Trainin with Aoi!

"E-eh...sorry, it's a habit." He said at the tug of a lock. "Aoi."

He gave a small, sheepish laugh after, with a small shrug as he gave his reply. He could start without the honorifics from now on, because Aoi wasn't wrong in what'd she'd said. They were probably closer than -san now.

Aoi looked away from Rin for a few seconds to hide her red face. It seemed more personal to be called by her own name than just you or something. It made it more real in her eyes... She had to turn back to make sure she didn't pull too hard on his hair, examining where the white strands met the blue ones. It was rather curious, she had never seen such a style... was it natural? Aoi played with the hairs with gentle fingers.

"Y-You can ask me to do things too you know... Like call you by your name or stop or...anything... I'm always asking you, it seems unfair."

"Oh, I don't mind the nicknames, so you can refer to me by whichever." Rin answered as Aoi continued to play with his hair. "If i'd had a problem with it I would have said so, so don't worry."

He was rarely referred to by his surname, as some fan's called him familiarly while others less so, it was only Ruka and Aoi to call him by nicknames though, but he didn't dislike it. When he was younger, he may have gotten embarrassed when Ruka referred to him as Rin Rin, but didn't fight it and eventually grew fond of it, not that he'd straight up admit that, though.

"You could nickname me... O-or something. If you wanted." Rin was always so calm, Aoi felt much younger than her years... Time felt different in the afterlife, with people living long periods of time if they weren't killed in some manner or if they had spiritual energy. It could also be rather isolating if you tried, and boy had she. So that brought her thought around to... A human being easier to connect with, having her want to connect with him, was interesting to her.

Why was this? "I mean that with anything... Anything you want! Really..."

A nickname? He didn't know how creative he could really get with one. Referring to her by just her name seemed to make her happy a moment ago, but what could a nickname be? Aoi-chan? That seemed...too normal though, any other person could comfortably call her that, Ruka did. She'd probably lose it if he used -pyon as well, though it was a possibility, though would it even sound or look remotely right coming from someone like him? It wasn't likely.

He couldn't just ask her either, then it would feel like she'd picked what he was to call her, and that wouldn't be right.

"For nicknames...hmm, I can't really think of one right off the bat, but maybe one day I could surprise you with one, Aoi." He said smiling.

"I'd like that." Aoi stepped back and spun around a few times, a content smile on her face. "Surprises! A happy one!"

She spun and spun and spun until she got too dizzy and plopped on her butt on the floor with a goofy grin on her face after she winced from the landing. "Even if you think its stupid, I shall accept it with happiness! I used to get called Red, which is funny considering my name means blue..."

"Your eyes are yellow though... its...interesting."

Rin smiled, though looked concerned for a short moment when Aoi fell, but once he saw her grin his worries vanished. She didn't hurt herself, that was good.

"Interesting?" Rin questioned, "I guess it's not an average color..."

Nothing about his appearance was really....normal. Some fangirls had even remarked that his white locks resembled bunny ears, but he'd laughed it off with them, letting them indulge in their remarks. He hadn't receieved much commentary on his eyes though, so he'd never really worried about them.

"Well... Its not abnormal..." Aoi went from sitting to laying, then her legs moved over her head and she flipped herself straight up with a flourish. She couldn't resist showing off a bit... It was something she was proud of, her gymnastic abilities.

Moving back to the front of Rin, she picked up the two white sections of hair and held them up high before breaking into giggled. "They do look like bunny ears now that I think about it."

Rin gave a chuckle, "I've been told that, it's another thing I never really gave much thought on."

He'd had the white locks in his hair before he lost his memories, so he wasn't quite sure if he'd been born with them, as unnatural as it may seem, or if it'd been dyed at a young age, though...if it'd been dyed then after all these year's one would think his roots would show, so in the end...he guessed it was naturally this way.

"You just don't think about much do you Rin Rin. You just let things happen to you..." Aoi bit her lip, wondering it maybe it had been a bad idea to tell him what she did... He would really need to be careful and while he DIDN'T seem impulsive right now, too go with the flowy could be just as dangerous. She kept playing with the white hair though, making goofy bunny ears out of them while trying to smile.

"Do you have anymore questions for me? About the spirits, the spiritually aware humans or anything? Like what...the afterlife is like."

"I guess I don't, if it's not anything bad I don't usually mind what people say. Most of the time their just cute remarks and the like, like the bunny thing, so I just laugh about with others and let them do as they please. It never really bothers me." He replied, "If it's bad though I won't hesitate to defend myself if that's your concern."

"Hmm, questions?" Rin thought, "I guess...what is the after life like? Are their separate dimensions or something where shinigami are and departed souls are? How would one go about becoming a shinigami? I assume you learn and you don't just simply become one?" He did recall her mentioning classes, teaching, and stuff, which is what led him to these remarks.

