Popularity: Not What It's Cracked Up To Be [Kyo/Hana]

His laughter brought on an embarrassed blush and a startled step back. She wasn't trying to apologize just to get laughed at! Who was being the rude one now?

"Wh-What's so funny?" Hana asked. His explanation cleared it up, but she still felt kind of silly. "I doubt that! You're telling me the girls who talk to you don't turn red and start giggling to their friends when you happen to look their way? You walk around the corner and there they are, startled, blushing, hiding behind their hands, and apologizing for being in your presence... They had clearly been watching you."

Hana began mocking the girls she had seen do this many times since she left the sheltered lifestyle she had at home. She mimicked the girls' movements as she talked, putting on a silly performance, one meaning to be humorous.

"Oh, no, that happens all the time! Don't misunderstand. But I can't say it bothers me much at all, and at least I always know what's happening here. It might be ridiculous, but it's earnest, and I respect that."

Kyo nodded in a way that seemed at least somewhat sagely, though there was a bit too practical a slant to what he was saying for it to really seem that wise. Besides, Kyo himself had never really been one to try and sound particularly "sagely."

"Now, do I find it an attractive trait? No. It's a little childish for people our age, but I won't tell them what to do."

"I see..." Hana said, a slow nod as her thoughts traveled elsewhere for a brief moment. Realizing she was dazing out, she shook her head, as if to shake out the thoughts that distracted her. "It all reminds me of these books I used to read... teenage nonsense really. Until I got out of my parents' thumb, I thought it may have been unrealistic, so finding out it happens entertaining in its own right."

"Anyways, I am not ready to return to my Division just yet, so..." Hana turned to the barracks and gestured to the construction project before cupping her hands behind her back. "May I ask what kind of project this i-..." Hana's attention was drawn by her phone. A quick check and she sighed, clearly frustrated. "My apologies, but I must go. Any small talk will have to wait." Hana gave a quick smile and bowed politely before waving and walking away. "It was nice to meet you!"