Date: May 25th, 2011
Point of View Switch: Kai
Stretching my arms and back after waking up, I change my clothes and head to Nicholas's room. After knocking a couple of times on his door, Nicholas opens it for me and we both decide to stay there and order breakfast while we discuss the issues at hand.
Booting up Nicholas's laptop, we check for any news regarding the car and building offers from vendors, as well as checking for other resources we might need as well. On top of that, we also check for any changes to my social media presence after my fight with Sadaso yesterday.
Despite some news about my debut, interest seems low, so I ask Nicholas to upload the recording of the match on various platforms with attention-grabbing comments like "Rookie Achieves Perfect Victory" or "Promising Debut on the 200th Floor" (insisting him to use different hidden IP addresses and various convoluted routes so he can't be tracked).
After handling all this, before leaving to meet Ponzu, I specify to Nicholas the training he must do before lunch: 2 hours of physical exercises, 1 hour of practicing the Ten, the Zetsu and the Ren like yesterday, and 2 hours of strengthening his Hatsu. Clarifying this, and seeing Nicholas doing stretches, I open the door ready to leave.
"Good luck, boss. I hope you enjoy your date with Ponzu." Nicholas says with a grin.
Hearing him say this, I stop to give him a murderous side glare while projecting my aura charged with killing intent.
"Sorry, boss. It was just a joke. I swear." Nicholas says frightened and covered in cold sweat.
I nod, calming down and stopping projecting my malicious aura before finally leaving the room towards the elevator.
After a while of walking I made my way out of the tower, and standing in front of the entrance between the bustling crowd of spectators and fighters entering and leaving the tower, I activate my En (which extends 30 meters in all directions) before I start doing some searches and calls with my cell phone, waiting for Ponzu to arrive at 9:00 am.
After an hour or so, I detect Ponzu entering my En's range, but as I turn my head to spot her, I am speechless at what I see: Unlike her usual more conservative clothing, Ponzu is now dressed in a long pale pink flower-printed skirt that reaches down to her ankles, paired with a white off-the-shoulder blouse with ruffles and short sleeves, and carrying a light blue shoulder bag. Seeing Ponzu wearing such clothing without her signature hat, I am completely captivated by the image of the cute and innocent girl before me.
"I'm glad you're on time. I hope you haven't been waiting for too long. By the way, on the way here I could feel your aura covering the place. Can you tell me what it is?" Ponzu asks clueless, but I am unable to hear her because I am still fascinated by her appearance. "Hmm...Kaiii, are you alright?"
As Ponzu tries to call my attention while waving her hand, I suddenly wake up from my trance with my cheeks slightly flushed. "Oh, yeah, sorry. It's just that I didn't expect to see you dressed like that." I answer.
"Well, since we're going to walk through the city together, I thought it would be better to dress in a little more feminine clothing to blend in better with the crowd. As I thought, this kind of clothing is not for me." She says twiddling her fingers with a disappointment sense.
"No, don't get me wrong! You look beautiful! I just didn't expect you to come dressed so cute to see me today!" I say hurriedly and flustered, causing both my face and Ponzu's to turn red in embarrassment.
"Anyway, let's get going. We can talk about that and other things before we meet up with Wing and the others."
Ponzu nods at my words and as we begin our walk, I begin to explain her about the En application.
Our first stop is the electronics store I visited with Nicholas on the first day. While Heavens Arena has stores where you can buy more disposable items, this store offers more advanced items geared toward specific needs. While Ponzu shows no interest in computers or phones, she is intrigued by more subtle things, such as microphones and trackers. Since they are small and cheap, she buys a few and puts them in her shoulder bag.
'Another reason to inspect one's room every time you come in.' I think as we walk out of the store.
The next stop is a fitness store, where we try out dumbbells, balance boards, multi-function machines, and other training tools in order to find out which ones best fit our preferences and anatomies. It should be noted that this is just for reference, as this same equipment is sold cheaper in the tower.
After some time trying out all the tools available, we head to the place that I thought Ponzu would be most excited about—A herbalist's shop.
Ponzu was interested in the career of a Botanical Hunter, so I assumed that visiting a place in the city that traded all kinds of herbs would interest her. And I wasn't wrong. Ponzu seemed quite interested and satisfied as she asked the shop assistant about the types of herbs she had available and thought out loud about how to use them in her chemicals. Seeing Ponzu's cheered smile, I felt a sense of calm and warmth in my chest.
'Not again!' I think, startling myself for being dazzled again and punching myself to compose myself, startling Ponzu and the shop assistant instead.
After calming their nerves and affirming that Ponzu will return to this store, we head to the last stop of our city tour. The place that I believe best represents the experience in the city that—The Beauty's Transformation Salon.
"Welcome customers. Oh, Mr. Kai! How nice to see you again in our establishment!" The store manager, Gusto, exclaims, getting very animated when he sees us enter.
