Onsen Time(Kaoru)

[Hirato Murano]

(OOC: No fighting and no Zanpakuto, please. I want this to just be a relaxing thread, ok?)
A tall form clad in only a towel broke through the steam of the onsen, glancing back and forth, his cerulean eyes moving as if searching intently for something. Apparently abandoning their search, they remained fixed in front of their bearer, washing the mist away in their oceanic depths while crimson hair burned, its fire illuminating the path to the hot spring. A smile graced the face of the man walking along the long path and a relaxing stroll replaced the graceful stride so many attributed to him. The solitary figure halted for a moment, admiring the clear blue of the sky that so closely matched the hue of his eyes. It had been quite a while since he had simply realized the beauty of the nature around him in contrast to rushing past it to his destination, ignoring his surroundings completely, only glimpsing it for a moment, only seeing a fraction of the true magnificence. Some claimed that that was the price of living a soldier's live, but Hirato recognized that it was only so if one chose for it to be.

The noble had invited his fellow Shinigami to the hot spring, free of charge because he decided to use some of the considerable amount of money he possessed for their benefit. In his mind, it was barely even significant due to the large amount still remaining in his account and the payment received every month for his position as the Captain of the 9th division. Shinigami were praised and sometimes cursed as gods of death, yet while that accusation was valid, their souls and bodies required relaxation at times, just like their human counterparts. Abilities aside, they still retained a human form, both in heart and soul. His hand moved across the scar on his chest, an excellent reminder of exactly how mortal Shinigami were, despite their technical status as gods. The Captain strolled on the path, humming softly, the echoes of his footsteps reaching far ahead of him, the twisting path seeming to continue on endlessly.

His feeble illusion was short-lived, however; soon after thinking that, the muscular form of the 9th Captain was strolling to the door to the onsen and opening it, feeling the moist, warm air immediately while he saw the steam rising from the hot waters. No one had made it there yet and in his current mood, Hirato didn't feel like waiting for anyone to appear before he relaxed in warm waters. The top half stayed above water while the rest was concealed by the warm water, a satisfied smile playing on the face of the veteran Shinigami while he splashed some water onto his face and fiery hair. His towel lay a short distance from the water, seemingly at rest. This side of his personality was rarely seen by others, but was integral to the person he had become nonetheless. For once, the man did not look stoic or somber; instead, the image of a man relaxing without a care in the world was brought to the surface, awaiting the arrival of others patiently. He realized almost in surprise that the tattoos on his forearms were now visible, the black dragons twisting and turning along the length of his arms in an exquisite dance. Above all, it was supremely irrelevant to the man, who had decided that he would explain them if he must but not if it was not requested of him. The peaceful man sighed contently, letting the warm water lull him into a state of absolute tranquility. The others would arrive when they would arrive and he would welcome them when they did, a genuine smile on his face and peace in his heart.

[Kaoru Murano]

Kaoru sighed heavily as she poured water over her body as she showered before she went into the hot springs. Her blue eyes half-closed as she soon stood up and wrapped a fresh towel around her body and walked barefooted towards the hot springs. Captain Hirato Murano had extended an invitation to her and others to join him at the onsen. She wasn't about to be rude and decline, and any time away from her duties was well received by Kaoru on any day. She worked hard at her training and duties and found rare moments like this to be a wonderful escape. Though, she knew that her mask would have to stay tightly on her face if she wanted to get through this without embarrassing herself in front of the crimson haired Captain or even in front of the others. She had never been to a co-ed bath before, except when she was little and had to go in with Kyouya, but even then she would always end up in the farthest part of the bath with a laughing Kyouya trying to get her to come visit with some of his squad mates. Her slim body was wrapped in her towel and even though she might not have as big of chest as some of the female shinigami, the towel didn't cover all and she furiously tried to cover it all. Who's idea was it to have such small towels? Kaoru thought with a snarl as a small blush started to color her face.

Shaking her head, she had a determined face on as she made her way to the doorway that lead to the hot springs. It was pretty steamy and she couldn't see much from where she was standing. Her face blushed as she pushed forward and hoped that nobody had gotten here yet. Her black hair had been put up in a messy bun on her head and her blue eyes seemed to have a nervous gaze as she looked around. Kaoru stepped lightly and fast as she made her way over to the water's edge. Little did she know was that she had walked close to Captain Murano and never noticed him as she crouched down and placed her hand in the water to test it. It felt amazing and wonderful to her. A small smile worked it's way on her face as she stood up and soon stepped into the water and sat down. She still had her towel on her body, but it had loosened slightly and was less constricting now. She sat in the water and her head down to half of her chest were the only things visible now. Her blue eyes closed as she rubbed her neck with some of the water and wished she could visit one of these more often than she could. Most times Kaoru only goes to an onsen to celebrate either hers or Kyouya's birthday or some other special event, but those were so few and far in between. Thoughts of her duties and even her mask managed to slip off without her notice.

Stretching her arms up and yawning with her relaxed state, Kaoru giggled as she enjoyed the water. It was indeed rare to hear Kaoru giggle and not many people have heard it. "No duties, no worries, and no stupid brother," Kaoru said as she laughed out loud. In the back of her mind she wondered when the others would get here. The towel had slipped off all the way as she happened to look to the right side of where she was sitting. A flash of crimson came into focus and Kaoru panicked. Sitting beside her not 5 feet away was Captain Hirato Murano. The blush that had been on her face before grew darker. Kaoru squeaked with surprise and stood up. However, since the towel had fallen, she was rather naked. She looked down quickly and soon had submerged herself into the water up to her nose. Her blue eyes cast to the side as she was too embarrassed to look him in the eye. She grabbed the towel that had fallen and soon pressed it against her body once more.

"H-Hello, Captain Murano," Kaoru said in a shakey small voice. She managed a small bow and, still not looking directly at him, had stood up a bit straighter so that her head was completely out of the water. "T-thank you for the invitation to the onsen, sir. How are you doing?" Kaoru was making a fool out of herself as she tried an attempt at small-talk. Her blush still hadn't faded and tried to give him a small smile. She knew that she didn't have to have her mask on in front of him, but it was times like these that she really was glad she had one. Frantically, she mentally tried to pull her mask back on since in her moment of relaxation it had slipped off without her notice.

[Hirato Murano]

Cerulean eyes opened, recognizing a familiar reiatsu signature, one of a woman they had met and accepted the entirety of her past, without judgment and mostly without comment. It had not been and still was not, his place to judge any for their past, no matter what horrors it contained, no matter what sins it contained, no matter what shadows it contained. He watched with seemingly mild interest, noting with no small amount of amusement that she did not approve of the size of the towels, to which he mostly agreed. That's why I brought my own, the noble thought with a slight grin. The towels provided by the onsen were not nearly large enough for someone as tall and muscular as him, a fact learned by a rather amusing (in hindsight) incident with other members of the 7th division. Still watching as she relaxed and stepped into the water, his mind began to wonder how long it would take for her to notice him. Frankly, Hirato didn't believe himself easy to miss, even half submerged in the water, because his damp crimson hair sharply contrasted the hues of everything else.

