These Will Help!

"I-I'm fine, really! Tea should help, t-thank you..." Looking at the break room fridge, she took a bottle of tea as Yui offered a drink for her to take. Tea would help, tea was soothing and would help her. She liked both tea and coffee, but in this situation tea would be more helpful to her.

Just so long as she went a couple of moments without any flustering comments she'd be fine! Yui didn't have to go out of his way to help her or anything! This was perfectly normal for her.

He waited patiently for her to get back. "Just as well. I know how to give massages fairly well on paper, but I guess I haven't given any out yet." He sighed with a little shrug. He had been looking forward to it, but it was just as well. "But I'm glad the tea is helping. I didn't mean to upset you or anything. But you are the first girl who's been attracted to me. That I've known of anyway. I don't know how to handle the subject really." He said, simply following the logic of what she'd said herself.

M-Massages!?

"Y-You didn't upset me, really! It's okay, promise!" Ikue attempted to reassure, "This is n-normal for me, and there's probably tons of girls that are attracted to you they just can't say so out loud!"

That was how it typically was, there would be people others found attractive, but they just couldn't say anything. At most there would be gossip from what she'd seen, and some braver ones may ask for numbers...

There were probably plenty of girls that found him attractive though!

She was unsure of how to handle subjects like that personally either though, they were untouched territory!

He pondered that for a moment. "I suppose that's true." He crossed his arms again, sipping at his juice box sort of sideways from how he held it. "Honestly, I don't have much experience with anything related to all of that. My friend has given me some advice and whatnot, but I haven't actually engaged anyone romantically speaking." He admitted. He'd been meaning to, but there was so much he didn't know. And unlike most things this... stirred feelings.

Still, he was sure it was just like writer's block. "There WAS one older woman at my last job who gave me a rather suspicious wink, but even with how little I know about things, I know I wasn't interested in that." He had in fact been hit on by a 90 year old woman.

"I-I have no experience of...of any of that either, ahaha..." Ikue admitted herself; "I've seen situations, so I'm going from that. I'm sure there's plenty of girls that find you a-attractive and just haven't been courageous enough to say so."

His friend had been giving him advice, well...that was a start.

A...an older woman? Well...older ladies could...hit on younger people, it was common. That was an unfortunate first flirting experience...

"B-But yes, sometimes people just aren't courageous enough to go up to someone and openly...speak that way with the person they find attractive. It's really difficult to do so."

Testament took this into account. Hm. Some people... were afraid of showing affection? That was odd. He admitted there were some odd sensations but not fear. Should he try to be afraid of that? Hmmm... No... If he wasn't afraid of something he shouldn't TRY to be afraid of it. But was Ikue afraid of feelings of those nature? It would explain some of the blushing perhaps.

Hm. Well... She had just said she had no experience. It only made sense. He leaned forward suddenly. "Miss Ikue, I have the perfect solution. Since we are both without any experience, let's romance each other." Was that... the correct verb for this situation? He didn't know what verb you used for "do romance stuff"... Hrm...

"E-Eh!?" Another squeak escaped her at Yui's idea, unable to help it as her face burst into red again. Wh-W-W...What!?

That...That wasn't-!

"Th...That's, that's something p-people have to be r-really serious about! I-I don't know if I could just, j-just try it like that? S-S-Sudden...aaah...."

Just trying to learn about it through experience just willy nilly like that, she'd die! She would definitely die! It wouldn't seem real in her opinion if she were to just...try to learn! It didn't seem honest!

"Oh." Hmm... He hadn't thought that through. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to upset you. It wasn't an entirely random decision. You are very pretty and you like astronomy. But I can understand why some people don't like to become involved with people they just met." He knew it wasn't all people. Look at Emile.

"That's quite alright though." He said, with a smile. "I respect your decision and hope I didn't make you uncomfortable." He was a tad disappointed. He'd been excited at the idea of trying something new and Ikue was intriguing to him.

