Making up
OOC: Jiro checks in on Hotaru after their SNF a week prior. He bears gifts!
An afternoon one weekend after their SNF together and Hotaru can be found on the second floor of the old church building she inherited as part of her family's estate. Standing beneath one of the open arches that look out over the landscape below. Its colors are muted. Some of the trees having shed their leaves and the grass having browned some during the winter months. The flowers are gone, sleeping until spring. The sun is an hour or more from setting, though the sky has started to dim during its slow descent in the horizon.
The girl leans with her shoulder against the stone side of the arch, her arms folded in front of her, her legs crossed at the ankles. A dove rests on her shoulder, taking a break from winging around the belfry or straying out to fly over the nearby large homes. The temperature is crisp, and will get cooler when the sun sets.
As a weekend, usually the girl would be travelling around the world, attending to her career in fighting. Making an appearance in some far off country, perhaps, or taking the stage in something more local, facing off against fighters of all types. But this weekend she's gone no where.
It's been a week. Sadly, it's been an interesting week, all considering. The Saturday Night Fight felt a bit different for numerous reasons. Hotaru was acting different than the usual matches. And he figured that his taking the fight to the extreme did not make things better.
So...
Like any good boy friend, Jiro would come by and visit her. But he did not come out without two things. One was a set of flowers from the local flora shop. And in the other hand is a small box that he politely tucks into his pocket.
Jiro is approaching the churchyard, entering up the stairs until he makes his way towards the second floor. He takes a deep breath, and he lifts his head up to speak out.
"Hey.... Hotaru?"
[OOC] Jiro Kasagi..damnit. Everytime I think of the church, I hear this music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NAwvyTjEp8 (Best example of the one I could find)
[OOC] Hotaru checks it out! :)
It's possible she heard the approach before he speaks up. It's not exactly easy to move up a set of stone steps in an enclosed space without making some noise. But she waits until Jiro speaks before turning around. "Jiro," the girl speaks up, her eyes lowering from his face after a moment to focus on the flowers he's brought before shifting back up to meet his eyes.
She's smiling, though her demeanor is reserved. Turning away fully from the archway to step toward Jiro, she unfolds her arms after a couple of steps, hands dropping down to her sides. "Good to see you. I thought maybe you would be out and about this weekend," she states, leaning her head to the side a little. With him having gotten back into having a fighting career on the side of his real job, 'n all.
She steps closer, hands lifting up, clearly ready to receive the flowers. They better be for her, right!?
It is after a few moments that Hotaru turns around that Jiro does see that she sees him, before she eyes the flowers, and then back towards him. As she steps towards him, the young man is stepping over towards her direction, then he shuts his eyes towards her.
"Meh, I kinda grew a bit irate with the whole Saturday Night Fights." He rubs his forehead a little more, "Sort of remembered why I had stopped performing in it." He then slowly brings out the flowers towards her.
"It's for you... I am sorry for not seeing you earlier this week." He looks at Hotaru with an endearing smile.
As Jiro mentions being angry about Howard's entertainment empire, Hotaru leans her head to the side a little, looking a little bit surprised to hear his thoughts on the largest fighting circuit there is. She accepts the flowers that he offers, craddling them in both of her arms for a moment, lifting them up to smell the variety of scents present in this bouquet.
Lowering it though still craddling it in her left arm, the girl's right arm comes up to rest against Jiro's shoulder, the girl rising up on her toes a little to give him a quick kiss of appreciation for the gift, before lowering back down and taking a step back, allowing her right arm to drop against her side.
"Why do you say that?" she asks, blinking, a touch of worry in her eyes. "You were just getting back into the circuits a little. What's wrong?"
"Eh, the past few matches kinda made me 'meh." He shrugs slightly, then he looks at Hotaru as she has the right arm resting against his shoulder. He takes a hold of her by having his right arm wrap around her waist, then he leans over to give her a kiss towards the cheek.
