Specter Stalking [Closed]

She had seen it right before she passed out, and damnit if she wasn’t pissed at herself for not being able to pay closer attention to the technique. That had been Utsusemi she had seen, she was sure of it. During her brief unconscious state, she quickly found herself within her Inner World, something that was always a bit jarring when she pushed herself to the point where she lost control and passed out. It happened far more often than she would have liked to admit, but this time, things seemed different. The massive walls of the maze were before her, looming over her and at least a hundred meters tall, cracked and broken with the wear and tear of what looked like thousands of years of battery by the elements. But there was something different about them this time… something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“He is worthy.”

The voice, feminine in nature but commanding more respect than anything Yui could ever must belonged to no one but her spirit, of that she was certain. Turning around, she faced the spirit that lived inside her Zanpakuto, standing as tall as she could with her tiny size, and looking into those burning red eyes that loomed over her. The seven foot ninja rat’s white fur rustled in the breeze, and it appeared that the spirit had been waiting for her. It was her statement that was curious though… what did that mean?

“Worthy of what?” She needed clarification.
“Worthy Friend. Worthy Foe. Interesting that he is both.”
“That’s odd. Usually you don’t like anyone I meet.”
“They were not worthy.”

Yui creased her brow in concern. She had met a few people lately that she thought were worth seeing again if she came across a reason… what made him different? She was about to find out as a single shuriken was thrown upwards with a whip of the spirit’s tail, zipping into the air, catching Yui’s eye. In a instant, it impaled itself into the wall of the maze, sticking there. Wait… that was what was different… the vines were gone! When the hell did that happen?!?! She didn’t have time to find out as she regained consciousness and her Inner World faded.

She bleakly opened her eyes and looked up into Mako’s face, slowly gaining a smile. “Damnit… lost again… and now I’m freaking hungry.” As if to emphasize this point, her stomach growled lightly, and she wiggled, signaling she wanted to be let down, and while she was still a bit wobbly, she was able to stand on her own two feet. The one thing that made having such a low amount of Reiatsu nice was that her body was used to handling itself when there wasn’t much of the energy to go off of. As a side effect, she recovered amazingly quickly when she simply had pushed herself too far and hadn’t suffered any real damage. Once she had her legs under her again, she dusted herself off and looked towards Mako again, a half smile on her face. “Still have a long way to go, looks like.” It wasn’t said with humor though, just a single, depressing fact. Still, she had fun fighting him, even if it was enfuriating. “How the hell are you Unseated? With your strength, a seat would be easy, and you could actually make some change in this place.”

The question hadn’t really been referring to anything specifically, but more or less curious why he hadn’t pushed to ascend the ranks where he could truly make a difference in the way the Squad operated. She wouldn’t mind him being her supervisor if she still fell into the squads like that… for now, she simply reported directly to the captain.

630/13130

The feeling was odd. He looked down at her quietly, debating what the sensation he was feeling was-- it was similar to the warmth he felt when Zabel was near-- but this was different, a slight flutter instead of a heavy beating in his chest. How odd-- he couldn't figure it out.

Then, she slowly woke up-- like a cat squirming around wanting out of your lap-- smiling up at him as she commented on being hungry, and he blinked, once-- before it dawned on him.

"Ah. That's what it is," he gently adjusted her, lowering her lightly to the ground as he straightened, "--You're attractive. Cute." As he stated this, a ghost of a smile formed on his lips for a single moment before it faded away slowly. He wasn't certain that was all it was-- but it was definitely a start-- so he was attracted to her, that was fair enough. It wasn't as though he was a stranger to that, but the odd emotion that came along with it this time was different. He'd had plenty of flings-- especially in the academy-- but none of them had meant anything to him in the slightest. He supposed the physical attraction came along with some other emotion he wasn't certain of this time.

For now, he let it be and instead focused on her question-- tilting his head a bit and debating it as he would allow his gaze to lift upward.

"I don't want responsibility, for one. Another is that the reason I'm able to teach you so well is that our personalities match up quite effectively-- most people don't handle how I put things. Finally-- I'm fairly certain our Captain distrusts me as much as I distrust her." With this, he would shrug, that about summarized all the reasons he supposed- tucking his hands behind his back as he glanced down at her.