His eyes remained on her when she began to rub her neck and relax fully, yawning contentedly. A giggle emerged from the woman, making the man chuckle lightly despite himself, seeing an opportunity that was unlikely to present itself anytime in the foreseeable future. "I've never heard you giggle, Kaoru-san," the Shinigami began, amused and pleased at the uncharacteristic action of the young woman. It took him a moment to compose himself a bit before finishing his commentary on the event with style, playing a game he thoroughly enjoyed but had few fellow players. "How cute," the noble finished, a coy smile on his face and teasing in his voice. The possibility that he might enjoy this too much presented itself, but that was entirely irrelevant, for it would only make the game that much more complex and interesting. Judging by her flushed face and frantic dive back into the onsen, the seated member of the 5th division appeared to have finally noticed his presence, albeit somewhat belated. Kaoru had covered herself with the towel once more and Hirato fought a desire to laugh again, yet decided stopping once he had started laughing may not be completely in the realm of possibility. The same mildly interested look crossed his face, mixed with some element of the flirtation initiated only moments before by his comment.

His eyes noticed that her entire head had emerged from the surface of the water and his ears faintly heard some attempt at making small talk, to which the muscular man could do nothing but laugh heartily, enjoying every moment of it. "Enjoying yourself, Kaoru-san?", asked the crimson haired man teasingly, expecting an interesting reaction. A moment later, his expression became slightly annoyed and glanced at the dark head of Kaoru-san with a frown, displeased at her behavior for quite a simple reason. "This is an onsen, not a swimming pool, Kaoru-san. Don't submerge yourself." Although he was not really irritated, there was a touch of annoyance in his voice while speaking those words. Hirato realized that this was an excellent chance to make his next move and continue the game started earlier with style, hoping that she actually began a counterattack sometime in the near future. The coy expression returned to his face, a fitting smile spreading across the entirety of it. "After all, what does someone as beautiful as you have to conceal in this place?" Making no attempt to hide it, his tone was plainly flirtatious as well as more than a little admiring. In any other circumstance, such an utterance would be difficult for the man, but the consequences of his actions were so irrelevant to him that it didn't matter. His eyes met hers and looked into them, eager to witness her response to everything he had said. This was certainly going to be enjoyable.

[Kaoru Murano]

Kaoru's face flushed a deeper red as she listened to the Captain. She hugged the towel closer to her as she tried to make herself disappear into the steam around her. The Captain in front of her had certainly looked like the same captain she talked with before when she had confided her past with the man, but he seemed more relaxed now. She guessed offhandedly that this would be because he was in the onsen. She had returned to the wall of the hot spring, but closer to the Captain, but not so close. Her nerves were on edge and she was blushing like crazy and she wasn't sure why. Typically, the only man she had seen in a hot spring with her was Kyouya, but this was different. This man was not her idiot older brother and this was not an outing with familiar people. He had asked if she was enjoying herself and she managed a nod towards the red-haired Captain. "Y-yes, sir," Kaoru managed to say, trying to keep her voice from shaking with her nerves. She knew she wasn't used to these sorts of things, but she didn't know it was going to throw herself this much. Kaoru didn't know what to do with herself. Clutching the towel tighter around her, she had looked up at the man out of the corner of her eyes when he had spoken again.

She had straightened up when she noted a note of annoyance when he had said not to submerge herself again. Kaoru felt a bit of annoyance herself at his words since she felt she didn't really do anything wrong but cover herself up. She was stubborn like that. However, as soon as her thoughts of annoyance came, they were suddenly thrown out the window when she stuttered out a reply. "Yes sir, sorry sir," She couldn't even manage to say the Captain's name. The blush that was across her face was still there as she tried not to look directly at the Captain. Yes, Kaoru had seen a man's body before, but this was something completely different than the battlefield. This seemed more personal than a battle torn shinigami. Lowering her head, she managed to look at the Captain and see him fully. He was muscular and his crimson hair did stand out much in the onsen. She wondered how she missed it before. She looked at the tattoos on his arms and thought how cool they looked. She got to his face and had to look down. This Captain was certainly handsome, Kaoru thought with a deeper flush of her cheeks.

She looked again and noticed a coy smile on his face and her eyes widened as he heard him say that someone as beautiful as her shouldn't have to conceal anything in this place. This about sent Kaoru running for the other side of the hot spring. Clutching her towel tighter, she looked up fully and quickly at the Captain. She had never before heard anyone say that to her, much more someone like Hirato Murano. Her heart seemed to stop and she was about to submerge herself into the water again, but stopped herself when she had listened to his words fully. He was plainly flirting and Kaoru blushed even more, if that were possible. Her mind worked through the situation and found him to be playing with her from what she could tell. Well, two can play this game, Hirato Murano, Kaoru thought with a slight smile tugging at her lips. She forced the movement from her lips and immediately removed her mask for what she was about to do.

Kaoru mentally pulled off her mask and she felt immediately free-er in her actions, but her blush still persisted since she was never the sort to be in these sorts of situations. Her eyes remained their blue-innocence as she turned away slightly from the Captain, clutching at her chest, which was now slightly less covered by the towel that she let go of slightly. "C-Captain, you shouldn't say such things," Kaoru stuttered as she glanced back at the red-haired man with such soft and demure eyes. She was going to flirt back and turn the tables on the man, if that were at all possible, but Kaoru would certainly try. She turned her head toward his, but averted her eyes down and half-closed them as she spoke softly on purpose. "After all, such a handsome and powerful man like Captain Murano shouldn't concern himself with someone like me," Kaoru made a split-second decision as she stood up turned away from him. "Surely you'd prefer someone with a more endowed body, hmm?" Slowly, Kaoru lowered the towel she had on slightly so that her full back showed. Most of her scars were on her arms and front, not her back, so she was not worried about them being seen. She pretended to be adjusting her towel slowly and as soon as she was done, she glanced back at the Captain with a little mischievousness in her eyes. What gave her away, though, she guessed, was the blush that still lit her face.

She clutched her right hand to her chest as her left had reached up to tug at a piece of her hair. Her blue eyes looked into his as a small smile finally tugged on her lips. She went to sit down again, but had sat down nearer to the Captain and turned to face him though she'd much rather hide under the rock with what she was doing. She was flirting with the Captain and playing his game right back at him. This was indeed uncharacteristic of Kaoru, but this was also another aspect of her without her mask. Her emotions and actions would not be stopped now. Removing her hand from her chest, she had loosened the towel slightly so that it was less constricting and offered more of a view than before. Kaoru couldn't help herself since as she tried to look back at the handsome captain, she found herself averting her blue eyes. She acted like her neck was aching and started to message it with some of the hot springs water to act like she was trying to sooth the sore muscle. She made no move to cover herself up anymore than she was.

What am I doing? Kaoru thought with some bewilderment and embarrasment as she continued.

[Hirato Murano]

The smile on his face was only increased by her response to his question. It was clear that she was still quite flustered from her final realization of his presence, making him wonder again how she could enter the water so close to him without noticing him. At this point, he was clearly enjoying himself more and simply relaxing while the woman appeared more like she was attempting to protect herself by clutching her towel as tightly as possible. That would not last long in this place with only the two of them here, especially considering the nature of the words spoken by the crimson haired man. At least she agreed not to submerge herself again, for although it was amusing the first time, now it was simply a hindrance and an annoyance. An onsen was a place of refreshment, of course, but it also served the purpose of showing off one's body, whether one intended that to happen or not. His eyes were mostly closed after her assent to his request, yet his vision was not necessary to determine the examination of his body by the woman, nor was it necessary for him to conclude the likelihood that some part of it appealed to her.

