Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun was bright in Katsuo's eyes. He squinted in order to see the path in front of him. It was a lazy day, and he'd had just about enough of it. The rest of their new family was out, doing things Katsuo didn't really care about. Hina-nii had stayed behind, happy with being alone, away from his brother. Sure they were closer than 'two peas in a pod' but frankly, that was why Katsuo needed to get out. He loved his brother, sure, and they got along great, but they were always together, and he'd had about enough of that. And Hina-nii probably felt the same way.

As his eyes got used to the bright light, Katsuo kicked a stone he saw in his way, maybe a little too hard. It flew up and bounced hard off the side of a building. Luckily there had been no damage. Katsuo looked around to make sure no one had seen it and quickly hurried around a corner, trying not to look suspicious...

...and immediately bumped into someone, rounding the corner herself.

Lucky! This was probably the prettiest woman Katsuo had seen in Soul Society, and he'd just bumped right into her. "My fault," he took the blame readily, smiling at her, checking her over in the pretext of making sure she was okay. "Are you alright?"

He held out his hand to her. "Can I make it up to you? Maybe I can treat you to something sweet?" His grin widened in his usual flirty manner. What better way to ask someone out, than in apology for something that might not have been your fault anyway.

In life Katsuo had really gotten flirting down to a science. It wasn't the catchy pick-up lines or the displays of manliness that got the girls. It was genuine kindness and altruism. Well, he at least had the kindness and altruism down, if not the genuine.

As for now, Katsuo couldn't believe his fortune. This was exactly the kind of thing to get his mind off that small house and his brother and all the others. He eagerly awaited her answer, giving her a moment to register his offer. He had, after all, just run into her.

He was happy to share the shade. It was a scorching day out.

"I'm Katsuo," he offered her his hand. It was something his mother always made him do. Probably one of the only things he was thankful of her for. The ladies seemed to like it. "And I'm just fine. A little parched in this sun maybe," he grinned at his own segway. "Lets find something cold. He looked down the way the girl had come from and saw no stores. So the closest place would be...

"I know a good place that serves sweet ice." Not only was it perfect for today, it wouldn't break the bank either. "It's only a little way down there." He pointed across from the way he'd come.

Kaoru took Kaede's hand in his and wrapped it around his arm. It was the proper way to escort a lady, after all.

It wasn't far to the little shop. The big letters across the frame read 'Sweet Ice' just like Kaoru had said. Inside there was a puffy cheeked woman and a rail of a man, making and serving the flavored ice. A narrow counter split the shop in half between customer and owner side and stools lined the customer side. There was a long list of flavors, on a billboard behind the counter from strawberry to red bean.

Kaoru didn't let go of Kaede's arm until he'd helped her to a seat. Then he seated himself on one next to her and waved at the owner. It wasn't like he was a regular or anything, so the woman didn't recognize him, but he knew her face for sure. Though the man wasn't always around, just sometimes.

"What can I get ya dears," the woman asked. Her accent was western, but the language was still Japanese.

"I'll have a raspberry and," he paused and turned to Kaede. "What would you like?"

The woman turned to make their sweet ices, calling the price behind her. Katsuo dug for his money, brought out exact change and set it on the counter.

At the same time, he tried to think of small talk. It was more difficult now that everyone here was technically dead. You couldn't talk about the usual things, school, family, etc. Best to wait til they had their ices, so they had something to do in the awkward silences.

So he just sat and enjoyed the breeze coming from the vents of the little shop and shortly after, they had their sweet ices. After all, that kind of thing doesn't take any time at all. He took a bite out of his and watched Kaede try hers. He smiled and waited to see her reaction. This place used real fruit to flavor their syrup, so it was the best.

"Pretty often, when I've got the money to," Katsuo replied with a grin. Luckily he had the money now, or he would have cursed his luck after all. He was really glad she was enjoying it.

"My brother actually found it," he explained. Even though his whole intention was to get away from his brother, Katsuo smiled much more pleasantly than his grinning before. Probably the most genuine smile he'd made all day. "He found it right about the time we found our new family, after.. arriving here." He tried to skirt around the idea that coming to soul society mean dying... and his death had been pretty awful. "We're actually sort of new, here."

But he didn't want to talk about it for that long. "So, do you live near here?" he changed the subject.

"They're really nice," he said, taking another big bite of his sweet ice. "They took us in immediately. It's a really old couple. At least I think they're a couple. They act like they've been married for years."

"My family has a place real close to here," he shifted a little bit, eating some more ice to fill the silence. This was kinda odd, talking like this. He'd never felt so uncomfortable talking about anything before. He didn't think it was Kaede, just the subject. Or maybe he was just being emotional. To Katsuo, emotional and stupid were twins just like him and Hina-nii.

"Y-know," he decided to change the subject in the best way he knew how. "You're really pretty." Hey made eye contact with Kaede as he complimented her.

Katsuo nearly fell off his stool. His face was as red as the sweet ice he'd been eating, his eyes were widened full, and his jaw was hanging agape. A million instincts flashed before his mind, but his body didn't respond. He wanted to dash out the door for all the embarrassment, though he'd have kicked himself for the rudeness later.

He looked at Kaede with brand new eyes; eyes full of shock. How the hell could a guy be this damned hot?!

"Umm," he didn't really know how to respond to a think like that. Maybe he should have just kept talking about his family here, maybe he should have given Kaede his life's story. But instead he had to go and make the poor guy tell him the awful truth. That whole thing had been a huge awkward mistake. She was a he.

But thanks to all the manners that woman had drilled into his head, (Wait, what woman? Katsuo let the thought pass as for some reason he couldn't recall what woman all of a sudden.), he at least managed not to flee.

"I'm really sorry," his tone was a little different, more relaxed, even for all the embarrassment he was experiencing. He lowered his head in apology, avoiding Kaede's eyes.