"Are you okay?" Rukiyo asked, unable to stop herself from doing so.
She doesn't know what could be running through Blank's mind as he held out the flowers to her, but she wanted to know.
Who in their right mind would want a dragon?
He clearly saw her horns, tail, and wings, right? He knows that she's a monster, right? He knows that she's a danger to all the villagers around them, right?
Rukiyo swallowed. "I don't mean it the bad way, I'm just concerned.."
Blank simply kept his head turned, not looking at her and still outstretched the flowers towards her, not backing down either.
"I-I want you t-to make it up to m-me.. Like this." The blonde haired man muttered, stuttering on his words. "B-But if you don't w-want to.. It's okay.. I won't force i-it—"
"No, no, no, it's fine!" Rukiyo laughed nervously, her fingers wrapping around the stems as she accepted the flowers.
They're softer to the touch than she expected, the petals cool and velvety smooth. It took her by surprise that she practically snapped her attention to the flowers, eyes widening.
"Thank you." She murmured, bewildered at what was happening. "These.. Are lovely."
Blank brought his gaze to her, his eyes softening at the sight of the beautiful woman admiring the flowers he worked hard to get, his fingers twitching awkwardly at his sides.
He can practically feel the tension rolling off her, but he could tell that she was genuine with her gratitude.
Then, without uttering another word, Rukiyo turned to her right slightly, ready to walk away from this increasingly awkward situation— when suddenly, the system interface flickered to life before her eyes.
>> QUEST COMPLETE!
Rukiyo froze, eyes focusing onto the bold text on the interface.
>> Rewards will be distributed shortly. Please check your inbox to claim them.
She blinked at the glowing text, momentarily distracted, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion when she read the last sentence.
Inbox? She has an inbox? Why is the system mentioning it just now?
Blank noticed the sudden pause in her track and couldn't help, but approach her, his feet shuffling quietly towards her.
Once he got close, the interface vanished from Rukiyo's sight, leaving her standing there, flowers in hand, with absolutely no clue what to say next, but jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder.
She fought hard to not raise a hand and smack the person who touched her, but it was difficult given that she has a reflex.
She inhaled sharply, head whipping around to look at the person who had the guts to touch her.
Expectedly, it was Blank.
"What?" She asked, golden eyes narrowing in suspicion when the tall man hovered over her, back hunched slightly, but she didn't let him get any closer and shrugged his hand off her shoulder.
The action caused Blank to flinch and pull his hand away, as if he was burned.
"Please don't touch me easily." She grunted, her fingers tightening around the flowers he gave and she used it to smack him softly on the chest to emphasize her point. "If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest not repeating it in the future."
Blank nodded his head, reluctance and confusion radiating off him. "O-Okay.. I'm sorry.."
He lowered his head and turned away slightly, his right arm wrapping around himself to settle his hand on his other arm.
He tried to make himself small, afraid that he offended Rukiyo, afraid that she won't talk to him after this interaction, and even went as far as scrambling a couple of steps away from her.
Rukiyo's lips formed a straight line, guilt settling over her almost immediately at the scene.
"Look.. I wasn't threatening you." She sighed, clearing whatever misunderstanding was about to rise. "I'm simply trying to make it clear that I'm jumpy. I get startled easily, and whenever I'm spooked, my hands will immediately smack or punch whatever scares me."
Blank perked up, his bangs shifting along the movement and revealed his golden irises for a moment.
"Try not to scare me next time." Rukiyo grumbled, dragging her gaze away from his.
She can't lie. Blank is an incredibly attractive individual— just by his body and mannerism alone, she's sure that if he so desired to remove that long bangs of his, he would look good.
Well, he already look good, but that's beside the point.
Though she wasn't sure what the quest meant by companion, she kind of figured out that she probably cleared it because she accepted the flowers from Blank.
Which brings her to the question of..
Does this mean I can trust him?Since the system technically chose him to be my companion? She thought, her eyebrows furrowing as she submerged herself in her thoughts.
What does companion even mean for the system? Is it a platonic or romantic companion? Wait.. Can a companion be even used for friendship? Isn't a companion used for both? What does the system want from him? Why did the system choose him for her?
Questions flooded Rukiyo's mind, haunting her like plague, but there's no answer that popped up, causing a dull throb to make itself known at her temples.
She groaned, raising her free hand to press her fingers on the bridge of her nose.
Goodness, get me out of this mess. Rukiyo thought, sighing heavily, before she opened her eyes— she wasn't aware that she closed her eyes, which was a confusing, but it is what it is.
I'll just assume that the system wanted me to have a friend, since that's what companion originally means. She grumbled in her mind, her eyes landing on the hunched form of Blank who was staring at her, his lips pursed.
Rukiyo cleared her throat, scratching her cheek awkwardly. "Sorry.. Were you saying something?"
Blank shook his head, the hand that was gripping his other arm dropping to his side as he started speaking, voice barely above whisper. "Y-You.. Just doze off, I think.. So, I wasn't sure i-if you wanted to say something.."
Rukiyo blinked and couldn't help, but tilt her head.
Blank kind of look cute.. Especially when he's just standing there, unsure of what to do, after she told him to not touch her.
"Yeah, I do want you." She murmured, deciding to just accept the quest's chosen companion, her eyes flickering over to his face.
Blank's body became stiff, his cheeks slowly warming up and flushing with color at the words he had just heard from her.
"How does being my companion sound to you?"