[Graded] A Very Special Meeting

[Kabu]

It was around midday, the weather was great. and Rika was sitting at her desk in her library office, a pile of completed paperwork set off to the side as she absentmindedly doodled in her sketchbook, occasionally taking brief glances at the clock sitting up on the wall. She had made sure to finish early today as she had a meeting, set up specifically by her mother though she hadn't been told anything else, and when she asked the woman had simply told her that she wouldn't understand. And if that wasn't bad enough when she had come in, her secretary Marina had greeted her with this knowing look but again had refused to say a word.

And so here she was awaiting a mysterious meeting, not knowing why, what, or even who she was meeting with. And while she had a great deal of respect and love for her dear mother the woman had a mischievous streak and there was a very strong chance she was up to no good.

Oh well.. for now there was just one thing to do and that was to wait

[Willoria]

Hizashi Junpei made his way through the library, pausing here and there to eyeball a book. He found himself wanting to stop and study if he could, but he was apparently on task. His mother and father had been rather insistent on him meeting someone today, and that had simply left Jun in all kinds of a mood. He would much rather be spending his time training, studying, or with his sister. He wasn't all that keen on doing a whole lot more aside from those three things, but it had been made clear to him that he didn't have much of a choice otherwise.

He made his way through the building and eventually found his way to Rika's assistant's desk where he gave his name almost sheepishly before being shone to a door. He stepped through the door when invited to and looked at the girl behind the desk with a smile. He came no more than two steps in and gave a bow. "Hizashi Junpei, though you can call me Jun." he said rather formally. "Apparently our mothers decided we needed to meet...."

[Kabu]

Rika could have sworn she heard a foreboding, fiendish giggle somewhere off in the distance as the door opened and Junpei walked in. Resisting the urge to sigh she set aside her sketchbook and sat up straight. "I am Hizashi Rika, Head Archivist of the Scribes of the Sand. Please, come in and take a seat." she responded with a smile. It was the usual spiel and so far nothing felt out of place but even so she felt... nervous. ...But why? She wasn't entirely certain.

"So, my mom got yours in on this as well? I'm very sorry for my mother's antics. I'm sure she means well, though I admittedly can't begin to guess what she's planning, but sometimes she's as excitable as a child and can't be dissuaded when she has an idea." she suddenly spoke, blushing as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. Oftentimes her mother's giddiness could be seen as a blessing but in instances such as this it was more of a curse.

"But um, now that you're here, we may as well get to know each other, right? Why don't you go first?"

[Willoria]

Junpei had a hunch as to what it was all about, but as soon as he heard Rika introduce herself he had a feeling she didn't have a clue. Still, he took the offered seat. He sat up straight, his hands resting neatly in his lap as he looked at Rika and listened to what she had to say as a small smile crept across his face. The formality of the entire situation really struck him. It was really strange from him, and really didn't feel like a great way to truly get to know someone. She asked about him and the boy fell quiet for a moment, but after that moment he suddenly shook his head and stood up.

He walked around her desk and leaned against it, reaching out a hand towards her as if to help her up. "Why don't you come with me?" he asked with a smile. "An office is hardly a relaxing way to get to know one another you think? And I bet you could use a break... I know a great place to relax."

[Kabu]

Rika truly was completely oblivious to what was going on but she had to admit to a sense of relief. The prospect of going elsewhere alone did wonders to ease her nervousness. "That sounds wonderful. I really could use a break." she said, letting out a sigh but nonetheless smiling as she took his hand to help her up. Though strangely she couldn't help but blush as for the first time she realized the vast difference in height between them. "We appear to be around the same age... Is this the difference between boys and girls? Or is he just really tall?" she quietly asked herself, silently realizing this was the first time she had really even thought about such a thing.

Anyways, she shook her head to clear her mind, refocusing on the moment at hand. "Just give me a moment to tidy up." she spoke, finally letting go of his hand and gathering the papers on her desk. Humming to herself, she walked over to a nearby shelf, neatly slotting in her sketchbook amongst a number of books she had brought from home and placing every bit of paperwork in its proper place.

Once done she circled around back to Junpei, her nervousness gone and now replaced with a sort of bubbly cheer and excitement. "Alright, we can go now. I trust you can lead the way?" she spoke, wondering all the while. Just where was he thinking about taking her?

