No Moping, I Swear

"She can sleep then...maybe we should move her? That can't be comfy." Mia's voice lowered the same as Masa's as she leaned over to speak with him. She...still hadn't let go of his hand but it was comforting in a way.

"I-I don't...need the cloak right away." She glanced down, willing to let the cute little girl keep it for now.

"Mm, I...ah or well could take her to her room?" He replied, glancing at Nozomi before looking back at Mia.

It'd be more comfortable than the table, that was for sure...and where she was probably wasn't that comfortable to begin with as Mia had said.

He wanted to ask if Mia was sure about letting Nozomi wear the cloak for a while longer, but he was also happy she was making the effort to be without it. She'd gotten better about having the hood down and such in time and that'd made him happy as well, but he did want her to be comfortable and the cloak helped provide her comfort.

"I think that'd be good. She seems exhausted." Mia's smile was soft as she stared at the young girl, resisting the urge to go over and kiss her forehead. But she did let go of Masaru's hand, slightly unwillingly so he could go pick her up. She nodded to him, intending to take the large cloak off of the girl once he was holding her. If it was possible without disturbing her...

Maybe...she wouldn't put it on once she got it back.

Giving a nod, Masaru approached Nozomi after Mia had let go of his hand...though he was a bit embarrassed to admit, even to himself, that might not have wanted to let go. Carefully, he lifted the sleeping girl into his arms. She didn't stir as he lifted her up...as she could be a heavy sleeper at times, so normally she never woke when it came to picking her up.

When Nozomi had settled, Masaru glanced over at Mia and gave a small smile before approaching her again.

"She's a bit of a heavy sleeper...so if you want your cloak I doubt she'd stir." Masaru whispered once he was in talking distance from the woman.

"I wouldn't want her sleep to be uncomfortable." Mia blushed slightly, the sight of Nozomi being carried by Masa too cute for words. He was practiced at picking her up and looked almost like a father... However she gave a small nod, hoping her blush wasn't too obvious as she reached over to the girl. Unsnapping the cloak carefully, she held it in her hands for a moment. Her eyes watched it before she folded it up and hung it over her arm.

A minor victory, but she let herself smile at this as she glanced back up at Masa, hoping he hadn't noticed her reaction. "Lets get her to bed. I'll get the doors for you."

Remembering where Nozomi's room was, Mia slipped her hand to his arm and looked away as she lead the way quietly. She...wanted to touch him. So what.

He waited patiently as Mia removed the cloak, she was sure to be careful in removing it before folding it over her arm. He'd noticed her smile at herself and he couldn't help but feel a bit happy she hadn't directly put the cloak back on. When she glanced back up at him he gave a small smile before nodding.

"Sounds good." She took his arm, which he couldn't help but blush slightly at but he certainly wasn't opposed to the action...

Leaving the room, they made there way down the halls to Nozomi's room. It was a nice, comfortable looking room with a few toys scattered about, as she'd been playing in here earlier, a bed, a closet...a nice, normal, and comfortable room...though perhaps her bed was a bit nicer than what most kids usually had.

Gently, Masaru put Nozomi to bed; pulling the covers over her so she wouldn't get cold before turning back to Mia. Now Nozomi was in bed comfortably, which was good.

Mia glanced around the room with a grin, feeling as if she should pick up a bit but knowing the sounds might wake up Nozomi. Maybe when the girl woke up they could clean up a bit together... A bit shocked at the thought that she'd be staying for a while, Mia's face flushed bright red as she watched Masa tuck her in.

Smiling at him despite the blush, she quickly left the room so she could speak to Masa. Once they were both outside of the room and the door was closed, Mia's voice was still low just in case it would carry too much and wake up the girl sleeping nearby. Her purple eyes soft as she looked at him, she tried to make sure she didn't look away for once even as her hands played with her long hair. The cloak still hung from her arm, she wasn't sure what to do with it now. "You take good care of Zomi, Masa..."

Masaru followed Mia out of the room, stopping outside the door after closing it as Mia began to speak. He couldn't help but smile a bit at her words, about how he took care of Nozomi.

"I try and she seems happy which makes me glad." He replied, "I do feel a bit bad she's restricted to remaining within the clan grounds though, but at her age it's dangerous...so I try to make up for that by playing and spending time with her when I can."

Though, these past few days he hadn't been living up to that...which did make him feel bad and a bit guilty.