"I've only known you a short time, so you can't blame me for being a bit worried I was over stepping things and you were too polite to tell me... I mean I did... touch you lots... And that's apparently something that isn't normal interactions." Aoi carefully set his 'ears' down, running her fingers gently across the hair and scalp to fix it so it didn't look all messy. With a grin and a pat on the head, she moved to lean against something as she crossed her arms. One hand came up and cupped her chin as she leaned sliightly a bit forwards as she thought.

"Well... the afterlife is a lot like this world in the ways that matter. There's murder and death, rape and homelessness... You don't have to worry about starving though unless you gain or have spiritual energy that is sizable enough to one day be Shinigami levels." She didn't want to have to explain the whole rukon set up and everything though so she hummed to herself for a few seconds as she tried to word it right.

"Shinigami aren't above other souls in that aspect. We are merely departed souls who either died with enough power or gained some while in the lesser districts. We live in the same afterlive, the Soul Society, that all other souls do. However we do live in a large section in the middle called the Seireitei. Its... a lot nicer there than outside, especially the outer districts..."

Well she DID open herself to this question. Aoi's face darkened and her whole innocent aura and air died down, replaced by a somber one that bespoke her years. She would answer truthfully... "They normally search out and find people out in the Rukon who have the spiritual power to hone it through training to become Shinigami. For example, I was found on a job that took me too close to the Seireitei. They sense me and brought me in. It was a lot nicer there so I stayed. You can't become a shinigami without the training, yes. Or well no, there are a few cases?"

Her weapon which until that point had been inconspicuous, appeared in her hand as she held it out. It was a long staff, rather pretty and metallic looking. "This is Hypoxis, a Shinigami has a Zanpakuto that we form a partnership with. They allow us to draw on their powers and use them to fight hollows. This weapon is what makes a Shinigami a shinigami, though there are tons of other things you need to learn before graduating. Like Spells and hand to hand combat. Some focus on healing... magic I'll call it. The training allows us to focus and use our hidden power you see, bring it out into something useful."

"Err, that was long winded. I'm sorry Rin Rin!" Aoi tried to bring back the earlier mood with a fake grin.

"I...I see." Rin thought about what he'd just been told. It was a lot to take in, but now he could at least get an image in mind of it. He glanced at her weapon, her zanpakutou, as she'd said it was. So it wasn't just a weapon like his, at least, he figured anyway, it was it's own being in a sense. That was...fascinating in a way, he'd never thought about weapons actually...being their own being.

"It's fine, really." Rin gave her a small, reassuring smile, noting how her current one wasn't as...genuine as before. "One more question...if one possesses spiritual power while living...would the chance be higher for them to have spiritual power in the afterlife?"

He supposed he was being obvious here, but the reason he wanted to know was...well if he were to die...he felt he'd be restless if all he were able to do was go about his afterlife normally...he hadn't been fighting these hollows for very long, and had only had his powers for around nine years now but...if he were to suddenly lose that it just wouldn't seem right? It was something he'd grown accustomed to having and doing even if he wasn't the best at it, and never really sought out fights. It was just...reassuring, he guessed, to have more than just his human abilities to protect himself with, and with his abilities, taking down hollows, he'd managed to save a few as well, not that they'd realized.

Aoi couldn't meet Rin's eyes. How could she say to him, before this point I hadn't really cared to find out? She honestly had no idea what would happen to him when he died. Maybe... She could only be honest with her thoughts. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she spoke truthfully and in a sort of rambly way.

"I...don't know what would happen to you. You might...turn into a hollow when you die to be...honest. Your powers are theirs, their energy. When you die you may morph into one of those, a powerful one... Or you could just be a normal soul that when sent on will purify you of any hollow taint left over from life. Or you could keep your spiritual strength, and just pass on to be found and trained by someone like me. I don't...really know. If you want to know for sure I can try to find information on it when I go back later today."

If he were to turn into a hollow, become one of those things...he could only hope someone would dispose of him as soon as possible if it were to turn out that way, but he couldn't tell Aoi that. It might hurt her, as much sense as it made...

"I won't make you, so I don't really mind if you research it or not." Rin replied, "If anything, we can just leave it up to fate." Again, he tried smiling at her, to ease the...gloomy mood hanging around them. Talking about this wasn't easy, especially since one of them had yet to experience death in the first place, so even knowing there was something after, it was a little unnerving if one thought about it too much.

He didn't say, but he had wondered how he'd die more often after discovering his abilities. Would he run out of luck one day? It was the most likely outcome for him. Would he die with regrets? Would everything eventually be alright for those he left behind? There wasn't a way of knowing those things, so as much as they crossed his mind, he quickly always attempted to push them to the back of his thoughts.

Aoi kept leaning there for a few seconds past the end of Rin's words, smiling ever so slightly as she sighed deeply. "You should be selfish more often. It won't kill me again and it definitely won't hurt you... It isn't as if I would judge you for it."

