You're Kidding?! [NSFW]

Mia fought and failed to keep from smiling, but luckily she hid it with her scarf though her eyes were shining and crinkled... A tell tale sign. Masaru seemed to have his own things he wanted to do though, so Mia picked up her pork bowl after a moment and began to eat with obvious enjoyment. Her eyes kept glancing at Masaru though as he went through some weird... experience with the Haori...?

She took a careful bite, blinking and watching as he picked it up and then...carried it over to her on the couch... And then sat there with it. She chewed that same bite until she realized what she was doing and then swallowed it to speak.

"I don't think it'll bite you." Mia was at least ninety-nine percent sure it wouldn't...

Masaru stiffed some at Mia's comment, flustered a bit by her words... I-It was fabric, clothes...of course it wouldn't bite, but..but... It was still a big thing!

"I...I'll have...you know I went through this with Sixth a little bit as well... It certainly wasn't as...severe as now, but..." Putting on the haori meant accepting the responsibility bestowed upon him, accepting...it all...

He was going to put it on, it was just intimidation that held him back now... He would get past it in a bit... He'd managed to get it half on at least earlier...and he was able to carry it around now...

Mia sat back, pork bowl in hand as she blinked in shock at Masaru's rather pouty response. Th-That was too cute! She giggled and set the food down, too distracted to eat it right now, before reaching out and settling her hand over his. "All right, its your process to get used to it. A cute, endearing... adorable pouty process."

It... she could understand. It was the symbolism... By putting the Haori on, he was accepting the responsibility that it all entailed... She held her hand over his, squeezing softly and giving him her reassurance as she looked over, noting another Haori on the bed, folded up and having the Sixth symbol on it.

It looked...brand new.

...

No way in hell he was getting that on her.

"M-Mhm... I'll put it on in a bi-... Mia?" Masaru had glanced over to her to see her...looking at the other haori on the bed. His hand grasped hers back, a feeling in his gut that said he'd need to keep a firm hold on her otherwise... Was... Was she getting stage fright? Well...was the nervousness he'd just been talking about getting to her too?

He squeezed her hand, trying to offer that reassurance from earlier; "You'll do fine... Remember? We're all behind you on this..."

Don't try to run... Don't...

Mia blinked more, staring as the horror filled her stomach and filled her with internal screams before Masaru spoke her name. She shook her head as if waking from a dream, smiling and giving a sheepish laugh as she turned to look at him again.

He had her hand... sneaky... Attempting to reassure him, she looked at the pork bowls as if nothing were the matter. "Well as long as you do put it on eventually, it'll be good. I'll be rooting for you!"

"Masa? I can't eat like this. I need both hands." How was she supposed to hold the pork bowl with her hand in his, tugging it lightly in an attempt to get it away. "I know, I'm just really nervous... Its scary, I... I don't feel like I'm cut out for this."

....Masaru blinked, attempting to see if there was any hidden fleeing attempt behind her words as she requested he let go so she could eat. "Promise you won't run if I do...? I...We can...put ours on...at the same time...or I can first...if you think that'll make you feel...better about it..."

He knew she'd need both hands to eat, but... He needed her word on this! I-It was extremely...nerve wracking when it came to putting on the haori, especially for the first time, but...

T-They could do it... They could definitely do it...

Mia just looked at Masaru much like a cat that had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to, or were about to... And then looked away. She didn't say a word... She... was definitely, had definitely been planning on running the moment his hand left hers...

Mia would rather starve than make that promise. Far rather starve than make the promise not to run when she was rather sure she'd break it the moment his hand let go of hers.

Instead she stayed silent, pouting mildly as he saw right through her... Even them putting them on at the same time wouldn't help...

Without the promise, Masaru refused to release her hand, and instead let it sit there as she went quiet and pouted. It seemed she had been planning exactly that...had been planning on bolting the moment he let go...

"Ouu... Well, I guess we're just attached now, until I get that promise, and it's a true promise, I'm not letting go." He stated, shrugging even, though it was obvious he was just playing along with things as he sat back in the couch to relax.

