Chapter Text
Warm. It was warm. Too warm even for the mild winter in this area, and not to mention for this early in the morning. Groaning, Shirayuki forced one heavy-lidded eye to open and squinted crossly at the intruding ray of sunlight that fell right onto her face. Pulling down the blinds at night was a learned habit that she had obviously broken last night. Also, apparently it wasn’t even that early in the morning anymore.
She jolted upright, suddenly awake, but groaned anew and cradled her head in both hands as she felt it throbbing with dull pain. What time was it? Not that it mattered – even without looking at the clock she knew she was late. Again. That would mean another reprimand from the Major. Always a gentle one. A kind that never failed to squeeze more guilt out of her than simply a stern one.
Rats .
One hand massaging her temples, Shirayuki shuffled and slid her legs down from the bed. For a moment she sat ruefully on its edge while trying to hang on to her consciousness that kept drifting back to a slumber. Outside on the streets, a group of children was raising a ruckus. Glancing absentmindedly through the windows Shirayuki saw that even though they looked like they were in school age, they were not wearing any uniforms. Which means–
She fell back on her bed, sighing with relief. Right. It was Saturday, thank goodness. No need to go to work today – not that she’d be able to function correctly anyway, with this aching head of hers. She grimaced at that thought. The headache was one thing, but for some reason her whole body also felt sore. And–
Glancing down at herself, her eyes rested on a blue hue that was so familiar but right now felt so out of place. Shirayuki frowned. No wonder she was so warm, what with her work uniform still on. This was so unlike her. Furthermore, on a closer look there were dark, blotchy stains on it – could be wine, or dirt, or–
With sudden panic rising in her chest, she jolted back up. Her stiff fingers clumsily unbuttoned her jacket as fast as they could, and as soon as she was free from the thick garment she patted herself here and there, checking for wounds. There were none. Shirayuki let out a long breath as tension gradually left her body. If it was blood, it was not hers.
What on earth happened last night?
Shirayuki sank her face to her palms. It was no use. She couldn’t remember a single thing. Not even how she got home from Garrack’s party. Or what happened during it. She raised her head and slapped her cheeks hard enough it stung. Maybe a hot shower and a hearty breakfast would jog her memory back.
Shamelessly audible, Shirayuki yawned in the privacy of her bedroom and stretched her aching muscles. Though still reluctant, she slowly got to her feet, sluggishly rid herself of her uniform and slipped into her dressing gown. The silky sleeve slid smoothly along her silvery-grey skin down to her shoulder as she held up her left arm. One by one, she flexed her fingers, checking all the joints. They glistened in the sun, looking as healthy as they could be without blood flowing in them. Still–
It’s been a while – wouldn’t hurt to go for a check-up.
With heavy steps, Shirayuki dragged herself out of her room, feet in slippers shuffling towards the kitchen. She really hoped that she had thought about buying groceries, but knowing herself, the chances were slim. These last weeks had been incredibly busy, it was a miracle she even had time to eat. Not that she managed to do it on less busy days, though.
She opened the fridge, cussed, and quietly closed it again. Yeah. Who was she kidding. Obviously there was nothing edible in her kitchen. When was the last time she even used it? The person who organised this place for her must have assumed she enjoyed cooking and goodheartedly chose one with a nice built-in. Shirayuki felt sorry for them.
Breakfast was no longer an option then, she wistfully thought, putting get groceries and other stuff on her mental to-do list of the day. Call Ryuu. Clean her uniform. Perhaps go to the public bath in the evening to relax her muscles.
Meanwhile, her feet brought her through the hallway towards the bathroom. Almost the whole place was already flooded with sunlight. Only the living room on the other side was still partially hidden in the shades. As she passed she threw a glance inside and stopped dead in her tracks.
There was someone in there.
To be precise, there was a man sleeping soundly on her sofa. Shirayuki was too shocked to even scream.
The intruder was lying on his side, facing the sofa’s back. His bare torso moved slightly with each deep breath he took, clearly audible even from the threshold where Shirayuki was standing. She stared dumbfoundedly at the man’s naked back as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
Short, messily cut dark hair. A thin silver necklace looping around a slender neck, creating a sharp contrast to the nicely tanned skin – a rarity in this country. The necklace was not the only thing contrasting with his skin. A number of pale lines criss-crossed his back here and there. Shirayuki followed the ridiculously sensual slope of his spine to the lower part of his body, which was thankfully covered with what she incredulously recognised as her spare duvet – that was supposed to be stored under her bed–
How in the world did he get it? How the hell did he even get in? And...and why on earth was he naked?!