"N-No I-I'm sorry, i-it's fine it was just a...a really big shock, ahaha...." Ikue took a sip of the tea, hoping it would calm her. "I-It wouldn't feel...h-honest if I tried it just to try it and learn from it, a-and it's sudden t-to try with someone I just met..."

She'd just met Yui only...maybe an hour ago? She'd lost track of time with their conversation and everything going on, b-but it just seemed too sudden!

At her explanation, she attempted to offer him an apologetic smile.

Testament nodded. Ahh, he understood. "I see. I did come out with it rather quickly I suppose. Well, my intentions were honest at least. You are rather beautiful and I have not met anyone else with a passion for the stars, but I understand the lack of attraction from your end given the short time we've been acquainted." He said, wondering if that means he'd had affections for her? Made sense. Oooh, unrequited affection! He'd discovered something new!

"For what it's worth, if you had said yes there would have been a number of unveiled truths which might have shocked you regardless." It hadn't seemed right to lie about that, after all.

"S-Sorry..." She apologized again, she hadn't meant to...lead him on if she had, she had been enjoying their conversation too, even if she had been getting extremely flustered. It was just...really sudden...

Hm? Unveiled truths?

Ikue blinked at that, taking a sip from the tea as she tilted her head in question; well, she'd...technically rejected him, so it wasn't really her business to ask questions...

Hmm.. Could he... Could he tell her? Well. why not? He was sort of the rule maker and more importantly, she was spiritually aware, he could tell that much. So she must already be aware of ghosts and stuff. Yeah, it would be fine. This way they could at least be friends.

"I'm not actually human. I'm... Do you know what a hollow is? Because I'm a hollow.... actually from space..." That all sounded sane, yeah.

...Eh?

Ikue blinked again at Yui's words; he wasn't...human? W-Well...that wasn't...too far fetched, ghosts...humans...

"I-I don't know what...what a hollow is exactly. I-I've seen...ghosts...before..." He was a hollow? So they...looked like...people? He was from space? That...Is that why he said he was an expert? She...wasn't sure how much she could outright believe, but... She knew there were more than just humans around, since there were ghosts, and...

He sighed. Okay... How... could he explain this... Aha... He snapped his fingers and where there had been a 20 something boy, there was now a black space suit like armor. "See, this is my true form." He said with the same voice he'd had, but cold and distant as if through a tunnel. "When people die, their spirits are either sent to an afterlife by people called Shinigami, or if they're left long enough, they turn into a hollow, which is usually a monster that feeds on souls. I come from a dimension where Hollows are able to feed on the life energy of that place and require nor crave any such souls. Personally, I came from space after an interdimensional monster destroyed my home. So I waited in a ship for a few billion years and came here and SURPRISE, life and world and people and such."

He went to sip his juice box before realizing the glamour did some of the work for him and trying to pour juice into the filter was a pain and maybe wouldn't even set off his taste simulators. He snapped his fingers again and went back to his Cara.

"See? There would have been some truths if you HAD said yes..."

Again, a surprised squeak escaped her as Yui just suddenly...changed right here in the middle of a bookstore's break room. That... A space...suit? Armor? It...

She heard his voice as he began talking, though it seemed a bit more distance now, like he was speaking through a tunnel to her.

Hollows that lived off of life energy? Ones that didn't crave souls... Yui came from space though, it...it all sounded like something you'd hear or watch in a sci-fi but...but this was definitely real. Shinigami, life energy hollows..

H...How many things were there?

Humans, ghosts.... Bounts, Shinigami, just...all sorts of things...

"I-I...I see..." She... What could she say? It was...a lot...it was a whole lot to just take in so suddenly... There was a lot to digest here!

He waited to see.... how she would react. Eventually she did. She spoke and Testament grinned. "Ahh, I'm glad you get it! I was worried it would be too much to take in, but I know you're smart." He said, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. "So yeah, the world's all crazy and stuff I know, but you'll be fine with your powers, I think." He said with a nod. "And of course I would be happy to protect you any time. I think we're friends now ,though I'm not SURE how it works."

