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RP: YSS Kaiyō Pre-Mission Sixteen: Tapped Out

Miko

🎖️ Game Master
YSS Kaiyō II
Dojo

Shortly after the event in the onsen with the crew Alastair got a wonderful idea. After taking a jab to the face he felt it was time to hone his combat skills since generally speaking his reflexes should have been quicker. Then again maybe the combat skills of the daur race has been underestimated. He was one to never only go off reports but also to find out personally himself. The minkan also felt that he owed it to her since he did startle her in the onsen.

"Boss, locate Ms. Shi'non'ha if you would please. I have a message for her." A moment later Boss had located her and activated the closest communications link. "Santô Hei Shi'non'ha, please report to the Dojo on deck two." He leaned back into his chair with a smile as he waited for her response.

A few moments of silence hung in the air before Nora’s somewhat raspy and winded voice came on over the speaker next to the third ranking officer. “Already there, Chui Belmont.” Her sentence would be punctuated by a dull ‘pang!’ as what one could only assume was the sound of a heavy punching bag being struck.

Alastair jumped out of his chair all smiles. Seems things were already in motion for this idea. He wasted no time to get his things and head down to the dojo. As he jogged to the dojo he wondered what practice he should do while there. He use to hit the dojo often but recently had been too busy with other tasks to make the time. He was excited to once again get back into the ring. Though he wondered if Nora would be interested in a sparring match. Practice alone was nice but it always helped to have someone else to beat on. A grin crossed his face as he entered the dojo to see her practicing already.

As the man approached, the soft thuds of blows against a recoiling object grew louder and louder with each step. Upon his arrival at the entrance of the dojo, he’s find the fox he was looking for busy at one of the punching bags suspended from the low ceiling. Her outfit consisted of the navy blue multipurpose bra with the words STAR ARMY emblazoned across the chest in a paler blue, jet back, mid drift leggings, and blue running shoes with a graphic of the Star Army’s iconic mindy near the heel of the shoe. The parts of her body that were not covered by cloth, most notably her arms and midsection, were covered in a sheen of sweat.

As she came into sight he stopped dead in his tracks. The strong motions and determined looked on her face caught him by suprise. He was use to seeing the more calm side of her but this was very eye caughting. He put his hands together and gave them a quick rub. This was going to be very fun.

He placed his gym bag on the floor and grabbed an outfit out of his bag. Currently he was wearing the Star Army Exercise Uniform, Type 40 which was a white shirt with gym pants. He flicked his wrist and a long outfit unfolded. He grabbed the belt that flicked out mid air. He put on the gi and tied the belt around his waist. It was star army blue with gold letters across the back with a black belt around his waist. He made his way to the floor mat and started his warm up.

The daur’s sensitive ear flicked back at the sound of footsteps and a bag hitting the floor. She got in a few more jabs and a roundhouse kick to the punching back before she stopped, placing a hand on the back to steady it’s shake back to a still position and perhaps also to lean on it a bit. Her head lowered as she panted heavily, head turning just enough to catch a glimpse of her superior officer before she looking back to the punching back. She swallowed hard between a pant for breath as she mentally tried to gather her thoughts. She knew it was impolite to purposefully ignore an officer when they entered a room, however, she just needed a few more seconds to try and get it together…

Nora huffed out a sigh as she finally turned towards Alastair, her hands lifting together as she stripped off in turn the 5 pound weights that were strapped around her wrists. She gave him a nod of greeting as she passed, moving over to the adjacent bench where she had a towel placed. Sitting down on the bench, she stripped off the final two weights from her ankles and set them aside before grabbing the plush, white towel and pressing it to her face to soak up the sweat. “You needed me, Chui Belmont?” She finally said.

After a few motions Alastair paused and looked over at her. "Yes, I was hoping we might be able to finish where we left off in the onsen." He said with a smile. "The jaw has healed but my pride demands payback." His smile changed to a grin. From the sound of his voice he was not angry or even displeased. More like someone eager to get the chance to throw a few punches. "Though I understand if you are focused on your own work at the moment and need to take a pass."

He then turned slightly and continued his work out. His motions which had started off slow had picked up pace. His punches and jabs were becoming quick and firm. A flurry of punches launched and then stopped dead. Holding the pose in perfect form. Then would shift his weight and again a flurry of blows.