...

W-Was Masaru just... just calling her bluff?! Mia froze, turning her head slowly towards him again and frowning...

He... was relaxing! Relaxing right against the couch... Mia let out a soft fuu sound as Masaru did that, he was...teasing and playing along but... But she wanted to flee and he wouldn't let her!

Well... she had trump cards. Taking a deep breath, she leaned towards Masaru and smirked softly, her free hand moving up to his cheek as she spoke in that tone that killed him. "But My Lord, then you are stuck unable to eat or get your Haori on either. Stuck holding my hand and on this couch..."

"Being stuck on a couch with me like this isn't safe for my lord at all~" Her smirk grew even as internally she became a flustered mess. J-Just get through these next few seconds, lean closer to him and bring your lips almost to touching his... Tempt him into letting go...

!!

M-My... She was cruel for using such a tactic, and Masaru found himself struggling to keep up the ruse as Mia inched closer...and closer to him. He felt that fluster welling up fast...extremely fast...but... Wh...What was...

He couldn't just...

But she...

But...

Gha!!

In a quick rebuttal, a flustered noise escaped him as he moved over, his free arm letting the haori drop in his lap and wrapped around Mia once she was close enough before he tipped over. She was...mostly on top of him, but he would hold her here to him and just...take the punches she threw at him!

S-She couldn't just...run from this!

"M...Miaaa...!"

Mia lost her focus for a second, burning red as Masaru's fluster grew too great apparently and caused them both to tip over, falling to the couch as he held her to him. This was not what she'd planned! This was not something she'd had a backup plan for!

He was holding her on top of him, she had no pork bowl and she couldn't run... Damn it! Gulping and pushing the red from her face, she took a deep breathing and trailed her fingers down Masaru's cheeks. H-Had to regain.. composure...

Had to... "S-Soutaicho~ I didn't know my temptation worked so quickly and easily. Do you really want to keep me here like this, fully dressed?"

She'd seen this happen in so many games! She could...pull this seduction and then fleeing!

!! !!

!!?

That had gotten an obvious reaction out of Masaru, his hold only secured further though, knowing he couldn't let go no matter how broken he was. S-She'd promised not to use that! That was clearly on purpose!

"M...M...M...Miaaa! T-That was on p-p-purpose!" He exclaimed, unable to keep himself from being a flustered mess. "I...I am...am simply...trying...to help! T-Th...The ha-haoris will eventually have...have to be put on!"

F-Fully dressed!? She was playing an extremely unfair game!

Mia's lips formed a soft pout as Masaru spoke, looking away as her face began to burn brightly. O-Of course it'd been on purpose! She... was doing this all on purpose! T-To get him to let go! Not...hold her tighter...

H-He was a flustered mess and was still trying to keep her here... Whining softly, Mia gave up a bit and buried her face against his chest. "B-But I'm nervous! Why...can't I flee for a bit..."

...Maybe...she could... "...Th-The only way I am putting it on... is if... I'm naked..."

"I-If you flee, it'll just...just be harder!" Masaru answered, though another flustered noise of sorts escaped him as Mia attempted a new tactic. "M...Mia you...you aren't pl-playing fair...M..Miaa..."

He...could not...let go... He had to get her promise on this, she could just flee this time!

It would...be bad to flee from it... It was still hard for him to look at his own haori without feeling that nervousness at the pit of his stomach...and it'd been quite sometime since he'd gotten it! It...It wasn't something...one could just run from for awhile...

M...Mia was...using dirty tactics...

His hold was shaky, but he was desperately trying to keep her there.

Fleeing helped all problems! Mia gave an internal denial, because the only thing coming out of her mouth in regards to that was a whining sound. "You...aren't playing fair either! H-Holding me here... keeping me trapped!"

