New Friends, Old Enemies

Hoppity hop. Hop hop hop. Aoi bounded from building to building, imagining a springing sound as she did. It was rather fun to be able to do such things, all the while she kept her senses wide open for traces of hollows or others.

The few fullbrings or others she sensed had been laying low lately, so when she felt that telltale burst, the young looking woman headed for it. A few other signatures, weaker than the human but enough that it may be annoying appeared. Hollows definitely.

Her hair streamed into her face for a brief second as she changed course, her feet tapping the side of a building as she used it speed away in the opposite direction. Being able to do this in broad daylight and not be seen was fun, she enjoyed this world as much as the afterlife. Both were like large playgrounds she could experience fully.

Getting close enough to spot the problem fully, Aoi crouched on the edge of a building as the sign came into view. Four hollows had surrounded a human fullbring, who was holding her own quite well. It couldn't hurt to have back up though. A twist and shift of her weapon and it extended its blades, as she hopped off the building with a mean laugh.

The first hollow looked up at the sound, which was what she wanted. She impaled the mask in a rather quick move, the hollow dissolving as its closest friend turned to her in surprise. A push off the air and she flipped backwards, slicing the mask and head of the second in half.

Hopefully she had given the girl enough of a distraction to finish off the others. Aoi giggled at the easy kills, preferring them to a 'good' fight. Turning to watch the rest of the spectacle, she leaned on her now not bladed weapon with curious blue eyes.

There were four of them, four hollows to kill this time. They weren't the strongest, she could sense that clearly. She'd fought stronger, killed stronger. They weren't a problem, but their numbers had led them to surrounding her.

It was a standoff for a moment, her eyes darting left to right as she calculated the best move to take; her goal being to annihilate them all without injury and then head home since work would be finished when these things were gone.

Just when she was about to make her move, her attention was grabbed much like the hollows on the new arrival; one of the monsters paying with it's life for losing focus. Taking the chance, she turned to one of the remaining three, aiming her blade at it's head before shooting; successfully piercing it's white mask before she vanished, using her speed to take down the remaining two.

Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud as she regained her balance, her eyes immediately going towards the girl that had jumped into the fight. Her eyes went to the weapon she leaned on before returning to her; her gaze cautious meeting the curious eyes of the other.

She was taller than Aoi by a few inches, but they were built similarly. The girl had a nice creamish hair color with a tail in back that she wanted to tug slightly. Her eyes were an odd color of red, one a bit different than the other. She killed quickly, with ease of use that showed much practice... She was a bit more experienced than Rin it seemed even if he was older than her. It was obvious she wasn't too old, though she could be anything from sixteen to about twenty-one.

Aoi examined the girl intently, still smiling. Waving her fingers in a cutesy hello, she tilted her head to the side and gave a long blink. "You're good, fullbringer. Hiya, I'm Aoi. This is my town."

She relaxed some, the weapon morphing back into it's original form of a red gemstone held by a thin chain wrapped multiple times around her wrist after the girl had introduced herself.

Her town? She didn't quite get the meaning of her words...considering multiple people lived here; though it was obvious to her this Aoi wasn't human. She seemed...to give off similar vibes to her boss. A shinigami.

"Muika." She replied, giving her named and a slight nod before figuring she might as well get confirmation. "You're a...shinigami?"

"Nice to meet you Muika." Aoi moved closer as her weapon shifted back to its shorter form as she stuffed it into the front of her uniform. Aoi's smile grew and she nodded rather enthusiastically.

"Yep! I am, its refreshing to meet more and more who I don't have to explain everything to! Ahah, poor Rin. He'd be happy to know I finally talked to one of you others. He miiight have been miffed, I can't tell." She rambled a bit in a friendly way, very excited and held out her hand for Muika to shake.

She was quite...enthusiastic, quite an opposite to herself with her cautiousness. So she was a shinigami, just as she'd thought. Made sense. Rin? Friend of hers? Her attention had been piqued though when Aoi spoke of others. Other fullbringers?

