2014-09-03 - You Know What, Why Not
| Title: You Know What, Why Not | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Having stormed out of Linden Baum, Mai's in a mood to just hang out and have fun with some friends. Only one of them was free, and she's interested in some fun things. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Mai's Dorm Room | |
| OOC - IC Date: 9 March 2014 - 09/03/2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Earlier today, Mai had a shift at Linden Baum. Now, she does not. There's no bookbag on the table - it was left at the diner, and at the moment she doesn't care enough about her studies to go get it. Right now, she's taking the evening to have some fun, and sent out a few messages to see who was free to hang out.
Response: Not great. But she has at least one friend who was free, and so she's being a host - not a whole lot of point renting a karaoke room for two unless it's a date, after all. Her music player is set up with some small speakers, her new karaoke microphone is hooked up to it, there's a book of lyrics, and a bagful of drinks and snacks from the convenience store.
With a drink in one hand, Mai toasts her one guest. Linden Baum uniform is gone (haphazardly stuffed in the closet), and Mai is comfortable in t-shirt and shorts - and grinning without hesitation. "Glad you could come, Shiori-chan - probably going to be just the two of us, though. Everyone else seems to have blown off singing for tonight, but I for one feel like celebrating."
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori was free! ...Not that she'd always free on a Saturday evening, or anything. Certainly, she has plenty of things to do. Shiori Takatsuki is a popular girl, highly in demand!
...Shiori really wanted to be doing more or less /anything/ but studying alone in her dorm tonight, so the only delay in her response to Mai's message was for her to take a moment to a) not seem too desperate and b) desperately compose the coolest-seeming message she ould.
She went with 'Totally! I'll be right there!' in the end. Eager, but not /too/ eager.
...
Shiori beams right back, lifting her own drink in return. She's in her Infinity uniform, though her shoes of course have been left over by the door, and seems in fine spirits. "I'm happy to come see you! ...and besides, there's worse things than it being just us, right?" Beat, "Celebrating sounds great!"
She takes a drink! Then, lowers it, with only a little hesitation. "What's the occasion, Mai-chan?"
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Absolutely - and with just the two of us, we don't have to worry about anyone else! I mean, there's always the chance my roommate will drop in, but eh. She's basically running around, not really my problem." Mai rolls one shoulder, and glances in the kitchen. There isn't any hot tea at the moment - the hot water heater having broken down a little while ago. Replacement parts are sitting next to it, but she just hasn't gotten around to fixing it yet. Canned coffee and the like are just as good, anyway.
As for the occasion...absently, Mai picks up the microphone without looking directly at it, tossing it from one hand to the other. "Finally stood up for myself at work today. There's this pair of troublemakers who have been our bane for months, and I realized - I had better things to do than wait for them to make a mess that I'd spend an hour cleaning up. Just straight-up told them to stop being idiots and behave already, it was increeeedibly satisfying." She grins wildly, twirling the microphone once in one hand.
"So, that's what has me in a mood to celebrate a bit - and it's great to have someone to share the joy with." She glances to the lyric book, the urge to sing burning within - but where to start? After a moment, she slides it over to Shiori, a mischievous look glinting in her eye. "In a mood to sing anything? Or, for that matter, to get me to sing something - I'm not picky, today's already going well!"
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori /loves/ not worrying about anyone else!
"She lives in the dorms," Shiori points out about Mai's roommate. "I don't think you need to worry. She's old enough." She has canned milk coffee, for her part, and seems not to have even noticed the lack of hot tea. ...Maybe.
Shiori glances down, her eyes and face following the microphone as it moves from hand to hand. Left. Right. Left. Right.
At the twirl Shiori finally looks up, her expression brightening and her smile widening. "You didn't!" she replies, scandal warring with sheer glee as she leans in. "That's the best! Ooh, I wish I could've seen it!" she sighs, but it's the kind of sigh where she finally leans back a bit on her hands, just a moment, as if envisioning the scenario.
