Mid-Term Break [Hiroe, Kaito]

Sometimes, life had a habit of throwing things in one's direction when making plans. For Kaito and Hiroe, this had become very evident after the woman's birthday gift to him. Right as they were about to part ways, he had promised to take her on a date. Well, he had never intended it to take this long to do so. Conversing with her after class, they had finally settled on a place, time, and day for this little outing.

Classes were out for a short period of time, and they finally had some time for themselves. As the sun began to set, Kaito slipped out of his uniform and put on his regular clothes, which, were hardly more than what one would expect from someone in the slums. It only served to make the sky-blue haori stand out even more from the blacks and browns of the rest of his attire. Nevertheless, he was not one to let such a gift go unappreciated.

He had left his Asauchi by his bed, turning around and looking over the room, making sure there wasn't anything he was forgetting. He didn't have much to his name, but, he'd at least try to make this something to remember. Exiting his dorm and making his way to Hiroe's, he gently knocked on the door.

It had been some time since Kaito and Hiroe seen one another. From what she could recall, she had given him a Haori as a present and remembered just how pure the joy in his expression was. His reaction was genuinely something that still stuck with her to this day. However, there was one thing in particular that she missed out on remembering. Well, she remembered, but they never exactly set a specific date for it to happen. Thankfully, he reminded her during their time at the academy. After her classes were over, she immediately raced towards her dorm.

She would've preferred to go to her home, where most of her really cool outfits were, but she managed to find a casual dress that was pleasing to her sense of aesthetics.. A perfect mixture between graceful and simplistic. Looking into the mirror, she blew a kiss to her reflection, posed a bit as if she were standing before a camera, and heard that knock at the door. Taking a deep breath, she wondered how this'd go.

How should she act? Casual? Flirtatious? No... it was just one date. Baby steps, Hiroe. He was handsome, but Hiroe had never actually went out on an official date before. Ah well, she supposed kaito was probably equally nervous, thus lessening her own worry.

She would open the door quietly, gazing at the considerably taller man. It was interesting to see him in regular clothes. However, something else stood out to her. The Haori he wore over his shoulders. The Haori she had made. A soft shade of red filled her cheeks as she turned to the side.

"I didn't think you'd take the Haori with you on our date..."

She was thoroughly flattered.

Despite how nervous he was, given that this too was his first time going on a proper date, Kaito tried to remain calm. He looked himself up and down, brushing off any dust on his clothes, particularly his haori, fidgeting lightly as he waited for the door to open. The door opened slowly, quietly, and Kaito leaned to the side a little to peek into the doorway to try and see her as she did so.

Upon seeing her, his lips parted briefly, before he simply smiled, offering a small, semi-awkward wave. She was dressed in far better attire than he was. Despite not having anything else besides his uniform, Kaito felt...considerably underdressed for the occasion. But, he felt a bit less awkward about it as he saw Hiroe's face flush as she looked away from him. With that gift meaning so much to him, how could he not show how much he loved it other than wearing it?

He reached over, gently patting her head and lightly ruffling her hair.

"Why would I not? A gift as beautiful as this doesn't deserve to just sit in my room gathering dust, especially not when the miracle worker that made it is going to be accompanying me."

He took a step back to give her room to exit, shyly offering a hand. Now, it was his turn for his cheeks to flush red as he turned his gaze to the ground. He wasn't even sure if it was the right thing to do in the situation -- it wasn't like he was helping her down from somewhere, he just did it because...it felt right. Or, maybe he just ended up making a fool of himself.

"Er...w-well, shall we?"

Hiroe attempted to brush off her flustered appearance by sticking her tongue out at the man as he ruffled her hair. She was honestly flattered by that. It meant that her outfit truly meant more than she had intended. Brownie points for part one. Now, he'd have to pull out the stops for the next part - the date. He was, by all accounts, handling himself well enough so far. Stroking her ego by calling her a miracle worker was a nice start. Yup. Hiroe gathered her composure, looked for any inconsistency in her clothing, stood upright and exited the door, observing his hand curiously. Hm...ripe opportunity to tease him at the moment. Time to take advantage of it. Play it cool. She'd tap her hand against his a little, winking up at him as she stepped forward.

"Hand holding already, Kaito? How bold."

She'd playfully sway her hips, walking forward, until she realized... she had no idea where they were going. Turning around, she'd play it off, smiling a little.

"Any idea where we're going, big guy?"

