After a mission, it was really nice to go right home. But the problem was that walking home was proving to be rather difficult. The sky was blanketed with dark grey clouds that noisily spat out rain in torrents. And, to top it off, a strong wind blew throughout the island nation. Ririka ploughed her way through the storm, teammate in tow.

Her hair was heavy from the rain, yet it still felt like the wind was going to rip her hair out. She twitched from time to time as the heavy raindrops fell on her. "Are...you...fucking...kidding me?" she screeched to the heavens, though the sound of the storm drowned out most of her voice. Ririka angrily tightened her grip on Kannon's wrist and abruptly pulled him forward. He was so skinny, the wind could probably blow him way. She couldn't believe how incredibly quick these storms hit sometimes. Of course it had to happen when they were both outside. Of course.

She approached the walls that surrounded her clan's land and fought against the wind to enter. Step by step she trudged her way towards her house, which was far too big just for one person. Once they got up to the door, Ririka yanked Kannon so he could stand in front of her (so he wouldn't get blown away, of course), but she pulled so hard that she essentially smashed him into the entrance. She got her keys and unlocked the door as fast as she could.

"If you make a mess, I will kill you," Ririka snapped, pulling off her boots. Being completely drenched would make it impossible, but she didn't care. She stepped into her slippers and pushed a bigger pair over to Kannon with her foot. "Just use my brother's." And then she moved quickly up the stairs to disappear somewhere off in her house.

She may have a realization sometime sooner or later about how that might not have been the best decision, but she was too pissed off to even consider that scenario.

Kannon felt like the rain was drilling into his skin since he was so skinny, but he managed to keep up with Ririka only thanks to her tight grip on his wrist. He wouldn't be surprised if it was broken by the time they reached shelter. "It's just water," he stated optimistically and perked his head up to smile at Ririka, but soon found that the water hitting his neck was so uncomfortable, he had to shrug his shoulders up again.

He was pulled along like a little kid until they reached her house and let out a sigh of relief when she pulled him up to the door, but when he actually hit the door like a rag doll, he seemed to be winded. "Be careful! I am oh so fragile, Riri~" he complained in a childish voice, but that voice tightened into a shrill when she threatened him with death. "Y-yes ma'am.." he squeaked and stood outside for a moment longer, obviously afraid to make a move in case she would scissor kick him in the head.

Carefully, Kannon peeled off his soaked boots and tip toed inside the house, then took a moment to admire the warmth and lack of harsh wind. "Aha! It's been so long since I've been here, ehh?" Unfortunately when he looked around.. Ririka was gone. "Oh.. why yes.. I'm so happy you're here." he said in a higher voice, imitating Ririka (if she was nice).

Kannon took his trench coat off and hung it on a hook then disappeared into the house quietly (or so he thought), but the shuffling of his slippers scuffed the flooring. He couldn't be much of a ninja if he fought in slippers. "Where are you Riri~my sweetie?" he was cooing in a sickly sweet voice while peeking into rooms of the house. To his delight.. he found Ririka's room! Carefully he stepped inside and shimmied around quickly. "I need pajamas~.." he sang in his usual whimsical voice while he shook his hips in an excited dance. "Pa-ja-ma-sss~ I need them to keep wa~rm, warm! We can share our bo-dy heat, and survive through this storm,.." Kannon chimed.

She ignored Kannon the entire time he was talking. Did it matter if she broke some bones because she slammed him into the door? No, because she probably wanted that to happen in the first place. Ririka wasn't even mad at him, but she just tended to take her anger out on him if he was around.

Her ears picked up on some muffled sounds, but Ririka didn't bother attempting to pick out what he was blathering about. She was towelling herself down at this point so she could change into dry clothes as quickly as possible. There was no lock on her bedroom, let alone the closet she was changing in. She needed to hurry. Ririka put on new underwear, a pair of pyjama pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. She might have been wearing less if not for the company...

Just as she was putting on her last article of clothing, she heard Kannon walk into her room. Ririka groaned, grabbed her swords, then slid open the door of her walk-in closet to see him dancing around. "What the hell are you doing?" She stared at him with a dull expression on her face for a few seconds, then placed her weapons on a katana holder.

Ririka reached back for her towel and threw it at him. "Did you not have enough sense to find the bathroom and at least attempt to dry yourself off?" She sighed and rubbed the side of her neck. "I don't think I have anything you could wear." Not only were they women's clothing, they were probably too big for him. But she definitely did not want him walking around naked, so she went through her clothes. Eventually Ririka came across a smaller pair of pants in a box of clothes she didn't wear anymore -- she was a big packrat -- as well as a smaller shirt. She handed both to Kannon.

"Put your clothes here and I'll deal with it later," she told him, pushing a hamper filled with her rain-soaked clothes, "you can change in the closet...actually, no. I'll just wait in here." Ririka backed into the little room and shut the door again. Kannon in a closet full of her underwear? No, she wouldn't allow that.

Kannon stopped dancing when he heard the closet open and out of the corner of his eye saw Ririka approach him. "I am dancing," he said as a matter of fact, and turned to her while swinging his hips in what he thought was a sexy manner. "Want to do a samba together?" He threw his hands up when she tossed the towel at him, and he seemed to cower from Ririka when her voice echoed. "Bathroom? Why would I want to go there when I am in here? It is so much better.. and," Kannon paused and stepped back from her.

"I was just looking for dry clothes, okeeee~" he whined and watched as she began looking through her drawers. His eyes brightened up when she pulled out something for him and he held his hands out to take them from her eagerly. "Wowza Riri~ you're amazing you know? You are a-maz-ing!" Sang Kannon and he hopped up and down like a child.

