~ Third Person Pov ~
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Ayano hadn't said a word at first. He simply exhaled, long and quiet, like he was trying to bleed the tension out through his lungs... Then, without looking at her, he pulled out one of the kitchen chairs, and lowered himself into it, slowly — like his limbs were suddenly heavier than they had any right to be...
His fingers tapped absently against the edge of the table, but his eyes remained unfocused, fixed on some distant point on the floor that wasn't really there either.
"H-How?" he asked finally, the word dry in his throat. "How, and when would you even get the time to love me?"
His voice wasn't harsh. It wasn't even angry either... If anything, it sounded, confused — like someone trying to solve a puzzle that had too many missing pieces to it. He quickly looked up at her then, eyes steady, searching for any lies or uncertainty...
"We've practically only known each other for what? A day." Ayano continued, tone bordering on disbelieving. "And that's me being generous."
He didn't ask and say it to hurt her in anyway — and Yukari knew that. But the question still hung between them like a knife suspended by thread, both delicate, and dangerous.
Yukari didn't flinch, though. She stood still, watching him with a gaze that didn't waver, didn't blink. Her mouth parted slightly, like she was going to answer — then closed again. Whatever words she thought she had ready, clearly weren't the right ones...
So she stepped closer instead, slowly, and leaned back against the counter where she'd stood moments before. The silence was no longer awkward — just heavy. Thick with the kind of emotions that didn't obey logic, and never really asked permission.
"You're right," she said softly. "We've only known each other for a day."
She said it without defensiveness and without excuse present.
"But sometimes… it doesn't take long," she went on, quieter now. "Sometimes, it's not about how long you've known someone... It's about what part of yourself they touch, or reach out to. What they see that no one else does."
Her eyes fell to the floor now, voice barely above a murmur. "And you… Ayano... I felt as if you saw, me. Not just my role. Not the task. Me!"
She paused, then looked up again.
"I felt like you saw through me so quickly, that it was terrifying! And you didn't even run. You didn't even flinch at it. You sat, and listened. You even stayed. You spoke to me like an actual person, not some sort of project, or a moral obligation." She said, looking down.
"You didn't even ask for anything when you got the chance. In fact, you helped my daughter, someone else you hardly knew — You were just, there. Like it was the most natural thing in the world for you."
She finally swallowed, her throat working against something tight; "I-I don't know what to call this yet. I don't know if it's even love. Maybe it's too soon for something like that. Maybe I'm brokenenough that I don't even know what love even looks like anymore."
Her voice shook slightly now, not with drama — but with exhaustion, and a kind of raw truth that doesn't surface often.
"But, I do know what it feels like to not want someone to walk away... I do know what it feels like to finally breathe in someone's else's presence, and not feel like I'm performing every second of it."
She took a step toward him.
"And maybe, that's not love, yet. But it's definitely, something. And right now… it's the only real thing I've got to work with... Like I've mentioned to you earlier. I'm hyper-aware of my own emotions and feelings."
Ayano leaned forward slightly in his chair, elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlaced as he stared at the floor between his boots. He didn't respond right away. Instead, he just sat there — still, breathing through his nose like he was waiting for his thoughts to settle into something coherent...
Then, finally, he looked up at her.
His expression wasn't angry. Wasn't cold. If anything, it was... Tired. But not the same kind of tired she had worn — hers was carved into bone from burden. His was the kind that came from trying too hard not to feel something.
"You're not broken... Yukari..." he said quietly.
Yukari didn't move, but something flickered in her eyes...
"I think you're just, tired..." Ayano added, voice still calm, still measured. "Lonely. Probably stretched a bit too thin trying to hold together too many of your people's hopes, even dreams, and not enough of yourself..."
He looked away again, jaw tightening faintly. "But, you're not broken. Don't call yourself that."
Yukari blinked slowly, but said nothing.
"And as for what you feel…" He shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it was something. And maybe it's real. But real doesn't always mean healthy."
That part made her flinch — just a fraction. But Ayano didn't press the wound; he acknowledged it, then softened further, rubbing the back of his head.
"…But, don't get me wrong here... I'm not saying all that to push you away, or anything like that. I'm saying it because, I don't really want to be something you cling to just because I happened to be the only one present enough to stay and listen."
...
The silence returned, but now it pulsed between them like a slow heartbeat...
"Look..." He paused for a second, "You barely even know me, Yukari-san..." He said after a while, more gently now. "And I barely even know you. Whatever you think you feel… Maybe you owe it to yourself to sit with it for a while. Not immediately chase it. Just… let it be what it is for the time being; Just until you really know what it is."