"Besides, I usually preferred street matches." He laughs slightly, "...Then again, I can't do -that- anymore, can I? Being an officer and all now." He considers the thought, "I guess it's one of the few things I missed. But, the past few matches did kind of show me that I needed to go back to my roots."
His eyes narrow, "Even more Kain, I was not a berserker. While I have improved since then...I've noticed that I've been spending too much energy with my attacks. I need to work on improving on that."
"Street matches and pit fighting, hn," Hotaru replies, remembering some of the more dangerous fights Jiro had participated in, such as against that creepy Cockroach fellow. "I guess I didn't think about it like that. But..." She glances back up at him thoughtfully, "I-... I'm glad you don't do them anymore. Too dangerous," the girl states, her tone a little stern before she shakes her head.
She muses about the last couple of matches. Definitely the one against Kain seemed to be hard on the young man. He wore himself out hard and then berated himself afterward when they didn't win. And then of course the fight last week that's certainly been on her mind a lot. Hn.
"Pacing is important," the girl speaks quietly. She used to struggle with the same problem, but she's gotten a lot better at managing it since as she's improved over time. Or so she'd like to think, having major doubts about having actually improved in recent weeks. "I'm sure it's something you'll be able to account for with practice," she says quietly.
When Hotaru mentions about the street fighting, Jiro rubs the back of the head. "Yeah." Though, when she mentions that she is glad that he didn't, it sounds a litle more of that he'd -better- not get back into it. He shuts his eyes, laughing a little more before he runs his hand along Hotaru's cheek.
"...I am sorry for not giving you an advanced notice of the attack." He rubs the back of his head, recalling the fight on the Saturday Night Fight. "Admittedly, I wanted to stuff some respect into that asshat." He growls angrily, "To think, I spent time on learning about his style when I was younger, just to show appreciation for the underdogs of the fighting circuit." He shrugs.
Then he smiles a little, "Oh... I also have a Christmas present for you."
He slowly reaches out into his pocket to pull out a small box in green wrapping and a red bow.
Of course, if he had to street fight as part of some kind of undercover operation, or engaging in combat as part of his job against the scum of Metro, she'd readily overlook such actions! Then he touches her cheek and brings up their SNF against each other, and his decisive attacks thrown her way and Hotaru blinks. Not entirely caught off guard, but looking unsure as to how to speak to that now that he's brought it up. "Y-you don't have anything to apologize for," the girl whispers, taking a step back and turning halfway to the side, bowing her head a little.
"If anything, I should apologize to you, I-..." she stops, falling quiet after a moment before glancing back toward Jiro, her expression filled with regret that she finds hard to speak of. "You gave it your best, and I didn't," she continues after a moment, sighing softly. "I don't know, I've... sometimes I wonder if maybe..." She shakes her head, falling quiet then, hands tightening up a little. Still craddling the flowers, her eyes widen as the box is presented.
Her right hand extends forward to take hold of the box which she holds in front of her for a moment before shifting the flowers a little to tuck them under her shoulder, freeing up her left hand as well to begin opening the box, "Jiro..." her voice is full of wonder, betraying the curiosity she feels at finding out what's inside.
'If maybe....'
...Ugh, don't let that regret be what he thinks she might be thinking. He frowns a little, but it soon fades as the attention is brought -away- from the match. This is a good thing. He figures that this would be appropriate for the occassion.
As the young man holds the box, the young man slowly starts to open it, revealing to be a gold plated ring with a diamond at the very center. The gold ring is shaped in a chain of hearts.
"It's... a promise ring." He smiles a little more. "... I kept thinking about things and.. well.." He presents it out to Hotaru.
The young man lifts the lid off the box, saving her the hassle of having to do so, and Hotaru's eyes focus on the ring that sparkles in the middle of the container, mouth opening a little, eyes widening further. "Oh..." Thoughts of the match or any doubts about herself that go unvoiced are pushed aside for now at the shift in subject.
