Take It Like A Friend [CLOSED]

"Hmmm?" The red haired woman looked over to Maaya and sighed, her expression falling to pity. Maaya didn't seem to be having the easiest time recently. She could tell Maaya was tired and hadn't been sleeping well. She tried to treat her friend by getting her some ice cream, but some jerk decided to bump into her. Luckily, a certain purple haired girl saw this and had vanished from sight for a moment. "Aw, man... I'm sorry Maaya. You wanna head back? I have enough money to get at least four more cones, so it's no bother at all." Naomi asked as kindly as she could, looking worriedly at her newest friend. "Nah, don't worry about it," a voice suddenly came in from behind the two, which Maaya was likely used to by now, "Here ya go. I got you another real quick. Well, I didn't... The man who so rudely bumped into you did." "Natsume!" "I didn't hurt him or anything! I just asked him to replace it."

Naomi sighed and looked to Maaya as Natsume held out another ice cream cone of the same flavor Maaya had gotten before. It was then that a strange wind blew through the area. Naomi was oblivious to it. She just waited for Maaya to take the cone and smiled when she did. Natsume, on the other hand, looked up and around with narrowed eyes. She released the cone as it was taken, but her attention was obviously elsewhere. "I didn't feel anything." Naomi replied, a little confused. "I did..." Natsume said and then looked to Naomi, who was instantly worried. "Is it another one of those ghost monsters?" Naomi asked and Natsume just nodded, "Oh well... If it doesn't do anything to hurt us, we'll be fine, right? I want to hear more about this mystery man that Maaya was telling us about last night. Come on!" Naomi looked to Maaya, in a pleading way, "You make him sound perfect! He got a brother?"

It was then that Naomi felt a strange shiver slither up her spine. She shuddered a bit and then looked to Natsume. "Okay... I felt that one..." she said and looked around worried. "Just be careful... Stay close. We should get out of here." Natsume said, nudging both Naomi and Maaya to get them walking.

Having recently met her, Naomi and Natsume both thought that certain small things about Maaya were a little strange. This was one of them. The hug wasn't needed. Well, it wasn't expected. They were just trying to be good friends to a nice girl they had met. Maaya had already had a bad day, so why make it worse on her? "You're welcome." Natsume smiled widely and giggled a little as she returned the hug. And though something seemed to be watching them, the girls tried their best to ignore it and move on with their lives. Naomi wanted to hear more about this dreamy guy Maaya had been talking about. It was adorable to watch Maaya get all flustered and shy over the subject. It seemed this "J." fellow really had taken a strong hold of the blue eyed girl's heart. It was so cute to see Maaya like that!

"Safer?" Naomi blinked in confusion. She looked to Natsume who just nodded and Naomi mouthed a silent "Oh". Naomi nodded and the two got going. As they walked and the thing got even closer, Naomi finally felt that strange shiver that happened, but that meant one thing. "...We're too late." Naomi said at the same time Maaya spoke up. Naomi's eyes widened as she began looking around for the thing that began talking. Natsume did the same, but was more serious in her search and kept her cool. Finally, the thing showed up and the three girls gave the bastard their attention. Once it was spotted, Maaya took point and went to protect the two girls. Natsume pushed Naomi further behind her, being protective over the girl that constantly called her a sister, whether that was what she was or not.

"What is that thing!?" Naomi asked, hiding nervously behind Naomi and Maaya. "Just stay back..." Natsume said, keeping an eye on the hollow and then spoke to Maaya, "You gonna be able to fight that thing? Or should we run? Naomi isn't a fighter in the least... And I can't say that I am either..." That last part wasn't entirely Natsume's fault. She only gained the abilities of a Zanpakutō Spirit she pulled from their world. And at the moment, Natsume was fighting hard to find that door that would allow the gates to open within Maaya. The problem was, she might had to force that door open and Natsume had no idea what something like that would end up doing to Maaya. It could be dangerous.

"Get her, get her!" Natsume shouted. Naomi and Natsume ran towards Maaya's gigai and held it up before it fell. The two girls dragged it backwards in hopes of it being safe. The two sat back and watched Maaya fight for them. Natsume made an effort to stay in front of Naomi as well. The battle was intense, but Natsume was worried about something and she couldn't place it. Something was wrong here, something was off with this hollow. It felt like it was on the edge of something, but Natsume couldn't understand what. "CAREFUL!" Naomi shouted in worry for her friend. When Maya landed the shot with Byakurai, Natsume and Naomi both cheered for her. "Yeah! Nice shot!" Naomi shouted. "Woo! Go, go! You can do it!" Natsume said happily and hugged Naomi out of excitement. The sisters hugged, but Natsume suddenly tensed. Natsume turned to the hollow with wide eyes.

