An Unexpected Reunion [Masquerade Ball, Private]

[Kazu]

He couldn't believe how well this night was going for him. As the young masked man opened the door for his dance partner, who was following close behind him, he felt the cool brisk air rush past them. As the two of them walked out into the night, Kotsuko couldn't believe how smoothly things had been so far. This girl was fun to be with, and she seemed rather enchanted with him as well. What was that last move of hers about, if not that? She had leaned in rather close to him, almost nervously close. She was keeping him on his toes, and he couldn't help but get an airy feeling inside of him because of it. This was new territory for the young man, and it intrigued him greatly. Walking alongside the young woman, the two seemed to find a spot around the corner from the exit where they would be able to smoke. It was a quiet area, with a good deal of light and a wonderful view of the village below. Above them, the ornate onyx tower sparkled brilliantly in the light of the moon and the stars. "Such a beauty to behold. This night could learn a thing or two from you." Lame jokes aside, the young man leaned himself against the wall next to the chestnut haired girl. Digging out of his pocket a packet of cigarettes, the young man offered one to the self-described femme fatale. His hand back into his pocket, he flicked open a metal lighter and sparked on a tiny flame. Holding it up for her, he waited for the young woman to light her cigarette before shutting the case closed. "Well, I suppose the mystery is over then. I can't quite join you with this mask in the way. It's a pity you never figured out who I was on your own!"

A slight chuckle escaped his lips as Kotsuko slowly slid the mask off his face with his one hand. As the white porcelain left his face, his hair began to fall out over his forehead in a mess. The cloud grey locks certainly resembled their color's namesake, and his grey jewels of eyes were just as intense as before. Only this time, there was the added benefit of his higher cheekbones and sharp brow. His face was smooth and kind, but his eyes continued to hold that intensity. His lips curled into a small smirk, his eyes searching into the mystery woman's as he let her gaze at who he was. "You know, we won't be able to know whether I'm more handsome than you are beautiful if I don't get to see your face. Besides, not knowing who's behind that mask is driving me crazy." A slight wink and a smile crossed over Kotsuko's face as he retrieved a cigarette for himself. Breaking eye contact with his beautiful companion for but a moment, Kotsuko used his lighter to ignite his own cigarette too. Inhaling a large breath of smoke, the young man allowed the wispy white smoke to escape out of his mouth and float up into the air, only to dissolve into nothingness. His eyes were once again trained on his attractive companion, hoping that she'd return the favor and reveal herself.

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

The cool night air kissed her skin a light shade of red, as if she had freshly applied blush, it was a wonderful night in a difficult village. A night that allowed the killers and the ghouls to temporarily forget what they were in favor of taking a human visage for the slightest of times, while she didn't intend to allow herself to be sucked into the feeling of being a normal human being like the others of the night, yet it happened none the less and for the slightest of times Chiyoko was reminded that she was but a young woman in a crimson sodden world. It was pleasantly quiet outside of the party, the lack of aristocracy surrounding her was also pleasant as she tried to steal quick glances at the masked man she found herself with, still unsure of where she knew him from. His charm carried over from the inside of the party as he spoke she allowed a brief but sincere smirk at his playfulness, his company was interesting if nothing else, "I think I could teach it a couple of things, though a lady has to hold onto a few of her secrets." her gaze glanced down toward the cigarette the man brandished, pinching it between her thumb and finger as her smile faded. Mechanically she removed it's filter tossing it off toward the side before repacking the loose strands of tobacco that spilled from the edge. Leaning in she inhaled as the fire from the man's lighter kissed the end of her cigarette, drawing back as plumes of gray smoke escaped her nostrils as he exclaimed she hadn't been able to figure out who he was, which she hadn't, "Ah, and just as I was deducing your identity, my dear Watson." it seemed their charade was coming to an end as she eyed him expectantly, awaiting the moment of his reveal.


