Home Intro (Yama/Shizu)

[Ken Shirogane]

Yama had briefly stopped by a drive-through, ordering some food for himself, and Shizu if she wanted anything. Riding shirtless through the drive-through late at night had gotten him many looks of course. He was clearly a wild and dangerous guy, that strong hardened body on display, it was a sight that might leave men and women alike admiring in a number of different ways.

But after that, he made his way home with Shizu, to an apartment on the third floor. Room 36. Each floor is made up of about ten rooms before continuing to the next one. Pulling out his key he unlocked the door to head inside, leading Shizu with him. The place was on the grungy side of things. Not a terrible mess, but it could do with some cleaning. A couple of bottles, and cigarettes lying around the place, some dirty clothes on the floor.

Aside from the mess, it was also rather empty. It's decorations are sparse, a rather spartan environment if not for the bits of trash and dirty clothes lying around the place. He didn't spend much time at home really, most of his time was spent out driving and hunting Hollow, so his home didn't get much attention, he didn't see much point since he never had guests over anyway. But now that he did have one over he wasn't sure how he felt about the place. He did at least feel a very mild sense of shame at the unsightly display, even if he wanted not to care at all.

"Sorry, I guess the place is a bit of a mess. I don't usually have guests." He offered simply glancing over to Shizu. "Anyway, make yourself at home. I guess I'll try to clean up a little bit..." He said, looking around for a trash he could use to gather things up into.

[Smiley]

As a soul-devouring monster, Shizu admittedly had a pretty one-sided diet. Souls only came in a handful of varieties after all. Thus, when she was offered a chance to eat something else, she cautiously took the chance to try out this human thing called... A burger. She wasn’t sure what to think of a steaming slab of meat between two buns. It took only one bite to decide. She didn’t like this ‘burger’... No, she loved it! Such juicy, delicious meat swimming in sauce, complemented by the fluffy bun... This was almost as good as souls!

Almost...

Anxiety pounded in the empty space that had once been the eerie Arrancar’s heart. On one hand, she was elated to have a moonlight ride and dinner date. It was lovely. On the other hand, she didn’t want this night to end. She hadn’t felt this loved since... Uh... Since... W-when had that been, again...?

Shizu shook the thoughts out of her head, like a dog trying to dry its fur. Anxiety aside, she was eager to see the place that she would be calling home from here on out. With this, they were almost like... a m-m-married couple! The thought set her pale cheeks on fire with a blush.

Upon entering the humble home, the gloomy goth looked around quietly. Her wary gaze studied the empty walls and the messy floor. It felt like a crypt, where the owner only came back to eat and rest, before heading out to hunt again. This place was...

Wonderful~!

Relief pushed the anxiety away. The nervous guest relaxed. “Ah, such a forlorn and hopeless, little home... It is lovely.” Her praise was completely sincere. This place had a similar, cozy atmosphere as the back alleys and abandoned buildings she usually haunted.

When the mortal mentioned cleaning, the ghoul was quick to offer assistance. “I-I’ll help, d-darling~” She knelt down and grabbed a pile of dirty clothes. Clutching them in her arms, she paused briefly. An unnerving smile crept across her features. Slyly, she buried her face into the pile and took a long sniiiff. Her disturbing, lecherous grin grew wider, revealing a set of shark-like teeth. Ahhh, the scent of life... It was so intoxicating...

---

Post 1
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

Well, at least Shizu seemed to be having a good time as far as Yama could tell. She enjoyed the food and seemed to like his home despite the mess. It was strange that she did, but then she was a pretty strange lady he supposed. Then again the fact that she was so different and so strange was one of the things that he might say he found attractive about her. Although her accentic personality went further than he might have imagined.

