Ritsu watched his cousin fly at him in what felt like slow-motion, barely managing to keep his balance as her body connected full force with his, the strength of her embrace quickly ridding his lungs of air. He flailed a bit, gasping bits of apology as he waved his arms, tears filling his eyes as he realized his useless self had caused his dear family member such worry with his selfishly prolonged rest. This after he had promised himself he would no longer be a bother to her, do as much as he could to keep from causing such a kind soul distress and unnecessary concern for his worthless person.

This lowly Ritsu’s vow hadn’t even lasted one day – and here, again, she was crying for him. Surely he deserved every bruise he suffered from her outburst of affection, even if he knew there was no such intent behind the action. He blushed brightly as the tears streamed down his cheeks, still so unsure of how to react to something as simple as a hug, something which he could hardly remember receiving in his time before arriving here. One as unimportant as Ritsu hardly merited such an enthusiastic greeting, and never received them back home…his arrival was never something to be celebrated.

He couldn’t help but feel his unworthy heart flutter at the idea that she cared enough for him to display such strong emotion, and he raised one quivering hand to her back, pressing it there weakly, the most his shy self could do in way of returning the hug, and more than he had ever managed before.

The pleasant feeling was soon replaced by guilt, not just at having enjoyed the concern, but once again for being its source. He hid his face in his sleeves and rambled quiet and heartfelt apologies, each word filled with as much self loathing as he could humanly express, until he had exhausted himself and all that was left was his genuine happiness to see her again.

“I’m s-sorry, Kagura-san, this lowly Ritsu has no idea what happened…I…I simply was asleep and I...”