Narue and Hideki

"I have his wings tied around my neck. Nice and secure." She replied, answering his question about Hato-kun before moving on to the first statement. "Ahh, I guess? Hehe." She replied with a small giggle, "Sorry about that, I don't really like wearing long pants and stuff. Shorts work but I really like skirts more."

When in the academy she'd hated wearing that uniform, she couldn't change the pants into a skirt like how she had with her shinigami uniform.

"Good." He said happily, shifting her weight to be more secure. Last thing he wanted to do was drop her. He was glad she couldn't see his face as she explained, more than a little embarrassed at where his mind went. No. BAD MIND. "Y..Uh... N-no need to be sorry. I um... Trust me, I like that. I just.. didn't.. y'know... wanna seem like a perv?" He coughed almost involuntarily. Nice Hideki. You know how to make someone think you're a perv? Compliment their bare legs then tell them you're not a perv.

His response was something she couldn't help but giggle at, "I don't think you're a perv, you don't have to worry."

She was happy to have good legs, they were at least one asset on her that didn't make her feel like a kid unlike certain other areas. She didn't want to look like a kid, if she did then no one would take her even remotely seriously when she needed to be and that wouldn't be good.

He sighed, peering over his shoulder to give a playful laugh "Only because you don't know what I'm thinking." He teased, before a look crossed his face, fear that she might think he wasn't kidding. "Um... That is... I mean... L-look, you just... have... really nice legs... Th-that's all." Well... with all his stammering, she wouldn't think he was a pervert at least... A dork? Absolutely, but not a perv. He noticeably sank, annoyed with himself.

"Thanks." She said, that small tint returning; even she knew this was a rather...odd topic. "I'm glad I have nice legs, at least with them I don't look like a kid."

She noticed how throughout his stuttering his mood seemed to deplete, did he think he was doing something wrong? Maybe he was still caught up on the pervert comment he'd made? She'd been able to tell he'd been teasing earlier before he'd started stuttering, maybe he thought he went too far with it?

Thinking it would cheer him up, she moved her hands from his shoulders and wrapped them around his neck; giving him a small embrace.

"Cheer up! No need to look so down, tonight's been really fun!"

He'd be encouraged more if he could see her blush, but he was still picked up by her accepting his compliment.  "T..Trust me... you don't look like a kid." he said, as if it should be obvious.  It's not like he would have done all this at least quasi-romantic stuff with her if she looked childish.  "I mean... you look cute.. but not like.. .childish cute..."

He stopped stammering when she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing against him.  Feeling a little warm and fuzzy inside, he tipped his head to the side against her arm.  "I'm glad... Um... Hey... if you had fun... Why don't we um..." He paused, stretching to look over his shoulder at her.  "I mean... Do you... want to go out some time?  Like on an actual date?" He said before immediately stammering. "I-I mean... n-nothing too serious. Just a date.." he didn't want her to think he was asking her to just jump into being his girlfriend or anything.

She felt relieved; cute but not childish cute, she could gladly accept that.

Narue was quiet, listening as Hideki started fumbling with his words again. He was asking her out on a date, a real one; and while not completely in the know-it-all of when it came to things like romance and stuff she did know what dates were and some their romantic implications. She'd had fun spending time with Hideki, he was nice and she didn't think she'd mind...

"Sure, I think that sounds like fun. Though..." Narue puffed out one of her cheeks, reluctantly admitting something that was probably obvious by now, "I don't really know all that much about romance and stuff--sometimes I don't really always catch certain compliments the way they're intended...if that makes sense."

She was oblivious at times, she'd been told that before about other things and had eventually believed it.

He listened intently, his brow furrowing as she talked. He sighed. He would be happy to just... take the yes... but he just.. Well he wanted to figure something out first. "Well, that's fine, honestly. I think it's cute that you're oblivious. And well... I mean, we can keep things nice and relaxed when we go out, so you're comfortable." He said cheerily. He felt a little awkward, wondering if she actually felt attraction to him or just thought it'd be fun to hang out with him.

"Alright, I'm fine with that." Narue answered, though she realized that perhaps she should probably say some nice things too, to let him know she was interested in learning at least and maybe moving past oblivious if that was even fixable.

She moved to give him another small hug before smiling. "Just so you know, I do think you're cute...uh...wait, boys don't really like being called cute...do they. Ahh, sorry."

Cute was just what had immediately popped into her mind, only realizing it afterwards that some guys didn't exactly like that because it wasn't the most...manliest compliment? That's what she'd heard anyway, or at least caught in a conversation among other girls.

He blushed a little at the compliment. It was more at the hug though. He liked her hugs. They were... warm... not the most eloquent term for it, but it fit. "Um.. Th-thanks... I uh... I mean.. I'm not... the most preoccupied with manliness... I tried when I was a kid, but it's sort of just a pointless effort. I'm weak as a noodle, but I'm smart, clever, and in my experience, cute helps with the ladies." It had to be said Hideki was comfortable with who he was. "Case in point." He teased, tickling her legs.

She couldn't control the small laugh that escaped her at the tickling, she couldn't help it; so she was a bit ticklish...

"Ah, I'm glad you don't see it as an insult then." She replied, her voice happy but there was a bit of relief in there.

He couldn't help but laugh when she did. "Aww. You have a pretty laugh." He said, lifting a little to give her a playful bounce back there. "Nah.. I don't see it as an insult at all. If you say cute's a compliment, I'm glad to be cute." He said with a reassuring chuckle. "And hey, whatever I am, it has a pretty lieutenant going on a date with me, so I figure I'm doing things right, right?" He was having plenty of fun and even if he wasn't sure how much she was invested in it, he was looking forward to a date with Narue.