[Willoria]

Jun helped her up, but remained where he was leaning against her desk as he watched her start shuffling around and putting things away. He crossed his arms as he watched her, a smirk on his face as she went back and forth. He waited for her quietly until she turned back to him and mentioned him leading the way. He nodded and reached out a hand to take one of hers. "I can." He replied as he turned to lead her along. He intertwined his fingers with hers as he kept her hand in his to lead her out of her own office and make their way through the library. "You must keep very busy here." he remarked as they made their way through the building and back out into the sun.

"How did you end up leading the Scribes already? You seem kinda young for that much responsibility..." He couldn't help wondering if that was part of the reason why his mother was trying to play this game. Her obsession with his tendency to refuse to date seriously had to be at the core of it, so he wondered what had dragged Rika into the middle of it.

As they walked along, Jun would lead her to a small teahouse. It was a quaint little place. Once inside it was clear that much of it was lit by candles and smelled amazing. Most of the tables were low and there was a small pond trickling through the outside edges of the place with little koi fish in it. The sounds and scents were relaxing.

[Kabu]

Rika briefly looked up at Jun, question marks practically floating above her as he reached out to take her hand, though she nonetheless accepted the gesture with a smile. That said, her confusion only grew as their fingers intertwined, something even she knew to be a more intimate gesture. Still though being as she was, she was more than okay with it, even finding some degree of comfort in it.

Upon the pair reaching the outside she let out a relieved sigh, the last of any tension she was feeling being blown away with the wind. It truly was a gorgeous day out. It would have been a real shame to stay locked up in her office all day.

And then came a question, Rika tilting her head as she thought on how to answer. "Honestly? I still don't fully know why Kiyori-Sama chose me of all people. I enjoy the work, though it does keep me very busy most days, but I do sometimes wonder... Why me?" she truthfully answered Jun's question, though leaving out the specifics behind her ascension. It was after all a story she wasn't sure she was allowed to tell. And

And it was just as she finished speaking that they seemed to have arrived at their destination. "Oh, it's beautiful. And it smells so wonderful, and I love the little pond. I'm no expert in romance, but this seems like a perfect date spot. It's just so comfy and relaxing." she marveled at the interior of the little teahouse, not quite seeming to realize what she had just said.

Though perhaps the realization would come in time.

[Willoria]

Jun was honestly surprised he wasn't pushed away when he took her hand, especially when he intertwined their fingers. It was something of a small test of his own, one of several he had planned just to see out of curiosity what kind of girl Rika was. He was curious just what kind of role she had in all of this after all. Was she playing a part too? Or was she completely oblivious? He wasn't entirely sure himself, his mother hadn't said a peep about it. He listened quietly as she spoke of the Kazekage and he smiled kindly down at her. "I imagine she chose you because of your focus and dedication. I've only known you moments but I can see that much." he admitted, running his thumb gently over the back of her hand as he spoke.

He was happy as they came to their destination of course, and the pair were led to a quaint table. Of course he was the gentleman and pulled out Rika's chair for her to allow her to take her seat before moving over to his. He removed his own jacket to drape over the back of his chair, revealing the sleeveless nature of his shirt and bare arms and lean muscle, before taking his own seat to face her. Her mention of it being an ideal date location brought a smile to his face. 'So she is naive.' he thought to himself. "I suppose it would be." he mused aloud. "I thought perhaps it would be a great place to just relax, rather than feeling like we were interviewing one another in an office." he added, winking at the girl as he leaned on his elbows on the table. A waitress came by for their order and Jun simply ordered himself a matcha bubble tea, settling for something cool for the day before motioning to Rika. "My treat." he assured her.

[Kabu]

Rika had to admit she was getting more and more puzzled as to Jun's behavior, head tilted as she took her seat. First there was the hand holding and now he was pulling out her chair for her? More and more this was starting to seem like a date, at least according to the few tidbits she had picked up over the years from her mother and sister, and there was also that romance novel she had once read out of naive curiosity. But there was no way this could be a date. A date had to be specially planned out.

Though she had to admit, she wouldn't be particularly disappointed if it was a date. After all... he was fairly handsome, not to mention so far very sweet and charming. Whoever he did get with would be very lucky indeed.

"Yes, this is absolutely preferable to being in the office. I'm terrible at dealing with stuffy formal situations like that. It makes me feel all tensed up and gross." she responded with a slight groan and a scrunch of her nose, Jun's remarks having mostly brought her back to reality.

With that she ordered the same tea for herself and the pair were left in silence, Rika pondering how to break it so as to try and avoid anymore unnecessary idle thoughts.

"So... tell me about yourself?"