"She didn't think I was worthy of a seat when I inquired about it. My initial meeting with her was an attempt to get such a thing-- instead, she decided to simply transfer me into an area that I was more comfortable with. I decided it was a foolhardy goal-- I don't have time to placate to her when I could be using that time to improve myself." He also had absolutely no interest in "changing the system" as it were-- it had no effect on him, and he certainly didn't give a damn about this place beyond it being the safest haven for him at the moment. Letting out a slight sigh as he shrugged he would allow his gaze to lower down to her as he arched a brow slightly.

"So I suppose a summary answer to your question is politics and interactions with our Captain." that seemed to wrap it all up nicely, and normally he would have just said that immediately-- but he didn't mind explaining things to Yui, in fact talking with her was pleasant. It was an odd sensation-- even talking with Yuuta grated on his nerves sometimes, he was too upbeat and happy-- they'd had their fair share of clashes due to that even if they were close. But he supposed that thanks to Yui being similar to him-- but different enough to be unique-- they meshed to a far greater degree.

It was odd-- that sensation in his chest was back, his brow furrowed, just slightly as he debated the meaning behind that.

"But, you're hungry no? What would you like to eat?" his brow arched a bit, figuring he could at least buy her a meal-- though then again, recalling how other women had reacted after he had called them attractive, that may lead to other interactions as well.

Not that he was opposed to that by any means-- he simply didn't wish to assume. There was no reason she would return the feeling, after all. He was quite content just talking with her while she ate, in all honesty.

---

Post Words: 665
Total Words: 13,054

He seemed to make some kind of weird discovery whenever he had set her down, and she turned to listen to what this could be. She anticipated him to start picking apart her form or style in combat, so when he finally did speak, she couldn’t help but blink, twice, hard, and take a step back. Why did he… I mean, it WAS Mako, so it wasn’t like he was saying it out of malice as a cruel prank. But the way he said it made it seem like he had just discovered a new breed of fish in his pond… what the absolute hell was Yui supposed to make of that? First was the wording… he used attractive, and then cute as his refinement of what he was trying to say. But when you combined that with how it was said, he could have easily just been stating that he was having a hard time fighting a ‘cute little girl’.

So, Yui fell back on her default emotion when she was confused, and her little hands balled into fists. It was obvious to anyone that she wasn’t actually angry, but conflicted, but it didn’t stop her from reacting the way she did. With a quick and silent Flash Step, she was above him, wrapping her legs around his neck in a hold and lightly punching him in the head. “Oh I’m cute Huh!? Like some sort of doll? I’ll kick your ass!” There was two purposes of this though… he couldn’t see her face anymore while she pummeled his head with her little fists, which was good considering that the shade her face was at now was close to a tomato. Once the little tantrum had passed and she regained her natural completion, she quickly released him and stood on her own two feet, not shaking at all anymore as she was recovering quickly.

She listened carefully about what he was saying, and while he certainly could understand where he was coming from, she couldn’t help but start getting a little angry in a much more legitimate manner than earlier. Once he was done, she waited a moment and then moved to a pouch that she had brought with her from home, having packed it before they left. “These will work for now,” she said simply, but there was something in her tone that hinted at her irritation. She pulled out a handful of weird, plastic wrapped bars and tossed one towards Mako, willing to share one of the five she had grabbed at least. They were protein bars, each considered a ‘meal on the go’ and coated in chocolate for flavor. Yui tore into the first one as she prepared her retort.

“That is selfish.” She wouldn’t leave that comment there, and it was obvious she wasn’t saying this to be hurtful, but her own experiences wouldn’t let her leave it at that. “That kind of mentality is the reason that the people in charge get away with anything they want. Why people like me can’t make a freaking move without divine intervention. I would have been glad to serve under you, and it’s obvious you know how to teach. She doesn’t have to trust you implicitly. As far as how you talk, it does take some getting used to, but after a little bit of getting to know you…” a pause as she smiled to him again, “you aren’t so bad or hard to understand.”