She glances up at Jiro's face then back down to the ring, her mouth open as she's left speechless. The ring is beautiful. Exquisitely carved with the diamond to go with it. The thing is, she could afford many such fine pieces of jewelry just fine on her own. But this one is special. It comes from Jiro. His money, his efforts purchased it, and his promise comes with it. That makes it unique out of all the expensive rings in all the world.
Hotaru lifts her right hand, spreading out her fingers as she holds her hand out toward Jiro, inviting him to place it upon her ring finger. "It's wonderful, Jiro." A promise ring. A symbol of being faithful. A representation of future intent. "Thank you..."
As the ring is held for Hotaru, the young man gazes at her reaction, smiling at the young woman. He shuts his eyes, in hopes that she would accept him and his promise. His eyes do lift up as he looks over towards the woman. He reaches a hand over towards her hand.
He accepts the invitation and he slips it onto the ring finger. Then, he leans over to brush his lips onto her hand. "...Anything for you." He pulls the hand down, then he reaches into his pocket to reveal a mistletoe.
He hangs it over their head.
Last Christmas that he spent with her, very albeit long ago, he stole a kiss as a quick peck. This time, however, he leans over to gently brush his lips against her own lips, wrapping his arms around her.
Once the ring is slipped onto her finger, Hotaru holds he rhand up, gazing at it appreciatively, glancing between it and Jiro, back and forth. She's quiet then, any thanks that needs to be spoken more than evident in her eyes as the young man leans forward to kis her, his arms wrapping around her.
She returns the gesture, her arms wrapping around him, holding the boquet of flowers behind his back as the two embrace for a moment in the quiet belfry with only the doves to witness the promise made between them both.
Memories of the time years ago when all he got was a quick peck for his clever use of mistletoe come to mind. Has it really been that long? How far have they come since then? How far do they have to go still? The girl wonders at the new year encroaching upon them. Her last year of High School, her career in fighting, her future with the young man she kisses now. Quietly she pushes the thoughts out of her mind, determined to enjoy the moment.
An afternoon one weekend after their SNF together and Hotaru can be found on the second floor of the old church building she inherited as part of her family's estate. Standing beneath one of the open arches that look out over the landscape below. Its colors are muted. Some of the trees having shed their leaves and the grass having browned some during the winter months. The flowers are gone, sleeping until spring. The sun is an hour or more from setting, though the sky has started to dim during its slow descent in the horizon.
The girl leans with her shoulder against the stone side of the arch, her arms folded in front of her, her legs crossed at the ankles. A dove rests on her shoulder, taking a break from winging around the belfry or straying out to fly over the nearby large homes. The temperature is crisp, and will get cooler when the sun sets.
As a weekend, usually the girl would be travelling around the world, attending to her career in fighting. Making an appearance in some far off country, perhaps, or taking the stage in something more local, facing off against fighters of all types. But this weekend she's gone no where.
It's been a week. Sadly, it's been an interesting week, all considering. The Saturday Night Fight felt a bit different for numerous reasons. Hotaru was acting different than the usual matches. And he figured that his taking the fight to the extreme did not make things better.
So...
Like any good boy friend, Jiro would come by and visit her. But he did not come out without two things. One was a set of flowers from the local flora shop. And in the other hand is a small box that he politely tucks into his pocket.
Jiro is approaching the churchyard, entering up the stairs until he makes his way towards the second floor. He takes a deep breath, and he lifts his head up to speak out.
"Hey.... Hotaru?"
[OOC] Jiro Kasagi..damnit. Everytime I think of the church, I hear this music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NAwvyTjEp8 (Best example of the one I could find)
[OOC] Hotaru checks it out! :)
It's possible she heard the approach before he speaks up. It's not exactly easy to move up a set of stone steps in an enclosed space without making some noise. But she waits until Jiro speaks before turning around. "Jiro," the girl speaks up, her eyes lowering from his face after a moment to focus on the flowers he's brought before shifting back up to meet his eyes.
