Shirakawa Mansion

"Fine, fine I'll come to you." Masaru replied as Lakshimi finished up her second helping while he was down to finishing his first...never have being a big eater due to circumstances. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, feel free to visit if you'd like another time. I can make curry again or something else."

He enjoyed cooking cooking for friends, since most of them seemed to enjoy his cooking it simply encouraged him to continue cooking for them.

"Thank you, I'll take you up on that then." Lakshmi smiled and stood, rearranging her dress. She patted it down and bowed slightly to Masaru and then waved as she headed for the exit. "Goodbye, I'll see you again soon Masaru."

Standing outside the gate, a cloaked person shook. One gloved hand reached to touch the gate and knock, but withdrew almost immediately. Should... she knock? Ring some sort of bell? It was dark out, about 9ish at night and she didn't want to wake anyone up in the house. The woman had no idea what to do but... it had taken her days to get up the courage to bring this letter by. A formal letter of apology and thanks.

The cake... she had eaten as much as she could of it before she had almost gotten sick. Her stubborn pride making her devour the sweet because it had been a gift. Luckily Captain Hideki had been kind enough to eat the rest, though she hadn't been able to eat anything sweet for a few days... It had been good though. Very good. Masaru was a good cook.

Her face flushed a bright color, this letter was much better worded than the last. She wished she could have burned it and she hoped against all hope Masaru hadn't seen it. That evil Lieutenant had been thorough and alert... Maybe she got rid of it for her? It had been an embarrassing thing.

How could Mia face him if he HAD seen it? She just wanted to apologize and thank him. "What should I do..."

Her voice came out as a low groan, staring at the letter. How... She needed to show her appreciation! It had become apparent that people needed in the more she interacted with her captain.

One last time, Mia reached forward to knock on the gate. Could she do this?!

It was late, but the captain was still up as usual; never seeming to go to bed until eleven or later. He sat in his at-home office behind his desk, finishing up the last bit of paperwork before he'd be done with it for the night.

He heard a knock at the door, one of the servants coming in and notifying him someone was at the gate before taking their leave after his okay to do so. Who could be here at this hour? It wasn't extremely late but most never visited once night hit.

Masaru left his office, heading outside to request the gates be open to let in the visitor. It was a shinigami he'd heard, but that was the most information the guards had been able to give him as when they'd noticed them they were rather covered and couldn't be properly seen.

He stood at the entrance as the gates opened, showing a familiar hooded figure. He gave a smile, though a bit worried now about whether or not he should be here in person as his presence may spook her again...

"Evening, lieutenant." He greeted, despite his concern.

Mia stood there waiting. What was she to do? She... had no idea proper protocol. Not for a house visit so late. It was awkward and could be seen... The gate! It was opening!

She jolted from her rambling thoughts, reaching into her hood to push back the bangs that had gotten in her eyes... Not that he could see and not that it was going to do much because as soon as she saw the Sixth division Captain she froze. That smile again... A second passed before she quickly gave him a low and formal bow, presenting him her letter as she shook.

"...evening...." It was very very quiet, but at such a time at night when most were at rest it was possible to hear it. Maybe.

He glanced down at the letter the lieutenant held out to him, taking it from her grasp as he was meant to. This was...Aoi had certainly teased him for the last letter he received, she still did occasionally. Looking back at the shaking woman, his smile softened some. "Ah, if you'd like you can come inside. It could get colder standing out here." He offered. "I can prepare some tea."

Considering the cloak, she was dressed warmly enough but still...it was rude to keep another out when it was getting colder when they could just as easily have a conversation inside.

...The inside of a man's house... even if he shared it with Nozomi...she was probably asleep... they'd be alone... Mia froze at the offer for tea. She...could do this. She could socialize. She could drink tea and talk. Well he could talk.... she could show him magazines and things in reply.

He'd smile more for sure. He was always smiling.

That broke her frozen state, her fleeing instinct taking over. However there was a slight problem, in that she had been bowing. It threw off her attempted fleeing, as she turned to run her feet caught on the edge of the cloak.

