" There is a Japanese phrase that I like; koi no yokan. It doesn't mean love at first sight. It's closer to...... Love at second sight. It's the feeling when you meet someone that you are going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don't love them right away, but it is inevitable that you will. " he is very casually speaking this /Don'tmindmeasisnatchthisquote
恋の予感 。 a premonition of love. while the idea of love at first sight would raise a brow from her, love at second sight sounds much more plausible, indeed. ❝ .. how romantic. ❞ but what a lackluster delivery from her ! she means it though, truly. contrary to what her silent demeanor may unintentionally say, hakuno does hold a sort of appreciation for these sorts of things. itis a very human thing to love, she thinks, and it is a wonderful thing to love and be loved. with that being said, falling in love with someone . . . the feeling when you meet someone that you are going to fall in love with . . . while she looked on fondly upon it, love really isn't something on the forefront of her mind / isn't something necessary for ai like her, and come to think of it, she's never really had that sort of romantic attraction towards anyone. maybe you don't love them right away, but it is inevitable that you will . . .
hazel hues meet scarlet, and kazuha's gaze to her is warm. it's a similar warmth that abruptly and inexplicably flushes over porcelain cheeks.
— and then she's hastily tearing her eyes away all of a sudden. why is she acting like this ? ❝ s - say, you've met lots of people during your travels, right ? do you think you've met someone that gave you that sort of feeling ? ❞ hakuno's not sure where this question is coming from, but it's nothing unsual. it's an inquiry in line with the current topic at hand, and not something entirely unexpected from kishinami hakuno and her curious, inquisitive nature. and now, this would typically be the point where she'd await his response, listen to him with all ears ( because no matter what it was, be it a story or a haiku, she'd always find her attention completely fixated onto him ) , but .. ❝ —– never mind. ❞ huh ? those two words had slipped out before she even knew it, surprising even herself, expression subtly contorting into a troubled one. she wants to know. she doesn't want to know, no, it's not that she doesn't want to know. it's just that —- she doesn't want to hear him answer that question with a " yes " had kazuha viewed a past travel companion in that sort of light [ and she ignores that pang in her chest that accompanies this thought ] they'd have certainly parted ways by now, so it might just be a something that could possibly bring up some unpleasant feelings; she wouldn't want that for him. ❝ .. it's too personal of a question, you don't need to answer it. ❞
there's no mistaking the a curious swell of .. pride in her as she briefly peeks at the other through the periphery of her vision, however. it's her by his side right now. no one else. but who's to say that she wouldn't follow in the same footsteps as those people ? one to live in the moment, never looking far into the future — that's the sort of person kishinami hakuno is, but she can't deny that no one knows what the future may bring. ❝ they say fate works in mysterious ways. ah —- i don't really want to leave things up to that though. if we, by any chance, happen to separate some day . . . ❞ she's not sure what to say here, or what she was even trying to say in the first place, both gaze and head soon drooping downwards. the idea of bidding good - bye to kazuha . . . her chest aches at the thought; and all of a sudden, the centimeters between their hands, laying side by side, seem inexplicably far for some reason.
a single leaf falls down onto her lap, carried by the breeze from who knows where, absentmindedly, hakuno takes a hold of it. kazuha surely would have found some beautiful, flowery way of commenting on this sort of thing, but alas, she isn't as .. artistically gifted as her dear companion here. the hand she'd kept settled down near his twitches slightly, oddly squirmish as it aimlessly inches closer to .. no destination in particular. no destination in particular, really, but the motion stops once she registers the touch of a pinky with hers. that familiar warm feeling settles in once more. briefly and shyly does she glance at him a second time, before once again tearing her gaze away, because as illogical as it sounds, she feels like she might just die if she met eyes with kazuha right now ( perhaps he'd only give her a curious look at this uncharacteristic contact, but she's sure she would simply croak ) . so instead, hakuno directs her attention to the item at hand ( though it's bit hard to do when she's suddenly hyperaware of the miniscule contact her other hand is making ) taking note of the lush green fading into a yellow orange. change is inevitable. there's no telling what the future holds.
❝ .. even so, i'll find my way back to you. ❞
with an exhaled breath, she blows the leaf away, and it soon picks up on a gust of wind.