"She loves you lots. Its really obvious you do succeed, in trying I mean." Mia flushed more, looking down for a brief moment. What she had to say though would seem...mean. Even if he hadn't admitted to liking her... she had to at least say this.

Her eyes looked a bit pouty as she glanced away, her mouth frowning as a mark on the wall drew her absolute attention. "But she's been confused and I think a bit upset by your hiding the past few days... Y-You...should apologize to her."

Feeling bad for her words, she turned back and gave Masa a formal bow, her eyes closed. "I'm sorry for...my unkind words but... I had to say them. I-I tried to distract her but...she was worried. I should have came by sooner but...I thought you were upset with me so...I was a coward too. I bear responsibility as much as you for her unhappiness."

Glancing to the side, Masaru gave a nod. "Y-yeah...I've been meaning to...I do feel guilty for that so I'll need to apologize for it."

He was a bit caught off guard at her bow though, as she continued with an apology of her own. Blinking for a short moment, he eventually shook his head; moving his hand and held it out for her if she wanted. It'd probably be best to go somewhere else where they could sit or something and talk rather than stand outside of Nozomi's room...

"It's alright, I understand." He replied, though his face a bit tinted red at this point due to his next words. "N-No need to apologize for that or...bow...or anything...you don't...n-need to be formal with me. We both...misunderstood and I'm sure once we apologize Nozomi will feel a lot better."

"T-Thank you..." They really shouldn't talk out here with her sleeping in there, so maybe... Ah, he held his hand out. She reached for it slowly, still a bit unsure about what she should say or do around him now. However he had said be less formal... And he was right, they really shouldn't be at all.

"All right. Lets...go talk somewhere else..." Mia got that out without stuttering, glancing up at Masa's face with a small smile and blush as she took his hand again. Her fingers slipped between his without her thinking about it and she flushed more, her other hand bringing up strands of black hair to cover her mouth with.

She'd follow where he led, unsure of what or where he wanted to go inside his home. His giant...mansion. The Noble Shirakawa mansion. Mia needed to stop thinking about that. She was making herself nervous...

Giving a nod, Masaru began walking; his face still tinted red after Mia had taken his hand. He figured they could go to one of the lounging rooms...like the one they'd found Nozomi in but...there were better places, those rooms could sometimes be too quiet at times...especially if both of them were going to be getting flustered or nervous or something.

Perhaps...

Where he led them was back to his room, but his room wasn't where he intended to go. They just needed to pass through it. He wanted to apologize, knowing leading her back here might be...well misleading and probably terrifying so he tried to pass through it quickly. There was a sliding door past his bed, opening it led outside to a garden area. It had a much nicer, calming and peaceful view...passing through his room was just the quickest way of getting to it...unless one wanted to walk all the way around the mansion practically to get to it.

There were trees, a small koi pond nearby, and a few other planted flowers and other plant life that mixed well together. They currently stood on the wooden platform or well...walkway which would be where they could sit.

"I-I figured this would be better than...well...those lounging rooms...better scenery anyway. It's...quicker to get here by bypassing my room...so sorry we had to walk through there." He said, glancing away out of slight embarrassment before momentarily letting go of Mia's hand to retrieve two cushions they could sit on instead of the wood.

Mia followed slightly behind Masa again, her hand holding his out in front of her like a heater sending small sparks up her arm. She rarely touched anyone, especially bare skin to skin... and holding hands was something that couples did... Which they were now? So it felt more... explosive than it should be.

She hadn't noticed they were heading for his room again, not until he opened it up and sped her right through. Of all people Mia would never think Masa that type of person, so she hadn't even thought it odd of him to lead her there. Maybe he had wanted privacy and it offered the best place to? However as the other door opened, she let out a small laugh as Masa led her outside.

The garden was beautiful and she was smiling brightly as she glanced over everything with bright eyes. She had to cover her mouth to hold in a giggle at his apologies though, glancing over at him with warm eyes. "Nuh uh. Y-You aren't that type of person...I wasn't nervous at all. It is gorgeous Masa..."

Waiting for him to return with the pillows, she looked around the garden with curious eyes and a small grin. The koi looked pretty, she wanted to try and feed them... but she had nothing on her and didn't know if they needed a special diet. Their flashes of color made her smile more as she stared at them a bit entranced.

He was a bit relieved by her words, being glad she hadn't been nervous..and that she didn't think he was that type of person, which he wasn't. Still though, he was relieved to hear that.