Feeling the throbbing inside her head intensifying, Shirayuki scanned the room for clues, wondering why this particularly cruel morning was so full of inexplicable things. Her eyes landed on a pile of garments on the floor, neatly folded. Next, there was a glass of water on the coffee table and a broken strip of painkiller lying beside it. Spread on the other edge of the table left to dry was a floral towel. Unmistakably hers.
Huh. Suddenly the man no longer looked like an intruder, but more like a...guest? Shirayuki racked her brain, desperately trying to remember.
*
“Miss Shirayuki! Congratulations on the new findings!”
“Finally a breakthrough! What’s your plan for the next step?”
Shirayuki held back the urge to frown. While it was true that they had reached another milestone in their research, Shirayuki would have begged to differ that the findings were entirely hers. It was only thanks to their teamwork that they were finally one step closer to revealing the truth of Olin Maris.
The music in the background was cheerful and loud enough to conceal the discomfort in her voice. “We will most probably venture to the East. At the moment, it’s the next possible place to explore. And it was a team effort, really, I couldn’t possibly take all the credits–”
There was a clap on her back and a drink poured into her glass. Ah, she was not careful. She thought it was still half full. “Always so modest! You really should be proud of yourself! Dr. Garrack threw this party just for you!”
It’s hard to argue against that. The same thing happened with the next person, and the next. So Shirayuki smiled courteously and accepted the compliment, the handshakes and pats on her shoulders, and tried not to sip from her glass too often.
Being a light-weight, Shirayuki didn’t intend to drink that much. Or at all. The plan was to accept the first mimosa out of respect for the host, then stick to water. Over the hours, though, the liquid in her glass had changed colour more often than the band had changed their music. On occasion that it was translucent, it was never one as harmless as water. Gone was her intention to leave early and dedicate herself back to her books.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to accept the acknowledgement. She appreciated it very much. It’s only that she wasn’t used to so much attention directed solely at her. All the scientists in her department were invited to celebrate, as well as the librarians and other “friends of the lab”, who had supported them in various ways – even the Major, though he politely refused.
“Miss Shirayuki! Would you care to dance?”
“Oh, but I–”
And she was swept to the dance floor among a whirl of blue uniforms in black boots. They didn’t seem to mind that she didn’t know what she was doing. The first few minutes she was worried about stepping onto someone’s foot, but gradually the rhythm found its way into her bones and in no time, she was twirling and jumping along with other happy faces.
Maybe this party was not so bad after all.
*
Or maybe it was.
Shirayuki furrowed her brows. Was this guy also there? Did she come back from the party with him? Did she for some reason invite him to stay? But she was sure she knew everyone who attended and this man was definitely a stranger.
Shirayuki crept closer for a better look and she noticed that the clothes on the floor were stained – the same way as her uniform was.
Blood .
Instinctively, she took two steps back. No matter how innocuous the situation might seem, the fact was she didn’t know this man and he could be very dangerous.
Her mind, now fully alert, recalled a poster distributed at the base and everywhere in the city just a few days ago. A killer was on the loose. They were all targeted. Shirayuki cursed herself for not paying better attention to the wanted man’s features. Her job required hardly any field work, so she naively thought there was very little risk to her.
How wrong she was.
Shirayuki looked around aimlessly, searching for something which could be useful as a weapon. Luckily there was a wrench lying on top of the sideboard. Not exactly ideal in a matter of life and death, but still better than nothing. She quietly grabbed it and proceeded to inch carefully towards the sleeping figure.
From the jumble of the duvet there was a glint of metal. Could it be–
They say curiosity kills the cat. But careful as she was, Shirayuki was still a scientist through and through, and when a supposedly naked man had glinting metal on him, that could only mean one thing. Grabbing one soft edge with her left hand, weapon at the ready on her right, she pulled back the blanket–
There was a blur of motion and Shirayuki went absolutely still, as she felt something cold pressing on her throat.
Suddenly too close for comfort, a pair of golden eyes were focused on her – sharp, with no traces of sleep left in them. A strong grip was pinning her hand to the seat cushion, the wrench no longer in her grasp. Shirayuki couldn’t see what the man held in his other hand, she only knew for sure that she’d better not swallow. Very slowly, she let go of the duvet and raised her left hand up, signaling surrender.
