A First Meeting: (Private: Hana & Shairako)

Aware of his staring, she scowled behind her scarf, forcing the blush on her cheeks to recede. This would not too. She was being so... So weak! Vulnerable! Completely, utterly unacceptable! Hana did not flinch when he walked up next to her, having begun to adjust to his quirks. When he grabbed her hand again, she was barely given any time to react or pull away.

She grabbed a handful of the remaining metal pieces on the plate and dropped them into her mouth, not wanting to waste the food. As they left the restaurant, Hana caught sight of the water staring at them, appearing extremely confused and slightly weirded out. Well, it probably wasn't everyday that he came across customers like them. "Wait, where are we going?" she asks, breaking the silence. She was aware that wherever he was taking her, it was most likely an isolated area as they were passing by lesser amounts of people. If this was how he planned to kidnap her or try anything funny, he was in for one hell of an ass-kicking.

Hana's eyes gleamed upon seeing- no, smelling, the bakery, before it even entered her range of sight. To say it was a surprise would be an understatement. It was an extremely pleasant one, for the young slayer had a love for baked treats, especially cookies.

He continued to pull her, a little on the rough side, but it probably wouldn't bruise or anything, perhaps become just a little bit sore the next day. Her acquaintance ran in immediately, leaving her to wait outside and admire the treats displayed by the window before he came out within moments, with bags of treats, though she smelled more doughnuts than anything.

'Ah, no cookies. Pity.' she thought, but accepted the bag he gave her nonetheless. Cookies or not, baked goods were still her favourite. She bowed again, a little more lowly this time, grateful that he had not only treated her to a filling meal, but also delightful snacks. "Thank you very much, you're very kind." she said, a faint outline of a smile lingering on her face for a moment before she turned her attention to the bag of treats.

The heavenly taste of the sweet, sweet dough perked her up, as well as made her day a little better than it should've been, as had her encounter with the man. He was fairly decent, excluding his quirks and all, but he was alright for a Lamia Scale mage whom she'd just met. He respected her privacy, even shared what she assumed were truths of his family. Plus, he was Indar's sibling - it seemed like both cared for one another, so Shairako was more or less another frie- No. No friends. No. More. Friends. No more waiting, no more mulling over such strange notions. She had to play safe.

"...Again with the date? Well... I do suppose it would seem like one if you insist. I myself aren't very sure what a date of... Romance, should be like."

"Ah, right. I just assumed this was a romantic sort of date, since it's not a business one." she said, flinching when his hand landed on her head. She was used to contact - just not with people other than her brother and father. Although it had been a while since Takashi last did that. Perhaps it was because she wasn't a child anymore. "Overthink?" she repeated under her breath, puzzled. Was she? She didn't think she was. How puzzling.

Her hand was again picked up, this time held in his. She noted that his hands against hers were pleasantly warm. She hadn't noticed it before, since he was pulling her along and she was too caught up in her thoughts to notice, but now that they were standing in a more quiet, desolate place, she could feel it all. "As do I. You seem very... Different, from what I expected of a light mage." she answered, then regretted having used the word 'light'. She should've used Lamia Scale, saying light made her sound as if she wasn't fond of the lights. What if he found her suspicious?

Red orbs glanced up to where the male's should be. The nagging curiosity at the back of her mind was growing, and she wanted to know what it was behind the red fabric that hid his eyes from the world. He could see her, right? The fabric was a little translucent, so maybe he wore the bandana to hide their appearance. Albinism was out of the question, since he didn't look very pale, neither did he seem to be missing much pigmentation. "You don't need to answer this, but why do you hide your eyes?"

Hana mentally face-palmed at herself when Shairako became silent. How wonderful. She'd stepped on a land mine - again. "I'm sorry I asked, I was just-" she began the moment he let go of her hand, but stopped when he began to undo his bandana. She close her eyes, letting out an internal sigh of relief, glad to know he wasn't upset with her for asking. When she opened them again, she found herself staring at unnaturally white eyes that lacked irises, surrounded by marred skin.

Needless to say, she was speechless. Although the area around his eyes was scarred, he somehow still had a decently attractive face. That was definitely not a look everyone could carry well. She was amazed though, how a blind person could still find their way around without any help. This was the result scientists had spent ages searching for, and here Shairako had it. But the thing that made it different was magic. Without it, he was most probably just like any other normal blind human.

"I see... Well, it's understandable that you would want to be around someone whom you can see, colors and all." she murmured. Without any form of thought, she reached her right hand out towards his face, as if in a trance. Her delicate fingers traced along the scars gently, as if putting pressure on his skin might tear it. Then she realized what she was doing, and her hand immediately retracted from his face. She bit her lower lip, holding herself back from cursing at her strange behavior. "I apologize, that was out of line. I was unaware that my... Curiosity, had gotten the better of me." she said, taking a step away from him. The paper bag in her hand crinkled from the sudden tightening of her grip on it.

She had expected him to back off immediately, since she'd more or less just invaded his privacy by touching the scars. The fact that he didn't, and instead held her hand in his again, came as a surprise. He had that serious look on his face again, and it was as if the carefree and quirky individual just now had never existed. And then it hit her. A mask. Like her, and many others, a mask to conceal what was unnecessary for others to know of, be it a weakness or a hidden card.

The unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach returned, this time in a different way, when Shairako revealed that the scars marring his face were given by his father. His father whom he excused with going crazy from taking care of seven kids. That was just stupid. Ridiculous. And a whole lot of other things she'd rather not say, in fear of dirtying her mouth. Takashi had just as big of a family, if not more, and he was as sane as one could be. What gave Shairako and Indar's parent the excuse?

She arched a brow. "You're of hellish origin then? If you are indeed, and your grandfather is as well known as you say, it's likely my mentor knows of him. Don't worry - I slay with reason, and you have yet to give me one, demon or not." she states calmly, before he quickly redoes his bandana over his eyes, once more concealing the marred skin and pigment-lacking eyes. With that accomplished, she was tugged away yet again, away from prying eyes of others. The sight of the blossoming cherry tree they had stopped beneath in their hurry was one to behold, brilliant shades of pink dancing about in the gentle breeze that passed by through in pulses. When asked if she could be trusted, Hana paused. Could she be trusted? She wondered too, Someone like her, who acted solely on benefits and orders, someone who was deeply involved in the underworld, someone who had snuffed out dozens of lives within a short lifetime?

"In all honesty, I do not know either. I'm sure you're aware that my relationship with the light is not a favorable one. I'd make a terrible friend - my last... Friendly relationship shows it all; how incompetent I was when my team was falling apart. I don't even trust myself to make decisions. So tell me, just how trustworthy do you suppose I am?" she answered him with a long question of her own. All this that was weighing her down - she wanted closure. At least something, anything, to put her mind at rest.