So instead of her usual poofing, the poor lieutenant fell to the ground in a jumbled mess of cloak and oversized clothing. She smacked her wall on the wall and let out a small cry of pain as she fell over. She...didn't get up right away, her embarrassment at such an ignoble fleeing attempt making her wish he would leave her so she could die. Even if she could feel a bit of blood trailing from her forehead and cheek. Mia would lay here until he left.

He stood there a moment, letting the lieutenant sort through her obvious nervousness. It was best to be patient, just wait until she was able to gather herself and...apparently trip.

"Ah!" Masaru's expression concerned, he quickly made his way to Mia; forgetting momentarily about her shyness out of worry she'd hurt herself. Squatting down, he glanced at her as she continued lying face down. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

He couldn't see due to the cloak if she was injured or not so he had no choice but to ask.

"I have bandages and supplies inside, if you need to put ice on anything I can provide that as well."

Of course he couldn't leave her. Masaru was too nice. Just like Hideki. They couldn't leave well enough alone... Though Hideki seemed a bit more impatient than this rather sweet captain...

He was right there, but Mia had no choice. She COULDN'T let him worry. It wasn't in her nature to allow others to be hurt over her ridiculous actions for very long. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, a bit too aware of how close he was but unable to help it. As her hood fell off of her face, she winced as it rubbed the scrape and cuts on her left side of her face. A glove went to them and she winced more as it came back with blood. Her eye was closed from it, she knew it would need cleaning and tending...

A sigh and one shy purple eye glanced at Masa before she tilted her head for her bangs to cover it as she looked away just as quickly. She nodded and stood, a bit shaky, but willing to follow Masaru inside despite her utter embarrassment. Besides if he was leading her he couldn't look or talk to her much and then she could flee. "...please..."

He nearly winced himself at her scrapes, but held back so as not to worry her about it as much. They'd definitely need tending to when they were like that.

Thankfully she agreed to come inside and do just that. Giving a small smile he stood, "Alright, I'll take you to where we keep the medical supplies."

Masaru made his way to the mansion then, Mia hopefully following behind.

"I apologize if I startled you in any way." He said, glancing behind him for a moment before looking ahead again as they walked through the halls of the mansion. It wasn't very long until they reached a door. Sliding it open, Masaru entered the room. It had a small table, a few cabinets and some counters on the walls. It had been an extra room, he'd just decided to put some of the extra medical supplies in storage here along with a table to sit at to tend to small injuries.

"Please, have a seat. I'll get the supplies for you." He suggested politely as he moved to the cabinets. He could fetch her some water from the kitchen in a few quickly executed flash steps if he needed to. For now, he grabbed the needed supplies in his arm and a small mirror with a stand she could sit on the table and use.

Everything in hand he moved back to the table, "Here we are. I can get some water if you'd like? It wouldn't take long."

Mia shook a bit from the effort of not pulling her hood back up, but she kept it in check. She would need what little depth perception she had to follow him, and while her cloak didn't hinder her eyesight after all these years... It would be foolish and silly to pull it up now, since she'd just... run into things.

As she followed him, she kept her head down and tried to navigate right behind him. She was too close, within a few feet, but... it would have been rude to lag behind. The pain was allowing her a bit more freedom in her movements, self survival overriding the fleeing instinct. Her head shook in the negative to his apology, but he wouldn't be able to see... Mia's hand reached to grab his arm to show him but she pulled it back. Touching, not only that but with a bloody glove would be rude and she wasn't brave enough.

Even if it hadn't been too long, by now Mia was lost. How could she flee from this place if she couldn't find her way out!? The shy woman gulped silently as she moved into the small room and sat. He...probably wouldn't have allowed her to help and rummaging through others cupboards was rudeness in the highest form.

