Finally Home...

After an eventful night of battling with a worm demon of sorts and having a very short heart to heart with Izumi, I find myself not only welcoming my secretary back to the city, but also giving her a ride to her home. This would be my first time at her house, as, in our professional relationship, I hadn’t the best knowledge of her personal life. I was making strides in that direction, however, as the getting to know her process had somehow been pushed forwards by tonight’s series of events.

The morning was still pitch dark as midnight was still close in proximity. The starry skies above a cleared of cloud cover and a cool breeze of the late night/early morning contrasts the general warmth of the summer days. After driving her to her home and parking in the driveway, I move to open the driver side door in order to step out and walk her to her front door with the engine still running. Due to her words, I pause for a moment and then oblige by cutting the engine to the sedan. The keys jingle slightly as they are pulled from the ignition and held in my right hand. I get out of the car, standing up and placing the keys into the pocket of my coat. My hand comes to the edge of my door as I swing it closed, turning towards her. I watch for that moment as she gets her spade out of the vehicle and rests it on her shoulders, an odd site for a frame of her build.

Due to her words, it would seem there was something she wished to speak about, and beside sleep, there wasn’t much I had to do at this hour. Generally going into a house alone with a hot chick in the middle of the night was a good thing depending on how one would look at it, but due to our professional relationship and her knowledge of my now absence girlfriend, things seemed to be kept away from that particular realm of activity. I wait for her to finish and approach her door first as this was her house; I would be waiting on her. 370

As it would seem that she wanted me to lead to the door; I make my way to the door and turning to the side to allow her to open it. I pause and watch her for the moment asan elaborate wind chime seems to have caught her attention. Looking over it, I admit that it did possess a certain draw to it. She suddenly taps it and a key is revealed. With a nod, I look at it, then back to her as she moves to the door to unlock it before returning the key. As we enter into the abode, I stand about near the entrance of the room as I am told to make myself comfortable. "Um... okay," I answer back, simply look around the house, not yet comfortable enough in the new surroundings to lounge about. The lights come on and I step further into the room as she walks away from me, following into the living room. Taking the couch to be the best place to get comfortable, I decide to make my way there and awkwardly sit. My gaze shifts forwards and I look around the living room. I note the lack of use with the visual monitor and take it that it hadn't been turned on in a while. It looked all and all differenent than I would have assumed as a place for her to live. 234

604

Looking about myself at that time, there was not much mess for her to apologize for in the house at that time. Though I had a tendency to be a neat freak, I knew that it was odd of me and that others didn’t keep their homes in pristine conditions all of the time. With that mentality I didn’t judge others based on their mess or degree there of. “It’s fine,” I assure her as I turn noticing her re entry and the change in attire that extenuated her features much better than the monk attire. Turning my head, I look towards the front answering, “you have a very nice home.” I notice the scripts on the roller desk; probably all for gigs that she’s done or will do in the future. I sense her getting nearer as she comes to sit close to me and sat. “It looks like you are very comfortable here,” I answer the query. It wasn’t often that I was a guest in someone else’s home. I wonder to myself if Izumi felt awkward when she came to my apartment that first time. If she did, I wouldn’t have been able to tell since she seemed to take it in pretty well; something her personality type seemed like. Turning back to her, I am reminded that she is only in shorts and a bra. With effort, I manage to keep my gaze to her face most of the time, “houses are nicer than apartments, aren’t they?” 250

844

“I suppose you have a point,” I agree with her words seeing where she was right. As she transitions onto the conversation about that one night, I find that it slightly catches me off guard that she would want to talk about it and so casually in this manner. It seemed like of like a big deal, but then again, she was a hard person to read and anticipate at times. Seeing as she had been blunt in bringing it up, I wouldn’t beat around the bush in my questions and answer it as straightforward as the question had been asked. After the reaction of looking down and to the side after the initial question, my gaze shifts back up to her in a calm glance. With this, I am reminded by the event that I had seen her virtually nude before, so her being in a bra and shorts would be covered up compared to what I walked in on; the sight was still a bit vivid in my mind. I question, first off in a concerned tone requesting, “about that night. Did you get everything situated?… do you feel better after going to your families place in the forest?” She told me that was the reason she had taken those days off from working for me. I continue in my questions, “I remember you said you felt different. You said it was as if you lost a piece of you… do you feel you’ve regained that piece by now? Do you feel a bit more whole than before?” 261