[Willoria]

Jun couldn't help a chuckle as Rika mentioned how the office made her feel. "Yeah, I wasn't feeling all that comfortable myself. I figured this whole meeting was strange enough as it was, no sense making it any weirder." he admitted, still not entirely sure if Rika herself knew why his mother and probably hers had set up the two to meet. "Myself huh?" Jun leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as he thought about what she might actually want to know and shrugged. "Honestly I'm not all that interesting. I spend most of my time studying Ninjutsu theories, training, or hanging out with my little sister." he admitted.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table to smile at her, watching Rika's expressions for a moment. "What about you though?" he asked.

[Kabu]

"Me? Well, there are so many things, some more interesting than others." Rika tilted her head a moment. There really were so many things she could talk about, but where did she even begin?

"Well, f'm a Special Jounin and lead archivist of the Scribes but you already knew that much. When I'm not busy working or training I'm usually either reading or drawing in my sketchbook or tinkering with my puppets in some way. I also love learning new things and one of my dreams is to become a renowned scholar, and my other more important dream is to fly. I've always loved watching the birds fly by and one day I want to join them, if only for a little while." she spoke at a fairly rapid pace, eyes lighting up as she gradually got more excited, some part of her forgetting even where they were and just how weird this situation was. She had been calming down, becoming far less rambunctious over time but in some ways she was still much like an excitable child, particularly when talking about her dreams and passions.

A couple moments passed and as she calmed, another thought came to mind. "You know, mom says I work too much, that I should relax more, make time for romance while I'm still young."

[Willoria]

Junpei was smiling in full as Rika finally seemed to start opening up. Their tea arrived and she started finally talking about herself and even get excited as she told him about herself. He honestly found it adorable to watch her and wondered if she even noticed as a few snacks were even dropped off between them. He watched her face, her body language, and it was the first time he really noticed her arm. His eyes barely flit to it before shifting back to her face and smiling as he watched her. But he definitely noticed what she said about romance and couldn't help a chuckle as he realized something.

"I'm guessing that means you don't know why I was sent to meet you today." he said rather suddenly with a nervous laugh. Jun leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, shaking his head. "Uh... I assumed you knew like I did. Heh." It'd been awhile since Jun had felt so awkward about anything and a slight blush rose to his own cheeks before he looked at Rika. "My mother told me before I left for your office. Our parents are trying to set us up as an arranged match. Your mother isn't the only one who feels time's wasting. My mother says I spend too much time protecting my sister and not enough time on my shinobi career or other things. She says I need a woman to focus me."

"Ha." He couldn't help another awkward laugh as he looked down suddenly. "I... uh, I've actually never been so embarrassed to admit it before. But I'm still just a Genin."

[Kabu]

"Still a Genin, hmm? I don't think it's something to be embarrassed about. It'll just make the eventual victory all the sweeter. It honestly wasn't that long ago that I became a Chuunin myself..." Rika responded with a smile, trailing off as Jun's earlier admittance registered with her, an intense blush rising to her cheeks.

"Oh mom, why do you have to be this way? Though I guess it all adds up... Mom and Marina's behavior this morning and even Jun with the hand holding and the chair... No wonder he was such a gentleman." Rika muttered, taking a moment to settle her thoughts before looking at Jun, blush still present and a nervous smile on her face. "I think I suspected something was up but otherwise, I truly had no idea. All I even really heard from mom was just that I would be meeting with a cute boy my own age. I really should have expected as much, but I can be rather oblivious." she remarked, pausing to take a sip of her tea.

"You know, funnily enough I was actually thinking that if this were a date that I wouldn't mind it..." she added, blushing as she reached her prosthetic hand over the table, her own gaze briefly flitting over towards it before returning to Jun. It did seem strange that he hadn't made any mention of it, but right now at least she was glad for it. This wasn't the right place or time for that story.

Right now she had something more important on her mind.

"I know we were set up but maybe our mothers are right. I'm willing to give this arrangement a real chance if you are. I just ask that we move slowly."

[Willoria]

Jun leaned forward again, resting his arms on the table as Rika finally seemed to register what he had told her about their meeting. He picked up his own tea and sipped at it carefully, listening to the girl mutter to herself before going on to tell him what little her own mother had told him about the meeting. He couldn't help a curious look and a light smirk however as she mentioned not minding if it did turn out to be a date. Her hand reached over the table, and in kind his reached over to touch hers. He didn't seem to notice hers was a prosthetic, if he did notice he didn't treat it any differently. His them ran gently over the material and his crimson eyes were fixed on her.