She sits back up, leaning in, and takes the book. ...Somehow, her drink has ended up on the table. "We /should/ celebrate! There's no reason you should put up with stuff like that, right?" But--wait... Hrmm.. Shiori singing, of course, is a terrifying prospect.
But /Mai/ singing...
It's time to go for it. She flips through the book, holding her beath briefly, and then suddenly stops on one page. It's meant to look accidental, random.
It super isn't.
"Try this one!" she says brightly, and hands Mai the page for a particularly romantic song.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Full Metal Panic - Sore Ga, Ai Deshou (I Guess That's Love)
Yesterday is in the past, tomorrow is not today's concern. Finally getting free of pineapple syrup cleanup is today's joy - at Shiori's glee and small wish, Mai just laughs and leans back herself. Liberation and satisfaction, after all this time...she nods. "No reason whatsoever. Frankly I put up with it because the managers wouldn't do anything, but really..."
Oho, Shiori-chan has a song? Mai brightens and peers at the page. Anime opening from some years back... "Sure thing! One second while I make sure this is set up right..." She tweaks the volume on microphone and music player - last night's settings were all well and good for an abandoned rooftop, but she doesn't want to wreck her audience's ears. With that done, she hits play and stands up with a twirl.
It's not a fast-paced song. The instrumentals are peaceful, not frenetic at all. It's something Mai can easily sway to - and she does a bit more on top of that. A few moves that are attempts to be elegant - not really a proper dance, but something to do while she sings. And she sings.
- "Even if there are days when teardrops are running down my cheeks
- I want to have your back all to myself..."
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori's excitement practically crackles around Mai's relief. She's a wall against which it can echo--and she nods right back to Mai. "It's amazing that you could just... stop, like that! I don't know if I could manage it half like you do," she answers.
But indeed, her song is picked out. Shiori closes her hands unconsciously as she watches Mai working on the settings for the karaoke machine. Slowly, she ends up leaning closer, watching bit by bit before--
Mai stands and Shiori scoots back. She listens to the music starting up, sees the dancing styles of Mai...!
While Mai sings, Shiori gradually becomes more and more transfixed. Her drink sits on the table, forgotten, as her hands fall and he eyes stay on the redhead nearby. She even smiles, though it's a small thing at first.
"You're amazing, Mai-chan," the purple-haired girl sighs.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
- "Because I have you! Because I have tomorrow!
- Because I can't live on all by myself -
- I feel you so close to my heart - I guess, that's love?
- Because you know how much tears can bring pain,
- I want to find a smile in your clear eyes,
- And look into them for a meaning~"
Mai is completely lost in the joy of singing - there isn't a hint of shame or embarrassment as she sings the words. Not that she's completely blind to their meaning - caught up in the flow of the music, she makes a point of singing directly to her audience.
There's more than once that she locks eyes with Shiori - usually breaking off to glance at the words for the next verse. She dances around the small dining room, at one point close enough to pull Shiori out of her chair for a moment - though as always, the music has its hooks in her.
And then - then, the last note has been sung, and the song is done, and Mai is half-collapsing in her chair. She takes a swig from her own can of iced coffee, then face still flushing brightly from karaoke exertions, she flashes Shiori a grin. "Great pick, Shiori-chan - I haven't sung that one in a while!" Sliding the lyric sheet back into the sheaf, it takes a moment for Mai to look to think to see what Shiori thought of the song. "Any particular reason you picked that one?"
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
It might be for the best that Mai is lost in her song, because given how well she plays to the audience, Shiori in turn loses track of time. It was a relatively passive idea when she suggested it, but now she finds her eyes locked with Mai's, her hands down at the seat of her chair, and in fact does nearly stand up when Mai gets that close.
She forgets her usual manufactured sort of manner and just sortof stares despite herself... right up to where the song ends, and Mai sits. ...Well, a little after that, actually; leaning forward in her chair, Shiori sighs lightly to herself as the song ends.
It's one she's spoken to that she sits up like a cat who slipped in walking and is looking around to make sure no one noticed anything. She is, perhaps notably, rather red in the face, and slightly short of breath.