That last bit had lost all traces of anger. She couldn’t stay mad at him. And that, in and of itself, was a feat, because this vindictive little Shinigami had a reputation for holding a grudge over some of the smallest, dumbest things in the book. She settled down a bit, and opened her second ‘meal’ and began to tear through it as well. They tasted like chocolate and peanut butter, but they were loaded with nutrition that kept people going when they weren’t able to make time for a real meal.

670/13800

Mako blinked-- the response she offered was an odd one-- shunpouing to his head and beating on him with an obvious lack of intent to kill-- so he didn't respond as her small legs wrapped around him and she beat him, apparently irritated and embarrassed by his wording. Ah-- she thought he was comparing her to a doll. Curiously he waited for her tantrum to finish-- and when she released him, he calmly reached up and caught her before she could totally land, catching her while she was still hanging half-off him as her face was near his own-- he tilted his head a bit to the side-- and stated, quite bluntly.

"I wouldn't find a doll attractive. I'm saying that I'm physically attracted to you sexually." The words cut straight to the chase, without any hesitation or embarrassment-- with that, he would allow her to slip down. His hands lightly tucking behind his back as he glanced down at her.

"Don't worry about it, however, I don't expect you to respond to that in any way. It was just a realization." He shrugged slightly-- he didn't intend to act on such feelings unless she showed the signs that she wanted him to do so-- that was one benefit at least when it came to his sensory capabilities. He could tell he had embarrassed her, but that didn't really give him enough information on her exact feelings. For all he knew she was an innocent soul that had no idea how to properly react to such a statement.

However, things seemed to move along simply enough-- catching the bar as it was tossed and lightly turning it between his fingers as she called him selfish, stating that she would have been happy to serve under him, that his thinking process was the reason that people like her hadn't been able to make any moves-- and he would slowly allow his gaze to lift up.

"I can't pretend to understand that," he stated simply as he would then allow his gaze to lower slowly to look into her own eyes, his eyes held a darkness to them. An emptiness that only appeared rarely, but still lingered from his darker times.

"I'm selfish-- everyone is. Why would I do something to help everyone? It benefits me in no way-- they're all going to die, or never care about me anyway." He would shrug, and his gaze slid to the bar instead as he lifted it toward his mouth, "--Besides, as much as you keep saying I'm a good teacher or that you'd follow me, no one else would-- for good reason. Normal people instinctively stay away from monsters." The words were quieter than before, but they clearly came from a dark place-- his tone, usually bland, held a tone that could only be described as loathing-- and it was clearly not just for other people.

The silence that followed this statement made it clear she was either uncertain how to respond, or was too fragile for such thoughts-- either way, he would leave it at that and let her process however she wished as he arched a single slim brow at her while she held the bars in her hands, but appeared to be frozen. He briefly wondered if that had been too blunt-- but he didn't wish to have her have any degree of confusion, better to be clear and concise with these things he had learned quite early on.

---

Post Words: 579
Total Words: 13,633

Yui was a little off-put by him grabbing her and keeping her from getting away from him, so much so, that what he said didn’t exactly register right away… not until she had offloaded what was on her mind. Part of this was the ‘matter of fact’ way he had said it, without a hint of emotion or hesitation, but another was that she didn’t quite believe the words themselves, and on a subconscious level, she had pushed that aside to deal with what was pissing her off. She saw that darkness in his eyes, that odd empty space that spoke of pain and anguish that was unspoken. He began his own little rant, and by the time he was done, Yui was shaking and her spiritual pressure was present, but there was something odd about it. Normally, it took the shape of a ghostly deep pink flame… but this time, it was a mere outline around her body, something very odd and off putting about it as it didn’t flare like normal.

“Shut it.”

She couldn’t take anymore… not a single more word. “You say one more word to bring yourself down, I’ll shove my fist in your mouth.” The grass that was near her feet lay flat and then seemed to dance away from the earth, but by some invisible blade… not with the force of her spiritual pressure, but the sheer seriousness and intent that was coming from it. She walked up to him, and once again, her eyes were completely red, but this time they didn’t look out of focus, and it was obvious that Yui was the one staring him down. She reached up, grabbing his shirt, and wrenched him down so that his face was within a hair’s breadth away from her own, and he could feel her trembling.