His red eyes watched as she retreated back to the closet and he pouted. "Aw, is that where you keep your sexy clothes?" Kannon sighed out heavily and dramatically. "Or.. are you going to watch me from there.. ehehe.. you so are! I will dance for you!" His voice was raised higher near the end of his sentence. Slowly he took off his clothes and danced while he did it, "Ri~ri~ka.. loves me so much, she is so hot~" He sang then changed into the dry clothes. "Ready for you, my love. come on out!" he skipped over to the closet door and pulled it open quickly to look inside, expecting Ririka to be standing right in front of him.

Ririka rolled her eyes as he shook his hips and didn't bother answering his first question. "Because," she began, emphasizing like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "there are towels there." When he got overly excited over the clothes, she rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. In fact, she felt like she was going to have one soon. "Just change." Ririka muttered, exasperated.

"What sexy clothes..." she answered flatly, slowly shifting around some of the fabric in her closet, "...and I can't see you at all, you fool." Ririka started to straighten out some of the wrinkles she noticed on some of the clothes she had touched, but she began to tug on the clothing a little aggressively when she heard him talk.

She moved towards the door after he announced his finishing and probably would have broken the door by slamming it open if not for Kannon. "I will break your neck if I ever hear you fucking talk to me like that ever again." Ririka threatened, her eyes burning. She picked up the container of wet clothes and pushed Kannon with it so that she could force him towards the exit.

"Now move." It irritated her even more how cheerful he was when she was pissed. Ririka didn't want to wait for him, so she raised a leg and kicked him down. Then she walked past him to go wash the clothes. "I better see you downstairs soon." And by that she meant seconds. If he went through her things...it would not result in anything pretty.

Least to say.. Kannon was a bit upset that Ririka didn't want to dance with him, but he had no problem dancing by himself. When she called him a fool his heart sank and he pouted. "Ri... I am no fool!" he exclaimed. Obviously Kannon was a fool in most situations, but it played to his advantage! People, kids, dogs and enemies thought he was a fool... but he was definitely no fool! "You think I'm se~xy, you want to tou~ch me... you want to ki~ss me.." he began singing as if intoxicated.

If he believed everything Ririka said, Kannon would be mutilated and fed to the sharks. He knew her threats were (for the most part) empty. "You would never break my neck," he called her bluff and smoothed his wet hair back on his head, "I'm your only friend." Kannon smiled warmly at Ririka and swayed shyly from side to side. However, when Ririka pushed him he had stumbled backwards, but kept his balance and stepped back in front of her stubbornly. "Hey! You could just say "please move", but oh no! You have to be rude." He huffed in an irritated voice.

Ack! When she raised her leg to kick him, the smart thing to do would be to move out of the way like a normal shinobi, but he stayed put. If that was the only contact they'd get, he'd take it! "But Ri--" When her foot met his body he was obviously cut off and fell back on the floor. "Oh... ow.." he whined and rubbed his abdomen while he watched her leave the room. "I'm alright, in case you were worried.." he mumbled. Kannon scrambled to his feet and followed her immediately.

Unbeknownst to him, the buttons on his shirt weren't matched up to the button holes, and were completely.. off target in fact. Maybe he meant to do that to get Ririka to "undress" him, or maybe he genuinely messed it up. "Are we going to take a bath? Perhaps spoon each other so that we stay warm? Oh.. hot chocolate and a fire! Do you have any candles?" Kannon rambled while following his abusive friend. "Hey! They say that you marry someone like your father, or mother even! You're just like my mom. Do you want to get married?" He questioned as usual and jumped to her side to walk next to her. "You can be Ake Ririka, or or.... I could be Morinaka Kannon.. but that's weird... I mean, you'd be the man in the relationship, not that you aren't already, but I mean you'd be the one to like.. be the man, you know?" Kannon continued, "We could have kids, a little girl and boy. Oh and a bird! Sofia.. hey! Where is Sofia? Have you seen her? You know... if she was a person, she would be perfect for me, that is uh, if you weren't already! Right? I am so right. Hey Ririka, want to see my scars?"

Ririka's pulse quickened in anger as she listened to him. "None of that is true," she muttered flatly. How dare he say what she felt.

Her threats were often empty, though something less intense usually happened in its place. She glared at him as he spoke and swayed. "I'm your only friend, I'm your only friend. Yeah, she knew that, so couldn't he just stop pointing that out? She hated it. And of course she had to be rude -- she hardly said "please" or any other polite word. At least, to him.

Good thing he got out of her room quickly. "No. No. No," Ririka fired off her responses immediately after Kannon's enquiries. She arrived at the washing machine and dumped their clothes inside. Ririka was just about to add in the detergent when Kannon asked his next question. She said nothing at the time, and only her hand twitched as if responding. Then he attached his last name to her first, and she cringed noticeable. But Kannon wasn't done yet, so she just waited until he was completely finished. When it was all over, she shut the machine door.

"First," she started, drawing in a breath, "you are nothing like my father. And I never want to get married," Ririka paused before making her next point, crossing her arms. "Second, those are horrible name combinations. And we're not even in any such relationship, so you can't even say that I'd be 'the man'. Anyway, what is a man? Can you tell me that?" Things like that irritated her.

"Third, I'm never having children." Ririka sounded completely sure of herself just then. "And Sofia is your bird, so you should know about that..." she just ignored the next part of his statement and continued on with the rest. "No. No." She switched the washer on and went back up the stairs to go to the kitchen. Maybe chopping up food would prevent her from chopping up Kannon.

