Winds of Destiny: Rising ~ {Hawks x OC}

Chapter Twenty-Six: Setting the Record Straight

Not needing to be told twice, he quickly dug into the meal she'd made, getting several large bites in before sliding his gaze back over to her and commenting, "Not that I don't appreciate your company, Misa-chan, but it's kinda awkward to eat with you sitting there staring at me like that."

"Huh?" She blinked in surprise before lifting a hand to cover her mouth, widening her eyes, and letting out a soft gasp. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even notice! I'll go—"

He reached out to grab her hand when she moved to get up from her seat. "Stay."

She sat back down in her chair. "Are you sure?"

He let go of her hand and sat back. "Yeah, just... Can we maybe talk, or something?"

Misaki quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course. What do you wanna talk about?"

"How are you?" He asked, gazing at her in open interest as he picked his eating utensils back up and took another large bite of his breakfast.

"Um, okay, I guess," she replied somewhat uncomfortably, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "After I heard about what happened at headquarters, I went by the hospital to check on everyone, but no one would tell me anything. As I was leaving, I ran into Detective Tsukauchi and he told me about the President."

"I'm sorry. I know you two were close," he remarked sympathetically.

"Thanks," she said with a small, appreciative smile before dropping her gaze to the table. "To be honest, we weren't really that close anymore. Hearing about her death so suddenly still hit me pretty hard though. That shock, combined with all of the overwork I'd accumulated from prepping for and executing the raids... I actually ended up fainting at the hospital."

He shot her a concerned gaze as he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. They gave me some fluids and told me to get some rest at home after I woke up the next morning," Misaki sheepishly explained.

"Is that where you got this from?" He asked as he reached out to run his thumb over the red spot on her cheek.

She cringed slightly and averted her gaze before admitting, "Uh, not exactly..."

He raised a curious eyebrow at her, and she reluctantly elaborated, "Three villains broke into my apartment yesterday and tried to rob me."

His shock at that unexpected revelation caused him to exclaim aloud, "What!?"

The sudden strain on his damaged vocal cords sent him into a slight coughing fit and Misaki quickly rushed to get him a glass of water. He'd been doing pretty well with resting his voice over the past two days, but shouting was apparently a bit of an overextension still. His doctor had given him a spray that would numb the pain in his throat so that he could speak without much difficulty, but he preferred to use it only when absolutely necessary. The lingering aftertaste was horribly bitter, and it definitely was not something he wanted to use while eating.

She handed him the glass as she gently laid her hand on his back and asked, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, accepting it from her with a grateful smile. As the cool liquid mercifully eased the burning in his throat, he reached out to type into his phone sitting on the table in front of him, "What happened?"

She sighed softly before retaking her seat. "It was the leader of the crew of villains that tried to rob Tythan the second time. He saw me on the news at the press conference when the President announced my promotion, and he must have tracked down my address somehow when they broke out of prison. They got the drop on me initially, but I managed to fend them off." She lifted a hand to touch her cheek. "That's how I got this."