Charles Patricius

It was quite obvious what Sakura meant, but Hiruko would never deal in the obvious until it was entirely out of the realm of speculation. In this case, he didn't plan to throw himself at Sakura for any particular reason, even though it seemed like a rather good idea. Hiruko was content with the way things were, physically and spiritually; he wasn't so absolutely taken by the pull of even goddesses at this point in his existence. "Maybe you're wrong, or maybe you're right. It all depends on the type of arrangement you're looking for. What's in it for you? What's in it for me? I'm not the type who's going to enter any agreement without expectations, nor do I enter agreements that aren't beneficial."

Truer words had never been spoken by Hiruko. Sakura's modus operandi was made clear by her dealings with Shota, but anything else was an inference at best. Perhaps she wanted a similar deal to what she had with Shota, or perhaps she wanted something more inline with Hiruko's work. In this building currently, there were two people whose skills were an endless well, picked up easily and improved upon gracefully. Speaking of grace, Sakura apparently took an interest in the way Hiruko spoke. He wasn't sure precisely what she was getting at, but... "Not the first time I'm hearing that," he said. As for introductions, he supposed it was well past time to decide what name was being given. Of course... it was never truly necessary. Sakura asked a little too late, and a little too suddenly. She was a bit too courteous and intrigued to ask so late in a conversation with such a depth of topics already. "No, I didn't. You can call me my name," he decided. It was time to fit the last piece of a puzzle that had been assembling itself this entire time. "If you tell me where you learned it from."

A rare treat was it for Sakura to find a man who wasn't trying to throw himself at her. Truthfully that always created a bit more interest than normal, besides her own prior knowledge of this individual and her ability to sense the strange magic around his being. He truly was one of the most interesting people she'd run into at all. As for the depth of any particular arrangement it was pretty obvious to Sakura what she wanted or needed from him and what she was planning on doing regardless of such an arrangement taking place. "Well, my intentions are always pretty straightforward. I planned to experience you at my earliest convenience... just because I think you're interesting and could show me something new. If you're also willing to help me make sure that Kakihara-san doesn't cause any problems for my friends, I'd be happy to help you out while you're here, or later after I am sure everything's okay where I am," she said of the sort of arrangement she was looking for. "Besides that, I think we'll both enjoy being able to talk to each other for the duration of this trip... unless you like me were planning to spend the day wandering around," she commented as she took another sip from her glass. In truth, if Hiruko wasn't here right now, she would have come in, showered and left again already.

Their conversation beyond that progressed easily with Sakura picking up her glass for the last sip in it before Hiruko claimed she could call him by his name, if she would tell him where she heard it. Sakura looked at this man with new excitement in her eyes. Clever people were a bit more common than she expected, but this was something else entirely. This man was smooth, exciting and boosted a level of observational intelligence that was magnificent. "Your mind has to work in a very interesting way to come to that conclusion," Sakura said. "I was present when Micchan and Kayan were dropped off last night. They are my first friends so when I presented curiosities about their states they explained to be what they'd been up to, that's all. Which I suppose definitely makes you Daikichi Hiruko, I didn't expect to run into you, here. Can I call you Hirrun?" she said at the end lightly pleased.

"I'm not sure I would say that if I were you," Hiruko countered. Whatever Sakura thought of her intentions and their clarity, the general public obviously didn't agree 100%. "You thought things were clear with Shocchi too, didn't you? I'll give you a freebie in good spirit. Don't cheat yourself. The smarter someone is, the easier they are to take advantage of once you find the one fault. You're a clever girl, but you're not worldly. That'll be the end of you if you're not careful," he warned. Regarding their deal in the making, Sakura claimed she wished to... experience him whenever possible. That was about the strangest way he'd ever heard a proposition. "I guess that's one way to phrase something. If you mean that the way I want to take it, that's a pretty solid idea. I'll also be honest; I'm here on business. Tonight is free, but I'm liable to be out at any random hour of the day after a short relaxation period. If there's something you want from me, say it while I'm still around," he urged.

The realization that she knew his name, or rather that Hiruko was privy to that knowledge, seemed to be a matter of pleasant shock for Sakura. It must have been interesting to manage excitement over finding other sharp minds. Considering his line of work, Hiruko dreaded encountering the clever ones more often than not... but not this time; not yet. Moving on from that train of thought, Sakura was forthcoming with desired information. She learned his name from... Miko and Kaguya, whom he'd just been with the previous night. Miko did claim to have multiple friends, all of whom were stunning. Obviously, this had to be someone among their ranks. "Sou ka. You must be one of those 'stunning friends' she was talking about. Again, I think she undersold the whole group," he claimed with a shrug. While taking another sip, Hiruko shifted his eyes toward Sakura. She wanted to call him... what? Interesting. "Call me what you like, Sakucchi♥~ But if we're going to be on that level, we're gonna have to drink again to celebrate a new friendship~" With that said, Hiruko began pouring a third glass for himself before offering the bottle to pour Sakura's second ─ one that would be a double since she was already behind.