Kannon followed Ririka eagerly while his slippers shuffled along the floor with quick steps. "It is all true," He stated bluntly, "You want my body, heart and soul. You want to set my spirit free!" he sang with his arms spread out dramatically.

He halted immediately when they reached the laundry room, and for a short moment all that could be heard was the sound of his wet hair dripping onto the floor, and his awkward breathing. "No?" He questioned finally and straightened out his back..as much as he felt comfortable doing (which wasn't very straight). At each point Ririka made against him, Kannon flinched as if he were expecting a hand to come down on him. Was it a bad thing that she reminded him of his mother? "But-" Kannon tried to interject, but his attempts were futile when Ririka was in such a state. The grown man almost whimpered when his friend's words continued to get harder and sharper.

Kannon stayed silent and moved out of the doorway so Ririka wouldn't need to push him to get through. He was sad, no doubt. His playful demeanor seemed to have just been stripped away by how mean his friend was being. "You don't like Sofia?" was all he could say and he turned his head to watch her go up the stairs to the kitchen. Suddenly, Sofia popped out of Kannon's messy wet hair! "Sofia!" He sang happily, "You were in my hair? Wait.. no? My coat? Then my hair? Haha! You are so clever.. I love you Sofia. No I love you more! Oh okay, you win." Kannon chuckled and seemed to be back to his regular happy-go-lucky self now that his bird was with him. Skipping along with Sofia in tow, he dashed up the stairs and slid into the kitchen quickly.

"Hey Ake Ririka," Kannon felt more encouraged to annoy her with things she really didn't like. "Why don't you want kids? And why am I nothing like your father? I mean.. you are a spitting image of my mother," He paused to sit down and took a moment to smile at Sofia who perched herself on his index finger. "Except you haven't tried to kill me yet! Haha! Wouldn't it be funny if like," He stopped talking to pet Sofia's small head to get a cheerful chirp out of her, "You tried to kill me, and our romance is a tragic one?"

Kannon didn't seem to let things sink in often, or for too long.. his life would probably end that night.

Thunder rumbled outside which caused Kannon to yip in fright, and Sofia to chirp again. "Ririka, my love, don't worry!" He looked around frantically and the power flickered, "I am a real man, so I will take care of you! I promise!" And with that he bolted out of the kitchen to rummage for survival gear in the next room, which he had no idea what was in it. "Ririka, baby!" He called from the room, where crashing could be heard, "I need some rope! Where's the rope?"

"Did I say I didn't like her?" At the most, she didn't care. Even as she entered the kitchen, Ririka could hear vague sounds of Kannon talking to Sofia, who apparently was with him the whole time. She was already chopping up vegetables when Kannon came in. And when he started talking, she started slicing faster.

Ririka breathed out hard from her nose as if she was holding her breath. She didn't look at him. "Funny," she snapped, picking up more speed, "I don't want kids because I have to take care of them." But that wasn't the only reason. "And just because I'm allegedly like your mother, doesn't mean you're like my father..." She didn't delve into the subject, and she just ignored his next words. Did he not understand that were was no such romance between them? Seriously.

The thunder hardly alarmed her, and she just kept on preparing the food. But the flicker of lights, combined with Kannon's ridiculous declarations, made her twitch. "I take care of myself..." she growled, though he may have not heard her since he was already out the kitchen. The second she heard some kind of destructive noise, she put down the knife and ran towards the sound.

She sprung, grabbing him from behind and pushing both of them to the floor. The woman rolled him over and pinned him down between her legs. "What's the rope for, hmm?" Ririka snarled, looking down at him...or more at his shirt. She began unbuttoning his top rapidly. "If I get it, I'll hang you." Then she did his shirt up properly and stood up again.

"I told you not to make a mess," she grumbled, storming off back to the kitchen to start sauteing the vegetables. Ririka would have to do back and clean up sometime. Great. She couldn't love anybody who didn't listen to her...though perhaps that was more of a control freak thing than a reason to like or dislike someone.

Kannon frowned obviously at Ririka and his eyes were downcast now. "It's obvious.." he muttered and gently kicked at the ground. So many people loved Sofia, but Ririka seemed to be the black sheep in that category. Er.. well, she was the black sheep in most situations the way Kannon views it.

The man let his bird hop along the counter harmlessly as his friend spoke, but when she began chopping faster, Kannon scooped up Sofia again and held her close, as if Ririka were to "accidentally" chop her up. "I will take care of them," Kannon reasoned, "I will be good at it, and you can like.. not be around, or whatever." He started to grumble and Sofia tweeted innocently. "I may not be like your father then, but you are certainly painting yourself like my murderous momma." Despite his feelings towards his mother, and how he described her, Kannon was still whimsical and upbeat. Mostly.

He was frantically looking for some kind of rope, and let out a yip of surprise when he was tackled to the floor suddenly. "Ririka, there's an intruder!" he shouted and fought back until he was flat on his back with Ririka on top of him. "Oh! it's you." He flashed an awkward smile and shifted under her to get more comfortable. "What's the rope for? What's the rope for!? Rope is always useful! What is rope not used for!?" Apparently Kannon has a weird liking for rope. "Hang me? Why would you do that? It's silly." And apparently Kannon didn't get threats either, but when Ririka started to unbutton his shirt he began chuckling to himself. "Hoho... have a change of mind, Riri~?" He said in his cheesiest voice, along with the seducing wiggle of his eyebrows. Buuuuut then she had to go and button his shirt back up nicely. "Fuck." he thought to himself and it could be read on his facial expression too.