He finally leaned back in his chair, the wooden legs creaking under the shift of weight. His eyes stayed locked on hers — not cold, not inviting. Just… honest.
"If this so-called thing you feel for me is genuine" he said, "Then it's best you give it time to settle... It won't break just because you gave it a bit of time to breathe."
For a long moment, Yukari didn't move. Her gaze flicked down, then back up. Her expression unreadable.
But then — slowly — she nodded.
"…O-Okay." she said, though, her voice was barely audible when she said so.
Then, she did something unexpected. She stepped in closer, just a little, and knelt beside his chair — not as an apology — but as a way to meet him on the same level. Her hand reached out, and with careful slowness, she placed it over his.
"Then let me just… stay here for a bit." she whispered.
Ayano looked at her, and after another beat... "What...?"
...
"I asked if I could stay here for a-"
"I heard what you said... I just can't believe you actually went through with it." He interjected, tiredly. He had hoped she wouldn't push this case any further than that it already was. He even gave her the lee-way of thinking this all over, but she was now insisting on staying over his place now...
He looked at her, this time, he wondered if this was a good idea. Most guys would jump at an opportunity like this one. Yukari was exceptionally beautiful... Much less for a woman who's had a daughter, she didn't look a single day over twenty, and being a grown man mentally, and in the body of a healthy hormonal teenager was not the wisest choice...
It's the biggest reason why he doesn't want her to stay here. He sighed to himself again, eyes twitching slightly this time... 'Isn't she practically giving me the puppy-dog eyes here?'
After a whole minute, he finally responded...
"Alright..." he said, hesitantly. "But, just for a little bit."
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Some time had passed since they had their conversation. Yukari had last, and is now back, leaving Ayano to figure out his current, predicament...
He slowly closed his eyes, and thought about the entire day he's had so far... First, he rescued both his friend, and her mother from absolute scums of the earth and got them arrested. Then after that, some random old man offers to teach him about some beasthe has deep within him; with him soon finding out said man was also a superhuman, and one unfathomably more powerful than even himself...
Then, he comes home to... To this, a confession out of absolutely nowhere, from a woman he barely even knew, and a woman who he thought wouldn't be interested in such things either... To say he was stressed, would be an understatement.
Apart of him was happy about this. In fact, he's never been confessed to before in this life, or the last, at least not like this. And she wants to actually stay over his place as well. 'I... can't even give her a response either. Doing that would feel like screwing with her feelings. Plus, she's what, in her thirties, or so...? This entire situation just feels, odd...' He thought to himself.
He turned to Yukari, "If... You're going to stay, here; I have a spare room next to my own. I even cleaned it recently too, so you can stay there for the time being, at least until you've figured out yourself.
Yukari gave a small, grateful smile, the corners of her lips twitching with something faint and fleeting—relief, maybe. Or perhaps something closer to quiet acceptance. Her hand slipped away from his slowly, as if sensing that even a second longer might break whatever fragile balance they'd just managed to find.
"Thank you..." she said, firmly, voice low. "I promise I won't overstep."
Ayano gave a slight nod. He didn't say anything more—he wasn't sure what else there was to say. Every part of him felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry. His body might've been still, but his thoughts hadn't stopped pacing for hours...
He stood, rubbing the back of his neck. "The room's this way."
Yukari followed silently behind, her footsteps soft on the wooden floor, like she was afraid to wake the house itself. When they reached the spare room, Ayano opened the door and stepped aside to let her in.
'It's just like he had said...' She thought. It was, modest—clean, neatly made as well, with folded sheets, a low dresser, and a faint scent of lavender from a half-used sachet tucked behind a shelf...
Yukari stood in the doorway a moment longer before stepping inside. She glanced back at him once, and he caught it—the same look he'd seen in people who'd spent too long waiting for the other shoe to drop. The kind of look you give when you're not sure if safety is real, or just another test.
"Goodnight..." Ayano said finally.
Yukari nodded. "Goodnight, Ayano..."
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~ Third Person Pov, The next day... ~
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Ayano slowly woke up... Yawning as he did so.
'Damn... It feels like all of yesterday was just a dream...' He thought, glancing at his alarm clock, seeing the time, which was 6 AM. 'It's early too...'
He slowly got up off the bed, with the intention of heading to train again with the old man he had met yesterday. However, now he wasn't exactly alone anymore. 'Well, I might as well go make breakfast for the two of us... Though, it's gonna take me a while to get used to doing this... But, I need to take a bath first.'