As she drew her breath to speak, a part of her true nature coming to light in a dark and disturbing way… something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was an anger that was completely fueled by the pain of her own past, combining with the pain of the present moment and the pain she felt from his eyes. It was too much to handle at the moment, and she was angered to the point that this moment would make or break the short friendship that they had established.

“People Die. You do not get the right to blame them for abandoning you for that. There was a deathly seriousness in her tone, but there was no actual hostile intent coming from her directed towards him. No, they were directed at his train of thought. This was completely different from her rants before, full of base-line emotions. This was coming from somewhere deep, somewhere painful. “And I care about you, so that’s not an excuse either. I’ve seen monsters. Been around them my entire life. Fought them and been beaten by them to the brink of death. They all wore the faces that would be called ‘ally’ by anyone else. I know how that is… so I can tell you as a fact… you are not a monster. Not really. Dark. Damaged. Hurt. I can feel that much… but not a Monster.” She finally released him, taking a step back… but her eyes and aura didn’t change. This conversation was nothing but utterly serious… and would remain that way until it was complete.

Certainly, the bit about him having a physical attraction was a part of what was going to come back and rear it’s head later, but it would have to wait until things returned to normal.

606/14406

Mako watched the reiatsu rear its head-- and watched as she stormed forward, watched as she grabbed him by the collar and wrenched him down-- and still, his dead eyes stared into the girls own. She ranted at him, she spouted shit he didn't care about-- and for a brief moment, he resisted laughter playing from his lips. He barely contained his laughter, keeping his eyes staring down into her own-- he let her continue as she called him damaged, and hurt. Then-- went so far as to say he wasn't a "monster".

What did this girl know about him? What fraction of his being had she seen that she thought she could make such a claim? His eyes stared into her own-- and for a brief moment, all life around them drew silent. Birds chirps halted, insects noises halted-- and the reason became apparent. The shadows around them seemed to darken, and Mako's eyes-- dead-- empty-- stared down into her own as his own reiatsu brushed her own. Then-- it swallowed it. The smell of rotting flesh, of death, blood, and decay began to flow from him-- filling her nostrils as the distant sounds of screams of terror-- of begging for the pain to stop echoed around them.

A chill filling the air, stemming from the man's reiatsu-- and through the contact she held with him, the nightmares began-- flickering in the corner of her eye. Shadows took shape around her, a child being beaten, abused, forced down as a man removed his clothing and lowered toward the wailing boy. The boy being stabbed-- sexually abused-- burned-- beaten-- all of it flashing through the shadows as the smells filled the air. Then, the screams of the child turned to screams of pain from the man-- the gurgling of a throat being slit after the man was tortured in return.

One man's scream became ten-- then hundreds-- then thousands. Rivers of blood, the period of the Rukongai as he had begun to grow stronger-- the runs he had gone on in the academy years to slaughter-- never enough. Never enough blood, never enough pain, make the world hurt-- make it feel the suffering-- the screams echoed out from the darkness, begging for mercy-- a mercy that never came until he had forced them to take their own lives.

Then-- like a single candle in the wind-- it all disappeared. It had only lasted a few brief seconds-- but for those few brief seconds, Mako's guard had lowered, and a brief glimpse, into a tiny part of his true self, had shown through to smash back and swallow her burning rage-- in a bottomless pit of emptiness, cold, and unending loathing. Slowly, he straightened as she released him-- his eyes staring down into her own, as a single question filled the air as if what had happened hadn't ever occurred.

"Are you done now?" he inquired simply, straightening the collar of his shirt that she had ruffled in her fit before he would slowly roll his shoulders.

"I will say, you've misunderstood something-- I couldn't care less if they "abandoned me"-- because I don't care if they die, either," he didn't say this as an excuse, or out of some childish denial-- he quite simply, couldn't care less about those around him. Besides a very few chosen-- they were all meatshields, and nothing more.

"It's quite clear that our opinions on this are completely different-- if you're unable to accept that, then it's fine, but there's no point bringing up the subject if it's just going to get you angry. I'll make note not to mention anything about it again in future interactions." the voice was calm, he barely addressed what she had ranted at him-- because to him it was clear she was trying to throw anger she had bottled up, pain she was suffering, at him just because she didn't like the way he thought. He wanted nothing to do with something like that-- how she was still alive with all of that emotion was beyond him.