Her comments about giving the arrangement a chance brought a genuine smile to his lips. "Well. I've never been very good at going against my mother's wishes." he admitted with a chuckle. "So I was already willing to give it a try." he added. "However things go... I can tell you this. I'm very protective of the people close to me, and if this arrangement holds true that means you too. You could decide to hate me and I'd still do everything I could to keep you safe."

[Kabu]

As Jun spoke Rika fought hard to keep from blushing even harder than she already was but it seemed to be a losing battle as the red tinge on her cheeks gradually deepened. "Oh come on, that's not fair to catch a girl off guard with such a cheesy line. But you should know the same holds true for me." Rika responded, briefly looking off to the side as she blushed, though it was just a moment before she returned her gaze to meet Jun's own, a small shy smile on her face.

"I admit, I can be oblivious and aside from a few tidbits from unreliable sources I know very little of romance but... I hope you can just be patient with me. Regardless of my mother's wishes I do want to try my best to make this work." she added, unable to help but let out a light groan as silence fell.

"Ah jeez, now I'm the one spouting cheesy embarrassing lines. This is so unlike me."

[Willoria]

Jun grinned as Rika called his line cheesy. "Well it's good the same holds true..." he said with a laugh. "Considering you're probably a lot stronger than I am right now." he added. "But I don't plan on that lasting forever, I know a lot of people look at my age and my rank and think I'm a slacker, but I'm not. I plan on fixing that as quickly as I can." he told her. As he watched her, noticing her shy smile he realized pretty quickly that he liked that smile. He found it rather endearing. As she went on to admit her own oblivious nature, and even calling her own lines cheesy, he didn't laugh but instead just smiled genuinely.

"I hope you're wrong and that it's quite like you." he admitted. "I find it cute." He paused to sip on his tea further and leaned back in his chair and looked at her. "So its going well so far, you haven't gotten mad at me yet, or tried to run. I'd call that a win already. You've been smiling, even laughing. More wins. This is already going better than I thought." He smiled at her a moment before looking down at the teacup in his hands briefly as he thought about things. "I have a younger sister, you should know that. We're the same rank even though she's younger than me. She's my best friend, so I hope that when you get to meet her, you two will get along well too." he looked at her finally. "What's your family like? Other than your mother that is, who is apparently just like mine." he added with a bit of a chuckle.

[Kabu]

If Rika's blush wasn't already deeply intense, it may have deepened even further as Jun sweet talked her, the girl finding it surprisingly embarrassing. Even the thought of this boy actually finding her cute was embarrassing. Was this really what dating was like? Or was it simply be due to the person she was with? That said, even despite the blushing, despite the embarrassment, she was greatly enjoying their time together. "I'm really happy that it's going well." she spoke with a smile, sipping on her tea as she enjoyed the momentary silence between them.

It wasn't long before Jun spoke once more... and Rika had to admit she wasn't entirely surprised at his mention of a younger sister. Somehow he simply gave off that brotherly feel, though she had to admit to being both a bit surprised and a little jealous at how close they seemed to be, it having been some time since she had even seen her own sister. That said however...

"I would like very much to be able to get along with your sister as well. I honestly don't get to see my own sister very often and it'll be nice to get to be friends with another girl for once. And maybe I'll even get to learn some dirty secrets." she replied with complete honesty and a sly smirk, unable to help the accompanying giggle.

At the question of her family, Rika tilted her head at first, taking a moment to think of what to actually say. "Well, aside from my rambunctious mother, there's also my elder sister. She's eight years older than me and a Jounin. We get along well enough but as I said earlier I don't get to see her nearly as often as I would like, though she does her best to see me and mom every now and again. And then dad... he's a civilian from outside of the clan working as a merchant. He does a lot of traveling due to work and isn't home very often. So really it's just me and mom at home but I don't mind it." she spoke, sipping at her tea as silence fell once more.

After a moment though, she looked up from her cup and towards Jun. "I gotta say though... they're going to be so surprised when they hear that I've started dating..." she paused mid sentence, one important question popping into her mind.

"This does count... right?"

[Willoria]

Jun laughed at the mention of getting secrets out of his sister. "Well I can't think of any offhand... but I'm sure she'll think of something." he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a slight blush. He suddenly found himself wondering what embarrassing stories his sister might come up with. He couldn't think of any immediately, but that just left him worrying even more. There had to be something which meant he was forgetting it and he had no idea what it might be. He shook his head and tried to tell himself not to worry too much about it, but that didn't really help him any at all.

