log; complete

[needsmapquest.livejournal.com]

When; April 2nd, Evening
Rating; G for cute and the normal M for Masaki
Characters; Kiyone better_third and Masaki needsmapquest
Summary; Masaki and Kiyone go out on their zoo date. It's fun and lovable. Of course, Masaki hopes Isane didn't see how he ended the date. >_>
Log; Kotetsu Kiyone had never seen much use for a full-length mirror. She had long grown accustomed to wearing the same thing day after day. The usual black of the shinigami garb, modified slightly by a white collar and gloves. When you've worn something hundreds of times, the need to check yourself in the mirror decrease significantly.

But in the City, the normal raiments were sometimes discarded on relaxed occasions for more common clothing, and Kiyone found herself in front of a mirror, smoothing a non-existent wrinkle from her shirt. Satisfied, the third seat bade her pacing sister a quick farewell and headed out the door. She'd agreed to pick Masaki up this time, as he'd had a marked difficulty finding her the last time he'd tried to pick her up. Kiyone compared his lack of directional sense to that of the eleventh division. Although, she honestly didn't mind going after him; it meant Isane wouldn't have the chance to interrogate him again. She came to a stop outside the temple, his home. Not knowing where to enter, and even if she did, where to go once inside, she simply settled for calling his name loudly, hoping he'd hear.

The hotblooded boy ended up pacing back and forth in his room at a consistent pace. His cats laid on his bed, eyes moving as he roved back and forth. Out his window, he heard a yell for his name. He quickly perked up, and stuck his head out. "I'LL BE THERE IN A SEC, KIYONE-CHAN!" Masaki ran and grabbed one last item before trucking it out of the temple. He held it behind his back, trying his best to keep it form sight when he walked up to Kiyone.

A nervous smile crossed his face, knowing that he was still terrible at relationship stuff. A small patch of skin on his cheeks turned slightly red as he held out his item in front of him. It was a dozen roses, wrapped up. "I-I got these for you! Please take care of them!"

Kiyone's eyes widened and she smiled, taking the bundle into her arms. "Thank you, Masaki," she said, raising the blooms to her nose. "They're beautiful. I'll be sure to take good care of them!" No one had ever given her flowers before, and the third swore to herself that she would care for them, even though she didn't know the first thing about floral maintenance. She inhaled the delicate scent of the bouquet one last time. "Are you ready to go, then?"

Masaki was relieved that she accepted them happily. What if she had thrown them back at him? He didn't even want to think about it. But, to cover up his own doubts, he shot Kiyone a thumbs up and a wide smile. "Of course! Off to the zoo!" He grabbed her hand and started off in the wrong direction.

She blushed slightly as he took her hand. Something else no one had ever done before. But the heat fled her cheeks as she realized his mistake. "Oh, but Masaki! I don't think that's the right way. I'm pretty sure the zoo is that way," she corrected him. Having no free hands, she gestured with the flowers in the general direction of the zoo. The right direction.

With a quick twist of the ankle, Masaki spun himself around and starting walking in the other direction. He made sure to keep it slow so that Kiyone wouldn't be dragged behind. "Of course!" He nervously chuckled at himself. He always made that mistake. "Maybe you should lead the way, Kiyone-chan! Navigators are important too!" He changed his pace slightly to let her take the lead, his hand still holding hers tight.

The third laughed softly as she changed their direction, leading him slightly to the left. She didn't move to walk ahead of him, merely walking alongside him and shifting the direction when necessary. "There we are. We'll be there in no time, now." She adjusted the bundle in her hand, letting it rest in the crook of her arm. It was a difficult task with only one free hand, but she really didn't want to pull away just to shift the flowers.

He rubbed his chin with his free hand in wonder. "So this is the true power of women. I see. But you know..." Masaki trailed off for a second. He glanced over at Kiyone as if making sure of something but really just to waste a little time. He turned his head upward to the sky and finished his sentence. "...with those roses in your hand, you're looking quite beautiful today."

Kiyone flushed and her eyes fell, the ground beneath her feet suddenly of the greatest interest. "Oh, no I'm not," she said, pulling the flowers close to her chest, but taking care not to crush them. "It's just the roses that are beautiful, not me."

He shook his head, green hair splaying outwards. "Nah, I don't think so. I think it's just you." Masaki pointed excitedly forward. "Ahh! Look! The zoo! Come on, let's hurry!" He picked up the pace slightly in excitement, wanting to see all the animals.

She kept pace with him, clutching the roses tightly so as to not drop them. She desperately hoped the contents of the zoo would not be as dangerous as they had been the last time she had come around. Sometimes one just wasn't in the mood to be cornered by a giant lizard. But from what she had heard, the dinosaurs had been only a curse. She was resting everything on that being true. "What do you want to see first?"

