Overdue Overture [Yuuto, Mirai]

As she grabbed his own origami construct and sent it back, Yuuto sidestepped, quick to start forming two more weapons to match, with a hidden third one, a slim, needle-looking construct. He couldn't help but smile as he heard the mixture in her voice. This was what he wanted of her -- to enjoy life more, to just...live. Rather than try to counter her attacks, this time, he simply threw them at the same targets that she was aiming for.

In doing that, he let himself get hit by the two origami weapons, laughing all the while as he tossed the needle-like construct aside. Rather, he went back to work forming another series of throwing stars, flicking them out as he finished them, leaving a small barrage for Mirai to handle, not targeting anywhere specific.

"Mirai, you don't need to call me that. We're off-duty right now, don't be so formal."

She too was struck by his attack, but very little damage was done. A look of horror came on Mirai’s face when she watched this man start machine-gunning new paper-weapons and threw them at her at a high rate of fire. ‘Not fair, not fair, not fair!’ Mirai thought as she ducked, slid, side stepped as many as she could. And finally she was struck, and then again… and again! Mirai, definitely playing up the drama fell to the ground, slumped over in a pile on the floor.

“C-Captain… I… I…” Mirai suddenly opened up her hand and revealed a circular pin as a paper grenade dropped to the floor. “I won.” And a second later, "BOOM!" she waved both her hands in his face, childishly pretending an explosion occurred.

For a moment, he thought he had gone a little overboard -- not in terms of damage, but, just in rapidly loosing origami creations like that. As Mirai was 'injured' by one, he found himself smiling at the overdramatic display, quick to appear by her side as she crumpled into a slump on the floor. He had not, however, anticipated that she was making something else, using the drama to get him close.

As she opened her hands and mimicked the force of an explosion, Yuuto dramatically stumbled backward, laughing as he eventually landed on his back, having been 'slain' by the 'explosion.' With a smile, he sat up, still chuckling as scooted over to her, gently poking her nose.

"You may have won this battle, but, I have gained victory on a different front."

In saying that, he gestured to Mirai, still beaming with that warm, delighted smile.

"I got to see you, and that you is wonderful. I'd love to see it more often."

Victory. Mirai smirked as he fell, her plan of blowing up a Captain actually working in this silly little scenario. Previous experiences had proven… that wouldn’t actually work. As she sat up, her nose was poked. Shaking her head like a startled cat, she rubbed her nose and sniffled. Itchy. He made her nose itch.

“Sore loser,” Mirai said, sticking out her tongue, but then something he said registered in her brain. “Victory on a different front? I'm unsure what you mean?"

His explanation left her cheeks red. She looked around the room, seeing the paper toys scattered about. 'Wait...' She looked to even more, eyes widened. 'What the hell just happened? I let my guard down... Why the hell did I do that?'

"I... uh... My apologies. That was childish and unbecoming..."

The moment he brought it up, it seemed to bring her back to the stoic mode she always kept herself in, causing his smile to fade just a little. Yuuto shook his head lightly, slowly, carefully, reaching out to gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't apologize. There's nothing to be sorry for. Letting your guard down, being more of yourself...I like that a lot. I'm certain anyone in the Stealth Force or the Soul Society as a whole would. Not everyone is an enemy here, Mirai. Even if there are some...untrustworthy characters, that shouldn't stop you from making friends and just...being you."

Yuuto's smile seemed to beam an even greater sense of warmth as he finished, only for him to quickly bring Mirai into a hug. This was what he wanted to see from her, the person behind the mask she wore. Though, to some extent, he was not so different in his own past. But, that was why he wanted her to be able to become more than just that mask -- especially when around friends and comrades, people she was meant to be able to trust.

Mirai looked him in the eyes, her mind moving as rapidly as normal as she tried to really take in what he was saying. The problem was that she wouldn’t… or couldn’t believe it. Letting your guard down was foolish; she learned that many times.

“Someone blew a hospital up with us inside… Every time I let my guard down, someone tries to kill me,” she explained, hopefully allowing him to understand her rigidness and paranoia more. She. Never. Felt. Safe. Except… She opened up her mouth to say more, his smile inspiring a bit of… something within herself. She didn’t recognize it though. “I…” Mirai was suddenly pulled into an embrace.

At first, she stood frozen in his arms, but soon laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him too. Even if she couldn’t identify the reason, or this damn feeling she had, it was the one thing that didn’t confuse… or scare her.

The scar of the bombing was still fresh in both of their minds. Yuuto's warm smile faltered, and his head lowered, keeping his arms firmly wrapped around her. The hospital had been nothing but an accident on her part -- she was never meant to be there. He had been the target, she had just been in the wrong place and the wrong time. The fact that she was injured in an assassination attempt meant for him ate away at him every single day.

"That wasn't your fault, Mirai. But, still...you've let your guard down around me, just now, even, and I've never tried to kill you. You've had to have let your guard down while in the World of the Living or on assignment, right?"

As she rested her head on his shoulder, he gently cradled her head, his other hand idly wrapped around her. The fact that she felt like she needed to maintain that image...hurt. But, seeing her look so happy and free made him want to try and see more of that from her.

"I just...want you to be yourself, the one behind the mask."

Despite his typical hesitance, he kept her firmly in an embrace, the Captain himself finding his own sense of comfort in such a quiet moment.

It wasn’t about fault. It was about patterns, fate, the reality of the world she lived in. This was always the case, but how could she explain that to someone who had such a better look on the world than she did? She couldn’t… She never could find the words, or the confidence, to let that truth of hers be known.

Lifting her head to face him, Mirai looked Yuuto in the eyes, her hands clinging tightly to the back of his shirt without really even realizing she was squeezing. He was right. She did let her guard down around him, but he was wrong about the world of the living. She never let her guard down out there. Not. Ever.

There was a long, thoughtful silence and a new look of longing in Mirai’s eyes until she finally gave a short nod and a soft smile, “Okay, Yuuto... I’ll try…”