That wasn't fair at all either! How was she supposed to deal if she was forced to deal with it immediately!? She... felt his hold get shaky, sensing weakness... Weakness she could exploit! Leaning up from his chest, she took a deep breath to calm herself before using that sultry tone again, right near his ear. "The...haori... and your sash... and my new scarf... All that~ Just for you, Sotaicho~"

Sh-She was out of ideas after this... she was completely out of ideas...

The only thing out of Masaru's mouth were stutters and sputters, unintelligible as Mia continued to get him to let go. She was killing him, using...using all of this against him! P-Plus using...using the S-Soutaicho t-title!

"Y...Y...You promi..p...promi...sed...you wouldn't...u-u-u...us..use that..t...s-so...d-d-..double...u-u-unf...fai..r..."

He was just barely able to get the words out, and even then he'd hardly managed at all...all that stuttering...

His face was red, he didn't doubt that as he felt the heat... T-This...this was unfair! His hold was shaky, certainly not as strong as it had been around her.

Escape... had to escape...

Mia felt the time of her fleeing was nigh, Masaru's stutters and splutters had become so powerful that she knew... she would soon be able to get away. He...couldn't hold her... Couldn't keep her like this... not when she was using unfairness and trickery to get her way. "Y-Y-You shouldn't f-flee...from the title...Masa..."

I-If she couldn't flee from the Haori, he couldn't from the title... It was totally fair! His hold after the stutters was weak though, weak enough for her to break free from it and flee.

Which is what she did, tossing herself up and attempting to shunpo straight to the door with a scared laugh... However... She couldn't. Instead she ran, ran... and made it to the bed instead. There she stood, shaking... staring down at the neatly folded Haori with the symbol for Six on it...

Her hand reached out, shakily touching the thing as if it were a viper... This was definitely not Masaru's, she could tell by how smaller it looked folded up... Her attempt to flee and all her hard work ruining Masaru, and here she was...standing there staring down at this...terrifying thing...

"M-M...Mia-ah!" Mia had bolted, she'd escaped his hold, and due to the awkward positioning of himself on the couch as she fled he found himself on the floor after tumbling off the edge. W-Well, at least he hadn't hit the food... That would be a disaster if it'd spilled.

He wasn't hurt either, just a mess, a red...flustered...dying mess as he lay there on the floor, the haori of his own having fallen over top of him and covering him.

U-Using that title was still unfair game! E-Even if he had to get used to it...it... He didn't need to get used to it used like that-! N-Not this soon!

After a moment or two passed of him simply writhing there in his embarrassment, he finally took notice of Mia's signature still in the room. She hadn't...completely fled at least...

Aahh...

Mia didn't hear Masaru fall or else she'd be freaking and worried she'd hurt him, not to mention worried over her food... She was missing a quality show and entertainment though, the likes of which she might never see again. Masaru, flustered and dead on the floor with his Haori covering him... Writhing around, still dead and wishing for a hole...

Mia missed all of it while she stared in horror at the Haori.

"But I like Tenth... and I was just...getting used to talking to everyone there..." Mia murmured, still stroking the haori. "I like all the hidden places... and going deep into it to find others... and taking care of books..."

Its all she'd ever wanted and now... She'd known she'd have to leave Tenth one day, hopefully only for periods of time due to... things like motherhood and such. But that was in the future and something she'd picked...

She hadn't picked this...

"M...Most rank changes...are decided suddenly..." Masaru managed to speak up after a bit, he was still flustered, but...he need to...to help...that didn't mean he got up though, he was content to just keep himself buried there and die there...

Mia was murmuring, but the room was pretty much silent...and he was able to catch a few words at least and felt he had the context.

"I know...it's not something you...y-you decided... You...like Tenth..." Most rank changes were...decided in the name of duty, well...a good few of them... Some shinigami were...shifted where they were needed most...especially the stronger ones...

When there was a shortage of captains, if there were any lieutenants that fit the role...they would typically be up for that promotion...and...unfortunately Sixth had circumstances... With his promotion... there was no one connected to the Shirakawa that was capable other than Mia...

He hated...upsetting Mia, and this of course would upset her...