"Natsume?" Naomi tried to catch Natsume's attention, but it didn't work. "No..." Natsume shook her head in shock. The fight continued and Maya shot strange orange goo out toward the hollow, but Natsume only became more and more worried as it continued. "Stop..." she muttered. The giant bug zapper that Maya created went off and it was too late. Within the blink of an eye, Maya had received an injury that caused Natsume's jaw to drop and her body to freeze. Naomi stepped forward passed Natsume and began running toward their friend. "MAAAYYYAAAA!!!!" the horrifying scream of someone wanting nothing more than to protect their friend echoed through the city. The hollow began changing right before their eyes; it's power level raised and it's appearance changed quite a lot. Natsume's head dropped limply to the side, as if she had fallen into some sort of trance.

"Maaya! Maaya! Maaya!" Naomi ran over to her friend and did her best to help her stand, but that was difficult. Naomi looked at the injury with a fearful expression, her eye shaking in horror until she heard the hollow speak up. Naomi wrapped her arms protectively around Maaya. "Natsume... Help!" Naomi kept glancing back to Natsume, but the girl wasn't moving. When the newly transformed hollow went on the attack, Naomi screamed at the top of her lungs, crying at the same time, "HELP ME!" A bright light shined behind them as Natsume's body began to glow. At the same time, Maaya's sheath glowed and within a flash Natsume and a man with long black hair stood in front of Maaya and Naomi. The clothes this man was wearing appeared on Natsume in a more feminine fashion, along with a sword that mimicked his. Both of them had used their swords to stop the hollow.

"Just in time..." Natsume said in confidence as the two kept the hollow at bay, "Thanks."

"... This guy... is kind of a jerk." Natsume thought as the fight continued on. When Natsume moved, it was like she was mirroring this guy's movements. If he swung from the left, she would swing in the same manner, but from the right. Her movements were less fluid and accurate, but they did move well together. "I'm not exactly a fighter, you know!? The only reason I'm able to do this is because I'm following your lead!" Natsume glared at the dark haired man. He was more frustrating than she thought he'd be. Before the fight could even continue, something happened that Natsume's mind was not entirely able to catch up with. She blinked a few times, nodding in agreement to the fast comment and tilted her head in confusion at what just happened. Within moments, the hollow was dead and a man emerged from the dusty scene and immediately rushed over to Maaya to help her.

"Natsume...?" Naomi looked to Natsume in shock, but did not let go of Maaya, "You did that thing again..." Natsume just nodded and then motioned toward Maaya, who immediately got Naomi's attention again. When Maaya apologized just to get insulted by the newcomer, Natsume was about to yell at him, but he vanished. When this happened, Natsume actually vanished too, but everyone's attention was on Maaya so it was not seen. This other newcomer that ended the fight so quickly began helping Maaya. When he started through the Senkaimon, Naomi jumped into his back and desperately held on. Once they reappeared in the Seireitei, Naomi was shaken off. The quick movement had her so off balance that she just fell straight onto her back and took a very deep and breath. That had made her stomach turn very quickly. She looked up to Kazuo as he yelled at her, but stayed silent.

When he motioned for the 'two' women, he'd easily be able to figure out that there was currently only one. Naomi got up and ran along with him, but it was a little difficult to keep up. "Ack!" she stumbled for a moment, kicking off her sandals, and picked them up to run a little easier. Kazuo introduced himself on the way there. "N-Naomi..." she replied with a soft smile, though quite shyly, "We only just met her the past week or so, but we definitely call her a friend, yes! Are you the guy she likes so much?" "Naomi..." Natsume's expression dulled as she suddenly appeared on the other side of Kazuo while they were running, "Did you not hear him? He said he is Kazuo Saionji,  younger brother to J." "Yeah, so?" Naomi blinked a couple times. "J. is the one that Maaya talks about like some sort of god." Natsume pointed up to Kazuo and smirked, "This is the brother you were hoping he'd have."