Kannon sighed and leaned up on his elbows to watch Ririka walk back into the kitchen, "I won't make a mess, because you won't let me." he called out to her loudly and then looked to Sofia who merely flapped her small wings in frustration. "I don't know, what do you want me to do? She's obviously emotionally unavailable... well yeah, I could do that.. wait! No Sofia, that's wrong." He whispered to his bird, who he was having a conversation with.. obviously. The shinobi rose to his feet and moseyed into the kitchen and planed himself next to his friend. "So, I was just talking with Sofia here," he nodded his head to Sofia who flew in and landed on the counter. "And we both want to know why you don't love me." Kannon crossed his arms and stared at her intensely, as well as Sofia. Or.. as intensely as a bird could look. "Am I not good enough? I can gain some weight, or maybe I should become a nukenin so you'd at least take interest in me!" Bingo!

Generally speaking, Ririka just seemed to stick out from most others. That was of course both a good and bad thing, though it her case it seemed that it was more negative than positive.

Her eyebrow twitched. "What's the point of having children if you won't even be with them?" She still didn't want them, but parents should be available. It was probably some resentment she had towards her father when she was growing up, but she would probably treat her own children like he treated her. Strictly, if anything at all. "I don't even know your mother. It means nothing to me."

His struggle wasn't a problem. "Of course it's me," she confirmed, irritation in her voice. "Rope is useful in a storm? I don't think so...and you're right. If I got the rope, I'd tie you up on the roof and leave you there." Ririka hissed her few final words. She saw the look on his face and scowled. Honestly.

"Well, you just did," she snapped back loudly, pushing the vegetables around in the pan. Maybe it was just a few things out of place, but every little thing mattered to her. When he came back, she still didn't look at him and concentrated on the food. "Hmm..." Ririka hummed at his first statement and added noodles to stir-fry them. She was actually picking through options of what to say.

Finally, she let out a sigh. "You should gain weight just for your health," she advised, "and becoming a nukenin is stupid and easy. You want to know the truth?" Then she looked up at him.

"I hate men." Her face was serious. Then she turned back to what she was cooking and added meat, sauce, and spices. Ririka was thinking of too many things then, but she tried her best to keep her face plain. Maybe it was the wrong choice of words. But really...there wasn't much else she could think of saying.

Kannon stared at her with his ruby red eyes, blinking every now and then as she spoke. Ririka's serious face made his usual calm and happy expression turn rather somber and unsure. Sofia continued to hop around though, the only noise in the air were her small nails clipping the counter and the sizzling of the food in the pan. "I see," Kannon sighed and then pushed away from the counter and paced around for a bit, until a small chirp from Sofia pulled him back to reality. "Why do you hate men?" He questioned curiously and in a low voice as he pulled open the fridge, "I mean.. does that mean you hate me too?" It pained him to ask the question, but he wouldn't be able to think properly if it was left a mystery.

He shuffled through the fridge then moved to some of the cupboards and began searching for something again. "I'd gain weight back if you told me to," he started up again with his back to her, "I'd do a lot of stuff, because I really like you Ririka." He wasn't exactly confessing his not-so-secret love for her, but he was being gooey and mushy. Kannon finally moved away from the cupboards and stood perplexed. "Don't you have any alcohol?" The alcohol wasn't for him, it was for Sofia.. and she wasn't an alcoholic bird, but a little trickle put her to sleep. Weird bird. It would probably kill any other bird, but not this one.

Kannon ruffled his hair and returned to the counter to pick Sofia up to cradle her in his hands, hoping the movement would put her to sleep. "Or perhaps you just like women." He hung his head, but not because he was disappointed or anything, he was just watching Sofia bob her head excitedly like she was jamming to Surfing Bird. "You confuse the hell out of me." Kannon said in a more upbeat voice and grabbed a dish towel to make his birdie a small bed to rest in. "Guess I'll go bark up another tree then! Right Sofia?" he scratched his bird under the neck and then planted a light kiss on top of her head. Sofia chirped back delighted. "I just want to be a father and be there for my kids. I guess that's why I'm pestering you so much." His red eyes glanced at Ririka, "Because I am scared to chase anyone else! Isn't that silly? You're the scariest woman I know next to my mother!"

She didn't bother to look back to see what he was doing. Ririka skipped his first question and had to smirk at his next one. "Ridiculous," she laughed, the pan making a particularly loud hissing sound just after she began speaking, "you're still a child." Of course, not physically so, but mentally. She was definitely not a fan of his immaturity. What she just said might have been some kind of insult, but it also implied that she didn't hate him.

Ririka never truly hated him, though she might not have been aware of that.

"See that?" she started in a heated tone, "you should do things for yourself. Not me." She didn't like the idea of people changing themselves just for some foolish love in exchange, though she had done something similar when she was a child seeking the love of her father. But that was different in her mind. Ririka paused a moment before speaking again. "...It's on the bottom shelf of the fridge, at the very back." Rest assured, there wasn't anything very weak to drink there.

Upon hearing his next statement, her eye twitched; she was lucky that Kannon wasn't looking at her. Ririka turned off the heat and started dividing the food onto two plates. She tended to eat a lot (like that's not obvious...) and she gave him the same amount she normally ate. A small portion of her own food was put on a smaller saucer. "Ha ha." Ririka "laughed" unenthusiastically as she brought the two bigger plates to the dining room. "Just get some of that alcohol and a couple of cups, okay?" Then she took the little plate, walked off to the living room nearby, and placed the food in front of a small altar with a photo of a woman who looked rather similar to Ririka.