...
He quickly grabbed his towel and slipped into the bathroom, letting the hot water pour over him as he tried — unsuccessfully — not to think. But no matter how much he scrubbed his face or let the steam curl around him, a single persistent thought refused to go away:
'This was really real. All of it...' He thought.
The old man with eyes that practically looked through him. Yukari, and her unexpected, trembling confession. He sighed deeply, water cascading off his shoulders...
By the time he stepped out of the bath, he felt marginally more prepared to face the day. Marginally. He toweled off, dressed, and padded barefoot into the kitchen, tying the drawstring of his training pants as he moved. He could hear the faint rustle of movement from the guest room — she was up, or waking up at least.
He opened the fridge and stood there for a moment longer than necessary, staring at its contents like they might suddenly tell him how to behave like a normal human being in this situation. Eventually, he pulled out a carton of eggs, some vegetables, and leftover rice. Simple was best — tamago gohan, maybe a bit of miso soup if there was enough stock left.
As he cracked the eggs into a bowl, the sound of quiet footsteps approached behind him. He didn't turn around, but he felt her presence — hesitant, careful not to intrude.
"...Morning," came her voice, still laced with sleep.
Ayano glanced over his shoulder, eyes meeting hers briefly. Her hair was a little mussed, her expression subdued but calmer than last night. No trace of regret. Just quiet resolve.
"Morning." he replied simply, returning to whisking the eggs.
Yukari stepped into the kitchen fully, though she kept a respectful distance, settling against the counter as she watched him work.
"You... didn't have to cook for me, you know," she said gently.
"I know." he said. "But, I'm up already. And you're here, so I might as well, right?"
A pause.
"…It, smells good."
He just nodded once, a small gesture of acknowledgment. They stood like that for a while — not quite awkward, but not yet familiar either... Especially to him. As he poured the eggs into the hot pan, Ayano spoke again, his tone casual, but not inherently careless.
"Hey... I've got something I need to do this morning. I might be gone for a while."
Yukari tilted her head slightly. "Should I be worried?"
"No," he said. Then, after a pause: "I've just got to finish up that thing I said with the kid I've decided to help..." But, he stopped, his mind trailing somewhere else. "Also... I didn't get to ask yesterday, but given your position and all, are you sure you can just leave? How did it even go with your guards?"
...
Yukari paused at his question, a shadow crossing her face — not of guilt, but of something more complicated. She shifted her weight against the counter, arms folding loosely over her stomach, as if wrapping herself in a little more time to think before answering.
"It didn't exactly go over as smoothly as I hoped it would." She admitted after a beat. "They weren't all that thrilled when I told them I'd be stepping away for a bit... There was a lot of pushback… as I had expected."
Her gaze flicked to the side, almost distant. "But, I had made it clear that this wasn't a negotiation. I've been in that role long enough that I've earned some amount of time away. They know not to push when I say I need my time."
She looked back at him then, softer now, but steadier. "Besides… it's not like I've left everything behind me completely. I have contingencies in place of something like this. People I trust keeping an eye on things while I'm gone. Furthermore, I wouldn't have dreamt of staying here if it meant abandoning my duties completely... You don't have to worry about that."
Ayano gave a slight hum, eyes narrowing—not in suspicion, but in the way someone squints toward a thought they're not yet sure how to phrase...
"…I wasn't worried about your loyalty." he said quietly. "Just your safety."
Yukari smiled, albeit faintly at what he said... "I've had much worse threats than a sudden bureaucratic disapproval."
He let out a small breath, halfway between a sigh and a reluctant laugh. "Yeah… somehow I don't doubt that one."
She stepped away from the counter, glancing at the rice cooker and the now-simmering miso soup. "So... How long will you be gone, if you don't mind my asking?"
He thought about it for a second; "A Couple hours, maybe a bit more..." Ayano answered. "Depends on how cooperative people I'll meet are."
"I see..." Yukari answered. Ayano didn't respond right away. He plated their food — simple, clean — then handed her a bowl before picking up his own. They stood at the kitchen island now, side by side.
They both ate in silence for a little while, and after a few minutes, Yukari added, almost offhandedly, "And when you come back, if it's not too much... I'd like to, speak with you again."
Ayano glanced at her.
"Not about... that," she clarified, cheeks coloring faintly. "Just… us. Or even not us. Just people. You. Me. Something not about my responsibility."
Ayano nodded, "Sure... I'll, see you when I get back."
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END