A Captain's Visit

Okay, maybe the way to break the news she had moved in with Masaru had not been to invite Hideki over to the mansion. Mia was a bundle of nerves, pacing in one of those waiting rooms that the workers here had prepared for her. She was getting used to things, but it was weird... A few days were not enough to settle her nerves and she found herself hiding a ton in closets or rooms at times when she heard someone coming down the hallways.

It was so large... She hadn't even gotten used to anything other than the path from Masaru's bedroom to the kitchen or front door. Luckily the whispers hadn't started in earnest yet, so Mia wasn't too bad off she felt asking for help sometimes.

If she stuttered and barely could get the words to form, the ones she talked to waited patiently.

Hideki and her hadn't had a proper chance to speak in forever, her life had gotten so hectic soon after the beach date. Her father had been pardoned, Hideki informed of that through excitement but not elaborated on. Mia had also sort of informed him of her bankai, not telling him much about it other than Masaru was training her in its use... Those two events combined with work and lessons from Yuzuki stole most of her free time. They talked but not tons and mostly through small messages or at work...

It was time they talked more and a lot more thoroughly... Like a lot. She hadn't told him she'd loved Masaru, though it was easy to guess at this point and she'd blossomed quite a bit and much more quickly than any had thought possible. That steel and mule-like stubbornness that ran through her was beginning to show its true shape as Mia opened up and continued to do so.

Still, wearing a rather pretty kimono of her own make, she decided to stop waiting here and headed for the gate to the Shirakawa property. One of the triplets looked startled as she exited the room, bowing and she gave him a grin. "I-I should greet him personally."

"...As my Lady wishes." The reply was formal and Mia just flushed, looking away as she scurried down the hallway to the guarded gate. Aaah! What was she supposed to do about all of this!?

Hideki inconspicuously plodded on towards the Shirakawa mansion, gazing around at the noble living areas in restrained wonder. How could people even get places this nice? It most certainly put hjs quarters to shame.

Maybe the audaciously lavish houses simply weighed on him because they reminded him of his other biggest concern. Namely that his newly founded relationship was about as mismatched in terms of socio economic status as his quarters were to these houses.

Still, he was here to meet Mia for some quality catching ip time. Though why they were meeting at the Shirakawa mansion was.... well, he had some guesses, actually. As he approached the gate, he came to a halt in front of it, unsure of what to do... You don't just knock, right?

"Um... G-Greetings!" He called out, trying to sound formal. "I'm here to see Lieutenant Nezo? Err, Mia that is..." He frowned, feeling completely out of place now.

The people who kept the gate, guards really, were about to open the gate for the rather awkward formal call when they heard a small commotion behind them. Mia, having also heard the voice of her captain, hurried forward. "W-W-Wait! I'll... I-I'll get it!"

The guards just blinked and looked away, hiding laughter as the new Lady of the house scurried forward with a blush to the door. One of them politely opened it and kept her face hidden, not wanting to be seen failing at holding in laughter. It really wasn't a sight most were treated to...

Mia smiled brightly though as the door in the gate was slid open and to the side, still flushed but trying to fight it. "A-Ah... Hello Captain. U-Um welcome!"

She obviously wasn't sure what to do herself and looked around, blinking at the guards who just gave a polite cough towards the building. Mia brought a hand to her lips, and nodded before backing up to allow Hideki in. "Oh! Um, please come inside with me. I-Is there snacks you would like?"

Yeah! She could do this!

Hideki took a step back as the gate opened. Jeez... Doors like this sure could be ominous... He could understand why Soul Society had such a classical appearance to it, but did it need to be QUITE so medieval? He felt like Samurai were about to come at him at any moment... Then again, this was the Shirakawa estate. DID he have samurai? Holy shit, that'd be so cool.

He was distracted from his train of thought by Mia's arrival. "Hi!" He responded with a wave of his hand before coming in quickly to give her a hug. "Hm? Oh. Uhh. I'm okay for now... unless you had snacks already, or wanted snacks?" It was an odd question to ask so out of the gate...

He quickly turned to the guards and, not sure how to formally greet them, simply waved to them too. "Hello." He said a little uneasy, but nonetheless friendly.

