Red, White, and Blonde [Kaoru/Akira]

KAORU NAGUMO|LAUGHING WOLF

Rosa Rubicundior

Kaoru thought there was likely more beyond what he was saying, but... well, as stated previously, it wasn't exactly her responsibility to investigate. Plus it was way over in Africa. That was a lot of kilometers away and wasn't exactly a concern for her. She didn't really care if China or Japan were attacked. She was around. If things got in her way, she'd kick their ass. Simple as that. She shrugged off the conversation, partially as a way of getting from a deep topic that wasn't interesting.

Thankfully the lull was short-lived and they arrived at the hot springs. Since Akira had practically demanded to carry her luggage, she left him with the taxi driver so she could check in. Returning with a slightly confused look on her face, Kaoru held her hands behind her back to find Akira standing with the luggage and the taxi driver driving away... She didn't pay him, did she? Oh well. That was a question for another time. Besides, there was a more pressing matter. "Okay, so, I didn't think this through. And it's not a big deal to me, but you're like really cagey on stuff, so I don't know if it'll be a big deal for you, but... the contest was an all-inclusive package for two, but... it's one room."

Kaoru held up the single key given by the resort manager. "You wouldn't be the first guy I've had to bunk up with—missions and all make that happen, so I'm cool. But are you cool with it?" Kaoru looked a bit concerned. Partially because she didn't want this to be a deal-breaker for Akira, and partially because she didn't want to have to spend her own money to get a room. She felt he wasn't doing too well financially after seeing his book store, and so she wasn't going to make him pay for anything. It was the least she could do for agreeing to this.

Lilio Candidior

AKIRA TAIRITSU

The cab driver wasn’t necessarily responsible for certain things, so Akira had lagged behind to engage with the man though a simple muttering of Hakfu made it easy to clear his state of mind. He did though leave behind money to be -found- later on his journey before moving into the large abode, a brow moving to raise at Kaoru whilst she practically hopped on over. A brief moment of confusion was easily registered on Akiras features, a hand raising but that look of concern disarmed him. She had made a rather large effort to get him here so Akira’s cageyness had been temporarily…Eliminated.

."You’re quite alright Kaoru, I am not so caged to be disinclined toward sharing a room with a woman. You can take the bed and I’ll take the floor, it’ll be reminiscent of old times within the barracks anyway. That does remind me for some reason, are you wanting anything extra whilst here tha the tickets do not include?.”

He began meandering over to have a quick glance at the litany of things on offer, why not spend a little more if she had already made such an effort?

."Room service might be desirable, enjoying a hotspring on an empty stomach seems like a bad idea. ”

KAORU NAGUMO|LAUGHING WOLF

Rosa Rubicundior

Kaoru wouldn't argue about the bed situation. She might find Akira to be funny, interesting, and the good kind of weird, but that didn't quite translate into becoming bedfellows. She thought about what she may want, and only one thing came to mind. She'd buy it herself. That's what had to be done. She shrugged. "There might be extra stuff on the menu that's not covered, so probably that."

Kaoru led Akira—who was back to lugging the luggage—by being led by an attendant. He had offered to take the luggage, but Kaoru had specifically refused the attendant's offer. Akira had made his bed. "Barracks-like" was perhaps the best way to describe it as they walked down the open path. It was something straight out of the Rukongai, albeit with electric lights that weren't even close to turning on. The different rooms were all facing this path. They passed a few rooms that had an extra bar on the outside of the door before reaching the end of the building—and their corner room. The attendant explained the other two rooms were having repair work done, but no work would be done during their stay.

That at least explained the giveaway for these rooms... The more interesting thing was the large amount of "vacant" plaques next to nearly every door. The attendant explained that too—a large corporate party had suddenly cancelled and so most rooms were currently empty. Thus it seems they would have the place mostly to themselves for at least that night.

The room itself was dated—or rather, by this point, "historic." Dark wood floors with tatami covering them, and a low table set for two in the middle of the room. Kaoru's eyes went wide for a moment as she had a painful flash of nostalgia. Feeling her head begin to ache, she shook it off. Some things were, perhaps, better left unremembered. After getting settled into the room, Kaoru had the attendant bring the day's lunch special—a fine hot pot consisting of an unsettling amount of mountain yams.