A glimmer encircled her eye as she knew instantly who the man was, and that it had been years since they had last met, far too long. She refused herself the luxury of a smile, that would ruin the fun she could have making him guess as to who she was, he had already committed to a fatal flaw in revealing himself first, and surely he could spare a few moments of teasing before she made her grand reveal. For a brief moment she retraced her thoughts in an attempt to remember his correct name, and not the play-name she had given him in the years before and while it proved to be bit difficult she managed to succeed after a deep drag on her cigarette, simpering at his comment before she began to make her move. "Do you remember your time in the academy, Kotsuko? I remember my time well enough, the lectures from Bii-Ryu on the psychological effects of our job. As I remember, you fell asleep in the class, though I can't blame you. He did like to ramble on." without thought she switched the cigarette from her left hand to her right, it was only decent to give the man what he wanted, "So Snowy, it's been a few years since we've met. I had both eyes and a fair amount less scars when we sat in that library." her left hand crept under her mask cupping around her missing eye as to not give the poor boy a fright. Her right quickly peeled the mask upward allowing it to rest atop her head as she stared back toward an old friend. The grin she had forced away earlier soon returned to the corners of her lips as she pressed the cigarette back between her gilded lips, "I see you've fared a bit better in terms of battle wounds over the past few years, always were a bit of a pretty boy." the girl lightly jibed with a slight chuckle.


[MFT]

 

[Kazu]

While the teasing was cute, it soon dissolved into surprise as his companion's identity became clear. At first he was unsure how she knew how he'd fallen asleep in class—this had to have been four or five years ago, now. But the nickname had stuck with him. He had always remembered that day, hoping that they might cross paths again. This was a big village, after all, and the two of them led very difficult lives. Being a shinobi doesn't leave a lot of room for a social life. The fact that they'd been able to run into each other like this was almost unbelievable, and he was enjoying every moment of it. When she removed her mask, covering one of her eyes with her hand, the young man cocked his head slightly. When she'd finished, he merely brought one of his hands up to hers. Slowly peeling away the hand that covered her missing eye, Ko showed no signs of flinching. He smiled, a light and joking tone in his voice as he spoke, "Well, guess I need to find a new nickname for you. I can't very well call you Two-Eyes anymore, can I?" He just looked at her for a moment, taking in the fact that he was actually getting the chance to spend time with this girl who had been the first to show him the mischievous side of this world. He took another drag from his cigarette. "You've never looked so cool before. Those scars help to make you look scarier. Scarier is way better than sexier." Shifting himself against the wall, he turned his body to face her completely. She was occupying his full attention right now. "However, if it truly bothers you I could always apply to get a replacement for you at the Aesculapium? I'm an Medic in Training now, and I could probably even do the procedure myself." This was hardly chit-chat material, and they'd perhaps deviated away from the playful banter they'd had earlier, but the situation had changed since then. A minute ago they weren't old acquaintances. They had years of catching up to do now.

"Either way, it seems you've been busy these last few years. What, have you been recruited by the ANBU?" The young man chuckled slightly at his own quip. "Though, I suppose you couldn't tell me even if you were." With that he let the silence creep in, that odd stillness where you could merely reflect on things. What an odd situation to find oneself in, having to introduce yourself to someone whom you already know. Ko wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be doing anymore. He merely smiled at the odd circumstance and took another pull of his cigarette. "What now? Do we go somewhere? Do we talk about everything we've done since that day? Do we try to pretend this is the first time we've met?" Ko was unsure how to handle such an odd situation. This wasn't something that happened even rarely, so how was he supposed to know what to do? It's like seeing a ghost from your past, whom you never expect to see again. He was used to seeing ghosts by now, but not one like this. Not a ghost which he'd started to become infatuated with. "This can't be weird just for me, can it?"