It seemed so tiring, caring about so much when it didn't even matter in the end.

---

Post Words: 694
Total Words: 14,327

To say that she wasn’t surprised would have been a lie. It started with the dead silence swallowing them up for a moment, and then she felt his spiritual pressure in force for the first time and realized exactly what was happening. She had made a bold claim, that she knew, and he was going to see if she felt the same after experiencing it for herself. She steeled herself as best she could as it happened, and didn’t make any attempt to resist it, and instead used her sixth sense to embrace it and study the patterns to try to understand them better.

The darkening shadows were noted, but she didn’t change anything about her face just yet in reaction… and then the smell hit her. She had smelled it before, sent to investigate murders before, and identified it immediately as the scent of death, of rotting corpses. The screams were the next thing, filling her senses with things that typically were synonymous with pain… and still she was able to remain unflinching. Someone screaming into the night, pleading for the pain to come to an end… that one struck her just a little bit, and she turned her eyes inwards, knowing all too well that she had cried at night for the same thing for a wholly different reason. Yui felt goosebumps rise on her skin and suddenly she was there, watching a horrific set of scenes flash through her vision, and she clenched her small fists on her sides. They remained clenched even when the pain had taken a turn, as the boy sought his revenge.

She knew this all too well. Rukongai, the outer districts, they were often like this. Nothing but a scarred battleground where it was kill or be killed. She often found children here and helped them improve their situation so they could survive, trying with what little she could to make a difference. So that had done it. Why he had lost faith not only in others, but in emotions all together. This was the definition of his terror, the ‘trigger’ he had spoken of, and it was likely just a glimpse. She had probably only seen the tip of the iceburg as rivers of blood pushed past her and soaked her clothes, and all without blinking. She would not ignore the little part of his soul he had finally been willing to bare after so much pushing and trying to get him to open up. Instead, she would just have to accept it, and in turn, accept him, as he was. Everyone had their own demons… these were his, and he had been kind enough to bare them to her.

Her rage hadn’t gone anywhere when he had pushed his spiritual pressure upon her… if anything, it was even more intense but this time, it was tempered like hammered steel. She stood there, still staring at him, barely even allowing herself to blink, her eyes still red. He asked her if she was done… and while she wanted to respond immediately, she felt like he had more to say, and remained silent for the moment. He spoke that he didn’t care about anyone around him, and that was why it didn’t matter. Given what she had just seen, she could understand that; it was a defense mechanism and a way for him to justify lashing out and trying to share his pain upon others. It wasn’t until he stated that he wouldn’t bring it up again that she felt a stab of pain run through her, and she couldn’t stand that. She had been fine through everything, right until he had said that he wouldn’t ever let her in to see what he was really about anymore.

She blinked, the red fading from her eyes… her violet gaze returning, fists unclenching. “Sorry… that isn’t going to work.” Her tone was completely different… rage that had been so intense a moment ago seemingly snuffed out in an instant. “You don’t get to choose who cares about you… and I don’t care if you don’t care about me in return, because that’s something I’ve long since gotten used to. I’m making a choice to care about you, and that means I am going to accept you as you are. Your demons are similar to my own… and you chose a different path from that pain. That’s all there is to it.” His were far more sinister, and part of her felt guilty, but another wouldn’t allow for such trivial things like comparing her own pain to someone else’s. “I’m going to prove it to you… Monsters Prey on the Weak. You aren’t a Monster, or you would have hurt me more than just a few harsh words… but please… don’t shut me out just yet. Not until I get that chance to prove it to you. I won’t force the subject, but in turn, you can’t bite your tongue if you want to vent. Put just a small bit of trust in me, at least that far.” Her words were sincere and came from her soul, but had a bit of pain in them as well.

863/15269

She flinched briefly, but she stared at him through the brief lapse in his guard, he had no way of knowing how much she had felt-- he only knew that it clearly hadn't been much. Instead, she remained silent all the way up to the point of her apology and comment that what he had said "wasn't going to work"-- causing him to stare down at her. The rage was gone, snuffed out like a flame as hints of pain, and sadness drifted from her instead-- but there was no reason for either. Illogical.