He even caught her burying her face into his clothes and smelling them, and she seemed to enjoy that too. He'd heard about girls who occasionally did that sort of thing, though it was usually a jacket or something wasn't it? Or a shirt he'd just been wearing? In this case, it was clothes that smelled of stale sweat and that had likely been sitting on the floor for weeks. And yet she didn't seem to mind that. It was a little gross to him, and yet also a little flattering she seemed to like his scent that much.

Although it did make him wonder if she liked his scent because she liked him, or because she thought he smelled delicious. It could be a little of both he supposed, he would not rule out either possibility with a woman like this one who was a threat, even if he was taking her lightly right now.

"Thanks for the help." He offered, giving her a little pat on the head. "If you are grabbing the clothes, just put some in here." He said bringing over a plastic laundry basket. "I'll worry about washing them later." He said simply before going back to his trash bag to keep collecting bottles and cigarettes.

"I guess your own dress doesn't really need to be washed, huh? It's probably made of... Spirit stuff I guess." He mused looking her over while he worked. "Can the dress even come off?" He asked wondering if it was attached to her body like the dress was built onto her rather than being an actual piece of fabric. It was a mostly innocent curiosity on his part.

---

Post Count: 2

Smiley

[Smiley]

Startled by the hand, the gothic ghost snapped out of the lustful dream. Her arms flailed, juggling and almost dropping the clothes in panic. She squeaked something along the lines of... “Iwasn’t-!” ...before the realization sank in properly. “O-oh... Clothes... Yes, h-here you go...” She dutifully dumped the clothes into the basket.

The question kind of caught the Arrancar off-guard. Quizzically, she cocked her head. “Uh... I think so...?” Honestly, she wasn’t all that sure either. It wasn’t something she’d spent much time pondering before. For her, all this spirit stuff simply... happened. As if she’d been doing it for ages.

However, the follow up ignited a bright red blush on the pale ghoul’s cheeks. Her eyes widened with immediate and deep misunderstanding. Slowly, she glanced down... Then back at the man. She seemed just a little mortified at the thought. Fidgeting nervously, she voiced a shy question. “D-d-d-do you... Want it to come off...?” She was terrible at reading the room, taking the innocent curiosity as something far more... direct.

Shizu pinched the hem of her dress between her fingers. It behaved almost exactly like regular fabric. Almost. Sharp eyes could spot thin, violet wisps seeping from the edges. “This dress is... A part of me.” As soon as she had mumbled that, she hurried to correct herself. “N-not like skin...! I-I’m not constantly nude or anything...!” The embarrassed blush burned hotter. This explanation kept backfiring...

Struggling to find the words, the awkward Arrancar tried to explain. “Um, it’s more like... A memory, manifesting outside of my body. I recall wearing one just like this, long ago, so it now follows me after death.” She let the dress go and it fell back down, like real fabric would. “If I get weary or... hungry... This dress grows dirty and tattered. B-but when I feed and recover, it regenerates as well.” Right now, it was looking pretty pristine.

The ghastly lady glanced over her shoulder, at the bathroom. “Ah, b-but if I get splashed with something, I do bathe... S-so I’m not... filthy...” She insisted meekly. Quietly she wondered if the man had a bathtub...

---

Post 2
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

"Um... Maybe." Yama said pretty sure he would like to see what she had going on under that dress. But just saying "yes" was... Well, it was a little embarrassing to just say it flat-out like that. He could be blunt most of the time, but this was one area where he happened to proceed with a little bit of caution. Maybe that was a good thing, otherwise, he would be prey all the more easily for the ghostly woman. If she even still had intentions of consuming him.

"But you can change your clothes then. Can you wear real clothes? And if you do, do they become invisible like you, or would people just see floating clothes?" He asked since it made sense they could not see the dress, being a memory, but if she were to wear one of his shirts for example, would it just seem to be a floating shirt? Or should her body make it part of her like the dress?

"I see. Well did you want to take a bath or something? I don't have any feminine-scented stuff though. So if you want to use my soaps I hope you like sea scents." He offered, personally enjoying the sea breeze scents that were often given to his all-in-one bathroom products.