Kaito blinked as she tapped her hand against his, before stepping forward and out the doorway of her own accord. His arm quickly bolted back to his side, his other arm holding his wrist at her comment. While it wasn't as if the act itself was anything scandalous, Hiroe's implication that it was quickly made him reconsider the idea. If anything, he had thought of it from the movies that his friends talked about and wanted to try and be polite.

"I was just...s-shut up, it felt like it was the appropriate thing to do, that's all."

Hardly annoyed, only a tad bit flustered at the insinuation, Kaito shook his head for a moment, to try and stop himself from getting embarrassed at what seemed to be a little hiccup. Taking in a quick breath, he turned to face her, only for Hiroe to suddenly turn around, smiling a bit as she asked where they were going. He chuckled, a small smile spreading across his own cheeks.

"A little place in the Rukongai's forests. A nice little clearing with a lake, and a full view of the sky. It shouldn't take us long to get there."

Hiroe chuckled how embarrassed he sounded. It was adorable, honestly. The exuberant dreamer enjoyed being a tease and heckling those she considered friends. The raven haired woman's eyes perked a little when Kaito revealed the location they'd be traveling towards. A little clearing with a lake and a full sky view? It seemed to be a pleasing location for a date. Why not? She wondered what food they'd be eating. She hadn't gotten a chance to prepare anything at her house this morning.

"Relax, Kaito. You can hold my hand. It's a date. I can allow you that much. Any idea on what we'll be eating at this place you picked out in the Rukongai?"

While he didn't say anything in response, Kaito smiled softly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. But, as she asked what they would be eating, he froze. In his haste to make sure that he was there on time and dressed properly, that had...completely slipped his mind. He didn't want to admit that, so, falling silent for a minute, he thought of what to do.

He had some items in his dorm that he could use to make what he hoped could be halfway decent. But, he didn't want to just leave her standing there while he did. But, then a thought came to mind.

"Well...I was wondering if you wanted to make some together. I've got some stuff in my dorm, if you wanted to make something together. It's not anything particularly special, but, I thought it could be fun."

"Oh?"

Hiroe resisted the urge to tease Kaito again. Were she a more haughty woman, one whom considered themselves out of his league, that would've been a deal breaker. Of course, she was Hiroe - someone, to her own admission, was something of a plain jane. Neither of them were exactly swimming in funds, and as spirits, food wasn't necessarily required. it was still a nice touch, though. A picnic without a few treats just sounded unnatural. Nodding her head with a grin on her face, Hiroe nudge him in the shoulder as she looked towards his dorm.

"You came to me with no food prepared already? Strike one, big guy." Ah, she couldn't resist it. This was truly amusing, but she wouldn't keep him on edge for long, waving her hand as she chuckled.

"Nah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm totally open to it. Let's go."

As Hiroe nudged him, teasing him about not having food prepared prior, Kaito rubbed the back of his neck with a quiet, bashful laugh, breathing a small sigh of relief as she unveiled that she was teasing him again. With a soft smile, Kaito reached out to take her hand, lightly pulling her back in the direction of his dorm. It didn't take the two long to get there, and Kaito wasted no time in opened the door, stepping inside and holding it open for Hiroe to come in.

As she did, Kaito quietly walked over to a small cooler under his bed, pulling it out. It wasn't much, there was some lunch meat, cheese, and a couple of vegetables, as well as some bread and some drinks. Most of it was just there for snacks, a gift from what his family was able to gather at the time. But, it also served to be good for days like these.

"It's not much, it's...pretty basic, but, I figured it could be fun to make even something as simple as this together."

Hiroe would follow Kaito into his dorm room, observing him with curiosity. He would reach under the bed to grab the small cooler, revealing the contents that lied within. Lunch meat, bread, vegetables, drinks, and a couple of snacks. It was enough for Hiroe, honestly. She understood Kaito was, much like herself, someone who descended from a place that didn't really allow you to have much of a budget outside of the bare essentials.

Leaning down to sit a few paces beside him, Hiroe would gaze towards him with a bright smile as she nodded. This was plenty. The dreamer would guide her hands towards the lunch meat and bread, mixing them around with the vegetables and fixing her part of the picnic meal they'd be indulging in.

"Hey, I'm not really complaining. It's not like either one of us is exactly allowed to be picky when it comes to meals. This is plenty. Let's see what you can come up with, big guy. I'm already making some pretty cool sandwiches over here. One of em 'has chips on it, too."