Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 72

After the phone call, Mariko contacted her lawyer. There were a few things she needed to adjust now. "I'm gonna go out for a bit, I should be back before dinner time though," she told Keigo as she grabbed her coat.

He raised an eyebrow, "Where ya going?" he asked.

"Work and then maybe Sakura's for a second? I have to let everyone know that I'm gonna be taking an extended leave of absence. Sakura's not working today and I have to tell her in person 'cus she'll get pissed at me if I tell her I'm going off-grid over text." She felt a pang of guilt at how easily the lie had slipped from her tongue. Sometimes she really hated that lying came so naturally to her, especially when it came to Keigo. She couldn't tell him she was really going to her lawyer's office though, not after the conversation they'd just had.

"Want me to go with?" he asked.

Mariko shook her head. "Nah don't worry about it. I don't want us both to be subjected to whatever drama she's gonna dump when I get there. If I'm not back in three hours though, call me so I have an excuse to leave," she said winking playfully at him.

Keigo laughed, nodding in agreement at her request.

She quickly planted a kiss on the male's lips before leaving the apartment.

As soon as she was out of her building, she headed to the hospital. She didn't need to ask for a leave of absence, Araya had taken care of that as soon as he'd given her her I.D. She was basically free to come and go to the hospital whenever she pleased since it was run by the Division. The real reason she was going there was to change what they called "Just In Case" letters. Everyone wrote letters for their friends and family before going on a mission... just in case. When she was in the Division before though, she'd always opted out of writing a letter. She didn't have any family aside from her team, so if she died on a mission there would either be no one to receive the letter, or there would be nothing for her to say. They'd all said their goodbyes before the mission even started anyway. Now, things were different. Now there was someone expecting her to make it back home for dinner.

Mariko sighed as she pulled the envelope from her purse. She'd actually written her letter to him a few days after coming back from the previous mission to North Korea. Thinking back on it, if she'd died during that mission, there would've been no explanation for anyone who hadn't been with her. North Korea was off-limits when it came to travel after all, especially when it came to military agents. If she'd died, he wouldn't have been able to get any closure from her teammates or from the Division. She thumbed the characters on the envelope, the name the letter was addressed to: Keigo.

She briefly wondered if she should've just written Hawks on the envelope since it would be passed through the hands of various strangers. But she recalled when she had to deliver Aiko's "Just in Case" letter to her sister, and remembered that she hadn't actually met the girl, she'd just handed it to the resident at the address listed and it got passed along, so there was no way to determine whether the person accepting the letter was the recipient.

The brunette walked into the hospital and stopped at the front desk.

"Hey Mari, what can I help you with?" the receptionist asked.

Mariko placed the envelope on the counter in front of her. "I have a "Just in Case" letter that needs to be put in with my things.

Her co-worker's expression turned somber. Like most people who worked at the hospital, she understood the gravity of her words. "Sure thing," she responded, "Is that it?"

She nodded.

The woman smiled at her reassuringly and opened it carefully. Unfortunately, reading the letters was part of protocol to make sure she didn't say anything she wasn't allowed to.

"Looks fine. You need to add the signature though," she told her.

Mariko nodded and took the letter back. Plucking a pen from the desk, she signed it at the bottom and returned both items.

She looked it over one last time and nodded. Taking the letter, she set it on the desk next to her computer. "Good luck," she told her.

Mariko nodded at her in thanks. She could probably use it.

After the hospital, she went to her lawyer's office. Her lawyer was a stern older man who had taken a liking to her after finding out she was in the military. Apparently, his daughter had been in the air force so he had an appreciation for all veterans.

"Saito-san, it's good to see you. You contacted me with regards to changing your will correct?" he asked, greeting her with a bow and gesturing to the armchair in front of his desk.

She nodded. "Yes, before I wanted everything to be donated with exception of one box of pictures which was supposed to go to Araya Sosa," she told him, remembering the simple will she had written when she was 18.

"That is correct..." he said taking her file out and scanning the paper.

"Instead of having everything donated, with the exception of that one box I want all of my possessions to be left to the Pro-Hero Hawks."

Her lawyer looked up at her, eyebrow raised. "I understand... but may I ask why you are suddenly changing your will? Has something happened?" he asked.

Mariko smiled at the concern, though they weren't close, he always had a fatherly air about him towards her, probably because she reminded him of her daughter. It was something she had come to appreciate over the years. "I have been asked to come back to the military. I just wanted to make adjustments before it was too late."

The male nodded at her and straightened his posture, "Your country thanks you for your service, Saito-san," he said.

She smiled at him and nodded as he made the necessary adjustments.

Thankfully, it didn't take very long and in an hour, Mariko had a new will written out with all the necessary formatting and information and it was uploaded into her lawyer's system.

"Thank you for seeing me today," she said bowing to her lawyer.

The older man nodded and bowed to her as she exited his office.

She let out a sigh of relief once she had left the building. Now she could go back home and be with Keigo. The feeling that their days could be numbered made her want to spend as much time with him as possible.