She removed the towel from her face before pulling it around the back of her neck, each hand grabbing onto one end of the small white towel before she slowly stood up from the bench, not wanting to let her muscles cool off too much. With a raised eyebrow, she looked to Alastair, fluffy white tail behind her twitching curiously at the proposition, her eyes watching his form and sizing up his moves.

Alastair paused with his leg high up in the air from a high kick. "From that look I take it you very much like this idea. Please, come into the ring. Here we are all equal so feel free to let go." His leg slowly dropped to the floor. One hand moved behind his back while the other out in front. Palm facing up he moved his hand in a come here motion.

She was a bit taken aback at his comment and then the ‘come here’ motion he made with his hand. He claimed his ego was damaged, but she was concerned for how he was going to fit through the door to leave the dojo....

Whether he had been showing off his moves to intimidate her or impress her, he accomplished both, leaving her over all both terrified and in aw. But she wasn’t some starstruck little girl, oh no, she still planned to try her best in the ring. She tossed the towel onto the bench and snagging up her salmon pink fingerless kickboxing gloves before she began walking around the ring, all the while working on stretching her shoulders and arms, first pulling them in turn over her chest for a few seconds and then throwing them back over her head, free hand placed on the elbow of the stretching arm to guiding it back just far enough before releasing and letting the arm swing back down again.

By the time she had done this to each arm, she reached the other side of the blue mat that functioned as one of the sparring rings for the dojo. She held up a single finger, telling him to give her a minute before she did a few leg stretches. Finally she stepped forward onto the mat, slipping on and strapping in her gloves. The daur gave a slight pause, eyes narrowing slightly at the minkan to give him a suspicious look before she stepping passed the bold red line that marked the edge of the circle.

"Oh this is most exciting. Though as to not hurt each other too much I do ask we try and pull punches. Points are rewarded for contact which the computer will keep track of. So extra force will not award more points. Though things happen so no deduction if a lucky hit does do some damage." He widened his stance slightly placing his hands just in front of himself. He looked her over from head to toe to size up his oppointent. For just a moment his mind wondered. Gosh, she sure is beautiful.

He blinked a few times to clear his mind. This was unusual to be distracted like this before a match. His focus was normally clear but ever since their first meeting his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Let us begin."

The daur nodded in agreement to the terms of the match, placing herself square in front of him. Her knees bent slightly as her left foot shifted forward, her weight balancing between them. Fingers curling into a fist, she raised her hands up in a protective block stance. Silence fell between them as the girl continued to size up her commanding officer. His arm was quite long compared to hers and getting anywhere near him was going to prove difficult. Yet, right now, his whole side was left open and unguarded. A trick?

The girl huffed out a breath through her nose, before taking a quick step forward, her body dropping down slightly before going up to jab a punch right into his rib. However, a flash of white would whip past her, her fist glinting off the side of Alastair’s hand as he seemed to easily block her attempt. The fox panicked internally as she was now wide open and her weight at risk of being easily imbalanced.

Alastair was in the zone and now his body was doing what it was trained to do. He anticipated her attack and was ready to react. He was surprised by the power behind it at first but managed to deflect the blow away from himself. He quick stepped and knocked her off balance. The Duar had over committed and was left wide open. Alastair completed the move and the buzzer sounded. Nora was laying flat on her back with a palm strike against her chest.

After holding the pose for a moment he released and stood back up right. This was shortly followed by extending his hand to her to help up out of good faith. A smile crossed his face as he let out a few puffs. "Was a nice first attack. Had good power behind it." He commented hoping this first hit was not too much.

Nora blinked, her vision filled with the flash of the ceiling light. She had fallen flat on her ass, knocked easily over with a hard hit to the chest and easily knocked the wind out of her before she floor could. She sucked in a deep breath before coughing a few times, her eyes squeezing shut before opening to see a pale hand extended out in front of her. Her eyes traced up the arm until it met into the body of her opponent. She gave a sideways grin up at him before slowly pushing herself into a sitting position. The daur simultaneously grabbed his hand and pulled as she got her feet under herself, bouncing back up onto her feet.