Gradually, the man’s gaze shifted to her pinned hand and the poor makeshift weapon lying beside it. Then he let out something that sounded like a wheeze before letting her go and dropping himself back to the sofa, erupting into laughter.
Dropping her butt onto the other edge of the sofa, Shirayuki knew she should’ve been afraid. The logical part in her brain was screaming at her, telling her to run fast and escape to safety, now that no longer anything was threatening to slice her throat open. Instead, she felt all her fears evaporating from her body, and in their place, annoyance arose.
“What’s so funny?”
Instead of answering her, the man took his time to make himself comfortable on her sofa. He sank further into the pillow, slipped one arm beneath it and he even had the nerves to arch his back a little, stretching languidly like a big, lazy cat.
A big, lazy and dangerous cat.
His right hand was still holding the small kunai, spinning it like it’s a mere toy. Now that his torso was completely exposed, Shirayuki saw that his chest, too, was adorned with no small number of scars. The biggest one was near his collar bones across his chest. It must have been a nasty cut.
“Why, Miss,” the man’s voice brought her gaze back to his face. He tilted his head, throwing Shirayuki a dazzling, albeit cheeky smile, and jerked his chin at the wrench lying abandoned on the cushion. “Last night you were desperately trying to fix me with that. Now you want to break me with it? Aren’t you an indecisive one,” he said with a grin.
Shirayuki could feel heat rising to her cheeks, colouring them crimson, and she was angry at herself – for that, and for not remembering what happened. At all .
“And what did you think you were doing, sneaking up on a sleeping guy like that, hmm?” he purred teasingly. “Curious, aren’t we?”
Only then did Shirayuki recall her intention. Glancing down to his lower body, the first thing she noticed was that the man, thanks heavens, did have underwear on. The second thing was that her hunch was correct.
The man, still grinning at her, had an automail leg. A wrecked one. Completely ruined downwards from its attachment at his knee. All that was left was the main cylinder with bent screws sticking out, surrounded by broken tubes and wiry cables. The whole outer shell was gone.
That was not his only injury. Shirayuki’s gaze trailed back up to a freshly dressed wound on his forehead above his left brow. What could have happened to this guy? She stared at him warily.
“Relax, Miss,” the man said with a softer voice, “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done so already. I had a whole night to do it.”
True enough. But that didn’t mean Shirayuki could simply let her guard down. In what she hoped was a menacing look, she glared at him and asked, “Who are you? What are you doing in my place?”
Still grinning, the man cocked his head and looked up to her from behind his thick, short laces. When he spoke again his voice changed – lower, darker, seductive . “Why, Miss, don’t you remember? You were the one who took me home to have your way with me.”
Right. I’d believe you if I hadn’t woken up with my clothes still on.
When Shirayuki didn’t loosen her glare he switched to a different kind of smile – one that seemingly tried to tell her that he was not as dangerous as he looked. “Aww, you were much nicer to me last night, Miss,” he said, back to his playful voice. Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” he added with a wink.
“Your sharp friend there is telling me a different story,” Shirayuki retorted flatly.
“Whoops,” the man tucked the blade unceremoniously underneath the cushion. “Pardon me, Miss, it’s an old habit. You just startled me, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said apologetically.
With the knife gone, the man merely looked like an injured patient. But he was still radiating a kind of dangerous aura – not at all threatening anymore, yet like a gentle warning for others not to mess with him.
“You still haven’t answered my questions.”
At first the man didn’t answer and simply kept grinning at her. Shirayuki wasn’t going to back down. She folded her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow, waiting in a challenging manner. She watched as the grin slowly disappeared from the man’s face and was replaced by disbelief.
“You...you really don’t remember what happened last night, do you, Miss?
*****
The man was now sitting on the sofa, wrapping himself cozily in a cocoon he had made out of the duvet and some throw pillows.
“You were so kind to pick me up where I fell, Miss. Though never in my life have I imagined my saviour to come to me in zig-zagging steps.”
Shirayuki pressed her lips into a thin line. Her old man had always said she had a problem with picking up weird strays. This one here was particularly annoying. “Haha. That I know already. So why were you even there?”
The man chuckled. “Patient, Miss. I’ll get there.” He adjusted his position one last time before he went on with his story. “I was passing nearby when I saw a suspicious-looking man. He was lurking around this building, peeking into the windows on the ground floor. Now, I’ve only been in this city for a short while, but the wanted posters plastered everywhere were impossible to overlook. I thought he might be one of them, so I decided to check him out.”