Her words shed some degree of light on it all-- that she wanted to care about him. It was Yuuta all over again, but the reasoning was different-- Yuuta had stuck his nose where it hadn't belonged purely due to his selfish desires to help others so that he himself could feel good. This girl had no such psychological troubles. Instead, she said what he had already felt-- that they were similar, at least in some ways-- no one person was ever going to be exactly alike.

He didn't doubt that his pain was greater than her own. But that didn't mean she couldn't understand-- unlike when Yuuta just accepted him, wholeheartedly, without any doubt or hesitation-- even when he saw him at his worst-- she wanted to understand him. It was a different angle, she wanted to prove something to him-- something that didn't matter to him in the slightest. Big violet eyes stared up into his own and he felt a slight tightening in his chest once more.

That feeling returning-- one he didn't understand, one he didn't want.

"No one gets my trust," he stated simply as he glanced down at her, not certain how to deal with the tightness-- with the pressure that he felt stirring in his chest. It was dangerous and unnatural-- slowly he let his gaze break away from her own. How could she be so damn forward, so emotional and intense twenty-four seven? You'd think by now the stress would have killed her, and yet here she was.

"I'm not going to "open up" when I don't have anything to open up about-- you're trying to prove something that doesn't matter," slowly his eyes lowered to focus back into the violet orbs. "--But if you want to stick around I already told you I didn't care, didn't I? I'll repeat what I already said-- don't get upset when something blows up in your face because of how I am."

With this, Mako would shrug, his gaze moving to the side once more.

"It's how things always go anyway," If she wanted to try to be "more" to him, then he wouldn't try to stop her-- it would be a pointless exercise, he wasn't able to control people. Whatever choice she decided on it was her own, it didn't mean he intended to encourage it in the slightest. Yet still, he felt that pressure in his chest-- he didn't like it. He didn't understand it-- anything but mysteries that held no purpose.

Diluted emotions that he didn't know how to handle, it was a sensation that felt familiar, and yet new-- he wasn't certain what to make of it, strong emotions were such a rarity for him that usually, he was able to make a connection. But this was different, he wasn't sure how to express it properly just yet.

Instead, he waited for her inevitable response-- he didn't doubt that his words would hurt her and that it was entirely possible she would leave. He was already prepared for that reaction like he always was. However, the girl was so damn stubborn it was possible that she would try anyway-- and well-- he supposed that was fine.

---

Post Words: 629
Total Words: 14,956

“No one gets my trust,”

Oh yea? I wasn’t asking your permission. I’ll use a crowbar if I have to. Just like that, the anger and the sadness fused together and became the steel of determination, cooled and tempered. She had just turned this aspect of Mako into a challenge, but not one that she could overcome simply by attacking it over and over again, wearing it down. This was a psychological challenge, to take someone who was obviously more damaged and broken than herself and build them up, make them into a real person again who could care about other people. If she could do that, she could consider herself a step closer to becoming a better person in her own right; she was capable of caring for others, she just hadn’t had a reason to.

She did now.

He claimed that he didn’t have anything to ‘open up’ about, and if she wasn’t in the middle of a conversation that was as serious as a life or death battle, she would have been the one laughing. She had seen into his soul, just for a moment, and seen what she could only depict as a snapshot of his bloody past, and knew that he had bottled them up. Fear ruled him… she honestly thought that perhaps he was even scared of her in some ways, scared to trust her even slightly because that would make him vulnerable. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, but it does to me, and that’s all I need… she thought silently, her determination on this goal strengthening yet again.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily… my mind is made up. I’m going to accept you, as is, and try to understand you. Friends don’t abandon each other because their personality is different. And you telling me that ‘that’s how it always goes’ just makes me want to prove you wrong… at least this once.” There was an emphasis on that word, because that was the best way to depict what was happening here. Part of her knew that this could easily end badly, because she was opening up to him, knowing full well that she was probably going to get hurt. That was fine, because she had been hurt over her entire life and never broken, and this would be no different, especially when that pain had reason behind it aside selfishness. She knew this was going to hurt, but damnit, what was new? At least she had something worth striving through that pain for. But it was that last sentence that stood out more than anything else that she had said.