---

Post Count: 3

[Smiley]

Shizu’s relief was silent, but clearly visible. Slowly, the blush burning on her pale features began to calm down. If her new crush had turned out to be lecherously blunt, she might’ve died from embarrassment. It wasn’t exactly the kind of death she longed for, no...

Fortunately, the biker managed to brush those worrying thoughts away from the ghoul’s mind. She was presented with a question she couldn’t even begin to answer. Of course, she did try at first. “Oh, um... Uh... I...” But the words died on her lips, as her mind came up empty. “...don’t know...” She admitted hanging her head in shame.

It was a fascinating question, though. Ever since entering the afterlife, the spooky soul hadn’t tried any other clothes aside from her dress and... That special set... Which she only showed to very special souls. She twiddled her fingers idly, as if trying to knit some answers. Quietly she surmised her Hierro might engulf and thus hide the clothing, but she wasn’t confident enough to voice the theory.

The ghoul’s features positively lit up at the mention of a bath. “T-truly? May I?” Oh, it had been so long since she had bathed in warm water. And actual soap too? She had forgotten such luxuries even existed. “T-then, yes... Please...” She nodded shyly.

Shizu retreated into the bathroom. She stopped at the door and cast an odd glance towards the man. Her lips parted, as if she had wanted to say something... But nothing came out... She quickly averted her gaze and snapped the door shut behind her. No, it was not proper to think of... such shameful things...

Soon, the sounds of running water and eerie humming started drifting from the bathroom. Shizu shed her wispy dress. Slowly, she sank into the steaming warmth with a happy sigh. For a little while, she felt alive again.

---

Post 3
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

“I guess we will find out at some point anyways.” When Shizu eventually communicates that she didn’t know what might happen when she wore clothes beyond her usual dress. Unfortunately that was not a test that Yama could help her with on his own. Because he could see her, as well as touch her. The only way to know for sure was to speak with someone who was not spiritually aware and ask what they could see.

It seemed Shizu was also rather excited by the idea of having a bath. He wasn’t really sure why she questioned weather he was serious about letting her or not. He had no reason to say no after all. “Yeah, go for it.” He acknowledged.

Her little pause at the door to look back at him was also interesting. He could be wrong, but he got the impression she had considered inviting him to join her. But whatever her intention had been she seemed to quickly abandon the idea and shut the bathroom door behind her.

He chuckled to himself before moving to continue cleaning up while she relaxed with a bath. However he realized that even after he finished cleaning he was going to need to buy a vacuum later. There were a couple messes around the place that were simply impossible to clean up by hand.

Post Count: 4

[Smiley]

Warm water splashed. Worries were washed away. Shizu washed her face gently and sighed happily. She ran her fingers along the pale skin. The bruises left by the brawler were already fading without a trace. Sometimes unlife was about the little things. A good meal and a hot bath went a long way. She had desperately needed to unwind after the nerve-wracking events at the park.

Sinking deeper into the bath, the creepy woman stared at the ceiling. Jumbled thoughts drifted through her mind. Anxiety and regret were there, as always, but there was something new among them. Curiosity. Perhaps even hope? For the first time in ages, she didn’t have to spend the long night all alone... It was a strange feeling, but she didn’t dislike it.

Soon, the bathroom door slid open slowly. The eerie Arrancar shambled out, accompanied by spooky wisps of steam. She had wrapped herself in a towel that clung to her like a funeral robe. Water dripped from her deathly pale frame. Her dark, wet hair hung like a grim curtain over her features. She looked far too much like a drowned corpse... Or a creature that had stepped out of a horror movie.

Parting the hair curtain, the shy ghost peeked at the biker. “T-thank you... For the bath... A-and the food...” She offered quietly. Fidgeting, she fumbled for words. “Um... I-if there’s a-anything I can do to... to... r-return the favor...” Nope, she couldn’t quite finish the sentence. All kinds of questionable thoughts swirled in her head and she felt like her heart had stopped from the sheer embarrassment. ...Ah, but she didn’t have a heart anymore.

