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“Tamaki did what now?” Hana asks.
It’s not as if the scene next to her isn’t chaotic already. Ikki, while rather eager to help, seems to be absolutely clueless in terms of working in the Natsuki Detective Agency. It makes Hana wonder why he volunteered to stay behind, while Tamaki had gone ahead to the bathhouse.
Well, there had been an emergency at the time. And then, he’d said something about staying behind to walk home with Daiji. Hana doesn’t quite get why he’s chosen to camp here instead of anywhere else in Blue Bird, but if that’s what he wants…
“How long until Dai-chan or Ikki-nii comes home?” Sakura asks, “Please, I can’t deal with it anymore! Tamaki’s great and all, but Ikki-nii’s just so much more…”
“Efficient?” Hana responds.
She could say the same here, but to be honest, she’s not quite sure. Maybe, the bathhouse environment is just better suited to him for efficiency. And that this office is better for Tamaki than a busy place like Happy Spa.
But Ikki just looks so happy to be here…
“I have no idea,” she responds, “Ikki looks like he’s having a great time.”
Sakura’s voice, crackling over the phone, is filled with panic.
“Really?! Tamaki looks like he’s about to cry!”
That could stem from a multitude of things, really. Hana could make a list, but it would frankly be longer than she’d like. Hm, decisions, decisions; what factor does she guess first?
Oh, right. Happy Spa is popular…
“Did you put him in an area with a lot of people?” she asks.
She hears a noise of assent over the phone, followed by Sakura’s words.
“Yeah, we told him to handle the counter like last time. That’s easier than everything else…”
Oh. Oh, no. Given Sakura said today’s been pretty busy, no wonder Tamaki’s like that. Such a task would be an energy drain to him on most days.
“No!” Hana hisses, “Switch out, he’s overwhelmed!”
There’s footsteps on the other end of the phone, but Hana doesn’t care about what it is. The faster everything over there gets settled, the better! That way, Sakura at the very least can be less frazzled.
Sakura responds, “What? Huh, okay, hold on, let me get that settled…”
There’s more footsteps, giving Hana the sense that she’s been left alone for now. Sakura’s probably dealing with her situation over there. It should be fine, given that Sakura knows how to deal with Tamaki.
She can hear footsteps coming closer after a few minutes, and the huff that follows lets Hana know she’s been joined once more.
“Okay, it should be fine,” Sakura says, “What about Ikki-nii?”
Hana turns her head to the man in question. He’s happily sorting through the files Hana had on her desk, but his system — from what she can see — is nothing like anything she’s used to. A mess like this would mean a lot more time wasted when looking through references.
She replies, “He’s enjoying himself, like I said earlier. But he’s not exactly helping out with the files like I told him to…”
“He can do files just fine, but he prefers doing more hands-on work,” Sakura says, “Ask him about it?”
Hana isn’t a fan of how Sakura’s voice trailed off at the end. But if that’s something she has to do-
Sakura’s voice chirps through the phone right as she’s about to get up.
“Actually, no! Tell him to do what he wants! He’s a busybody, he’ll find himself something to do!”
Hana looks at her phone, then at Ikki, then back at the phone again. It’s worth a shot. There’s a million other things to do in this office; maybe Ikki could help alleviate some of that pressure?
“Okay, I’m putting you on hold. I’ll be right back,” she says.
Walking over to Ikki isn’t too hard. Neither is catching his attention; he looks up from his files as soon as she reaches his desk.
“Hm? What’s up?” he asks.
How he still has a smile on his face while dealing through those files, Hana has no idea. But he should be grateful. She’s freeing him from this menial task, opting to take it on herself later.
“I just remembered, Blue Bird doesn’t like it when anyone other than me does the files. If there’s anything you’ve been wanting to do, it’s all yours,” she says.
She’s lying. Tamaki’s done several of the files on occasions. There’s also a massive chance of Ikki noticing; he’s not dumb. Thankfully, if he’s noticed that, he’s seemingly opted to ignore it. Instead, following his gaze. Hana can see he’s giving the office a look-over.
“Oh, really?” Ikki asks, “In that case…”
There’s something that’s caught his eye, for he immediately makes a beeline for it as soon as he gets up. Ah, it’s the stack of boxes on the floor. Ikki starts making work of those, putting everything inside those boxes on shelves, desks, and near windows.
So organization is what he’s opting to do. It’s actually a huge help; Hana will have to thank Ikki later.
She heads back to where her phone is, sitting down and putting it to her ear once more.
“I’m back. He’s cleaning the office,” she says.
Sakura replies, “Perfect! That’ll keep him busy.”
Hana can hear the cheer from Sakura’s voice; maybe cleaning is one of the hobbies Ikki likes to do? Well, as long as Sakura’s happy.
“Hey, Hana?” Sakura asks.
There’s a certain tone to Sakura’s voice. Hana’s not too sure what that could mean; is there something else that needs to be done? Is Tamaki about to break?
Best approach this carefully, lest she add on to Sakura’s pain.
“Yes?”
There’s a sigh from Sakura’s end, followed by the addition of a slight whimper to her tone.
“Just a few more hours, and everything will be done, right?”
Hana looks up at the clock. Sakura’s right. Only two-ish more hours, and then both Daiji and Hana would be off work. Ikki, of course, would join Daiji on his way home, and Tamaki would get a break as soon as they both got home.
“Yes,” she replies.
There’s still something she has to follow up with, though. Ikki’s a wonderful person, he really is. He’s an even better brother to Sakura. But Hana would much rather have the closest thing she has to a brother here than Ikki himself.
Somehow, the lack of Tamaki makes this office unsettling.
“But after this, never again,” she says.
There’s a laugh from Sakura and it sends Hana’s heart aflutter. Such music to her ears is exactly what she needs after a long day.
What Sakura says after that, even more so.
“Yeah. Never again.”