A Timid Hiro

Mukuro stared at him as he opened up to her as she was completely at a loss at what to do. She didn’t think she’d be any good at conseuling him so she threw that out the window.

“You… were bullied?” Mukuro was far too dangerous of a person for anyone to bully her, except for Junko– although the soldier had a lot of baggage that made her enjoy whatever her sister did.

“I’m not going to bully you. I don’t have much interest in that kind of thing…” Mukuro said as she glanced away, feeling awkward for staring at him for so long. “I guess if you stick around me… you won’t be bullied here.” Unless Junko wanted to but Mukuro wasn’t going to tell him that.

“S-Sorry, I probably said too much.”

The petite programmer wasn’t sure why they had decided to confide to the soldier, but what was done was done. Hearing Mukuro’s response eased his tensions though. Although she seemed a bit uncomfortable, she didn’t dismiss the programmer’s plight. It was ... in a way ... kind of sweet that she said they wouldn’t be bullied if they were with her. 

“…” Mukuro felt like she was the reason for any of the nervousness she could see from Chihiro. Naturally her first thought was that she frightened him because of her talent.

“I… see…” She trailed off, a painful silence coming over her as she wasn’t sure what to reply with. Small talk was never something she was good at– if that wasn’t obvious already. Awkwardly she looked away from him, trying to think of something to save the situation.

In all their fuss of being nervous, Chihiro forgot that the solider wasn’t best equipped for small talk such as this. It worried him that maybe he was scaring her.

“I-I’m sorry for being so fussy. For a moment I thought you were implying something about me.”

Sliding their eyes to their feet, Chihiro now spoke even softer. He began speaking before he had much time to think.

“Your gait… it reminds me of a boy’s. Typically men and women walk differently because of their physical characteristics… although there are exceptions.” Mukuro could see the nervousness within him as she stared blankly. “I didn’t mean anything by it. It was just… an observation.”

“Heh ... I guess that makes me a little of a tomboy. I never ... noticed that I walk like that myself. Heh heh.”

When they arrived at the gun range the school had built for her she took her key and accessed the storage for all the firearms there. She pulled out a simple handgun for him to use and took a few clips of ammo as well. Mukuro led him to the booth and handed him not only a pair of noise-cancelling ear muffs but some protective glasses as well. “Put those on.” 

“Let’s start you off simple.” The soldier checked the chamber to make sure there wasn’t a bullet in it before she offered out the handgun for him. “This is a M1911. The police used to use them in the past– oh, don’t worry, I haven’t put the ammo in it yet so don’t worry. It’s as dangerous as a a paper weight.”

After following the solider to the school’s gun range, some anxiety began to leave Chihiro. Sure, he dreaded having to use a weapon, but he felt better knowing Mukuro was showing him a place where she felt more comfortable. It at least meant she trusted him somewhat. He would then carefully put on both the muffs and glasses, his anxiety quickly returning.

“O-Okay. So I just hold it like this?”

“I don’t know if it will help… but it wouldn’t be bad for your to learn how to handle one.” Mukuro let out a small sigh before standing up, only to stop and glance at him to see if he’d follow. “I can teach you a bit about knives as well. If you do ever have to use one to defend yourself or someone else then it shouldn’t be the first time handling a weapon either.”

“Okay ...”

Chihiro took a slow breath and then followed the soldier. While this wasn’t the way he had planned out his day, there was something a little exciting about it. Scary of course, but exciting too. He’d get a chance to possible get stronger by helping overcome his fear of weapons. If all went well, maybe he’d be a bit closer to Mukuro as well. 

“No… we can do it now.” Her eyes glanced over at him as she spoke. “I’m guessing you’ve never fired a gun?” Mukuro wondered if the poor boy could even handle the loud noise of one going off let alone actually holding the deadly weapon. “Maybe if you knew more about what I do then you wouldn’t be as afraid…”

“Huh? N-No, I’ve never actually used a weapon at all. I don’t really like violence. Maybe if it was to protect myself, but ...”

The programmer’s thoughts had slowed down now that the conversation had taken a slightly calmer route, but he was still unsure what to make of it all. Talking with this incredibly tough girl about guns was something he never imagined he’d be doing.

Intrigue?! What did that mean?! Mukuro had no idea but as she glanced over to see the blush on his face accompanied with his stuttering she couldn’t help but match his blush.

“I… see…” The soldier mumbled out as she shifted awkwardly on her seat beside him. “Well… do your best?” Mukuro had no idea how to properly respond to him acting flustered around her. Him being afraid was one thing but to have another acting flustered absolutely bewildered her.

“So… yeah, that’s what I came to say.”

“I-I’m sorry. I guess I meant ... I’d like to talk with you more.”

Hazel eyes now looked away from the soldier as he continued to blush. He wasn’t sure how exactly how to respond to Mukuro’s “encouraging” words either. Whatever was going on, it clearly left hem both a bit uncomfortable.

“I guess I… felt sort of bad…? I didn’t mean to frighten you… but I know that make people afraid quite easily.” She let out another sigh, this time a smaller one. “Normally I don’t care when I upset people because they’re assholes or whatever but scaring you is like… scaring a rabbit. It just doesn’t sit right with me…”

“Hmmm ... that’s interesting. I guess I do tend to get a little scared from you at times. Maybe I’m just not used to you yet. I-I’d like to be one day though. You intrigue me.”

Chihiro let these words escape him before he had much of a chance to even think. As such, the next few moments would include lots of stuttering, blushing and some bewilderment.

Mukuro barely glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she sat there beside the boy. “I… didn’t mean to…” She let out a heavy sigh as she knew she’d be a bit startled if someone sat down next to her like this. “Sorry… I’m used to hanging out with military men. I didn’t exactly get a chance to properly… socialize.” Between that and growing up homeless she was in a real rut for social interactions. “I guess… I’m trying to explain why I act the way I do…”

“N-No, it’s fine. I guess surprised is a better word.”

Chihiro although nervous, kept his gaze locked on the solider. He would try to assess the situation and play it by ear. Whatever the reason Mukuro had decided to come over for clearly was for something important. After all, Chihiro had only spoken to her a handful of times.