Once they were alone and eating, Kaoru spoke to Akira directly once more. "So, like, what did you do back in the Soul Society? Before, you seemed cagey... almost like you felt like you were a wanted criminal. You still do. So, like, what happened? I'm not on the job anymore, so you don't gotta worry about me blabbing or taking you to jail." She awaited his answer with eyes full of sparkling curiosity.

Lilio Candidior

AKIRA TAIRITSU

This was getting more awkward by the moment, glancing at the vacancy plaques which littered the long hallways of vast historical aesthetic. Joy. It didn’t take much for Zathrusta to offer a certain commentary which was swiftly put to heel by an internal focus, yet once eyelids fluttered open there was a notable brow raise to Kaoru’s reaction to the room. Luckily for her? Akira was a fucking nerd. No quicker did the bags hit their respective places did he begin inspecting the woodwork, enjoying the rather rustic energy of the place alongside texture.

Yeah, history nerd.

It was then they began to eat, enjoying some idle chatter until a bombshell practically detonated infront of him as his whole body immediately tensed up. RIvu’s midnight blue sheath which rested across his lap did alleviate a level of anxiety, but his eyes landed on Kaoru entirely. A weighty sheet of silence constricted the area before a soft gulp of a beverage saw any food related obstruction leave, only the mental remained.

."I see.”

Akira exhaled softly, shaking his head.

."I-....Central 46. I was a former member of the Kido Corp, not only that but I used to live in the outermost districts in the Rukongai so it was early in my life I understood the corruption of Soul Society. I advocated against them, naive as I was to believe in peaceful change which resulted in conveniently bad intelligence. Well. Long story short, we got massacred by an Adjucha and I got bit…Their venom induced a frenzy in me and I returned home. People died. That pretty much sums it up. ”

There was a soft chuckle from his Inner monstrosity, humored by Akiras omission of the details and what that Adjucha actually did to him. The Shinigami shaking his head again before laughing softly.

."Let’s not focus on depressive statements like my past though, I am curious as to your love for adventure. Do things bore you easily? ”

KAORU NAGUMO|LAUGHING WOLF

Rosa Rubicundior

Wow. That was a lot less interesting than Kaoru was expecting. The way he talked, felt, and even smelled? She thought Akira would have done something more interesting than that. She didn't quite get what he meant by "infected." The fact was that Kaoru had left Soul Society just before Shinji Hirako's group became wanted criminals. She wouldn't know what a Vizard really was, and so the connection wasn't made.

Akira pushed past his lame backstory and redirected the conversation. "Oh, uh, nope! Well... maybe sorta? See, I only do things that make me happy. If something makes me sad or angry," Kaoru tapped the side of her head, "I either gotta stop doing that or rejigger it in my mind so it's something that'll be positive. I'm actually O-negative." Kaoru found her joke absolutely hilarious.

After a moment of unstoppable laughter, Kaoru just went back to eating. She'd tell Akira to focus on eating if he tried to talk again. She had some thinking to do. Overall, there was a sadness to the story, but it was like... why would he still be hung up on it? Was one of the people he killed a family member? A friend? A lover? There was more to this, but she wasn't sure she was wanting to figure that out quite yet.

After they were done eating and let their food settle, Kaoru hopped up. She'd pull Akira to his feet whether he wanted to or not. "C'mon. We came to an onsen, let's go to the actual onsen." Unfortunately, a musical series of chirps rang out from her phone. She glanced at the tiny screen on the outside and rolled her eyes. Letting out a large sigh, Kaoru answered the phone. "Whatcha want? Oh? Uh-huh... Okay, one sec." She covered the mouthpiece and turned to Akira with an apologetic look. "Crap... I gotta take this. Go on, enjoy yourself. I'll find the onsen after this call." She wouldn't let him protest. He should go relax while she talked to one of her many benefactors. This would give him some alone time—hopefully in a place where he could relax.

Lilio Candidior