The next few days of Liohime and Shihon's relationship weren't as bad. Granted, she was still very clingy for some reason, but as time went on, the burden of sleep, household duties, table manners, and other basic things had begun to decrease.
And strangely, it was Liohime who had decided to finally drop the question:
"You've been pretty much staying inside the house for almost two weeks, Shihon. I'm surprised that you didn't bring up wanting to go out in a while. Don't you wanna go out somewhere fun?"
Shihon slightly lifted her head from his lap as she lay down on the bed while Liohime sat up, keeping her head on his lap while he slowly petted her long, smooth green hair.
"Master, you and I should be swapping positions right about now."
"I'm not in need of a lap pillow right about now."
"...Master, by chance, do you swing the other way-"
"What, not wanting a lap pillow is being gay now?"
If I speak, I might be in trouble.
"When it comes from your ever-so-loving partner like me, yeah," Shihon answered with a sneer.
"Fuck off…..maybe tomorrow. Also, you didn't answer my question."
He softly pushed her head back down onto his lap and continued to play with her hair, while she blushed and averted her eyes, almost forgetting what his question was.
"Uh…..ah, yeah. I don't mind going out, but I'm happy as long as I get to be with you, Master!"
"Good grief. I had a feeling you'd say that."
Having bought a cute green and white robe featuring bunny ear sockets that were able to hide her horns while she would be outside, Liohime was eager to keep a close, friendly relationship with his Magical Beast-Girl by making great memories while exploring the outside world with her.
"Master, what about your work?" questioned Shihon, still keeping her gaze away from his line of vision. "It's been days, but you have not left the house either."
"Work is kinda dry right now but when I'm needed, my clients anonymously come to me online, so I don't usually go out unless I meet them physically, carry out my work, get a drink or buy groceries."
"Oh…"
"So you don't need to worry about me leaving you at home all by yourself for a long period of time."
"Okie. How about we take a walk around the neighborhood for a start, Master?"
Liohime rubbed the tips of her black horns gently with the index finger of his right hand.
"Sure," he replied coolly, "I can work with that."
"I love when you make your voice deep, Master."
"-hk, that was accidental."
"Can you whisper 'Sweet Dreams' in my ears with that tone tonight?" she replied in a mocking example of his sudden change of tone.
"What, so that you can have even more lewd dreams of me when you go to sleep? I'll pass."
He flicked his middle finger onto her forehead, which initiated a cute yelp in reply. It was now his favorite punishment method whenever Shihon's perversion was revealed every now and then.
"M-Master, you meanie…"
"A walk around the neighborhood, huh. Let's go out this evening, then. Maybe we could even take a look at the clothing store that recently opened so that we can pick some outfits for you."
He continued to fondle her hair as she exhaled a relaxing sigh and replied with a simple, "Okie."
Liohime was still at the mercy of Shihon's overly clingy nature. Being petted from her beloved Master was now apparently a must these days, and so was her usual habit of following him around the house.
Thus, in order for her to feel satisfied with spending quality time with him, it was vital for them to go out together.
A date that wasn't a date, in Liohime's own words.
***
"Are you sure that you wanna go out in your human form?" Liohime called out at the bathroom door. "You being in your beast form would reduce the hassle of trying to stop people from being suspicious of your identity, you know."
"...Master, wanna open the door and take a peek?"
"Hey, I already had a good look at everything your body had to offer thanks to you, so I'll pass. Also, answer the question."
"I prefer being in the same form as you, Master, so I'll stick with being human for now!"
Geez…this girl…
Suddenly, the door swung open, and expecting a quick flash of nudity, he immediately turned away, but after a few seconds of silence, he took a peek at the corner of his eyes.
"Ta-da!" the young woman exclaimed happily, showing off the outfit that he had bought for her to go out with. "How do I look, Master?"
The sleek, gorgeous white robe with striped green edges covered her slender body neatly and the two cute elongated hooded ear sockets for her horns to be hidden by fit perfectly.
"H-Huh…" he stammered. He was not expecting it to look so well, but it got the job done to a tee.
"Well? How is it?" she pushed for a convincing answer, and he walked over to her position, smiled, and gave her head a light pat.
"It suits you, partner," he finally answered with conviction.
Her eyes brimmed with delight, and she dashed past him and towards the front door with a skip in her step.
"Alright! Let's go! It's time for our first ever date!!"
"It's not a date, Shihon," is what he wanted to say, but he had a good feeling that whatever he would try to say in order to correct her would come to no avail.
Smart choice, Mr. No Fun Guy.
Liohime picked up his black hat from a nearby desk and placed it firmly on his head.
It's just going to be a fun little outing…so why am I getting nervous? Get it together, Liohime.
Tisha Marsey, his neighbor, was most likely still at work at this hour, so she would not see him with a random woman like Shihon and get any ideas.
His Shinigami Soldier services were not available at the moment as he had not gotten any requests for his work in the past week.
So why…? He pondered as he advanced to the front door.
Why am I-
His thoughts were interrupted by the arm that wrapped around and held onto his own left arm.
He tilted his head to his left, and found Shihon, beaming with a mischievous but ecstatic grin.
"Shall we go, my beloved partner~?" she questioned in a playful, seductive tone, causing Liohime to scoff and roll his eyes.
Almost all the time, she was able to make him forget about his worries, with her antics, even if it was only temporarily.
And he was truly grateful for that.
"Sure thing, partner."
Liohime Kitagami and Shihon thus headed out on their first of many outings.