She gave a dry chuckle as she let go of his hand and moved it to rub the spot his hand had connected with, silently reminding herself to not let it happen again. “I’m not sure what I was expecting after not sparring for such a long time.” She said with a grin as she fingered the opposite hand’s glove strap. She moved back into position and got ready again, taking the same stance as she had before.

The Minkan in kind took his stance like before. This time however he had his hands slightly to the side and one leg in front of the other in a low stance. "Let us begin." He said with a grin as he moved in for the first strike. His step was quick but his focus was not. His eyes drifted for just a moment to take a look at her fine figure. This was enough to break his concentration as he moved in for his first move.

His hands came in quick but the Daur had already put up her dukes and blocked the attack. Alastairs's eyes glazed over as he took notice of how exposed he was.

His moves were fast, she gave him that much. However, her’s were as well. In the blink of an eye, her two pink gloved fists shot up to block the incoming hit. While Alastair was staggered and still out in the open, her leg swung out to land a blow to his leading leg. It was not a particularly heavy blow, however, it was a strategy designed to wear down an opponent with blows that weakened their capabilities to perform.

He stumbled back a few feet but Alastair was able to keep his feet under himself. He was glad he took this stance since most of his weight was on the back leg but still was a good hit and knocked him back. He dropped his weight and pushed off with his back foot to lunge forward into a double palm strike. The move felt right but his position was slightly off. He hoped that the Daur would not be able to react quickly enough to counter this flaw.

Through the small space between her gloves, she could see his next move come at her. The daur noticed it was off right away as she easily deflected the first strike and blocked the second. Again she repeated the same move she had before and delivered another blow to that same leg he put forward before she bounced back and got ready for his next move, large white tail swatting behind her eagerly as she looking at him, wide-eyed and ready to go. She’d finally found her groove.

Alastair spun with the kick from Nora to redirect the energy from the blow. Was twice now that he had failed to land a hit but this was about to end. He turned to the side and closed his hand into a fist. There would be not palm strikes this time, just the firm contact of his knuckles. His stance lightened and started to quick step side to side. Within a few steps he was close enough to launch his attack. He felt his hand contact something firm as he pressed forward. He then let out a gasp of air as his face took a counter hit from Nora. A draw, both in step and time with each other as they locked fists to face.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw his fist coming. Her other hand tried to move up to block it in time but she wouldn’t move it fast enough, his wrist glancing off the side of her hand as his knuckles connected with her face. Luckily, she’d gotten her own hit on him that was equally well placed.

The daur staggered back, her eyes blinking rapidly to try and refocus her vision, but her focus was interrupted by the pain radiating from her cheek and jaw where he had stuck her. Hoping to get a strike in before he recovered, himself, she lunged forward and swung her fist. It was an embarrassing, rookie move, the draw back of her arm easily projecting what her next move would be and thus making it easy to deflect or even dodge entirely.

He was pushed back from the blow of her fist into his face. It was not a strong hit but enough to shake his lights for a moment. He was thankful for the elbow to the face back in the Onsen as it gave him a slight edge to understand her reaction speed and angle of force.

He dropped his stance and planted his foot behind himself to brace for his next move. This one was of his most fave moves as it was hard to see coming and packed a good deal of force. His left arm went up quickly and deflected the attach coming from the daur. He could see this coming from a mile away. His hips snapped forward and his right arm shot forward right into the gut of Nora.

Her white tail puffed out as she doubled over due to the punch to her gut that she had had no warning of. She grabbed onto his arm as her knees turned to jelly, using it to prop herself before she wheezed out “Give me a minute.” The girl sucked in a large breath through her nose and then held it as she strained her legs to stop shaking and stretch out properly. Finally, she let go of his arm and turned away to pace a few steps to the edge of the mat. She bent over with her hands propped on her knees and elbows locked to support her upper body and just focussed on breathing as she waited for the nausea and pain to subside.

Alastair held fast as Nora used his arm for support. He knew the blow was going to connect well but did not expect it to knock the wind out of her this badly. He even felt bad for using such a move on the daur. He took a moment then shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Take your time." He said with a calming voice.

As she moved to the edge of the mat he took a moment to look at his fist that had just connected with her. Had he gone too far, was his whole reason for being here just to regain some lost honor from the onsen? This was purely a cover and he knew it. His entire reason for being here was to see for himself if the report he got was true. From what he could tell so far, he had a very strong willed daur on his hands and might have just awakened the beast within.

