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 Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 10:53 pm
Though she usually ate lunch in her room on the weekends, Xiu determined that her dorm room seemed a bit stuffy that day, and decided that eating somewhere else would be much more preferable. Packing her food--a rather ordinary lunch of rice and vegetables--into a container, the Baku made her way through the demon dorm hallways and then out the door.
So, she mused to herself, gazing around at her surroundings as she came to an abrupt stop, Do I eat out here, or go to the cafeteria? When she thought about it, eating outside was her preferred choice, if only because--as a botany enthusiast--she enjoyed being among the plants. At the same time, though? The ghoul found that it was awfully lonely out here. There would be a greater chance of running into someone she knew, or even the possibility of making a new friend, if she went to the cafeteria.
Ahh, which to choose? Well, maybe she would just head to the cafeteria for now.
As she started towards the main school building, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Maybe Lizzy or Mitsu are eating right now too." Xiu murmured, searching for her eyephone in her obi while her lunch balanced precariously from her other hand, "I should text them and ask."
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:00 pm
Even though Bent-Tail was normally a very very well behaved mouse, there were times where he got a little cheeky. The little mouse bolted away from his owner, making noises that could be mistaken as snickering or laughter.
"Bent-Tail get back here!" hissed the Reaper as he chased after his pet. Oh how he loathed having to do this now and then. He wasn't sure what got into the miced tea this time, but it was annoying nonetheless. Furrowing his brow, he saw the mouse run around the corner and it was then that he decided to try and cut him off.
So he teleported.
Thinking there was no one around the corner, he reappeared and lunged down to try and scoop up his pet. However, he soon realized there was someone RIGHT THERE, causing him to basically lunge right into them instead.
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:18 pm
Well, to Shun's credit, Mac did give Xiu the nickname of "Mouse".
Only she never expected to be lunged at for it, or for any other reason for that matter, especially not by Mitsu's ordinarily-stoic friend. With more important matters to deal with now, the Baku immediately gave up with her attempt to find her phone. Move! She urged herself, staring at the reaper wide-eyed, I-I need to get out of the way!
Unfortunately, try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to move out of the way--she was frozen to the spot, her legs quivering slightly. A small part of her mind--the part that wasn't keyboard smashing--told her that any attempt to get out of the way would probably end up fruitless anyways. She was far too slow for that, so she followed her next instinct.
She turned and ducked slightly, loosely holding her lunch to her chest in one arm and trying to protect herself as best as she could with the other. Xiu couldn't help but wonder if she had actually done something to anger Shun. Maybe it was the hip thrust photos?
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:28 pm
Shun was far too close and in motion for him to avoid the collision. The most he could do was to try and brace himself before BAM he crashed right into her before stumbling and going down with her.
"Kuso....." he hissed to himself as he found himself on top of the girl all of the sudden. Looking up, he noticed that it was a familiar face; Xiu actually. He recalled seeing her at the Prom with another reaper, taking pictures of a good number of things. From what he recalled, she was a little on the meek side like Mitsu.
Sitting nearby, was Bent-Tail, who stared at Shun with a tilt of his head.
"Dammit Bent why'd you have to run off like that," he glowered at the miced tea. Bent-Tail's ears flattened back a bit and he shifted in place, deciding that play time was indeed over now.
Shaking his head, he rolled off of Xiu while looking a bit uncomfortable now.
".... Are you ok?" he mumbled to the Baku.
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:46 pm
Though she had been prepared for the impact, being collided into and hitting the ground still knocked the wind out of the poor ghoul. She was definitely going to be sporting a bruise from this. Or two. Or fifteen.
Everything hurt right now, pretty much.
As if she wasn't nervous enough around the reaper, he had suddenly popped out of nowhere and lunged at her. Xiu wasn't really sure what to make of the situation. Did she do something to make him upset? Or was this all an accident of some kind? The Baku was confused even further when Shun didn't address her, but someone...behind her? A quick look over her shoulder determined that a little mouse was seated close by and, despite the fact she ached, Xiu still managed a small smile. Oh, it...it's pretty cute!
Distracted, she didn't notice when the boil (fortunately) got off of her, but she most certainly heard his question. She jerked her head around to face him, her reddish-pink eyes wide and vaguely frightened. It took her a moment to process his words, and she opened her mouth to respond when she suddenly realized that her lunch box was no longer in her hands. A quick look around determined that the box was sitting nearby, but that the impact had cracked the container open, spilling the contents on the ground.