Sakura according to Hiruko wasn't as clear as she thought she was, the girl gave that some consideration as he spoke about how even Kakihara hadn't truly understood her meaning. Perhaps this was the case, even so, nothing she ever said implied any permanence and nothing Kakihara ever did implied any long term interest. "Sou ka, I could see that... I can always be painfully direct, I have the vocabulary for that now," she said as if she was giving it a bit of thought. In truth she did often speak like she was quite a bit older than she was, but this was a language based issue. She'd come to acknowledge that various people seemed to speak in different amounts of directness depending on the situation. She could blame her own inexperience for the earliest situation... though Kakihara was also being purposefully dishonest with his intent by her own understanding of his current motivations. Something deeper inside Sakura than her current understanding said he'd pay for it, how though... was up to time. "Arigatou gouzaimasu," she thanked the man as she always would for anyone giving her useful information. In a fair trade sort of scenario she wouldn't cheat herself further knowledge of worldliness. "Hm in that case, what I want for myself is more of this worldly knowledge I am missing. I don't know what you'd want for that, unless you're interested in the oddities I've noticed since arriving in Osaka," she countered her offer. "Oh and just to be perfectly clear, I definitely meant fucking. I'm planning to fuck you at my earliest convenience," the girl said firmly while finishing her first drink.

Soon enough more jovial times would be upon them. It would seem that Hiruko had heard from Miko that she had 'stunning friends' and he claimed she'd under sold the group. At the same time, Sakura was simply happy to be included, "Micchan used the word stunning? I like that... I mean when she gets flustered she becomes incredibly direct but I'm sure I like that as a description," Sakura said almost observationally. The truth of the matter was early this very morning Miko had proclaimed she wanted to fuck her, which Sakura would also be taking advantage of at her earliest convenience, as it seemed they would be allowed a certain closeness once everything was stable. Whatever the case, Hiruko was pleased by his apparent nickname enough to give Sakura one in return, Sakucchi wasn't something she'd heard, but she'd heard the watered down version as given by Kakihara. "Oh? I like that one a lot~" she said a bright smile crossing her face. "Kampai, Hirrun!~" she said accepting her double and their new friendship.

Sakura could be... in her own words, painfully direct if needed. Hiruko had no issues with that idea; he'd seen the most direct of people. "Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you have to keep it blunt to get your point across. There are too many ways to beat around the bush, and only one way to be sure you're understood," Hiruko stated. Though he was also the type to avoid too much directness, it seemed Sakura was missing some of the more nuanced ways to get a proposition across. He imagined she had her fair share of difficulty in some cases, if she ever sought someone who wasn't already throwing themselves at her feet. Moving on, Sakura made her request for an arrangement between them, stressing her desire for knowledge. He was actually interested in any oddities she'd seen since arriving here; fresh eyes were invaluable in such cases. Moreover, there was clarity offered regarding her intentions; they were just what he thought and hoped. "Ask, and you shall receive. In exchange, I'll take that information and... maybe you can join my list of temporary models. You're obviously no stranger to that, and don't worry ─ I don't intend to be anything important to anyone. I do intend to let you go through with that plan of yours... with some conditions."

More surprising than the fact that Sakura was another of Miko and Kaguya's friends, was the fact that he didn't realize it before. So few people in their tweens had such an incredible visage; she obviously had to be one of them. "I should have figured you were one of them. Well, that answers any questions I had left. If you're with them, you're with me. Kampai," he said with a raised glass colliding with Sakura's. With that, Hiruko was content to down his third glass in its entirety before speaking again. "So, that condition... I don't do commitment. The whole 'sex friend' schtick is my thing, and it's for a reason."