She moved back to Rin's spot and bent down, her face moving close to his, her lips no more than an inch from his again. Aoi wasn't bright red again, instead she looked sad and a bit weary as a hand came up to cup his cheek, her voice soft and slightly more than a whisper. "I don't want to leave you to a bad fate alone if I could help it. I will look it up and if you wish to know... ask me again. Ask me anything and I will do whatever I can to help you, Rin Aoyama."

He was momentarily surprised when she came close to him again, but considering the seriousness of the atmosphere he was able to calm down much more quickly and listen to her. He wouldn't voice his previous thoughts, again keeping quiet about them, before giving a small chuckle.

"I guess selfishness is another thing that rarely comes to me. I guess, I'm curious enough to know the answers if you could find them, if there's hardly anything though, then there's nothing more to really do. So if you go looking for the answers, good luck, Aoi."

"Thank you?" This was confusing. He was...telling her good luck in her search to make sure he didn't die a horribly awful death and... Aoi's eye brow raised as she looked at Rin before she shook her head almost imperceptibly and leaned forward as if to kiss the poor traumatized man.

Instead she moved up at the last second, giving him a quick peck on the nose as she straightened herself out. Her finger tips trailed his cheek before she turned around and decided to confuse him a bit in return. "So you don't have a girlfriend... is there anyone you care about like that? A fan who you met... anyone?"

Slightly red faced by her kiss, even if it hadn't been on the mouth...like he'd originally thought it'd be, he attempted to answer her question. "Ah..ehm, I don't have a girlfriend, no...ah..as for fans sometimes they'll um...ask for dates but, I don't really think they'd get what they expected...to be honest...So I just politely decline them, I mean...considering what I write I don't...think they'd expect me to...be...like this...that is, though I guess I shouldn't just assume that of them, it's just...eh..."

"As..as for people I care about like that...ehm..." He couldn't exactly keep eye contact at this point, he also assumed his face had become considerably more red by now as well. When it came to romantic feelings...he had trouble. The closest romantic-like things he'd experienced had been with Aoi, and he didn't...dislike them, he had even admitted he'd like it at one point...did that mean he harbored those feelings? "I...I mean..." How was he supposed to go about this? "The only...things that could be seen as romantic...I've experienced...with y-you and I...didn't dislike it..."

So her...ploy backfired. She had wanted to confuse him, but instead... Aoi was now treated to the same red face she had not too long ago. It wasn't like she hadn't wanted to know in the first place, but at the same time.. he had answered in his roundabout way of not truly confirming but still doing so. He...liked her too? Maybe. He wasn't sure... he hadn't had a Ruka around to help. Though Aoi was still not sure it was more than a crush between people who met, were attracted to each other and wanted to find out more. She had been in denial and still had issues with it, but she did find others attractive. Rin at least was proof.

Any kisses she had given out before had been a bit more shallow, used to be used for work or as distractions. Now she did it for the warm face and tingles she felt against the lips... Still, as much as she wanted to deny it herself, or try to brush it off... She did have a crush on this dorky fullbringer.

"L-Liking kisses and liking me... Are two different things Rin! I read it in... a book, I think... Ruka helped get me started... thinking... and wanting to see...what it was like..." Aoi didn't turn around, but stood in front of Rin, shaking slightly.

"Aah, w-well...sometimes....it matters...who's the one doing the kissing that is...if it's someone you don't like, romantically or however, normally one wouldn't enjoy it..." He said, his eyes looking off somewhere to the side. "That's...usually how it works anyway."

He may not have the experience but from everything he'd heard and from most sources, that was the way things commonly were. There were some people that just...liked kissing no matter the person, but...he wasn't like that, or else he didn't believe he was that type.

"Oh..." Aoi felt less red at this, part of her worry slipping away. So... he did like her. At least a small bit... Oh boy this was going to complicate things so horribly if they ever continued anything. Understatement of the year right there. Or would it be underthought?

Not letting herself get all focused on the growing debate in her head, Aoi turned on her heel and reached for Rin's hand. She slipped her fingers between his and gave a small squeeze as she tried to smile past the red face. "Well...it helps... I don't...dislike you either, to put it your way Rin."

Rin managed to look at Aoi when he felt her hand squeeze his, and like she did, despite his own red face smiled back. He...was at a loss for what he should or could say, as he was fully aware of what'd just been said between them. So in return with his smile, he shyly squeezed her hand back.

Aoi didn't know what to say or do, worried badly about what was going to happen now. A shinigami liking a human, who liked them back? This was awkward and a bad situation if anyone else found out. A huge yawn broke through just as she was about to start saying something, anything to break this silence. It made her start giggling though and she couldn't stop, pulling her hands away to cover her face. "Hahahaha!"

She was crying by the time she stopped, looking at Rin. "Ehehe, it looks like I am tired...I should find somewhere safe to sleep... Before I go out hunting."

At the sound of her yawn, Rin couldn't help but give a laugh as well, it definitely broke the rather awkward silence that had taken over the atmosphere between them. "A place to sleep? The option of sleeping in one of the guest rooms here is still valid." Rin replied after Aoi had gotten past her laughter and embarrassment from yawning.