Xiu drooped slightly at her lost lunch, but she immediately stiffened again and smiled shakily. "Y-yes! I'm fine!" She staggered a little when she jumped to her feet, but tried to act casual by patting the dirt off her skirt. "Perfectly fine!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:57 pm
Grimacing as he sat up, staring at Xiu, Shun took notice of how nervous she appeared at the moment. It was kind of reminescent of Mitsu. It was little wonder for him that they two seemed to get along fairly well and all. As for why she seemed intimidated of him, he didn't question. She wouldn't be the first person to feel that way towards him. He was more used to people being wary or intimidated of him than being open and friendly.
It was kinda how he got by before.
"You sure about that?" he asked while rubbing an arm lightly. The Reaper probably came away from that a bit bruised but it would be nothing big for sure.
The nergal miced tea stared at his owner for a bit before skittering up to perch at his shoulder like he normally would.
"Don't do that again," Shun scolded the little guy before letting out a sigh and patting Bent-Tail on the head. As he turned his attention back towards Xiu, he noticed the splattered food nearby. Oh s**t. That was probably his fault.
"... Doesn't look like your food is in the same condition."
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 12:29 am
"Y-yeah," She nodded at him, albeit shakily, "No harm done, really!" Xiu tried to smile reassuringly, but she was still a little shook up about the whole thing. She eyed Shun warily, but upon seeing the mouse skitter onto his shoulder, she suddenly seemed to relax. Surely Shun wasn't all that bad since he and Mitsu were close. She was curious though...
"What happened?" The Baku blurted out, knitting her brows in confusion. Clearly he hadn't meant to collide into her, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered asking if she was alright, right? Something told her that his pet was partly responsible for the incident, if the light scolding was any indication.
...And besides that, did he teleport in front of her? Surely no one could move that fast!
Perking up when he spoke again, she followed his gaze to her ruined food. At once, she jumped into action, scampering forward and trying to clean up the mess by dumping the fallen food back into the container. Hopefully there was a garbage can somewhere around here? "W-well, that's okay!" She said, trying to sound positive, "I-I can go back and make something else." There were also some leftover spookies from her last baking session.
Spookies could be considered lunch, right?
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 12:41 am
"Bent-Tail decided it was a good time to run off randomly," Shun said lowly while giving his pet a little bit of a dirty look. He wasn't too happy with Bent at the moment, but he couldn't stay angry at him forever. The little mouse gave a little squeak, definitely looking like he was in trouble.
Shaking his head to himself, he pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off. While he did this, he watched her try and salvage what was left of her meal, but it was far too late for any of that. Even the five second rule couldn't save it now.
Frowning, he ran a hand through his hair, thinking what to do. It had been his fault for causing her food to ruin like that. She was a friend of Mitsu's as well, so he probably should do something to make up for it.
"I'll get you a new lunch," he said, somewhat begrudgingly. The Reaper was on his way to fetch some things anyway, so it wouldn't be too out of the way. Even so, it was a bit of an annoyance to have to do this. At the same time, he hated to be indebt of anything really.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 1:35 am
Ah, so it really was the mouse (Bent-Tail, was it)? Noting the grumpy look Shun gave his pet, followed by Bent-Tail's squeak, the Baku smiled nervously and quickly waved her hands in front of her. "W-well, nothing serious happened, right?" She pointed out, "And he's back now, so..." She trailed off, but had she finished her sentence, it probably would have gone something like, "so forgive the adorable, cuddly little mouse".
Instead, she turned her attention back to the remnants of her lunch that she held in her hands, emitting a little sigh. Even if she went back to her room right now and tried to whip something up, it would take a long while until she could eat. But...she could deal with it, right? An hour or so wasn't very long, and it wasn't as if she was that hungry.
Her stomach chose that exact moment to growl.
Xiu's face heated up immediately, and she began to cough loudly in hopes that Shun hadn't heard. In fact, she was coughing so loudly that she nearly missed his offer--an offer that had her freeze, do a double take, and then gape up at him blankly. One second passed, then another, and then..."Nope!" She shook her head furiously, her voice rising a few pitches, "I-it's okay, don't worry about it! You don't have to go to the trouble!"
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Hearing the girl's stomach growl, Shun sort of stared at her. She might have tried to cover it up, but it didn't get past him. Quite frankly, he thought she was over reacting a little. Her voice even got kinda higher there!
"I was about to get some stuff for myself. If I wasn't willing to do it, I wouldn't have offered," he said a little gruffly.
"If you don't like fish then I'll just grab you something else in town," he added while shoving his hands into his pockets. It seemed he was pretty set in on this sort of debt he had incurred on himself.
"I don't like being in debt," The reaper said before turning away to start on towards the school gates.
