Hanako Short: The Announcement

“Is that you, Hisao?”

“Yeah, it’s me, Lilly.”

It had been a week since Lilly had returned from her visit to Scotland. Needless to say, Hanako and I were glad to see her and Akira back. It was like we were missing a member of our close, albeit slightly peculiar, family. So, in celebration of her return to Japan, we had our regular tea gathering on this particular evening. That is why I am currently standing in front of the door to Lilly’s dorm room, where we usually have these little meetings of ours.

Of course, there’s was also another reason for us to celebrate; a reason involving the newfound relationship between Hanako and myself, which we have yet to reveal to our mutual blind friend. While I have been more than ready to inform just about the entire school of us, I didn’t want to put her on the spot in such a manner. Don’t get me wrong, she’s been improving a lot in terms of her social anxieties ever since that fateful day, even being more responsive when we’ve done group work in class. I think it’s just a matter of being too much too soon, and I was fairly certain she would appreciate doing things at her own pace.

As my thoughts wander aimlessly, my newly acquired girlfriend opens the door, greeting me with a smile on her face and a tinge of crimson filling her cheeks. I return the smile in kind, giving a short “Hey there,” before she gives a quiet “H-hello,” lightly taking my hand and guiding me over to the table in the center of the room.

Hanako was wearing her usual pink nightgown that I’ve grown increasingly fond of for how adorable she looks in it. Looking over to Lilly, she’s wearing those just-as-familiar dark blue pajamas. For tonight, I didn’t feel like being the only one in regular clothes, so I threw on some of my own sleeping attire; just a simple white shirt and my dark green pajama bottoms. A light jacket and some sandals on my feet gave the impression that I was just out for a leisurely nighttime stroll, rather than going into the girl’s dorm for tea. Of course, at this point, anyone who saw me go out at this time of evening regularly would likely think I was up to something anyway, but it was something that gave me a bit of confidence in not getting questioned.

Hanako and I take our spot at the opposite end of Lilly at the table, with Hanako holding my arm all the while. Lilly was oblivious to our display, as she poured tea for the three of us. Not to sound mean, but, sometimes her blindness can have its advantages. “We all haven’t had a chance to chat like this since I got back, haven’t we?” Lilly said. “Are you both getting ready for exams?”

“You could say that,” I reply. Hanako just looks down at her tea, her face getting red again. While the upcoming exams were on our minds, whenever we went to study together, we ended up doing.... well, things besides studying.

“I suppose I should start getting ready for them myself. Although I’m not terribly worried about them, it would be prudent to get caught up on everything I’ve missed. I’m not too confident about science, though...”

“I can help you on that area. Science and math are pretty much my specialties. It’s English that tends to kick my ass.”

“Well, if you can help me with my problem areas, I would be more than happy to help you with yours. Sound like a deal?” Lilly says this with that friendly smile of hers.

“Deal,” I reply back. I really could use the help with English, and since she’s fluent in it anyway, who better to have as a tutor?

“Um... H-Hisao. I could use some help on math as well. I’ve been having t-troubles understanding our latest assignments. ” Hanako sheepishly says from my side.

“Of course I can still help you out too, Hanako,” I say with a smile, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and bringing her closer to me.

“T-thank you.” she replies, placing a light kiss on my cheek, then snuggling into me with her tea cup in hand.

At that moment, Lilly looks like she can sense something going on between the two of us for the first time since her return. It must have been our movement on the carpeting that she picked up, the sound of Hanako’s kiss, the fact that my voice was originating from a different position than she normally hears it from, or all of the above and more.

“My my, you two seem to be even friendlier with each other than I remember. I’m assuming everything went well while I was gone?”

“Mmhmm!” Hanako gives an energetic nod in response, without thinking about who the gesture was being directed towards. “Actually, t-that’s part of why I wanted to have our tea time on this evening, along with celebrating your return.”

