After the Storm (Moon Hound Hati x Lusterless Nova)

[Mini Magi]

Stupid stupid stupid STUPID! What was he even thinking blurting out that nonsense? Who "he" was? The last person she saved and he was inside her head like some top 10 garbage! Oh but she was one to talk. She knew she wasn't any better here. She repeated the scene over and over in her head for... what was it. A month by now? Gah! The sooner she was done with this the better, so she rang the doorbell of the address the hospital gave to her and waited for his dumbfounded face. Hopefully that pitiful excuse of a street light would give her a good look of it.

Earlier this day she was at the local town hall, picking up a document she never thought she would even see, let alone fill out half of it. A marriage form. It was another trick in her sleeve. Most people wanted some grand ceremony right? Well if she reduced it to just the signing of some paper, he had no other choice but to be sad about it and pull out of this stupid idea. And yet she already had already put her name in, her age, and signed her part. Hmph! It was only to show him that this wasn't a prank. That she was... serious? Wait. Why was she serious about this? No wait again, she wasn't. This was just to make him panic and have a laugh. Yup. That was it. Hearing footsteps approach, she crossed her arms, and with mildly rosy cheeks, the first words ever since their last meeting were "What took you so long?"

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by Lusterless Nova

[Moon Hound Hati]

It had been quite the harrowing few weeks. Recovery in the hospital after the accident had been long and strenuous. On top of all that it caused him to get behind on his work schedule, forcing his publisher to issue a hiatus on his currently running weekly and monthly manga series, so Kuro felt pretty bad about it all and wanted to get back to it as soon as possible and then some.

Just as he was about to settle in for the evening after a long day of writing, the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this hour? A neighbor, perhaps? Getting up from his comfy office chair, he turned off the desktop PC’s screen and left his apartment’s small office space while closing the top two buttons of his white, buttoned shirt to make himself look presentable. Opening the door to his second-floor apartment located in a small apartment building, a look of complete surprise flashed across his face as he saw none other than Senritsu standing in his door opening.

“Sen… Senritsu-san?” he asked, as if unable to believe that she was actually standing there. What was she doing here? Kuro recalled what had happened during the accident, even the proposal he’d made to her, but he not in his wildest dreams did he think he’d actually ever see her again, especially so soon after being released from the hospital. "Why... Why are you here?"

 

[Mini Magi]

Not bad. Not the looks she imagined he would have, but not bad at all. "We have unfinished business of course." He probably forgot about it. Good. That would make squashing his little feelings even more fun. "...What? Do you want to let everyone evesdrop?" They were... or at least, she was still outside, and she was not going to just handwave this. After being asked to come in, she followed him inside and headed straight ahead until she found the living room.

The end of the hallway kind of split into the kitchen and living room. "I suppose you won't mind." She didn't even have to lift a finger for it, but regardless, the water boiler levitated to the sink, filled itself up, and went back to its station to do its job. Since this could take a while she might as well make at least herself or both of them some tea. Catching him being distracted, she turned to him. "It's nothing special. Come over here and sit down." Once he did so and had time to wonder was this whole thing was about, Senritsu put down a folded piece of paper. By now the boiler, 2 cups, and some tea, milk and sugar came hovering to the table, and she treated it like it was normal. "It's our marriage registration." She said calmly while pouring the both of them hot water into each of their cups.

[Moon Hound Hati]

While certainly not forgotten, he’d dismissed the notion altogether as some feverish foolishness he’d said in the heat of the moment when adrenaline pumped through his veins and his head was light. “Ah, yes… Of course! Please, come in,” he said as her words woke him from his stupor.

Closing the door behind them, he was still confused as to what business she had come to do with him. As he sat down with her in the living room area of his apartment, his eyes watched with curiosity as she used her psychic powers to make them tea. It was almost like magic to him and he found it remarkable with how much ease and grace she did it all as if it was all second nature to her -- which it undoubtedly was, he thought.

“Marriage…” Kuro’s voice trailed off as his mouth opened and then closed again, unable to conjure words for a long moment. He looked at Senritsu and then at the folded paper on the coffee table between them, he reached out and carefully pulled it towards him. Unfolding it, he read it and confirmed that it was indeed a marriage registration paper. It even already had her portion filled in already!

That was the moment all hesitation disappeared from Kuro’s mind. It was as if his instincts screamed at him to do it. Luckily having a pen on him, he clicked the tip out by hitting the back with his thumb, making quick work of his half of the form. There was some doubt, some feeling that this was not real or some elaborate ruse for some unknown purpose, but all that was pushed aside by his feelings for the short, green-haired woman in front of him. It had been love at first sight for him and he still believed so. That made it only natural for him to not reject her, even if he did not really think of the future implications of it all.

“Done,” he said simply as he, somewhat nervously, pushed the paper back towards the former hero.