After a few moments like that bent over and regathering herself, she took in another deep breath and stood up straight. No matter who was going to win this thing, the next round was going to be her last. The daur was just about at her limit. A warm shower or a dip in the onsen to relax her worn body sounded good right about now…

Shaking her head to get her thoughts back on the present, the daur turned back and padding to the center of the circle again. “Come on, let’s go, this isn’t over yet!” She said with a chuckle and a somewhat tired grin.

The Minkan quickly cleared his thoughts when he seen her smile yet again. He was very impressed her will to keep going. He could tell she was worn down but wanted to see who would come out on top.

"Your on, let us see who shall get top bunk." A sly grin crossed his face. His focus was now crystal clear and ready to step forward. He was enjoying this very much and glad he met someone like Nora. "Ladies first." He said with a smile that transitioned into a straight face. His stance was oddly enough very wide open. His arms hung in the air over his head. His one leg was in front of the other in a low stance.

Her eyes narrowed at him as she observed his stance. It was different now than it had been before. Taking a quick step forward, she popped one of her legs forward to deliver a blow to the leg he put farthest forward in his stance. However, it wasn’t a very hard strike as the daur seemed to be testing the waters with this new stance of his.

He had hoped to dodge the attack but she was quick on her feet and landed a hit to his leg out front. He shifted his weight to his back leg and pushed forward into Nora. Her natural reaction was to block from his overhead attack. Which is exactly what this move was meant to counter. As his arms came down on her, at the last moment he retracted them into himself. A split second later he pushed them out in front and under her arms. With a flick of his wrist he had pushed her arms away from her body. Next she would feel a light double touch connect with her chest. Normally this move is a double fist or grapple but Alastair decided to modify as to not do a full impact. Granted he had not finished this thought through till he was looking at the fact he had both her boobs in his hands.

Nora grit her teeth as she saw him lunch forward, her arms immediately going up to block any downward strike he might try to make. However..she realized all too late that she had only played into his game perfectly. Before she could react, his arms had knocked her own out of the way and his firm palms connected with her chest, knocking her back somewhat and throwing her off. However, she quickly regained herself and delivered two jabs in quick succession, which he easily blocked before she got another kick in on that leg she’d already done a number on this fight.

His leg was taking a good beating during this fight. Decoy or not these hits would still leave a mark after the fight. He managed to block her advance and take the hit to the leg like a champ. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He was hoping she would move in close and had done just that. He tossed a light jab that was easy to defect. Though as their forearms connected his wrist turned and grabbed onto her wrist. He then swung his back leg wide and pulled on her arm to upset her balance. His forearm connected with her shoulder and in rhythm grappled her straight to the floor. She hit the floor with a thud and had a fist stopped short of connecting right into her chest.

He extended his fingers so that they lightly pressed against her. “I'd say that is game.” A smile crossing his face as he let out a relaxing breath. He leaned back up and offered the daur a helping hand up.

For the second time in this fight, the daur had been thrown down onto the floor by her superior officer. She groaned lightly as her head shook, her eyes blinking open as the feeling of the tips of his fingers pressing to her breast bone registered. She looked up to see Alastair leaned down over her, a smile playing across his lips. She closed her eyes and nodded as a tired small cross over her own lips, a momentary, defeated sigh leaving her before she perked up again. Leaning up, she took his hand and pulled herself up off the floor mat again, but this time she kept a grip of his hand for a second longer. “Good match.” She said with another one of her sideways grins and a single, firm shake of his hand before releasing it.

With that, she turned and walked the few paces off the sparring matt and over to the bench, stripping off her gloves with a few swift motions and swooping down to snatch up her small white towel, which she used to dab the sweat from her face and neck again. “Haah..you’re good, Chui Belmont, well need to have a rematch when I’m not so rusty.” She said as she turned back to look to him, one hand holding the towel as the other found its place on her hip.

Alastair helped her off the mat and shook her hand in turn. “Good match indeed.” He said as they released holding hands. He stayed on the mat as the daur walked off. Even though she had been bested this day she carried herself like a champ. He took a moment to look himself over and he could tell he would have marks the following day. Would seem the fox girls even with a pulled hit can do some good damage. A grin crossed his face since he was glad this was a good clean fight and that she did not hold back.

