No Tiger, No Dragon, Just a Swallow [Ira, Kasha]

Ira would have really liked to say that he took that in stride, that he just coolly handled the news the same way Kasha had. That would, however, have been an absolute lie, as he coughed a bit on the tea he'd been drinking. Huh? As well? Pardon? He hadn't heard that right.

No, wait. No, that checked out. Oh.

"I...yeah, well, that is surprising, yeah. Not that I should really have any room to talk, like you said."

What the hell was going on in his head? Oh, he hated this. That changed things a lot. Or, well, it should have. Maybe the more concerning part of this was that it hadn't actually changed his view of this situation very much at all. If anything, he felt like his body was reacting a lot more aggressively now than it had to any of the touches before.

Shit. He hadn't ever thought about that. This really wasn't his body originally, why would it ever have just responded the same way his would have? God damn it.

"Well, uh, you pull it off well. Feel like I'm kinda cheating by comparison."

What was that?

"Oh? You sound like a friend of mine."

He teased a little bit, doubling down after seeing the struggle to keep down the tea. Maybe a tad more cruel than he meant to but it was a little amusing that she was so taken aback. Kasha did however cock his head again and give a concerned look through his painted face, even leaning in a bit closer to get a better look.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale, Ira. Are you sure you're alright?"

Back to worry that there might be an adverse reaction to having missed an acupuncture point during the process. He knew there could be side-effects if one's accuracy was off.

Ah, shit. He was still pretty. Yeah, definitely still pretty. That wasn't helping at all, and Ira was by no means confident in what to actually do at this stage other than just keep his cool and enjoy the tea.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm all good. Just that little sputter getting to me, I guess. Ya caught me off guard, you know."

He didn't really mind admitting that much, if only because it was so transparently obvious anyway that lying about it would have basically been a complete waste of time.

God damn, he'd need to talk to Yugiri about this one.

"Oh. I see, ahaha. Well, I hope that you're not put off by it."

Kasha said while finishing his cup of tea and putting it down, quite glad to finish it rather than wear it like Ira did with that little reaction. Kind of cute though, maybe among the more memorable ones he got. The Koizumi's lips went into a small pout while he thought about it a bit more.

She didn't seem to handle that well, at least she didn't pass out. That would've been awful.

"Er, nah, nah, not at all. I mean, threw me off a little just since I hadn't expected it, but it doesn't put me off or anything. Be kinda hypocritical of me if it did, wouldn't it?"

Which was actually pretty weird in Ira's head, since it by all accounts should have put him off. In fact, it being a guy should have removed any attraction that was on the table and just turned this into two guys hanging out. That's what it was, right?

Right.

Right?

Hm.

"Anyway, if you're fine with me bein' a guy, I'm fine with you bein' a guy, doesn't bother me. I'll still be here a month from now for another session of all this if you're up for it."

Frankly, this was about 75% sheer bravado on Ira's end, an unwillingness to seem as though he was just soft. The other 25% was genuinely uncertain as to where he even stood on the matter, though that same 25% was mostly wanting to talk to someone about the situation.

Kasha kept up the curious gaze which might've conveyed some level of doubt towards Ira's words but he wasn't the type to challenge them. As a person that lived by saying one thing or another that didn't reflect his true thoughts, it was hypocritical to expect Ira to be an open book. Especially when they had met not long ago.

He did think it was a little peculiar that she referred to herself as a male, despite the reality of it. Though she did say this body wasn't the original one. Kasha felt comfortable that he'd also feel much the same way if he were to be stuffed into a female body, beyond the inconvenience and loss of his appearance which was the seed of so much of his vanity... his teacher would probably be far more annoying. Women were always worse to each other after all, were they not?

"Of course, Ira. You're welcome anytime you like."

Kasha said with a small bow from his seated position.

Well, Ira at least was gonna enjoy the rest of this little day out. Sure, the whole "hey we're two dudes" thing had thrown him off, and not even really in the way he'd expected, but there was still tea to enjoy. Plus, you know, it'd be rude to just leave.

"Careful makin' offers like that, I might have to come by more often."

Man, he hated that. Not necessarily the idea of it, but that it had come so naturally for him to say. Oh well. No way but forward, he guessed. He'd have to talk about it with Yugiri later, even if he already had a pretty good idea of how that talk was gonna go.

"It's fine, it's not as though I entertain frequently. I like to think I am alright at it when I do, however."

He said while pouring another cup for himself and being ready to do so as well for Ira, no point wasting the pot with only a single cup. Right? It was a little different of a day than he was expecting but hardly unpleasant. Not unpleasant at all.