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"That's not what I meant. If all of your kind do this, then it's a sort of custom, I suppose. One that I think is unnecessary. And if you don't change within these... stages, then that doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that you aren't eating." As for the changing, well, Kumizu didn't say anything about that. He only imagined holding hands with Ayise one moment and then looking over and seeing some ninety-year-old woman. He doubted it would be that extreme, but still, inwardly, he cringed at the thought. I guess there's something good about never aging.

Kumizu just smiled. Yeah, he was always checking up on her. Come to think of it, anyone looking on from the outside would think of him as some controlling, domineering a*****e. But, considering the fact that both of their pasts were catching up to them, he felt obligated to do so. It was either that or leave, and the latter was out of the question.

Of course, when he'd asked Ayise out for a bite to eat, Kumizu was hoping they wouldn't talk this much about food. "Look, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm shoving a funnel into your mouth. I just figure that if you're hungry and we're here, you should eat more than fruit."

Kumizu's body didn't react from the chill, but the sense of being pulled away from himself was a bit bigger than that. Yes, it felt a bit creepy, but at the same time... not really a bad thing. If Ayise did this every time they kissed, why hadn't he felt it before?

As for the actual loss of life energy, it didn't bother Kumizu. Water was his energy, it was the only reason he'd lived so long, and immersion in a pool would bring back anything he lost, at the pool's expense. Deciding not to mention how it felt good and bad, Kumizu simply said, "It's only a little bit, and as you've said, replaceable. This is especially true for me. You shouldn't worry about it."

Blueberries...? "If that's the case, all you need to do then is be careful. I'll tell you if it starts bothering me."

Talk of blueberries just led to more talk of food, something Kumizu wasn't interested in. At least at the moment; after all, he hadn't brought Ayise here because he was going to eat. "Once again, I don't want to force you to eat if you don't need to. That's all I'm saying. As for changing..." Kumizu stood and slipped into the booth, sitting next to her. "...you already are unbelievably beautiful." He kissed her again, not worrying about whatever consequences to his life there would be.

"Let them. They might learn something." Kumizu could still tell that Ayise felt awkward, so he didn't push it. He leaned back and let her speak. Of course, he didn't like where the conversation was going. "I'm still going to worry about you, I always do. And I'm sure you're always worried about me. But there isn't anything wrong."

That was Kumizu's only lame attempt to reassure Ayise. "I'm just..." It was hard to simply put to words together. "I'm afraid..."

Kumizu sighed. "It's not you or your 'mess of a life' that worries me. I'm more worried about my mess of a life." He didn't want to go any further than that. To prove this point, he suddenly stood. "Look, I'm tired, and I really don't want to talk about these kinds of things. Come on, let's go back to the dorms." He turned and got the attention of the waitress, putting a twenty dollar bill in her hands. "Keep the change."

The doors of the cafe opened to greet the young man, a chime ringing behind him as he walked through the area. Lots of people around, he thought, looking around with his eyes staring at the different kinds of people around. I wonder..

"Sir, look out!" cried a girl employee, catching the boy by surprise. He was about to turn his head to her, but BAM! instead had his head bump against a low beam, causing some of the other customers to stare. The girl winced, then called out: "Are you alright?" Ryuu stepped back a bit and shook his head, then turned and waved at her, laughing cheerfully. "I'm fine, thanks!" he said, then proceeded towards the far end of the shop, careful this time not to hit anything.