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

Nerves rocketed throughout her as the boy moved his hand toward her, revealing a disfigurement which, aside from family, only two others had seen since her hospital release. Her instincts told her hands to lunge out toward the boy, to push him away and remove herself from the situation which had turned from fun to being quite real, though she managed to stave away her instincts keeping a brave smile throughout the ordeal, even managing to give a brief laugh at Kotsuko's joke. He was right though, she needed a new nickname and one seemed to be an apparent choice from moving from Two-Eyes to One-Eye, though perhaps that was a bit too obvious, then again it wasn't like she had dug into her inner wit to give Snowy his own nickname. "Well, I think we both know what the obvious choice would be, go on then, I've got pretty thick skin." Gently she pulled her hand from his grasp, despite the circumstances she could not remember back to a time where she had been so close to a boy, well save for Osu, but I mean, he doesn't count. It was, admittedly, a bit nerve wracking for some reason, though her exterior managed to remain as calm and poise as she had been in the minutes before. Flicking the ash from her cigarette she took another drag, one quicker than the previous and harder as well burning a good quarter away in one puff, a sign of her nerves no doubt.

Listening to the boy once again she couldn't help but briefly chortle, Kotsuko was certainly as interesting as she remembered from years previous, with a roll of her eye she had to comment on the merits of being scary versus sexy, that and the fact that she was almost certain he was poking a bit of fun at her whether intentional or not, "Now I just think you're poking a bit of fun at me, pretty boy. Scary is great and all until you accidentally frighten the piss out of your niece when she doesn't realize someone's changing in the bathroom, poor girl couldn't sleep for a week." that situation had actually been quite hilarious to her, but this was beside the point. Speaking of frightening the piss out of people it seemed a good idea that Chiquita covered herself, having brought her eye patch just in case, "Speaking of scaring people, suppose I should cover myself. Common decency and all that shit." turning slightly from the boy as to avoid any potential awkward mishap she quickly dove into her inner garments grabbing the eye patch from the left side of her bra. Her mask had began to irritate her nose a bit, and she didn't particularly want to be a kitty-cat for the rest of the night, instead the eye patch would do.

Soon their chat moved to a rather inevitable topic when dealing with the medics in the village, having lost an eye in the line of duty the higher-ups had offered a replacement of sorts, though she had turned it down at the time and she still had a mind to, though perhaps it was time to move on and allow someone to go through with a reconstructive procedure of some sort or other. She decided at the very least to give it a bit of thought, with a slight sigh she pressed the cigarette to her lips once again watching as it's remainder turned to ash between her fingers before flicking it away as she pondered his offer, "It doesn't bother me all that much anymore, I mean the lack of depth-perception really blows, but you get used to that." once again she paused with a look of contemplation resting upon her face, an attempt as to explain why she wouldn't jump at the chance to have a set of eyes again, "I could have gotten it replaced a while back, but I chose not to. It's a good reminder that every action has a consequence, benevolent or malign. That said, I'll think about it." it seemed their conversation had turned serious with a quickness.

Luckily it seemed to be coming to a close as he joked about some more, though with the quantity of ridiculously stupid and dangerous missions she had completed over the last few years she might as well have been inducted into the ANBU, "Ah, you know the standard shinobi affairs, fighting Tenouzan squadrons, international espionage, marked as a traitor to the state for a little while. That was fun." yeah, nothing like being stuck on an opiate ship for weeks on end while gearing up to break into a supermax prison. Even her banter could not save them from the moments of silence that followed, she was just as unsure of the situation as he was, it wasn't very often you saw someone from years ago in the Shinobi world, often times they had long since died. "I'm not really sure what we do from here, pretty new to this whole thing too. I could always use someone to drink with, preferably away from the aristocracy." Ugh, the upper class. The whole situation was pretty strange, but then again they lived in a world filled with zombies, murderers, people shooting flames from their taint, and a lot of other weird shit, so in the grand scheme of things...Not so weird. Though she certainly hadn't expected to ever see Snowy again, having half expected he had died at some point or others as she assumed everyone else from her class had, that mortality rate was absolutely crazy. "It's definitely strange, one of those one in ten million meetings. To be honest I just kind of figured everyone from our graduating class was gone, but out of everyone I'm glad you made it out too, Snowy." A strange wave of emotion could be felt in the base of the young girl's stomach, and without further thought she moved in to give a ghost from the past a rather awkward but genuine hug.


"Now drinks, we can catch up over shochu." Removing herself from the man she tepidly awaited his response, filled with the odd feelings of youth.