"NATSUME!" Naomi blushed, her eyes turning to swirls out of embarrassment. "Whaaat?" Natsume said giggling innocently. "Y-You don't say things like that!" "Yes, actually I do..." Natsume said with another giggle, "Otherwise people like you and Maaya would never do it yourselves." "Wait, wait..." Naomi slowed to a stop and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath, looking up to see that the medics were gone, "Wh-Where... are they... going? They just v-vanished!" "Well, what do you expect..? They have to get her to the hospital, they're not going to slow down for you..." "I know that Natsume, but... so fast..." Naomi coughed a bit, "Just... Just keep going. I wanna make sure she's okay..." Naomi started off again, as if she even knew what way to go. Natsume looked to Kazuo, "She doesn't know about all this..." was all she said before she hurried along with Naomi.

Twice. Two times this guy had lost his balance over these two women and it was so cute! They both thought so. As they ran along, Kazuo spoke to someone that wasn't there, so Naomi assumed some sort of cell phone. When a young boy sort of faded into existence, she blinked a few times and tripped over her own feet. "Ow..." she muttered as she sat up, rubbing the underside of her arm. "You okay?" Natsume asked and Naomi just nodded as she watched the young boy run off. Kazuo said not to worry, but... what the fuck was that?!?!?!?! They continued on their way with Kazuo, but Naomi was slowing down out of fatigue and that little trip she just made. Luckily, Kazuo quickly noticed and took both her and Natsume by the wrist. "He- Ow!" Naomi winced as the two were suddenly pulled along.

When they stopped, Natsume put a hand on her head and shook it as if she were dizzy. Naomi on the other hand was stuck, shaking, and had come to cling to Kazuo's haori. "O-Okay... S-So don't... do that... again..." Naomi said, holding her stomach as she tried to settle it down. That was the second time that she had experienced shunpo and the quick movement was too much so far. Natsume patted Naomi's back and lead her along, following Kazuo to the waiting room like he had asked. When they got there, they were alone and it was silent while Kazuo was filling out paperwork. Once he was done, Naomi had calmed down a bit and felt more on the 'normal' side. When Kazuo turned back to them, Naomi shyly hid behind Natsume, who just smiled at her when Kazuo began asking questions.

"The Saionji? Like... the family as a whole?" Natsume asked with an eyebrow raised, "Do you have any idea how hard it was to get information on who the hell she had been day dreaming about so much? The fact that we got his name is surprising, though I still call bullshit, because I doubt his name actually the letter 'J'." Naomi kept peeking around Natsume's shoulder, looking up at Kazuo with a small blush. "He's really handsome, huh?" she whispered as quietly as she could to Natsume, who just nodded back. "The most she said about J. was about how handsome he was..." Natsume giggled and looked back to Naomi. "Yeah, and how strong and protective!" Naomi giggled and the two girls practically repeated every compliment Maaya had given J, but with a 'dreamy' tone, sort of making fun.

"She's so cute...." Natsume said in compliments to Maaya. It was then that both Natsume and Naomi felt a strange sensation come over them. They both looked dizzy and a little dazed for a moment before that wave of weakness went away. At this time, J. walked through the door. "Okay, that's too much..." Natsume said and waved her hand at both of them, "I could barely handle you showing up to kill that thing... I can't handle two people with that much power... Ow..." Naomi seemed fine after that first moment though. It was like all of the weak feeling rushed from Naomi onto Natsume and Natsume was taking all of it. "Sis, you okay?" Naomi asked and helped Natsume sit down before looking up to both men. "Natsume." Naomi said seriously, her eyes shifting between the brothers.

"Hm?" Natsume looked up after taking a few deep breaths and then both 'sisters' froze. They blinked a few times and looked to each other. "You think that's J.?" Naomi asked. "Yeah, that's him." Natsume nodded and the two of them looked back to the men. Their eyes just kept shifting back and forth between the brothers, as if waiting for something. Finally, J. spoke up with an annoyed tone, "Kazuo, what are they?" Yeah, not who, what. Natsume and Naomi's eyes dulled into annoyance at that and they glared at him. J. actually asked it that way for a reason. There was something off about what these girl's actually were. He could sense Shinigami, but what the hell was Natsume? It felt weird. "So, you're J.? Maaya speaks quite highly of you. I sure hope you don't make a liar out of her."

"Natsume..." Naomi looked at her sister in shock, as if Natsume's antics still surprised her. "What do you expect? I was expecting a Noble's greeting. Instead, we were insulted." Natsume crossed a leg over the other, crossing her arms as well. Naomi just lowered her head and slouched, thinking she was going to get in trouble. "You are right, I apologize." J. said, having been taking by that liar comment Natsume made, "I am J. Saionji. I am only here to find out what happened to Maaya." J. then looked to Kazuo, "Is she alright?" During that bit of conversation, Naomi stood up and cautiously stepped behind Kazuo, sort of hiding from J. "Naomi, what are you doing?" Natsume asked, letting the men know where Naomi was. Once they turned to her, they'd see her playing a bit with Kazuo's hair.