As she held out her hand, Muika moved her own after a moment to shake it as expected.

"Mhmm..." She gave a small nod, "I...guess you know others then? Fullbringers, that is. You just mentioned a name, Rin, so I suppose a friend?"

She figured she was just making conversation, or at least trying at it. The shinigami's business wasn't any of her's but she seemed to want to talk. Was she interested in fullbringers or something? She certainly seemed happy about meeting another one.

"Hm... I do! I could sense you but I never came to see you before, I really should have. It's just I was busy other times. There's a few of you I've slowly sensed, all spread out. Well, not all Fullbringers. Some others too, but you wanted fullbringers..." Aoi nodded and laughed as Muika shook her hand. it seems the girl was a bit less standoffish than she had thought.

At Rin's name, Aoi's smile turn very soft and she looked to the side. "You could say that, a very special friend. I really can't give you details on him though, he does seem to like his privacy and its not his lover's place to give it away. But your signature is normally found with that other one, the one always pulsing? They use their powers a loooot. Could be dangerous for them, since the hollows are starting to notice when they do~"

Aoi moved closer to Muika, eyes shining with curiosity. "Rin didn't know anything, so how is it that you know? Have you met many shinigami? Do you have some sort of Quincy clan structure?"

L...Lover? Unintentionally she felt her face heat up. Really, what was it with all the romance, feelings, and couple-y stuff lately...really, ever since...

She had to avert her eyes from Aoi's, after they'd widened slightly; her stoic disposition being...easily broken as she kept speaking, the heat in her face only seeming to increase when she mentioned the other presence she felt that was normally sensed with hers.

Though the mention of hollows noticing and the possibility of danger made her peek back at Aoi; a tinge of concern in her eyes. "R-Really..." She hadn't been aware Iyuki had really been using his powers that frequently...enough to draw in extra hollows?

Aoi watched the girl with a growing smile as she reacted in much the same manner Rin did. Was she shy too? It seemed she was either unused to even such casual mention of love or...she had someone she thought about too?

Why was she so red about it though? As the girl spoke Aoi's smile dimmed a bit. She gave a nod, her eyes on Muika. "Yes. Tell your friend to be more careful."

Now that she had given her warning though, Aoi's cheeks puffed up in a pout, her finger going out and pointing slightly. "You never answered my queestions... You got so flustered about what I said, Muika. Don't tell me you have one too? You are acting as shy as Riiin."

Muika nodded, still not quite looking but peeking at Aoi. "Yeah, I'll be sure to..."

She'd bring it up with him as soon as she could. His powers weren't offensive, so if a hollow attacked and she wasn't around...

She banished the thoughts from her mind, not really wanting to think about it. Once he learned how to manage that movement thing that she'd planned on teaching him, it'd give him an advantage to escape...but there was always the chance a hollow could move faster; so she needed to warn him, definitely.

"Ah, s-sorr-" Before she could finish, her brain managed to process Aoi's last words which in turn did nothing to get rid of the heat in her face...in fact it probably increased. "I..I-Ah, Uhm..." Her questions, focus on the questions, right. "Ah, you're not the first I've met but...even so I don't know much about them...as for some clan structure, no. It's just me and I-Iyuki, just at home just outside the city...in-in the forest."

That familiar shade of red. Muika was indeed incredibly flustered. Unless there was something else going on... Aoi had a pretty good idea what was going on. Someone was thinking about things~ She totally had someone in her life. Could it be that person she was with a lot?

That stuttering and her next words confirmed it and the shinigami leaned in closer with a mischevious smile on her face as she looked around Muika. The girl had met other shinigami, it wasn't a bit deal... There were many in her squad. HOWEVER... that last bit. "Oh... Oh... Oh! So you two live alone? Together? In the forest? Ah I bet thats fun. Lots of alone time for sex."

