Espada don't DO Blind Dates (Open)

"Whaaat, you think? I thought you were really good in yours!" She hadn't thought she'd, as Esmerelda put it, 'blown her out of the water.' She'd thought the espada's performance had been quite good, she definitely had had a better start than her.

It didn't take long to realize Esmerelda's attitude was different from what it had been before. She was acting more cutesy now. Had the song been the cause? Still, Narue gave a bright smile at the suggestion. "If you want! Sure!"

"Psh.  No, I don't think.  I KNOW."  She reached over and gave Narue a little thwack on the nose with her pointer finger.  "And I think it would be awesome to sing WITH you, Narue-chan."  She leaned over to the machine and began playing with it, hunting for a song.

Finally she found one she recognized.  "Ooh.  This could be fun."  She put it on before stepping back to Narue.


As it started, she lowered her volume a little, letting Narue take the lead if she so wished.

"'Kaaay~!" Narue grinned while the espada went to choose a duet. She'd never done a duet before, it sounded like it'd be fun. Perhaps it'd be even more fun! They'd both seemed to have fun when it was just them singing by themselves, so maybe both at the same time would make it twice as fun!

The song Esmerelda chose sounded nice, she liked it; though she was a bit confused on who would sing first. When it seemed the other woman was giving her the chance to go first Narue hurried herself to catch the lyrics before she'd miss them. Not knowing the song, like before she'd started a bit iffy but her voice evened out throughout what was meant to be her lines of the song.

Esmerelda had no fucking idea how duets worked. She was under the impression that you sing them at the same time as someone else, especially if the song is not made to be a duet. So she occasionally would chime in, only to look at Narue and feel like she was maybe confused. When she finally did go to take over, she stopped, quickly, with a laugh. "Um.. Narue-chan, I don't think I know how duets work. We both sing, right? Is... that not how it works?" She gave a silly laugh, rubbing the back of her head.

"Hn? Ah, well they can be!" Narue replied, "Most duets have parts for one person to sing, then the next, and then they do some parts together. If you're singing with friends it's fine to do either way though! It's meant to be fun!"

Narue had just figured the second way automatically, but she was fine doing it either way. Both were fun sounding after all.

"O-Oh.. Sorry!" She gave a silly smile before looking at the song. "But... I don't think this song has duet parts so let's both sing?" She ask/suggested before looking at the board again. She took a step to stand next to Narue and held out her hand, obviously for Narue to take while they sung. Although it was odd, the way she stood there, it would be simply impolite of Narue not to take it.

"Okay! We can do it that way." Narue nodded, glancing at Esmerelda's hand for a short moment when she offered it before she stepped back for a moment to move Hato-kun to her back; his wings tied around her neck like a scarf as she successfully freed her hand.

Now that her hand was free she took Esmerelda's offered one with a bright smile.

She smiled, a pretty little smile, when Narue took her hand before turning her attention back to the song. She took a deep breath and then resumed singing, letting her voice come out loud and powerful, not overpowering Narue's voice, but matching it. She had a little trouble hitting the high notes, however.

Narue began singing again as Esmerelda did, fumbling a little bit but eventually getting the tune back as she went on; making sure to match the espada's voice as well so neither one of them overrode the other.

This was fun too, just singing the song at once like this. As she sang, how much fun she was having was apparent due to the smile on her face; Hato-kun swaying slightly on her back with even the slightest movements.

She glanced over a few times throughout the rest of the song, when she was confident enough of the words she knew. She giggled once or twice at how cute Hato-Kun and Narue were, but didn't try to tease her any further. When the song finally ended, she gave a little bow, as if they were on a stage before letting go of her hand and walking back to the table. She took a step back, realizing cheese sticks were there. They apparently had been delivered while they were singing. Huh. Good service.

She slumped down on the couch and picked one up. "I'm gonna take a break. You can sing another for now if you like."

Narue gave a giggle when the song was done, grinning afterwards happily. They'd done good! She thought so anyway. She glanced over at the cheese sticks, not having realized they'd arrived until now.

"I think I will too, I wanna try the cheese things." She replied, "I've never had them before."