Normally, making a comment about this was unlikely, but Hirato couldn't restrain himself from doing in this circumstance. "When you see something you like, feel free to tell me," said the Captain with the same uncharacteristically coy smile on his face. The man would never admit it to anyone, but her blushing was plainly adorable and only made this situation even more enjoyable than it was, a considerable accomplishment given how much he was enjoying himself already. Focusing on her reactions to his flirtation, it was all he could do not to start laughing heartily for several minutes again. The thought that no one had ever complimented her like struck him, fitting with how she had responded, which seemed somewhat excessive even for a compliment of that level. His mind concluded that it wasn't that no one had noticed how attractive she was, but had never bothered to mention it to her for one reason or another. Kaoru-san was completely correct that it would be considered extremely inappropriate for him to say what he had said and finding himself unable to care; his eyes watched her for any sign of an interesting development. Seeing a small smile, the signal of a counterattack, the man allowed himself a similar expression, hoping she would not disappoint him, hoping she would catch him off guard.


Though challenging, the cerulean eyed man managed not to fall for her first trap. She stuttered her previous message and looked at him with such soft eyes that he averted his own, unable to meet hers like without becoming at least slightly flustered. However, Hirato did not fare so well with her second attempt, caught off guard not by her words, which were completely appropriate for the game, but by how she said them and the effect of her half closed eyes on the message, making it an even better attack. A mild blush colored his face and his hand covered it in a vain and pointless bid to salvage the loss. That's one point for her, the man thought, grudgingly admitting his first noteworthy defeat of the game to Kaoru-san and closing his eyes again in an endeavor to regain his composure before continuing this excellent game. When they opened again, his composure was shattered again, this time not by words, this time by the sight of the completed revealed back of Kaoru-san while his mind barely registered her question. Somehow the Captain prevented himself from averting his eyes, so they remained on the back of the woman, admiring with a moderate flush on the face of their owner. Cerulean eyes met her blue orbs, relishing the playfulness in them, absorbing it gratefully and returning it with a significant look. Just when his voice found its way back to him, Kaoru-san stepped back into the water and sat again, much closer to her superior and the man understood that she was improving, making the game yet more interesting by reducing the distance between them considerably.

A slight flush colored his face when she loosened the towel further, exposing more of her beautiful form to him magnificently. Unfortunately, Hirato could not oblige and do the same, for the entirety of his top half had remained revealed since the very beginning of the game, only a few minutes separating the current time and that time, minutes which passed themselves like hours to the man. Cerulean eyes moved to the now slightly more exposed chest of the beautiful Kaoru-san, clearly admiring what was captured in their depths. Moving away slowly, they noted the woman did not appear to be able to meet them and glanced at her, wondering what could be going through her head at this point. Hirato observed Kaoru-san pretending (or was it genuine?) her neck was sore and massaging it with the water of the hot springs, another smile spreading across his face, reaching from ear to ear. This was his chance to score another point and transfer the game into more dangerous and more exciting territory, and he could not pass it up. "If your neck is sore, swim over here and I'll massage it for you, Kaoru-san. I'm actually pretty good at soothing tired muscles, believe it or not," said the veteran Shinigami, with truth and more than a little flirtation in his voice, and another flirtatious smile on his face. Whether she assented to his suggestion or not was entirely irrelevant, and Kaoru-san would certainly recognize the truth of it immediately, being well acquainted with the mechanics of the game. No, it was the implication that the game might soon have a physical component that conveyed importance, since that meant a drastically different realm with drastically different rules and restrictions. The implication and the progress of the game so far thrilled him and he could barely wait to watch what happened next.

[Kaoru Murano]

While Kaoru was examining the Captain from where she was sitting, he had caught on and said if she saw anything she liked, she should tell him. Her eyes widened slightly for a moment before she closed them and turned away blushing. Part of her wished that she had the power to turn herself invisible and another part of her wished she had much more confidence in these situations as some of her squad mates did. For whenever she took a hot springs bath with her squad, her female squad mates would end up teasing her for her shy nature. However, the difference between then and now is that Kaoru kept her mask tightly on her face, and now that she had let it down for the crimson-haired man in front of her she was in for it. Kaoru felt herself have a rush of something, since she didn't know what it was exactly, and took pleasure in seeing the man laugh. After all, from all the interactions they've had so far, he's always had that poker face on and she had always thought him so serious. I guess we're both seeing sides of the other that we don't normally show, Kaoru thought with a sigh as she tucked another piece of hair behind her ear. Her blue eyes half-closed as she tilted her head back to enjoy the water.

Kaoru felt triumphant when her ploys to throw him off had worked and she saw a bit of color on the man's face. Inside she was grinning like a fox and she wanted to laugh with him, but her plans prevented such display of emotions from her. She had to keep her poker face on even though he was making it extremely hard for her to do so. Her shy nature took over and she wondered why she is acting this way in front of someone to whom she barely knows. Granted, she did tell him a lot about her and she did feel comfortable around him, but co-ed hot springs always made Kaoru nervous and shy. Kyouya would take her to co-ed hot springs baths, but when he did she mostly enjoyed them when everyone else had gone in for the time being. Some of the other times had Kaoru submerged up to her neck and sometimes even to her nose as she enjoyed the water even with a bath full of people. Kyouya would laugh heartily and with good nature at this every time. Kaoru would get him back for this later with a well-aimed roundhouse kick to the head when he wasn't looking.

Looking back at the Captain after she had sat down again she had given him a coy smile to mirror his own, but quickly dropped her head and averted her eyes to his with a sly grin. He was looking at her chest, which was pretty obvious to even her, and she loosened the towel even more. Her blue eyes seemed to shine with mischief again as she spoke in a more softer and teasing tone to the man. "My eyes are up here, Captain Murano," Repeating his words back to him that he said before, she lifted her head up and gave him a dazzling smile. "If you see something you like, feel free to tell me," Kaoru chuckled as she gave him a bright blue-eyed look. Kaoru continued to rub her neck with some of the water. Her body was sore and exhausted from the week she had, but she never made a mention of it. While she was pretending at first, her body ache really was getting to her and she rubbed her neck in earnest. Her eyes closed with the slight relief she got, but knew that some sleep would take these sore muscles away eventually. The blush on her face still persisted and even though she had quieted the more nervous part of herself, she couldn't make it go away completely. It was perhaps because of the Captain in front of her or even her own shyness keeping hold of her, she didn't know for sure, but all that she knew was that as long as she continued to let her shyness hold her back, she wouldn't win this game. Sighing, she listened when the captain spoke next. At once, his words had shattered any resistance that she might have built up towards him within the few moments of quiet. Her eyes widened and her face flushed a deeper red than before and her nerves ratcheted up to higher levels as the captain took this game to the next level.

Kaoru wasn't sure how to response or even move the game forward. Her hand paused and her blue-eyes half-closed as she lifted her shoulder and looked up at him with demure and shy eyes. Of course, whether she did this on purpose was still 50/50, and she wanted to gain some more points before this game got to a point where she would have to tap out. She thought about her actions and wondered if this was really the best course of action to take herself in. She thought, with a mental sigh, that this was a point where it would have taken anyway and she mentally kicked herself for having been sucked in this far. Kaoru blushed, but complied with the Captain if only to see if what he said was true, for her body really was aching her. Her training with her zanpakto had taken more out of her than she realized and Akai Tsukihime had put her through the ringer in preparation for Kaoru to gain more abilities from her. Of course, Kaoru was pleased and excited to gain more abilities, but the training that Akai Tsukihime had put her through left Kaoru aching for days and often times Kaoru would have to be put on light duty to recover from her zanpakto's wild and unpredictable nature. Kaoru, who was still blushing, had closed her eyes and stood up slowly.