Between Ruka and Rin, Aoi was fully prepared for this. She knew the proper talkings. Yes.

"W-W-W-Wha..!?" Unable to control the surprised squeak at Aoi's sudden...assumption, Muika could only look at the shinigami; her mouth slightly agape. "W-W-We haven't...I..."

They were still getting used to the whole kissing thing for crying out loud! It'd only been recently that they'd finally faced the fact they were a...a couple. At their current state they'd both die if they went farther...

She couldn't even hardly believe this was even being talked about right now...In public no less! Sure there wasn't anyone else around but...

"I seeee. Why not?" Aoi's face was insanely curious. How did other relationships work? Especially in the human world. How did humans view things? Books only did so much to help and here she had a full human who could answer all questions! She would prefer to ask Masa but... he was rather lacking in such things.

Aoi reached over to pat Muika's head comfortingly, as she realized it could be something they wanted and didn't have. She should be comforting and helpful! "There there, its okay. Intimacy issues are okay to have too."

Why not!?

"Ah..Uh...Ah..." Before she could probably form a word though she felt a patting at her head. Intimacy issues? She wasn't quite sure? She supposed? Considering her past and all, but at the moment it wasn't...like that? She felt comfortable around Iyuki and mostly felt flustered when thoughts about...going any farther than they were managed to pop into her mind rather than uncomfortable. He wouldn't purposely hurt her, she knew that now. She believed it. She...trusted his words.

"Aww, its okay." The girls words and stuttering told Aoi all she needed to know and she tried to smile reassuringly. Poor thing. She was so embarrassed about admitting it... Maybe she was really shy and they needed help? Well... WELL. AOI COULD HELP THEM!

The biggest grin broke across her face, as Aoi exclaimed and made a peace sign with her fingers. "Okay! I shall help you two with your problems! Whether its sex or not! I shall be...AOI-SENSEI!"

Help...?

She was going to help?

What?

How had her day come to something like this? She'd woken up, gone to work, get the now expected hourly or so check up text from Iyuki, and did her work. Nothing was off there in her usual schedule, she'd gone about her day as usual and today another shinigami appeared and was planning on giving her relationship advice!?

They were still in public too! Just what was all of this!?

"I...We..." She didn't even know how to start with all of this. What was she supposed to say?

Agreement! Or as close as she was gonna get, Aoi gave a giggle and spun around. HER FIRST STUDENT IN LOVE. Such a lucky day! Looking around, she hmmed to herself and then flashstepped up onto the nearest building and looking down. Waving, she called to Muika. "Come on! Follow meeee~ I shall show you your first lesson."

What was she getting herself into? Why was she getting herself involved in this?

Those were questions even she knew she'd probably never have logical answers to.

She blinked, looking up at Aoi who stood atop the nearest building. Face still red, she let out a large breath; moving her hand to her pocket to hold her phone to be sure it wouldn't slip out as she went and followed the shinigami.

"This way, this way~" Apparently the girl could do the fullbring version of flashstep. Aoi was a bit interested in her powers, and that of course... But for now they had more important things to work on.

Maybe she could take the girl to Rin later and he could learn from her? Or help Aoi help Rin.

She was quiet, even Rin wasn't this quiet... Maybe she was just REALLY SUPER shy? As Aoi bounded around on top of buildings, heading in a certain direction, she spoke to the girl. "SO. What is their name? Are they niiice? I need to know a bit about them... Do you have a picture?"

She followed behind Aoi, being a bit grateful for the silence as it gave her a chance to calm down; that silence was short lived though before Aoi began asking questions.

"H-Huh!?" Muika, a bit bit surprised by the questions, though at this point she also had to wonder why she was even getting surprised...as they were more tame than asking about her sex life; though, she didn't escape becoming flustered again. "W-well...Ah, I...I-Iyuki...is his name...." She mentally scolded herself. Why was it so hard to answer questions like these!? There used to be times when she could talk straight, keep everything in check...now she could hardly go a day without getting flustered.