Placing the pillows on the platform, Masaru waited for Mia to sit before he moved to; giving a small smile when he saw that she seemed to like the garden. He was glad, he'd thought this place would be better and it seemed he'd been right...

"I'm glad to hear that." He replied, speaking in response to all that she'd said. "This area is nice to relax in, the peaceful atmosphere of it helps anyway. Sometimes after working if it was stressful I usually came out here and it usually helped sometimes."

Giving a small smile to Masa as she took a seat on the pillow, she curled her legs around to the side. Kimonos were bad for sitting any other way and hers while not being a fully layered kimono, it was still rather fancy. She liked fancy clothing in all honesty... "Thank you Masa."

She was thanking him for a lot more than the pillow and put a lot of feeling into those words. Looking out at the scenery she relaxed quite a bit, pulling her hair over her shoulder so she could play with it and so it didn't drag on his walkway. "It really is soothing isn't it... I wish my garden was half as pretty. But this only helps sometimes?"

Mia turned to look at Masa fully, a big of a frown on her face with worry. If he was stressed...

"Well, there are some things just sitting and trying to relax...just wouldn't help help. It's not very often but it happens." He replied, glancing out at the garden before giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile when he'd noticed her frown.

"Work related things...that's what it helps with most, for me anyway." He tried to explain, "Other things it's a bit more difficult but sometimes it's manageable and I'm able to relax...if only a little. That was mostly way back when though...when it didn't help, so don't worry."'

"Yeah... Thats really true huh." Mia smiled a bit, reaching for Masa's hand again without thinking as he tried to reassure her with his smile. However the garden was forgotten for the moment as she felt... a bit worried at his words. Was it noble family problems? What other worries piled on his shoulders than just running a Division, already a hard task.

"I-I can't help but worry." Mia's voice stuttered a bit as she looked away and down. His words seemed a bit odd, something happening back in the past that was bad. Would he...want to talk about it? She didn't want to pry... she was curious but not enough to want to bring up something painful.

"Was something really that bad then? That...nothing helped?"

He felt a pang of...fear run through him at her question, she was concerned he knew and it made him happy to feel she was..though his happiness didn't completely override the unease.

"Ah, well...family things and such...It's not so much of a worry now though." He replied, holding the hand she'd reached out to him. "There's still some pressure when it comes to the whole nobility thing but it's definitely manageable."

Still, he felt...a bit bad not saying anything...the whole...couple thing meant sharing these types of things but...he was a bit afraid to.

"Remember when I said I hold all my friendships at an extremely high value?" He asked, figuring he could at least give her this much. "It's because...friends weren't something I was allowed growing up, for reasons I'm a bit...afraid to admit honestly, but now that I can connect with others...those bonds formed are things I cherish a lot, so...I suppose I might...overreact maybe...if I feel I'd perhaps...messed something up."

Family and stuff things? So...something with his deceased parents. Mia felt bad for asking, it might have been a sore subject. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze as he took it, her smile a bit sad. "That's a relief, you have a lot of responsibility... A child to raise, a division and family to run. It's amazing you don't break."

His next words caused more confusion than they helped solve, though she felt...angry. Very angry at those words for very good reasons. Who would deny someone FRIENDS!? Ever!? It... made her rather upset. Her cheeks tinted red as she pursed her lips, glancing out to the garden as she tried to control it. "I...don't understand that...Why would someone deny you friends!? Y-You don't have to say... if it scares you..."

She honestly couldn't imagine something scaring Masa, but he had said he was afraid to admit... Still she continued her grumpy words. "Thats...really understandable then. I'm sorry I caused this whole...fiasco then Masa. I-It must have hurt you lots to think that for days..."

Mia was still upset, biting her lower lip and holding his hand tighter, now adding in her own frustration at herself to this list. Looking down she saw a small purple flame appear on her hand not holding Masa's and she quickly hid it behind her.

"Mm, Nozomi isn't really...hard on me at all...She honestly helps me and I'm glad to see her living a better life than she was out in the Rukon. She didn't really have friends before meeting me either so when I offered to take her in as a little sister of sorts she was happy."

He squeezed her hand back as her grip tightened, another gesture he hoped to have some reassuring value to it. "I had...secrets to keep...and by having friends I was at risk of revealing those secrets. That's...that's why."

"It's alright, you don't need to beat yourself up over it...we both had a misunderstanding then, it's...it's fixed now so everything's alright. We know the full situation now and we worked it out...the outcome was...rather unpredictable but...I can say I'm not displeased and that I'm h-happy." He smiled.

