Kayura

to make her melt in place.

they hadn't heard the man that turned her face red either. "... That's..." She cleared her throat and her hands fell from his mouth to his shoulders. Kayura was unsure on what to say, but she did pout. "... Don't say such foolishness in public...!" Her voice was a loud whisper; as usual, he managed—

especially when said so loudly. "T-Touma...!" Her hands both pressed to his mouth, quieting him. She looked around them; the owner was retreated still, working on their meals, and a couple of high schoolers shared a table distant to theirs, engaged in a conversation she coldn't hear. Hopefully,—

His closeness took her by surprise and the timidness only he could rise was shown in the light tint her cheeks acquired in spite of her previous somberness. And those eyes... always so beautiful with their shine, nearly melted her apparent melancholy.

His words, however, broke her every wall,—

moment they were in, but truthfully, she wasn't sure on what to think. "It must be hard on you, after all... Dealing with someone who finds peace exterminating what doesn't belong in this world." When she turned, she donned a tranquil smile. "Taking care of someone you don't trust~."

"That depends on you." Even if his warmth was close, Kayura didn't face him again. The wall seemed more interesting to stare at than glance back at him, but that was a result of her pensiveness. "On whether or not you believe that I am truly capable of being normal." She chuckled, as if mocking the—

with one of your arrows... like the resourceful warrior you are." She chuckled, turning her head away. "Appealing to the humanity I cling to like this... you'd have an easier time being more honest with me."

glanced at him with a smirk– half confident, half concerned. "Are you afraid, Touma? Afraid that I may lose myself to my hatred?" Her palms met her elbows in a cross of her arms, a gesture that'd been almost a reflection of her past life's arrogance. "If that happened, you would have to pierce me—

When her hands were released, she let both fall onto her lap, then averted her eyes to her homely surroundings again. His words resonated with her, and they briefly made her eyes shut in quiet contemplation. "The way you talk... It's making me think." She leaned back onto her chair and—

to protect it as well." Her touch held on to him with more firmness; a determined touch. "If I have to, I will fight too."

considered like this.

However, she still she clung to her own pride. "I am willing to go along with your desires... for as long as you don't forget I'm a warrior first and foremost." Her other hand pressed to his warming own as she stared into his eyes. "If this is 'our' home, then it is /my/ duty—

Touma." She straightened when her hand was cocooned by his warmth and remained in pensive silence, before chuckling quietly with realization. "So that's what you are trying to do... show me 'my humanity', is that it? Help me adapt?" Kayura wasn't offended by it, far from it. She was happy to be—

His gestures were far too gentle and she almost felt undeserving of them. A former enemy, treated so softly; she had to be the one counting her blessings in that moment of acceptance, of being seen as more than an anomaly, but as someone to cherish sincerely. "You took care of cleaning them,—

all her lost time being made a puppet of the darkness. "Although, I'm never going back... I have no choice but to keep adapting to your world, as challenging as that may be."

sincerity came with the smile she'd been denying herself. "I also considered studying, since it is a common thing here... But I'm not educated enough for that." Being from a distant era where things operated differently was a hindrance, and the shine of her eyes briefly soured when she recalled—

touch against her lap.

She was quiet until the question that made her look up at him. "It's been a consideration..." Perhaps a show of her comfort was how she rested an elbow on the table and leaned her chin against her free, open palm. "I don't want to trouble Nasuti and you forever." Her—

Kayura stared as he approached and, while not allowing herself a smile yet out of cutesy pride, leaned closer to him and his warmth. Her former enemy though he'd been, it changed in the now that she could freely be the one to chase after his hand with her own under the table, resting their joined—

her cage.

appearance of normalcy he sought to make real for her soul as it'd been for her body.

In silence, she took a seat at a distant table, one that would put them in the corner, telling of her natural distance. She remained there, staring at her surroundings, almost like a resting tigress curious about—

She was wordless, not out of disrespect, but almost ignorance. Aside from Nasuti and his comrades, Kayura couldn't say she had experience engaging others in a more casual environment. But, with Touma's laid-back playfulness, she failed to repress her pout in time, nearly giving her the—

own 'immaturity' in 'rebirth'.

"... But this will do for now."

seats and the unique essence of the diner; she'd not seen anything like this before. Kayura, after all, seldom joined the world as a civilian on her own, preferring to continue her hunts and unable yet to fully adapt in this new world as another person living in it.

Perhaps that was a sign of her—

thought, hadn't noticed her surroundings, until the sign in Latin letters made her blink. She could read what they said, but her confusion remained. "I was expecting the den of a demon." Her eyes wandered as she walked ahead, curiosity leading her gaze from the older man to the empty seats and the—

His words drove her into silence; she'd almost pouted, but refrained from that. As much as she wished to pry, the thoughts of her boyfriend were an enigma to her, especially the concerns regarding herself and her affinity for darkness after the ages of being a slave to it.

Kayura, while deep in—

unsure.

when it came to this man, that she had to sigh in disbelief at herself. Her expression, however, didn't become sour.

While they walked, with her allowing herself to be led by him as she often did, she asked; "What should I do for you to stop hiding things from me?" Her voice had grown soft, almost—

It was a struggle keeping her unmoving expression as such when his lips found her skin. Pleasant though the jolt was, Kayura perked an unamused brow at the welcomed theatrics. "That is for me to decide, Touma." She quipped, struggling to retain her firmess. So easy was it for her to come undone—

"And the cycle begins anew."

"Christmas, hm? I wonder what Touma would like..."

"Romance between huntress and prey? Foolishness."