"...thank....y-you..."As Masaru set out the items, she shook her head a bit too strongly in the negative for water, it made her dizzy after hitting her head. Glancing down at the supplies, she very slowly and nervously pulled off her soft gloves. Revealing long slender fingers and longish nails, she opened the supplies up... However she tried though she couldn't look at herself in the mirror. She would glance and then flinch away, holding an cotton ball covered in antiseptic for cleaning.

Giving up, she instead tried to wipe it without looking in the mirror or at Masaru. She could pretend she was alone, though she winced and gasped as she rubbed her wound too hard looking for it with the puff. He couldn't know her...weird thing about mirrors.

His expression held slight confusion as she avoided the mirror. Was something wrong? When she tried to apply the antiseptic she ended up pressing a bit too hard. Sitting down, he glanced at her again; raising a brow. "Is something the matter? If you'd like I can help. I used to have to do this myself so it's no trouble."

For some reason she didn't want to look in the mirror and was also having trouble doing it herself without it, so Masaru thought it best to offer help. He just hoped his suggestion wouldn't freak her out too badly.

"...you...ran into things... a lot....too...?" Maybe...just maybe he was as..dorky as she was? Masaru had fallen from a tree in their first meeting. Maybe....he was like her captain. Not some very sweet and cool nice man. Though he could be both? It would ease Mia's reactions a bit if she could remember this. Remember the dorky man... even if she hadn't seen it at the beginning.

A rather sweet smile appeared on her face before she glanced away and covered her mouth to hide the smile with a blush. She wanted her hood back. She wanted to be safe again. Shaking, she handed over the puff and closed her eyes. The faster this was done, the faster she could get back to her hood and leave. She...could bear this. He's a medical person, just think of him as someone from Division Four. This allowed her to let him...if he would... Her voice, still a whisper, sounded once again. "...thank.....you..."

"Ah, you could say that." Masaru replied, giving a small, sheepish chuckle as Mia handed over the cotton ball. "This may sting a little, sorry." He said before he began to gently treat her scrapes.

As he had been when treating himself, he was careful. Focusing on cleaning the scratches as Mia timidly thanked him to which he smiled softly to. "Welcome."

Masaru was a clutzy person too!? Mia could focus on that. She could focus on that and pretending to see him as a doctor. She could handle doctors. They were needed and doing a job. They were nice and soothing and weren't cute captains who were helping her... NO NOT cute captain. Doctor.

She couldn't resist wincing at the sting, it always hurt more when it was small wounds. He...had to stop being so nice. It was going to kill her and she shook lightly, muttering. "...don't....sorry..."

He gave a small chuckle as he worked, "Right, right..."

Masaru was glad she was trying to talk, knowing it must be hard for her to do so. He almost apologized that Nozomi wasn't around since it might make things easier on her, but she was sleeping and there was no helping that.

It wasn't much longer before he finished, pulling his hands away he gave another smile. "There, all cleaned."

No! No no no he had to stop. Mia's face turned beat red. She was holding up remarkably well. Practicing to herself and reading books on this stuff seemed to help... As did having closed eyes and visualizing things like doctor Masaru.

...Which now she was picturing him in the human world doctor attire and her blush deepened considerably. Damn you otome games. Damn you cute captains.

As Mia opened her eyes, she was treated to Masaru's smile once again and she had to look away. Her hair brushed the scrapes and she gave a small yelp since they were still sensitive from the cleaning. Looking at the supplies, she knew she would make a huge fool of herself if she tried to put some bandages on... It took a gulp and she turned to look at Masaru, asking for help require proper looks though she couldn't hold his blue gaze for more than a second. "...can...you...bandage...or...heal...or... help...please...sorry....thank...you..."

She could not look in the mirror at all, that she knew. But it needed covering... at least the one that would get bothered by her bangs.

"Of course, that's not a problem." Masaru replied, "You don't need to apologize."

Saying that, he moved his hands back; performing healing kido on the scrapes. They weren't serious so they weren't difficult to heal, especially since he'd practiced healing kido from a young age so he was pretty skilled at it. He wasn't as skilled as a high ranking officer of fourth, but he was skilled enough to get by and keep himself out of trouble.

