Osoro and I toured down the street, Ayato trailing nonchalantly behind us. I snarled to myself a bit, but I wasn't sure if I should somehow let Osoro know we had a tail. I didn't know the guy, I just had impressions about the kind of person he was. I didn't know enough to gauge how he would react. Would he try to confront Ayato? That struck me as all kinds of a bad idea. However, if he was willing to play along with me, that would be useful.

But you know, he was guaranteed to play along if he didn't know anything. This was a date, right? So let's treat it like a date.

"So what did you want to do?" I asked. "You should know I don't do anything illegal until the third date."

"I dunno." Osoro answered with a smooth shrug. "You pick. Then I'll decide if you're worth it."

"Mmm, judgmental much? Besides, you picked me up without a plan? You must be inexperienced."

"Me? Nah. You're just the first girl who might be worth my time."

"Oh, really, I feel SO special." I said with sarcasm.

But still, if i was picking… first date with a guy I barely know. Not that this kind of thing ever went badly for me. Usually a restaurant in a crowded place with multiple exits would be my first pick, but I got the feeling that would bore Osoro out of his mind. He definitely wasn't a 'let's sit and talk quietly' person, more of a 'let's wander the dirty and dangerous streets until we find trouble' kind of guy. Which I could get behind, but with my stalker, maybe wasn't actually the best of ideas.

"I'm not all that creative when it comes to date ideas," I admitted, "but how about we go by the river? I've been meaning to explore."

"The river, huh? Interesting." Osano said with a dubious expression. I rolled by eyes.

"Ye of little faith." I teased, stepping ahead and leading the way.

It was somewhat of a walk to the river, but I found a shortcut. Now, calling it a river was a little generous. It did join up with a larger, more impressive waterway but here it was more a stream of clean water running from the purification plant. It gushed out of an outtake pipe on the edge of the suburbs, winding its way through a narrow strip of woods. The trees were thick enough to conceal the road on one side and the houses on the other, but not quite enough to completely cut them off. Besides Osoro clomping through the brush, I heard the shrieks of children playing in their yards, and the whizz of cars breaking the speed limit on the highway.

I chuckled as Osoro stumbled through the brush, making all the noise of a stealthy water buffalo. He cursed as he went tumbling down, having tripped over one thing or another. I burst out in laughter, extending my hand to him.

"Graceful." I teased.

"Whatever." he muttered, refusing my hand and pushing himself up. Back on his feet, dusting off his pants, he took a look around the poor excuse of a wilderness. "I don't get it. This your idea of a date?"

"Making you stumble around behind me, completely out of your element? Yeah."

Flashing him a wry smile, I darted off, half-jumping and half-sliding my way down the bank until my boots hit the shallow water.

"Hey! The hell are you doing?" Osoro yelled when I disappeared from his sight.

"Down here!" I called. He stood at the edge of the bank, glaring at me with somewhat of an annoyed expression.

"How the hell did you get down there?"

"Walked. You coming?" My smile was a challenge. A light tug to see what he might do.

With a frown, Osoro began to make his way down the embankment. It wasn't overly steep, but it was slippery. He made it halfway down alright, but slipped in the mud and started careening down. I went to catch him, but to be honest he was so much taller and heavier than me all I could do was keep him from eating it.

The momentum of him crashing down and me rushing to catch him kicked water everywhere. Both of us were soaked up to our thighs.

"Aw, what the hell?" Osoro complained. His face told me that he might have regretted where this date had gone. But I hadn't lost him yet.

"Don't be a little bitch. Come on." I stepped away and beckoned him down the riverbed. My grin never broke for a second. Here, I felt alive again. Better than I had for weeks.

I turned without him, and Osoro scurried to catch up, throwing more water into the air. I wasn't concerned about his grace affecting any wildlife, since they would probably be further up and closer to the actual river. I danced my way across the riverbed, jumping from one rock to the next while Osoro tramped through the water.

"So, tell me about yourself." I said, swinging to a stop and tilting my head at him. "Or, at least, I'll tell if you do."

Shit, I just had to go and ruin my own good time, didn't I? I couldn't actually tell him. What was I going to tell him? I have to make something up. Something he'll respect.

"I fight. I make life hard for the counselor. That's about it." Osoro shrugged. "I don't know what you were expecting." He gave me an odd look. He must have noticed my expression change.

"Right. I-" I figured I should be able push him a little more. He already saw my arms, so maybe his guard would be dropped a bit. "Come on, if you want an explanation from me you'll need to do better."

"I don't need an explanation." Osoro said bluntly. I started, not expecting that reaction. He had an odd look on his face as he regarded me. So he wasn't a curious type. Or he prided respect over curiosity. That was...good, I think. Someone who wouldn't ask the questions I didn't want to answer.

"Alright then." my smile came back, but this was more of a gentle, sheepish one. "That… makes it easier."

I turned my back to him and looked up at the tree tops, relishing in the breeze that sang through the branches. What to talk about now, then?

"I hate the city." I explained, "And I especially hate the suburbs. That's why I wanted to come out here." I glanced back, gaining back a little of my confidence. "I kinda hate most of the human population."

That wrested a small smile from Osoro.

"Yeah. Me too." he trudged through the water until he stood level with me. Me mimicked me in looking up at the trees, but I don't think he was seeing the same thing I was. "Most people just waste my time. A whole lot of uptight idiots."

"Uptight with a collective stick up their ass." I agreed.

I started down the riverbed again. Osoro tried to follow in my footsteps from rock to rock, but he didn't have my balance or coordination. He kept slipping, ending up back in the water and getting even more soaked.

"You laughing at me?" he accused.

"Yeah, a bit." I admitted.

"Then how about…"

Osoro charged at me, scooping me up by the waist.

"Wait, what are you-" I managed to shriek before he dunked me into the water. To be fair, the water was only shin-deep, but it was enough to create a huge splash to re-wet anything that may have already dried.

In retaliation, I flicked a handful of water, nailing Osoro in the face. An evil smirk spread on his face.

"Oh shit." I managed out loud.

He kicked up a wave of water, completely showering me. A rock was carried up with it though, cutting my cheek. I paid it no mind, instead taking advantage of my low positions to kick Osoro's feet out from under him.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, unfortunately getting a mouthful of water that I threw at his face.

"Oh shit!" I covered my mouth. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Sorry, sorry."

"Nah, just bruised my ass." Osoro groaned. He looked at me, that smirk of his brightening his face. "Looks like I got you good, though."

I was about to say I was soaked to the bone, until I realized he was probably talking about my cheek.

"Oh, yeah." I chuckled, running the back of my hand across the wound. I came up with a streak of watery blood. "No big deal."

Is it strange to say it felt nice to bleed? Or, more to say… it was nice to bleed innocently. Because of an accident. It wasn't inflicted, it just happened. I pushed myself up, reveling in the smile that came so naturally to me. Once again, I offered my hand to Osoro.

With a grin, he grasped my hand, and I hauled him up. I didn't linger in his grasp; though as I let go, I felt that he wanted to. I wasn't going to give him that, not now. Not when I was hoping for an ally. I'm manipulative, not cruel.

"It's getting dark." I murmured. "Let's start to head back."