"Hello mother," she greeted quietly, "I apologize for the disruptions tonight..." Ririka shifted the picture frame around to make it "straighter" (though it was probably in the same position as before) before she went back to get chopsticks. She handed a pair to Kannon before sitting down.

"Beef yakisoba. I don't care if you don't like it. Itadakimasu." Ririka began to pick up some noodles. She seemed incredibly thrilled by everything...

Kannon pouted when she called him a child, but he already knew he acted immature most, if not all the time. "So I am still a child," He began and then took a deep breath, "But at least I have a lot of fun." Sofia chirped in agreement, then went back to bobbing her head.

He went back to the fridge, holding Sofia in one hand and dug through the lower shelf for the bottle of alcohol. "There isn't anything wrong with changing yourself for someone," Kannon argued and placed Sofia on top of his head then held the bottle under his arm as he went for some cups, "But if someone tries to change you, then that's where it all goes wrong." He walked into the dining room and placed the cup and bottle on the table. Sofia eyed the plates of food as Ririka entered the room, but before the blue bird could dive bomb the plates, Kannon grabbed her and began petting her head. "Ririka, if I was more mature would you be interested in me?" Kannon asked randomly while he sat down at the table.

Kannon glanced to the picture that his friend had fixed and spoken to, finding it odd... but then again Kannon isn't one to judge since he is the embodiment of odd. "So that is your mother?" Kannon placed Sofia on his lap, and took the chopsticks from Ririka, "She's very pretty." Sofia stared up at Kannon with her mouth wide open, expecting food. Kannon picked up a small piece of the stir fry and dropped it into Sofia's mouth. The bird.. probably liked meat, seeing as she is just as odd as Kannon. "Itadaki~masu~.." Kannon sang and picked up some noodles as well, then inhaled it quickly, "I'll eat anything. You should know this by now." He muffled and seemed to be a little more irritated than usual. The pink haired man poured himself and Ririka a generous amount of alcohol into their cups, then dipped his finger into his glass to pick up a small droplet for Sofia. The bird pecked at his finger then chirped flew up onto the table to hop about innocently. "Sofia, off the table." Kannon went to grab the bird, but she hopped over to Ririka and jumped off the edge of the table and onto her lap. "Sofia." Kannon growled, only to get a playful chirp from the other side of the table.

Fun was probably a foreign word to her now. It probably has been for years.

"Yes, there is," Ririka muttered flatly. Of course her opinion would not budge. "Why can't you just stay the same? It's the other person with the problem." And that was why she wasn't well-liked...everyone else had problems. And she was completely fine. Right.

Funny story...

She bit the inside of her lip and thought about what to say for a little while, then finally decided with a curt "Maybe." Perhaps it would have been better with a direct yes or no, but a "maybe" goes both ways like she did. Then she paused again and added, "but I don't know. After all...you'd be a man." Maybe that was some kind of a joke. Maybe.

"Hmm..." was the only sound from Ririka for a little while, but then she continued on after debating whether or not to do so. "Photos are different from real life." That was probably her way of saying that she wished that she had a chance to see her mother in person. She might have turned out differently if that were the case. Then she just ate quietly, but she could see what Kannon was doing out of the corner of her eye. "What the hell?" Ririka saw the alcohol being taken in by the little bird. "That's healthy." She just kept going about her meal, even as Sofia stood on her lap.

Ririka swallowed her food, then opened her mouth to speak. "Look, she's just like you." She just left her statement like that and continued eating. Ririka meant that Sofia didn't always listen to what she was being told. But maybe people were better off not listening sometimes...

Kannon pursed his lips in thought and glanced to Sofia who only blinked her beady eyes at him rather mindlessly. "Fine.. I will stay the same, but that means you have the problem." Kannon fought against her. Sure Ririka could be like fighting a brick wall with a spoon, but Kannon could be pretty persistent if he wanted to me.

With her vague answer, Kannon furiously shoveled down some of the food, his red eyes glaring at her until he couldn't breathe from the amount of food he was trying to eat. He choked for a good minute, not expecting Ririka to jump the gun and perform a mouth to mouth with him if he died. Finally he hit his chest and swallowed. "So then, if I was a mature woman you'd like me." He concluded and then wiped his face off with the back of his hand. "Just be straight with me, I don't like being tossed around." Kannon pointed his chopsticks at her accusingly, "You really know how to pull on my delicate heartstrings you know." He said in a dramatic voice, which meant he wasn't all that serious anymore. If friendship was all they would have, then perhaps Kannon would just have to accept it and be grateful to have such a ... wonderful... person in his life.

"Hey.. Sofia is a special bird." Kannon said with a mouthful of food, "Besides, she calms down when she has alcohol. You'd think it would kill her, but nope! She quite enjoys it." he boasted, mouth still full of food. Sofia bounced up and down on Ririka's lap, mouth agape for food. "But anyways," Kannon continued and looked back to the picture of Ririka's mother. "Don't you ever wonder what it would be like to be a mother?" Kannon questioned, "I want to be a father, just because I never had one. But.. eh, I am just going to assume we don't share the same idea.. sorry I even asked." He apologized without even getting an answer from Ririka. After all.. he probably always brought up motherhood, children, marriage and the lot when he was with her.

