Festival & Monk

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"I s-still wanted to buy a-a few souvenirs. I-Is it a-alright if I leave Lily w-with you?" We both ignore Lily's shout of that she's able to perfectly take care of herself. Her lips form a perfect 'o' before she nods slowly. "Alright, be safe." I give her a gentle smile and pick Lily up from my shoulder to transfer her to Ema's arms, she huffs irritated, but settles quickly in her arms. With another nod and quick thanks I turn around, waving my way through the mass of people. Not noticing a certain finger pointed my way and the annoyed click with his tongue the person makes as he notes Yuri's attention isn't on him.

Yuri p.o.v
I hope Ren likes it. I smile down at the gifts in my hand as I continue to walk back to where Ema, Wataru and I split about a twenty minutes ago. Most shops only sold food and drinks, so it took more time than I originally thought, but in the end it was worth it. I hope Ren's reaction will be delightment and surprise.
I managed to get a fluffy white bunny at a shooting game and bought a few omamori's. Omamori's are Japanese amulets commonly sold at Buddhist temples, dedicated to Buddhist figures, and are said to prodigy various forms of luck or protection. My lips lift up in a wide smile. He could wear it to work or use it as his lucky charm when he's gaming. I hope he does that. A skip appears in my footsteps and I blush as I notice, quickly stopping with it after taking swift look around to ensure no one saw it. Although a few minutes later I start doing it again. With a shake of my head I grin bashfully. Hold it in, you can later dance to you heart's content in your own room. Since I'm not paying attention I collide with something out of nowhere. A squeak escapes me as I stumble backwards when I trip of my own feet. I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing for impact. Only to have huge hands wrapping around my arms and dragging my against someone's chest, and partly belly.
"Hey, you alright?" Asks a husky voice above me, the chest pressed against my head rumbles. Too close. As politely as I can I shrug the hands off of my arms - since my hands are currently busy holding gifts for Ren - and quickly step back. I crane my neck to look up at him. The man standing in front of me is pretty handsome. He has gray hair and light blue eyes. Earrings are adorning his right ear. I would bet he's even taller than Subaru. In the time I have been studying me, he also takes the time totale at me, pretty content with staying quiet. Oh! I snap out of my thoughts and bow deep to show him my gratitude.
"I-I apologize for not n-noticing you, it w-won't happen again. And t-thank you for c-catching me." He waves my apology away with a simple flick of his wrist.
"Don't worry about it, it can happen to anyone." His smile turns flirty. "Hey, are you alone?" I take a step back, startled at the sudden change of topic.
"U-Uh, no?" My voice raises at the end of my sentence, making it sound more like a question than an answer. A teasing smile worms it's way onto his face when he comes closer.
"Oh? How come so? Didn't find any nice guys? How about me?" So that's all there is, no genuine interest. My eyebrows furrow slightly and purse my lips as I stare up at the man.
"No, I-I have a boyfriend." I announce resolutely. "S-So, I would appreciate i-it if you would s-stop making s-strangers uncomfortable." He blinks, surprise and confusion are seen in his eyes before his expression smooths over and he gives me 'apologetic' smile.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again." My eyebrow twitches at his words and I sigh inwardly. And, it happened once again. It takes all of my patience and will to not let my expression drop.
"I-I apologize for t-the confusion, b-but I'm a boy." His lips form a perfect 'o'. His face look dumbfounded, and it would've been funny if it wasn't for the situation. Before he can apologize again, I interject quickly.
"Don't-t worry about it, I'm u-used to it." He nods awkwardly, apparently not knowing what to say anymore. An uncomfortable silence fills the air. Both of us not knowing what to say to each other, so we are just letting it simmer. It's.... Very, very awkward. I swallow nervously and direct my gaze to a few trees, not wanting to catch his gaze accidentally and risking it to get even more uncomfortable than it already is. A bead of sweat likes down my back, and the plush is making my arm itch. My feet are starting to hurt from walking and standing for a long time. It makes me want to shift from foot to foot. At the back of my head I can already feel a headache coming up. It's like a slow buildup, it sneaks up from behind you and then consumes you whole. And now I'm thinking about myself, my throat is parched and it hurts when I swallow. Why me? I groan inwardly, and gather a bit of spit in my mouth to swallow. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. I peer at the man in front of me through my eyelashes, an excuse lays on the tip of my tongue when I catch the sight of his fan.
"Oh!" The surprised sound escapes my throat before I can stop it, so I quickly continue, "A-Are y-you one of K-Kaname's colleagues by a-any chance?" Looking relieved and slightly surprised at the sudden question, the male questions me back.
"Kaname?" Before Chiaki can inquire further about how the smaller boy knows about Kaname, the said male calls out.
"Yu-kun!" We simultaneously turn around to face Kaname. "Thanks for coming." He smiles, sounding overjoyed when he reaches us.
"Oh? How do you know him? Don't tell me he's one of your customers, Kana?" A shock goes through my body as if I'm zapped when Kaname grasps my shoulders between his hands, almost dragging me to his chest. My eyes widen. while I'm still leaning against his chest, flabbergasted at the manhandling and the blatant questioning as if I'm not even there, Kaname answers the man's question as if nothing has happened.
"No, Chii. He's the little brother. My little brother." I jolt when Kaname says 'Chii' before I comprehend his sentence. It feels weird. Not right. An odd feeling curls in my chest at his words of choice and crawls through my veins at the... the emphasis on the word 'my'. What is this. My lip curls up. It feels... not right. I squash down the ugly feeling for now to deal with it later and return to the conversation.
"Little brother?"
"W-Who is t-this, Kaname?"
"Oh," Kaname smiles a bit sheepishly, "His name is Chiaki, written as 'a thousand autumns'. Hence, Chii." What a coincidence. I think somewhat bitter. "Here, he's called Senshuu, though."
"I-I see." I mumble, squeezing the plushie harder against my chest. The old man who gave me the plushie was friendly, congratulating me on it while even offering me a fizzy drink to go. He paid it out of his own pocket, refusing adamantly when I wanted to pay for it. It was nice.
"So you're the little brother Kana's so proud of." I glance between them.
"W-What?" I ask confused and having the vague feeling of them having it about something else. Am I just being paranoid, or is my feeling right? I nibble on my lip. They talked about me, though. So what sort of things did Kaname tell Chiaki. It could've been anything. I stiffen up as Kaname squeezes my shoulders. Both of his hands finally drop and I force myself to not let out a sigh of relief or let my shoulders sag when his left hand settles on my lower back. It feels like his hand is burning a hole in my clothing. I bend my back a little in order to escape the hand, but it chases after me. It feels wrong.
"Yup, that's right. My adorable little brother that I'm so proud of." Adorable. Like a frozen statue I'm standing there. My lips are squeezed together in an horrible attempt of at least a expression as I'm pressing my fingernails into the plushy and my own hand. I'll probably draw blood or leave crescents behind if I keep pressing them into my hand.
"Well, well."

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