[Mini Magi]

While he worked on the document, Senritsu enjoyed some tea, trying to decide how she would mock him. To a bit of her surprise however, he filled out the form without much hesitation. She eyed the document, then sighed. "Alright. What's your deal?" There wasn't any lovey dovey tone in her voice. She initially planned to have some fun here, but instead he just went with the flow of things. "What I mean is: I don't understand you. I saved you once and you don't even blink before taking what is one of the biggest steps on once life. Are you that desperate for attention?" That was the only way she could explain it so far. She crossed her arms, leaning back as she continued. "But alright. Let's say I believe you. What exactly do you oh so love about me that isn't my looks?" That was probably it. He just saw a cute face and hopped into his little dream world. So much for her fun, but at least this evening wouldn't be totally boring.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Lusterless Nova

[Moon Hound Hati]

For a moment Kuro looked taken aback by the change of tone in her voice, looking surprised, but he composed himself again fairly quickly as he leaned back in his seat and become thoughtful. “It would be hard for me to say that I’m not acting at least a little bit impulsive,” he admitted with a small, sheepish smile.

“At first I believed it was just the adrenaline that motivated me to propose to you, back then, as if it were just love at first sight,” he carried on, referring to what happened just after the accident that would see him hospitalized for weeks. “But when you showed up on my doorstep just now, it confirmed to me that it was something more than just that…”

Picking up his cup, he blew on it softly a few times before taking a sip. “During my time in the hospital… I tried to learn more about you. I wanted to know who you are… So I read articles, watched clips, and so on. As a child, I always admired heroes, even if I knew I’d never be one. But…”

His words trailed off for a moment as his expression grew more sad, pained almost, as he looked Senritsu directly in the eye. “Aren’t you lonely?” Kuro asked her softly. In all the videos and photographs he had seen of her, he could sense an air of solitude, of loneliness. Whenever he saw her smile, it was either coy or haughty, never one of genuine happiness. He could not pinpoint the cause of it, or even confirm without asking her like this if it was true, but his gut told him there was something there, a tiny voice wanting to be heard.

“...I couldn’t just let you turn around and disappear forever. Not without at least trying to make you happy. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to sign the paper.” Kuro bowed his head low to her, humbly asking her, “Please, Senritsu… Let me make you happy.”

[Mini Magi]

So he did know that he took it too fast. That was honestly a plus for him. Here she thought that he had already lost his mind, but she could understand where the admiration came from. She wasn't that different when she was younger after all. But what she couldn't see coming was his question. It made her look sharpen and take him more seriously since he managed to do what few people did before him. He hit a nerve.

While he waited for an answer, she thought. Why did his question bother her that much? She leaned forward, then rested her head on her hand. Come to think of it, things did get bitter in a way ever since she couldn't work as a hero anymore. Gone were the days where she could walz into the HQ and inquire about any monster to hunt. She of course still had her sister Fubiki, but...

She sighed and took up the filled out form with her other hand, eyeing is as she thought more. Come to think of it, he knew who she was and still filled it out. Not because he was afraid. With his last sentence his intentions were clear, and there was little reason to doubt it. And while even she didn't know what her type was, he certainly wasn't ugly. "...We better get going then." Upon him asking where they could possibly be going at this hour, she replied. "The ward office of course. It isn't official until we hand this in. I don't blame you for not knowing, but they have a late-night desk." Yes, fine, he won. It really did sound rather nice to have someone around. Might as well be someone who tried to be sweet with her. "During the day, people are busy with work, and there are people like celebrities who might want to get married without a lot of public attention. So marriage applications are accepted 24 hours a day." Truth be told, she counted herself as such a celebrity, and even while his intentions were pure, he probably didn't want his face in the newspapers anytime soon. Plus, the internet was merciless.

[Moon Hound Hati]

Knowing better than to ask for confirmation to quell any shadow of a doubt, Kuro took her words as a sign of acceptance. Instead, he asked where they were going at this hour. The answer was the ward office. He faintly recalled having heard and seen some advertisements mention that it was open around the clock nowadays as part of some government initiative to promote marriages and having kids, seeing as the population count has had to endure some blows in the past from mounting attacks from monsters, aliens, madmen, and even nature itself in the past.

“Let’s go then.” Standing up with her, they soon departed his apartment once ready. Heading down to the parking lot in front of the apartment building, he pushed the button on his car key, signaling his car to unlock as the headlights lighting up twice revealed its location. His car fell somewhere in the spectrum of “pretty nice,” being a bit older second-hand car that had a good amount of luxury options, such as heated seats and even a fairly large sunroof made of darkened glass that blocked out the UV light. It was a bit of a sporty, three-door car, as well, so it certainly wasn’t something either of them would be embarrassed to be seen in. At least, that’s what he hoped.

“Hope you don’t mind riding shotgun.” He smiled at her, though he felt just a little nervous about it. Considering her powers, he figured she was perhaps more used to flying on her own, so being driven around in a car might not be to her taste. Making an effort, he went around to open and hold open the car door on the passenger’s side for her.