"I-I-I... was j-just..." Naomi's eyes widened and her blush deepened as Natsume stepped over to look at Kazuo's hair to. "Oh wow... No, I can't blame you..." Natsume said, reaching out for some as well. "I felt it when I jumped on his back. It's really soft... I've never seen a man take such good care of his hair..." At that time, Natsume and Naomi looked over to J., who immediately pulled out is Zanpakutō. "Do not attempt it." Naomi hid behind Natsume and Natsume held her hands up innocently, "Whoa, whoa... Okay. We're sorry! We are just impressed by it... Though I'd have to say I like Kazuo's better." "Agreed." "Agreed. Touch his, not mine." J. turned away and nudged his brother forward toward the women. Naomi kept hidden behind Natsume and Natsume just winked toward Kazuo.

"So when do we see Maaya?!" Naomi tugged on Kazuo's hoari, asking worriedly.

J. eyed the two women suspiciously. Friends? What friends did Maaya have? She never went out? Are they human? Is that why their presence was so odd? He brushed it off for now and sighed on the scar comment. "If she does not want to be scarred, she will have to request Captain Hayashi." J. stated rather bluntly. Whether scars were a problem for him or not was not made obvious at all. When the entire hair scenario came around, Naomi was the one caught giggling at it, which shocked the hell out of Natsume. Well, she started giggling once the sword had been put away. When it was out, she hid again. Before Naomi asked Kazuo about Maaya, J. went to walk out of the room. Before he fully exited, he turned back toward Kazuo. "Brother." he said to catch Kazuo's attention, "Great job. Thank you for bringing her back." With that, J. stepped down the hallway to the operating room.

It was then that Kazuo felt a tug on his haori and looked to see Naomi bugging him. "Captain Hayashi? The one who will help her not be scarred?" Naomi asked, but the conversation was shifted away from the subject. Naomi didn't answer; she was still nervous. When he turned to her, she took a step back, but Natsume came up behind Naomi and kept her there. "Yep, Naomi's a little shy around men she finds extremely attractive." Natsume said. "Natsume, stoooop." she whined a bit, her face extremely red. "Oh, come on, Nao. If I think he's hot, I know you think double that!" Natsume said, putting her hands on her hips. "Whether that's true or not, there are just some things that you shouldn't say! It's embarrassing, you know?!" Naomi said, covering her face with her hands. "Yes, yes. I know. I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I'll stop it now though." Natsume sighed and lowered her head.

"Just no more... please..." Naomi fiddled with her fingers a bit and looked to the floor even more embarrassed. Natsume jumped on the quick thinking train and looked to Kazuo. "Why are you so protective over your hair?" Natsume asked, pulling Naomi's' attention toward him. "It's really nice, so I can understand, but you guys didn't have to get hostile... I wouldn't do anything to mess it up..."

During their little spat, it seemed Kazuo took a step out. The two almost didn't hear him excuse himself, but they still nodded to him with smiles before continuing their talk. When he returned, Natsume had figured out a way to move the conversation, but hadn't noticed the change in outfit just yet. When Naomi finished her statement, both of them blinked a few times. Natsume stepped up to Kazuo, "I wanna..." and poked his chest, "touch him..." Naomi blushed big time as this was done. She was tempted as well, but could not bring herself to do it. "Well, it seems you take care of your body as much of your hair..." Natsume said with a flirtatious way. is forced Naomi into sucking in her lips and looking away from the two. "I don't have grimy hands... Though I guess I hadn't washed them while we were out all day, sorry..." Naomi said with a guilt filled tone, smiling weakly at him. "I understand your concern, but you had just gotten out of battle too..." Natsume said, tilting her head slightly to the side, "If so much blood got on your clothes, do you really think it missed that amount of hair?"

