[raimaa futago]

"Mostly.." Raimaa would start, after Sora pushed her way out of the seat, leaving Raimaa there to settle in properly "I thought you were here to kill me. It would be just like Kusa to be five years late for something as important as ensuring your Ex-Lady doesn't spill any military secrets. Or a Futago who took it upon herself to come kill me for a stain on their honour. We've got a lot of pink haired women, and the majority of us are Bukijutsu specialists"

Raimaa would look at Sora as she began to slowly crumble emotionally. It was certainly relatable for her, who had the same a few years ago in Mei's arms.

"Also, I've broken my brain with what I did to myself for my Village. My understanding on what is usual or normal in the sexual field is very...none-existant. So here is the very first moment I was sure you wanted sex, rather than just playful company"

Raimaa would stay sat, so as not to be a threat, though keep looking at Sora.

"Though, I can offer some normal actual company, rather than the Two-Backed Beast variety. If you need that. And we can talk to my wife when we get to Yukigakure"

[Sora Minami]

Sora looked up when Raimaa began to talk, her gaze blurry with unshed tears as she listened to the woman, understanding the words but not yet fully knowing what to say. There was so much she wanted in this moment- so much she could barely explain to herself, let alone a stranger. But if there was one thing she could get across? It was this.

"I’m sorry, Raimaa." She said, hanging her head as she shoved the emotions down, forcing the storm within to still, to quiet. It was harder than it should have been, harder than it ever had been, but she did it and, after a moment, Sora lifted her head with a smile on her face, fake and empty but there all the same. "I should have asked about it before I got all ahead of myself. You’ve my sincerest apologies for putting you in such a situation."

The Jounin breathed, smile faltering for a moment as she readied herself to cut the cord- to end things here and move on. Just as she always had. And yet… A part of her couldn’t Wouldn’t. Not again. Not this time. Oh, fuck it.

"I would… like it, if you stayed." If only for a little while. She shifted back towards the woman slowly, no longer the confident seductress she had been earlier- just the shy, lonely woman underneath, looking for companionship in all the worst places. "Please?"

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

"Don't do that" Raimaa would state, as Sora put on such a fragile smile. "On a mission is one thing, but in another country, with civilians? Don't damage yourself forcing your emotions down like that. Despite how we might sometimes be treated and even act, we are only human. And as any swordsman knows, if you don't care for your sword, it will break on you"

She certainly seemed to know how to meander between different masks, lil' Raimaa. A more secure and emotionally content version of who she was. Mei, the Yuki clan, and retirement did her well. She would then hold out her hand for Sora to take, a gentle smile on it.

"Now come on. Let's go see the catering cart, yea? They do a lovely Lemon Marang"

[Sora Minami]

Sora simply shook her head, the smile subsiding even as she persisted in her choice. She had walked this path for years. One more mistake wasn’t going to overburden her. So when Raimaa spoke, she simply listened, not intent on agreeing or going along with it but listening all the same, and was surprised to hear one of her own lessons thrown back at her, nearly word for word. It was almost enough to make her smile for real. Almost.

"I say something similar to my Genin back home." She said, lips parting as she sat back, suddenly tired. The Futago spoke again, offering to take her to the catering cart for some pie, and Sora looked up at the woman, conflicted. On the one hand, she was rather hungry- a slice of pie wasn’t a meal, but it could do for the time being. But on the other hand… Well. Spending time, even casually, with a married woman she had just pawed like an animal in heat wasn’t exactly high on her list of things she felt were a good idea. Even if she kept implying her wife would be fine with it if they just talked.

"I think…" Sora began, trailing off as she looked at Raimaa’s offered hand- and took it, rising to her feet. "I think I’d love a slice of pie. Although-" She paused, looking down suddenly, face going flush as she held the taller woman’s hand, voice going soft with embarrassment and shame at her request.

"If… if you’re ok with it, could I… could I just get one kiss?" Just one. To remember her by.

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

"It's time to start listening to yourself then" Raimaa would reply, turning and opening the door. The blush and embarrassed voice were cute, and she could imagine them spoken with urgency and fear of getting seen with what Raimaa was doing to her out in what would otherwise be public. But that was for later. For now, she had to just support this broken little doll. And so they would head to the catering wagon.