"The bears!" Masaki let go of Kiyone's hands and motioned excitedly. "I heard if you feed them, they clap! How cool is that?!" He clapped his hands together like they were paws and gave a guttural roar like a bear. He couldn't contain himself any longer as he put his hands on his knees and bent over laughing. "So, we'll go see them first?"

Kiyone laughed, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle the noise. She had never seen a bear before, but if they were anything like Masaki's impression, they were sure to be amusing. "Yeah, the bears! I think I'll let you do the feeding, though." The idea of trying to feed something that was probably more than twice her size wasn't very appealing, even if the reward for doing so was. "Um... Which way are they?"

Masaki walked over to the nearest booth, grabbed a map, and brought it back. He opened it up, spreading his arms out wide. He looked over it quickly with his eyes, taking a quick moment to spot it. With his hands full, he couldn't point it out on the map, so he stuck out his tongue and did his best to show where it was. "Right dere. You can find de way, ok?"

The third leaned close, her own eyes roaming the map. "Right. I've got it." She took the map from his hands and folded it so that it centered on their destination. "It says the bears are that way," she said, gesturing vaguely to the left. "Not too far."

So she wouldn't have her hands full, Masaki took the map back and shoved it into his back pocket. Then, taking back what he already cleared, he grabbed her hand and marched out to where Kiyone was pointing. When they got there, Masaki stood and stared at the bears intently. "Waaaah! They are big, aren't they!? I've never seen one in real life, only on TV." He waved his hand wildly , hoping to catch the attention of one but failed.

"They're really big!" she affirmed, eyes widening slightly. "I've only seen pictures of them before. Never thought I'd see a real one... " There had never been any bears in Soul Society, and of all the times Kiyone had traveled to living world, during none of them did she visit a zoo. "How do you make them clap, again?"

Masaki looked around, trying to find a food receptacle. He didn't see anything, to his regret. "Well, you're supposed to feed them...but maybe it's not allowed. I dunno." He turned back to face Kiyone. "You have any ideas or should we continue on the animal of your choice?!"

"Oh, that's too bad." Kiyone was secretly grateful that there was nothing to feed the animals. She really didn't want to have to call for her sister because someone had been bitten whilst trying to feed a bear. She'd probably never let her anywhere near Masaki again if she did that. "How about we go see the lions or the tigers? I really like cats!"

At the mention of cats, Masaki's eyes got really wide. "You like cats???!!! I LOVE CATS!" Of course he loved cats. He lived with two talking ones for the majority of his life. To bad he left them behind today. Masaki was to excited about the fact that Kiyone loved cats to remember that though. He wanted to give her a hug but she might drop something. So he had to be content with pulling the map out again. He opened it up, letting Kiyone find the way.

"Ah, right there." Kiyone pointed first to the area on the map labeled "Large Cats" and then to their right. "This way now." She waited before she started off, giving him time to fold the map again. It was a rather large map, and it sometimes surprised the third seat how large the City was, housing an expansive zoo in addition to all the residential buildings and everything else. She spoke as they walked. "I always wanted a cat, but I don't think my sister's too fond of them."

"Then I've got just the thing for you!" Masaki smiled, wondering where he got such luck, meeting a girl who likes cats! "I have two cats. The best thing is, they talk! Isn't that awesome?! You should come see them!" Masaki continued along, looking at the animals along the way to the lions. It was wondrous to him because he had been either sheltered or fighting his whole life.

"Really? Yeah, I'd love to meet them!" Talking animals weren't really that much of a taboo to the third seat. After all, Komamura-taichou could talk. Then again, she wasn't really sure what he was, and it would probably be very rude to ask. "Oh, look! There they are!" It was the tigers they came to first, Kiyone's favorite. They were a little more active than the bears, prowling around inside their enclosures. Isane would probably have a heart attack if she asked to keep one. Kiyone laughed aloud at the thought, and smiled at Masaki. "Aren't they beautiful?"

Beautiful wasn't a word he'd use to describe it. However, they were huge! "So this is the biggest cat on Earth. It's so....big! You could ride one like a horse. For all that muscle, they look really graceful. I wonder if they always land on their feet like other cats..."

"Yeah, graceful. But I don't think I'd want to try and ride one. Don't think they would like that very much..." She admired the cats for a moment, the orange ones in particular. Anything that had hair - or fur, as it were - the same color as hers was alright in her book. "Ah, where do you want to go, now?"

Masaki put his index finger on his forehead as if in deep thought. "Hmmmmmm. I wonder if they have a petting zoo part here. Baby goats are kinda cute...in a weird sorta way." He pulled out the map again, looking around on it. "Would you like to do that or go visit the elephants? Your choice!" He gave her a smile, holding the map in front of him, letting Kiyone choose what she wanted to see.