"H...He is..." Her voice was a bit quiet, but it was the best she could manage.

Aoi needed to know more about him to...give her whatever kind of help she wanted to? She'd had trouble just answering the first question, was permanent blush a thing? If it was she felt she was in danger of it...She wasn't used to talking straightforwardly! Not about liking things or what she liked about things! Iyuki included!

A picture!?

She...she did on her phone...considering he'd shown her and taught her about taking them shortly after they'd gotten her one. So she had a couple of pictures, some rather poorly taken from when she was still trying to figure it out...There were some decent ones though. There was also the one he'd sent her, that damned old picture of him and his bike she'd embarrassingly gotten flustered over...he'd claimed she'd need a wallpaper for her phone...Was that some kind of a joke!?

"Iyuki who is nice. That is good! That is great. Rin is really nice, he writes stories and likes to buy me things despite my insistence not to. He also likes to feed me... He really knows how to get me to say yes to such things." Aoi sighed dramatically, but she spoke rather softly with great feeling behind her words. Her smile helped, a bit secretive and yet really happy.

Stopping on top of a building at Muika's silence, she pursed her lips and looked at the girl. "Hmmm? Do you have one then? You seem flustered again~ Aoi sensei can tell something is up."

Muika listened to Aoi talk about this Rin person, she seemed really happy to do so which meant she must like him a lot. Some of the things reminded her a little of Iyuki, she didn't want him spending money on her...even if most of the things had been necessities for her, he was still spending his money that he worked for but he still managed to get her to agree to letting him.

"Mm..." She replied, giving a small nod, though it wasn't much of a reply which made her feel like she needed to be more responsive...or at least try to be. "H..He's like...like that, like with the buying things..sometimes...he does the...cooking too..."

Aoi turned to her now that they'd stopped, asking her about pictures again to which she glanced down at her phone in response to. "Um..Y-yeah..."

She almost denied being flustered but...even she knew how bad of a denial that would be. Was she supposed to show her them? The pictures that is. Could she even bring herself to do so!?

"Oh oh oh! I seeeee!" The shinigami was rather excited and came bounding up to Muika, forgetting for the moment their plans to...go somewhere. She reached down for Muika's hands, intending to hold them if the girl didn't pull away.

"They share things... We share things~" At confirmation about the photo, her smile grew wider. "Eeeh, I must seee! I have one of Rin, but not many... I just got my phone. So there's just two people in it. But your lover must be as adorable as you I bet!"

She didn't pull away as Aoi reached for her hands as she momentarily looked up at the girl before they went back down at her still currently closed phone. She was starting to realize, this atmosphere...with the talking and subject of conversation anyway, reminded her of the ones she'd noticed off to the side at old jobs...girls just talking, squealing, and laughing together over something.

"I don't, have many either." She replied, "still, not quite used to working it yet."

Contact wise, she only had Iyuki and work. Most of the phone's use came from trying to reply to Iyuki's texts, which she was still learning how to do as well...a bit slower than learning how to work the camera though. Sometimes she hit send before meaning to along with other errors.

The word 'lover' though caused most of that calmed flustered feeling to return again, must to her embarrassment. Sure...boyfriend and girlfriend were a bit...young sounding and a little embarrassing to say but they were young...and even though lover was more mature it implied...things they hadn't done...

"Uhm...ah...the pictures..." She glanced down at her phone again, now in between her hands and Aoi's.

"Ooooh! I see." Aoi's smiling face, if it could get happier, did. This... Muika, she was so similar to Aoi in a few ways. Maybe she had made a new friend? She liked making friends. It was warm and nice inside.

The girls semi flustered discomfort wasn't something Aoi fully noticed, being the person she was. Instead she continued her forceful way and let go of Muika's hand, to wave her to open her own phone. She wasn't as bad as before and would respect that boundary, even if she was pretty much forcing the girl anyways. "Show me, show me~"