You don’t say. I thought the same of you.
“As I approached him, he noticed me and suddenly attacked me, can you believe that? I just wanted to take a closer look, he didn’t have to jump on me like that, right?”
Still embarrassed from his first comment, Shirayuki deliberately ignored the man’s cue. He grinned knowingly and continued. “We exchanged blows for a while. He was a rather bulky guy so I didn’t think he could move that fast. That earned me this,” he pointed at his forehead.
“And that,” Shirayuki pointed to the general direction of his legs under the blanket.
The man shook his head and his expression turned solemn. “No, this has nothing to do with speed, Miss. I’m not really sure what happened but he definitely possesses an ability to destroy things. I managed to land a kick on him, but then he spun around and grabbed my leg. It went bang , and just like that, it went to pieces. Luckily it’s my left one,” he said grimly. “That threw me off. I lost my balance and fell, and that bastard took his chance to flee.”
Something in Shirayuki’s brain clicked and her blood ran cold. She might not remember the wanted murderer’s face, but there was one more detail the others at the base had been talking about.
“That guy. Does...does he have tattoos on his arms?”
The man looked thoughtful. “Mm, I’m not sure, Miss. He had a coat on. Why?”
Good heavens, that could have been the serial killer, Shirayuki thought, innerly scolding her stupid past self for being completely wasted. If the annoying stray cat snuggling up shamelessly in her blanket didn’t happen to be there, who knew what could’ve happened to her.
But the stray cat didn’t seem to be completely innocent, either. She still needed to be careful not to share too much information with him.
“Oh, I just remembered that one of the wanted men has tattooed arms,” she decided to say.
“Welp, if he had any, I didn’t see it,” the man shrugged. “Anyway, there I was, still trying to get up, when my swaying, tiny saviour came to my rescue! You were amazing, Miss. I tried to tell you that I was okay, that my injuries were not at all life-threatening, but you were determined to help me, though I was pretty sure you’re the one who needed it more than I did.”
Shirayuki gritted her teeth and glared at him. He pretended not to notice.
“And I must say, you don’t look like it but you’ve got some power in your muscles, Miss! You slung my arm around your shoulders and practically dragged me to your place, though I’m much bigger and heavier than you!”
Shirayuki mentally face-palmed herself. She started to vaguely remember wondering why the man didn’t want to cooperate much. He kept pulling from instead of leaning on her. She had never met an injured person who was so unwilling to be helped. No wonder, when he was not really that heavily wounded as his bloodied state had suggested.
“You practically manhandled me, Miss,” the man continued, pursing his lips into a mock pout. “Ordering me to undress and not to move until you were finished treating my wound. I’m glad you didn’t insist on stitching it in your condition, though,” his pout turned into another shit-eating grin.
Shirayuki sat perplexed in her armchair, not wanting to believe all the things the man was telling her. She huffed in embarrassment. “W-well, you looked like you were bleeding everywhere! It’s my duty to make a thorough check.”
“It’s a face wound, Miss, it bleeds a lot.”
“I know that!”
“Yea, I told you that last night,” the man sounded like he was trying hard to stifle a laugh, but before Shirayuki could further defend her reliability in treating injuries, even if it wasn’t her main profession, the man continued. “I also told you that no matter how skilled you were with a wrench and a screwdriver, you wouldn’t be able to fix my leg.”
The man was giggling, giggling openly at her now. Shirayuki’s face was at least as red as her hair. “I guess you were pretty drunk, Miss,” he wheezed, wiping away an imaginary tear. When his eyes found hers again they were somewhat softer. “I'm amazed, though, how you could still take good care of me, and I’m very grateful for that. I’ve said it last night but you probably don’t remember, so, thank you again, Miss,” he bowed awkwardly from his sitting position.
“Don’t mention it,” Shirayuki grumbled.
“After that you sent me to shower to clean myself up. By the time I was finished you were gone, and my hotel bed was readily made,” he carried on, air quoting ‘hotel’, “I didn’t want to be ungrateful and leave just like that, so I decided to accept your hospitality for the night, and that’s how I got here, Miss,” he finished with what supposed to be an innocent smile.
“Would you kindly explain why you’re naked?”
