genessia | Hush, don't speak--keep it shut I hate it

Who: Masayuki Hori and Yuu Kashima
When: Mid-August-ish, let's go with August 19th in the evening
Where: GSNK House
What: Kashima avoided Mikoshiba for a little while. She's done a lot better at avoiding Hori, because their work schedules are quite a bit different. He's getting annoyed by it, so he's going to take action.

Things are better with Mikoshiba. Mostly, anyway. Kashima is at least convinced--mostly--that she's not going to spontaneously lose her sense of morality, turn on him and threaten him great bodily harm. But it's taken her longer to approach talking to Hori. She's more than just upset that she could have hurt him too, had he showed up just a few minutes earlier. She's embarrassed by her behavior, ashamed that she'd been unable to control herself.

So the prince has been keeping to herself still quite a bit. It helps that she'd signed up for quite a bit of overtime throughout the month of August.

Wednesday has her coming home at eleven o'clock, quietly stepping out of her work shoes in the door, still wearing a lab coat and name-tag. Her stockings are quiet on the floor as she steps into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, yawning tiredly. She's almost half-asleep as she stands at the kitchen counter, eyes half-lidded as she waits for the kettle boil.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hori's not sure how to react or how to just be when Kashima looks and acts like this. It's hurting him to see her like this, but he knows Kashima's hurting much more than he is. After all what happened. All the things Hori didn't see. They must have left a deep scar on her.

When Hori sees the tears, he can't help but do one thing - and that is wrap his arms around Kashima. It's the only way he knows how to comfort someone... even if their height makes it a bit difficult.

It's not like he knows the situation as well as Mikoshiba would, but he has to say someting. Something that he feels like is right.

"Kashima... listen", he says with a tone as calm as possible. "You're safe. We're safe. Nothing's going to happen anymore."

There's something entirely different about Hori telling her that it will be okay, that they're all safe. Unlike Nozaki, Mikoshiba and Mayu coming to consensus that they were safe enough, Hori's decision comes with what she presumes is age and wisdom. And even if it doesn't come with age and wisdom, the response comes from her senpai and she trusts that he's right innately. Hori-senpai will know what to do. He'll know how to fix it. She remembers telling Mikoshiba that, standing in an alley in the city shortly after the spirit had done whatever it had done to her--senpai will know how to fix it.

So, unsurprisingly, she sinks into his hug instead of trying to wriggle her way out of it, her head tucked into his shoulder. He's the perfect height for that if she slumps a bit--which she's doing anyway.

"You're sure?"

Because she isn't. Kashima is not sure, not at all. She hasn't felt the same since, uptight and uncertain and not confident at all--a ball of nervous energy that she's altogether unfamiliar with. "Really sure, s-senpai?" Her voice drops, a squeak half choked with a sob. "It d-doesn't feel like that at all."

Hori can't be 100% certain in what he says, but he is enough to actually believe that what he's saying is right and nothing else will come their way. Which is why he quietly pets Kashima's back like a good senpai.

"I'm sure. It might not feel like it, but you'll be alright. I promise."

Not that he quite knew what he'd do about it. At least he'd be there for her, if nothing else, but he'd find away to get them through this. Somehow.

She allows herself to sink into Hori's hug. He says that it will be okay--and she wants it to be, so very much, that she'll believe what he says despite the fact that there's no basis for such findings. Kashima will believe Hori simply because he is Hori. Her head is turned slightly, her ear pressed against his shoulder, allowing her to hear his heartbeat as she tries to slow her sniffling.

And on she goes for a few minutes, the after effects of weeks of pent-up anxieties being fully given voice. By the time she leans back from his hug, her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy, a state only serving to highlight how tired she looks.

"I...I'm sorry, senpai. I was--"

Even more settled than she'd been, the Prince was finding herself rather tongue-tied. "I just...I was so scared I might still hurt someone. I should have said something."

Mikoshiba might have helped push her in the right direction. If she hadn't threatened to hurt him just a few weeks ago, anyway. As things currently stood, she still couldn't believe he wasn't terrified of her.

"Thank you."

Having Kashima near him, her head on his shoulder, feels nicer than Hori would have thought. Had the situation been a bit different, he might have thought on the feeling a bit more - but this was not the time nor the place for that.

"Yeah, you're an idiot for trying to shoulder all this by yourself. You can count on us", Hori said and then after a small pause. "On me."

Hush, don't speak--keep it shut I hate it

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject