Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ameh 
The second Kiri's hands moved away from his skin, all the thoughts that were jammed together in his head rushed out in one. For a moment he was completely overwhelmed by the flood of unwanted mental work.
When it finally stopped, he remembered to breathe. Breathing was a good... good idea. Yes. Very good idea. He leaned back slightly, putting one hand behind him to keep himself from rolling backwards onto the ground. Breathe in. Breathe out.
...Kiri was talking. Focusing on what she was saying, however, was surprisingly easier than it had been before. Which was nice. It seemed like listening was effortless again, hooray. But... surely he was mishearing the words she was saying.
"Wh-What? You're wh-" he stopped speaking, swallowed, then tried again, his tone confused. "Why are you apologising?"
Kiri could hardly think it possible that so many conflicting emotions existed in one person, much less that that person was able to experience them all at once. She was happy and scared and worried. And scared. And happy. How was it possible?
Raiden, at least, didn't look as if he was about to faint or yell at her. In fact, he seemed to be as surprised - and confused - as Kiri was. She had to admit it had happened rather suddenly, but it was the same for her! There was no conscious thought or plan involved, she would never have been able to see it through.
Kiri shook her head vaguely, trying to get the clamour in her mind to quiet down enough so it would be possible for her to form coherent phrases.
She took a deep breath. "I-I don't know. I don't think I should have done it," she said as steadily as she could manage. But while that was probably true, Kiri wasn't so sure she could have prevented herself.
She stopped. There was not much else she could say. To try and get her feelings into words was impossible. Kiri was quiet for several moments. In the silence between them, she was practically shocked to discover the voices of the other students. She had completely forgotten about them.
"I..." Kiri smiled weakly. "I really like you, Raiden."