Trainin with Aoi!

Now Aoi had to look down due to her red face. He could probably see the red creeping up her neck as her hair had fallen to the sides. Oh no... Why did she say that and get him to admit it. Aoi couldn't face Rin again... now that she knew for sure, without a doubt he had actually wanted it.

"I..d-did too..." Aoi fell to her knees and shook her head back and forth as she stopped being able to think for a bit. "Ahh... Oh no..."

Oh no, he didn't have a book on him to help this time as Aoi curled into herself again. Her admittance to liking it had gotten reaction out of him too, feeling anymore of this could cause him to die from embarrassment at the next opportunity, still though...He needed to see if he could help with Aoi before anything...

"Ahh...Uhh...." He looked around, tapping the corner of his chin as he tried to think of something to say. As his eyes wandered, he took note he still hadn't returned his scarf to it's normal state, so quickly he did that so he could put it back on, his hands moving to play with the hem like usual when he was nervous.

He approached Aoi, albeit cautiously just in case him approaching could startle her, once he was next to her he brought his hand down to her head, lightly ruffling her hair like they'd done to each other before, hoping maybe that could...help in some way.

Aoi didn't even notice Rin as once again she tried to hide away from her mind and sounds and everything. She was quivering in her little sort of ball here, wishing dearly for a blanket or something as she held herself. Nope nope nope, she was not cut out for this whole thing. She could do it only so long before her mind broke more and more. Aoi'd been erratic, humiliating, forward, backward, too excited by far or other things and this was just her last straw. Who was she even acting like anymore?

Was this who she really was? Not a cold blooded assassin, or hotblooded hollow murderer. But a simple young woman who just wanted connections with others and kissing and teasing and... Patpat.

Just pat pats. Aoi took a deep breath, and though her voice was shakey, her words were intelligible. "Thank you... Rin Rin."

Rin gave a nod, though he wasn't sure if Aoi had even noticed that or not. "It's..not a problem."

"If you want...we can go back and...I could make some tea or hot chocolate or something." Perhaps that would ease their minds, give them something more to do than just sit out in the middle of the forest and do nothing but nervously stutter to one another.

Taking his hand from her head, he offered it to help her stand up.

"That sounds good. Hehe..." Aoi pushed back her hair as she turned to look at Rin, instead of seeing him though, she saw his hand obviously being offered for her. Taking it gently, Aoi allowed herself to be helped up. She didn't let go of his hand, but left her gaze firmly somewhere else. Anywhere else.

The wound she had had, was now healed though dried blood cake it. Aoi held it up to her face, letting out a deep sigh as she looked over the bit of blood she had lost. "I'm going to have to fix this. We...can head back Rin..."

Rin gave a nod, "'Kay..."

With her okay to head back he began walking, "What would you prefer? Tea or hot chocolate?" If he remembered correctly they had other sweets as well in the fridge and cabinets. "If you want, we also have sweets back at home."

Fix? He glanced back slightly to see her examining her arm, was it the blood? He felt a pang of guilt but didn't let it show as he knew she'd just say she was okay and didn't blame him.

"C-chocolate. Hot chocol-latesoundsgood." It came out at a rush at the end, her hand squeezing his a bit more as she followed him back. How could Rin be so calm? She lowered her arm back down, but wished she hadn't as she had caught Rin looking back. Now she had to look down again and hide in her hair. Her free wounded hand played with a few curls nervously as she kept silent the whole rest of the way back.

Once back, Rin led them back to the kitchen where he could start making the drinks. It wouldn't take long, not as long as it took him to cook breakfast anyway.

"Here." he said, once finished, placing a small plate down with a mug on it, the plate being used to put some marshmallows on the side in case she wanted some. With his own mug, he sat down as well and took a small sip.

Aoi sat quietly, worrying that if she spoke she'd stutter again. Watching Rin make the hot cocoa, she wished she hadn't focused so much on things that proved... useless to her right now. If he turned to look at her she'd look away with a blush.

"Mm, t-thanks..." Nodding, she took some of the marshmallows and put them in her cup, not looking at Rin in case she'd start blushing again. This might be a bit awkward...

Things were...too quiet, the atmosphere felt awkward because of that and Rin...honestly didn't like it that way. What could he do to lift the mood? What could he say? Was there anything? He thought for a moment, taking a few sips as he did so.

"When i'm working, I know I've mentioned this before, but I sometimes lose focus of everything around me...one time that happened while I was writing down ideas after a sudden burst of inspiration and walked myself straight into a door."

"O-Oh?" Aoi giggled and smiled looking up for a second at Rin, glad there was...something to talk about that didn't include their kisses. She closed her eyes and gave him the brightest smile she had in her right now. It was as she did she realized she had a hot cocoa mustache. Eeping, she wiped her upper lip and looked down again. Still...

"Um, what are you writing about now? What story is it? If...you want to tell me."

"Honestly I don't have much planned out for my next one. When you saw me writing a few days ago on the bench I was just writing down possible scenarios that might turn into something. I still don't have anything final down yet." He explained, giving a small smile. "I guess I should take a little break, considering my last one just came out a few weeks ago, it's just that if I get bored I'll start writing and sometimes that writing will turn into another book."

Ever since the hospital, writing had been the only thing he had found any entertainment in...that place had been so quiet and....lonely. When there hadn't been anyone to tell stories to or before he had been giving something to write in, he felt restless.