She's smiling, though her demeanor is reserved. Turning away fully from the archway to step toward Jiro, she unfolds her arms after a couple of steps, hands dropping down to her sides. "Good to see you. I thought maybe you would be out and about this weekend," she states, leaning her head to the side a little. With him having gotten back into having a fighting career on the side of his real job, 'n all.
She steps closer, hands lifting up, clearly ready to receive the flowers. They better be for her, right!?
It is after a few moments that Hotaru turns around that Jiro does see that she sees him, before she eyes the flowers, and then back towards him. As she steps towards him, the young man is stepping over towards her direction, then he shuts his eyes towards her.
"Meh, I kinda grew a bit irate with the whole Saturday Night Fights." He rubs his forehead a little more, "Sort of remembered why I had stopped performing in it." He then slowly brings out the flowers towards her.
"It's for you... I am sorry for not seeing you earlier this week." He looks at Hotaru with an endearing smile.
As Jiro mentions being angry about Howard's entertainment empire, Hotaru leans her head to the side a little, looking a little bit surprised to hear his thoughts on the largest fighting circuit there is. She accepts the flowers that he offers, craddling them in both of her arms for a moment, lifting them up to smell the variety of scents present in this bouquet.
Lowering it though still craddling it in her left arm, the girl's right arm comes up to rest against Jiro's shoulder, the girl rising up on her toes a little to give him a quick kiss of appreciation for the gift, before lowering back down and taking a step back, allowing her right arm to drop against her side.
"Why do you say that?" she asks, blinking, a touch of worry in her eyes. "You were just getting back into the circuits a little. What's wrong?"
"Eh, the past few matches kinda made me 'meh." He shrugs slightly, then he looks at Hotaru as she has the right arm resting against his shoulder. He takes a hold of her by having his right arm wrap around her waist, then he leans over to give her a kiss towards the cheek.
"Besides, I usually preferred street matches." He laughs slightly, "...Then again, I can't do -that- anymore, can I? Being an officer and all now." He considers the thought, "I guess it's one of the few things I missed. But, the past few matches did kind of show me that I needed to go back to my roots."
His eyes narrow, "Even more Kain, I was not a berserker. While I have improved since then...I've noticed that I've been spending too much energy with my attacks. I need to work on improving on that."
"Street matches and pit fighting, hn," Hotaru replies, remembering some of the more dangerous fights Jiro had participated in, such as against that creepy Cockroach fellow. "I guess I didn't think about it like that. But..." She glances back up at him thoughtfully, "I-... I'm glad you don't do them anymore. Too dangerous," the girl states, her tone a little stern before she shakes her head.
She muses about the last couple of matches. Definitely the one against Kain seemed to be hard on the young man. He wore himself out hard and then berated himself afterward when they didn't win. And then of course the fight last week that's certainly been on her mind a lot. Hn.
"Pacing is important," the girl speaks quietly. She used to struggle with the same problem, but she's gotten a lot better at managing it since as she's improved over time. Or so she'd like to think, having major doubts about having actually improved in recent weeks. "I'm sure it's something you'll be able to account for with practice," she says quietly.
When Hotaru mentions about the street fighting, Jiro rubs the back of the head. "Yeah." Though, when she mentions that she is glad that he didn't, it sounds a litle more of that he'd -better- not get back into it. He shuts his eyes, laughing a little more before he runs his hand along Hotaru's cheek.
"...I am sorry for not giving you an advanced notice of the attack." He rubs the back of his head, recalling the fight on the Saturday Night Fight. "Admittedly, I wanted to stuff some respect into that asshat." He growls angrily, "To think, I spent time on learning about his style when I was younger, just to show appreciation for the underdogs of the fighting circuit." He shrugs.
Then he smiles a little, "Oh... I also have a Christmas present for you."
He slowly reaches out into his pocket to pull out a small box in green wrapping and a red bow.