Saying that, she moved over to the couch and took a seat; untying Hato-kun from around her and placing her next to him, putting the mic she'd been holding against him and making it look like he was holding it with his wings. Giving a satisfied smile she turned to the food, taking one of the sticks and taking a bite.

When she swallowed it her eyes had gained a bit of a sparkle. "Ahh, it's good!"

She popped the rest of the one she'd grabbed into her mouth and smiled, before raising a hand to her mouth to make sure none of the grease from it escaped. "Things that are unhealthy for you often are." She said with a chuckle. "They're a little heavy though. Want me to get us something to drink?"

She stood up smoothly, ready to go place an order for them if Narue was thirsty. She was on the fence and would probably decide based on the younger's decision.

"Hmmm...." Narue thought, "Well I guess water? What types of drinks do they have here?"

She could get soda, though she hadn't had many kinds, she could get tea but she wasn't sure if this place had that and it was a rather...common choice; about just as common as water. "Do you have anything you'd recommend?"

She turned, halfway out of the room to look back at Narue before stepping back in. She rested a hand on her hip, glancing down for a moment at her shoulder. She really did love these detached sleeves Narue had picked out for her. "Hmm.. What would I recommend?" She paused and looked up, thinking about it. "I was actually thinking of ordering something like an apple cider." She gave a shrug. "If Narue-chan thinks she could hold some more alcohol, she's invited to have one too." She gave a little smirk.

"I think I'll have it! I don't mind alcohol." She said, smiling. It sounded like it'd be good going by the name. She'd have to be careful and not drink too much though, no matter how good it may be. She knew her limit of tipsy at least and planned on sticking to it.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Okiedoke!" She turned on her heel and marched out of the room. She made her way into the main room where someone was singing a dreadful version of a Lady Gaga song. Foolish humans. How did they listen to her and watch her operate and not realize she was an Arrancar? It was truly one of the greatest infiltrations of human society by a hollow she'd ever seen.

She made her way to the bar and asked for two apple ciders. The man was starting to walk away when she raised a finger. "Actually, drop a shot of your strongest Vodka in one of those, could you?" She asked. He nodded. It only seemed fair for her to drink more alcohol then Narue, if they were going to stay the same level of tipsy.

A few minutes later she walked back to the karaoke room and placed a glass in front of the shinigami. "Drink up!" She said cheerily as she sat down. She bit into another cheese stick and took a sip of her cider. Hrm. Did she have the right glass? Yeah, she was pretty sure she did.

Narue waited while Esmerelda went to get the drinks, eating another one of the cheese sticks before pulling Hato-kun into her lap again; the mic dropping on the couch with a soft plump. It wasn't long before the espada returned, two drinks in hand.

The lieutenant took hers once it was placed in front of her, taking a drink when Esmerelda insisted. "Wooow, this is good too! I haven't had anything like it before."

She nodded. "Mhm! Cider is one of my favorites!" She said, eating another cheese stick and crossing one leg over the other. She sighed. "This is a lot of fun." She looked over and smiled. "I'm glad we're on this.... whatever." She said with a little chuckle. "Calling it a date would imply you think I'm pretty." She was honestly teasing, though her deadpan delivery may not have carried that over clearly.

"What's the deal with the doll, by the way?" She gestured with her chin at it.

Narue tilted her head, a small "hmm" escaping her. Well, Esmerelda was pretty? She could tell if people were pretty or cute or not. Couldn't most people? She smiled shortly after though at the question about Hato-kun.

"Hato-kun? Riichi-nii made him with me!" She answered, hugging the plush to her some. "He did most of the work though since I hadn't learned how to make things like plush toys yet. I've had Hato-kun since I was little. He used to be almost bigger than me but I got bigger!"

Esmerelda scooted a little closer, leaning over to pat Hato on the head. It didn't take much inference to figure this Riichi was some sort of father or brother figure. Hrm... The way she was so protective of the doll... Maybe... This Riichi fellow wasn't still around? She frowned and picked Hato up, looking closely at him for a moment, silently channeling shadows inside of the doll through the stitching.