He walked over to the edge of the mat to where he had placed his things. He untied his belt and removed the gi from his person. “Aye, we will for sure have to rematch in the future. And please Nora, call me Alastair. We are off duty so no need to be formal. Plus as a good sparring buddy I would like to see you as a friend now.” He said with soft words as he turned and faced her. He reached up and ran his hands through his sweat soaked hair. “I don't know about you but I could use a soak. Care to join me?”

She gave him a raised eyebrow as she absently watched him comb his fingers through his hair. Nora guessed her time spent in the Yamatai capital for a year had drilled those formalities into her so well that now it felt strange to even dare think of referring to a superior as anything but their earned rank, out of much deserved respect for that rank difference. She found herself again having to remind herself that this ship was indeed like no others and they did things different here.

“Alright..Alistair, I’ll take you up on that offer. Staving off the soreness I’m likely to have from that sparring match sounds good to me.” The daur gave a grin before turning to collect her things, a sly comment sipping from her lips as she glanced at him under her pale eyelashes. “Although if I didn’t know any better, you look like you just took a soak. Would you like to borrow my towel by chance?”

"Perfect, then I shall see you in there shortly." A small smile crossed his face as he looked at her. He was also happy she was informal with his name. It felt nice to be just another crew. He always feels the need to always be pushing forward to ensure the crew has someone to look up too. Having a moment to remove this burden felt nice and would only be matched by the soothing waters of the onsen.

He reached down and grabbed up his things. His ears perked up when Nora started to tease him over his wet shirt. He looked over himself and had to agree he looked like he had entered a wet t-shirt contest. "Got me there, though easy to fix." He reached over himself with his free hand and pulled the shirt up and over his head. "Ahh, much better." He said moving is arm in a circle motion for a moment. "Now your turn." He said with a sly smile looking at her with his big blue eyes.

She’d already turned back to collecting the last of her things up and placing everything she carried into a gym bag when he responded to to her teasing. As the daur picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder while simultaneously turning back to face him again to wait for him to collect his stuff, she was stopped dead in her tracks by the wall of muscle her eyes were greeted with. Given she was just over a foot shorter than him, she was naturally eye level with his two massive pectorals.

“Eh..?” The fox stared for a moment longer, her eyes narrowing slightly as she inwardly wondered how in the hell he kept this fit. “What do you mean my...turn..” she said calmly as her eyes met his and she caught that look he was giving her. Nora’s thoughts then suddenly clicked as the white fur on her tail poofed into a million different directions. “EHH?!” she exclaimed, ears perked at full height while her mouth dropped open in disbelief. It wasn’t like it was the first time she’d seen him without a shirt, however, the fact that they were alone here and what she thinks he just said and he was giving her that look. “You know what I think you still need the towel!” She bumbled out the words almost at the speed of light before slinging the white towel to slap squarely over his face before she rushed off to get to the onsen.

Alastair stood still for a moment before removing the towel from his face. Was just in time to see the young daur skamper off towards the onsen. He was really starting to enjoy her company. Was never a dull moment with her around. She was also soft on the eyes and had some of the cutest reactions. He still wondered how her tail can fluff up so much.

The buff Minkan tossed the towel given to him over the back of his neck. He quickly picked up her scent. Despite the sweat he could pick up faint hints of sweetness too. This caused a smile to cross his face. Maybe he would get the chance to enjoy her scent up close and personal. He chuckled and headed off behind her towards the onsen.

After rushing off to the changing rooms and swapping out her sweaty work out clothes for instead a fresh pair of type 40 royal blue bra and bikini style bottoms, she’d march herself and her still partially fluffed and switching tail into the large onsen room next door. She was immediately greeted by the warm steamy air of the room, so thick that it felt like a warm hug embracing her whole being. Her ears drooped as a tired smile spread across her lips, the ache in her body suddenly becoming ever more obvious.

The fox girl scampered over to the large bath of warm, steamy water, her thin figure pressing to the side of the outer wall of the fixture as one of her arms dipped into the water and getting familiar with the heat before she got climbed in. For a moment she stood there along, head lowered over the water, watching her reflection waver drunkenly at the surface while her hand stirred lazily below, her long white locks cascading over her back like a waterfall.

