A Heavy Cry at Night

The girl allows me to drag her back to her feet. Although I can't see it clearly in the darkness of the night, I know from her slurped pose and the occasional hiccup that she's still quietly crying to herself. I feel a little powerless as I guide her back home, unable to alleviate whatever burden she may carry with her. I'm holding her hand as tightly as I can without hurting her though Koyori hardly returns the gesture.

About halfway down the road, Koyori suddenly comes to a halt just as the moon manages to break through the thick cloud cover. Questioningly, still holding her hand, I glance back at my friend. The scattered moonlight illuminates her tear-stained face, reflecting in some of the individual droplets, turning them into glittering little diamonds.

"Something the matter?" I inquire but, apparently, Koyori just really wanted to hug me, assaulting me without warning in the middle of the street. However, just as suddenly as it starts, the embrace is already over by the time I manage to react to the gesture.

Huh? Well, that was a quick one.

The way the girl pushes herself away from me reminds me of my own experiences. Could she feel awkward about it in spite of her current situation?

"S-sorry, I felt like hugging you all this time but I can't do it anymore," she laments as a fresh wave of salty tears washes over her petite face. "Maybe I would have been better off remaining clueless about my feelings. Maybe then I could at least deal with my crying…"

Wow, she's struggling with two things at once. That's bad. How should I deal with this?

A pronounced sob escapes her throat as her hands fly into her face to cover it up - a rather pointless action as her tears are quilling through the gaps between her fingers.

"S-sorry!" she exclaims. Turning around, she tries to run but this time I'm not letting her. A quick sprint is all it takes to catch her. Throwing my arms around her waist from behind, I can only watch helplessly how Koyori falls victim to her emotions. A sharp cry rapidly transitions into a literal meltdown.

Suddenly, my best friend is ugly crying into the tranquil night, exhaling clamoring wails in rapid succession for several minutes. Her body is completely limb, only my backward embrace keeping her light body from falling over.

Whatever emotions are running berserk right now, I feel like letting things run their course is the best option right now. Clearly, Koyori has been suppressing the negativity she harbors in her heart so to see it burst out now is only understandable. It pains me to see her suffer from these emotions but, in case of doubt, letting everything out with a bang is probably still better than quietly eating it up.

I make sure to hold her heavily cramping body as close to me as possible, nonverbally expressing my support and making sure she knows she's not alone. I can't tell if the girl appreciates the support but, after a few minutes, the meltdown ends as abruptly as it began, loud and painful screams diminishing into heavy breathing within seconds. Little later, Koyori is standing on her own feet again, facing me full of embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry, Kei-kun," she apologizes frantically, even bowing to me in an attempt to excuse herself. "Please don't hate me!"

Apparently, she's so worried about it that the permanent flow of her tears is finally quenched, replaced by cold, panicky sweat on her forehead.

"Even though you have no idea what's going on, you still stayed. I'm the worst…"

"Hey, that's my line," I joke in a fruitless attempt to lighten the heavy mood. "Hey, Yori-chan ate all of your sadness but now she ate too much and had to puke it out. It's okay, Yori. It's okay to cry sometimes. But you shouldn't hide your bad emotions from people who are important to you. Wanna talk about it now?"

"Not really," she admits, relaxing significantly upon hearing my words of advice. "But it wouldn't be fair to make you worry about me after everything you've done today."

"That's true," I admit, approaching her in order to place the palm of her right hand into a sandwich of my own palms. "I can't force you to talk about things you're not ready to share yet. There are many things that didn't add up about your sudden visit but I'm glad you're here and I don't want you to go any sooner than you have to. You don't have to tell me now or tomorrow; you don't have to tell me everything at once either. Just promise me that you will and I'll try to act as if none of this ever happened, okay?"

I'm ending my speech with a quick embrace, leaving enough room for the girl to free herself if she so desired. Unlike earlier, though, she readily accepts the gesture.

"Kei-kun, you're the best," she sighs into my shoulder while reciting her catchphrase. "I promise I'll tell you about my problems but you can tell me about yours too. Had I known how embarrassing a hug can feel, I wouldn't have tortured you with them so much."

Ah yes, hug torture. That's a keeper.

"How did you handle it?" she asks me sheepishly, making attempts to free herself from my embrace before overriding the erratic instinct I know like an old friend by now. "I can barely control myself once I get this weird feeling in my tummy…"

"Well, I know this probably doesn't help but I just naturally got used to it," I answer with a shrug, smiling a little at Koyori's perseverance. "It's a mind thing. I eventually started listening to my feelings more than listening to my brain trying to tell me that hugging a cute girl is dangerous."

Koyori's arms wrap around me tightly as I realize that I said something without thinking again. However, I quickly brush it off as nothing, making myself comfortable in our mutual fondness.

"I think I won," she eventually mentions as she breaks free. "You're right, it's just a brain fart. Though I still can't stop my belly from churning when I think about you, Keiichi."

Koyori seeks eye contact with me, nonverbally requesting a report of my own experiences.

"It's no different here," I lament in an attempt to be witty and this time it actually works. "Honestly, why is all of this so weird?!"

"I know right?" the girl chuckles which sends a massive relief down my spine. At least for now, the worst has probably passed for the night though I'm not counting my hatchlings before they hatch.