He didn't show it but listening to her talk about her family actually made him a little sad. He had worked hard most of his life to keep his sister close and to him it immediately sounded like Rika's sister hadn't made the same effort. He couldn't really understand that. To him family was the most important, but it sounded like Rika's family didn't approach it the same except maybe her mother. "Sounds like you and your mom are close though." he mentioned, trying to look at the bright side. "I have to say I like her already since she's clearly at least half responsible for me getting this time with you." he added, smirking lightly.

When she referred to their time at the teahouse as a date of course, he couldn't help a full on grin. "It counts if you want it to." he told her, reaching out to touch her hand again. He finished off his tea and looked at her for a moment as a thought crossed his mind. "Do you want to continue with a walk?" he asked, finding himself getting a bit fidgety. In truth, he found himself liking the idea of less space between them, or at least moving away from the table.

[Kabu]

"Mom and I are very close, always have been. She was the one who taught me my love for puppetry and the sky. She even gave me my first puppet and helped me to fix him up." Rika responded to Jun's remarks, a nostalgic smile on her face. Though she didn't miss his comments regarding how they had been set up, responding simply with a light giggle.

As they talked, Rika began to feel a bit fidgety herself, never having been having one to sit around for extended periods. Even when doing paperwork she would often get up and pace around her office from time to time. Luckily, Jun would soon come to her rescue. "I would love to go for a walk." she responded, eyes practically sparkling. Though it lasted for only a moment before the light faded and she found herself looking slightly off to the side as she suddenly felt a bit nervous, having had an idea of her own. "But umm... I want to hold hands again... For real this time."

[Willoria]

Jun was honestly excited when she accepted his offer to go for a walk. He took out his wallet and left enough money to pay for their food, plus a tip, and stood. He pulled his jacket back on over his gauntlets and smiled as she made her request and he smiled at her. Reaching out a hand he offered to take hers. Assuming she accepted it he'd take her by the hand to start leading her away from the teahouse and down a nearby walking path together. He looked down at her with a smile on his face, happier than he thought he'd be so far.

When his mother had told him initially about all of this he'd actually been more than a little frustrated with it all. The idea of being set up to date a complete stranger with the plan that their marriage might already be planned and arranged. It had bothered him greatly, but not necessarily for his sake. He remembered yelling at his mother about how ridiculous it was to force one to marry another, specifically to force a woman to marry a man she'd never met. Of course as always his mind had gone straight to the thought that, if they forced him to do this, would they force his sister to do this one day too? That thought had angered him more than the idea of himself being forced to do it. Instead he found himself enjoying Rika's company.

"You mentioned a love for the sky earlier, what did you mean?" he asked suddenly, trying to break his own reverie.

[Kabu]

Rika brightly smiled as Jun walked over to her and she reached out her hand, giving Jun's a tight squeeze as she took the initiative to lace their fingers together, feeling very happy as they exited the teahouse. Some part of her wanted to be mad at both of their mothers for setting them up to date like this, that same part wanted to be mad at her mom and Jun even for not filling her in sooner. But she couldn't be mad, not with the amazing day that they were having. Of course she was still a little frustrated but really it was moreso aimed at herself for not putting the pieces together right away when in hindsight it had been fairly obvious. She did still wonder though how her mom had managed to set up the engagement. Did she and Junpei's mom have some history together? Clearly they knew each other to some extent, which also made her wonder... Just how long had this engagement been in the works without either her or Jun realizing their mother's plans?

And yet despite the circumstances she was glad for it. She was greatly enjoying Jun's company and very much hoped that he was feeling the same, not that she had any plans to ask such a thing.

She was broken out of her thoughts by a sudden question from Jun, Rika having to take a moment to think about her answer. "Well... I mentioned before that I want to fly like the birds. The sky is a limitless expanse, the one thing connecting the world together and I love that, and I want to experience it all the way the birds do." she spoke, looking up towards the sky as she did.

"And of course, I want all the people I care about to experience it with me."

[Willoria]

Junpei smiled as he listened to Rika talk. He found quickly he liked listening to her talk about her dreams, about what interested her. The way her face lit up, her eyes, her excitement. It left him smiling. He was still holding her hand, slipping his fingers between hers after a few moments as his thumb ran back and forth across the back of her hand. "It sounds incredible, though I've never been up that high. You won't think less of me if I get nervous will you?" he teased, grinning as he looked down at her.