"I don't have any problems..." she stated flatly, but that was obviously very, very far from the truth. "Anyway, I don't care." Nobody needed to change here...though it would be nice if Kannon just stopped pestering her about so many things she didn't even want to think about.

Ririka stared at him with a bored look on her face as she watched him struggle with his food. She was chewing her food slowly at that time, but it was still a discomfort as when she coughed after hearing his words. Ririka grabbed her cup and took in a mouthful. "You know what you can do?" she told him after a short moment of silence, "you can ask me properly. You'd think someone with such 'delicate' heartstrings would have a more delicate mouth." And that was a reason why Ririka had such a vulgar manner of speaking. She wasn't even sure why he wanted to keep in contact with her when she treated him...the way she's been treating him.

"Really..." She picked up a shorter noodle with her fingers and lowered it down to Sofia. Ririka breathed in deeply and turned her head to the side slightly, a far-off look on her face. "I wonder what it would be like to have a mother." Because then some of her relatives might not think ill of her already just for existing. Then she'd have a better relationship with her father. Perhaps everything would have been different if she have her mother. But there was nothing she could do about it anyway.

It was almost as if she completely ignored his actual comments, though. But...he shouldn't want to be a father just for his small reason. She turned her head back down to her plate and started to finish off the rest of her dinner.

Kannon gave an overly dramatic frown and his eyebrows forked up sharply. "You don't care...?" He didn't even question the whole.. "no problems", because if he pointed them out, he was sure to die that very night. His facial expression softened and he turned his eyes to his food again, picking out some things he thought looked foreign. "Fine." Kannon said in a stubborn voice and took another good inhale of food, chewed it obnoxiously then swallowed it loudly and slammed his hand down on the table with his chop sticks pointed at her accusingly with the other hand. "Are you a lesbian?" Kannon might have said it too excitedly. Sofia jumped up and down to look at Kannon, but he only saw her small blue head peek over the top of the table, but her beady eyes glared at him.

He got shivers from that bird's glare and he sat back slowly. He cleared his throat and continued eating like nothing happened. Sofia looked to the noodle that Ririka had dropped for her and she began pecking at it to chop the noodle up. When she couldn't peck through fast enough, she began scratching at it vigorously with her small claws. "Yeah, yeah I am all delicate and shit." Kannon rolled his eyes and stuffed his mouth again, getting sauce all over his face from the backlash of a noodle. "You know," he paused to move food around in his mouth, "You'll never know what it's like to have a mother." Kannon might have been a bit harsh, but he was done with his delicate act now. "Just like I'll never know what having a father is like." He took a long swig of his drink, and then heard a tweet from Sofia, followed by a noodle landing on his head. Seemed the bird had flown up and dropped the mangled noodle Ririka gave her onto Kannon's head. Kannon placed his cup down and pulled the noodle out of his head and pinched off small pieces for Sofia to eat. "You don't go and give a bird a full noodle.." He muttered and let Sofia rest in the palm of his hand while he fed her with his finger on his other hand. "She's tiny.." he paused and looked over Ririka, "You're not."

Yes. Kannon was trying to be an ass.

She looked disapprovingly over at Kannon removing parts of the dish and confirmed his first question with a curt "No." His next question, though, was a difficult one. Ririka was in the middle of swallowing food, and she actually choked a little bit. What to say, what to say? She stared at him for a little while, picked up her drink, then took another swig, all without breaking her gaze. Finally, after putting down her cup -- and taking her damn sweet time doing so -- she answered.

"...Yes."

Ririka grabbed some food off her plate, but spoke again before eating it. "Why, is there something wrong with that? And put those bloody chopsticks down." She scowled at him as she chewed. It might have been a lie, but it was actually true to a point, sort of. Ririka was generally pretty good at lying, anyway, so it shouldn't matter that much.

"No, I won't, but I can still think about it, can't I? God. I hate telling you things." She snapped. Ririka never knew her mother, so maybe it shouldn't have mattered too much. But if she still had to die, Ririka would rather her mother passed away from a less horrific situation. Even that would have changed things. And honestly, she didn't think the noodle was that bad. She just misjudged it..."Wow." She laughed wryly after taking a minute to absorb his attitude. Perhaps some other person would be thoroughly offended by Kannon's words, but not her. "It's a wonder you don't talk like that to me more often..." Ririka finished up the last bits of food on her plate before downing the rest of her alcohol.

She got up and took her plate with her to the kitchen, but before she left she made sure to say something else. "You fucking pussy."

Maybe she was pushing him now...just to see if it worked, and if so, what would happen.

Kannon slumped back and rolled his head around lazily when she said she was a lesbot. "I knew it." He sighed and then sat up straight when Sofia chirped at him. "I mean, you are quite butch.." He paused and pursed his lips in thought, "Besides, I think I am the only man would would want to touch you, seeing as you threaten to castrate any other man that comes near you with a ten foot pole!" Kannon laughed and took another drink of his alcohol then dipped part of the noodle Sofia wanted to eat in the cup. "There isn't anything wrong with it, I just wish I had a friend who was a girl for you to fool around with." Kannon sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.. mostly to the fact that he didn't have a woman she could fool around with and let him watch. "It's how you were programmed... you're just a big ol' homosexual. Good for you! Now we can both hit on women together." Kannon put some food in his mouth and chewed it roughly, "We'll bond over it!"