Kiyone weighed the options. Small and kinda cute, or huge and not so cute? She took the map and studied it for a moment. "The petting zoo," she said decidedly. "It's only around the corner."

Masaki took her hand again. He lead the way since it was practically in sight. Before he got there, he turned to Kiyone to ask her a question. "Have you ever been inside one of these petting zoos before? Or at least touched goats and little animals?"

"No, I haven't," she responded, shaking her head. "I've seen a goat! But that's it..." She hoped having been to a petting zoo before wasn't a prerequisite to going to this one.

The boy scratched behind his head with his free hand. "Just make sure you be a little careful. The goats like to nibble on clothes. If you aren't careful, they could pull your pants right off!" Secretly, deep down inside, Masaki hoped that would happen. So he gave the warning so at least he wouldn't look like he wanted Kiyone to lose her pants.

Kiyone tugged at her shirt with her free hand, trying pull it down further past her waist. She preferred her pants on rather than off. "M- Maybe we should go see the elephants, then!"

Masaki tilted his head to the side and shot her a queer look. "You sure? Don't worry! I'll protect you from those perverted goats!"

"Mmm, well." She considered the situation. She was much bigger than a goat and, if necessary, could probably more than outrun it. And if Masaki was going to protect her... "Alright. Just don't let them eat my clothes!"

He flashed another thumbs up and then opened the gate for her. When they had both walked in, he made sure to put his hands on the goat's heads to make sure they didn't get to close. They pushed back hard but he fought it. "There you go. You can pet'em now!"

She knelt next to one of the animals and stroked its fur. It really didn't seem all that clothes-eatingly vicious. In fact it was, as he said, kinda cute. "Mmm, they're really soft."

"Aren't they!" He ruffled the top of one of the goat's head, fraying up it's hair. "So you've never pet a goat before? Where did you live that didn't have goats? Isn't that kinda odd?"

"No, never," she affirmed. "I'm from Soul Society, like all of the other shinigami. There weren't many animals there. I remember seeing a few cats and dogs, but never a goat.

"Heh. Well, where I come from, it's kinda like Earth...but not really. But only people from Earth are allowed to live there. So we have all this stuff!" He looked down, remembering home. Home that was tarnished by his rival, Shu. He wish his train of thought hadn't drifted there but he couldn't help it as he gritted his teeth together. He caught himself before he got angry. "You know, we've been wandering around for a while. What do ya say about some Ice Cream?!"

Kiyone watched Masaki's face change in silence, wondering at what he was thinking. At the suggestion of dessert she stood, smiling and pants still on and intact. "Ice cream sounds great, Masaki. I'll lead the way?"

Masaki nodded once. "Un! What's your favorite flavor? I'm a big fan of chocolate milkshakes. Lemme guess! I'm gonna say you like...banana splits!!"

The third gasped as they retraced their steps, out of the petting zoo, once more past the tigers and the bears, and out of the zoo completely. "How did you know? Banana splits are my favorite!"

He put his fingers on the sides of his foreheads and let loose a piercing gaze on Kiyone. "Can't you tell~. I'm psychic. Woooooooo~." The corner of his lips turned upwards, fighting off a small laugh.

Kiyone laughed. "Well if you're so psychic, then tell me what I'm thinking right now."

Masaki let out a low, deep, evil laugh. "Fufufufufu. If my senses are correct, you are thinking that you are madly in love with me."

"Nope." She shook her head. "You should have stopped after you guessed what ice cream I like. Now I'm not going to tell you what I was really thinking~"

"Wait, what?!" He put his hands on her shoulders to stop her. "You can't leave me hanging like this! You gotta tell me! Pleeeeease!" Masaki gave her his best puppy dog eyes, begging her to relieve his curiosity.

The please would have been enough. Kiyone hated it when Isane did that to her, teasing her with some bit of information, but never following through. "I'll tell you that you were kind of close..."

He raised an eyebrow, not quite connecting two and two. "Kinda close? Kinda close to what?"

"Kind of close to- Oh, look! There's the ice cream shop." She pointed out the small store, changing the subject rather abruptly, if not a little cruelly. "I think you're buying, right?" She asked, smiling.

If Masaki wouldn't have been in public, that comment might have left him drooling. He had to be a gentleman though, so he dashed to the door of the shop and held it open for Kiyone. "Of course I'm buying! What kinda date would this be if i made you buy." He gracefully waved her in but he didn't want to drop that line of conversation yet. "Close to...?"