"You can have as many kisses as you want, and many more things besides, after my wife lets you in. I know from personal experience she's got a thing for tall, fragile swordswomen with pink hair, so it shouldn't be too hard"

[Sora Minami]

Sora followed Raimaa in silence, her gaze held low in disappointment. She had known at least on some level that the woman would turn her down, but knowing and experiencing the rejection were two different things. She hadn’t known her for very long, not even an hour really, but to come so close to a real connection with someone, only to have it snuffed out was… painful. More than she would ever admit.

"Sure." She said as the pair headed down the long hallway that was the train, catching up to the serving cart fairly quickly. The Jounin took a deep breath as they stopped, steeling herself for the interaction, and put a soft smile on her face, looking down at the diminutive woman who was pushing the trolley as she said, "We’d like a slice of your Lemon Meringue, if you’ve got any."

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

'Ey Rai, Wazza bread?' the man at the counter asked, moving as he did to get some Lemon Meringue.
"Nonce Bonce, Side of Honce, ganna sky fer black ice" She replied, leaning against the counter and smiling at Sora.
'Ahh, that'll be nice fer ya. Need a new Trial Slab though' he would reply, putting the cake up on the counter.

Picking up the plate, she'd hand want to Sora, and then cock her head softly.
"Now, stop looking like a slapped arse, 'fore you get one, ehh?" Raimaa said. "You've flumped into total defeat before the other guy is even winded. Swordsmanship is not so easily defeated"

[Sora Minami]

Sora cocked her head to one side as Raimaa and the server spoke, their exchange both utterly alien in its content and strangely familiar, as if someone had taken normal speech and pushed it just a step or two outside of what was normal. She almost understood what was being said and yet… didn’t. Still, the unusual exchange certainly seemed to work, as it produced a pair of pie slices without so much as a ryo spent, so it couldn’t have been anything bad. Well. Not too bad, anyway.

"You can’t really expect me to believe your wife is going to be ok with it." The Jounin said as she took the pie from Raimaa, only the slightest drop of her disappointment showing. Now that she’d had a few moments to collect herself, the storm had quieted- not gone away, never that, but quieted. Stilled, almost.

"If I was her I certainly wouldn’t be." No one would, not in a serious relationship. It was a betrayal of trust even asking to introduce a third person, let alone seriously consider sleeping with them, regardless of how open-minded the woman was. Still, it couldn’t hurt to go along with the woman for a little while- at least until she reached the transfer point to Byakuya. Whenever that was.

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

"Nope" Raimaa would reply. "I don't need you to believe anything. What one believes, claims, or demands, has never changed reality. It is what one does that breeds change" Raimaa would reply.

"And also this is the trouble with the world. Everyone takes what they think they know and runs with it, never even bother to try to have a conversation about it just in case there is something different to what they actually know. Just go ahead and make the most drastic fuckin' decision you can. Because Hanchous should always do a Knee-jerk reaction, no?

Except when it comes to actually fuckin' doing anything related to your job, then just be idle blame someone else"

Raimaa would angrily chomp down on a bit of cake, and glower at the ghosts of the past.

[Sora Minami]

"You are a strange woman, Raimaa." Sora said once the Futago was finished, lips parting in a genuine smile as she cut off a piece of her pie and ate it. The flavor was decent, the lemon neither too strong nor too weak, and while there was just a tad too much sugar for her tastes, it wasn’t so much that it overwhelmed all the other parts of the pie. A bit like the woman beside her, really. Kind and surprisingly thoughtful, yet a bit off, with all the pieces just ever so slightly not fitting together. Which was sort of how every Shinobi was to one degree or another, if she was being honest.

"What makes you say that?" She asked between bites, sky-blue gaze glancing between herself and the taller woman as she ate, a bit of meringue sticking to the side of her mouth. "From where I’m sitting, what a person believes is what motivates their actions. People act on what they think is right, even if that belief isn’t objectively correct or in line with what they say they believe." People did it all the time, really. Saying they believed one thing while doing something totally different. It didn’t make them hypocrites, just… misguided.