The man snorted. “Naked is something else, Miss,” he winked, then jerked his thumb at the pile of garments on the floor. “You saw yourself how bloody I was, Miss. I didn’t want to stain your sofa,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
Shirayuki eyed the man. He was polite enough, albeit cheeky, and he didn't seem to mean her any harm. Even with one leg missing he had shown how very nimble he was, and though rather lanky, his body was all muscles without an ounce of excess fat on it. Then there was the knife. He could easily overpower her anytime, and like he said, if he wanted to he would have done it by now.
Also, he chased away that suspicious guy, who could very well be the killer. Why else would he lurk around a State Alchemist’s place? Shirayuki made a mental note to report this later to the base.
And now this man’s leg was a mess. Because of her. Well, not exactly, but Shirayuki couldn’t help feeling responsible. At the very least, she should take him to Ryuu. That kind of repair would take some time, and while he wait, maybe he could stay and safeguard her–
–what was she thinking? She barely knew this guy. It was too early to trust him.
“I guess I should thank you for driving the creep away.”
“No need to thank me, Miss. I just happened to be there.”
“Right. But anyway, we’ll need to get that leg of yours fixed. I know a damn good mechanic, the best in the city, if not the country. Let me see if I could make an appointment for us today.”
“There’s no need, Miss. I’ll just be on my way–”
“–hopping on one leg, or what?” Shirayuki deadpanned. “Besides, you can’t just go out there with those bloody clothes, you’d get arrested.”
“Could I ask you to vouch for me if that happens?” the man waggled his eyebrows teasingly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Now give me your clothes. I’ll lend you clean ones.”
The man looked highly amused but obeyed her anyway. Shirayuki took his clothes and dumped them in the bathroom, feeling somewhat relieved. If she hadn’t done anything he would’ve just left in that condition and she simply couldn’t let that happen.
She proceeded to her bedroom and searched in her closet and various places – now where did she put her old man’s stuff? – until she found some in a box. A pair of simple dark brown trousers, a white shirt and leather suspenders. They might be a loose fit but it was better than nothing.
For a moment she held the pieces of clothing in her hand, caressing them with her thumb, lost in painful memories. She held herself back from burying her nose into them. There was no use anyway. His scent no longer lingered between the threads.
“I’m borrowing these, old man. It’s not like you’re going to need them soon,” she murmured to herself.
*****
Shirayuki locked the bathroom door and drew a long breath. So far the morning had been unkind to her. Just now she had told the man to change and that she would take a shower in the meantime. Not only because she actually felt gross – between the two of them, she was the one who was still full of yesterday’s grime – but she also wanted to test him.
Now that she had left him alone, anything could happen. Who knew what the man would do. Though Shirayuki no longer thought he would ambush her the moment she went out of the bathroom, nevertheless, a girl needs to be careful. She needed to find out whether he could be trusted. And honestly, she secretly hoped that he could. He would need somewhere to stay until his leg was fixed.
And it really wouldn’t hurt to have someone looking out for me.
*****
After a hot shower Shirayuki felt much better, though her headache didn’t show any signs to lessen. Cautiously, she opened the bathroom door and was ready for any mean surprises when her nose caught a whiff of something delicious.
Fried eggs?
Her feet left damp footprints on the floor as she hurried to the kitchen. What she saw made her heart stop.
The man, now cladded in her old man’s clothes, was standing in front of the stove, scrambling some eggs while humming happily. His hair was not auburn. His shoulders were not as broad. There was also a difference in their heights, but for a moment, just for a moment, Shirayuki was six again, sitting in her grandma’s kitchen, knocking the table eagerly with fork and knife in her hands, waiting for the big man to turn around and place steaming hot eggs onto her plate.
Eat while it’s still hot, kiddo , he would always say. That was long ago, some years before–
Shirayuki shook her head frantically. “What the…?”
The grin that greeted her was the widest so far. “Welcome back, Miss! Thought you might be hungry! But really, what kind of life are you living, Miss? I feel sorry for your fridge. I guess you’ll just have to put up with whatever I can make with these!”
He hopped around like he owns the place. He took some dishes out of her cupboard. He took out some bread Shirayuki didn’t even remember having from the oven and started slicing it. Then he placed everything neatly on the table and pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to sit down, all gentleman-like.
This morning was getting weirder with every passing second.