Mia returned the hug as Hideki came over, feeling a bit relieved by that action reminding her that it was her Captain and thus... Safe. He wouldn't feel upset if she messed up a few times. "Ah, I panicked and forgot to ask about getting snacks... I could ask about tea though? If you want, I think I'm supposed to serve you tea regardless..."

She was rambling a bit, but as Hideki pulled back the woman turned a bit and headed for the main entrance to the mansion itself. The guards just gave Hideki a bow and tried to hide their amused grins before closing the gate. One did wave back, the one who could barely hold her laughter from before. "You can follow the Lady, Captain of Tenth."

Mia paused in her attempt to lead Hideki inside, hearing that and freezing before trying to ignore that word, the word she wasn't used to yet. "U-Um! Inside! Inside, there's... guest rooms! W-We can sit and talk."

She just wanted to lead him inside, into the very old and revered mansion of Japanese make. Yes, take him inside... The door was opened for them, one of the triplets bowing and causing Mia to fidget more. "...Please ignore everything please Hideki..."

Hideki gave her a little smiley frown. "Mia. Miaaa. It's fine. I don't need snacks or tea right now. Maybe later? It's fiiine." He patted her on the shoulders trying to convince her that all was well. She was clearly nervous as could be, though he wasn't entirely sure why... I mean... Okay, this was Mia, he was a LITTLE surprised she could even function in public, but... Something seemed to be bothering her.


He noted that the guard referred to her as Lady, but he was also immediately distracted when he noted that 'Captain of Tenth' sounded like something the Borg would say. He had himself an amused few moments at that thought as he followed her towards the door. He might have actually ignored everything had she not said something requesting him to do so.

"Hm? Mia, what's got you so wound up?" He asked, smiling to the triplets as they passed them. "I mean, it's not your first time at Captain Shirakawa's house, I'd imagine."

"Okay okay! Sorry this is just... I'm... n-new to all this..." Mia calmed a bit at the shoulder pats, enough to give Hideki a small smile before she ducked her head down. It was a japanese mansion all right, quite similar to Yuzuki's so Hideki would definitely recognize similar make and design of sorts in that, though obviously decorated to suit the taste of the Shirakawa family instead.

That meant less pictures of dogs on the walls. The triplets would agree with that and bowed to the two as they passed before following at a discreet distance.

A pity about the dogs...

"I-I'll explain inside... Its a story..." N-Not her first time... Yeah... That got a sheepish laugh and more ducking down of her head, using bits of her hair as a shield.She led Hideki inside, down a short hall to a wooden door that was already slid open. Inside sat a low table and cushions to them, the rest of the room tastefully decorated in soft tone. On the low table was a tray with a tea pot and cups, making Mia sigh.

"I guess you get tea as a guest of the house... U-Um please sit." Mia reached up, finally caving as she ruffled her hair and messed it up a bit. One of the triplets frowned. Hard work...down the drain...

Hideki looked around the place, craning his neck and even doing a little spin midstep to take it all in. It certainly looked like Yuzuki's mansion. Maybe the same architect? Or it could just be similar construction values, maybe.... Significantly less dog stuff though... Yuzuki's place was just... dogs... dogs everywhere... More classical art and the things you would expect in a place like this.

He felt the weirdest little pang of... He wasn't sure what. He just sort of wanted to see Yuzuki. Not wanting to be distracted from his hangout with his Lieutenant, he shook the feeling though.

He nodded and sat down, flinching a little when she ruffled her hair. He looked at the tea and quickly poured himself a glass. "So... umm.... How long have you been living here?" He asked, figuring they could just.... pull that bandaid off.

Mia was definitely pleased as Hideki seemed to enjoy the mansion, stifling a small giggle as she turned her head a bit away. Least it was similar to Yuzuki's, so Hideki was probably a bit used to the places by now. Modern humans and their homes were a lot different really, and Hideki was rather young enough to have lived through all of that.

