An Act of Charity (Private)

Fumiko’s heart hammered away against her chest. As previously determined, flying was definitely a different sensation. She was not sure if she enjoyed it though. Fumiko felt herself curling forward, pressing her chest against Akuma’s head - something she noted to apologize for later. Right now, she just wanted to land; her blue eyes were squeezed shut so she didn’t even notice that they were upon the lake.

However, her eyes shot open wide when she felt the two of them turn upside down. Fumiko gasped and tightened the grip she had with her legs to ensure she did not fall right away. She opened her mouth to shout in a panic, but Fumiko noticed the lake beneath her head. The panic subsided - and she would laugh in relief. She did promise she wouldn’t let me fall… I guess I could test that theory out... A small smirk would find its way to her face.

Fumiko would untuck her feet and legs, and just let gravity pull her down towards the lake. Her legs sliding past Akuma’s shoulders and cheeks. If she wasn’t grabbed, Fumiko would dive headfirst into the lake, and wouldn’t resurface until a few moments later.

Akuma’s smile was impossibly wide as they flew through the air, and right when she did her barrel roll, she felt Fumiko tighten around her which meant that she was not going to fall.  But then, in a motion that was clearly deliberate, she let go and allowed herself to fall; instantly Akuma reacted because she had made a promise to the woman not to let her fall, and she was going to make sure that promise held up.  Akuma spun again, dipping a bit lower, and scooped the woman up bridal style and tucked her into her chest, holding tight as her wings opened fully and pulled up, the tips of her boots skimming the water for a moment before she got them more into the open air with a few powerful beats of her wings.

Akuma felt the woman squish against her chest, but didn’t mind it all that much; Fumiko had proven that her nightmarish form was not something that deterred her in the slightest, so it was now more relaxed interactions with the woman.  The wings spread wide as she reached the opposite shore, causing them to slow rapidly and Akuma used her strength to keep Fumiko tucked into her chest, but finally she touched down on the ground and released the woman, unless for some reason she wanted to stay in her arms, which the blonde wouldn’t argue with.  For now though, either way, she would move to a nearby boulder and take a seat, crossing her legs neatly while her wings stretched a bit, relaxing into a seated position, Fumiko in her lap if she hadn’t clambered free.

Smiling again, she waited a moment and chuckled. "So... how'd you like that?" she asked warmly.

Fumiko closed her eyes as she freely fell towards the lake. It was somewhat calming this way. She felt a small jerk in being caught, her body felt warm and fuzzy as Akuma scooped her up and pulled her against her chest. Fumiko instinctively wrapped her arms around Akuma’s neck as the blonde carried the pinkette. ”Almost didn’t catch me,” Fumiko teased slightly, making note of how close both women were to the surface of the water.

Fumiko’s once tense body from sitting atop of Akuma was now relaxed in the woman's arms. She pressed herself against Akuma’s chest feeling the force of them stopping. She bit her bottom lip, and her heart skipped a beat as her cheeks warmed. Calm down… she would tell herself. Her blue eyes looked Akuma, and she smiled softly. She was making note of the small details in Akuma’s face. She hardly noticed that Akuma had sat down.

When Akuma asked her a question, it brought Fumiko out of her trance-like thoughts. ”Oh, thank you… it was enjoyable.” Fumiko blushed, ”I think I prefer my feet against something though rather than flying.” She would laugh at herself. Fumiko looked around, then would let go of her grip around Akuma’s neck and slide out of the woman’s arms and off of her lap. Once Fumiko’s own feet were back on the ground, she would reach up to the sky in a stretch. The sweater dress she was wearing lifted up and showed the curvature of her bottom.

Akuma chuckled in her throat. “Almost only counts with Dragon’s Breath and Exploding Tags. I did catch you. If we would’a went down, it would’a been together.” She gave the woman in her arms a wide smile and a nod as she declared she preferred to have her feet on the ground or something similar, wanting control over her own movement. Akuma relaxed, watching Fumiko stretch and letting her eyes linger on the reveal of the woman’s rump, not hiding it in the slightest anymore before locking eyes with her again.

Listening, there wasn’t anyone around, it seemed like and now was as good a time as ever to broach the subject she wanted to. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That said, she slowly retracted her wings back into her back, even the clothing re-sealing as it melded around her ability thanks to it being made from the loose strands of her mane of blonde hair. Once the wings were put away, Yui stretched her arms a bit and looked over the lake for a minute before her violet eyes locked onto Fumiko, watching for reactions.

“You seeing anyone? Like dating, engaged… anything like that? she asked, not the most subtle of people and relatively obvious with what her follow-up question would be afterward. Akuma enjoyed her company, had come to the human world with the intent of starting a family, and considering that they could easily be courting for months or even years before making a decision, the dragon sage wanted to see if she was available to give it a try. If it didn’t work out, not hard feelings, and they could stay friends. If it did, she would have a new mate for life, and possibly the mother of her children standing before her. There wasn’t a lot of risks as far as Akuma knew.