According to Hiruko there was no problem with being very blunt. Sakura could agree, she had fewer problems in general when she was exceedingly blunt. Though there were still some issues, over time it was becoming much easier for her to know the sorts of people who required blunt reactions and those who did not. Perhaps such bluntness would be put directly into effect for a different purpose later. "Hai, I agree with that..." Sakura said. Humans use of language was very different, the layers of hidden meaning were almost alien to her, but learning them was interesting and putting them into practice was fun. She'd live happily with all her newfound knowledge. It would seem the more direct version of her request and her desire for knowledge would be answered. And in exchange, pictures and some conditions. Sakura thought about that offer and shrugged. "Every situation has to be taken with new information in mind. I don't mind being in pictures for you. Though I am curious, is it normal to ask that sort of thing in this context?" she asked genuinely curious. She'd given pictures to people, sent them of her own accord, but aside from Kazuhiko who'd even managed a quick ask, Kakihara was the one choosing to take extra pictures of her. She wouldn't be judging him on the standard created by Kakihara, and instead taking her friends appraisal of the man along with her own in the last few minutes. "What condition?" Sakura wondered. It would be interesting to hear this out, she'd not gotten to find out whatever condition Kazuhiko had placed on Miko before she wondered if the situation was similar or if conditions were always parts of these sorts of things.

Ah, well some things would be answered. The idea of reputation being so important to humans was something Sakura didn't truly understand until this exact moment. She'd seen it in minor forms before now, but this was a different sort of experience. Sakura knew that people like Kazu and Miko trusted each other after 300 years knowing each other. She also knew that Kaguya and Miko trusted each other after being friends for years. But to her knowledge, Miko had only met Hiruko the previous day, but she'd made enough of an impression upon him, that he was willing to accept her friends, at face value. "Sou ka..." she said having a healthy sip of her own drink. It was deeply warming for a few reasons, not the least of which was feeling very included in the group suddenly. Beyond this point, apparently the condition for sex with Hiruko was that he didn't do commitment. Sex friend was his thing because he wasn't planning to be that kind of important to anyone else. "Hm, that is reasonable enough, and I don't want commitment either. I also should have figured that was something else taken from you... what do you mean by sex friend though, I don't want to have a skewed understanding. Kakihara-san implied that such a thing was only about the sex," Sakura explained of her current understanding of a term that apparently belonged to Hiruko. She sought clarification knowing that her friends had mentioned spending just fun time with Hiruko and the sex being extra on top of that.

"Good. I like agreeing with new people," Hiruko stated as a matter of fact. He'd already decided Sakura was a reasonable individual, and now believed she wasn't a ne'er-do-well due to her existing friendships. If they could remain on friendly terms like this, he'd be a happy camper. Already, Sakura was agreeing to a favored scenario of his, in which he'd gain some great memorabilia from their eventual endeavors. Alas, she wondered if his request was a normal one. The answer Hiruko had in mind was surprisingly complex, so he took a moment before answering. "In context? It depends. I don't imagine there's anyone who likes pictures, who wouldn't want pictures of someone like you to keep. Unless you meant the asking itself, in which case, I'd be in breach of trust if I didn't ask first," he concluded. When asked about the condition he had, Hiruko said nothing right away; Sakura would have her answer in time.

First and foremost, there was a toast. It was only natural to Hiruko, that he'd find Sakura trustworthy due to her existing connections. Though their meetings were recent and technically short-lived, he had a good grasp of both Miko and Kaguya; they were good eggs. They also had the potential to be incredible in Hiruko's field of work, and Sakura was shaping up to be an ideal ringleader in that hypothetical scenario. Moving on to the condition he offered, Sakura agreed with ease. Ah, but there was yet another question on the table. She knew the term 'sex friend' from Shota, but not its meaning... because there was only sex. Of course he didn't execute properly. Deciding to pour yet another glass, Hiruko sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yare yare. The friend part is there for a reason. So, listen... it's all in the name. Of course sex is the important thing, but that's not the whole point. If I say 'let's be sex friends,' what I mean is let's be friends who have sex while understanding neither person wants anything more than that. It means I won't expect you to pull an engagement ring or mortgage a house in our name, and you won't expect it from me either. But, if we want to do something nice for each other that doesn't involve sex at all, that's still perfectly fine... though it's fair to still expect sex in that case too. Does that make more sense?"

Sakura heard what Hiruko had to say and agreed. Finding common ground with new people was part of the fun of new people. She was quite interested in the way this man's mind worked and knew that if people like Miko and Kaguya found him trustworthy then he was likely exactly that. Beyond this point Sakura would be receiving a complex answer to her question. The first layer described the idea that anyone who liked having pictures would enjoy having pictures of Sakura and thus made sense of someone asking to take pictures of her in any context. She could understand that, her day at the beach had involved people of all ages asking to take pictures with her and she'd done it because it was fun and everyone was made happy by it. Beyond this point apparently not asking in the context of a sexual situation was a breach of trust. "Sou," she said giving her understanding and adjusting her calculation. '93 percent.' Sakura's ability to process information was far beyond that of most normal humans and she was beginning to understand something but there were a few pieces still missing of that understanding.