Bent-Tail stared at Xiu for a few moments, keeping his gaze on the Baku as his owner turned. Coming out of his meek state from being scolded, he sort of waved to her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:49 pm
The Baku frowned, watching uncertainly as the reaper turned to leave. Should she accept his offer or not? It was hard for Xiu to decide. On one hand, she really was quite hungry, but on the other...
It wouldn't kill Shun to smile once in a while, y'know?
She was caught off-guard by Bent-Tail's wave, but after a moment of surprised blinking, she smiled and she waved back. Her tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and she watched after the retreating pair quietly, thinking the offer through again. He had offered, and he really didn't seem like a bad guy. Where was the harm in accepting? "I-I'll come!" She trotted forward to catch up, slowing her pace only when she was walking alongside him (albeit with a small gap separating them--she was still a little uncomfortable).
"A-are you sure that this isn't any trouble for you?" Xiu couldn't help but asked, staring up at the boil anxiously, "I don't want to impose on you, Shun."
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 4:08 pm
Shun didn't turn around as he heard Xiu coming to catch up with him. He knew she was there and was following him, just from going off of what she had said. However, when she asked him if he was sure about this, he glanced to the side.
"I am. Like I said, I wouldn't have offered in the first place if I didn't mean to do it," he replied. She was kinda starting to sound like Mitsu right now. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing though.
Seeing the Baku wave back, Bent bounced on the Reaper's shoulder and gave out a happier squeak. He liked this girl. Yes.
"How do you feel about raw fish?" he asked, hinting at what he was going to fetch.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 4:31 pm
"Thank you, then." She answered, deciding not to push the matter further and to just accept it. She hurried a few paces in front of Shun so that she could turn and give a low bow, something that has apparently become a habit for her now when thanking someone. She waited until he reached her before she started walking again.
"Raw fish?" Xiu echoed, tilting her head and frowning. It reminded her of something that her father enjoyed eating--slices of raw fish sitting on top of or wrapped in rice--and she nodded slowly. "I...I've never tried raw fish before." She admitted, laughing a little, "But I'm not opposed to trying it. I know that my father likes it!" To be honest, the only reason she never tried it before was because the very thought of eating something raw kind of made her cringe. Xiu was a cooked-food type of ghoul, though she decided that trying something new today wouldn't hurt. Besides, it wouldn't be polite to be picky.
Her attention turned back to the mouse perched on the reaper's shoulder. "H-hey, Shun?" She spoke up abruptly and motioned towards Bent-Tail, her expression hopeful, "C...can I pet him?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 4:45 pm
Pausing as he saw her hurry on ahead and bow to him, Shun merely nodded in response before continuing on the path. The local grocer would probably have what he was looking for. At least that was what he hoped. In any case, he was planning on heading there to pick up what he needed. He already had the rice, so all he needed was the fish at this point.
"If you don't like it I can grab you something else then," The reaper said plainly. Hopefully it wouldn't come down to that else lunch would be more troublesome than it needed to be. He supposed he could get some of the more 'tame' fish and whatnot if she had never eaten it before.
It didn't matter all that much to him.
Shun paused once more as he heard Xiu address him. His gaze shifted to his pet briefly before shrugging.
"If he wants to be pet, go for it."
He didn't really care all that much.
Bent-Tail's ears perked up at the words, looking from his owner to the Baku. The little mouse tilted his head as he stared at the girl expectantly. He loved to get pet! Especially by cute girls. They always seemed to be the best petters.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 5:24 pm
"I'm fine with raw fish!" She protested quickly, holding her hands up, palms outwards. The last thing she wanted to do was make matters more difficult for the reaper, especially since he didn't have to go to all this trouble, "At least, I can't say that I don't like it when I haven't tried it before, right?" Xiu smiled, reminding herself that she'd best keep her mind open. She had been happily surprised by some foods before--maybe raw fish would elicit the same reaction.
The Baku beamed happily when she received permission from both Shun and Bent-Tail. Despite her eagerness, she was careful to pet the mouse gently, her tail waving happily behind her. "Um, hi, Bent-Tail!" She greeted, careful to keep her voice at a low to moderate level (she didn't want to go deafen the poor mouse, after all), "I'm Xiu-Ying!"
She was clearly fond of the pet, giving it a little tickle before withdrawing her hand. In addition to her elevated mood, the Baku had clearly relaxed as well. She even worked up the guts to ask Shun a question. "Do you cook?" This was followed by a head tilt and wide, curious eyes staring up at the reaper. She didn't know many boils, aside from Vaith, who knew how to make food.
Or something that was remotely edible, in some cases. Xiu wrinkled her nose at a few particular memories of her uncle's failed dishes.
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