Of course, if he had to street fight as part of some kind of undercover operation, or engaging in combat as part of his job against the scum of Metro, she'd readily overlook such actions! Then he touches her cheek and brings up their SNF against each other, and his decisive attacks thrown her way and Hotaru blinks. Not entirely caught off guard, but looking unsure as to how to speak to that now that he's brought it up. "Y-you don't have anything to apologize for," the girl whispers, taking a step back and turning halfway to the side, bowing her head a little.
"If anything, I should apologize to you, I-..." she stops, falling quiet after a moment before glancing back toward Jiro, her expression filled with regret that she finds hard to speak of. "You gave it your best, and I didn't," she continues after a moment, sighing softly. "I don't know, I've... sometimes I wonder if maybe..." She shakes her head, falling quiet then, hands tightening up a little. Still craddling the flowers, her eyes widen as the box is presented.
Her right hand extends forward to take hold of the box which she holds in front of her for a moment before shifting the flowers a little to tuck them under her shoulder, freeing up her left hand as well to begin opening the box, "Jiro..." her voice is full of wonder, betraying the curiosity she feels at finding out what's inside.
'If maybe....'
...Ugh, don't let that regret be what he thinks she might be thinking. He frowns a little, but it soon fades as the attention is brought -away- from the match. This is a good thing. He figures that this would be appropriate for the occassion.
As the young man holds the box, the young man slowly starts to open it, revealing to be a gold plated ring with a diamond at the very center. The gold ring is shaped in a chain of hearts.
"It's... a promise ring." He smiles a little more. "... I kept thinking about things and.. well.." He presents it out to Hotaru.
The young man lifts the lid off the box, saving her the hassle of having to do so, and Hotaru's eyes focus on the ring that sparkles in the middle of the container, mouth opening a little, eyes widening further. "Oh..." Thoughts of the match or any doubts about herself that go unvoiced are pushed aside for now at the shift in subject.
She glances up at Jiro's face then back down to the ring, her mouth open as she's left speechless. The ring is beautiful. Exquisitely carved with the diamond to go with it. The thing is, she could afford many such fine pieces of jewelry just fine on her own. But this one is special. It comes from Jiro. His money, his efforts purchased it, and his promise comes with it. That makes it unique out of all the expensive rings in all the world.
Hotaru lifts her right hand, spreading out her fingers as she holds her hand out toward Jiro, inviting him to place it upon her ring finger. "It's wonderful, Jiro." A promise ring. A symbol of being faithful. A representation of future intent. "Thank you..."
As the ring is held for Hotaru, the young man gazes at her reaction, smiling at the young woman. He shuts his eyes, in hopes that she would accept him and his promise. His eyes do lift up as he looks over towards the woman. He reaches a hand over towards her hand.
He accepts the invitation and he slips it onto the ring finger. Then, he leans over to brush his lips onto her hand. "...Anything for you." He pulls the hand down, then he reaches into his pocket to reveal a mistletoe.
He hangs it over their head.
Last Christmas that he spent with her, very albeit long ago, he stole a kiss as a quick peck. This time, however, he leans over to gently brush his lips against her own lips, wrapping his arms around her.
Once the ring is slipped onto her finger, Hotaru holds he rhand up, gazing at it appreciatively, glancing between it and Jiro, back and forth. She's quiet then, any thanks that needs to be spoken more than evident in her eyes as the young man leans forward to kis her, his arms wrapping around her.
She returns the gesture, her arms wrapping around him, holding the boquet of flowers behind his back as the two embrace for a moment in the quiet belfry with only the doves to witness the promise made between them both.
Memories of the time years ago when all he got was a quick peck for his clever use of mistletoe come to mind. Has it really been that long? How far have they come since then? How far do they have to go still? The girl wonders at the new year encroaching upon them. Her last year of High School, her career in fighting, her future with the young man she kisses now. Quietly she pushes the thoughts out of her mind, determined to enjoy the moment.