[i]'Omu? What a cute name!'[/i]

Megumi thought, freezing just a few feet behind Kuyu and in front of Arisu to watch the girl admire a dog-ish looking mask. Arisu most likely owned some kind of cute animal, lucky! Mother had said they couldn't keep anything bigger then a goldfish, so Megumi was only allowed to feed and play with the cute animals around the neighborhood (which wasn't exactly bad, but the idea of cuddling up to a cute dog or cat during a cold night sounded nice). Wiry fingers pulled through her short hair, and dark eyes connected with the pristine sky above, and once again it was quiet... Until Arisu's voice rose into an familiar, rude tone. She was quickly brought back from the land of daydreaming to catch sight of her co-worker and classmate, Kinzo Sanada. Her body quickly tensed, hands curling into fists against her chest as she began to realize just how many men were around. One was okay, two was a crowd.

"Kitabitake-san, Kuyu. Nice to see you guys."

"... G-good morning." she managed to murmur, eyes staring directly at her sneaker-clad feet. Boys, boys were no good. At least Fukazawa-san was around, if she was not Megumi was certain that she'd be half way home by now. The conversation soon picked up as Kinzo asked if he could join the three of them, smiling the smile that she could only describe as charming, to which Kuyu jokingly refused, then pointed out a Kurikinton where Lila-dono happened to be working. Megumi glanced up at the familiar woman and gave a half-smile, but it quickly vanished when a sudden force barreled into her legs and nearly knocked her over. A wooden toy clattered to her feet, and she glanced downwards to find a small girl, looking back up with wide eyes,

"S-s-s-sorry!" The girl stammered, seemingly confused by her height and emotionless face, and Megumi let out a soft sight and slowly lowered herself down, picking up the item that had been dropped first before making direct eye contact with the girl. The toy had been a Hanetsuki paddle, probably bought last night seeing how well the condition was, and Megumi managed to give a soft, friendly smile while holding it out for the girl to grab. After a second of awkward silence, the girl finally grinned and opened her mouth to say,

"Thank you, Nii-chan (Big Brother)!" and then ran off, toy in hand, to a group of children all holding similar paddles. Megumi blinked once, glanced down at her chest, ran a hand through her hair once more, then let out a loud sigh as she felt her face begin to burn. After standing up once more, she turned her attention back to the Kurikinton stand,

"W-Why don't we... Go say hello?" she murmured, eyes once again connected with the ground.

[hider=Translation]
Hanetsuki: New Years game similar to badminton.[/hider]