She put it down. "Well he seems very cute. And loving. In fact..." She flicked a finger and the doll suddenly wobbled to its feet and haphazardly waddled over to Narue. "It looks like he wants to give you a huuug." Not wanting Narue to panic, she let her reiatsu stay noticeable while at work.

As Hato wrapped its little birdy arms around the girl, she leaned over. "And... what was that little 'hmmm' about?" She asked curiously.

Narue gave a giggle as Esmerelda had Hato-kun hug her; not having minded the woman touching him. She was fine with others playing with him, just so long as they didn't try to take or destroy him. She was happy that Hato-kun could make people smile, just like he made her smile.

"Hmm? Oh, that?" Narue answered, glancing over at Esmerelda past Hato-kun. "You said if it were a date I'd think you're pretty? You definitely have a prettier appeal than me, and I think it's obvious you are..." Narue 'hmm'd' again after speaking. "I fall more under the cute faction I guess...I mean, I get called cute."

Deciding she liked making Narue smile, she began dancing her fingers around and suddenly Hato-Kun took a few steps backwards and began doing little dances around the couch. "Pffft. Look at him go." She said with a little giggle, thinking to herself is maybe there was any possible way to give the doll the ability to do this on its own. Hrm.

She glanced up when Narue finished talking though. "Oh?" It wasn't a direct compliment. Not enough to bring any tint of red to the Espada's rather pale skin. She leaned closer to Narue however. "Oh they do, do they? Well let me assure you they're very right. Well... They're a LITTLE off." She reached out and placed a hand firmly on Narue's leg, rather high but still an inch under the line of her dress. "You are VERY cute, would be more accurate...." Her lips spread, revealing a pretty little line of teeth in a grin.

Giving another giggle as Esmerelda had Hato-kun dance around, the lieutenant hadn't noticed the espada move. She gave a small sound of surprise as she felt Esmerelda's hand find it's way to her leg as the woman leaned in, grinning.

She gave a small smile, the lightest tint in her cheeks at the compliment as she gave another small laugh. "Ehh, very cute? Really?" She asked before her smile returned. "I'm glad you and others think so! Though, cute in a cute way and not in a childish way...right?"

Cute was good, she liked it but she worried sometimes that they meant child-like cute. She was a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, if people thought she was a child...then no one would take her seriously. It was something that worried her deep down, even if she never let that worry show. She liked the way she was now, but she also didn't want to be underestimated simply because of the way she carried herself.

Her smile spread. Oh, she finally had gotten a blush. So that's how to play it, hm? She felt a little silly now for feeling so upset before. She flicked her fingers upwards and Hato-kun leapt up, flapping his little arms before landing on Narue's shoulder. He laid across her head, resting comfortably there. Esmerelda scooted over until she was right next to the girl, though not against her. "That's a silly question to ask me, Naru-Chan..." She said quietly.

She raised her other hand, that wasn't on her leg and ever so gently brushed a finger across her cheek to motion for her to look at Esmer. "If you were childish, I wouldn't have decided to go through with this date... I wouldn't have bought you alcohol... I wouldn't have kissed you... and... if I'm being completely honest? If you weren't VERY cute, specifically....." She leaned forward and bumped her forehead to the other girl's. "I wouldn't be resisting the urge to kiss you again right now."

It was..silly?

She wondered that as Esmerelda moved until they were next to one another, looking at the woman as she motioned her to do so. What she said...made sense. If it were the childish cute she wouldn't of done those things...

She gave a small 'oomph', though one of reaction over anything, as Esmerelda bumped her head to hers. Narue was a bit surprised by her last words. Resisting?

"Resisting?" She blinked.

The lieutenant wondered if that was best. She hadn't minded the kisses but then again was unsure about how she felt or where her true feelings lied when it came to the whole romance thing. She was still concerned if it truly was because of how she wanted to make people happy...If it was, then it'd be selfish on her end and she didn't want that. She wanted others to be happy, yes, and she did have a line with things but...just kissing and nothing too much more...she wasn't sure where that lied ...was it on the line or before it? If it had been past she would have stopped but...since she hadn't minded she felt it wasn't.

She didn't want to just string someone along though and she wanted to be able to hopefully be able to figure this whole thing out...