Territorial Damage (Tenma)

Tenma smiled softly and nodded his head in reply. He then realized she never did open her eyes. Smiling and moving extremely quietly he stood up and picked a whole cherry blossom flower off of the tree. He then extremely carefully set it in Maika's hair, smirking softly. He then sat back down and spoke quietly. "Flower for the lovely lady neh?" He in hopes she wouldn't take it the wrong way. He then glanced directly at the cherry blossom he had set in her hair. He then leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes to enjoy the gentle breeze.

Maika opened her eyes cautiously, looking quite bemused at Tenma for a moment before she gently patted the side of her head, feeling the flower that had been placed carefully in her hair. Maika's cheeks tinted light pink as she lowed her head slightly, hiding her faint smile.

Maika rose to her feet silently, reaching up as she gently picked a small cherry blossom blossom flower and slid it behind Tenma's ear before sitting back down against the tree. Maika sighed, her gaze drifting up to the clouds as she spoke, almost as if watching the situation, rather than being a part of it, 'We match now'.

Tenma smiled and cautiously moved over to the side so he was a little closer to her. He then hugged her softly and didn't intend to let go unless she wanted to be let go. He then spoke softly "That we do lass, that we do." He then noticed the clouds and smiled as a bird flew above their heads landed near them. "Seems the bird thinks its a lovely match, in what way though I'm not sure" He joked softly.

Maika rested her head gently on Tenma's shoulder, her eyes fluttering open to watch the bird; she smiled lightly, 'Well the bird itself is lovely enough' she mused. The red head lay still for a while longer, lying in a blissful awake-ness. Maika's face turned colder for a moment, more serious even as she sun splintered through a cloud, 'Have you ever...' she paused, her own words not seeming to form a reasonable structure for a pondering she had long since held, 'Have you ever wondered, if you were still alive, would you be happier?'. This wasn't to say that at that very moment in time, Maika wasn't happy, oh no, in fact the girl felt for once, more relaxed than she had ever felt, in all of her existence, and more at ease then ever, but still, how could her life have been different.

Tenma heard her comment on the bird and spoke softly "That makes three lovely things here, the tree, the bird, and you." He commented with a small smile. He then heard her question and thought about it for a moment. He then shook his head and spoke again. "It's hard to say...I mean...if I had been alive, then the girl I'd been with wouldnt be now would she? Therefore is there anything real happiness to get from this? I think it's better off this way...once I get stronger I can truly help soul society out. Besides right now, I don't think I could be happier anywhere else." He mentioned as he looked at her with another small smile.

Maika tilted her head upwards as she stared into Tenma's eyes, keeping eye contact as he spoke. The girl's cheeks tinted a pink colour that reflected the cherry blossom above them. 'I haven't been happier either...but that's probably the third lovely thing i'm looking at'. Maika had in truth always tried to be polite to people, and while her cold nature and often lack of forthcoming emotions had on many occasions stopped her; the girl's intentions had usually been good.

Despite this, many had received Maika as rude, defiant, cold and distant from others, and the girl's annoying inability to feel many minor emotions had never helped. But Maika was happy, and it was a rare thing, and she didn't want to to stop, but with the one person she now felt she could open up to, she'd need help. Maika licked her lips gently before she spoke, her voice quiet under the breeze, 'How can i get past my fear of blood?' she said quite bluntly, for being adopted into a noble family especially, it was an obstacle that needed to pass.

Tenma contemplated her question deeply before answering, all the while he never was able to take his eyes from hers. "You must face it...I know it will be hard..but I will help you anyway I can Maika...Do you...know how I can eliminate mine?.." He asked softly as he without realizing it had gone from just a simple hug to holding her gently in his arms. His eyes still never left hers and he felt happy to have her in his arms. He didn't want to let her go. Even though eventually he'd have to.

