Monster Hunters in Hokkaido

Aki looked up at him and sighed. It wasn't like she dislike Gou it was more that he disturbed her. She wasn't sure how to describe it but for some reason she felt complied to be herself around him. Which was odd to her. Maybe it was because he was so similar to her or because he was also at the same time so different than her. Or maybe it was something else entirely that she had never known. Either way her guard went down around him. It was almost like she could trust him. But she couldn't and she knew she couldn't; at least not yet.

"Don't worry I'm not leaving yet. I just need to change back. It's not like I can just stay in this form forever." she said not even trying to hide behind her facade. She felt a mixture of comforted relief over not having to force herself and unsettled worry over the fact that she was allowing herself to be, in her eyes, vulnerable.

Ryo was still a bit weird mentally. He seemed to be paying Ttention to everything he saw and sensed at the same time. He saw the stance and subconscious ticks from gou, and the emotional quiet of aki.
"My dad taught me Latin and then English, and my mom taught me Japanese and kanji."
Ryo read the way to use push while talking and raised his hand, aiming and focusing on the cup next to shizuka.
"push."
His voice had an odd secondary cadence over it like 3 people were saying something, which all ended up sounding like push. It was weird.
And the the tea cup shot forward like someone had hit it with a base ball bat, flying past shoulda and would likely shatter agains the far wall after flying off the table at high speed.
"......wow....."

Gou nodded. "Yeah. Alright. Maybe sometime to calm down we can go out to a coffee shop, to ya know. Get away from them." He rubbed the back if his neck. He wanted to seem a bit nervous so he could seem relatable.

Shizukas eyes widened and she ducked below the counter just as the cup flew and hit the wall. A pair of ears appeared behind the counter as Shizuka slowly stood up. She looked at the shattered cup and Ryo.

She paused and looked back at him with a questioning look.
Did he...just...ask me on a date? Well there is a chance it could be just what he said. And.... it wouldn't hurt for him to see me as an ally. I could try and befriend him, his sister and that other guy. It works all around. I can learn from them and we could all work together to protect the innocent. And if I trust him enough in the future maybe we will become true actual allies and maybe even....no that's not possible. I shouldn't even think about it, she thought rejecting the thought of her and anyone having a relationship beyond friendship. She heard her mother's horror stories and the last thing she wanted to do was be like her. To get caught up in something only for it to be ripped from her, leaving her a sobbing mess or be forced into a toxic sham of a marriage with now way out.

"I...alright fine." she said settling on an answer and her decision as she started walking back to the spot where she left her things. She would try and be friends with them or at least associates. The only question now was if it was even possible.

Ryo opened his mouth as if to say something, paused, closed his mouth and looked at his ring.
"Okay. Wtf was that? Push? More like shoot from cannon. Why did that happen?"

The ring responded mentally to shoulda and ryobecause you over loaded the spell with out controlling it. You should have sent it back maybe a meter, that was strong enough for about 200 meters. Focus and try again with a rock or something. Also, Head to the basement to practice. It'll keep you from breaking Windows.

Gou smiled wide. "Really?! You won't regret this!" She smiled and ran back over toward Ryo and Shizuka.

She continued to walk but stopped for a second to see if he was really gone. " Why was he so happy? It's just coffee. He doesn't have to be so excited." she muttered to herself, her cheeks suddenly feeling warm. Not because she was blushing or anything, of course, but because she was getting...hot since she was all covered in fur.

It didn't take long for her to reach the spot where she left her things. Once there she quickly changed back to her human form and back into her clothes, making sure there was no one around to see her. On her way back she wondered what Minoru would think of this whole situation. She guessed he'd probably encourage her to befriend them and trust them, something which would be much easier for him to do than her.

[i] That guy would probably be way to excited if I told him about them. He'd probably demand to meet them and do embarrassing things. I think I'll wait a bit before telling about all this. she thought as she walked back to the shop.

Shizuka smoothed her hair back while making her ears disappear. She went outside and found a small rock then came back in. She waited for Ryo to head down to the basement.

Ryo moved the chair behind the counter and pulled up a panel of the floor, revealing a metal staircase that spiraled down to the basement.
"All aboard to the darkest room around..."

Gou gave a look to ryo. What was that kid doing?

As she walked back to the store, Aki decided to put all these thoughts of trust and friendship out of her mind for now. She would be friendly with them but she wouldn't try to push herself to hard. She needed to know more about them, either way. Even if she was the person she pretended to be she still couldn't just trust the first people she met; she wasn't naïve, just friendly.

The door wedged open, Ryo turned on lights revealing a steep set of metal stairs into a dusty and barren room, with a concrete floor and wooden walls, it was the size of the entire store with 3 support pillars various places.
"C'mon. Let's go test." He slid down the stairs railing into the room.