As she walked towards the Captain, the little distance that there was left, she had loosened the towel slowly and soon had it completely off for a moment before quickly sitting down in front of the Captain and in the water. She wrapped the towel back around herself, but only covering up her chest and bottom half, as she sat and exposed her shoulders and back to the man. She moved the towel tighter to her chest as she looked back at the captain with half-closed eyes that seemed to glow with her inner laughing fits. Her own actions had caught even herself off guard and she couldn't believe she was furthering the game. Her voice was playful as she spoke. "If what you say is true, Captain Murano, then I shall have to put you to the test," Kaoru smiled demurely at the Captain before moving some of her hair out of the way so that he would have easy access to her neck and shoulders. "Perhaps you are not as good as you think. In which case I shall be very disappointed, Captain. Especially coming from someone as capable as you, sir," Kaoru about wanted to head for the changing room then and there as she spoke. She was playing the game, sure, but that didn't mean her shyness for these situations didn't completely turn off. Instead of turning away and blushing furiously to herself, she grinned at the captain that spoke of a challenge...and she was blushing furiously as well, but that was something she couldn't help. She was sitting not close, but as much in front of the Captain as her nerves and shyness would let her.

[Hirato Murano]

(OOC: 925 for word count this time, wow.)

In contrast to his own comment to her, the crimson haired man decided to submerge his head again for a moment, shaking off the water so his hair appeared perfectly damp and played on his face with a sort of casual elegance. The game was going well, of course, but he desired to rest, if only for a moment. Playing it with a beautiful woman who is barely clothed and in an onsen without anyone else being able to see their actions was exhausting, especially since there was a very clearly defined line that neither could cross for this round. His cerulean eyes watched as his opponent finally seemed to recognize that this was a place of relaxation and started to fully enjoy it instead of shyly (and pointlessly) attempting to conceal herself from him. A smile lit up his face when he noticed her reaction to his words, certainly gaining another point in this excellent and increasingly risky game they were playing. After taking that in and relishing every moment of it, cerulean eyes closed, this time more because of pondering his next move rather than the toll the game was taking on him. Even without his vision, sensing the small triumph she felt was child's play for someone so well acquainted with the detection of reiatsu, someone who had become so adept that determining another's emotional state only from their reiatsu signature could be easily achieved.

Her response to his obvious admiration of her chest brought him out of his state of semi-relaxation quite rapidly, although his eyes opened slowly, a predator awakening to the challenge of its prey. By the time they had opened completely and witnessed the further loosening of the towel, their owner had already finished thinking of exactly the correct reply to her teasing words. "Yes, but since you weren't keen on meeting eyes with me, I decided to follow suit," Hirato explained, unable to prevent the return of the coy smile to his face, which was likely to remain his dominant facial expression throughout the entire game. At this point in time, the Captain faced a dilemma directly related to the progress of the game: his mind could not be made up on whether it preferred the adorably shyness that Kaoru-san sometimes displayed or the commendable confidence that accompanied her most courageous acts of flirtation. Both sides had their merits and advanced the game in their own way, but if she remained mostly in her bashful state, he would certainly surpass her in points and win a swift victory. That would ruin the fun, the Shinigami thought, glancing at her again to discern her reception to his audacious request. Predictably, the blush on her face deepened considerably, and she seemed apprehensive about his request, yet to his surprise, consented to it and began to walk toward him. Now he was truly in trouble, because even though his comment retained complete honesty and truth, his request mainly existed as a product of the game and not something he actually thought he would have to follow up on, so his eyes averted themselves from her form while his mind endeavored to formulate some sort of response to this unexpected turn of events.

When his gaze shifted back to its forward position, Hirato saw that the towel only covered her chest and bottom half, the whole of her back and shoulders revealed and waiting for his hands to soothe them with his touch. The crimson haired man listened to her words and only smiled in response, despite the growing amount of nervousness present inside him. Catching sight of her hair only for a moment, the man momentarily entertained a thought of running his fingers through it, appreciating the loveliness of it earnestly. His smile only grew at her final words and he decided to punish her a little for them before relieving her sore muscles of their stress and stiffness. "Considering it's someone as capable as me, don't you think you should have more confidence in my abilities?" asked Hirato, somewhat seriously but some playfulness still colored his words in their light hue. His hand emerged from the water and made its way to the woman's back, a smile on his face only increasing ever more when the method of her punishment was chosen. He placed a single finger on her back and ran it slowly down, feeling the tense muscles for points of stress concentration as well as disciplining her for the admittedly amusing cheek earlier. When the finger reached the small of her back, he ran it all the way up again, going as slow as the first time in order for maximum effect. Attractiveness aside, the muscles in her shoulders and back were incredibly tense, so much so that he had to wonder what type of training she had endured and for how long to acquire this much physical stress. His finger curled up into his hand and the man stretched his hands, realizing that to relieve her body's stress, some intensive massaging was definitely required. "Relax completely, Kaoru-san. Your muscles are very stiff and it might take some time for me to relieve their stress," the crimson haired man said, speaking with a polite tone for his request, no flirtation present in his voice in this particular instance. His hands reached her shoulders and started to slowly knead the muscles, beginning the lengthy process of relieving her body's stress. Whatever happened, the first round was finished and now the second round had begun in earnest.

[Kaoru Murano]

Mentally Kaoru was freaking out as she turned her face forward and clutched the towel to her chest. She was on the edge of jumping up and running to the other side of the hot spring to escape his touch before he started. Her face was bright red and her eyes were squeezed shut in anticipation. It seemed like ages before the crimson-haired man had started, but it wasn't anything like what she was expecting. He had said something and Kaoru couldn't help herself when the words seemed to fly out of her mouth. "But Captain, I barely know you. To ask so much of me..." Kaoru managed a light chuckle as she looked back at him with her calm blue eyes that contained her nervous nature and shyness. She shook her head slightly as her blush deepened. She has a small amount of trust in all of her superiors, and as such tends to not question them. However, that trust can only go so far since she doesn't know most of them, with the exception being her brother and her Vice-Captain. However, one can guess in this situation that fact doesn't matter so much. Kaoru wanted to buckle under the seemingly endless seconds before the Captain actually did anything.

She guessed that this was punishment for her earlier comments. Bad idea Kaoru, bad idea! Kaoru shouted at herself in her head at continuing this game of theirs and not stopping it from the start. What happened next sent Kaoru deeper into her nervous and shy state than she had been before. She felt his finger move up and down her back slowly. This felt like ages and she wasn't sure what he was going to do after this. Her body tensed up even more and she about bolted for the other side of the hot springs that instant. The moment his finger touched her back, she let go a small squeak and tensed up her muscles. I'm so stupid to think I could win out against this man, Kaoru scolded herself as she felt his finger leave her back. Her head lifted slightly as she gave the captain a small pout that she couldn't stop from giving him. She averted her half-closed eyes and started to move away back to her previous position near the edge of the hot spring, but his words stopped her again.

