Quiet is Best

Rivals...?

It was the polite way of putting it he guessed...

"Guess so..." He replied; glancing over, he noted the woman looked like she was about ready to bolt...just what...? She was nervous as all hell from the looks of it...

Mia nodded, letting her hair fall in front of her face as she turned to look down. She was quiet, not wanting to bother the human again...

But it was just awkward sitting here... silent... The kitten was staring out at the world from her chest... drifting off it seemed but she didn't doubt the little thing would start with claws the moment she tried to pull it out. Even if it was asleep...

"A-Are you...f-friends with...Aoi th-then?" If Muika and him were rivals...then...did that mean he wasn't friends with Aoi? She had questions...

"...I guess...she mostly comes to annoy me though..." He didn't really want to just...agree to the term "friend" with her...it was more like "didn't hate." The shinigami, whenever he saw her, pestered him most of the time...

Briefly, his mind flashed back to when she'd met him at his apartment and drug him to that damn playground...

Mia looked up, startled and surprised to find...such common ground. Violet eyes wide, she stared over at Aito and blinked before smiling again. "Sh-She...shows up to annoy you too? I-I thought she...only did that to me..."

She looked away after a moment, a nervous smile replacing the other more true one.

"...Forgot to message her after I moved...so she had me run her around a damn playground..." He...briefly explained the most recent happening, though he still wasn't looking in Mia's direction, still choosing to keep his eyes averted.

"...that's...that's awful..." Mia shuddered, imagining the hyper Captain making someone run her around a playground. She looked over with real sympathy, smiling softly. "I-I'm sorry... When...I started...dating her captain...so she...sent boxes...of...of...adult...magazines...."

Mia covered her face, turning bright red as she admitted that. The traumatized...by Aoi club had started session...

"Gh..." Aoi sent straight up porn to someone like this woman? Even if he hardly knew her, just from her disposition she didn't look like a person who would...really care for those.

It seemed like...a bit much to send someone who just started dating...

Mia moved her hands after a moment, nodding at the sound Aito made as she stuck the popsicle in her mouth again. It was hot...with the cloak on and everything so... She pulled it from her mouth with a pop as she continued.

"B-But I owe her...so its...not..." Its not like she could do anything... Sighing, she murmured for a moment. "M-Masa and her are...close so... I-I'm stuck... I-I'm sorry... maybe y-you can...avoid her?"

"...Don't really think so...She's friends with Okura..." And Okura's housewife was attached to him for some reason, well...they also worked together now as well, so he was around...

Plus Aoi knew where he lived...

That...was annoying... Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a bigger bag of Kompeito and set it on the bench space between them. Mia was relaxing a bit and so could give him a smile, a real one before looking away with a blush.

"H-Here... since you can't...avoid her either... C-Consolation gift...b-between...victims of her?"

Aito glanced over at the mention of a consolation gift, wondering what she meant before his eyes landed on the kompeito. He blinked and then accepted the bigger bag, pulling it closer to him as he averted his eyes again.

"Ah..." He gave a small nod in response.

Mia watched it curiously, Aito seemed... to... he was just really quiet but... he seemed maybe a bit happy at that?

"Do...do you really like it? I-I have a bunch... I sent some home with Muika but there's... still a ton..." Did...averting eyes mean...he liked something? He...was he shy too just in another way?

Mia felt herself relaxing and a soft smile appeared on her lips. He...wasn't so scary...

"...It's alright..." Aito replied, though obviously downplaying his opinion of the candy; of course he liked it...

Wait...She'd sent some home with Okura...then that bag he'd been sent home with...

"So that was from you then..."

"..." Mia peered at him curiously, wondering... could it be he... He seemed to really like it and yet...was pretending he didn't...

Something about the man was bothering something in the back of her head... But that was pushed aside as he spoke.

"H-Huh? From me?" Confusion shown on her features, eyes wide as she stared at Aito before blinking a few times. "What...what was?"

"Kompeito...Okura's...housewife said she brought a lot of stuff back and said they couldn't eat it all..." Aito replied; Mia seemed confused, though...he guessed when he thought back on what he'd said it was understandable.

"...Oh!" Mia was startled, he had tried some already? She blushed a bit and looked away, fidgeting a bit. She asked a vital question, hoping he would answer... "D-Did you..enjoy it?"

She liked it when people liked her food...but she could understand if he hadn't... A nervous and fearful aura appeared around her as she waited for a reply. Mia was a bit happy they had shared the kompeito...though with Aito being Muika's rival... was a rivalry that was somewhat friendly?

And housewife?

"A-Ah..." Aito gave another small nod, it...it'd been good...the kompeito.

It'd tasted better than the ones you'd find at the sweets shops around here even...but...obviously he couldn't say that!

He liked them! Mia's bright smile lit up her face and banished the nervous aura away. She tilted her head, smiling with her eyes closed for a brief moment in pure joy as sparkles fluttered from her. "Thank you... I am really glad."

"If you ever...ever want more... I can make some. I-I like making sweets for...people... I-Its part of my job too..."

"A-Ah..." Again, he gave another small nod, in response to both of her statements; kompeito was most welcome...even if he couldn't say that outright.

He enjoyed kompeito though...so if she wanted to make more and give it to him that was fine...

That...sound meant...Where had she heard those before? Mia's mind was whirling as she smiled again, Aito it seemed would like it but then what was bothering her...

Mia reached into her cloak and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and quickly jotted down her number and email for the man before setting it too in the middle of the bench before pulling her hand away. It wasn't that she was afraid of him too much anymore...it just meant that she couldn't get too much closer. "H-Here...if you ever need something...just in case... I-I...spend a lot of time here... E-Even if Papa got me to like the Rukon a little more..."

His eyes went to the bench again as Mia set down a piece of paper; reaching for it, he pulled it to him and looked at it as Mia explained what it was.

"Mn..." He nodded again, waiting a moment or two before actually pulling out his phone to input the number.

"Y-You can probably defend yourself... B-But I know a lot of history about the spiritual stuff... I-I'm a librarian, The Librarian of the Seireitei..." Mia was flustered admitting that, nervous little flames appearing on the bench and on her cloak as she shifted in place.

She...could other than kompeito...help him too...

Well...he hadn't developed his abilities yet, but...he...he could defend himself just fine. He was confident in that department.

When she mentioned history and stuff...he wasn't really sure what to say, did he even want to know anything? What was he supposed to ask or say at hearing that...?

"S-S-Sorry..." Mia felt that it maybe came out weird or like she was boasting... She leaned down a bit and covered her face with her hair as she turned away. She had just wanted him to know she wasn't good at helping in ways like Aoi was if he needed... but she could in other ways...

Her nervous flames grew a bit stronger and she batted at the ones on her to put them out. Stupid, she was stupidly nervous... she hadn't been this bad in a long time...

"'s...s'fine..." He repeated; he hadn't responded because he hadn't known what to ask, he just...didn't have questions! He knew a...decent amount of things and he thought it was enough. "...I don't have any questions...right now..."