Settling herself down onto a cushion as well, she wondered if the flinching was bad or not before her hands made little grabby motions towards the tea. H-He had poured...himself... Ah! Had it been obvious? Probably, Hideki was observant. Instead of speaking right away, she blushed and poured herself a glass of the tea before holding the cup. The triplets took their cues and left the two alone, obviously not needed for now.

It took a moment for her to speak, having wanted to work up to this but now stuck explaining immediately."...A b-bit. U-Um... sorry...it...happened when I took those few days off, the little vacation I requested? M-Masa asked me to live with him and...well people went overboard and got excited and when I came back from my mini vacation with Masa, all my stuff was here. Hahaha... I panicked a bit... I-I've been nervous to tell you or...anyone else, but there's lots of rumors now floating around. S-So I wanted to to be... the one you heard it from..."

Hideki looked around awkwardly, still holding the tea pot for a moment, unsure if he'd done something wrong before slowly putting it back down. He watched the triplets leave, before glancing around the room again and just... quietly sipped his tea. Well. That got awkward. For Mia, anyway. He was pretty comfortable.

He listened, nodding to make sure she knew she had his full attention. Rumors? Wait. What rumors. Wait... wait wait wait...

"Wait..." She was living here... but she seemed... even more embarrassed than that....

His jaw dropped a little and his expression turned to shock. Before his mouth curled up, an open mouthed grin of utter delight. "Oh my god... You two had sex!" He said, putting his tea down before clapping his hands delightedly.

Mia was glad one of them seemed perfectly at ease with this, though she was honestly more happy that Hideki seemed to be fine she hadn't run to tell him everything right away. A tiny bit of tension left her and she gave him a small smile before taking a sip of the tea. That was a mistake. She promptly choked on the tea, coughing and setting the cup down while her face quickly resembled an apple color wise.

Waving her hands at Hideki's clapping, Mia turned her head from side to side as she shook it fiercely. Why...why was that so shocking?! "U-Um y-yes! Before all of this! B-But that's... S-Secret... I-If the Elders find out... w-we do that..."

Why was he so happy about this!? Aaaah! But really...she had no one to talk about this stuff with... so it was sort of a relief her Captain knew...

Hideki's glee was only enforced by her reaction. YES. CLASSIC! He laughed rather wholeheartedly, turning an eye her way to make sure she was okay. He shook his head. He couldn't.. He couldn't even... Aww... It was a secret too? That was legitimately adorable, but he wasn't going to keep making Mia suffer like this. He did his best to taper off the laughter and calm down.

"I.. I understand. Just... I'm just so shocked... I mean.. It's... You and Captain Shirakawa... And it's CAPTAIN SHIRAKAWA... I mean..." He shook his head. "I just.. never figured him to be the secret lover type. It's cute." That was true.

But he definitely wasn't going to say that he was also laughing because the couple, with over 300 years of life between them, had lost their virginity shacking up like teenagers.

Why was Hideki so freaking happy over this!? What was there to laugh about!? Mia didn't understand, but she was far too relieved that he was this happy to get too upset. Instead she just grew flustered, so flustered her waving hands stopped and she vibrated lightly. As his laughter tapered off, Mia poked her fingers together and stared down, trying not to stay this bright red and failing.

"I-I... g-guess its cute o-or shocking... H-He's...really handsome... a-and it was an accident the first time! M-My bankai is dangerous..." More finger poking, this time a bit more quickly as she spoke. This was so flustering to admit, but she wanted Hideki to understand... "...I-I didn't think he was the type to...like that...either but...um... I-I guess I tempt him too much... I-It was the bankai's fault and then...w-we just decided to keep...doing this because... it's nice."

"E-Even if my father is grumpy about it..." Mia murmured, her cheek puffing in one defiant pout.

Aww. Awwwwww, she was getting flustered. Hideki felt... ALMOST bad. He was satisfied to simply sip at his tea for the moment and let her sort herself out.. Or... dig herself deeper by continuing to babble.... which is what she seemed intent on doing... Hoo boy... He started to blush a little out of pure sympathy for her.

"Okay okayyy, I understand..." He said, half lying. He... SORT of understood? It sounded like exactly what he'd expected to happen had happened. They'd gotten themselves in some compromising but innocent situation and then... nature occurred.