He pulled back again when he was finished, still smiling as usual. "Feel better?"

Mia had to quickly close her eyes, wincing as she tried not to think of his bare hands near her skin. It...wasn't an unpleasant thought but her brain couldn't handle it. He was a doctor. DOCTOR. D O C T O R.

Not a nice man whose house she was in. No. No brain stop it. Finally it was over, though it was only a few seconds it felt like an eternity in her head. Her eyes opened and a finger went up to her face, feeling where they scrapes had been as her eyes looked up as if to see. She felt nothing at all and gave a sweet smile as she closed her eyes. Still a bit in shock, she spoke regularly. "Thank you Masaru."

...What. Mia's eyes opened as she did that, her hands going up to cover her mouth in shock. WHAT HAD SHE DOOONE!? She tried to escape and pull her hood up at the same time, but instead all she succeeded in doing was falling off the chair sideways in a tangle of cloak and extremely long hair. If fell from the cloak in long black locks over her body and face as she laid there on the ground again. She...needed a bubble.

"Ah! Are you alright?" He asked, concerned, moving from his seat down to Mia.

He hoped she hadn't hurt herself again, he could always help if she did but it was still best to avoid getting hurt all together.

Mia could not stand it anymore, she had to flee. She had to run far away. Scrambling to her feet, for the third time today she made a terrible error in judgement. The same error she had been too flustered to stop making. Her hair and cloak tripped her up, part way through her rising and since Masaru was right there... Her momentum and movements ended up tripping her as she fell against Masaru.

Not only that but the momentum pushed them both over onto the floor, Mia yelping as she fell against the captain who...broke her fall, though her chest broke her fall against him as she collapsed. She laid there limply on top of him, her head near his shoulder.

Her face was so red, she was so...embarrassed she literally could not move as she laid on top of Masaru. If someone could harness the energy of her embarrassment they could power a bajillion suns with it. That was how embarrassed she felt.

In another attempt to flee, Mia moved again but due to her cloak again. A surprised noise escaped the captain as he felt himself fall over, hitting the floor with a slight 'oomph' a moment later. He blinked, realizing the now extremely shy lieutenant had gone limp on top of him. She was likely extremely embarrassed, now more than ever.

Resisting the urge to apologize again for some reason, he carefully moved; one hand going on Mia's back to support her as he sat up. He moved her gently to sit on the floor in front of him, hoping that by moving he'd saved her at least some embarrassment. "Ah, are you alright? I'm s- ahaha...sorry, ah...I just apologized for nearly apologizing. Whoops." He chuckled, his face tinting a bit due to his own embarrassment. Apologizing for apologizing, that was quite silly.

Mia felt Masaru's hand on her back as he moved, her body reacting instinctively as it tried to grab his shirt. However she couldn't and let out a small meeping sound as he moved her so she could sit in front of him. Her face was unreadable as she stared up at Masaru, a mixture of shock and awe. The fact that she was staring at him so much was odd, but she just couldn't help it. What....kind of person... he had touched... so kind...

His words made her flush and she was about to try and flee again, her kneejerk reaction, but...his rather dorky next set of words calmed her instantly. She gave a small soft smile and...started to giggle lightly. "...that...was...silly...you...are..."

Masaru couldn't help but chuckle slightly in return, "I've been told that...I suppose there's no denying it. I can be, I guess."

Even if she didn't realize it, she was laughing a little which was a good sign. "I'm relieved you're not hurt though, truly."

"Y-You...are kind...as Hideki..." Sitting here on the floor...with a dorky captain who seemed just...soothing, Mia relaxed a bit more. Her voice grew a bit stronger, though she couldn't look at him. Those smiles would kill her, even if she sensed them. Masaru's obvious worry though made her flush and stare at the rather interesting table leg.

"...Don't...worry...I do it... a lot...no one...sees, cloak...hides..."