Sofia pecked Kannon on the head, but then ate some of the alcoholic noodle. Kannon watched Ririka with puppy dog eyes as she began to get a little more irritated with him.. and he pretended he didn't know why. "Oh come on, I can be your wing man." He pleaded with an over the top attitude, "The bro code, you must know that.. now that you.. are like, a bro?" Oh Kannon was going to take this whole lesbian thing and run with it, no matter how ridiculous he sounded.. he was going to say it. Sofia was placed on the table, a bit wobbly as she tried to stand still. Kannon glanced to his bird and cupped her in his hands to make sure she didn't fall over, then brought her up to his chest protectively. "Oh I can talk to you any way, but I chose to be obnoxious." Kannon rolled his eyes and then started cooing Sofia to sleep, but snapped his head up when he heard the word.

He didn't pay attention to anything she said besides the.. P word. "R-really?" he asked excitedly and then stood up quickly. "I mean... I have to get ready, where do you want to do it? Wait I thought you were a lesbian.." Kannon gave her a suspicious look, then followed her into the kitchen.. not bothering with his half empty plate of food. "I have to put Sofia to bed first," He obviously mistook what she said, because he had selective hearing.

She stared. "...What?" her look was genuinely surprised, but not overly so. It's just...he knew it? What? Then she huffed, finding his comment about men not wanting to touch her ridiculous. "No, you'd be surprised." Ririka grimaced, but she just left it at that. "Really? I thought you had more friends..." but it wasn't like she'd actually do it, anyway. Yet again, she breathed out quite audibly before adding, "...you insult me." But of course she deserved that.

Those puppy eyes disturbed her even more. She hated those. "Wing man?" Ririka repeated, "tch, no. No. I am still a woman." If she was going to be a "bro" then many she just might as well just be a man, and that cancels out the whole lesbian thing. She watched Sofia try to stand on the table for a second, but even as Kannon scooped up the bird, her eyes stayed there.

Ririka made a small smirk and forced back a laugh. "Yeah. My bedroom. Meet me when you become a woman." She replied, a little amused by it but not indicating so with her tone. Ririka started washing her plate and chopsticks. "I'm still a lesbian. So just go finish your food." She hated waste and he really needed to eat, anyway. When she finished, she went back to the dining room to pour more of the alcohol into her cup.

"You don't listen to me," she muttered, taking a drink, "and by the way, you're not telling anybody about this." It would be no surprise if others suspected the same thing that Kannon did, though.

Kannon scrunched his nose and looked off to the side while fidgeting with his hands awkwardly. He does have a lot of friends, they just don't talk to him.. ever. "Well, you're the only friend that really matters!" He blinked a few times as if clearing his vision then stared at her innocently. I.. I don't mean to insult, I think I just spit stuff out! It must be a disease in some book..." His eyebrows furrowed slightly and he gave his genuine puppy dog look.

Sofia chirped quietly, and Kannon covered her up with his other hand to try and put her back to sleep. "Okay, wing woman?" he asked politely while cocking his head to the side. "You know, women like the idea of a challenge! We'll go to a bar next weekend. Okay?" Kannon smiled brightly and pulled open the breast pocket on the PJ's Ririka had given him, then placed Sofia in it as comfortably as he could. Kannon brushed some of his hair out of his face and moved around the kitchen slowly, his movement drawn out and heavy.

"I heard there is a jutsu where you can turn yourself into a woman." He stated confidently and slid his feet along the floor agonizingly slow, the light scratching of the slippers dragging on adding more white noise to the house. "If I learn that one, will you like me more?" Kannon asked with genuine interest.. obviously. He looked back to his plate of food then with a sigh of annoyance.. he lumbered back to the table and picked the plate up with one hand. "I'm not big on eating." Kannon muttered. He began picking at the food with the chopsticks, then placed it in his mouth to roll around before swallowing the food whole. Like a duck. Because Kannon likes ducks.

He glared at her momentarily when she said for him to never speak of this moment, but then he smiled and continued to eat.. like a duck.. because that meant he could write about it! "I don't listen to you, because I only listen to nice people." He pointed his chopsticks at her accusingly, "And you.. are not that nice to me." A bit of food flew out of his mouth as he spoke, but he didn't really care about it anyways. He was a messy boy. "I won't tell anyone about this, can't say the same for Sofia.. she's a chatty bird you know." Kannon spoke with more food in his mouth, and when he choked down the last piece.. he placed the plate on the counter and pushed it towards Ririka. "Done." He stated in a heavy tone. "Now.. can we spoon?"

The woman let out a short, wry laugh. "Really. Perhaps they aren't really your friends, then," Ririka commented, putting a hand to her cheek as one might do when bored. She made a "tsk" noise at his next comment and sighed. "...It used to be. But now it's not." She side of her mouth twitched more noticeably than usual when she finished. Her brother had that book somewhere...

"No, I don't need any wing person." she answered flatly, watching him with a very irritated look on her face. "Oh, really? How do you even know that?" But her tone still flatlined, uninterested. Ririka exhaled loudly and added, "I don't want to go to a bar." If she was going to drink, she was going to do it alone if possible, just in case things got out of hand.

Of course, she was not alone at the moment, but she just wanted the alcohol to (hopefully) feel better. It wasn't working.

Yet.

For a little while Ririka was silent after she heard Kannon's words, listening to the sound of slippers against the floor. Oh. That one. She shook at the thought. "...I...might..." Ririka replied slowly, the trembling echoing in her voice. Why was she even doing that? She actually had to grip her plate a little tighter so she wouldn't drop it or anything. Sheesh. Thankfully, he didn't press on the subject. "No wonder you're skinny," she stated quickly, snapping out of whatever just happened, "it's disturbing."