1007

I lean back, allowing my back to sink partially into the seemingly comfortable cushion of the couch as she gives me her answer about her experience away from me. I suppose that I did feel a bit better that everything was fine with her, though I'm a bit worried about the 'almost died' portion wondering if she were joking or serious. It was kind of hard to tell with her, but I always got the feeling that she was being completely honest with me. An attribute like that was almost as attractive as her features. Still, I wasn't the type to pry but it seemed as if she wanted to fully clear the air about things. Such a thing should be expected, to have a clear understanding between a boss and subordinate. I felt a bit awkward asking her questions like this as I wasn't interrogating her and I wasn't her father or anything like that. I wondered if it were expected of me and what her opinion was of me. Though I might have mentioned 'talking' about this later when we first met up in that forest; the first question was about the extent of the talk that I wanted to have. A realization comes in a soft flash through my mind as the dream that I had previously had prompted me to ask something. I look back up, and then further up to her face, as I comment, "do you happen to know anything or more than you did, about the power of the void?" 257

1264

I nod at her words with my gaze to her as I offer, “it seems like a very high level magic to use. I doubt many will be able to learn to harness such abilities much less organize. If they do, then we will just have to take them out if it becomes a problem.” I couldn’t allow myself to get disillusioned with my job. I believed in being proactive against threats as oppose to worry about them. If something came up, then it would be handled. It would have to be, or else we would be doomed, there was no alternative. With the request of any more questions, I shake my head and assure her looking to the side, “not really. I won’t pry too much. I’m not really the type to ask a lot of questions. You’re my secretary and I feel like I know you a little better now, so I am happy for that. I found myself worrying about you a lot and I barely even knew you, but now it feel more natural.” I look up and admit, “I’m just glad nothing happened to you and you didn’t get turned into a Vaspire. So long as you’re all right, I’m okay.” While saying this, I would be mindful of the time. Though used to working night shifts by now, the fatigue of working a shift mixed with the lateness of the hour would be placing a toll on my body as it was getting near time to sleep. My words conclude a bit lightly, “you’ve been traveling in the forest all night. I won’t keep you up with an interrogation. You must be tired?” 279

1543

I watch as she stands up and moves towards the desk, my eyes trailing her movements and her frame involuntarily. I look away after a moment when she begins to head for the kitchen. I simply listen to her words a she explained that nothing happened. It was almost like a girlfriend explaining a situation with another guy to a boyfriend. My gaze continues down as I continue to recline on her couch within the living room. The fact that they tried to get her drunk first didn't make what happened any better. I hear her start to wash the dishes. Pressing off of my knees, my body lifts from the couch as I stand to my feet with the decision to walk around a bit and follow her. I approach into the kitchen as she continues to talk. I remember well how they messed up her work clothes in the manner that I had found her. I look to her as I approach her from behind while she washes the dishes and then step to her side turning. I lean my back against the counter a foot or so from her position, reclining there; looking towards her I answer, "hmm... I remember that. Realizing it was you scared me the most." The whole fiasco was over with now and my questions about the void and her experience in captivity had been answered. Continuing, I ask casually, “do you train often with the weapon you used against the worm demon? You seemed to be able to wield it well.” 259

1802

I look down as she drops and picks the plastic plate back up. I raise an eye brow at the action and then look back forwards casually as if nothing had happened. It was no secret that she was clumsy at times; I noticed that when we first met. I sigh a bit and press off of the counter, taking a few steps forwards as I look around the kitchen. There was something nagging at me a bit that I was trying to ignore. A mind set was coming back into my head as I shifted back into the mode of comfort I could experience around her. Now that everything had been explained and she was back to work, she could go back to being my secretary for now. I wanted to make sure I didn't get too buddy/buddy with her, since that might affect our interactions in a negative manner, though I was glad that I had gotten to know her to this extent. Deciding to be clear with things, I ask, "so when will you be ready to officially continue your duties to me?" 186

1988

With a nod I accept this answer. Since she answered it that way, I wouldn’t ask anything of her until the morning, or at least not directly. As she turns to me, it would look as if she were waiting on me to say something. Awkward yet again. Recapping, I had stayed for some time, so I could take it that this would be a good time for me to assert myself in leaving and heading to my own home so that we both would be able to get some sleep for the night. Hours were running low and I had a few miles facing me before I would be able to make it home. On top of that, the previously mentioned fatigue had not gone away. My body was giving odd signals and on top of that, I was approaching my bed time, so with this, I accept, “then I will request a back rub from you in the morning. I’ve been tense ever sense you left so I was hoping you could help me with that.” With a passive lingering motion, I comment, “it is rather late, so…” 190

2178

Oh well. With a nod, I turn around and am lead to the door for my exit. After making it to the front door, I answer, “thanks. I will see you in the morning.” Standing there for a moment, I linger before my body turns and I exit out the front door. I make my way to my car, unlocking it as I approach and reaching for and opening the front door. After getting the door open, I get in and close it behind me, and then start the car. As I start the car, I internally scold myself for my wandering thoughts and eyes, missing Shiori even more as it was hard to have a girlfriend who you almost never saw, especially after getting used to various things. The car is put into reverse and I pull out of Izumi’s driveway. After getting into the main street, I pull forwards and begin the drive back to my house. After a routine day of killing various spirits, it was time to get a few hours of rest so that I could repeat the process tomorrow. 185

2363