It was said with a softness, a kindness she hadn’t displayed yet to him… how she addressed a friend.

In Yui’s little part of her world, she simply would accept the risks and try to see if she could be his friend, and see what she could do to make it to where he felt comfortable enough to see her in the same light. But that brought her back to a topic that she definitely had not forgotten about, but had taken a back seat to everything else. “And why in the name of the Gotei would you ever state that you had a physical attraction to a girl like they discovered a new type of plant?! We need to work on your people skills…” Her hands went to her hips as she widened her eyes and bared the words at him like he was being accused of some minor crime and she wanted answers.

Through those words though, there was a gentle smile playing itself on her face, and her reiatsu was finally calm again. She had made up her mind already, and things were already in motion in her little circle of control that she could claim, mostly her mentality regarding Mako and how she was going to interact with him from now on.

657/15926

"Can't get rid of me, she says-- when I specifically said do what you want," he shook his head slightly, slight bemusement decorating his expression as he simply shrugged when she explained in a different tone that she wanted to prove him wrong, he shrugged once more.

"Do as you like," he stated simply, before moving forward, his hands settling behind his back-- before he could begin walking, however, her hands went to her hips and she demanded an answer that he thought was obvious. Turning back to look at her he blinked a few times slowly, was she a virgin after all then? Did she not understand what he had meant, literally? Or just embarrassed by his bluntness?

He decided answering her directly was the most logical route, leaving no room for misunderstandings at all.

"Why else would I say it? Because I want to have sex with you, obviously. You know-- fuck you, bend you over, make you squeal and moan?" one of those had to click, he had no idea how sheltered the girl may be but she certainly had to understand what he was saying if nothing else. Arching a brow slightly at her he would allow his hands to lift, shrugging a bit.

"But as I said, you need not reappropriate the feelings-- most of my partners don't last due to my acquired tastes." Stating this casually, as ever, he would then glance around them slowly-- there was time for training, but the timing felt wrong for it. A brief frown decorating his face, causing the corners of his mouth to lower as he debated what to do.

"I suppose we could go back to my home," he pondered idly-- continuing the conversation as if nothing had been said of note, as he instead waited patiently for her to agree or disagree with the idea. If she wished to just go back to her own home, that would work just as well.

---

Post Words: 327
Total Words: 15,283

She smirked lightly as he deferred to her statement, knowing that the little Shinigami had made it clear that he wasn’t going to be able to shake her off his trail because he was blunt. She would do what she wanted, thank you very much, and he would have to deal with it. If anything, she wondered if it would be Yui herself that would make him not want anything to do with her and forcefully part ways. When asked about the bluntness of what he said before, he seemed confused as to why she was asking the question…

And then Yui’s jaw metaphorically hit the ground, utter shock passing over her features. Yui had never been with anyone because no one could usually handle her personality combined with the fact that most people didn’t like to associate with the ‘Queen of Failure’. It would damage their reputation to see her as anything but trash, but this guy… she couldn’t even quite be mad at it. It was actually kind of impressive in its own right on the level of openness and bluntness he was able to exhibit. How could he be so very open about something like this, and yet completely conceal off anything else? And again, he said it without a hint of emotion! What the hell? Nope, she couldn’t handle this right now… she needed a break.

Work on people skills… no, she needed to teach him how to know what to say and when to say it, sure, but more than that, the root of the problem was the lack of emotion. Still, this was more than she could handle at the moment, and it had been a hell of a rollercoaster so far. And what possessed him to want to do anything with her? She wasn’t ‘physically attractive’ in any typical way. Nope, wrong train of thought. She shook her head forcefully as he asked if she wanted to come to his house. “NOI’MFINESEEYOUTOMORROWBYE!”

She then pushed off with a Shunpo that was probably the fastest possible by any Shinigami, propelled by the fact that her face was now more red than a stop sign and not stopping for anything.

But with a gentle smile on her face. What a weirdo...

---

{{{THREAD EXIT}}}
376/16302
326GP