@KoL"Oh! Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable? I can move, if you want." Leagsaidh wasn't sure if she was misinterpreting what Touka meant by 'she wasn't comfortable being this close to anyone but Onee-chan' but she thought she'd throw that out there for safety's sake.
She gasped as Touka held her hands, but didn't say anything or struggle. She was probably just overwhelmed at Leagsaidh being nice to her instead of hurling abuse, she reasoned. She'd let go in a minute.
Any minute now.
How about now?
Nope, still held tight. Rather than make a fuss, the Irish girl just grinned and bore it. The last thing she wanted to do was draw unwanted attention to the already-bullied Touka. She didn't need to be mocked for being ill, illegitimate AND homosexual, especially if the last one wasn't true.
"I'm not angry." she sighed
"I'm upset. I don't like it when people are being bullied, especially my friends. It's more the fact it is happening rather than the people that are doing it that I'm upset with." She wasn't telling her the whole story. There was something else, she could feel it. But rather than pry and risk upsetting her - she'd already made Alice mad at her with her persistent questioning - she kept her mouth shut.
"But, since you insist..." She gave her new friend a big Cheshire Cat grin, showing all her little white teeth. She was dramatising it for Touka's sake and she couldn't hold it for long before bursting into a fit of giggles, then flashing her a real, subdued smile
"That good enough for you?"Leagsaidh smiled at Touka's joke, but it was tinged with sadness. She took a deep breath and explained her situation.
"Father says that a young lady's place isn't in a University or College, but in a home. He wants me to get married once I leave school to some rich, prestigious businessman. So I guess I'm not going to College. He's probably got it all sorted out already." She tried to say it like it was nothing, but it was clearly bothering her. She knew her parents would never approve of her desired career path, so she just went along with what they wanted.
More depressing tales. Leagsaidh didn't like sad stories. She much preferred to listen to jovial, upbeat tales. Thus, as Touka spoke of her time in hospital, she shivered and looked away.
"H-hey, come on now. Are you trying to make me cry? If I'm going to have to smile, I'd rather you did as well. she tittered nervously. This was too heavy a topic for so early in the day.
"I'm confused, though. I thought Japan was a heavily Shinto and Buddhist country. How did you hear about Christianity? Well, I know how you heard of it, but was it a Christian hospital or was there someone else who was already Christian there?"Leagsaidh looked down at her hands again. She'd thought Touka would have let them go whilst she talked, but there they were, sandwiched between the Japanese girl's own. It wasn't unpleasant - her hands were soft and smooth and it actually felt quite nice - but some people were starting to look at them. She glanced up again, only to be met with Touka gazing into her eyes
"Touka-chan, I would love to sit with you at lunch today. But there is something I need you to do for me first..." She let her voice go husky and seductive, and she looked at Touka with half-lidded eyes. She leaned forwards, within touching distance of her captor, and...
"Kindly give me my hands back." she finished impishly, bedroom eyes turning into a devilish grin. It wasn't often she pulled pranks on people, and when she did it was only with people she trusted and liked. She hoped Touka would take it the right way.
"Go on, admit it. I had you going for a moment there." 