#hsaiko

Saiko Yonebayashi was anything but what Hsiao expected from a Quinx. She was short and chubby, constantly rambled about video games and series like it was her real-life, and almost never left her room.

Hsiao put so much work into training, as did the other Quinx. But Saiko... They had to force her to train. Had to wake her up. Hsiao couldn't believe she hadn't been fired yet. Hsiao didn't hate her or dislike her, necessarily, but she figured their different work ideals would make them not get along well.

---

"Uuuuuuuriiiiiiii!" Saiko called out as she ran down the stairs. "Clean my ears!" She waved around a handful of cotton swabs.

There was a beat of silence in the living room as all of the Quinx stared at Saiko. Then, Aura stood up and left without a word.

"Ew!" Urie cried out. "Why do I need to do it? Do it yourself!"

"Maman did it for me, but he's not here anymore... So can you do it for me, Squad Leader?"

"Uhhh... Higemaru! You do it!"

"Eh?! Why me?!"

"Mucchaaaaaaaan?" Saiko drawled, twirling around to face the other original Quinx and give him puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry, but I'd rather not...?" Mutsuki replied awkwardly.

Hsiao sighed. "I'll do it."

"Really? Thank you, Hsiao!!!" Saiko handed her the Q-tips then plopped down beside her.

Disgusted, Urie quickly stood and left, followed by Higemaru. Mutsuki excused himself, saying he had to do some chores, and then hurried out of the room.

Saiko moved her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, and then tilted her head for Hsaio.

Hsiao shifted herself so she was sitting directly beside the shorter girl. She put a hand on Saiko's shoulder to steady her, and then gently inserted the cotton swab in her ear.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you, okay?" Hsiao said.

"Mm-hmm!"

Hsiao twisted the swab, and then pulled it out. Quite a bit of wax was on it, and Hsiao made a face, trying to hide her disgust.

...Why did she agree to this, again?

---

Hsiao realized pretty shortly after joining the Quinx that Saiko always talked to her and asked her to hang out more than any of the other Quinx. Hsiao guessed it was because the two of them were the only girls on the squad.

Hsiao had thought it was simply team bonding exercises at first, but she quickly realized she was wrong. Saiko was just a NEET, and wanted someone to join her in playing video games, eating snacks, and binge-watching shows and movies. Hsiao often declined. She was busy training and going on missions. But anytime she had free time, she would accept. All her life, she had rarely had time for recreation, and so she decided to take advantage of it now. And Hsiao found out that she surprisingly had a great time whenever she joined Saiko. Eventually, she changed around her schedule to give herself more free time to spend with the other Quinx girl.

---

"Okay, who wants to clean my ears~?" Saiko practically sang as she skipped down the stairs.

The Q's were all silent.

"Come on guys!" Saiko pouted. "I need help! I can't do it myself..."

"Okay, I guess I'll do it again..." Hsiao offered, raising a hand.

"Yay! Hsiao's my favorite now!"

Once again, the Q's gathered their things and left the room.

Saiko gave Hsiao a few cotton swabs, and then sat in her lap.

Hsiao tensed and froze. She wasn't sure how to respond for a moment.

Saiko seemed to notice, "Ah, sorry!" She quickly stood up. “I used to sit on Maman's lap and I—”

"It's fine. I guess it is easier like that."

"Okay!"

So Saiko sat in Hsiao's lap again, and Hsiao got to work.

"All clean!" Hsiao said once she finished. There was just as much wax as the first time, but it wasn't as gross to her this time. Hsiao set aside the cotton swabs to be discarded, and then looked back at Saiko's pigtails. Her hair was pretty knotted up, almost like a bedhead.

"Did you fall asleep or something?" Hsiao asked.

Saiko nodded. "Uri had me wake up really early for a mission today. I crashed for an hour or two earlier, and had a really cool dream! I was like a video game character and beat a bunch of levels, but I fought with my kagune!"

"That does sound cool." Hsiao smiled. "Do you want me to brush your hair?"

"It's okay, I can do it myself."

"I don't mind. You're here in my lap anyway, and I have my brush right here."

"Okay then."

Hsiao gently pulled Saiko's hair out of the scrunchies.

"Wow, your hair's really long." She gently fluffed it.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about getting it cut."

"How short?"

"To my shoulders, maybe? What do you think?"

"Hmm." Hsiao took a moment to try to imagine Saiko with short hair. “I think that would look cute on you.”

"Alright! I will, then!"

Hsiao reached for a brush, and started brushing Saiko's hair. It took a long time with her hair's length, but thankfully the knots weren't too big and were brushed out easily.

"Thank you, Hsiao! Let me return the favor!"