"O-oh, I'm glad!" she replies, and laughs suddenly and somewhat loudly. "You're--"
/Her/? Well, it's not as if she can actually just answer clearly. Briefly alarmed, Shiori, still blushing, grabs her can of coffee and doesn't quite get to having a drink. "I just... w-well, you know... it's nice to..."
There are more sounds, technically, but it would be a stretch to call them 'words'.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
There are a few ways to interpret the situation, and were Mai in full possession of her faculties, she might hazard a guess as to which one this is. As things stand, though - she's practically giddy with her victory over the Pineapple Duo, and getting to sing every day this week, and spending time with her friend, and there's a whole book of songs she hasn't sung yet.
She waves off her own question as Shiori stammers. "It's fine - you wanted to her it, I wanted to sing, it's all good. Mind, if we were at Pino, I could find costumes to wear to go with these, but - I'm a bit short on them here." She grins, storming past the awkwardness that's cropped up.
Belatedly, a thought strikes Mai - one that instantly gets filtered through her own cheer. "Hope I didn't tire you out - just felt like getting you in on the dancing. Want me to just leave you be for the next song?"
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori is not quite sure how to feel about Mai ending up waving off the question. On the one hand, it is exactly what she was going for in being vague. ...On the other hand, she can even now envision it being seen right through, and then--
Well... Shiori is still somewhat entranced by the sheer confidence of this Mai, so she doesn't take the time to hold it against her. Instead, there's a grin past, she nods aguely about costuming, and then Mai mentions the worst plan.
"Oh, no! You can totally tire me out!" Shiori answers, and--that's not what she meant to say at all, but then she's got it, and she beams. She's still red, but surely it's just because, "I mean, it's just that you're really good! Hearing you it's like I forget there's anything else going on at all!"
She finally sets her coffee to her lips and tips it back like it's a shot, the can sounding 'ding' against the table a moment later.
"It's fun! Do you want to pick the song this time?"
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Utada Hikaru - Simple and Clean
Even focused on karaoke, Mai can't miss that double meaning - still red from dancing and singing like a maniac, she bursts out laughing. "Careful, I might just hold you to that~" She can't quite finish the sentence without bursting into giggles, but the rest of Shiori's words have her ready to bounce back into action.
Never once has her grip relaxed from the microphone.
"I don't know about being that good - but I have fun with it, so as long as you're having a good time too I'm good to sing all night!" Mai coughs once - throat dried out a bit - and takes another swig of her own drink. Still bright and cheerful, she flips through the song list to pick something. It's more or less a random pick, but one she's wanted to sing all the same.
There's no instrumental lead-in - as soon as Mai hits play, she's on her feet, singing cheerfully. It takes a few lines before she quite has the beat, and some notes aren't held quite long enough - but it's not long before she's pulling Shiori out of her chair again as part of her dancing around to the music.
- "When you walk away- You don't hear me say -
- 'Please, oh baby, don't go!'
- Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight - it's hard to let it go!
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
At first, Shiori goes briefly very still when Mai starts laughing--it could be laughing /at/ her, after all, a possibility that always looms on the edge of any given moment for the former Ohtori student. In less than a moment, Mai has started talking and the gears in Shiori's mind have turned away into something different, though--and her eyes widen like she just realized what she said. ...Or like she just realized that Mai realized what she said. It's actually the second of those.
She's smiling anyway, a goofy expression she doesn't quite realize she's showing.
"The night's young!" Shiori calls, proudly answeing for her part of things, though she probably should get another drink, too. Still, with no lead-in, there is singing! Shiori, far from a musical expet, doesn't notice the missed notes or the off rhythm. She might usually, but this time she is busy watching--
And with some encouragement, actually does get up, dancing along mostly with her legs to the song. ...She is also humming, and even adds in with a word or two. ...Not many though.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
- "Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all~
- Nothing's like before!"