Kaoru stiffened as she started to stand again to move back as she felt his hands go to her shoulders and start. However, she had ended up dropping back into the water because her knees gave out from the message. She squeezed her eyes shut as she pressed the towel tighter to her chest and endured under his hands. Minutes passed like hours to her and she whimpered slightly as he continued. Despite her shyness taking over, the message did feel pretty good to her and indeed did alleviate some of her sore muscles. Finally, she had to stop this and soon found herself pulling quickly away just out of his reach. Her face was certainly all red now and her body had returned to it's tense state from before as she raised slightly out of the water. Her body was blocked from view by the towel she held in front of her. She decided to play her part in this game again since it seemed like it was her turn. However, this time she decided to play the part with no pretense in her emotions and stayed in her shy and nervous state.

"T-Thank you, Captain, for that, I'm all better now," Kaoru stuttered as she walked a little bit closer to the Captain, closer than she had been before. It was a lie, she was still tense as all out, but she would never admit that to him. Her eyes were averted as she was close enough to touch his face if she held out her arm and spoke in a shy and nervous voice. She reached out, even though her mind as yelling at her to stop and put back on her mask, she ignored it and continued to reach out and place her finger on the side of his face. She moved her finger, let another join the first and soon bent down closer to the crimson-haired man. Her fingers slid themselves the length of his face and soon went back up the same path. "Perhaps I could return the favor and give you a message? Surely a busy man like yourself has built up a great deal of tense muscle over this week alone." Kaoru had built up a grin to give him and stayed standing in front of the man with only the towel in front of her. Her blue eyes seemed to dance as she felt triumph in having gotten enough courage to do what she just did.

[Hirato Murano]

Barely managing not to at least chuckle at her completely red face, which he could swear had turned as dark as his hair, her eyes closed with embarrassment or perhaps anticipation. In either case, her words did not surprise him in the slightest, even though they seemed like she could not prevent them from leaving her mouth. No, in fact, the man had expected them, waited for them, and somehow desired for her to speak, so that he could formulate a proper response and actually reveal some things about himself that she should know. Although her response was a by-product of their game, it brought up an important issue, where she knew next to nothing about the man who had just ran his finger up and down her back twice. Suddenly, his expression and tone became somber, shattering the relaxed tempo he had set for himself in this situation. "I was born into the Murano family, a lower noble family. After graduating from the Academy, I served in the 7th Division for quite some time before reaching 3rd seat and being promoted to the Captaincy of the 9th," Hirato said, pausing for a moment to allow her to absorb his words and to ponder once again whether he should reveal this next part, something he had never spoken of to another person. The Captain decided that since she had trusted him with the entirety of her past, he could return the favor and trust him with an interesting fact concerning the damp hair that now lay flat on his head.

Deep tones echoed out in the onsen when the crimson haired man continued with revealing some of his personal information. "I'm the only member of my family in seven generations to have crimson hair and it's supposedly a sign of a great leader, one of who will bring glory and honor to the family." He stated this all matter-of-factly, not arrogantly or with any pride whatsoever, because he had never believed himself above others or destined to be anything simply due to the color of his hair. Not only that, but the expectation of greatness meant a tremendous amount of pressure was put on him to succeed and to rise through the ranks meteorically, a task admittedly not accomplished successfully. However, neither his father nor his uncle had scorned or criticized him for this supposed failure, instead cautioning him not to place too much stock in the elders' supposition and to move forward at his own pace, walking along his own path. The squeak she made when he had began running his finger down her back made him blush involuntarily, if only due to the uncharacteristic nature of the sound. By looking at her back, it was plain that her muscles had tensed up again and he responded to her pout with an expression that said "it had to be done", continuing his massage of her back.

Hirato could tell she was enjoying it, especially since her knees gave out almost as soon as he started, a clear sign of stiff muscles being soothed. A slight whimper emerged from her mouth, his face becoming slightly flushed again, despite the normality of such a sound in a massage session; after a period of only minutes, minutes that passed as though they might be days or years, her muscles felt considerably less stiff and he realized that progress was being made, slowly and surely. Perhaps in twenty minutes or so, his progress would reach the point where his hands could rest for a moment or two before continuing with their restorative work on the incredibly tense body of the woman. Before that point was reached, Kaoru-san slipped away again, her body retaining much of its tension and a familiar flush lighting up her face, to the chagrin of the crimson haired Captain, another confident smile accentuating his facial features. Cerulean eyes caught sight of her rising out of the water and the towel now blocking her body from their vision, detecting another change in her emotional state, the removal of any pretense, absorbing it in their depths. His smile only grew at her stuttering an obvious lie, something he didn't believe for a second and hoped she had not expected him to, even for a second.

The crimson haired man watched impassively, wondering whether that arm of hers could ever reach him, if its owner could summon the courage to do so and initiate her first instance of physical contact with him during the course of the game. She did, running one finger across his face before another joined it and leaned yet closer to him, a dangerous but daring decision, and for the first time, he did not resist at all. In a state of extreme composure, Hirato simply allowed her fingers to trace along the length of his face without attempting a resistance or removing them with his own hands. Only one aspect of her audacious play bothered him and the man made it apparent, opposing it verbally as well as physically. His hand rose from the water and reached her chin, gently guiding her face so that her blue eyes looked into his cerulean eyes, as they had not since the initiation of their fantastically magnificent game. A flirtatious smile that contained some solemn portion characterized the Captain's face when his voice rang out. "If you're going to do that, you should look into my eyes, Kaoru-san," the man said, fairly serious in his conviction and recommendation while his hand remained on her face. It appeared that this was the only way she would meet his eyes and he did not have any intention of looking away just yet. Approximately a minute later, his hand left her face and a confident grin spread across his own countenance, realizing that this decision could very well leave him vulnerable to her revenge for his earlier action. Hirato turned around, exposing his own muscular back to her touch, apprehensive and yet still excited about how Kaoru-san took advantage of this opportunity. If she exacted revenge, it would be completely justified considering his actions but if she didn't, the game could take another interesting turn for the better. Hoping she would choose the second option, the crimson haired man waited for her to make her next move.

[Kaoru Murano]

Kaoru had listened as he explained some things about himself. This threw her for a loop since she had not expected him to actually say anything back when she had said that she barely knew him. What he had told her had spiked some interest since she had wondered from the moment of their first meeting what sort of man he was to gain such composure in the way he carried himself. Instantly she knew he must be noble, but of which noble family she couldn't be certain at the time. Though, that wasn't the first thing that caught her attention. Kaoru loved the color red and had the color on her sash, hair bells string, and her zanpakto's hilt. So when she noticed his hair, she had to smile to herself. She wondered briefly to herself if he had ever run into Kyouya sometime before. Kyouya had moved from the 3rd division, then to the 4th division, then had moved to the 13th division where he had climbed the short way up the ladder of ranks from 4th seat to his Captains position now. She listened, still having a slight blush on her face from their game, and listened again as he had explained the color of his hair and she just nodded slightly as he had explained. From his expression, Kaoru could guess slightly that this wasn't common knowledge.