"Take you for example." Sora paused then, sticking her fork into the slice of pie as she glanced away from the Futago, not quite willing to meet her gaze for this part. Even if it was true. "You were perfectly willing to flirt and tease when you thought I was here to kill you, but once you realized what was really going on, you backed off. You did that because of a belief- you believe it would’ve been wrong to cheat on your wife with a stranger.” At least, not without talking to her first. The Jounin turned her head towards Raimaa then, lips pursed in a thin line as she spoke, voice tight and controlled despite the storm that still seethed beneath her skin.

"Just like you believe she’ll say yes to this whole idea, or else you wouldn’t bother bringing it up. So, what makes you think she will?"

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

"Belief is the paltry part of consequence" Raimaa would reply. "It is the personal deception or admittance of the truth. I might believe it right or wrong to do something, but that doesn't change the consequences of doing that thing. Whatever I believe on the subject, doing something that will upset a person, will upset a person"

"And besides, I backed off the flirting because you are more serious than a bit of fun and I don't want to lead you on. That's cruel. And I do not believe she'll say yes. I think there is a good chance, given what I know about her, but I don't believe either way. Hence the asking. People believing they know things and acting as if it is correct without ever turning that belief into knowing is where problems come from"

[Sora Minami]

"That is…" Sora began, trailing off as she looked at Raimaa, surprised at the woman’s honesty. It was rare to meet anyone so open in the Shinobi world, let alone holed up in the frozen wasteland that was Yuki no Kuni. "That is an unusual take on the subject. Even if it is still a belief." The Jounin picked up her fork at that, pushing another bit of pie into her mouth as she thought over the rest of what the woman said. Too serious for flirting? The hell does that even mean?

"I’m going to need you to explain that to me." She said, swallowing her pie with a frown as she turned to face the woman. "How is having a quick fuck on a train with a complete stranger in any way serious? Like I respect your decision to stay faithful and all, but you clearly want to. I clearly want to. You think your wife would be okay with it even if you don’t know so…" Sora hadn’t been imagining when she and Raimaa had kissed- the woman had enjoyed herself, regardless of her motives. The Futago clearly wanted to go further than just a bit of foreplay, and she obviously felt there was a good chance for more, so what was the issue?

"I guess I just don’t understand why you think this is such a big deal." It was just sex, after all. Right?

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

Raimaa would raise an eyebrow at the woman. It seemed, in this regard, she was even worse than Raimaa. To be so casually dismissive of sex, must have meant she'd gone through a lot of people before now. Was that part of the loneliness? The anxiety, to be another on a more permanent basis?

"Just because it's obvious, doesn't mean it's true. I never intended to have sex with you in any manner. Mostly, because I don't fuck corpses. And then turns out you are not actually part of my Clan, here to kill me. So I stopped. And because you want sex and I don't, it would be cruel to flirt and tease and pretend it might happen, when it will not"

[Sora Minami]

"You don’t want to have sex." Sora said, voice flat and dull as Raimaa contradicted herself, adding a layer of, rather unnecessary, confusion to an already difficult situation for her to understand. "Right. Because we’re not headed to go talk your wife into a threesome. That makes… no sense." Why couldn’t she give her a straight answer? Was it really that hard to just say yes? The Jounin could understand wanting to include her wife in the decision, but saying she didn’t want to at all while simultaneously taking her to go convince her bloody wife was just-

Ugh! The thought pushed Sora to stand, her breath coming in sharp as she rose to her feet and turned towards Raimaa fully, cheeks flush despite the warmth in the cabin. Perhaps it was the situation, perhaps the tease from before, perhaps even something deeper, but the Jounin simply couldn’t take it anymore. The waiting, the teasing, the confusion… It was all too much. She had to know. She had to know.

"Raimaa. No bullshit. No games. Just tell me. Are you even attracted to me?” Was this all just some sick game to the woman? A joke, meant to be laughed at later when they parted? "Do you… are we… If your wife agrees. Would we?” Would you really be with me?

raimaa futago

[raimaa futago]

When Sora made her comment, Raimaa's whole demeanour changed. Her eyes glistened, the smile took a predatory edge, and even the slight lean forward seemed way more than just that. Her voice took an airy, sultry tone. Quiet, and yet sharp, like a sword wrapped in velvet.

"Ha. Ohh, no. My little, lost, lamb. We are not going to talk my wife into a threesome. I am far more possessive than that"

The lip-bite at the end just sealed the deal on the whole thing. And maybe, Sora might realize she was getting herself into a lot more trouble than she bargained for.