[b]Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015[/b]

Kotori could not have said how long she was standing there, adrift in her own thoughts as she tried to navigate them - but before she could come to any kind of conclusion, she was brought back from her reverie by a sudden touch upon her shoulders. Blinking in surprise at being brought back to reality so unexpectedly - and even more so in an unexpected manner, Kotori looked momentarily confused before she realised that it was Rui who was now standing right before her. At that point, she noticed a couple of things - for one, they were still standing amidst the crowd, which was slowly moving around them. Second, his hands felt warm to the touch, even though the evening had not grown very chilly yet.

Furthermore, he had fixed his eyes right on hers, which was strangely uncomfortable - yet also not, all at the same time. Still, it did make it hard for her to look away when Rui started speaking - even if she did find herself wanting to, the further he went. Her first instinct would have been to apologise - for causing a scene in public, for putting this on him and without any forewarning no less. But between the relief she felt at having finally spoken up about what had been preoccupying her mind for the longest time and the fact that Rui did not waver for even a moment as he spoke his reassurance that she need not keep going it alone, she couldn't help but feel that it just wouldn't be the right thing to do.

Neither averted their gaze as silence fell at the close of his words - but this lasted only for a brief moment before Kotori remembered where they were and what the warmth on her shoulders was due to. [color=green]"Uhm,"[/color] was the first thing that came out of her mouth, unsurprisingly. Returning ever more from the depths of her own mind, her usual mannerisms seemed to be returning - for instance, her fingers were rather restlessly playing over her skirt whilst her eyes were darting about. But then, with a deep breath, at least a small change could perhaps be seen when her eyes found Rui's once again from behind her glasses and, finally, she said: [color=green]"Thank you."[/color]

And for a brief moment, her words were accompanied by a small smile that somehow found its way onto her face - and not the usual half-hearted attempt, but rather one stemming from genuine relief and gratitude as she continued: [color=green]"I... I think I need... a little time first. But... thank you. It means a lot to me."[/color] Having spoken, there was brief moment of silence - which was just enough time for Kotori to slowly realise that they were, in fact, still standing in the middle of an ever-moving crowd. And that she could still feel the warmth of Rui's hands upon her shoulders. And that these realisations were rapidly making her cheeks feel at least as warm if not more so.

[color=green]"Ah, for the moment, shall w-we, uhm, continue on o-our way?"[/color] Kotori finally suggested; the belated embarrassement all to obvious in her voice and upon her face - both in the far redder shade than her usual pale self and her futile attempt at finding anywhere to look which somehow didn't including either Rui or anyone in the crowd.