I cannot tell a lie, I ship Izumo with Ryuji and I do not really know why. But there aren't many fics—or anything really—about this pairing. You're more likely to find things pairing either of those two with Rin than each other. So here's a very, very, very small Ryuji x Izumo fic to fill the void in my heart. Most likely out of character for both these guys, though…

Disclaimer: Blu Rose doesn't own the Blue Exorcist series, it is the property of Kazue Kato.

Summary: Love is a wonderful feeling to experience, but it can be frightening sometimes, and sometimes it can make you act like a fool.

X-X-X

Love—the romantic kind of love—had the power to be frightening. It could make you act unlike yourself or sometimes make you blind to what was happening in reality. Izumo thinks—no, she knows that kind of love was partially the reason why Izumo's mother became possessed by the nine-tailed fox demon. The reason why she started to ignore her duties as a priestess and a mother. All for her lover who wanted nothing to do with her children.

Which was why Izumo was beginning to regret starting this relationship to begin with this gorilla of a man. Although they remained purely professional at their jobs and still tended to argue and tease each other like they did before, their relationship opened up new forms of interaction like hand-holding and hugging. Kissing came next, naturally. But the sensation of his lips on her cheek had barely lasted two seconds before it was replaced by a stinging feeling in her hand.

"What the hell's wrong with you?! Don't do things like that out in public!" Izumo snapped, tightening the hand she used to slap him into a fist.

Ryuji's surprised expression quickly became an annoyed one. "What the hell?! There's no one here!" It may have been outdoors, but it was also somewhere secluded. The only other forms of life in the area were more likely to be animals, insects or harmless demons.

"You don't know that! Anyone could come through here and see us!"

"What's so bad about that?"

"You really have to ask?"

Ryuji sucked his teeth in annoyance. "The hell is with you? You're more high maintenance than usual."

The purple-haired woman snorted and looked away. "There isn't anything wrong with me. The problem's with you! What will people say if they see us…us…?"

"Kissing. Are you tryin' to tell me you're havin' second thoughts about this?"

Izumo scoffed. "I don't want any tongues wagging about us!"

"I didn't think that someone like you cared for what strangers think."

"I don't!"

"Then what the hell are you so afraid of?!" Ryuji snapped before taking a calming breath. "Look. If you legitimately think that us together is a bad thing, it might be best if we just…stop seeing each other like this before—"

"No! I…don't think this is bad! I-I just…!" Izumo balled her hands up into fists and looked away from the blonde-streaked brunette. She didn't like the idea of kissing or what it might lead to: her pouring out her heart to him, or perhaps even giving her body to him, only to find him leaving her some way or another. "I just don't like being kissed all of a sudden!"

Ryuji arched an eyebrow. "So you want me to announce when I'm gonna kiss you?"

"That's exactly what I mean!"

"I was jokin'! Who the hell does that?!" The aria and tamer stared at each other intensely for several seconds before Ryuji muttered, "You can't be serious. …Fine. Fine." He laid his hands on Izumo's shoulders. "I wanna kiss you right now. Can I?"

"…Yes," the purple-haired tamer muttered with cheeks that were lightly tinged with pink. Just as quick as he had before, Ryuji bent over a bit to kiss her on the cheek and pulled his face away from her, expecting another slap or absurd complaint. "You…s-see how easy that was?! Next time just ask before you do something like that!" Izumo exclaimed before stalking off, resisting the urge to touch her kissed cheek in front of Ryuji while feeling glad and strangely upset that he didn't try to kiss her on the lips. Love really does cause stupid things to happen.

Meanwhile, Ryuji huffed and stared in the direction Izumo went off. "If that's how she acts towards a kiss on the cheek, how's she gonna react if I kiss her on the mouth? Geez…"