Eyeing the table like she had never seen one in her life, Shirayuki warily crept towards it and gingerly sat down. The man slid-hopped to the other side and settled into the chair in front of her. He waited for her to say something, and when Shirayuki just continued staring at him, too dazed to talk, he chuckled and poured her a big glass of water.
“Here, Miss. It’s good for your headache.”
After gulping down the cold water Shirayuki finally found her voice. “What is this?!”
“Breakfast!” the man answered innocently. “Go ahead, Miss, it’s not poisoned,” he added with a wink, as if that alone was enough to convince her.
Reluctantly, Shirayuki scooped a forkful of eggs and put it into her mouth.
All of a sudden she felt like crying.
Shirayuki hardly ever cooked. Breakfast was typically just bread with jam or any other randomly available spreads. Lunch and even dinner were more and more frequently had in the canteen. At times when she had to eat at home she would just take whatever was in the fridge – if possible without turning on the stove. Even in winter.
Not only once had Shirayuki wished for a miraculous way for her to absorb food through her skin while keeping her nose buried in a reference book. Someone should have invented that.
It wasn’t just about the time. It was the lack of warm presence of others around her. The unbearable silence she’d had to endure while chewing in solitude, staring at the empty seat across the table. Shirayuki never actually picked up cooking for its close ties with the past. It was all nothing but a reminder of a time when all was still well in her world.
On her plate now was simply some scrambled eggs with some chopped onions. The only seasoning used were salt and pepper. There was nothing special about it, nothing whatsoever.
But it felt like home.
Shirayuki took a deep breath and willed her tears away.
“Miss, is everything alright?” she heard the man asking. Looking up, she thought she saw a slight concern on his face. She shook her head.
“I’m fine. It’s just that I haven’t had homemade food in a long time.”
That crooked smile was a genuine one. “Aww, Miss. Homemade is an exaggeration! I just took whatever was there. Well, not that I had a choice–”
“I didn’t know there were still eggs.” Shirayuki cut his sauciness short.
“There were still two! I also found some sprouted onions that needed saving.”
“And the bread?”
“Half a loaf of stale one! Good that you have an oven, Miss.”
Shirayuki took a bite of the bread. Moist on the inside, crackly-crusty on the outside. She would sooner believe that he’d bought the bread fresh from the bakery next door than that he had made it fresh again. How did he do it? How is this mysterious man good in the kitchen? He surely didn’t look like it. But then again, neither did her old man.
Clenching her jaws to repress the memories that had all too often come up to the surface today, Shirayuki shoved another forkful into her mouth. “It’s good. Thank you.”
For the first time since they met, Shirayuki took a good look at the man sitting in front of her. Chewing on the bread, she took in his somewhat foreign features. Dark hair. Tanned skin. High cheekbones and sharp jawlines. Golden eyes. This man was definitely not from around here, maybe not even from this country, though there was nothing in his accent that betrayed his origin. There was a region of the Southeastern Clarines where the people had similar skin colour as this man, but their eyes were definitely not golden.
Shirayuki watched the man handle his fork elegantly with his long fingers and reconsidered her thoughts. This man was impossibly annoying and not to mention impudent, but he could be polite when he wanted to. So far, he had done nothing to make Shirayuki not trust him – apart from threatening her with his kunai and raiding her fridge, but Shirayuki found that this didn't bother her in the least.
He had more or less saved her – if not from a murderer, then at least from a creepy stalker. His automail was damaged and in a dire need of repair. He would most probably still try to run off like that if she couldn’t manage to convince him to stay. That wouldn’t do. She felt responsible, he needed help, and–
And he can cook.
Shirayuki swallowed and cleared her throat. “Look– um, do you mind telling me your name?”
“Oh, do you need an introduction?” the man said, pointing at his chest with his fork. “I’m Obi. I have aliases, too. The rest is secret.”
“Obi,” Shirayuki repeated, pointedly ignoring the absurd rest of his statement. “Do you have someplace to be?”
The man pursed his lips. “I wonder.”
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
He merely answered with one of his whimsical smiles but Shirayuki remained obstinate. “Do you need to leave the city soon?”
The smile didn’t waver as the man grabbed across his chest and dug his fingers into his shoulder. “Where are we going with this, Miss?”
Shirayuki bit her lip. He wasn’t going to open up if she kept playing hide-and-seek. She steeled her nerves.
“Look, Obi. You said that the man you chased away last night could be one of the wanted men, right? You might know this already, but one of them is a serial killer. For some reason, he only targets State Alchemists.” She paused and waited for his reaction, but he was just calmly listening to her.