The beat was faster for this song, and the dancing a bit easier - though Mai had to glance at the lyrics sheet more often this time. English songs, after all. She did catch Shiori's goofy grin, and answered with one of her own between lines.
The song was, all things considered, a bit more of a challenge - but that's part of the fun. There's a lot of fun to be had with karaoke, friends or no - and Mai does have one good friend here. Unfortunately, throat strain is starting to be a concern - Mai realizes as she finishes the song that she does need to take a break for a couple of minutes, lest she wind up unable to speak or sing for days afterward.
So the microphone gets switched off for the moment - Mai continuing to twirl it now and then. She doesn't sit down right away, instead fetching herself and Shiori a couple of glasses of water. A bit of a balancing act getting both glasses to the table with only one free hand, but she has worked as a waitress. "Right, I need to let my voice rest for a couple of minutes - you can take a turn if you want, or we can just chat for a bit. Your pick what I sing next, either way."
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori doesn't really think about the lyrics this time; she hears them, certainly, but eventually she starts tuning them out, letting them just wash over her in favor of the music and the singer and also the floor. She has to glance down, worried that she'll step on something, or trip, every so often, but can't quite get up to actively fretting with the grin back her way.
Yet, anyway.
It goes off, and Shiori glances after only to see--oh! "Thank you," she answers, taking her own glass when the red-haired girl makes it back with her microphone. There's a moment there where she takes a sip, and indeed she does feel a little light-headed, maybe water /is/ wise.
"Oh!" Voice... rest. Well, that makes sense. "Of course, it'd be silly to forget something like /that/, right?" She can just pretend she knew that. "Aaah, though, I dunno about taking a turn... it wouldn't be pretty, I'm not so good at singing. We could just sit down a moment, right? Andthen when you're ready I'll pick you something!"
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
The floor's mostly clear, thankfully - after months of life together, Mai's managed to get Mikoto to help with the cleaning. The only risks are the chairs, most of which are out of the way. Still, Mai bullies through the worries to try to get Shiori moving - because it's all in the name of fun. Forget the problems, and just enjoy herself.
Taking a seat, Mai takes a long drink of water before answering. "Up to you - promise, I won't make fun of your singing if you do give it a try." She twirls the microphone again. "Though I'm definitely not going to object if you want me to keep singing~"
She is, however, in need of this vocal rest, so there's time for Shiori to decide. Leaning forward, elbows on the table, Mai's eyes are nearly glittering with glee. "It's great to have a friend over, though - even knowing about finals, everyone's been busy lately. I finally have a chance to unwind - and aside from singing, I'm not really sure what to do!"
There was a work shift scheduled for Sunday. Was.
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Going along with a stronger personality is downright nostalgic for Shiori; Mai bulling forward encourages her to cut loose a bit more in turn, and forget about what else is going on. It works pretty well.
"Well, maybe sometime," she allows at Mai's eventual answer, but dips her head a little shyly before adding, "I'd rather just keep watching you for now." Her own glass comes right back up again, and a bit more disappears.
"Haha, you seem so much more relaxed than usual!" Shiori can't help but observe, laughing softly in a way that's just a little bit too delicate to work out as a giggle. She leans in after a moment later, resting her elbows on the table to get more on the same level.
"It's a lot more fun to unwind with somebody else," Shiori offers agreeably. "And you know, I've always got time for you, Mai-chan! Maybe... we can figure something out! I'm pretty good at relaxing."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Mai takes another sip of water, rather than a huge gulp, and turns pensive for a moment. "...you know, I think I am. Less worried, that is. Just realizing that some of the things I was worrying about aren't so important." Maybe most of them. Maybe all of them.
Because...frankly, Takumi's growing up, he could just take himself to the hospital if it came to it. Mikoto is entering high school, she should be able to feed herself. The customers at Linden Baum can behave or get out...
A playful glint blazes in Mai's eye, and she flashes Shiori a smile. The microphone, still in her hand, gets a twirl. "You know what? I think I've earned the chance to unwind, so I'm going for it. Singing, or games, or whatever else - as long as you're up for it, so am I." That smile turns into an outright grin. "And for the record, I know a pretty good breakfast recipe."