But where would he even write about it? An autobiography? A fiction actually based on his life? His Tumblr? "...Hmmm." That and a twitch of her left eye was Ririka's only reaction to his first couple of sentences. She might be mean, but she didn't like how Kannon tended to pick and choose the things he felt like hearing from her. She twitched yet again when he opened his mouth while he was chewing. "Right...okay..." But Ririka still had a suspicious frown on her face that worsened when Kannon asked about spooning. She snatched his plate away.

"No." Ririka grabbed his chopsticks out of his hands and turned to walk away to the kitchen in one fluid moment. She began to scrub his plate harder than she would normally scrub plates...probably because it felt dirtier than other plates she washed. "Why would we spoon, anyway?" She cleaned off the plate and chopsticks then went back to the alcohol, pouring the rest of the bottle's contents into her once again empty cup.

And again she drank, then asked him, "God. How do you even live with yourself?" It was a pretty vague, random question, but that didn't matter to her. Ririka downed the rest of what she was drinking, then entered the kitchen again...probably to go get another bottle.

Her laugh made Kannon shiver with a cold chill up his spine. It was such an unnatural thing for Ririka to do. "How would you know?" Kannon sounded defensive and his body language shifted to a more strained one. He didn't want to keep the conversation alive, so he pulled Sofia out of his shirt pocket and gently ran his pinky finger over her head.

Kannon's brows furrowed for a moment, and he glanced by to Ririka from Sofia. "I think you do." He stated just as flatly as Ririka. He let out a sigh and turned his body away to shield the little bird from Ririka's negative aura.. "I know it, because I'm an experienced man." He wasn't trying to be smug, it just came out that way. "...I'll pay for your drinks? You obviously like to drink anyways.." Kannon trailed off and began to pay more attention to the bird in his hands.

While Ririka was silent and causing Kannon's body temperature to rise out of nervousness, Sofia woke from her drunken haze and hiccuped. If birds could hiccup. Kannon was focusing so much on the epic cute factor of Sofia that he almost didn't even hear Ririka when she spoke. But when he thought he heard her, he nearly dropped the bird! "You.. might?" He blinked and Sofia chirped a sing-song tune that would translate to "You ass! Don't drop me!". "Well, there is hope for our relationship!" He smiled innocently, then held Sofia close to his neck. It was a good thing he didn't capture the tremble in her voice, otherwise he would make fun of it forever. "I'm not skinny.... I'm svelte." He said in a posh voice while looking down his nose. Sofia chirped in agreement! A drunken.. bird agreement.

Being shut down by Ririka was expected and he was pretty sure there would never be an agreement between the two of them like Sofia and Kannon have. "We would spoon, because human beings generally have the urge to hold something while they sleep." Kannon stated as a matter of fact, and snatched a small noodle from the plate before Ririka could dispose of it. He pinched off a little piece and gave it to Sofia. "Even the cold and emotionally unavailable women of the world.." he paused and gave Ririka a knowing look, then cleared his throat, "Need something to hold onto, or be held onto, at night." Kannon breathed out softly and let his thumb smooth back some feathers that were out of place on Sofia's head.

"How can I live with myself? Because I'm happy with who I am." Kannon smiled genuinely, but kept his eyes off of Ririka and still on the bird. "You may not accept me, but I'm perfectly happy with what I've got!" Finally he turned his eyes to Ririka, and Sofia cocked her head over Kannon's hand to look at her too. "How do you even live with yourself?" After Kannon spoke, Sofia let out a judgmental chirp that was flat and bored.

Ririka's "laughs" tended to be ungenuine, as in she laughed at things she found ridiculous. She hardly laughed at things people normally would, like a joke or witty speech. "Well, if you say that I'm the only one that really matters, then your other friends don't matter," Ririka pointed out, "and friends are supposed to matter. Right?" Because of course she had very little experiences with friends, and...Kannon shouldn't know that he actually mattered to her...that much.

"Why do I? What is even the purpose of one?" Ririka snapped, flipping some of her hair over her shoulder. "Maybe, but you're not a woman." Because women know women, not...men... "No. You'll just be wasting your money." She obviously had more money than he did anyway, and if he actually did buy her drinks it'd drain out his entire bank account. Maybe.

Thank God he didn't pick up on her shaking. Bless that little bird, that small distraction! Ririka coughed before speaking. "Er, well," she started, "don't count on it. You're not for real." The side of her mouth pulled down for a few seconds. At his "svelte" comment, she hit his chest with her knuckles, but not hard enough to bruise him or anything. "I can feel your bones easily..." Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment. Svelte, skinny, whatever. She didn't like it.

Ririka stared at Kannon for a little while, and when she finally blinked, she also opened her mouth. "...Really. Is that scientifically proven?" she asked, though she could really care less about the subject. Her mouth twitched at his next statements. "Do you want to get any more specific?" She muttered as she combed a piece of her hair with her fingers, "you should just...stop." But not just with his "holding on" speech.

He was so optimistic, it sickened her. That was probably because she didn't actually know many people who had such a bright outlook on life, or was at least was exposed to that side of the people she knew. "...Hmm." Ririka got the bottle, opened it, then refilled her cup again. "I live with myself because I hate people." Obviously she took the question out of context because she didn't want to answer it properly, but it was an answer, and she could answer however the hell she wanted.

Ririka looked off to the side as she gulped down the sake like it was water. Like she drank it all the time. "...I accept you...enough..." she said quietly once her lips left the cup. Ririka rubbed her forehead. Life was getting a little sore right now.