They sounded like adorably utter dorks though.

"W..What?! You told your dad?" He asked, in complete shock. "Isn't he like... a hitman or something? Is that safe?"

Luckily for Mia she was entirely unaware of how adorable Hideki found her fluster over this, otherwise this fluster would keep growing and growing. Least...he understood... Mia gave a slow nod, her face returning to its usual paleness as the heat faded.

However it quickly returned as Hideki commented on her father. This wasn't fluster though, but a bit of frustration. "I-I... couldn't... I didn't want to tell him but he found out! W-We went to Lakshmi and... and... Papa was there! Papa was there and he almost killed Masa but he was in her beeeeed! How was I supposed to know he was still sleeping with her!? He told me they were friends after that first time!"

A sore spot had been poked, a rather obviously large one as Mia laid her face against the table. She just laid there, face smushed and tea forgotten as she mumbled more. "You know what friends don't do? Sleep together! That's not friendship! He's not a hitman anymore, he's Lakshmi freaking willing slave now. He follows her around like a duckling and makes heart eyes!"

Hideki was in fact aware of how Mia would react to his finding all of this adorable, but he chose to be merciful and not inform her... despite it being really tempting. He was still a little tempted when her face returned to its natural color but he was at least glad she was relaxing now.

He reared back a little bit, realizing he'd stuck his foot in his mouth about her father. W-woah.. What.. what? He'd heard rumors about Captain Lakshmi having a secret lover and the same rumors about her father... Those pieces were all falling into place... It was also funny but too shocking to really laugh about it. Wow... Lakshmi was sleeping with her dad? That was messed up...

He reached out and patted her on the head. "Aww. Don't worry, Mia. I promise not to sleep with any of your parents." He said, hoping some humor would cheer her up.

Mia didn't notice Hideki's movements back, instead having continued her ranting uninterrupted. It seemed like a bit of weight was lifted from her though after she finished, sighing against the table still.

Hideki's patpats were helpful as well, her eyes closing and another more pleased sigh escaped her. Especially with that promise... "Thanks... I'm glad I don't let my mom come visit me in the seireitei... Its nice to have that promise. And Papa is man pretty so, doubly glad for the promise... I never showed you him? O-Or have you seen him before..."

Mia had tried to keep unwork related things, reveals like this, to a minimum really. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, still laying on the table facedown.

Hideki opened his mouth before... simply shutting it. Wh.. What.. N-no Mia, no. Kidding. Well, he wasn't kidding about not sleeping with them but... but... "Ah.. It.." He pursed his lips into a little frown before sighting. "Mia, trust me, you didn't need that promise to not worry about me frigging...sleeping with one of your parents. That's weird and I'm seeing Yuzuki now..." He said, smiling slightly at that thought.

"A..And besides.. I don't care HOW man pretty your dad is.. I don't.. I mean... like guys or anything..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, glancing aside with a little meh frown on his face. Did she think he would be interested in her dad? Yeck.

"...I-It...is a legitimate worry Captain... W-Well not for you...but..." Mia muttered, lifting her shinigami issued communication device that totally wasn't a cellphone with a built in camera. Nope. She unlocked it, sighed and went to her gallery. Pictures...pictures... Aha!

"Here's papa." Mia held up her phone, face still mopily against the table and showing a brightly smiling auburn haired man. He had mismatched eyes and looked way too pleased to be getting his picture taken by his daughter. Papa's vanity was quite strong.

"He's pretty, for a guy. Not as pretty as Mom but..." Hideki didn't like men too? Hm, well that was fine. "Sorry Captain, I didn't know... I try not to assume since its not... Ladies are just as pretty to me, so I um am never sure what others like. Masa just likes me though, which is kind of silly."

He tilted his head. She was... legitimately concerned about her friends sleeping with her parents... either of them... That was... Poor Mia. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay..." He said quietly, before withdrawing his hand so he could see her phone that definitely was not a shinigami issued communication device or anything.