One learned, or stolen, from Mamoru Chiba - but a great choice given the time needed to make it. And now that Mai's not on shift tomorrow, she has the time she needs. "It feels like ages since I've really had a chance to relax, though - what have you got in mind, Shiori-chan?"
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori watches Mai in that pensive moment, head slightly tilted to the side, eyes wide and open. "That's great," Shiori offers right back, sitting up and smiling again. She of course knows some of those worries--Mai's told her about them before, and Shiori even helped with one a while ago. It is, after all, part of what got them talking more.
But it's got nothing on the fire Mai seems to have lately; twirling microphone prompts Shiori to glance over, then glance back, like one of those little cat-eye clocks in just that instant. She nosd encouragingly about Mai taking the chance to unwind, about singing, and games, and--
Shiori's face is what blazes among talk of 'whatever else' and 'breakfast recipes'. Part of her, used to self-doubt, immediately thinks of other ways to take the last statement, and while they certainly exist, Shiori doesn't come up with any amidst the rush going on behind her eyes.
She can, at least, still hear just fine, though it sounds a little distant before she sort of re-focuses. ...Re-focuses kind of literally; her eyes went all blank for a moment there. "I-I bet it has! You work so hard--you really deserve it!" A beat, as she puts her hand up to her water glass, and then sets it back down again. No, it's time for Shiori to be good at things!
"W-well... If... you really are..." She gathers herself up and stands up, moving just far enough to sit at the chair nearer Mai rather than across the little table at her, "...Then, nobody'll miss me back at the dorms if I don't make it back tonight." One hand folds on her leg, right at the edge of her skirt; the other slowly reaches Mai's way, as Shiori herself leans in.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Today, Mai isn't timid, or hesitant, or wrought with guilt. The comment about breakfast was - well, honest for one, partly serious, and partly a joke to provoke that bright red blush. Ohtori's rumour mill is full of comments like that, and why not take the opportunity to make one of her own? So, she laughs just a bit at Shiori's blazing face, and just revels in getting to spend time with a friend without anything to worry about.
And frankly? She does deserve it - she's worked hard enough for any three people she knows, it's time to celebrate. While Shiori's gathering her courage, Mai is musing, setting the microphone to one side for just a moment. Not just karaoke - though she fully intends to sing until she drops - but all the other indulgences she's been holding back on...
Caught up in those thoughts, she's actually briefly startled when Shiori gets in close. Buried deep beneath the enthusiasm, there's a spark of sympathy for Shiori, who doesn't have anyone to miss her back at Infinity...
It's not her job to worry about it, though. All she has to do is find out what kind of fun Shiori is thinking of.
She reaches out to Shiori - if not quickly, with less hesitation.
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori is really drawn to that change--as someone with a lot of worries of her own that she just keeps bottling up, seeing someone cast hers away like Mai seems to have done is downight intoxicating. ...Though, well, it helps that Shiori already has a lot of feelings pushing her in her red-haired friend's direction /already/.
Just mostly not /literally/ until about nowish.
There's a lot out there to reach for! Shiori knows at least some of how Mai has held back in the past, but this is the critical moment for her; she's slow, hesitant, and careful at first as she moves closer, waiting for any sign that she's misread things, ready for a hundred words to throw to cover up her possible embarrassment. ...Even if some of her best aren't intentional, like the sympathy she accidentally gleaned fo a thing that's just true.
Seeing Mai reach back, though, she feels a little bolder, and finally smiles, her face now that much closer. "I don't mind not being your top priority," she murmurs. She finishes reaching; setting her fingers down gently behind Mai's neck, she leans the rest of the way in to press her lips to hers.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Instinct moved Mai's hand to reach out. Reason, buried beneath a haze, speaks up about the situation here, and what this really does appear to mean. Surprise that this is happening at all, that Shiori seems to feel like this, that things have come to this juncture...