Through the hours it took the doctors to heal Maaya, Naomi and Natsume waited in worry along with Kazuo and J. Naomi had a habit of pacing, while Natsume was trying to get to know Kazuo a bit more. When Naomi wasn't listening, she'd even explain how Naomi was actually a Shinigami, but because of strange circumstances, ended up in the World Of The Living thinking that Natsume was her sister. Natsume has kept up the pretense because of how fragile and alone Naomi feels all the time and would prefer it stay that way until Naomi would be able to handle the truth. On the other hand, Naomi would talk to J. with much more confidence than when she talked to Kazuo. It was because Naomi actually felt no attraction to J. Sure, J. was an attractive man, but Naomi put this metaphorical sign that said "Belongs to Maaya" above the guys head, so there was no worry. Naomi went on about how Maaya really seemed to care about him and how Naomi hoped the two of them would be together. It was cute seeing Maaya talk about him. J. showed nothing, but appreciated the information.

Finally that moment came and J. heard Maaya call out for him. It took no time for him to disappear from everyone else's sight and reappear by Maaya's hospital door. The nurse stepped out and offered their privacy. Naomi and Natsume immediately tried to follow, but J. glanced back to Kazuo so he would stop them. He went inside and closed the door behind him, stepping over to her bedside. He saw that look on her face and raised an eyebrow. "I am impressed with your advancement." he said immediately, staring seriously down at her, "A Shinigami without shikai being able to handle a newly formed adjuchas... You're doing better than I thought, Maaya. You should be proud of yourself. You held out well. Not only were you able to keep yourself alive, but your two friends as well. Congratulations." Even with that serious tone that he always spoke with, there was a certain glint of pride that J. was allowing to leak into his voice while he spoke to her.  Yes, it was on purpose. With what Naomi had explained about the situation, he was proud to have her with him.

On the outside of the room, Naomi was anxious. She knew Maaya was okay now because she heard her voice too, but she wanted to go in and see her friend! Natsume kept trying to calm Naomi down, but this was bothering her too much. "We've been waiting for hours, why can't I go inside?!" Naomi asked, slightly annoyed, but also worried. "Naomi, it's going to be fine... Just let Maaya talk to him for a few minutes and we'll be let in." Natsume explained, rubbing her sister's shoulders. She turned to Kazuo though and raised an eyebrow, "Right?" She wanted some sort of confirmation. "We better! That's the only reason we're here right... You said this was the Soul Society before?" Naomi looked to Kazuo with concern. Neither her or Natsume had answered that question. "What is that? Is it a city? A town? And that portal thing we went through... It teleported you? Where are we? South America or something?" Natsume sort of froze up at this point. For one, Naomi was annoyed, which is why she was talking so much. For two, she wasn't' sure how to answer any of these questions.

"Captain Hayashi is the only Shinigami skilled enough to prevent scarring." J. spoke up as she stopped talking, "If you did not want to be scarred, she is who should have been requested." This was the same thing that J. had explained to Kazuo, but in a more direct manner. His tone was off, as if he was thinking about something at the same time as speaking with Maaya. "A favor? Yes." he nodded and listened. Her request caused him to raise an eyebrow, but it was not a difficult one. He thought for a moment, wondering w hat would be a good 'thank you' for his brother. He was not one to give thank you gifts himself, but that seemed like something Maaya would like doing. "There is a new, highly sought after male shampoo and conditioner set that he's had his eye on. It is supposed to prevent split ends completely and even strengthen hair. That is a good thank you gift."

J. was ready to allow the others into the room now. She was safe, dressed, and coherent. This was all he needed to know that she was going to be okay. As he turned to signal the others to enter, he stopped and turned his gaze back to her. She explained about her shikai, causing him to raise an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Well done, Maaya." he said with a lighter tone than before. He nodded respectfully to her and made his way toward the door. He stepped out for a moment and walked up to the three who were also wanting to see Maaya. "You can go see her now." he said and then nodded to his brother. From there, J. actually walked out of the building, shunpo'ing off toward the Manor.

During this time...

A small portion of the situation was being explained to Naomi. She listened intently, but a lot of it didn't register right. She had heard rumors like most other humans, but that was mostly about the "Fallen" within the World Of The Living. She was now hearing about people in an entire dimension different from the one she belonged to? When he finished speaking, Naomi looked to Natsume for confirmation. Natsume nodded, "He's telling the truth." Naomi blinked and looked back to Kazuo. She stepped up to him, leaning her head way back to stare at him. "So... You're dead?" Natsume face-palmed and giggled at Naomi's reaction. "Am I-... AM I DEAD?!" Naomi's eyes widened as she flailed her arms in a panic. "I can't be dead! Dead and me don't get along! Waaaiiit..." Naomi looked down the hallway, tilting her head ot the side as she watched some of the nurses walk back and forth.

