Promise. Pinkie promise. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Hinata-kun!"

"Aha, poor choice of words there... my bad. But I won't. Like I told Nomura-san, I'm an upstanding member of society. I don't break promises to pretty girls."

"...Then I'll... I'll treat you like Hinata-kun. Like before. It's... it's only fair."

"So you're just going to ignore the compliment?"

Oh God. Her cheeks are burning just thinking about that moment. Bathed in the dim light of the hours before dawn, standing close so that their whispered voices carried to one another. Hinata, smiling like he should be...

But that can't happen. Rui doesn't claim to know much about ghouls - she's yet to get a definitive answer on what a kagune is, even - but she suspects relationships between humans and ghouls, in any capacity, don't have happy endings. Harboring a ghoul, withholding knowledge about a ghoul... it's punishable to the harshest extent of the law in Tokyo. More dangerous than it would be for a human criminal in the same situation. And yet, that's exactly what she's doing. Breaking the law and putting her life on the line for a man she knows next to nothing about.

Kaori would be so very proud of her right now.

But, in spite of that, it's enough to even call him her friend without deepening her attachment to him. If something were to happen, if the CCG caught wind of his existence...

Rui can't stand to lose another important person.

Rui's startled from her thoughts when she feels the table shift, accompanied by the harsh grating of chair legs scratching against the floor, and then Hinata's leaning towards her, pointer finger poking at her forehead. He meets her eyes with a cheeky grin, head cocked, as she stares at him, expression open and vulnerable.

"You good there, Rui-chan? You got real quiet for a while."

She doesn't miss the genuine concern coloring his voice, and she ducks her head, unwilling for him to witness the childish dusting of red coating her cheeks. 

Rui is very much out of her comfort zone here.

"I'm... naturally quiet. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Quiet people are the best, ya know? They're usually smarter than us loud-mouths," he adds, jerking a thumb at his chest. "And just sitting here with you is more than enough to make me happy. I can't remember the last time I... well, no, I'm just gonna stop right there. Probably wouldn't be good to talk about my nightlife with ya, Rui-chan. Might ruin the good-guy image ya have of me."

She really does not want to know where he was planning on taking that sentence, and yet - God does she want to know.

Clearing her throat, Rui lifts her eyes to give him a soft, hardly intimidating glare as she wafts away the clouding steam from her coffee.

"Not to change the subject" - of course she's deliberately changing the subject, and of course Hinata knows exactly what she's doing with that amused smirk curling his lips - "but did you, um, call me out for anything specific, Hinata-kun? Sitting here is nice, but if you have something else in mind..."

"Actually... I was planning on easin' ya into it, but since you're askin'..."

Hinata reaches into his pocket and slaps down a handful of bills on the table before kicking back his seat. As she raises a brow at him, thoroughly perplexed, he merely grins and extends his hand to her.

"There's a place I wanna show you, Rui-chan. I think it could help get things... back to normal for us, at least a little."

She nearly winces from that. So he noticed despite her best efforts, that there's a tangible difference in her demeanor towards him. She wishes she could just erase the part of her mind that screams countless doubts about his intentions, his behavior, the quirk of his mouth and the shine in his eyes, but it refuses to be silenced; equally loud, though, is Kaori's nagging voice, encouraging her to trust him, because if nothing else he promises to be a source of adventure and a wealth of untapped knowledge that she'd otherwise be ignorant to. She doesn't like thinking about Hinata as a way to gain something for herself, but Kaori - wonderful as she was - was a woman constantly on a mission, and she had a habit of using people to her advantage no matter the consequences. 

Unfortunately, it seems she's rubbed off on Rui more than she would have liked.

"Hinata-kun, I'm not riding that deathtrap," she says eventually, slipping her hand into his; he instantly pulls her from her seat, ignoring the muffled gasp she tries to swallow back down, and grins at her mischievously, tightening his hold on her hand.

"But it's your faithful chariot, milady!"

"Death. Trap."

Hinata pouts and that insatiable urge to remedy his unhappiness once again floods her heart.

"Please, Rui-chan?"

"...Fine," she relents, and his expression brightens immediately, making a fierce (and traitorous) warmth overtake her previous guilt, so swiftly and so effectively that she forgets for a moment why she was even worried about the motorcycle.

Hinata leads her out of the cafe, and Rui pauses to blink at the sudden darkness; a great swath of dark, swollen clouds has gathered above the city, and the air is charged with the metallic scent of rain-to-come. Rui huddles in her jacket, turning up the collar, as a cold wind rushes past her. Kaori's hatred of the rain has also been passed to her, she realizes, when the first fat drop breaks apart on her nose and she scrunches up her face in such a comical display of displeasure that Hinata barks out a laugh at her expense. She sighs, not up to the task of rebuking him, and simply turns her attention to the bike he's parked just in front of the cafe.

The last time she rode it, she buried her face in Hinata's back, practically cut off circulation to the lower half of his body she was squeezing his waist so tight, and didn't look up once until they'd reached the cafe. 

Flushing again, Rui thinks maybe that's why Hinata's so adamant about her riding with him.
Then she shakes her head, curling her fingers into the hem of her coat.

Her head is too full of useless fantasies, like it's always been.

Hinata, ever the gentleman he claims to be, straddles the bike, then turns to usher her forward, patting the space behind him invitingly.

"If I die, Hinata-kun..."

He places a hand over his heart, face mock-serious.

"I solemnly swear not to eat your corpse."

She blanches, but the mirthful cadence of his voice somehow detracts from the vulgarity of his response. She thinks maybe it's his superpower, how easily he can dispel tension, assuage her fears - with just a look, a smile, a laugh, a stupid, highly inappropriate joke. And she envies him, just a little for it, but more than that, she's grateful. He's making it so easy on her to adjust to this, to everything. He's trying so damn hard for her sake, because he's a nice guy (ghoul), because he's Hinata.

Rui swallows, pushing back the butterflies that have migrated to her throat, and sucks in a sharp, invigorating breath before she carefully situates herself behind Hinata. She hesitates, biting her lip, but ultimately it's him who takes hold of her wrists and wraps her arms around his waist, which he does with a self-satisfied smirk over his shoulder at her.

"Can't have you falling off, milady," he teases.

"Not if I don't want to be your next meal," she mumbles before clenching her hands around the folds of his sweatshirt (another unfathomable form of band merchandise that she neither recognizes nor comprehends) and practically gluing herself to his back as he revs the engine and her whole body trembles with the anticipation of a crash. 

"Ah, so milady knows how to jest, does she?"

"I'm learning from the worst."

He just chuckles, and she feels it in her chest, the subtle vibrations of his laughter, echoes of his amusement.

"W-Where are we going?" she asks, something that perhaps would have been more pressing before she got on the motorcycle, but still itching at her frazzled mind nonetheless.

"It's a secret, Rui-chan," he says, "but you're gonna love it... Probably. Maybe. I hope."

"You're the worst, Hinata-kun..."

"Thanks for noticing, Rui-chan!"  

| If you notice there's basically like three settings in this story... that's just something that happened. Hope it's not annoying. Also, there's a lot of unintentional parallelism for Rui and Hinata's meetings. It's just how things when I go when I write them together. It's probably considered lazy writing, but eh, I don't mind it so much

Oh! And I didn't realize how absolutely fitting this song (and title) was for this chapter when I first decided on it. But it's very, very fitting, in my opinion~ |