“Oh?” Lilly’s foggy blue eyes looked curiously in our direction. Although she couldn’t actually see us, her quizzical gaze gave off the illusion that she may well be able to.

“Well, we kind of waited to tell you this since we weren’t sure how to go about it, but we thought that now would be good to get it out there.” I look down to Hanako to confirm that she was okay to proceed, who gives me an earnest nod, placing her tea cup down on the table and taking a deep breath before starting.

“H-Hisao and I... we are... uh...” Although Hanako is obviously struggling to get the words out, she seems determined to finish her declaration of our relationship. It’s actually kind of cute, watching her face turn red as she figures out how to phrase it. I ask her if she needs help, but she strongly shakes her head at my offer. Taking her time, she takes another deep breath to compose herself and tries again.

“H-Hisao and I.... are...”

The sound of a loud rapping on the door interrupts the mood, causing Hanako to jump in her position, as well as diverting mine and Lilly’s attention. Who could that be at this hour?

“Oh! Who’s there?” Lilly calls out.

“You should know damn well who it is at this point,” a familiar voice calls out from behind the door. I get up to take care of it, and am greeted by Lilly’s older sister, Akira, sporting her business suit and sassy grin as usual. “Evening, Hisao. Guess you guys got the party started already?”

“Hey Akira. Wasn’t expecting you to come here.”

“So good of you to show up, Akira,” Lilly calls out from the table. “I thought you were at work this evening?”

“Eh, I managed to get my stuff done for the day, so I bailed early. Figured I’d drop by and see how the celebration was going.”

“You actually came at just the right time. Hisao and Hanako were just telling me some pleasant news.”

“Oh really? Damn, I got some pretty good timing.” Akira says this as she sets down a rather tall paper bag on the other side of the room, taking a spot at the table between Lilly and Hanako. I retake my spot next to my girlfriend, who seems to have gone quiet, her head hanging down.

“So, what’s this news Lilly’s talking about?” Akira asks. I look down to Hanako, but she’s become mute. I take a closer look and notice that her hands are shaking in her lap.

“Hi.... Hi.... Hisao.... and.... Me and.... Hisao....”

Oh god, this isn’t good. Not to blame Akira for anything, but I start to think that her sudden appearance when originally we all thought that it was just going to be the three of us may have put her in a rough spot. I remember that this was how her last panic attack started up. I lightly place my hands on her shoulders and try to console her, but she’s still shaking pretty badly. Even Lilly and Akira are starting to look worried now.

“Hisao.... and I.....”

“Hanako, you don’t have to do this if you don’t-“

Hanako moves a hand in front of my face, signaling that she wants to do this on her own. Although my common sense is telling me to step in, I hold back and let her try once more.

“..... Hi... Hi... HisaoandIaredatingeachother!!” she finally manages to blurt out. After the announcement, her breathing becomes ragged, as if she had just run a marathon, and her face is the reddest I have ever seen it in the entire time I’ve known her. Even her long hair is unable to hide the strong shades flowing through her features.

“Ho ho! Now that’s some big time news!” Akira says excitedly, clapping her hands in applause at Hanako’s performance.

“Indeed it is! I’m so happy for you two.” Lilly adds, also applauding our official declaration of our relationship. Hanako doesn’t say anything, but rather keeps her head low to hide the obvious embarrassment she’s feeling from having made such a public statement. I silently wrap my arm around her and give my own silent congrats, which seems to help calm her down. She raises her head up to meet my eyes, and we just share a brief moment of silence between each other.

“You know, I thought I noticed something going on between you two when we were at the airport, but I didn’t want to pry into private matters. I guess that explains everything then,” Akira adds. I was wondering if she had noticed something or not. When we picked up the two from the airport the day they had returned, Hanako and I were instinctively holding hands on the way out. I noticed Akira giving a passing glance our way during conversation, but I wasn’t sure at the time if she really suspected anything.

“I... I wasn’t really sure if it was a good time to mention it then, since y-you had just came back,” Hanako replied, seeming to have recovered from her endeavor.