Fumiko couldn’t help but smile at Akuma’s comment, about how almost only applied to a couple of things. She would turn to face Akuma after she finished her stretch, pulling her dress down in the process. A blush formed across her face, but she did not ask if Akuma saw anything - simply due to the fact she was pretty sure the blonde got an eyeful.

Akuma’s wings receding didn’t provoke much of a reaction from Fumiko, why would they? Now that she knew they were just another part of Akuma. It would be like if the pink-haired woman would freak out over Akuma’s hand or foot. That wouldn’t make any sense to her. She was fairly curious over if the clothes had any tearing from when Akuma transformed. Fumiko stepped closer to Akuma. She would lean to the side, her hands resting on the same rock Akuma sat upon, peering around the woman. When there were no holes in Akuma’s clothing, Fumiko’s brow raised in interest. Gears in her head turning on what the fabric could be made of to do such things.

She pushed off the rock and caught Akuma’s violet eyes staring into her own blue. ”Heh… sorry about that. Curiosity does get the better of me most of the time.” A blush stretched from cheek to cheek during Fumiko’s admission. She was fairly certain that her face would continuously match her hair around this woman. Fumiko was slightly taken back when asked about having a relationship. Her face turning a reddish hue, she would shake her head. ”No, I … I’m not seeing anyone,” she hesitantly began giving Akuma her answer.

”I… I just, I guess I…” the smaller woman stumbled over her words. She would take a deep breath to relax before attempting again. ”I haven’t even thought about relationships, I guess?” Fumiko was fairly certain the next question that would come out of Akuma’s mouth. Mainly because there is usually only one question that comes after. She’d shuffle slightly showing her nerves that were creeping back up.

Akuma shrugged at the first bit of response from the pink-haired woman, smiling. “Nothing wrong with being curious… unless you are a cat.” She snickered a moment at her own joke before listening to the answer she really wanted to hear, and her smile grew once more as Fumiko began to blush cutely once again and tried to match her hair. But Akuma was who she was, and would never be anyone else, so she followed up the answers she got quickly and without hesitation. But unlike what Fumiko was predicting, which was a question, she instead was going to give a statement, and the question would be laid out before her as a result. Akuma’s violet eyes locked onto Fumiko’s own with a flicker of hope and not a small amount of interest. “Well then, allow me to be the first to make you ponder it. I’m interested in Courting you.” She paused there for a moment, and then followed it up quickly with both explanations.

“You accept me for what I am, and who I am, and don’t shy away when I turn into a demon… not something I’ve found in a lot of normal humans. Not only that, but you are attractive, smart and I enjoy your company, so I’d like to see if a real relationship is possible. Now, I was taught by dragons so it’s gonna be a little different than your normal ‘dating’ that is common around here… but not by much. We go in three stages; Courting, Engaged, and Soul-Bound. When a dragon picks a mate and they get to stage three, it’s for life no matter what, which is why it’s so important durin’ the Courtin’ part. It’s where we really test our compatibility. Now, if you or I find someone else we are interested in, that’s fine too. Dragons usually have a lot of mates over their lifetime. We just gotta all agree and be on the same sheet of music if that makes sense?” Akuma paused, knowing it was a lot to digest, and let her mull it over for now.

But she would be lying if she didn’t hope for a positive response.

Fumiko raised a brow at Akuma’s statement about being a cat, “Satisfaction brings the cat back.” She’d muse, it was a common saying growing up. Curiosity was fine as long as you were satisfied with the answer, an unsatisfactory answer was simply wasted energy.

When Akuma laid before her the declaration of her want to court the pink-haired Jonin, and bulk explanation afterwards, Fumiko felt herself back up a small step. Feeling slightly overwhelmed with all the information that had been given to her today. When she digested everything put before her, Fumiko re-established her footing. She was hoping Akuma didn’t notice, or at least didn’t take offense to her stepping back slightly. It would have been terribly awkward to tell the blonde she felt a little overwhelmed with everything she’s learned today. Especially after being praised for accepting the woman, it could be construed that she didn’t which was quite the opposite of reality.

Fumiko weighed each option in her mind, going on about how she’s been living life so far - with no one or attempting a courting relationship with Akuma. From what Akuma explained, there was the possibility of procuring more than one ‘mate’. She felt indifferent to that part. She hadn’t had a significant other before - so she wasn’t sure how she felt about having more than one. Would it even be something she would want, or even care to have?

Biting her bottom lip, she thought about what she knew of Akuma so far. The two had just met earlier today and already the blonde had indirectly asked for something incredibly personal. Fumiko tugged down at the hem of her dress, showing how nervous she was. “Well, I guess… I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to seeing how things go,” Fumiko finally stated, the bottom hem of her dress being twisted in her hands.