"No, it's okay!"

"No! Let me do your hair! How about braids?"

Knowing Saiko wouldn’t let up, Hsiao smiled and nodded. "Alright, you can braid my hair."

Saiko got off Hsiao's lap, and then Hsiao took a seat on the floor in front of the couch. Saiko sat on the couch behind her, and gently pulled Hsiao's hair out of her low hanging ponytail.

Taking the brush, she split Hsiao's hair into two parts.

"Ah, I need more hairbands! Don't move!"

Saiko ran upstairs, and after a few moments came back with purple hairbands. Then she got back to work braiding Hsiao's hair.

Hsiao let herself relax. People touching her hair always felt nice, but it was very rare that anyone ever did.

At one point, Hsiao turned slightly to glance at the girl. Saiko had a very focused look on her face and was sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

"Stay facing forward!" Saiko chided, and Hsiao giggled as she complied and faced forward again.

---

"I need my ears cleaned again!"

"I'll do it this time!" Mutsuki announced. He didn't feel that it was fair that Hsiao always had to do it. And he knew that neither Urie or Aura would ever do it, and Higemaru would probably only do it if he was ordered to. Plus, Higemaru and Hsiao were new to the Quinx Squad, so they shouldn't need to do it before Urie or himself.

"Ah, it's okay. I don't mind doing it!" Hsiao said.

"Huh? You sure? You've already done it twice."

Hsiao nodded. "Like I said, I don't mind."

Mutsuki shrugged. "Okay. If you say so."

Hsiao wouldn't say it out loud, but she honestly really liked cleaning Saiko's ears. It seemed nice and relaxing for both of them. It reminded Hsaio of spending time with Hairu. She used to clean Hairu’s ears too. And now that she had done it so many times and gotten closer to Saiko, Hsiao wasn't grossed out by the earwax anymore.

---

Hsiao walked back into the main room of the Chateaux and then up the stairs. She rotated her shoulders and groaned. She must have pulled something while training. She hoped it wouldn't last until tomorrow.

As Hsiao was walking through the hallway, Saiko came out of her room, which was a surprise. Saiko was rarely seen around the Chateaux.

"Hello Hsiao! What's wrong?"

"Hm? Oh nothing, just pulled a muscle. I'm fine."

"Oh. Do you want a back massage?"

"H-huh? No, I'm fine!"

"You do stuff for me all the time! I wanna repay you! Please?"

"Alright."

"Great! I'm gonna use the bathroom, so meet me in my room!"

Saiko's room hadn't changed since the last time Hsiao had been in there. Game cases and systems were everywhere, along with both empty snack wrappers and unopened snacks littered across the bed and floor. It was a mess, but Hsiao guessed it was the kind of organized mess where Saiko knew where everything was.

Hsiao sat on Saiko's bed and waited for her to get back, hoping she wouldn't mind.

"I'm back! Okay, lay down!"

"I'm fine sitting."

"No, I want you to relax, so lay down!"

"Okay..."

Hsiao did as Saiko told her, and she felt the mattress dip as Saiko sat beside her. A second later, Saiko's hands were on her back, and she began to massage her.

"Where is it sore?"

"Up a little higher. Right there. Ah, that actually feels really good. Thanks, Saiko..."

"It's no problem. You always help me with my ears, after all."

Saiko gave deep massages, and it felt really nice to her sore, tired body after just finishing training. Hsiao didn't even notice herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

---

Hsiao woke up slowly, and became very confused. She wasn't in her own bedroom. She went to sit up and better take in her surroundings, but she felt a weight on her back. She craned her neck and saw Saiko fast asleep on her back and drooling onto her bedsheets.

Hsiao blushed as she realized that she must have fallen asleep from Saiko's massage yesterday evening. She had wanted to go to bed early, but this wasn't really what she had in mind. Although, she didn't really mind it either. A smile came to her face, and then she realized that she had been zoning out and daydreaming while staring at Saiko's (cute) face.

She tore her gaze away in case Saiko suddenly woke up. (Hsiao rolled her eyes. As if! It always takes forever to wake that girl up!)

Hsiao glanced around Saiko's room, searching for a clock. Ah, there was one on her bedstand. Although the hour was covered by a snack container. Hsiao craned her neck to the side, trying to see around it.

What number was that? A 1? No, no no no, it couldn't be a 1. She always woke up early, there was no way she slept in to 11, or worse, 12! Someone would have woken her up!

Hsiao glanced to check Saiko’s door. Sure enough, it was closed. The other Quinx probably thought she was already awake and out of the Chateau.

Maybe I just woke up at 1:00 in the morning! That has to be it! I couldn't sleep well since this isn’t my bedroom, not to mention Saiko laying on top of me, and so I woke up in the middle of the night!