"Is flight possible with puppetry?" he asked her. "It isn't something I know much about... but it seems like something you're already doing incredible things with." He couldn't help motioning to her other arm as he mentioned her work in puppetry. He was not only curious, but admittedly he admired it. It took time for him to even notice what it was, but he also realized something and quickly started to backpedal. "If it's a sensitive subject you don't have to answer that." he said quickly. "I... I wasn't thinking about it when I mentioned it, kinda stupid of me."

[Kabu]

Rika tilted her head as Jun spoke, question marks floating around her a moment as he suddenly started apologizing. Though it was just a brief moment before she realized what was going on, having realized the attention her prosthetic had drawn from the boy.

"It's okay, really. I don't mind it so much anymore. It really is incredible though, at this point it's like I don't even have a false arm, it's simply become a natural part of me. Though maybe I'll tell the story of how I got it someday. It's a riveting tale." Rika giggled, giving Jun's hand a comforting squeeze. It had been quite cute, seeing him get so flustered and apologetic, but still she had had to let him know it was okay.

"To answer your question, yes it should be possible. I've even got a few preliminary designs worked up but nothing concrete. It's going to take a lot of work but I believe it can be done." she said, switching her thoughts towards the question he had asked.

"You know, puppetry is a lot of fun. You should try it sometime. Maybe you can even assist me with a project."

[Willoria]

Jun couldn't help a light blush as she assured him that bringing up her arm didn't bother her, and even promised to tell him the story one day. He was glad he hadn't managed to make her uncomfortable with that either. Things really had gone perfectly so far, this date had been like something out of a dream and his smile returned as she went back to talking about her dream of flight. "I'd love to see your designs some day." he admitted. He'd never looked into puppetry before, but seeing as he was interested so heavily into Ninjutsu, it sounded like something he'd love to see and to research. Suddenly his mind was working over the thought and he wondered if maybe it was something he should do after all.

She even encouraged him to try it and Junpei grinned. "Oh careful, I can get lost for days into researching a single Ninjutsu subject." he admitted. "If I get into a new topic, I'm known to just disappear into a wormhole of information." he teased, suddenly stopping their walk and turning to face her as he looked down at her.

"What would you say, if I said I wanted to kiss you?"

[Kabu]

By now Rika's nerves had once again calmed and her cheeks had returned to their normal coloring but as they stopped walking and Jun popped his question her entire face near instantly heated, turning red as a tomato. "K...k...kiss? Here? Now?" she stammered. Did most couples kiss on the first date? And were most boys this bold? Of course she wanted to but wasn't there a process? Silly as it was suddenly she found herself wishing she had been better prepared for this possibility. More than that though... there was an elephant that needed to be addressed.

"Ohhh... well... I really want to. How are we even supposed to though?" she pouted, cheeks puffed up as she stood up on her tiptoes, as if to address the vast difference in height without actually having to say it.

[Willoria]

Junpei had to resist laughing at Rika's reaction, her stammering. He brought up a hand to cup her cheek, her face, as she stammered out her questions. "Here, now." he admitted quietly as he looked down at her. "What can I say? You're beautiful, you're inspiring... I don't care if this date was a set up. I'm more than just happy with it. Standing in front of you is like being bathed in Her Light." he said quietly, both hands cupping her face now as he looked down at her.

She admitted that she wanted to kiss him, and asked her question that made him chuckle to himself as he looked at her. The fact that she tried to stand up on her tip toes just made her look all the cuter. He shook his head. "I think I can take care of that." he said, bending forward. Even before their lips touched he could feel her warm breath on him, his smirk turning to a grin by time he finally kissed her gently. He wouldn't push for more, it was hardly the time as the two had only just met. He felt like he was already pushing his luck by kissing her and yet couldn't let the chance pass.

It was a simple and short kiss, but a moment later he was straightening up again and just smiling down at her.

[Kabu]

Badump, badump, badump, Rika could feel her heart beating faster as Junpei bent forward and their lips briefly touched. It was only for the briefest of moments but for that moment she felt the most joy she had in a very long time. As their lips parted she couldn't help but pout, wishing it hadn't had to end so soon. Oh well, it was only the first date and just this morning they had been complete strangers. There would be plenty of time for more as they spent more time together and got to better know one another. And then one day if things worked out as planned they would be married, which would make room for more still. Really it was embarrassing to think about but for the first time, she didn't mind.

As she looked up at Junpei she simply smiled at first, silently tugging at his hand as she turned to continue walking. "Come on, let's go surprise our mothers. I'm sure they weren't expecting us to grow this close this quickly and I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."