"...You are so sweet I can't..." Mia's faced flushed red and her earlier frustration disappeared, even as her smile widened. She was embarrassed at her own reaction but how else was she to! He...was raising a child, he felt no issues with doing so... he even felt she helped? And he had taken her in from the Rukon thus probably saving her a bad life if she had no one else to help her... And considered her a little sister. If she was less shy she would have hugged him by now, though the urge was strong. "I-I'm sorry it...just is amazing to me...y-you are amazing..."

Her awe didn't last long though, a bit of sadness replacing it as she watched Masaru, her purple eyes showing all her emotions clearly. She carefully did not glance at his bare chest even now.

"I-I see. Are...they still secrets now?" Mia asked softly, wondering if she was pushing the bounds too much. If he wanted to tell her, she'd listen and also respect if he didn't as well.

"Hehe...you are right... I-It worked out for the best, mhm..." Brushing a strand of hair from her face, she looked down a bit. G-Girlfriend...d-dating... That had not been the expected outcome of anything she had ever thought. "I'm happy...too..."

Masaru felt his face redden at her compliments. Amazing? He wasn't quite sure about that but he didn't say otherwise.

"Well...there are some that know the details, since it wasn't exactly an easily kept secret at one point. So I doubt it's difficult to find...though I guess...it would be more appropriate coming from me?"

Again, he was a bit scared to talk about it but like when he'd told Aoi...it was better for those close to him to hear it from him rather than coming across the information...

"So I suppose they're not exactly...secrets anymore." He added, looking off to the side for a second.

"I'm...not going to go digging in your past and find out from other people." This was the side rarely shown to others, Masa having seen it just earlier this day. A stubborn streak when it came to things that were right and making others happy. Mia let go of his hand and moved so she was facing him fully, her hands going up to his cheeks and turning his face to hers. Her face was much closer than it had been since they kissed, much much closer. It would kill her in a bit what she was doing, but she was a bit upset at this.

"If it upsets you and hurts you and you can't talk about it right now, that's okay. I'll wait! I'm fine with that..." Mia's eyes were fierce as she stared into Masaru's icy blue ones, as she did the top of her head burst into purple flames though the hair itself wasn't affected at all. She didn't notice, her attention focused on the man in front of her. If it was something so painful he... didn't like to even speak of it and seemed so upset...and involved something so painful he'd be like this years later...

"I won't take your words or past from you and pry it open like that ever! So...if you want to wait and talk about it later, just tell me Masa."

His eyes had widened slightly, out of surprise, when she'd turned him to her. He believed Mia in her words, when it came to promising to not go look things up...it was just that...if some possibly caught word of them... It wasn't like he didn't trust those close to him, just...even if they didn't look it up it could be something they hear from someone else, whether or not they chose to believe something like that it was up to them.

He hadn't yet noticed the fire due to their proximity, had he he would certainly be freaking out right now wondering if there was anything he could do to help with that.

It would be best to tell her, he wanted to he was just a bit...afraid.

"I'm...going to bring this back again but..." Masaru averted his eyes momentarily before returning them to Mia's. "When I said I wasn't allowed friendship...because there were secrets...it was something that absolutely could not be found out...That secret being...had I made friends, made connections with others; it would have only raised the chance of someone finding out...all of my training injuries...weren't actually from training."

Bring what...back... Mia was a bit concerned though she didn't move at all even as Masa glanced away briefly. It was something he had trouble saying, she wouldn't interrupt for anything.

Masaru's words reached her, the fires died down to a small flame that danced on her head, the only sign of her utter dismay. Mia's hands dropped from his face as she moved back to sitting, her eyes watering just slightly. It wasn't hard to piece together, not with this confirmation...

She had never experienced something like that...no one would touch her raise their hand to her back then. It was too dangerous. But others... she'd seen that.

"Is that, how you got...?" Mia bit her lip, unsure of how to ask or respond as she looked at the large scar he always showed off... Normally she'd be blushing, staring at his chest like this but now... One hand reached out as if to touch it, but stopped part of the way there. Her hand hung in the air, not wanting to hurt him but also...

She felt awful for him, but it was long in the past even if it still bothered him. Did she tell him she wanted to...hurt whoever did that? She hated bullies. HATED them. Those who hurt those weaker for no reason made her furious, but she...couldn't show that to Masa.

The purple flame atop her head poofed out of existence as she finally regained control over the emotions causing it to appear.