She would give him one thing; he was awfully persistent. "Your guess was kind of close to what I was really thinking. But only kind of! Don't get too carried away with that, now." She murmured a soft 'thank you' as she passed through the door. "I'll get us a table, alright?"

"Hmmm, only kind of? HAHA! I know what you mean." He gave a triumphant smile, happy to see that he was going in the right direction. "Alright! You grab a table. Should I order the ice cream?"

"Mmm, you know what I want!" She moved off and found a table at the side of the room, laying the roses in the place across from the chair she took, ensuring no one would take Masaki's seat.

Masaki turned and walked towards the counter. When he got there, he laid out some money and asked for a chocolate milkshake and a banana split. When he got them, he walked over to the table and set Kiyone's split in front of her and waited for her to move the roses before he sat down himself. "So, I'm sure you're loaded with questions, aren't you?!"

Kiyone paused, having raised a spoonful of ice cream halfway to her mouth. "Questions about what?"

Masaki shook his head. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe I should start! I wanna know about you. What's it like where you live?"

"Oh, well." She completed the movement, taking a bite of her ice cream before continuing. "I'm a shinigami, so I live in Soul Society, which is divided up into two parts; Rukongai and Seireitei. Seireitei is where I and the other shinigami live. It's... kind of hard to explain. And I don't go to the living world much, so I can't really say what that's like. What about where you're from?"

Masaki sucked on his milkshake while listening intently. After she was finished, he spoke up. "I'm from a place called La Gias. The only people that live there are humans with different abilities. I am actually from Japan but my parents died when I was a kid and then I was found and taken to La Gias. It's a pretty cool place. Since I'm Lord of the Wind, I don't have to listen to the king or any of the laws he makes. How awesome is that?!"

Kiyone smiled. She had to admit that not having to answer to authority sounded pretty good. "Because I'm a third seat, I have the listen to almost everyone. The captains, the vice-captains... It seems like a lot more people than it sounds. Oh, but taichou says I would make a good vice-captain someday, so then I'll only have to answer to the captains." She took a few more bites of the ice cream, somehow managing to eat around the banana, leaving the healthiest part of the sundae in the bottom of the dish. "What exactly does the Lord of the Wind do? I think you told me once..."

Masaki gave one last long slurp to finish off his milkshake and then started talking again. "Well, there are 4 Elemental Lords. Because I have the most amount of power, I was granted the Cybuster, letting me bond with the Goddess of Wind. Since the Elemental Lords only choose people with pure hearts, the 4 chosen are there to protect La Gias and make sure it's ruler is not evil either. Of course, we seem to be saving the galaxy a lot too." Masaki gave a sigh at that thought, wondering how many times he had to fight for the universes life.

The third gave a general nod of understanding, though she honestly didn't have the vaguest idea of what he was talking about. She scraped the regrettably empty dish with her spoon, trying to get up the last bit of ice cream. "Saving the galaxy sounds like a lot of hard work."

Masaki smiled a her concern. "Heh, it's okay. I got sucked into it anyways. It's not like I set out with saving the galaxy in mind anyways. Well, are you finished?"

"Yes," she said, pushing the dish away. "Are you?"

Masaki nodded. He pushed his chair back and walked around the table to help Kiyone. "Ready to go back home?"

"Yes, but if you take me home, will you be able to find your way back to the temple alright?" she asked, laughing lightly. "If not, I can always walk you home, first."

Masaki gave her a self confident smile. "I'll be able to find my way home! It'll just take a while. I'd rather walk you to your house anyways!"

"Alright, then. If you're sure." Kiyone led the way out of the shop and toward the apartment she shared with her sister. The third bet the healer was still pacing back and forth at the door. 'Well, Masaki," she said as they walked. "I had a lot of fun today! I got to pet my first goat today, can you believe it? And the ice cream was really good. Thank you."

"Heh. I'm glad! I had a lot of fun because I was with you! Can't get much better than that!" Masaki had stopped had what he assumed was her apartment. "Soooo..."

"So I guess I had better go inside now, before Isane worries herself to death." Kiyone lingered slightly in the doorway of the building. "We'll have to go out again. Soon, hmm?"

"Of course we do!" That short answered covered up what was running through his mind. Should he, shouldn't he? He made up his mind, sure that it would probably get him in trouble. He walked up to Kiyone and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and stepped back. "Thanks for going out with me today."

Kiyone flushed for the second time that day, the heat burning in her cheeks. "Mmm," she answered. "Of course. I should- I should go now." She turned to enter the building, calling out behind her, "Bye, Masaki! Thank you!"

Masaki waved at her as she walked inside. He waited for a few moment so she could get inside and not see him walking in the wrong direction home. That, in fact, was what he did. He knew it would be a few hours until he got home, but in his mind, it was worth it.