[MFT]

 

[Kazu]

BGM: Flirting With Death

Ko chuckled at her response to his mention of her nickname, and to his gaze. She was trying very hard to hide how nervous she really was, but he saw through her acting as if it were nothing more than stocking fabric. His smile was subtle and playful, indicative of his playful spirit. He was enjoying this little game of theirs. "Yes, it's certainly the most obvious. However, that also makes it the least entertaining." He gave her a light-hearted shrug, trying to show her his joking nature. "I'll think of something. Failing that, however, I think I'll just have to call you Cyclops. I'll be damned if I'm to tease you with a name as tacky as 'One-Eye.'" As he stood there, watching this ghost from his past, he couldn't help but find her subtle discomfort amusing. It was kind of cute watching her so uncomfortably nervous, being in a situation which she was so hopelessly unaccustomed to. The way she smoked a quarter of her cigarette in one pull was enough proof for Kotsuko that she was nervous. Still, she was doing a really god job at pretending otherwise.

As she mentioned covering up her scary visage, the young man politely took his arm back to give her room. He averted his eyes while she turned around to retrieve her eye patch, though that wouldn't stop him from trying to sneak a quick peek out of the corner of his eyes. Curious to the bitter end, it seemed. As she fashioned the fabric over her empty eye socket, explaining why she'd rather keep the battle trophy, Ko couldn't help but admire her a bit. "That's quite noble. A reminder like that would do you well to not get killed. I admire your guts." Ko's eyes followed her movements with a sly wistfulness, watching the way in which she would react to this rather odd situation. There was an odd feeling in the air, a kind of energy that Ko couldn't deny. A kind of attraction, yet repulsion all at the same time. It didn't make any sense to the young man, but right now he didn't really care. Her joking nature was intoxicating. Her gaze was captivating. Her presence was electrifying. The fact that they were both alive, after all of these years...

She brought up exactly what he was thinking. How crazy was it that out of everyone, they were the two he knew of in his class to still be here today? The shinobi world was truly cruel. It was important to latch onto those you care about, lest they be ripped from your life forever. "I...I'm glad it was you that made it too. I always, well...you've always been rather..." This was getting a little embarrassing. Ko was beginning to lose that suave demeanour he'd been holding onto this entire time, his true nature as an adolescent boy beginning to show. Sure, they may be emotionally hardened to the feats of battle—fear, pain, remorse, hesitation, and guilt were all long beaten out of them. Those were easy to deal with now. But tenderness? How could they be anything but younglings in this field? The awkward and strange mood was cut short, however, when the girl reached out and embraced the young man in a tender and heartfelt hug. At first he didn't know what to do, caught off guard by such a genuine display. A moment later, though, he wrapped his arms around her as well. He felt her warm body in his arms, the soft feeling of her clothes making his fingertips tingle. He let the scent of her hair permeate his nostrils, and the sound of her breathing fill his ears. He did everything he could to cherish that moment, half-tempted to Snapshot this moment so he could relive it later. But alas, the hug could not last forever. They eventually broke apart, with Chiyoko being the one to suggest drinks. Ko gave her a wolfish smile, loving the way she thought. "Definitely. I know a pretty good place." And with that he finished his cigarette, dropping it to the ground and stamping out the butt. He grabbed her hand in his, leading her with him into the night.

---

The tavern bars swung open, revealing a very nice and rustic looking bar. Wooden counter tops, dark oak stools with leather seating, and an incredibly well stocked cabinet of all sorts of liquors and brews. They must have had at least two dozen different kinds of Kelmurian Beer, and Firewhiskey imported all the way from Fire Country. This was an establishment for both the haggard and the high-class patrons, the well to-do sitting in their booths in the back and the lively patrons of song and dance in the front and around the bar. It was a nice little place Ko had found a year or two back. As he welcomed his guest in with him, he proudly looked around the establishment as if he owned the place. "They call this place The Kirin's Mane. I've taken a liking to this spot, especially because of their assorted brews. Come on, let's grab a drink." Leading Chiyoko with him, Ko grabbed a spot right up next to the bar so that the two of them could do what they came here to do: get piss drunk together. Motioning to the bartender, Kotsuko called for a bottle of shochu so that they could start the night with toasts. As the bottle was placed in front of the two, Ko would pour them both a glass with a wicked smile on his face. Handing one of them to his female companion, Kotsuko would raise his glass slightly. "Cheers. To old friends, and new memories." And with that he'd tip his glass back, hoping Chiyoko would be doing the same.