“The fact that he was lurking around my place was probably not enough of a proof, but if he was really the killer, I might be his next target.”
Suddenly looking dumbfounded, the man stopped chewing and stared at her. “Uh. You’re a State Alchemist?”
“I am. I thought you knew? Haven’t I told you that?” Shirayuki frowned.
The man stared at her unbelievingly. “You told me a lot of things last night, Miss, but not your profession, no,” he shook his head. “I actually wondered whether you were a nurse, but your uniform...I guess I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry, Miss, I didn’t mean to be rude, please continue,” he ended his trail of thoughts sheepishly.
“I know that I don’t exactly look like one,” Shirayuki went on with a little glare, “but I am a State Alchemist. And with that man lurking around, I do think that I need to be careful from now on.”
The man called Obi was back to his carefree self. “Well then, you should get someone to watch your back,” he said between mouthfuls of eggs.
Shirayuki cleared her throat again. “Right. So...what I’m trying to say is, I mean, I wanted to ask whether you would consider doing it.”
Obi choked on the eggs. “Me?! How did you come up with that, Miss?!” he coughed, taking a gulp of water and hitting his chest.
“W-well, apparently you can fight. At least you can defend yourself–” A snort interrupted her. Obi lifted his left knee and gestured at it pointedly, raising a brow. “–I mean, he caught you by surprise! I’m sure you’d be able to handle him otherwise!” Shirayuki hurriedly added, flustered.
Obi didn’t say anything to that but the corner of his lips curled up in amusement. Shirayuki felt her annoyance at him slowly rising again. “Anyway, you need a new leg. I’ll contact my mechanic, I owe you that much–” she held up a hand to stop him from saying anything, “–I insist. And your clothes are still in the laundry anyway. You could at least stay until you’re back on your feet again.”
“I don’t know, Miss…” The man in front of her now looked somehow a little lost, his hand was grabbing his shoulder again.
Shirayuki took a deep breath. “And, well, it was really nice to have a homemade meal again, and to have someone to eat with, and, a-and...”
The confidence she had built when she began her proposal had started to crumble and Shirayuki looked away. She couldn’t help feeling that she was losing her arguments, and that the man was slipping away from her grasp. Even she could tell she sounded desperate.
A chuckle came from across the table and when Shirayuki looked up, Obi was propping himself on his elbows, deliberately leaning towards her while giving her a smug look.
“Why, Miss, what is it that you want me to be – your bodyguard? Or your cook?”
Shirayuki was very well aware of the embarrassing bright colour of her face, but she was determined to go through with this. “Both, I guess. I-if you don’t mind!” she added hastily. “I know this came suddenly, and I can’t pay you much, but you could stay here for free if you want. I-I mean, there’s no point in hiring you if you’re not there to guard me at night, so, um…if you’re not in a hurry to leave and if it doesn’t interfere with whatever you’re here for…”
Those golden eyes were unreadable as they searched her, but Shirayuki held their eye-contact steadily.
“Are you sure, Miss?” His voice dropped a notch lower. There was a glint in his eyes, more dangerous than mischievous. “You don’t even know who I am, what I came to this city for.”
“And I don’t need to know,” Shirayuki said firmly, assuring him – and herself. “You said it yourself, ‘the rest is secret’. I won’t pry if you won’t share. I just need to be sure that you can guarantee my safety.”
“Mmm...we all have our secrets, don’t we?” was his vague response, his eyes still locked onto hers. For a while they stayed in silence, staring at each other, lost in respective thoughts. After what felt like forever the wide grin finally reappeared on the man’s face and he relaxed as he leaned back into his chair.
“Alright, Miss. Let’s try and see if this works out.” His canine tore into a piece of bread. “Have you ever hired someone before?” When Shirayuki shook her head Obi hummed thoughtfully. “Well then, how about we do a month’s trial?” he inquired with a smile.
Shirayuki felt her own lips curved into one. She nodded and reached her hand across the table. “It’s a deal.”
One firm shake, and her fate in the next month was sealed. She felt better than she thought she ought to feel. Relieved, even. Not at all like she had just made the worst decision of her life.
“Now let me call my mechanic. I wanted to make an appointment for myself anyway.”
As she left the kitchen to make the call she heard the man calling after her, “Oh, Miss? You don’t happen to have some spare boots?”