One was about to make itself obvious, as she continued to drink her own drink. It would seem Hiruko was in need of another. That action of pinching the bridge of his nose implied frustration, and a dislike for the execution of his 'sex friend' ideology by his cousin. Sakura watched and fully understood this and by the time he was pouring his drink hers was empty as well so she held it out to be filled. That warm feeling in her stomach changed nothing about the processes of her brain, but it was activating her body in a familiar way. His explanation made sex friends, sound more like what she imagined initially. People who enjoyed similar things, but also had sex or could expect to sate their sexual desires with each other if they encountered one another. "Yes, that makes perfect sense and was more in line with what I originally thought," she said clearly. "It's why I was confused about what I missed in my understanding of my arrangement with Kakihara-san. He didn't seem interested in what I thought of as friendship so it didn't make sense that we weren't understanding it the same way," she said thoughtfully. "But I understand now. Arigatou gouzaimasu..." she thanked Hiruko for his explanation but such things were only further damning Kakihara Shota in her eyes. It was becoming obvious to Sakura that Kakihara was trying to take advantage of her, but she hadn't quite gotten to the why or what he was after yet. Whether she did or not, wasn't entirely imporant to the moment, she had more important things to think about, like the gorgeous man in front of her.

Shota had the worst habit of compiling problems and making dumb decisions. That sort of issue was precisely the reason Hiruko was here now, but that was of little importance for the time being. The younger male definitely wasn't making his job any easier ─ that was a certainty. Annoyance aside, Hiruko had to consider his options moving forward. Perhaps that could wait. He was beginning to feel the effects of alcohol, and that was no time to harp on the idiocies of a child in an adult's body. It was in Hiruko's best interest to focus on chatting with the fourth bombshell he'd met in the past day alone.

Speaking of focus, Sakura had something new to think about: the true meaning of a sex friend as coined by Hiruko. She found the sense in his explanation, and seemed to think it was a better use for the term. Whatever Shota thought it meant was far from correct. "That's not a sex friend, and what he's looking for isn't right either. I'm sure he got the wrong message a long time ago. Shocchi even has a history of trying to steal girlfriends like it makes him a bigger deal or something," Hiruko explained before another hefty swig was taken. "If what I hear is true, one girl ended up with her whole life in the gutter; I think she even died some time after. That kid doesn't make it easy to help him out... but anyway, I'm done thinking about that stuff. I'm starting to get a decent buzz going, and I don't feel like killing it early. So... let's talk about something more enjoyable, yeah? That is, unless you're already done talking~"

Kakihara Shota was a problematic individual. As it stood, Sakura had come to the understanding that he was trying to take advantage of her for reasons she'd not yet understood. But while she consumed the rest of her drink, Hiruko was forthcoming with information regarding the follies of his cousin. The man she'd played her first card game with, thought himself as capable as a demon. He liked to take things that didn't belong to him as a way of bolstering himself. Some young woman had lost her life dealing with his nonsense, and that was enough to press a button within Sakura's mind. But the thing which activated her latent emotional state was... the bit about taking people's girlfriends. It implied that the change in Kakihara's demeanor that she'd already noticed was related directly to what he thought he was doing. It explained the change in his attitude, the demands for more direct speech and acknowledgement. Everything he said and did that annoyed her in the last 24 hours was given so much context that she was almost astounded she'd not noticed how bad his attitude was before now. He thought he was winning against Kazuhiko which wasn't possible and in even internally looking down on that man, he was damning himself to torture by Sakura's own hand. She'd tolerate quite a bit but no disrespect to Kazuhiko would ever be allowed to stand. But now that passing thought of killing him, seemed far too... kind. '98 percent.' He should get what he deserved and she'd help him find out directly what karma gave people like him.

"Sou, that places the rest of the context where it needs to be. I have full understanding now," Sakura mentioned a smile crossing her face that was rarely seen by anyone. It was demonic in nature, and she was definitely planning something sadistic, but it didn't matter for now. No, they were drinking and having fun now. "I am quite done talking, but what about you, Hirrun?~" she asked in a teasing manner. "Did you want those pictures in this bikini or would you rather see some new lingerie? I was planning to have a bath after being out all day, and you're more than welcome to join me~" Sakura flirted happily. She was more than willing to put aside her anger and focus on the man in front of her. She knew by tale this man was worth the effort so she'd withhold nothing and expected to find out what kind of reactions she had to offer the real 'sex friend'.