“Well, whatever your reason was for keeping it in, we’re still glad to hear this. And it’s probably a good thing I brought some good celebratory material.” As she said this, Akira moved over towards the bag she placed earlier, taking out four very tall bottles filled with a substance that has become familiar to all of us.

“M-more wine?” Hanako points out. Indeed it was. Two reds and two whites, all being different brands from what we had experienced before, as well as the bottles themselves being somewhat taller.

“To be honest, I got these for the boyfriend and myself to indulge on, but considering the occasion, I suppose it would be a good idea to go ahead and pop one open.”

“Akira, you are going to get us all in trouble one of these days if you keep bringing alcohol to the campus...” Lilly scolds her sister.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. From what I’ve seen, security is light anyway, and as long as you guys don’t wander out to the campus in a drunken stupor, you should be okay.”

Although Akira did have a point, I couldn’t help but also echo Lilly’s concerns over our own educational future by doing this regularly. Then again, these brands look incredibly tempting to try out, and I could tell Hanako felt the same way, as she examines each of the bottles thoroughly.

“Well, I suppose it is a good reason to celebrate,” Lilly concedes. “Hanako, could you get the glasses out, please?”

“Atta girl,” Akira says. She assists Hanako in handing out glasses to each of us, and does the honors of pouring each of us the appropriate amount of wine. I started with the white wine last time we did this, so I decide to try a red for this one and see what the difference is. “Now then, a toast to Hisao and Hanako’s newfound relationship. May you have many days of pleasant experiences, and few days of going at each others throats.”

The four of us call out cheers, a few laughs bouncing across the walls of the room, accompanied by the sound of our glasses clinking together in unison.


---


About two hours later, we had already gone through half of the bottles, and have about halfway emptied out the third. Akira, being the experienced drinker that she is, is completely unfazed by the wine, whilst Lilly and I are feeling particularly tipsy, but no worse for wear considering how we balance our respective tolerances. Hanako, on the other hand, is completely smashed, crawling all over my person to place a kiss on me at every opportunity. After everything we’ve gone through over the past couple of weeks, it’s probably good for her to let herself go like this, so long as she doesn’t hurt herself. It’s a good thing she’s a sociable drunk, at least.

“So you really kissed him right in the open like that? That’s pretty ballsy. Wouldn’t have expected such a thing coming from such a quiet little girl,” Akira says in response to the story we had recounted about how Hanako and I achieved our status as boyfriend and girlfriend. Minus what happened in the bedroom after she revealed her scars to me, of course. Such things are better left unsaid.

“An’ it f-felt good too!” Hanako exclaimed in her drunkenness, waving around her wine glass in a dangerous manner, threatening to spill some of its contents. “I felt like a completely diffren’ person then. Like, nuttin else mattered but Hisao and I. An’ if anyone had any problems with such a b-beautiful public display of affection.... well..... t-they can kiss my ass!” She finishes this statement with another hearty sip, emptying the rest of her glass in a beautiful fashion.

“That’s the spirit!” Akira proclaims, encouraging Hanako in her newfound cheerfulness. “Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”

“Actually caught me by surprise when she did it,” I chime in, trying to keep myself balanced with the alcohol and Hanako working against me. “It was a pretty big step for her.”

“You enjoyed my gift, though, didn’t ya Hisao?” Hanako asks, her drunken eyes peering right into my own.

“Of course I did. Probably the best gift I’ve ever received,” I reply, giving her a light kiss to seal the fact. She responds by pulling me in, our noses crunching up against each other.

“Well, I have plenty m-more ‘gifts’ where that came from, if ya know what I mean,” she whispers to me, following it with a snicker. I can feel my face reddening at the mere thought of what she was referring to.

“Alright kids, I should probably get going,” Akira says as she finishes her wine glass and gets on her feet. “Boyfriend is probably wondering where I’m at, and I’m going to be losing money if I keep feeding you lushes.” She places the one full bottle left in the bag and loops in onto her arm.