---

Post 4
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

The perception Yama had of Shizu was very different than how Shizu herself and others might have seen her. She looked a little gloomy to him, sure, in a neutral sense. But so far he’d found her rather bright, bubbly, and even somewhat energetic.

And she looked damn good for a dead girl. Stepping out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel? It surprised Yama enough that he dropped his bag when he glanced over to the door as she stepped out, luckily nothing spilled out from the bag but it did make a clatter. His expression kept carefully blank, but his eyes drank her in, exploring the pale skin he could make out until she came to speak with him.

“Oh, well you already agreed to help me hunt hollow. You’ll be my partner.” He said simply, not entirely sure what she was hoping for here. Was she innocent, ignorant, or truly trying to seduce him?

He decided to test the waters a bit, in his own half blunt way. “Do you have any idea how good you look to me right now? I don’t usually bother with relationships, very few woman have interested me. But right now you’re making me wish I knew what that towel was feeling.” It was perhaps slightly less vulgar than what he might say in other situations, as suggestive as it was blunt.

“I don’t know what things were like when you were alive. I guess they must have been rough. You’ve been haunting around going after guys you find attractive right? But most of them can’t see you... Was it the same in life?” He decided to ask, perhaps it was a sudden shift in topic yet he found himself wanting to know her. Whatever the past was like though, she was with him now. He could see her, and he did want her. But he didn’t know her nearly well enough yet to seriously act on any desire, though his fingers itched to reach out and grab her.

Though he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do with her even if he did.

Post Count: 5

[Smiley]

Every light had a shadow. For every shining hope, there was the lurking dread. More than hoping for something specific, Shizu was dreading a certain response. Rejection. During her unlife, she had fallen in love countless times. Yet every single time, her beloved had rejected her. Some got angry. Others were terrified. It hurt all the same.

Once again, the lonely Arrancar had found a new crush. Love was blooming within the hole in her chest. This man before her... She wanted to learn more about him. To feel more... To taste more...

Fortunately, the biker kept it surprisingly civil. Visible relief washed over the eerie lady’s visage. “O-oh... I see.” She nodded meekly. Yes, she had promised to hunt hollow with him. It was a promise she fully intended to keep. After all, she wasn’t particularly attached to her own kind. They could be so cruel.

However, the second response hit like a hammer. The gloomy goth froze. She stood still like a statue, without breathing or blinking. Slowly, bright crimson coloration crept across her features, a blush painted by an imaginary brush. Wisps of steam started rising from her head. Or maybe that was just her Reiatsu slipping out of control. Hard to say.

Externally, Shizu seemed startled. Internally, she was screaming. The deafening sound inside her head drowned all other thoughts. She opened her mouth, but no actual words came out. She averted her gaze and tried to breathe. Slow, long breaths... Itwasn’tdoinganythinghelp!

The embarrassed lady was clearly avoiding the blunt biker’s gaze. She twiddled her fingers nervously, trying to stitch her nerves together. Eventually, she managed to mutter a response. “...N-not the same.” She shook her head solemnly. “I don’t recall much... Except the illness... I was too weak to go anywhere...” She sighed weakly, grasping her thin arm.

Shizu’s gaze wandered somewhere far away beyond the walls. “Then, there was him... A gentleman from a distant land. Ah, he was my first love~ He spoke so sweetly to me. Promised he would take me to heaven and beyond. We planned to elope.” A small, fond smile visited her features, as she reminisced.

“He asked to meet me under the full moon. To bring my father’s money and my mother’s jewelry. When he finally arrived, I reached for a kiss. He only smiled... There was something shiny and sharp in his hand... And then everything went BLACK.”

The ghoul’s head drooped and her tone darkened. “It was the first time I died, I think...” The fond smile twisted into a crescent grin full of sharp teeth. “And it felt wonderful~” The grim rasp scratched her throat.