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

Cyclops? Oh, ho. While original she found it didn't quite fit her, though one rarely likes their pet name, "Cyclops it is then, though if it was anyone else calling me that I can't help but think I'd put a boot up their ass. Count yourself lucky that I like you Snowy, don't like most people." with a light smile she gave her old friend a gentle shove against the shoulder. To be honest, even for these past few moments, she couldn't remember the last time she had such fun around another person, it may not have been apparent to her immediately but the boy across from her, he was something special. Whatever that meant. In fact she couldn't think of another person she counted as special, it was an odd feeling. A feeling that she was thoroughly unaccustomed to, yet it felt right, which was even more troublesome to the girl who was still trying to figure out what was going on. One that she was no doubt going to explore later on, was this what they called attraction? Or was it simply that he was a boy that she known long before she was the woman that stood before him, an attempt to regain a bit of her stolen youth, she did not know. whatever it was she was not used to it, and the girl did not like straying outside of her comfort zone in the realm of feelings.


A certain red heat crept against the nape of her neck as the boy exclaimed he admired her decision to keep her war wounds, once again she had to suppress a smile, looking away from him for the briefest of moments to wonder if his words were true. It had always been her experience that people rarely said what they meant, but he seemed genuine, intriguing. "Thank you." She replied, almost meekly, the sound of her voice was near alien to her as she wondered what hold the boy had over her to turn her from the firm and generally hard-bitten woman she was into the meek creature that she felt in these the briefest of moments. She wanted to reach out and feel her fingers caress his face, to feel that he was truly there before her and not simply a figment of a distraught imagination, though she quickly pushed her thoughts away as clarity began to return to her from the haze of whatever this was.

Oh, Mr. Suave and debonair seemed to slip for a moment exposing that he was just as lost as she, a perfect opportunity for her to gain the upper hand in this competition of feelings, being the woman she was she simply couldn't let the moment pass by without a few timely words, "Always been rather what Ko, enamoring, intoxicating, exhilarating? I'm well aware no need for you to say it outright, would be too straightforward." and of course before he could manage a response the young predator pounced upon her prey with a warm embrace, wrapping her arms around the man. It was a rarity for her to feel the warmth of another human being, to feel their arms wrap back around her in a moment of embrace. She would never admit to it but the girl was lonely, long since defeated by the world around her, and in those brief moments of embrace she felt solace. To feel the faint beating of another heart against her chest, increased in the sudden moments of embrace, the smell of his musk, the feel of his flesh against hers. For a moment she wished she was more daring and had planted a kiss upon him, but she was not brave, if anything she was cowardly. Soon the embrace ended and the two were brought back to reality as the boy, soon to be her boy at least in the reaches of her mind, gave his suggestion on a fine place for a drink. "After you, pretty boy." She retorted with the giddiness of a teenager that hadn't been born into a world of blood and war.

***​

It was a fine bar, one she was unaccustomed to as her usual dives smelled of urine and their inhabitants were generally less than friendly, the new surroundings were refreshing if anything. Her eyes glanced over the assorted liquors behind the bar as Ko explained why he enjoyed the place as much as he did. Whiskey from the land of Flames, vodka from the land Of Snow, wine from the land of Stone, and most importantly sake and shochu from the land of Lightning. To say it was an impressive selection would be doing it a disservice, it was an alcoholic's wet dream. Clearly Kotsuko was a man after my own heart. "Impressive." She could not feign a lack of amazement at the establishment, in fact she could barely hold her jaw up from the wonders before her. Following behind the pale haired boy she sat and allowed him to order and pour a drink for her, normally she would not have allowed someone to even think about touching her liquor aside from a bartender, but once again he wasn't just someone, Ko was something else entirely.