"Good of you to join me." He called out to her as he moved around a little to make his presence known. He had already made himself comfy in the nice hot onsen. His arms were stretched out over the side walls and was letting his body just float in the water. "This never gets old. Nice dip in this place can do wonders for the body." He then released his hold on the wall and started to drift towards Nora. He was fully enjoying this private time both to himself and also with his guest.

The girl jerked as a voice suddenly arose from infront of her, her eyes widening as the blue orbs within them flicked around for the source. They landed on the source a second later, a floating island the shape of Alastair at the other end of the hot tub. She’d thought she had been him here, but apparently this was not the case. “Oh gods, you scared me..” She muttered as her free hand placed itself against her chest for a second, as if to try and steady her racing heart.

As he made small talk about the wonders of the Onsen, she pulled herself carefully over the side, barely making a sound or splash as her thin figure delicately slipped into the water legs first. For a moment she stayed there on the wall, her tail swaying back and forth behind and brushing against the side of the tub while her toes stretched and curled in the water, her skin slowly adapting to the high temperature. Not too long after, she would slip off the edge and sink into the water up to her chest, her legs folded beneath her as she rested on the built in ledge that functioned as a seat for those wanting to relax in the onsen’s waters.

The minkan let out a small laugh. "Sorry for not making more noise, did not mean to startle you." His head tipped back and he was able to see Nora sitting on the edge of the onsen. It reminded him just how peaceful the world could be. Far too often he is waging war against some foe and at times was unsure just how long the fighting would last for. Moments like this really gave him the recharge required to keep on fighting.

His eyes were fixed on her every move. Something about this daur really perked his interest. Alastair could not put his finger on it but he truely enjoyed her company. The water rushed around him as he put some kick into his legs. Slowly he drifted closer towards Nora. "So when we doing round two." He ask in a cute voice.

The daur’s head tipped to the side slightly as he moves his head to look up at her, her bangs shifting slightly as the ship’s gravity pulled them down evenly again. She watched as he gave a few kicks of his powerful legs to push his body in her direction, a little comment about a possible next round of sparring leaving his lips. Nora gave a small snort before she rolled her eyes, her lips pulling into a smile as her head shook. “When I’ve recovered a bit of my pride, how ‘bout that?”

He rolled his eyes at her general direction. "Oh please, you did very well and I consider myself lucky." He then lifted his one leg up and into the air. The water tipping from his foot and down his leg, making plop sounds as the water droplets hit the water below. Down the front of the shin one could clearly make out bruises. "Though my leg wasn't as lucky, you have one hell of a strong kick." As his leg dropped back into the water he had made it across the onsen and was within arms length of Nora.

A second later she would feel a hand on her head that gave a rub pat. "You are good, I consider you an equal." His eyes had a twinkle in them and the most dashing smile.

A bashful smile would spread across the girl’s lips, her eyes closing in an apologetic manner as her fluffy, snow white ears fell back. “Heh, sorry about that, again.” She said as one of her hands slipped out of the water to scratch an imaginary itch at the back of her head.

Just then, she’d feel a few large ripples of water lap at her arm and chest as a close by movement offset the volume of water. A second later, she’d open her eyes as a wet hand placed itself squarely between her ears, pushing them down slightly to each side. As her white bangs were tousled by the large hand, she turned her head in surprise to be met with Alastair now sitting next to her, his eyes having almost a sparkle to them as he smiled down at her. She blinked a couple of times. Was this guy even real? The daur’s eyes closed as she sucked in a breath through her nose, reminding herself that he was just a rather friendly commanding officer. One of her eyes cracked open the slightest bit, it’s gaze landing right smack on the stretched, toned muscles of his chest. The eye quickly shut again. Yea, just a friendly, commanding officer...who really good looking...and really close right now.

The girl suddenly pulled away from his side, her body turning so that she shifted up onto her knees on the ledge, the upper half of her body now lifted out of the water as she clung to the edge of the onsen with one hand while the other frantically fanned her face, her usual pale skin growing beet red wherever the hot water had touched and then some. “Wow they really have it hot in this room, huh!”