---

Post 5
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

Shizu wasn't doing anything to make Yama think he needed to confront her. She was listening to him, and minding herself. He was already more or less prepared in the event she tried to sink her teeth into his throat if she ever even decided to. In his mind, she was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He'd made that opinion clear right to Shizu's face already. He didn't care what she was, or what her plans were. There were only a few conditions he had, and he'd made those clear as well. Don't go hunting humans, and help him hunt Hollow. They were simple conditions that existed outside whatever relationship they might be forming.

He listened to her story and noted how she avoided his gaze for now. He wasn't sure if it pleased her to hear his attraction for her had grown in that moment, but she didn't make any move to leave and change, so he assumed she wasn't against him admiring her for a little bit. So he indulged a little bit, letting his good eye continue to wander over her.

He hummed as he considered her story when she finished it. "Any idea if the guy who killed you is still alive? I'd think that when you came back as a Hollow or evolved into your new shape you would go after him. I sure as hell would have." He mused simply. "Beliving someone loved you, only to have them stab you in the back..." Well it wasn't exact as he probably stabbed her from the front, but clearly, she had not been expecting it. So it amounted to the same result.

"Was he just some homicidal asshole then? Targeting a weak victim he wanted to cut down. Or did he want something else from you that your death would give him? I can't imagine what that would be. It sounded like you were already dying." He was no detective though, and his attention to those details only went so far. Really his main thought was that if this asshole was still alive he and Shizu should go find him and tear him a new asshole on his way to hell where he belonged.

"If he's still alive, maybe you should eat him too. That would be ironic." He mused with a chuckle. She wasn't supposed to eat people but for assholes like that? Well, it wasn't an ironclad rule. Yama was no pure hero, he did whatever amused him and broke laws all the time. Usually minor ones, but he'd gladly beat such an evil bastard to death and let Shizu consume him.

---

Post Count: 6

[Smiley]

The creepy Arrancar failed to see the grimness of the biker’s attitude. Rather, her grin returned to a small smile. She was simply happy to find someone who was on the same wavelength. “Ah, yes... I did go after him. I wished to return the wonderful gift he gave me and spend the entire eternity together with him.” Er, well, maybe not quite the same wavelength after all.

Shizu scratched her head. Embarrassment was creeping up on her again. “B-but I, uh... Couldn’t find him...” Her memories from that time were a blur, a series of faint flashes. Each one involved crying alone, falling in love, chasing the subject of her adoration and... And... Crushing loneliness. It was the feeling she recalled most intimately.

Snapping out of the pondering, the eerie lady piped up with a small correction. “Ah, no... He stabbed me in the chest.” Without really thinking, she parted her towel enough to expose her pale cleavage. “See?” She really had the kind of ample figure that could’ve suffocated a lesser mortal. Both figuratively and very literally. More importantly though... Where her heart should’ve been, there was instead a gaping hole all the way through her chest.

However, Shizu was innocently oblivious to what she was showing. To her, the hole was an important part of the story. It was the entire reason for her eternal longing. “I... am not sure what he wanted... I offered him eternity, but he only took my earthly belongings and left me with this gaping emptiness inside...” She sounded rather bitter about the fact. “I try and try to fill it, but... It’s not enough... It’s never enough...” Her voice wavered.

After a brief pause, the gloomy goth found a grim tone of determination. “If I ever find him again... I shall show him the full depths of my love.” There was that wicked smile again. She didn’t seem to notice it herself, but there was a fair bit of drool dripping from between her teeth.

Beneath the dangerous expression, a small fantasy formed. So, it was okay to eat some humans...? Those who had wronged her or others, maybe? The hungry Arrancar made a mental note of that.