"As long as you enjoy it and aren't hurting yourself, do you need to take a break?" Aoi tilted her head, curious about it. She used to enjoy killing, but that obviously was bad. Would writing too much hurt someone? He had been sitting alone... Maybe it was making him lonely?

Wait! He hadn't been writing around her, so maybe... "So, I don't bore you and am giving you a break at the same time. Oh! Did you remember about tomorrow? Ruka-sensei said we could have a pool party. Um, should I bring anything to it?"

Aoi quickly changed the subject as she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"No, you don't bore me." Rin replied with a smile, "Even if I haven't exactly acted like it, I've actually been having a lot of fun the past few days."

At the mention of tomorrow, Rin recalled the hurried message of 'Get your swim trunks ready because Aoi-chan is coming over to swim with us tomorrow!' from Ruka before she'd gone to sleep for the night, leaving no room for argument or explanation.

So in response, he nodded, "We can provide towels and such so I guess just bring yourself." They, for the most part, had everything that was needed here. Towels, food for lunch, pool toys, and sunscreen, so it was mostly handled already. He supposed Aoi and Ruka had discussed swimsuits already, so that was likely already taken care of as well.

"Well not boring is good." Aoi took another big gulp of the hot liquid chocolate, her mind wandering a bit at Rin's smile. He had such a nice smile, she had seen it a lot lately, but especially when he tried to reassure her of things. "I think you have looked like it, otherwise I wouldn't have come back no matter how curious I was. I wouldn't have wanted to be a bother or trouble you anymore than I have."

"I am not as unobservant as I may appear Rin Rin." She pursed her lips, looking down into the hot cocoa. "Still its...reassuring to hear you say it."

So she didn't have to bring anything? That was good... and bad. "Are you sure I can't help out in some way? This feels like you are still doing way too much for me... including the...um...k-ki..." In what felt like a brain meltdown, Aoi's face turned red instantly again and it could have steamed if that were possible.

At the almost-mention of the kiss again, Rin's face reddened slightly, but he quickly attempted to respond to her question concerning tomorrow. "If...If you really want to bring something I guess, extra drinks could be useful? I'm not sure what Ruka's planning but she mentioned food and drinks for whenever, but it's always good to have variety." She had money right? Rin wondered if shinigami that were sent to this world were just sent without any, though, Aoi was here for an extended period so maybe? In the end he couldn't be sure.

"Extra... drinks." The shinigami made a mental note about that. She liked thingsHow Aoi would get these drinks is another story. She knew they exchanged currency here, but she had none on her. She was here for practicing not lounging... Having a few more questions, Aoi decided to dive into those rather than think about how to procure drinks. His books were a safe subject...

"So you write romance... How do you write it well if you've never had that sort of feeling before? And do you write happy romance or sad Rin? And why romance of all things..."

Rin was a bit thrown off by her questions, as he'd honestly...never been asked. It seemed his fans just far that had approached him, never cared to ask or they just assumed he had experience. "Ah, well...it just...comes naturally, I guess." He replied, looking thoughtful as he tried to put his answer into words. "It can be a mixture, at times, happy or sad. As for why romance again, it just seemed to...come naturally."

He didn't really know any other way to put it, despite not having experience personally when he was writing it just seemed to flow, and people enjoyed the final product, meaning, or at least he hoped it meant, he'd been successful.

"Naturally... Hm..." Aoi finished her now lukewarm cocoa and set the mug and plate down. She thought for at least a minute before looking away from Rin at the nearest wall, her face blindingly red. She could stand in for a stop sign. "Ah...Er...I-Is...this...what... happens..."

"Here? Like...now... I don't know...with us?" Aoi couldn't speak in full sentences. She was unsure of what was going on with them, but if he came naturally to him he should know the answer.

"Ah..A...Well...often times...y-yes this is how...things like that start..." He answered, looking down at what little was left of the cocoa in his own cup, nervous and red faced once more. "It's...a typically...common way...these...things...can start."

"Sensitives meet a ghost person and the...ghost does bad things to the human and touches them then... after a few days they... force...against...their will a kiss...?" Aoi made herself look at Rin, shaking a bit from the effort and sort of scared excitement she faced.

"That...happens often?"

"W-well, I guess...it's really something...that could happen with anyone. Most...romances...can start with a similar scenario...no matter who or what those are involved..." His fingers lightly moved against the porcelain of his mug as he tried to talk, though his words seemed to be coming out in a mess from his point of view...it was rather nerve wracking in all honesty.

"Oh."

Aoi stood up as she noticed Rin seemingly as freaked out as she was right now. Walking over to him, she slid her hands into his hair and played with the soft blue locks gently. She didn't feel okay herself, but she wanted to soothe him. He had done the same for her before, it was only fair she return the favor. "I'm sorry... Its...okay Rin."


She let out a nervous giggle and continued. "You rarely say my name you know."

"Is that so?" Rin wondered, he'd never noticed it before Aoi had brought it up. He really hadn't referred to her by her name many times had he? He couldn't think of exactly why that was, it had just happened that way. "Well, it's not too late for me to change that, hm, Aoi-san?" He added, giving her a smile.

Grabbing a white lock, Aoi tugged it lightly and made a small grumbly sound. Her previous worries shot away at the sound of her name on his lips. "Rin Rin! San? Why san? Aoi! Ah-oh-eee! No san."

"I thought we were closer than san by now...Hmph."