Maika's eyes widened for a moment, as she gently leant forwards, breaking softly from Tenma's embrace as she turned to the guy, leaning in a bit closer. Maika had been trying to be more engaging when talking to people for quite a while, and she heard eye contact was key, although she had to admit, it was a lot easier with Tenma. Maika glanced down for a moment as she collected her thought, her dark eyes resting back on Tenma's as the red head rested her hands on the guys shoulder, speaking clearly and with as much conviction as she could muster. 'I think, you just have to leave yourself open enough to find someone like that, and then, you'll find them, someone who you can really fight for again, until then, why not just rest knowing there is someone like that for you, just waiting to be found'.

A gust of wind blew down a few pink petals over the pair as Maika smiled, smiling with a complete sincerity and general caring for the guy. She let out a brief sigh and leant back against the tree, shuffling closer once more as she rested on Tenma's shoulder, 'Until then we might just have to help eachother'

Tenma nodded, however then he spoke softly. "Who knows...maybe that person is already here." He thought he had spoken softly enough for her to not hear him. He then looked up and saw another cherry blossom petal fall softly and land in her hair. He then reached forward and softly pulled it out and then let the wind carry it away. "I'll help you anyway I can Maika...thats a promise and I don't break them.." He said softly. He couldn't tell if he was blushing at all or not, he had looked back into her eyes and said that and he felt as if he sounded like a moron.

Maika lifted her head slightly when she heard Tenma speak, but she couldn't make out what he'd said, so instead she just smiled at him. Looking a little confused as he reached forwards and gently took a petal out from her hair; Maika's cheeks flushed red as she dropped her head, her soft red hair draping over her face as she smiled to herself. 'Thanks...you too Tenma...forever'

Maika took a moment to collect herself, before raising her head once more. Maika cleared her throat gently, 'I hope i end up in the same squad as you...but i doubt it' she mused with a sense of nostalgia, and even sadness already. The cynic did often worry about such future plans.

Tenma heard her speak and smiled softly as what she said. "Yeah...same here." He said as he softly brushed her red hair back and blushed a little bit more as an idea came to him. He then leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He didn't say a word after that, wanting her to speak first and hopefully tell him what she thought.

Maika froze, her eyes quivering for a moment as Tenma swept her hair back into place, before he kissed her on the cheek. The girl's face burned red with embarrassment as she just looked, frozen in shock for a moment at Tenma. Maika inched slightly closer to Tenma, her heart rattling against her rib cage as butterflies swept their way around her body. The girl tilted her head to one side as she leant closer and gently kissed Tenma on the lips.

Maika pulled away slowly, unable to for any real sentences but for what just came out of her mouth, 'Wow' .

Tenma was shocked when Maika kissed him in the lips and he softly kissed her back before she pulled away. He then hugged her gently, the only words he himself could make were "Yeah..wow." He had blushed a light shade of red himself and gently kissed her cheek again. After a few minutes of silence however he finally whispered in her ear. "I didn't think you would have felt the same way.."

Maika held herself in Tenma's embrace for a while longer, her heartbeat racing faster when he kissed her back. The girl smiled to herself, looking up for a moment as she lay in Tenma's eyes, 'Neither did I...' . Of course Maika was referring to Tenma feeling the same as her, although there was also a glimmer of shock in herself; Maika had honestly not expected such an event to occur. Maika's mind couldn't help rushing onto various thoughts in her mind, all banished by the girl's current feeling of warmth as she lay under a cherry blossom tree with Tenma.

The ball rang loudly through the air, the signal that Maika was in fact now already late for her next lesson. The girl's smile dropped as it was replaced with a mild look of panic. The girl scrambled back up to her feet, looking back to Tenma with an apologetic look. Maika had been told quite clearly, she needed to be top of the class at the Shinigami Academy, considering her Noble title as well, so being late wasn't so good. The girl sprinted back towards the main Academy building, calling over her shoulder loudly, 'I have to go...I'll see you later on Tenma!' she shouted over her shoulder, before running down the path as quickly as she could.

Tenma smiled softly, while sad that she had to go. He was happy at what transpired here today. He called back "It's a date!" as she ran and picked up his zanpakuto. After tieing it around his waist he too went to his next class.