Suddenly, a grave realization struck the creepy girl. She lost her smile and lunged closer. “N-not that I don’t love you as well!” ...Nope, it was not about the towel. Instead, her gaze was shining with desperate loneliness. “Y-you look really good to me too...” She tried to borrow his words to convince him. Her gaze trailed down to his chest. A wistful sigh escaped her lips. “I wish to feel what your ribcage is feeling... To hold your heartbeat in my hands...” Her gentle, loving smile made the supposedly romantic comment all the more disturbing.

---

Post 6
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

"Oh." He noted with a nod when she admitted that she had gone after him. But apparently, he had not been caught, escaping her wrathful love. Or was it even wrathful? It was a little hard to tell how serious she was being when she called her current situation a "gift". He supposed she was not some weak and dying woman now, but it wasn't as though the man or her had any idea what she would become. Or so Yama assumed at least.

When she opened the towel enough to display her chest hole, he took a moment to appreciate the view. There was her cleavage of course, very appealing to Yama, but it was clear she wasn't trying to be seductive at the moment. She was just sincerely showing off a feature of her body, the situation while appealing, wasn't a sexual one.

"Can I touch it?" He decided to ask, if she let him then he'd stick out two fingers into the void of her chest, though just for a moment, curious if he would feel something there, or if there truly was nothing there. He half expected to feel that empty place to grip at him and pull energy from inside him. But it could just as easily be nothing and do nothing.

It was clear she didn't know what the man she once loved wanted, or where he went. But she still had some sort of... Feelings for him. Although Yama wasn't sure if it was love or just obsession. Perhaps the idea that she had been betrayed by someone she loved so deeply was something she could not let go of. Maybe she had to love the man because she could not bring herself to truly hate him? Some people were like that.

Yama blinked and chuckled when she came back to him though. "I'm glad you feel that way." But he did wonder in what way he looked good to her. Did she desire him the way a woman desires a man, or did she look at him the way a lion looks at prime beef?

"Hm, I'm not sure if you mean that... Literally. But otherwise, you can feel my heartbeat." He said reaching down to take her hand in a surprisingly gentle grip. Lifting her palm till it pressed to the still-bared flesh of his chest and the beating heat beneath it. His heartbeat was strong and even, his chest was warm, and his skin was both hard and soft, though many places on his body were lined with scars from battles he had taken on.

"I'm not sure if I am the best match for you, but I think we can still be pretty good together." He offered simply and honestly. If she wanted him, then he was hers. He held her hand there for a minute, letting her feel his pulse, she could rest her head against him too if she wanted, he'd not push her away. But eventually, he did decide to ask something.

"Can I try kissing you?" He was curious what it would feel like and what it would do to him, what it would do to her too. He expected her lips to be cold, yet soft. He also expected that such an intimate connection might drain him of energy, given what she had done to the boy in the park just by holding him close to her chest. But he was willing to try it anyway. And if her kiss killed him it would be his own damn fault for trying it anyway, he wouldn't even blame her whether it was instinct or intentional.

---

Post Count: 7

Smiley

[Smiley]

Caught off-guard by the straight-forward question, the creepy girl fidgeted. She cast a hesitant glance downwards. “Touch... it...?” Something about this felt quite intimate. Still, after an awkward pause, she nodded meekly. “O-okay...” No one had ever requested anything like that from her. So why did this stir a weirdly familiar sensation within her...? A memory blinked before her eyes, but it was too quick. She couldn’t grasp it.

When Yama stuck his fingers into the void, Shizu visibly flinched. Petrified, she gritted her teeth and stared at the hand. It looked like she might cry... Another remembrance blinded her. She vividly saw a flash of steel. Yet, when she looked again, it was just his hand... For him, though, it felt like nothing. Or, weirdly, somehow less than nothing. There was the tiniest pull, as if something unseen was trying to drag him into the emptiness.

Once the mortal pulled his hand away, the Arrancar visibly relaxed. Still a little dazed, she was startled by the returned gesture and nearly dropped her towel. She scrambled to catch it with her free hand. “Wha-? O-oh, I meant... Um... N-never mind...” She settled for feeling his heartbeat this way instead. That was fine too...