The events moved on from there swiftly as Kaoru endured and soon it was over. From what she could see, he seemed to be enjoying himself and found this to be amusing. This only made Kaoru blush redder and brighter and soon she was standing in front of the Captain right after she made a bold move to brush his face with her fingers. It was a split-second decision, and she felt triumph at having gotten enough courage to make that sort of move even though Kaoru is not the type of person to touch another face willingly. She let a small scowl flit across her face as her action did nothing at all to effect the Captain. As much as she wanted to run, hide, and wish that the Captain hadn't seen her as she was acting, this made her annoyed that it had no effect whatsoever. The next action of the game made Kaoru lose all of her composure altogether. The captain had grabbed her chin and turned her face, which was not looking at his, so that she had no choice but to look into his eyes. Her face blushed a deep crimson as her blue eyes met his cerulean ones. She couldn't help but be aware of his hand on her face. "S-Sir..." Was all Kaoru could utter as she swallowed hard with her nerves. Her shyness was kicking in full force and there would be no more false confidence in this game from her.

He had let go a minute later, it felt like hours to Kaoru, and soon she saw a grin spread across his face. Clutching her loose towel in front of her, she hid her face behind it while he had turned and exposed his own back to her in response to her words before. Her face seemed to stay the red color it was, but she looked as if she wanted to run there and then, which she did, but her legs wouldn't move. In fact, her knees gave out at the thought of touching the Captain on his back and returning what he had done to her own back. Her knees gave out and she sank back into the water with a shy expression. Her eyes squeezed shut and she tried to make herself seem small and invisible. He had expected her to make good on her words? She had hoped that he would just brush it off. She wished that she was more confident to finish this game in the winners circle, but knew deep down that she really wasn't the type of person to play this game to the end.

"I-I guess my knees are still tired from my training and duties, Captain," Kaoru stuttered as she half-opened her eyes again and hid her mouth from behind her towel. She averted her shy blue eyes from the Captain. "I-I guess I cannot make g-good on my promise. My apologies, C-Captian," She swallowed hard as she looked completely shy and vulnerable in her stature. Her knees really wouldn't allow her to move and her body, though still aching from the week, had stayed completely still. If she wanted to run away before, she couldn't now. She was ready to throw in the towel, so to speak, and hide behind the rocks that edged around the more farther parts of the onsen. Her eyes remained averted from the captain as the blush had persisted upon her face. She wondered what would happen now.

[Hirato Murano]

The crimson haired man watched passively as Kaoru-san reacted to his revelations about himself. To her credit, she seemed to understand almost instantly that what she had been told was little known information about the self-reliant Captain of the 9th, and few would be trusted with it due to its highly personal nature. Her face still retained the blush present since the beginning of their incredibly enjoyable game, which did not surprise him in the least. The first time they had met, he realized that she noticed the color of his hair almost immediately and loved it, the love of the color demonstrated further by the red sash she wore and the red in her hair bell's string. It seemed that, for the second time, a beautiful woman would convince him to change his mind about his hair color. The first time it had happened, Teina had convinced him not to despise it, but to cherish it for its intrinsic value and for the value it held as something inherited from beloved family members. Now, perhaps Kaoru could convince him to love it, for those reasons and for the reason that someone else loved it. Whatever else, he had to admit that she was interesting in many more senses than one, and she had even managed to pique his full interest, a considerable accomplishment.

His reaction to her running her fingers across his face appeared to displease her immensely, as if she had expected a far different reaction, one of embarrassment or possibly one of resistance. In any case, her scowl advertised her displeasure yet Hirato did not smile in response, feeling like he did not have to do so. His eyes gazing into hers, for those few wonderful moments, produced a magnificent effect, an excellent feeling that almost inspired him to make a play that was so audacious even he decided against it, realizing that it would bring the second round to a complete conclusion and begin the third round. This time, Kaoru-san did blush as red as his hair, and Hirato, finally registering what he had just done, blushed considerably as well, turning his head away quickly. His confidence vanished into thin air when his mind comprehended his body's actions and his blush only increased, leaving him to wonder how he did that with such a composed countenance betraying no emotion at all. After his hand released her chin, the Captain glimpsed her knees giving out, likely a result of his actions and he felt a momentary tinge of regret over his last move.

After listening to Kaoru-san's words, Hirato turned around again, his muscular back disappearing from view while his chest, shoulders, and abdomen reappeared in the black haired woman's line of sight. The man gave her a reassuring look, hoping to make her see that he could just brush this away and continue with the game, making his next dangerous play that might completely shatter his composure for the remainder of the game. Another confident smile stretched across the cerulean eyed man's face, signaling that he had decided on his next course of action, naturally the most dangerous course available. "If you're still tired, why don't you rest your head on my shoulder?" the crimson haired man said confidently and slightly flirtatiously, gently guiding her head so it rested on the inside of his right shoulder. Thankfully, Hirato was looking away when he offered this, for his face became moderately flustered at the offer, somewhat reluctantly wishing she rejected his courageous proposal and did not move any closer to him than she already was, having entered his personal space long ago. His mind reminded him that his favorite color was black at this point for some reason, a rare random thought that broke through the logical structure so evident in his thinking. The blush darkening on his face, the Captain began to run his fingers gently through her black hair, shocked at how soft it felt to his touch and shocked that he would commit himself to such an action, even in this game. "Black is my favorite color, Kaoru," said the noble softly, abandoning all honorifics and simply speaking with a truthful and appreciative tone, the flirtatiousness absent from his speech for good reason. His blush only darkened further when saying her name without honorifics, since such references were limited only to those in extremely close relationships with you. The Shinigami could hardly believe he was doing this, and glanced at the woman whose head now rested on the inside of his shoulder, his eyes uncertain and his face deeply flushed. Would she accept this turn of events or reject his rash move? Only time could tell.

[Kaoru Murano]

Kaoru swallowed hard as she watched the events in front of her unfold. Part of her yelled at her to use her shunpo and run away as fast as she could from this impossible situation that she had gotten herself into. However, the other, less shy and nervous part of herself had taken some interest in the Captain reactions and wished to see more. Kaoru, however, had taken to the first part of herself rather than the second. While she might find his reactions fascinating, since she has only seen the more serious side of this Captain before, Kaoru knew in the back of her mind that this wasn't proper for an officer of her position or even a woman of her background to act like this with a noble and Captain such as Hirato Murano. She may not care about ranks, position, and titles, she was painfully aware of the gap that separated them socially, however. Kaoru usually looks at these types of things when in the seireitei with unemotional feelings and thoughts and merely looks for power and often judges a person based on that rather than their title or rank. This was an entirely different type of situation. This wasn't a battle or training, this was a social situation instead. Kaoru wasn't too good at social gatherings, opting to instead train and hide herself away. Kyouya has been working hard to change that throughout the years, though.

Her thoughts were a mess and she longed for the calming aura of her brother to set her straight and clear her thoughts of all this social awkwardness she had gotten herself into. Her face was still beet red as she held the towel in front of her lower half of her face and body, just as Akai Tsukihime wears a mask. Her blue eyes mirrored her shy nature and nervous feelings. When the Captain had given her a reassuring look that seemed to say that he was brushing off what had just happened, she breathed a sigh of relief and had closed her eyes and enjoyed the water against her skin. This had exhausted her more than she had expected. It didn't help, however, that she had a rough week of training and duties within the 5th division. The moment of peace was shattered quite quickly, however, when the Captain had said that if she was still tired she could rest her head on his shoulder. Kaoru's eyes flew open as her face became redder than it had before and her face seemed to steam. Her body still wouldn't move and this interesting turn of events wasn't helping at all.