"Awww." The way she was so proud of her dad... It was sweet. He was about to ask about her mom, since she mentioned she was pretty too when Mia just... said something that... shut down Hideki's brain for a second. She... liked... what. "I see. That's nice, though." His mouth continued to cover for his brain and say something nice and smile.

Accepting the patpats as her due, she nodded softly and gave Hideki a small smile for his troubles. "Thank you... Least Papa settled down, I just have to avoid the mansion sometimes..."

Her mother was another story... Least Hideki found her dad adorable, which was hard not to when he was smiling and sparkling... Mia lifted her head up a bit, having mussed the carefully arranged hair now, but still didn't catch Hideki's apparent breakdown.

"Mm, thank you. I keep forgetting to tell Masa...There's not many games for me either, not like otome games too... All the ones with girls are normally really creepy and promote dating like all of them at once..." Mia murmured, reminded of the fact that most games where you could date women were a lot of times really gross. She just had to get the female dating in rpg games instead. "Do you know any nice ones? Maybe Masa might like those more, I play my otome with him a lot and he enjoys that... Do guys who just like women then feel okay watching the otome games too?"

He cringed at the mansion comment. That... had to be weird... walking in on your father and Lakshmi... Ah, Lakshmi. You were the best at head scratches. Probably couldn't get away with those anymore. It wasn't romantic but Yuzuki might disagree. His brain was quickly rebooting and he was trying to avoid putting his foot in his mouth.

"Um... There... really aren't many.. I kind of want games like Otome games but.. with women characters too. Uh..." He blushed a little, looking to the side. This was entirely awkward subject... "W-Well I do play Otome games sometimes because they're sweet... the closest for women though is... I guess some RPGs and stuff with romance options? Usually western ones..."

"So there aren't too many..." How sad... A soft resigned sigh sounded as Mia straightened up. Really? Just otome then... Still least Hideki had given her some ideas!

"Ah... Maybe he would like those... He seems to prefer the story ones more though, since he has me do all the minigame sections when we play." It was honestly really cute how he'd hold out the controller or the handheld device when it got to those parts if she gave him control... "It's like he's scared of messing up and being a failure in front of me..."

Silly, really silly. Mia's feelings were written on her face, the slight blush and smile showing more than her tone or words how much she cared for the man. Realizing that there was more to discuss than this though, she quickly swiped through her phone to get the picture of her mother up. "S-S-Sorry! I keep talking about him. Aaah... W-We haven't really... talked about things... Um Papa, was a rogue, which was why I didn't talk much about him till he was pardoned. A-And here is mom!"

A shaky hand held out the phone, her embarrassment over her selfish actions showing but remembering there was more information to tell Hideki so he knew.

It was the sad state of things. Companies barely considered women as an audience and they figured that if men wanted a romance game, they just wanted to see a bunch of really pornographic fanservice. When would they learn, people want really good characterization AND the fanservice. It wasn't hard to figure out.

"Hm.. He does seem like he's afraid of failure in general. Although the thought of the strongest person in Soul Society afraid of looking bad at vidya in front of his girlfriend is... Well, the scene is pretty cute, honestly." He said with a little laugh. He understood why she kept a tight lid on things about her father before. The less people who knew the better until he was pardoned. He leaned forward to see her mother.

"Ah." He understood now. This was why she was concerned. Well... He.. He had Yuzuki so there was no need for concern... or... to tell her that there would have been need for it if not FOR Yuzuki.. "She... is very nice looking." He said with a dignified nod.

Mia was startled into another blush at Hideki's agreement of the assumption Masaru was afraid of failing, before she laughed softly. "It really is cute, isn't it? It really is shocking, he seems so calm and mature but... He's actually really adorable and reminds me of those fluffy little pandas. The red ones."

Definitely not something she'd admit to the strongest man in the Seireitei, though... It was possible she had done so and forgotten. He had to accept he was just cute and that was that!

Hideki's pause told her a lot though and Mia frowned briefly before just setting her phone down. A soft sigh was given, before she nodded as if reluctant to admit it. "She is... How's things been going though with you Captain?"

Another subject was better for talking and she was honestly curious about how Hideki had been lately, or even what he'd been up to. Her life was hectic now, but that didn't mean she could monopolize his time!