Slowly, gently, the lonely spirit drew closer and rested her cheek against the strong chest. The warmth of life against her cold skin calmed her skittish soul. She let out a wistful sigh. A small, loving smile played on her lips. For a moment, it felt like everything was right in the world.

However, when the mortal voiced the final question, the ghost tensed. Kiss... Why was that question so familiar...? ^Kiss, _kiss, kissss... The word echoed in her skull, twisting and distorting until he sounded like someone else. Carefully, she glanced up at her beloved biker, but...

He was gone.

All of a sudden, Shizu found herself standing under the fateful moon from long ago. Before her stood a man whose face she could never forget, her first love. Rapid recollections flashed before her empty gaze. The meeting, the embrace, the kiss... And finally, the sting of betrayal that broke her heart...

Back in reality, the creepy woman’s eyes went wide. She stared at Yama with unsettling intensity. Her soft smile twisted into something unrecognizable. The sharp nails threatened to dig into his skin. “You... Finally...” A chilling mutter scratched at her throat.

“I found you.”

The towel dropped.

White wisps cascaded down the Arrancar’s pale skin. Instead of her usual attire, the memories coalesced into a wedding dress, tattered and bloodied. The biggest crimson stain was on her chest, right over the hole. Someone with street smarts might recognize the distinct shape of a stab mark on the dress.

Lost in the nightmare, the ghastly monster opened her jaws impossibly wide. Sharp teeth lined a dark void. It was like staring at a loaded bear trap. Suddenly, she lunged. She tried to sink her monstrous teeth into Yama’s neck. If he got bitten, he would find his spiritual energy slipping away. She wanted to drink deep, less like a sensual vampire and more like a greedy leech.

---

Post 7
Ken Shirogane

[Ken Shirogane]

Seeing the look on her face as he explored the little hole in her chest he felt a little bad, but he didn't mess around with it too much, just curious of the sensation it might have, or the lack of it.

And then relaxing together for a moment as he held her in his arms letting her feel and listen to the beating of his heart. She seemed to be enjoying that, but he figured he would. It was something he thought everyone probably enjoyed to some degree. Listening to the rhythm of life beating in one's chest. He supposed Shizu didn't have a beat, but that was fine. She had plenty of other enjoyable aspects for him to enjoy.

The reaction to his last question was far from expected. A yes or even a no would have been just fine. But it seemed like his question flipped a switch for the ghastly woman.

The towel was replaced by a bloody wreck of a wedding dress, and her mouth became jaws before his eyes, he grimaced as she leaped at him, lifting a hand to her throat, letting her claws dig into him and draw blood. He didn't try to choke or crush her throat though, only maintaining a grip strong enough to keep her at bay.

"Not what I was expecting." He noted simply as he struggled to take her to the ground and pin her there. He wasn't sure how much his mass mattered, but he tried to pin her down by her throat, sitting on her stomach, and hoping that she would eventually come back to her senses. Of course, he was aware she could still try to blast him with that strange mouth beam she used at the park, but assuming he'd been able to get his hand on her neck, he could try and squeeze off the flow at that point if she tried. Of course, it would still leave her arms free to tear at him, but he wasn't worried about that, she could tear at him as she liked. He only wanted to subdue her.

Though if it were any other monster he would have been smashing them through walls and doing his damned best to kill them. Unfortunately for him, this was Shizu. Crazy, quirky, and dangerous as she was Yama did like her. It was one of the few instances in his life where he had no desire to raise his fists in response to the violence aimed at him. If Shizu truly wished to hurt him maybe he would have. But the look in her eyes and the words she spoke, made it clear she wasn't seeing Yama. She was looking at something else, someone else. But not him. Madness, but not madness aimed at him specifically.

---

Post Count: 8

Smiley