Alastair thought nothing of his rank as he moved closer to her. This was just two crew relaxing in the onsen. Though he had to admit to himself the company was very nice and looked just as good. His legs floated and bobbed out in front of him as he gave Nora head rubs. This went on for a moment before moving his hand down towards the onsen wall. He happily smiled at her. Though was curious why she kept closing her eyes. He did pick up a few times she was checking him out which only made him smile more.

His eyes followed her as Nora pulled herself up and out of the water. The wet bushy tail grabbed his attention quickly. It was facing him and almost felt like he was being taunted. He started to reach his hand towards it but froze in place when she spoke. Alastair quickly snapped out of the tail trance. His hand moved up her back before descending onto her. "You doing alright Nora? You look really flush." Alastair had moved beside her and was leaning forward and around to get a better look at her face.

Nora's eyes widened as she felt a large, warm hand meet her bared shoulder. Her skin almost seemed to prickle as she became hyper aware of how close he suddenly was and even...drawing nearer. She felt his arm brush her opposite shoulder, the one closest to him, as he seemed to lean in and around the side of the onsen to get a better look at her face. As he did so, her mind was a swirl of swear words and “oh gods” as the daur tried not to show that she was freaking out. Why was he getting so close!!

Slowly Alastair started to put the dots together. At least he was willing to take a guess that she wasn't just overheating from the onsen. "Take your time to cool down." He said with a smile as he leaned away from her. He then laid out across the deck of the onsen. His feet playfully kicked the water around. He reach his arm out then place his hands under his head. He was giving Nora an eye full if she so looked.

He turned his head to the side slight to gaze at her. "Taking in the moment. I have to admit you are pretty cute." A calm smile settled across his face.

The girl suppressed a small sigh of relief as he moved away, her eyes slipping closed as she tried to calm her mind and get it together again. God, what was wrong with her? She gave a small shake of her head before she ran a still flushed hand back through her bangs.

Just then, the sound of splashing water would catch her attention. When the daur turned her head, ears cocked and at attention to see what Alastair was doing, she was met with the sight of his stretched out body across the bamboo planks that made up the deck of the onsen. Any other thoughts the daur may have had swirling around in her head would be halting, something akin to a traffic pile up on a roadway. For at least a few seconds, she just stared, her ice blue eyes traveling along each chiselled bump of muscle.

His words would break through the fog in her head as her eyes flicked up to his face. She’d not realized it, but he’d probably been watching her that whole time. Shit. She thought to herself as she mentally scolded herself for being caught for the second or third time now. She so quickly lost herself in thought again that she didn’t quite catch what Alastair would say next. Nora’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she turned back to him, her head tilted. “What was that?”

The minkan could not smile any bigger. He confirmed his gut feeling and was very happy to see this was the case. He had hoped she would enjoy the display. A small prize after a wonderful spar. Though he did this for another reason. Call it testing the waters if you will to see the level of chemistry that might exist.

He was pleasantly surpirsed how effective the display had been. So much so that his words fell on a clouded mind. He could almost see her brain waves crashing like waves of the sea. He knew he had her full attention, with each flex of his chiseled chest her eyes would bouce along with it. Her attention drawn he pulled one hand free from behind his head and moved it towards her. He could not help but take in the beautiful sight. Was something real about her and he liked it very much. She was very attractive to boot. Without knowing it he was nibbling his bottom lip.

She would feel a light tap under her chin. "I said you look cute." He slipped out in a low voice. He hoped the light tap might snap her out of the trance long enough to get the message through to her.

She blinked in surprise at the tap of a finger just under her chin. Suddenly, she became aware of the fact that her lips had been parted slightly as her jaw hung loose. Just as swiftly, she correctly this, her lips pulling tight as her eyes widened. This time, she’d heard him clearly, and the combination of his words, the way he was looking at her, and the voice with which he said it had all the alarms in her head going off. As much as she tried to stop it, her complexion broke out easily into a deep crimson red. Her lips parted to let her speak, but no words came out. She was in disbelief at what he said and the way he was acting. Just then, a small lightbulb come on over her head. Maybe..yes! She was completely over thinking it! All of his actions so far had shown he was the kind of guy to say and do whatever came to mind, so it didn’t really mean anything right?