“Thank you for stopping by, Akira,” Lilly replies to her. “And thank you for bringing the drinks.” She tries to get up on her feet, likely to walk her sister out, but stumbles a bit from the alcohol. Akira gently sets her back down and insists that she let herself out.

“Congrats to you two once again Hisao and Hanako,” Akira says to us next. “Oh, and one more thing...” Hanako swings her head towards Lilly’s sister in a manner that made me think she was going to throw herself across the room. Thankfully her arm being wrapped around my neck keeps her from making a faceplant on the floor.

“Make sure you two are using protection. Everytime. You hear?” Akira says as calmly as I’ve ever heard a person giving out sexual advice.

“Akira!” Lilly responds in a surprised manner.

“Already taken capph ophhh!” I force my hand over Hanako’s mouth at the last second, blocking out what could have been a rather embarrassing statement. “We’ll, uh, take that to heart, Akira,” I reply in her stead.

Akira and Lilly glance at the two of us in a suspicious manner, but they thankfully don’t pursue the subject any further. Akira then takes her leave, giving a friendly wave in farewell and closing the door behind her, leaving Lilly and I to figure out how to deal with my drunken girlfriend.

“What was zat for, Hisao?” Hanako protests after freeing herself from my grasp, putting on a cute pouty face.

“Just making sure you don’t say something you might regret later,” I kindly reassure her, placing a hand on her head. “You are pretty far gone.”

“I’m not, I’m completely fine. And you drank jus about as much as I did.” Almost as soon as she says this, a light hiccup escapes her mouth.

“I paced myself more, and I have a slightly better tolerance than you do.”

“Now now, you two, I don’t need a lovers quarrel inside my room,” Lilly jokingly says. Hanako looks back over to her with a wide grin. “Besides, it is getting late, and curfew is about due soon. We should probably retire for the evening.”

It had dawned on me that I had completely forgotten about the time. Checking my watch, it was indeed getting close to curfew, though with the alcohol in my system, I debated risking making the trek across campus back to the boy’s dorm.

“Aww, but I wanted ta stay and talk more,” Hanako complains.

“It is getting late. We should be getting to our respective rooms.” I echo Lilly’s advice.

“Are you okay to walk back, Hisao? You drank quite a bit,” Lilly asks.

“I think I can manage,” I say this as I try to make it back to my feet, Hanako still clinging on to me the whole while. “I’ll go ahead and walk Hanako to her room.”

“Thank you, Hisao,” Lilly says with a smile. I carefully pull my little lush to her feet and direct her arm across my shoulders. While she’s very light, I don’t feel confident enough in my own condition to be able to carry her back next door.

“I can walk by myself.... I’m not... drunk... You’re drunk...” Hanako continues to ramble on near incoherently. Meanwhile, I take care to make sure we don’t hit anything on our way out the door.

“Oh, and Hisao?” Lilly calls for me as I open the door. “Thank you, for making Hanako happy. I’m sure you two will have wonderful times together.”

“No problem,” I reply. “I’m sure we will.”

Lilly replies to me with a solemn nod. “To be honest, Akira and I both saw that there was something between you two for a while now, even before we left. We just weren’t sure if it would blossom into something more. I’m glad that everything worked out.”

Of course. It all made sense now. The time when Lilly asked me to take Hanako back the first time she got drunk, instead of letting Akira. Having the two of us play our own game of pool while they watched from afar. The advice Lilly gave to me over the phone. She was actually helping to get us along the right path. Everything else was up to me and Hanako. I guess I owe her more than I had initially thought.

“Thank you, Lilly. For everything,” I say to her in the most sincere words I have ever spoken in my entire life.

“My pleasure, Hisao. Make sure you take good care of her, okay? My father has connections, and I’d hate to see something bad happen to you if you do something to make her upset.” She says this in such a casual manner, and with such a timely chuckle at the end, I actually feel a chill run down my spine, sobering me up almost instantly. I hope that was a joke brought on by the alcohol...