"S-Sir?!" Kaoru stuttered softly as she, in her daze, had let the Captain guide her head to his shoulder and she merely sat there, stunned. He wasn't looking down at her, but Kaoru wasn't really looking at the Captain either. Her eyes were squeezed shut tight as her mind tried to get a handle on her thoughts and emotions once again by pulling back on her mask. While she may not have to put her mask on in front of him, she really needs that sort of protective security it provided her. Liken it to a sort of security blanket, if that makes more sense. No matter how much she tried, her mask wouldn't come back up and she was stuck letting her emotions run rampant and wild. It was a good thing that she was in this mood rather than her other temperament without her mask, the one that threatened to swallow her whole when she let her guard down. Such rage and sorrow would indeed swallow her one day, but for now her shy nature peaked through and suppressed the darker self she hid regularly.

She relaxed against him for a moment as she felt a moment of peace with the Captain. This was strange for her since this was the type of peace that she only felt with Kyouya and her mother, but even then there was an undercurrent of her more stronger, darker, emotions. She sighed softly, no matter what, these feelings of much darker origin would forever haunt her and try to overtake her. Sure, she was much stronger when she let everything go, but she'd much rather live a lie than a lonely and dangerous life where she has nobody to lean on. She thought about all the people she had met recently and noticed that her small circle, which consisted of Kyouya, and once her mother, had now grown considerably to include many new faces. She felt peace with the Captain because he seemed to understand her and her mask, though she didn't know why. Suddenly, she felt his hands run themselves through her black hair. Kaoru couldn't help but let go a small squeak of surprise as he did so. What surprised her further was when he had stated that he liked the color black. What caught her majorly off guard was when he used her name without honorifics. This sent Kaoru's blue eyes wide as she looked up at the Captain with her surprise and blushing face.

"R-Really?...red is my favorite color, C-Captain Murano. I actually do love the color of your hair, if that's not too bold to say," Kaoru replied softly as her eyes half closed and averted downwards and to the side. While he seemed to be using just her name, she wouldn't dare use his proper name, with or without honorifics. Nope, she was bound and determined to continue to use his title instead. She pushed herself away and felt the muscles of his chest when she did so. This sent another ripple of nervous energy through her as her blue eyes had yet to make contact with his. She pushed herself away and swam to the front of where he was sitting just a couple feet away. While she was sure that she would enjoy easing her body pain more in the onsen, she decided that a nice nap would do her a world of good even if it wasn't as good of medicine for it. Her gaze traveled from the side to up at the crimson-haired Captain. Her blue eyes were still shy, but she had tried to pull back on her mask to cover that up. She was still having trouble with that.

"S-Sir, thank you for the invitation to the onsen. I feel refreshed and better than ever," That was a lie since her body still ached, but she wouldn't let her words ruin her attempt at trying to make off without being rude. She wrapped the towel around her body as she spoke and grimaced as it yet again did not go fit her entire chest in the towel without being tight. She mentally sighed and told herself to use her shunpo to make a quick escape after she heard the Captain's reply.

[Hirato Murano]

The crimson haired man seemed to ignore Kaoru-san's surprise at the turn of events, disregarding her stuttered speech and simply enjoying the feeling of her head against his shoulder. It was painfully obvious how startled she was, judging by the random and multiple fluctuations in her spiritual pressure in the few moments between feeling his hand on her head and his action of guiding that head to rest on the inside of his shoulder. Even at this stage, Kaoru was still attempting to regain control by covering herself with her mask, rather than simply letting go, if just for a short period, and allowing her emotions to affect her actions as they typically would. A sigh escaped his mouth in response to this, for while he recognized the value of vigilance, such control was unnecessary and only hindered the enjoyment of this situation, in addition to preventing her from effectively making a counterattack in their game. His cerulean eyes opened slowly when he sensed some stability in her reiatsu signature, possibly a sign that she was accepting the reality of what was happening instead of fighting against it.

Hirato smiled involuntarily at the sensation of her body relaxing, not one of flirtation or confidence like those that had dominated the game, but simply one of peace, a peace he had not experienced in quite some time. Hearing her soft sigh made him wonder how long it had been since she had felt truly at peace, too, although soldiers such as them often associated peace with complacency, an easy mistake to make for warriors. Though rare, instances of relaxation and rest were crucial for their survival, because they eased the suffering of constant battle, renewing their spirits, renewing their bodies, renewing their souls. Her hair was incredibly soft to his touch and his mind entertained the fantasy of running his hand through fine silk for a moment before listening to the squeak she made and chuckling softly, unable to stop himself from doing so. His reference of her without any honorifics at all clearly shocked her, and caused her face to become even more flushed, leading Hirato to wonder how much more flushed her face could become before she collapsed from embarrassment.

A smile stretched across his face when Kaoru replied that her favorite color was red, just like the color of his hair, and that she loved the color of his hair. Although his face had returned to its natural color, her comment caught him off guard, making him blush slightly at the usage of such powerful language. "Is that so?", the noble began wonderingly, after he had regained most of his composure. A strange sort of smile, one of nostalgia, characterized his expression when his deep tones echoed out again. "I used to despise the color of my hair, actually. It reminded me too much of blood, too much of the blood that stained my hands," said the Captain, briefly considering the thought that he might be revealing too much personal information to the woman, despite the fact that she had already revealed so much of herself to him, so much of the past filled by sorrow and death. Her words of gratitude shook him gently from his nostalgia and his cerulean eyes examined her, instantly realizing the noticeable deceit in them and for some reason, that conclusion saddened him slightly. Hirato inclined his head in reply, still somewhat subdued by the slight feeling of sadness at the deceit.

Lying back against the onsen, the crimson haired found the towel with his right hand, quickly covering his bottom half with it before standing up, meekly accepting the conclusion of their time here. Another idea struck him and a confident smile accentuated his facial features once again, a sign of the continuation of their game. He sat down, taking the towel off and placing it back in its former spot. His cerulean eyes glanced at the figure of the beautiful black haired woman in front of him, doubts plaguing him as to whether he could actually follow through with the plan of action that had been decided upon, yet his body moved anyway and swam over to Kaoru's location somewhat reluctantly. The man's face flushed severely, and in one movement his head neared very close to hers, his lips kissing her on the forehead. A moment later, his lips had left her forehead and now closed in on their counterpart belonging to Kaoru, the man pushed forward by some unknown courage welling up that he wasn't aware he had, the blush on his face only deepening as he drew closer. The second round was finished and the third round seemed likely to begin in excellent fashion.

[Kaoru Murano]

Kaoru frowned when Hirato had stated that he hated the color of his own hair, and that it reminded him of blood. When he said that the blood stained his hands, Kaoru's hand had closed tight as it rested on her chest. Her hands were stained with blood, but most likely not the same reason hers are. She may not have seen as many battles as he had, but soldiers like them always had blood on their hands. Kaoru's eyes seemed a bit distant as she rubbed her own hands. "You should think of it more as the color of passion and life, hm? That's what I think anyway; that's why it's my favorite color. Onii-chan says the color fits the real me to the core." Kaoru had said with a small giggle. Kaoru hadn't meant to divulge that last sentence, but it seemed to just come out. She looked up at Hirato with a slight frown on her face. "I understand, though, but I am happy to hear that you changed your mind. It really is such a wonderful color," Kaoru had reached up and had ran a couple fingers in the red hair that hung down. For a moment a smile lit her face and her blue eyes seemed a bit distant for a moment, but she caught herself quickly and moved her arm down again so that it still clenched into a fist on her chest. Her shyness with the current situation had taken over yet again. Her blue eyes seemed to dart to the side as if she could suddenly move away from her current position.