She gave another giggle as he bounced her, he definitely seemed happier and less nervous than he had been before; that was good, it made her happy.

"Right!" She agreed cheerfully. She wasn't sure about the pretty part but she appreciated the compliment.

He was, in fact, feeling pretty chipper. Chipper enough that he stepped to the side and hopped up on a little ledge along the hedges, making sure to keep a careful grip on Narue as he trotted along it, carefully balancing. "So... " He opened his mouth to continue before frowning. Shit. SHIT! He didn't know what to say. DON'T AWKWARD SILENCE HER, HIDEKI. DON'T FRICKING DO THAT.

Narue tilted her head for a short moment, wondering what Hideki was about to say but it looked like he didn't really have anything to say, or she figured so by his frown. "So what kinds of things do you like doing on your days off?"

She supposed maybe she could have asked about the date, but with some afterthought she figured that those required planning and considering it had just been brought up there probably hadn't been any planning at all.

He looked over his shoulder. "Oh.. I dunno... Sometimes I go exploring the library, sometimes I hang around and read." He gave her leg a playful almost-pinch. "I... suppose those wouldn't be fun date activities, if that's what you were getting at. What about you? What do you enjoy doing with your spare time?" He remembered that she liked to run, but wondered what else she did for fun.

"Hmm? Ah, oh no; I was just interested." Narue replied with a small smile. "Dates taking planning..or..so I've heard, so I was mostly asking because I was interested."

She thought for a moment, thinking over some of the things she did that weren't part of her direct hobbies...though...she didn't have much luck thinking of anything.

"Mm...When I'm not doing stories with recruits, researching, or making plush toys I sometimes go on walks. Sometimes I go out into the Rukon to get more supplies, I know I can get some from the shops in the Seireitei but there's really nicely made things in shops in the nearby districts too; so I usually go to them."

He 'hrm'd to himself. Take planning? He guessed so. He hadn't been on a LOT of dates before. Hrm hrm hrm... Walks... out to the Rukon? Not exactly great date ideas... "Well.." Hm. He liked exploring and old stuff. She liked scary stuff. "What about.... A haunted house?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah. We could go ghost hunting. Wouldn't that be fun?" He wasn't sure if maybe it'd be too scary for her, but it could be fun for them both and give her somewhere to scare people later.

A haunted...house?

Those weren't supposed to be...too scary right? Mostly just obviously placed jump scares, props, and decorations...not actually...for real...scary.

"That could be good." She replied, giving a small smile. "Sounds like it could be a lot of fun!"

She thought about things other than the possibility of it being terrifying. It could give her ideas, maybe she'd notice some things in it that were based on things she hadn't yet researched, or perhaps the house itself could be it's own story! Maybe it'd be fun for the both of them, not scary at all!

...She hoped so anyway.

Hideki felt like maybe he could feel a slight tremble. Ehh, maybe it was just his imagination. He rounded a corner and 1st Squad came into view. "Just about there." He said, giving her legs a reassuring squeeze. "Yeah. It'll be a lot of fun!" He grinned over his shoulder at her as they headed into the squad, before crouching down so she could hop off and be escorted on foot the rest of the way. "Just like tonight was." He gave her a warm smile and took her hand again.

With the First Division in view, Hideki stopped to let Narue down. Once standing again, she unrapped Hato-kun from around her neck, holding him in her free hand after Hideki had taken the other, to which she gave another small smile to at him.

"Mhmm, tonight really was fun!" Narue replied, "Thank you again, I was really nervous before when it was just me and Hato-kun back at the ball. Talking with you and spending time in the library and even now, it's been a lot of fun and I'm sure the date will be just the same!"

He laughed, giving her hand a squeeze. "Well.. It just wouldn't be right to let you be unhappy at a ball. Every pretty girl should have a good time at a dance, right?" He headed towards the barracks with her. "And I'm sure it'll be fun too." He turned to face her and placed his other hand on her wrist, letting her hold Hato while he faced her. "And I'm really glad I got to make every other guy at the dance jealous." He said with another cute grin.

Narue giggled some, "Right, and I did have a good time."

What had started out as a rather stressful night turned into something really enjoyable, not just her but Hideki had had fun too which was important. Soon she'd even be going on a date, something she'd never even considered she'd experience before. Riichi would be proud to see her now, she thought so anyway. She was getting to meet new people, have fun, and live life; when thinking about that, she figured proud was something he would be.

He took a deep breath, just sort of... smiling at her. He rubbed her hands a little. Just.. .awkwardly standing there for a second. Inside, he was debating with himself. What would she say? Would she freak out? Would she even care? He still wasn't sure she really was into this romance thing. But he didn't want to assume the opposite and blow her off. Okay. Fine. We'll go halfway on this.

He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'm glad you had a good evening. Would you like me to walk you to your room?"

She couldn't say she was expecting the little peck, having jumped ever so slightly before a small noise similar to a squeak escaped her. It wasn't a bad reaction though, considering when he pulled back her cheeks were tinted slightly; a little more than they had been that day, before she gave a smile.

"You don't need to, I'd hate to keep you out too late." She replied, giving a small laugh that was mostly directed at her earlier reaction. "Plus, my room's a little dirty hehe...there's cloth and unfinished plushies all over the floor that I'd been working on."

Plus a few books lying about on her bed, mostly for her story research but still it added to the mess. Normally she kept her room clean, but with the ball happening she'd been in a rush to get ready and hadn't had time to clean up her work.