After saying our goodbyes, I check to make sure no one is in the hallway before making the trek out, drunken Hanako in tow. After all, it’d be pretty hard to explain why I’m carrying a drunken girl into her room, much less why I’m going in a girl’s room in the first place at this hour. Hanako doesn’t really seem to care in her current state, rambling on about random things. I simply walk her into her room and flick on the light.

“Oh, so zis is wat you *hic* wanted to do, huh?” Hanako slurs, turning to wrap her arms around me. Thankfully I had closed the door behind us so that no one could see the sudden display.

“No, not that, Hanako. It’s time for bed.”

“Aww, come on, dun you wanna fool around a bit?” She gives me an uncharacteristic, seductive gaze, while her hands start probing my body, reaching underneath my shirt and bordering my pajama bottoms. As much as I would love to be able to “spend time” with her, I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself for doing so in the state that she’s in right now. I doubt Lilly and Akira would approve of it either. Besides, from what I’ve heard, drunk sex isn’t exactly as glamorous as you’d think.

“Maybe some other time,” I say to her, lightly setting her down on the bed. “Right now, it’s time for sleep. Curfew will be in effect soon, and we still have class in the morning. Though you’re probably not going to be in much shape to attend anyway.”

“No fair,” she protests. “I’m not even tired...” I simply put on a smile and try to get her under the bed covers. This feels a bit like déjà vu. After finally getting her to lie down flat, I go to turn the lights off.

“Jus stay here wit me, Hisao. Forget curfew. Dun you l-love me, Hisao?”

“Of course I do, but I also don’t want to get into trouble either. Now it’s time to go to sleep.” I walk back over to her side and kneel down to meet her face. She’s probably going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning.

“But I dun wanna....” She says this, but she’s clearly beginning to nod off. I can’t help but take a good look at her as she slowly drifts away. Her flushed cheeks, the way her hair is splayed across her pillow, her eyes dropping further and further. I’m just surprised how I never really took these things before we started seeing each other. I guess that’s what happens when you get into a relationship; you take more notice of things you never would have thought of otherwise., probably because you spend more time with your significant other.

“Hisao... I love you... dun ever leave me alone...” Hanako says as sleep closes in on her.

“I love you too. And I won’t ever leave you. I promise,” I say back to her. I’m not sure if she caught it or not, since she seems to have zonked out already, but I don’t worry about it. I take the moment to brush aside some of her long hair from her face, placing a soft kiss on her lips. The scent of alcohol on her breath flows into my mouth and nostrils. It’s not so bad, actually, since my breath is probably the same way.

After I do so, however, I find that a pair of arms has locked me around me like a venus flytrap, catching me by surprise, and pinning my face next to hers.

“Hisao... don’t leave me... Hisao...”

She’s talking in her sleep already. Poor girl. She’s had such a rough life. Losing her parents in the house fire. Being betrayed by the people she thought were her friends. Growing up in an orphanage all her life. Having all those scars across her body being a daily reminder of those tragic events. I’d like to reassure her that nothing bad will happen, but she probably won’t hear me. I’ll have to tell her that in the morning.

My thoughts travel back to the time, causing me to check my watch, whilst being careful not to disturb Hanako. Past curfew. Damn. If I try to go out at this time, I’m sure to get caught. And after all that wine I had, coming out of the girl’s dorm no less, I doubt it would end well.

Welp, I guess I am sleeping here tonight.

I carefully kick off my sandals and remove my jacket, trying to maneuver myself while in Hanako’s death grip. With careful movements, I crawl over the sleeping beauty to her side, and pull the bed sheets over the both of us. I take an extra moment to glance at Hanako’s sleeping face, then place a soft kiss on her forehead. It’s not long before sleep comes for me as well, and I begin to doze off in the loving, if still heavily inebriated, arms of the girl I fell in love with.