Mia's hands clenched the Haori, having been putting aside her own feelings for the time being to help Masaru... But this was hard to hide now... Masaru spoke up, not really helping her feel better but something she needed to hear regardless.

She hadn't decided, she didn't want to leave tenth...

But it wasn't like she had a choice in this, she'd had a lot of freedom for a Shinigami really and this was her duty to take up the position for her lover. She was all they had for this, it was an unexpected role she'd never thought she'd have to fill...

But it was something she couldn't turn down, not without rejecting Masaru and her life now.

Mia let tears fall silently as she lifted the Haori up, letting it unfold. "I don't have a choice... I don't have any choice... There's no room for me to say no, so I just...have to accept it."

"..." His fluster was...gradually fading the more serious this conversation became; he knew Mia loved Tenth, that she felt much better there... Sixth was just the division she visited to see him at... If...If there was anyone else...but there wasn't...

Sitting up eventually, he moved to sit up and stand, the haori still...pretty much resting over his head like a hood; the haori's positioning wasn't important to him right now though, soothing Mia and doing...anything he could to make her feel better was what mattered...

He moved over to the bed, reaching his hand out but hesitating... It was his promotion that had brought about her own... He wasn't sure of comfort from him is what she needed...considering if it weren't for his promotion she'd still be happy in Tenth...

Mia heard Masaru moving again, unable to process it still as she stared at this Haori and all it represented...

Sixth, she would take over Sixth. If her ties to the Shirakawa weren't impossible to break before, they were now. She was taking a position of large publicity in regards to that, she was a Captain. Adding it all together, she was the most eligible bachelorette as far as Masaru's family could be concerned now.

Just...thinking of it like that helped, that this was good and helpful for Masaru. He...needed someone he could trust, someone who he could rely on... She had him and her new Lieutenant to help and all of Division Six...

He needed her there... Else his worries would be too strong...

She was doing this for her family, which was all the reasons she needed.

Tenth was... a good place, but she'd just have to make a new place for herself in Sixth. She could do it, Mia was... someone who could adapt she felt.

Without realizing Masaru was that close, having missed everything due to her introspection and minor freaking, Mia turned the Haori with a determined gleam despite her tears. Flipping it almost dramatically, she slipped it over her uniform and settled it around her body with a yank, giving another determined nod before turning and yelping.

Masaru was right there!? Mia hopped back a few inches, red rimmed and puffy from crying eyes wide as she stared at him. "Wh-When... Y-You...have something on...your head...Masa..."

Masaru had let his hand drop, his uncertainty too much to reach forward in the end. Comfort from him...likely wasn't what was best for her, he was...technically a walking figure that highlighted her promotion obviously...like a shining light post...or something...

Had he not been promoted she would still be in Tenth like she liked, and wanted... This hadn't been her choice...

He... Perhaps he should just...go and see if Nozomi would come i-ah!?

Mia's surprise as she suddenly turned, having put the haori on rather dramatically caused him to jump back a bit as well in his own surprise, not having even seen her moving about due to being stuck in his own thoughts.

"H-H...Huh...?" Masaru blinked, and then blinked again before glancing up, seeing a bit of white at the tip of his vision as he reached up, pulling at it to bring the haori down, and in the process tussling up his hair.

A-Ah...right, he'd...it'd fallen on him, he'd just sort of...let it sit there.

"I...I did..."

Mia watched as Masaru looked confused, cutely confused and glanced up at his Haori. That's obviously what was on his head. As he reached up and pulled it off, she laughed softly and stepped closer so she could reach up and fix the tussled hair and tassels.

Smiling softly, the woman fixed his bangs but let her fingers trail softly against his cheek as she did so. She'd obviously been upset, but it seemed like she was at least accepting things better now. "SOrry for um... overreacting like that. Do you need help trying yours on? I think... I think mine fits."

It was obvious she wanted to be close to him, not moving away even a bit and having no issue touching him as her hand settled against his cheek and rubbed.