Gingerly lifting the glass up she smiled ever so slightly, "To old friends and new memories. To the rest of our lives." tilting the glass back the alcohol was gone in a matter of seconds, pressing the glass back onto the counter she admired the man she sat next to in uncertain silence. "I don't believe in fate, well I don't think I do, so what do you think the chances are on this night outside of that ball that we see each other for the first time in years, one in a million, one in ten million, one in fifty million?" trailing off the girl poured herself another drink before continuing, "Ever think to yourself that every action, everything that you've ever done has lead you to a point in this life? Pretty fucking crazy, but here we are together after all these years, both alive and pushing through." once again she trailed off bringing the cup back to her gilded lips, smudged marks from her lips sat upon the glass as she put it down to continue her thought once again, though with more of a quizzical look than before "I don't know, it feels special, right?" she questioned looking back toward her old friend, seeking a response, perhaps seeking something more.

 

[Kazu]

As the two of them drank, toasting their reunion and their futures, Ko couldn't help but smile. The two of them clinked their glasses, then turned their heads back with the drinks. Taking in a breath as he put his glass down, he listened to his partner in crime speaking. Fate, huh? Kotsuko wasn't sure how to put how he felt into words, and certainly not after tonight. Everything he'd ever believed in about fate had sort of been crushed by this chance meeting. Still, he needed to give her an adequate response. "Fate is tricky. Do I think that my whole life is laid out in front of me, decided already before I've had any time to give my input? Yes and no." Ko chuckled a little at his vagueness. He probably sounded silly. "I mean, my decisions in the past affected every other decision I'd make after that. I decided to be a shinobi, and because of that I'll never be able to grow up like other kids. I decided to join the medical corps, and because of that I'll never know what might have happened if I'd given up and inherited my father's merchant shop. Likewise, my actions now will affect me in the future. If there is such a thing as fate, it's one that I can control. My fate is the result of my choices, good and bad." He looked down at his glass, almost as if it were some sort of crystal ball. Maybe if he looked hard enough, he'd be able to see what words he'd need to say in order to get his point across. So far, all he saw was the reflected lights of the bar. "I guess what I'm saying is, I don't know what the chances of meeting you tonight under other circumstances are. I went to the ball tonight, and so did you. Because of that, we met there. In a way, those choices sealed our fates just as permanently as any Seer might have foretold."

Jeez, this was getting deep. Ko poured himself another glass just after Chiyoko, matching her pace without a moment's hesitation. She continued her line of questions, keep the topic just as alive an interesting as it was. Ko felt his heart beat a little bit faster, as he began to realize where this subject was headed. He was getting nervous again, but this time he had enough alcohol in his system to ignore it. Well, after this next glass he would. Drinking his shochu rather quickly, the young man answered her question without a moment's hesitation. "I don't think the fact that we're both still alive is a coincidence. We're alive because we have what it takes to make it out there. We're both strong, able to handle whatever comes our way. We've got something that our fallen classmates don't have." And then, she just had to add the icing on top of the cake. This was beyond special. His face was getting a little red, but he couldn't quite tell if it was because of the alcohol or not. Considering it had only been two drinks now, he probably wouldn't be getting away with that excuse. "I think it is. But I also think it's more than special." Ko was glad to have the alcohol in his system right now, otherwise he'd never have worked up the courage to do something like this. The pale haired young man, with his face's red colour in direct contrast to his usually cold features, reached out with one of his hands to place onto her's on the bar top. It felt soft, yet callused from the years of hard training she'd been through. His probably felt similar to her. "I think the thing we have, that everyone else doesn't have, is a reason to keep going. A strong one, too." He didn't move his hand.