"It's a pleasure too, Gusto. I'm surprised you remembered me from a single purchase several days ago." I say.
"But of course he would remember it. Ever since you signed up as a fighter in Heavens Arena, the store's sales have grown in line with your popularity. Everyone wants to visit the store that the handsome up-and-coming rookie visited." Gusto says happily, suddenly diverting his attention to Ponzu beside me.
"Oh, I see you've come shopping today with your cute girlfriend. As expected from someone of your talent and bearing." Gusto innocently comments, causing both of us to turn bright red.
"We aren't a couple, we don't have that kind of relationship, we don't intend to have that kind of relationship and I don't want you to say it again, not in front of us or in front of anyone, is that clear to you?" I tell Gusto with a threatening but still blushing face while I strongely grab his neck tightly with one hand making it difficult for him to breathe.
"Y-Yes, I understand, Mr. Kai. Please let me go. I can't breathe." Gusto begs at an almost inaudible volume, convincing me to let him go. "Okay, then, how can I help you today, dear customer." Gusto asks scared and gasping for air.
"I'm taking my newly appointed disciple on a tour of the city, and I want you to give her the same thorough treatment you gave Nicholas and me last time." I say remembering it. 'The attention and service we received at this store was leagues above the clothing stores inside the tower. This is certainly a good place if you want to experience what Gelsea has to offer besides Heavens Arena.'
"Of course sir, I will do my best to make her beauty shine like the sun. Miss, please accompany me to take your measurements." Gusto says starting to push a struggling Ponzu.
"N-no, I don't need it! I already have clothes! You don't need to bother doing it!" Ponzu nervously yells trying to resist.
"Come on, come on, don't say that, miss. It will be a pleasure for me." Gusto responds, sounding somehow desperate as he continues pushing her.
What follows after this futile resistance is several minutes of a fancy show much like the one Nicholas and I had, with Ponzu trying on different dresses while Gusto makes comments in the background.
"With a short skirt and a long-sleeved sweater, this outfit brings out the most tender and adorable side of a shy girl!"
"Then there's the mysterious beauty who hides her allure behind a modest cream dress with a brown knitted vest! Her warm and gentle charm makes you want to get closer to get to know her better!"
"Or why not the classic Genki girl with blue jeans and a white tank top! You're sure to have fun with this girl!"
As Gusto makes these kinds of presentations by constantly changing Ponzu's clothes and hairstyle, only one think cross my mind: 'She's so fucking pretty. Everything looks good on her.'
"Hmm... Kai... Can we stop already? I think I've already gotten the hand of this store?" Ponzu's low and embarrassed voice is so uplifting that it manages to bring me out of my trance-like state.
"Y-Yeah, I-I also think it's enough." I abashedly respond with my face completely red and steam literally coming out of my head.
After Ponzu changes into the clothes she came to the store in, Gusto approaches her. "Weeeell, miss Ponzu... Have any of the outfits I have presented caught your attention?" He asks expectantly.
"They were all very nice, but I'm not interested in buying any more clothes right now. Sorry for wasting his time." She answers feeling somewhat guilty.
"Oh no, no, no. It's a pleasure for me helping my clients feel good about trying on new clothes, whether they buy them or not. I hope that if you change your mind and look for a new look in the future, you will consider our store for it." He replies, with me unable to discern whether he is saying this out of honesty, fear of me, or a mixture of both.
"Alright. Then we'll leave for now. Next time we come will be to buy something." I say heading with Ponzu to the exit before stopping. "Ah, and just in case you decide to tell someone about the little incident that happened here today..." I bring out my Hunter license, frightening Gusto before continuing talking. "...I'm a professional Hunter, so you can get an idea of the things I could do to you and the people you care about if you get on my bad side, right?"
At my softly threatening words, Gusto starts sweating like crazy while looking at us with a terrified look. "O-O-Of course. I'll n-never do s-s-such a thing to g-good customers like you. P-Please come b-b-back soon."
Seeing that he has understood my intention, I nod and both Ponzu and I finally leave the shop. After walking for a while, Ponzu and I sit down on the bench of a depopulated area, and leaning back she lets out a long sigh of exhaustion.
"Well, what did the city look like to you?" I ask.
"It was actually quite interesting. I didn't expect the city to have so many places of interest apart from Heavens Arena. I was particularly struck by that herbalist's shop we went to. The variety of plants available was truly impressive. I think I'll visit it again another day." Ponzu says smiling.
"It pays off to tour the city while paying attention to the buildings and people that make it up." I reply.
"Although in truth, it was a pretty tiring walk. Especially the clothing store at the end with that little fashion show. Some of his outfits were pretty good, but I thinkt that that kind of pretty clothes aren't for me." She says.