Kaoru couldn't believe that she was really letting this all happen. She was steadily losing all the precious control she ever had over herself and that made her uneasy. Her darker and more wild emotions started to filter through and she found herself wanting to stay within his arms longer than she had allowed herself to. Shaking her head, she tried to clear those types of thoughts away. With her mask down, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep the wilder part of herself away. As much as she was flustered, there was a part of her that wanted to continue the game as before, but she was too shy to do anything herself. Mentally sighing, she made her move to go as she lied about her body ache. She hated to lie to him, but she felt she had to make a quick getaway in order for this to not turn out for the worse. Meaning, she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of this Captain. Kaoru cared little what people said or thought about her, but strangely she wanted this Captain to think well of her; she cared what the thought concerning her.

Events moved on and Kaoru was about to leave, she had clutched the towel around her body, as tight as it already was, and she had waited for the Captain to say his peace so she could move quickly on. At first, her blue eyes watched as he placed a towel around his lower body and started to stand. However, he seemed to change his mind. A smile spread on his face as Kaoru's frowned back at him with her confusion at his actions. He sank back into the water and pulled his towel off. He seemed a bit hesitant, but she saw him swim towards her. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but something in the back of her mind kept yelling at her to move, while another part pulled her to stay there. Her body froze as he came up to her, with a fierce blush on his face, and his head neared hers. Her heart seemed to be beating right out of her chest with how close he was. Her own face flushed a deep crimson, and soon her eyes flew open wide with surprise at the touch of the Captain's lips to her forehead. It was moments after that she found his lips upon hers. She closed her own eyes as her mind spun with the events taking place.

"Captain?" Kaoru had murmured against his lips as her hands seemed to move of their own accord. Slowly but surely they moved to his face and lightly cupped his cheek with her left and ran her fingers through his red hair with her right. With that kiss, it seemed as if the tight hold she was trying to keep her emotions in check with suddenly broke and she moved as if she wasn't in control of her body anymore. She sighed softly and wrapped her right arm around his neck, deepening the kiss and showing more courage than she had been showing recently. Her lips moved softly upon his as she continued. All thoughts of nervous and shyness were nearly gone for a moment, that is, until she opened her blue eyes to look into the Captain's face so close to hers. Her hand was tracing a small pattern upon his cheek. As if she were waking from a dream, her blue eyes widened with realization at what she had just done. What she did was improper for an officer, seated member or not, and she realized that within a matter of moments.

Her face blushed a deep crimson as she had stumbled back. Her hand flew to her lips and her blue eyes stared at the Captain for moment before they squeezed shut and she sank into the water. Her face was blushing red still as she managed to talk, if only to herself. "I shouldn't have done that..." Kaoru murmured to herself. Though, she couldn't get the memory to leave her head. She kept playing it over and over and it only made her heart quicken faster and her face flush stay on her face more. Her words escaped her after that. Her control was still broken and her body still longed to be kissed by this crimson-haired man again, but there still was a little voice that said it wasn't proper to do such actions with a Captain. Then again, this whole situation was out of her comfort zone and levels of proprietary. Kaoru had looked back up the Captain with soft blue eyes as her hand was still touching her mouth, remembering from a few moments ago. Then it all changed, she wished to kiss him again, but was held back by herself.

She stood up again, slowly, and then moved her hand back to his face as she swallowed hard at what she was about to do. "S-Sorry, Captain," Why she apologized beforehand was simple, she knew this was improper and felt that she had to give such an apology. Gently she pulled him down slightly to her as her lips first kissed the side of his mouth and soon they found themselves against his as she softly kissed him. Her face was still blushing as she then soon let go and bit her lower lip as she returned her hand to her mouth and stood there nervously. Kaoru couldn't meet his eyes with her shyness and the realization at what she had done hit her. Her blue eyes darted to the side as she still clutched her other hand to her towel.

[Hirato Murano]

A smile spread across the crimson haired man's face as Kaoru commented about the color of his hair, recommending that it was not the color of blood, but the color of passion and life, and that it is why it is her favorite color. Perhaps she was correct and he would learn to love it, or perhaps she would simply have to love it in his stead, while he loved the color of her hair. It seemed that once again, a beautiful woman would be the one to change his mind about the color of his hair, but this time, he would not allow anything to happen to her, even if it cost him his life. His eyes widened slightly in surprise when she ran her fingers through some of hair, not expecting her to return the action to him. "Maybe you're right, Kaoru. Perhaps it is not the color of blood, but the color of passion and the renewing fire of life," said the noble softly, the smile still on his face. Hirato was surprised and impressed at how easily she could convince him to have a different perspective, especially since he could be quite stubborn at times. Kaoru was quite a woman, reminding him more of Teina as she revealed more of herself, not only because of her beauty but because of her intelligence and gentle yet effective ability of persuasion.

His rather audacious play turned out well, for Kaoru kissed him back and ran her fingers through his hair, something he emulated while kissing her. His face was moderately flustered now, but none of that seemed to matter anymore and when Kaoru deepened the kiss, he followed suit, somewhat startled yet reassured by the gesture. He had half expected her to push him away and leave the onsen quickly, rejecting him; thankfully, she had not and the game could continue in earnest, the third round progressing very well thus far. For a few moments, his lips against hers were all he was aware of, all that needed to be processed by his mind. His cerulean eyes opened slowly at the feeling of her hand on his face, their lips still touching but the kiss broken off momentarily, the man anticipating that it would start again soon. The crimson haired man felt her move away, seeing her deeply flushed face and wondering if he had done something he shouldn't have before listening to her muttering. It almost made him laugh, simply because of the obviousness of how inappropriate all of this was, of how this situation was never supposed to occur between two Shinigami. Even so, it had and now the only option was to follow through with this until the end, whatever that may be.

Cerulean eyes caught sight of Kaoru standing up and the crimson eyebrows that rested above them raised themselves slightly while Hirato wondered what she had stood up for, what she was about to do. He shook his head at her apology, feeling that it was completely unnecessary and started to express that sentiment in words, saying, "Don't apolo-" before her lips on the side of his mouth cut his sentence short. When her lips met his, he kissed her back softly, an expression of supreme peace on his face. His hand reached hers and he guided her gently back into the water, intending to take full advantage of this lull in activity, as it were, to make a recommendation about something that had been on his mind for a while. "Call me Hirato, Kaoru," the crimson haired man requested, his tone polite and light. He kissed her again, this time more passionately, his right hand running through her black hair while his left rested on her cheek. Gradually deepening the kiss, their lips remained together for what seemed like an eternity, but really consisted of about a minute or so in real time. Hirato pulled away from her, his left hand still resting on her cheek while his right intertwined itself with her right hand. His lips moved to her neck, kissing it gently at first but then beginning to kiss it more passionately. While doing so, the noble silently wished that no one else would arrive at the onsen, because that would mean the end of their wonderful game and all of the enjoyment the two were deriving from it. Additionally, the arrival of others would force Kaoru to put on her mask and Hirato frankly despised it, for it compelled a promising and compassionate young woman to suppress her emotions and hide her true self.