...that someone does feel that way about her, for a change. That this is a chance to actually go ahead and see what this is like. She'd waved off offers of dates for years in the name of her responsibilities, for the sake of free time, for the fact that anyone asking was suspected of just being interested in her appearance-
And then Shiori's words slip in, and what little hesitation there was is blown away. Mai leans into the kiss, and lets it be drawn out for a long moment.
When their lips separate, Mai is smiling - not the manic grin of earlier, but something in between curiousity and surprise and a bit of amusement. "...well, that's certainly a way to relax I hadn't considered."
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori doesn't notice the heat of her blush anymore; it's faded slightly from that outright burning moment discussing breakfast, and leaves the Infinity student feeling lighter, practically a little giddy. Her fear remains, but quieter, in the span of time whee Mai is thinking about things and Shiori is worrying about things, before she gets her answer in something she feels much more able to trust.
Her smile has more than a tinge of relief in it, as the kiss ends and she sees more or less anything /but/ harshness or disapproval. "...It's something you don't get to think about a lot," Shiori answers, biting her lip as her tone still remains a little shy. "Or, so you told me. But I..."
"I'd like to," she says. "We can sit somewhere a little more comfortable. I want you to get to relax. To spend some time for you." She grins, slightly, refocusing her eyes on Mai's, "And think you'd like what I can do. I bet your muscles are all tense from all that work you do."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Were Mai her usual self, her reaction would have had a great deal more panic to it. Right now, though... Her hand had come around Shiori's back during the kiss itself, and now it slaps her encouragingly on the shoulder. "Not a lot, no - and the only guy I crushed on in years turned out to be head over heels for someone else. Though honestly, I'm betting you're a better kisser." She grins.
And then Mai considers the offer. Her mind is awash with possibilities, and frankly she's had so many work shifts that she could really use something for her muscles. There's only one last barricade against an unabashed avalanche of self-indulgence, and it's embodied by Mai glancing to the window in frustration.
"I would love to find out - though frankly, my roommate could be home any time." She grumbles for a moment, then turns from window to Shiori with a smirk. "If you don't mind her walking in, sure - otherwise, I've recovered enough to start singing again."
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Shiori, of course, doesn't realize the significance of Mai's change. Oh, certainly, Mai is different, but as far as her friend knows, it really is ust that she's discovered a new aspect of herself, turned over a new leaf. It's powerful, in its way, and so while ordinary Shiori already had interest in her, this evening's Shiori, emboldened by that boldness she can't even imagine for herself, has gone farther. And where she is now, she's past the most terrifying part of it, left to sigh lightly as she feels Mai's hand and then slap. She smiles answering--or well, at fist, before she leans her forehead forward, slightly more sympathetic, "It's rough, dealing with someting like that." ...But then she slips in a little pride at the compliment, "I think I'm pretty good."
Shiori hasn't been terribly specific here, though that's not /entirely/ her being cagey, either. Her enthusiasm can see her through a lot, and she's already happier than she's been in quite a while. But...
There is a but, isn't there?
Shiori, too, glances at the window, and the thought of Mai's roommate returning makes her pale a little in pre-emptive mortification. "Aah..." She turns back to Mai, and feels slightly light-headed as, to her surprise, the other girl almost seems /fine/ with that. "M-Mai-chan!" she squeaks.
There's a slight hesitation, before, "I... Ah, I want to, with you, but... Maybe we shouldn't right now, then. Not... something awkward to walk in on, right?" She offers a nerous smile, and certainly, could be persuaded. But maybe it'll be enough to appease both of them if, "...We could just... do this a little longer. Let your voice finish resting. I really like your voice." Her hand slowly traces over to Mai's shoulder, one finger trailing meaningless shapes, "....We wouldn't want to hurt it, right? And if we hear the door we just... were taking a break!"
Shiori smiles again. It's meant to be encouaging, but it's mostly with pride at her new plan. ...It's not like she has to push so hard anymore anyway; Mai really seems to like her. ...Right?