"Y-Yeah...there's definitely a lot..." Ikue gave a small nod; "We're friends, yup! If you...you spend time with someone and have a good time, and enjoy each other's company, you can become friends. I'd say this counts as friendship..."

Friendship was something she could do!

Hearing it from her, he... He tilted his head to the side. "Huh.. I guess... I have been a weird friend. Nothing like the friends on your TV programs, but I always figured there was some element of fantasy to those." He had watched an entire SHOW called Friends but it all seemed highly unrealistic. "So... That might explain to you why I'm still adjusting to socializing and how things work. I sort of haven't been around anyone for longer than say... a few months."

"Friendships can be really different for a lot of people! Sometimes it's just...talking and hanging out, others go on trips together if they're really close, but just overall friend have fun with one another!"

Television...sometimes it might dramatize it or make it...seem different, there were plenty of accurate portrayals as well though! It was..well considering how little contact Yui had with this world it was unlikely he saw that many examples to go by...

"Hmm." He... She was right, he supposed. All friendships were different... It sounded right.. Maybe he shouldn't be trying to copy other friendships then. "I guess... I don't know enough about friendships to know what I would do in one myself."

He sat up straight, remembering something important. "What about friendship bracelets! Where do we get those. Do we have to make them? And how do we choose what sort of powers they give us? I've always been a fan of the elemental kind, but I think the ones that change the friends into things has their uses, as long as you don't get stuck with one that turns you into water."

"Friendship bracelets? Ah! Those, ah...they don't really hold any kind of powers or anything...they're just accessories people sometimes get with their friends!" They were just normal bracelets, they didn't really hold any kind of elemental powers or anything.

Had...Yui been watching hero team shows that had superpowers in them? The kind with...maybe teen heroes with bracelets that granted them powers? It's all she could assume...

"O-oh..." He looked down. He felt... disappointed? Yes. This was disappointment. Wow. No magic friendship bracelets.. that was.... but... he'd thought for sure.... well, the world seemed a small amount less interesting now. Not enough to matter. Just a little.... He frowned and sank a little in his chair.


Hrm. Well, she didn't seem too excited on the subject. Friendship bracelets were probably also not first day sort of things. "So what sort of things are people supposed to do the first day they get to know each other?" He'd told her the truth... He could be a little more honest with his questions.

"Y-Yeah... This world...real-magic wise that's all just...fantasy and stuff... There's people that have powers, but...they're a lot rarer than shows and books make them out to be..."

Ikue assumed most people kept their abilities secret, if they had any...just like she did.

"Um... They talk, and learn more about each other! Become better friends!" They just talked...she guessed, it seemed like a good thing to do. Just keep talking and learning more about one another...

"Hm? But there's all sorts of magic. Shinigami actually use spells and incantations and what not. Also, one of my underlings literally has a fantasy realm." He rubbed his chin. "Though I guess you probably meant the human society. Yeah. There seems to be an underwhelming amount of magic here. But the technology you all have come up with is amazing, really." He said, getting excited for a moment.

"I see. Okay. That seems reasonable. So tell me about yourself. All I know is you like the stars, Miss Ikue." It seemed like sound advice. He just needed to learn about her to become better friends. Seemed easy.

"Y-Yeah...I guess whereas...you all have powers and magic like that all around, we have lots of technology advancements." From what Yui said, it seemed humans had come a bit farther with technology? That's what...it'd sounded like anyway.

More about her...

"Well...I used to live with my mom and older sister before moving here for school. I have my own apartment I live in now, while my sister is overseas studying in her own field. My mom's back at home though my old home is pretty far away from here...a good...ten hours maybe? It's a long trip, ahaha...

I spend most of my time at home, or at stores like these! My school is also a common place for me to be, but that's a given hehe..."