"Why? I think you looked very pretty and cute in all those outfits." I state shyly scratching my cheek and making Ponzu's cheeks blush.
We both stays a few seconds in silence before Ponzu starts speaking again. "Kai can I ask you something?" I nod at her question, prompting her to continue. "What is your opinion of me?"
Taken aback, I try to look down as I answer. "Well, I think you're a very lively and kind girl, always caring about others and getting angry when they don't. I also know you're dedicated to your ambitions, since you always talk about what you're passionate about, and as soon as you obtained your Hunter license, you began traveling far and wide to solidify your reputation as a Hunter."
"As for your potential for combat and Nen, I honestly think it's relatively low, and since you're a Manipulator your physical capabilities will always be somewhat limited even with my help. Still, I'll try to guide you so that you can..."
"I wasn't asking you that!" Ponzu angrily shouts, interrupting me. "I'm asking you what your opinion is of me as a woman!"
"Why are you asking me that? What do you care what I think of you as a woman?" I ask in a muffled tone as I continue to look down.
"It's just that, ever since we first met, you've always been watching me intently. Every time I get too close to you, or when we have even the slightest contact, you always get nervous and blush in embarrassment. And that was especially evident on our date today." She answers twiddling with her fingers.
"This wasn't a date." I state trying to correct her.
"See?! That's the problem!" Ponzu angrily shouts again, starting to rant. "Every time someone even tries to joke about us being together or that you're attracted to me, you freak out and try to deny it with all your might, even getting violent! You even hit yourself when you look at me too intently, as if you're doing something absolutely wrong! And that's precisely why I'm so unsure of your true feelings!"
"What's the problem?! Do you think I'm such a bad option that you want to avoid a relationship with me at all costs?! Are you already in a relationship with someone else and that's why you're trying so hard to avoid feeling attracted to me?! Or do you have some kind of mental problem?!"
"I have no idea how you really feel, and that makes me feel incredibly uneasy! That's why I want to know if you really meant what you said! Do you really think I'm pretty and cute, or not?!"
Honestly, Ponzu caught me off guard by asking me this so intensely. I want to avoid getting involved in this kind of situations, so the best strategy would be to make up a lie to match what she's said. But...
"Yes, I do. I really think you're cute and pretty. You're so pretty that whenever I stare at you, my head gets all fluffy and I become unable to think about anything but how beautiful you are, and whenever I find myself in an emotionally stimulating situation with you, I get all flustered and feel like I'm short of breath. That's the truth." I answer with complete honesty.
Ponzu is a very important person to me, and I'm sure it must have been very difficult and embarrassing for her to open up like that and share her insecurity with me. That's why I don't want to betray her trust with a lie, deciding to be completely honest with her so that we can make things clear.
Ponzu's eyes widen in surprise and her cheeks blush slightly before she begins to speak again."Then, why are you always...?"
"Because I hate feeling that way!" I shout interrupting her mid-sentence. "I hate my mind being flooded with sexual thoughts, making it hard for me to think straight! I hate that people judge me as some kind of disgusting and untrustworthy degenerate just for being a lustful man! I hate having to carry the worry that people will try to use this to hurt me or control me! I HATE IT ALL!!!"
"That's why I have to constantly deny these fleeting impulses and thoughts with all my might in order to maintain my self-control! Because if I stop resisting for even a second and give in to temptation, I fear that I'll end up branded with a social stigma that I'll never be able to shake off! So I don't care if I have to threaten, hurt, or self-harm; I won't allow this damned condition of mine to get me into a problem that I won't be able to get out of later! I WON'T ALLOW IT!!!"
After I finish shouting with a tense and enraged expression, a deathly silence falls between Ponzu and me for about a minute before Ponzu begins to speak again, this time with a sad tone. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was such a serious thing for you. I see now that being in a relationship is the last thing you'd want to do."
"It's not that I'm not willing to enter into a relationship. But I don't want it to be something meaningless and superficial." Saying these words, Ponzu turns to look at me closely. "If I ever decide to try something with someone, I want it to be with someone who truly loves me from the bottom of their heart."
Unbeknownst to me, this statement makes Ponzu's eyes widen as if she had just received a great revelation. Nonetheless,
"Ugh, sorry. Getting so sentimental is unbecoming of me. I think it's time I took you back to your hotel so you could change into something more appropriate for your Heavens Arena debut." I say standing up and trying to dismiss the current charged atmosphere.
"Shall we?" I ask Ponzu, offering my hand to help her up.
Ponzu timidly takes it, getting up from the bench and starting to follow me back to her hotel.
'I didn't expect Kai to have such a concern. Honestly, this heated conversation has given me a clearer perspective on Kai. Now I know that possibility exists.' Ponzu thinks following Kai, clutching her blouse with slightly flushed cheeks and with an unfamiliar feeling of longing in her chest.