"THEY'RE ALL GHOSTS?!" she pointed at a few people as if they were freaks. "Naomi, calm down!" Natsume put a hand over Naomi's mouth and pulled her back away from people and toward Kazuo, "Look, they're not enti-... Well, they are dead, but... How the hell do you explain this?" Natsume thought for a moment, but then received a suspicious glare from Naomi. "What?" "You knew about all of this?" "Well yeah, I already explained things about hollow to you, remember?" Natsume said as if this was obvious, "The hollow have nothing to do with powered humans. They're spiritual, remember?" "Well, yeah, but how come you didn't tell me about this stuff before? There's an entire dimension of people with powers?" Naomi asked and Natsume just nodded, "So... He's a Shinigami?" She pointed to Kazuo and Natsume nodded, "They're all Shinigami..." Natsume nodded again.

With a deep breath, Naomi just blinked a couple times, trying to take it all in. She glanced out a near by window and a soft smile pushed onto her lips. "They seem no different than us... Even the sky is the same. All those myths about the scary Grim Reaper that kills you if you touch him aren't a thing, are they?" Naomi sort of giggled at that, but before Natsume could answer, J. finally stepped into the room and said they could go in. "Awesome!" Naomi hurried along, but Natsume eyed J. suspiciously as the man just left. "I'm not sure I like him..." she said in anger, but then looked to Kazuo, "Sorry, I know he's your brother... But you'd think he'd stay by Maaya's side after everything that happened... She did almost die." Natsume sighed with a sadness expressed in her eyes and began walking back toward the room with Naomi. "Maaya!" Naomi hurried over to Maaya and gently hugged her.

"How are you doing, Maaya?" Natsume spoke up, stepping in the room a couple moments later.

Natsume was able to tell that there was something different in Maaya's eyes. She had no idea what it was, but when she saw Maaya, something felt off. Naomi assumed the lack of a returned hug was because Maaya was in pain, so it didn't even bother her. Maaya was smiling and that was what mattered. "Oh, that's right..." Naomi and Natsume both went over to Kazuo and hugged him on each side. "Thank you for saving us!" the two said with big smiles. Natsume saw this as a chance to mess with Kazuo's hair, just to bug him. Naomi knew what she was about to do, so before it could be reacted to, Naomi glared playfully at her sister and lightly smacked her hand away from Kazuo's hair. "Aww, come on! I almost got to touch it!" Natsume said with a pout. She had been the one that wasn't able to before. "I know, but it's the one thing he asked us not to do..." Naomi replied.

The nurse came in and asked the three to leave. "Aww..." Naomi looked saddened at this, but she turned to Maaya and smiled, "I hope you feel better. Sorry all this happened..." Natsume bowed respectfully to Maaya before waving and the two sisters walked out of the room. When Kazuo joined them, he immediately answered a few questions Naomi had asked before. "I may not understand it now, but I will in time." Naomi said with confidence. She wasn't stupid; this was all just very new to her. There was one thing she was very curious about though. The moment they found their way to the outside, Naomi looked up at the sky, breathed in the air, and looked around. Over the tops of a few buildings, Naomi saw something huge. It was easily compared to a mountain. "What's that?" she asked, taking Kazuo's hand and pulling him over to see the large "Hill" she had been pointing at.

"It looks like the highest place.... Can we go see it? I want to see as much as I can..." When Naomi spoke about exploring this 'new land', she sounded amazed and curious. There was a lightheartedness to her tone that Natsume, and likely Kazuo, would easily be able to place. Natsume just smiled and looked to Kazuo, a glint of "pleeeaaase" in her eyes. "And if we are invited to your home, I'd not mind a tour of the place either..." Natsume stepped up near the two, "Along with a breakdown of the rules... Where we can go, where we can't... What to call people by. You know... All the things that we'd have to be worried about while staying within the home of a Noble." "Oh, right... J. and Kazuo are Nobles, huh?" Naomi thought about that for a moment, "I wonder what being a noble's guest is going to be like..." Naomi shook her head and looked back to the Hill, "I want to go there first!"

"Come on, come on! Pleeaase!" Naomi happily begged and wrapped her arms around Kazuo. It wasn't a hug. It was an "I'm holding on tight". Why? "Do your super fast tummy turning thing to get us there faster." Naomi looked up to him with bright eyes, pleading for him to do it, and a smile that even Natsume would have a hard time saying no to. "Do you mind? I mean... If you're going to be busy doing something else, we understand..." The two stared sweetly at him, hoping the charm would work.