"..."
Hiyori was silent as it all went down. She had been grateful, when the first pick went well- Yato and her both made it safely to the ground, which was better than she could have imagined. But panic quickly spread through her as one by one, the other 'contestants' were lowered down, leaving fewer and fewer people suspended in the air. Eventually there were only a handful, and the young teen couldn't help but feel a clenching pain in her chest. These people were strangers, but that did not mean it would be okay to her if they died. Quite the opposite, in fact. The very idea, let alone the fact that she knew it was the only outcome, was completely gut-wrenching to her. So naturally, when it came to the final choice, and the net shot towards the sky...
Wait, had that been--?
Instantly, as the first ring of the bell echoed through the building, Hiyori's hands shot to her mouth with horror. Starlow. She had been one of the ones that came to help her and Yato at the hut before. And now, she was... Dead. The recognition, the slow process of realizing that in full, rendered her speechless and teary-eyed. How could someone kill such a sweet, innocent creature in cold blood? More than that, something was wrong: surely by now an apparition of Starlow's spirit should have appeared, right? Wasn't that how the far shore worked? So why was it that there was nothing but this cold, empty feeling?
What came after that was a blur. The whole world around her had fallen away, much like her spirit so often did from her body, and she didn't fully absorb any of it. She didn't witness Yunmeko's personality shift, or realize she was physically incapable of uttering a word of what transpired to the officers, after she had unknowingly and subconsciously been ushered out of the place with the rest of the crowd. She didn't hear that they had more freedom now, that they would even have somewhere to stay. Even her favorite scent- that of the stray god -did little to bring her back from her sullen and melancholy state.
What did seem to break the spell was the feeling of something wrapping around her hand. Something warm and soft and gentle. It gave her a tender squeeze, emulating a miniscule sense of comfort. But she was too focused on that sensation to fully even note what was said to her by the male, her pink eyes only managing to note he was there after a long few moments of silence and distance.
"Huh...?" she muttered, attempting to stifle her feelings of distraught. It was belated, but it seemed that his question eventually managed to click.
"Ah, I don't mind, really. I'll follow wherever you lead," she followed up, eyes remaining downcast and away from Yato's. Though she did attempt to force a smile, it didn't last long. She didn't know if she could handle much more of this.
@Takumi