After the talk with the boss, Yube was depressed and conflicted. He thought of the latest encounter with Hanako, when she slipped on the water on the floor. His instinct took a hold of him before he could think - he rushed to hold her. He thought back to how she smelled of sakura blossom, making him blush while thinking.
She was surprisingly light, he thought. He thought of the moment when she struggled to get off him, and how flustered she was. Her face was so red! If he wasn't holding her, he would have given her a pat on the head. Then she probably would have kicked his butt. Despite feeling depressed and stressed, he chuckled.
She was ferocious indeed. Very interesting girl. Still, she was very caring. This made him want to tease her even more.
Is she really worth me losing my job? He wondered. Can I really live without regret if I don't save her....? He asked himself.
Instead of arriving to an answer, this question just made him even more confused.
It is just one human girl, he thought. Why am I so confused...? He crunched up the paper he was using to brainstorm his ideas. Maybe it is better to stay away from her. It might help to clear my mind...
Yube focused on his work, trying his best to stay busy.
Meanwhile, at Hanako's place.
'I haven't seen Ruby today, I wonder where he's gone to...' While she was cooking something for dinner, she hummed.
She thought back to when she was being held by Yube. His eyes....were mesmerisingly beautiful. His clothes were....black, and deeply V-necked. She saw a little bit of his white skin through the black clothes, which was so thin, it felt almost transparent.
This made her grin ear to ear. She became all embarrassed by herself, and swung her arm around while holding the knife.
She talked to herself, impersonating him with an awkward, deep voice. 'Then he said, are you ok? Kyaaa~~ I don't know what to do!'
She let go of the knife by mistake. The knife landed right on the wall, forming some cracks.
'Oh gosh...gotta focus....I nearly forgot I was still cooking...ahhh noo!! My soup's burnt! Ahh it's no good. I couldn't focus at all today....and I only wrote one page of this article...I'm seriously in trouble tomorrow. My boss will yell at me again....'
Her phone rang.
'Hello?'
'Hello, Hoshida kuni here.'
'Oh, hi! Um...what's the matter??'
'I need to talk to you tomorrow about the article you're working on....how's it going??'
'Uhh....it's ok I guess.'
'Right. Not what I was hoping to hear. We can talk further tomorrow. I'll see you at my office at 11am. Don't forget.'
'He...hung up....he didn't even ask if I was ok to come then!'
She started to dread tomorrow. She hoped she wouldn't get yelled at again.