But Hsiao had a really bad feeling, and Saiko's bedroom was in the middle of the house and was always dark, so there was no way to tell what time it was unless she looked at the clock.

Dragging herself (and Saiko on top of her) across the mattress, she hesitated before moving the snack out of the way.

Yeah... It was 11:07am.

Hsiao groaned, resting her head on the bed. There goes her well-planned schedule.

Saiko finally rolled off her back, and then cuddled against Hsiao’s body.

Blushing, but thankful that Saiko got off her, Hsiao carefully maneuvered out of her embrace and then off the bed. She was about to bolt and rush to get ready and somehow try to get everything she had planned done with, but she hesitated at the door. It seemed kind of rude to just leave. Or maybe it would be best if she did. After all, she hadn't planned on falling asleep here and Saiko never offered for her to stay the night.

Biting her lip, Hsiao decided and wrote a quick note.

Sorry I fell asleep last night! Thank you for the massage! -Hsiao

---

Hsaio and Saiko were having another movie night. They were sitting together, laying in a fort of pillows and blankets on Saiko’s bed, eating all kinds of candies.

"Ooh! Try this one!" Saiko cried.

But Hsiao didn't want to take her eyes off the movie. This part was getting good!

A piece of candy appeared in front of her mouth and, not quite thinking, she leaned forward and took it in her mouth.

"Mmm. It is good!" She said, then finally questioned how it had gotten there in the first place.

She looked where she had grabbed it from, to see a red tendril lower and snake back down. Saiko's kagune.

Saiko had just fed her a piece of candy with her kagune.

Blushing, she looked at the girl at her side. Saiko held different bags of candy with both her two hands and a few small, skinny tendrils. The rest of her kagune was over them in the shape of The Trinity Cutter. It reminded her of an umbrella. Hsiao blushed harder at that thought.

---

How exactly did it end up like this? Hsiao wondered one day. She was currently in Saiko's dark bedroom, playing a video game. She had been in here for several hours now. Saiko was sitting between her legs, and they were yet again sitting in a blanket fort on Saiko's bed.

Hsiao had other female friends before, but none of them ever acted like this with her. She had gotten crushes on some of those past friends, and she had wanted to do this kind of stuff with them, but she never did. She had never even confessed before.

"Hey, Saiko. What... What are we?" Hsiao had to ask. She started blushing, and she was glad the room was dark so Saiko wouldn't be able to see it.

"We're friends, silly! What else would we be!" Was Saiko's answer.

"Oh." Hsiao couldn't help the disappointment in her voice.

Saiko looked at her curiously, and Hsiao regretted asking.

"Forget I asked." Hsiao didn't want to make their relationship complicated or lose Saiko's friendship.

"No." Saiko paused the video game, which she had never done before. Once Hsiao had tried, and Saiko had gotten very upset with her and Hsiao agreed to never do it again. "Why? Do you think we're... not friends?"

"What do you mean by "not friends"?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like..." Hsiao hesitated, not wanting to finish. But Saiko gave her a look, so Hsiao quietly finished. "Girlfriends. Or something."

Saiko blinked. "You like girls?"

"Y-yeah." Hsiao replied awkwardly. That wasn't how she planned on coming out or confessing to Saiko. "It's just, I've never had a friend with this much physical contact before, and I can't tell if this is supposed to be platonic or romantic..."

Saiko looked down, and let the controller drop out of her hand. "I'm sorry."

Hsiao blinked. Why is she apologizing?

"I... never really considered what this would look like to you, or to anyone else. I'm not good at stuff like that. I'm aromantic, and asexual too. I never really knew for sure, but it seemed to fit. I... I don't think I like anyone romantically. I don't think I ever have..."

Oh.

"So you did mean all of this platonically." Hsiao said. She really wished she didn't sound so heartbroken. She understood, and she didn’t blame Saiko for not reciprocating her feelings. But she had really hoped that Saiko had felt the same about her.

"But I really do like you, Hsiao! You're a lot of fun! If you don't want to be this close anymore, that’s okay, but I don't mind it!" Saiko smiled. "I've had other friends, and I've had movie and game nights with the others in the squad but... You're different, Hsiao. I feel the most comfortable with you." It could just be the lighting of the screen, but... Hsiao was pretty sure Saiko was blushing now. "I never really felt the need or want to date anyone, but... At the same time, I do want to spend my life with someone. A friend. Like this. Like... you."

Hsiao smiled back at her. "Maybe we can work out... whatever type of relationship this is." She gestured vaguely.

Saiko gasped. "Really?! You wouldn't mind? I don't really know how romantic I can be..."