The young man swallowed nervously. He wasn't immune to infatuation, despite popular belief that he wasn't human. He still had feelings, and for her he had a myriad of them. Kotsuko could feel his heart beating a million miles an hour. His hands would be shaking if he hadn't had a few drinks first. Kotsuko brought his hand up to her face, just like he had earlier. He caressed her face, gently rubbing his fingers over her cheeks and the side of her face. "You know, I've never felt like this before. I don't think you have either. The two of us...I kind of like it..." The young man didn't know what it was that compelled him to act the way he was. He didn't really know what it was that he was doing. He wasn't thinking straight. But he didn't care. He was guided by another force, something more primal than he'd ever felt. All he knew was that he wanted her, and no one else. Kotsuko leaned in towards her, closing his eyes for the first kiss he'd ever had. He hoped, with every fiber of his being, that she wanted the same thing.

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

Her fingers danced upon her glass, running her fingers round it's rim as she listened to pale haired boy's opinions on fate, a gentile smile smile rested upon her lips, he was correct fate was decided by the person, not some existential force from above or below. He was as poetic as he was suave, though he looked as though he was trying to force it a little less now than he had earlier. "I suppose you're right, fate is little more than a reflection of our actions." she pondered her words as if trying to figure out one of the great existential questions of life, really the only thing she knew in those brief moments of childish captivation was that she was in the presence of a man she enjoyed sharing company with. It was a feeling of warmth throughout the rest of her abysmal day, though she was more than aware as to how strange it was to find the slightest of solace in a man she barely knew, but did that really matter? In this place were life was so fleeting, more so even that of the kiss of a butterfly upon the skin on a Spring's day, it was right. Well, maybe not right, but it was something. Something was good enough for her.

His false debonair shield had began to fail him as Chiyoko watched the man before her toss back another drink, it seemed she wasn't the only one here dying of nerves. She nodded silently listening as he expounded on how they were able to move past their fallen comrades, that they were able to handle what has come and what would come, able to weather the storm of life, but it was more than that, it was more than something special, they both knew it even if they didn't know exactly what it was. Looking down his hand rested atop of her own, a look of confusion rested upon her features as she looked back up toward the boy, face flushed red, hers was no doubt as crimson as his own. No matter the amount of training a person goes through no one could possibly beat out their essence, the two were still children in this place, a microcosm of condemnation for all who had the piss poor luck of being born with the ability to control and shape their affliction into any semblance of power. It was more than special, it was more than a reason to keep going, maybe it was a reason to live again? Even if it was for the most ephemeral and unenduring of times, it was something more than she had beforehand. "I think you might be right, I think it might be more than special, think it's something else entirely." Her fingers coddled his own as she thought of stating it was almost incomparable, but that would have been laying it on a little thick.

She froze like a deer in headlights as the man pressed his fingers against her cheek, gently caressing her as she became completely aware of what was coming next, did she want this? Whatever this was? His voice helped even less as he spoke of liking whatever this connection was between them, and he was right she liked it too, and that scared the hell out of her. Her fingers moved to his unsure of what to do and completely unaware of the fact that he had already closed his eyes and had began to go in for the kill. Lips unexpectedly pressed against her as she stared open eyed at the man pressing against her as a sudden wave of red hot warmth hit her cheeks, oh God what was going on here?

Her arms lurched back locking in place for the briefest of moments as instinct took over, pulling back she gave the man a quick open-palmed slap to the side of his face, just hard enough to leave a dark red hand print on his pale features. She immediately regretted the decision looking back at the man as her thoughts raced, oh shit, she had to do something fast to salvage this date, wait this was a date? Oh, great she slapped the dude on the first date she had ever been on, Chiyoko was a real guru in the romance department.

There was precious little time now! If he even began to speak about what had just happened there would be no way she could recover from her blunder, and by Raiden she wanted that kiss, there was no longer time for hesitation! Full speed ahead! Pulling the man back toward her she grabbed him by the nape of his neck, effectively forcing herself on him in one of the world's most awkward and aggressive kisses, it was nothing short of a miracle that she hadn't head-butted the man and put him down for the count, but by Raiden he was going to forget that she had slapped the piss out of him or she would die trying.

Withdrawing her mouth from his the young girl pulled back, her fingers trailing the mark she had left on the side of her face with an unsure look upon her face that bordered on happiness and bewilderment, "So, uh I wasn't really expecting that." she declared more than aware that was more his line than hers.