As her thoughts went through the motions, her expressions changed with them. When he first said it, her face had been plastered with a deer in the headlights expression. Now it shifted as her eyebrows pulled together and her head tilted slightly, a slight smile crossing her lips as she didn’t quite believe him. Her string of thoughts ended with her laughing it off, her eyes closed as a big, grateful smile spreading her lips as she scratched the back of her head. “Hehheh, thank you.” She said bashfully as she slipped her legs the rest of the way out of the water her body turning to face him before she settled down on the onsens ledge with her legs folded beside her and one of her arms propping her up.

He returned his hand to back behind his head as he turned to look off into the distance. He was completely conflicted about how to in this very moment. Could he truely have feelings for another with all the responsibility he was in charge of. Would he even have time to enjoy it before being pulled away for the mission. The mission was the most important thing and was drilled into his mind. Yet for what might be the first time in his life the mission seemed a distant memory. What mattered right now was this very moment. He could not explain it but was a good feeling.

"Nora, sorry if this comes off as sounding sappy but do look out for yourself next mission when it gets here. There is more I would like to get to know about you." His words coming off both happy and sad sounding.

His words and sudden shift in tone caught her attention, her facing turning away from the steaming waters of the onsen to look to him instead. A pang of worry filled her chest when she saw his distant expression. It was like he had done a 180 degree turn. Feeling the need to cheer him back up out of this suddenly slump, she gave a firm nod before she said with a bright, determings smile. “I’ll look after myself, sir! You don’t have to worry about me.”

Without looking towards her he again reached out his hand and rubbed it across her head. It split right down the center though did manage to brush around her ears. A moment later he turned his head and looked to her. Without saying a word his lips moved and said, "Thank you." This was one of few times that Alastair found himself lacking the words or the power to say them. He was walking a fine line between opening up and staying guarded. Which around this daur was becoming increasingly challenging to stay guarded.

His hand retracted and a smile once again crossed his face. He allowed doubt long enough to put a cloud over his mood. "I have no doubt you will do well." A grin crossing his face as he lifted his leg and pointed too it. "I have first hand experance with this fact." As his leg dropped he let out a laugh.

Her head tilted as he planted his wide hand down on her head again, her cheeks puffing out indignantly as he tousled her white bangs. However, she found focussed on something much more important. As he mouthed the words “Thank you.” to her, she decided to let it slide as he probably needed a bit of distraction.

When his hand pulled away, she huffed and reached up to run her fingers through her bangs again, trying to fix them and get them to lay flat again.

Alastair slowly sat up and looked out over the water. "Welp, should look to get back to work. Can't stay in here forever even if that would be nice." His voice was calm and cozy. His head turned and looked at her once more. He would not get tired of looking at this sight anytime soon. "Mind if I brush out your hair for you?" He asked as his smile returned. His hand reached out and brushed her bangs side to side to get them to lay flat.

She blinked in surprise at his request, her hand lowing from her hair as she looked at him with a questioning look in her eyes. A moment after her hand had removed itself from her bangs, his large, rough hand would replace it. Her face scrunched up slightly as her eyes closed, her cheeks puffing out indignantly.

Considering his request, she let her eyes slip open again and her face soften, the ice blue irises flicking down to look at the damp, wavy, white locks of hair that spilled over her shoulders and clung to her skin. Every time the daur’s hair was wet and let to dry, the strands of hair, as if having some prerogative to do so, would knot themselves as they dried, becoming wavy and messy as opposed to the normal sleek, well brushed and straight hair the daur sported most often. She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought on it. It was a strange request, probably the strangest form of help she had ever received from a commanding officer. But…

She lifted a hand to grasp one of the wavy locks of hair, lifting it up with a soft sigh as she then turned her eyes to look back to Alastair with a “are you serious?” sort of look. “Haahh.. Alright, but you have to be gentle. Got it?”

"Will use the the ligthest of touch." Alastair replied back as his lips curled into a smile. His mind jumping back to just a moment ago as the daur considered the offer. He knew it might seem weird but was worth the chance. Having had long hair most of his life knew how nice it was to have someone else brush it out.

Alastair got to his feet and offered a hand to Nora. She reached out and place her hand on his and was helped to her feet. As soon as she was on her feet he started to move with her in tow. They walked off together to a place to tend to her hair and spent the rest of the free time enjoying each others company before parting ways.
 
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