It might be foolish, but Tama finds himself relaxing when neither Minakami or Kawase try to jab holes in his story. He's been as honest as he dares for the sake of not seeming like a liar, and because it genuinely was difficult for him to lie to these two after everything that had happened, but it seems like that had worked out for the most part? It'd take a few days to see if their minds worked out any further details- it's not like Tama has realized only one of his eyes was really bloodshot, given the clinic didn't have any mirrors.
The handhold is a little surprising, maybe moreso because he doesn't feel like he's earned it, with the white lies. But he greedily accepts it nonetheless, focusing on that than dwelling on where he is. Or what that explanation implies for that whole sequence of events.
"...it pushed 'her' out, then." It had 'dripped' out, dashed his illusions so effortlessly- but was that literal, or not, he didn't know. The hand was squeezed as he wondered about how long something like that could have been lingering...in his system, like a cold. It was easier to think of it like a cold. "When Matoba-san asked what I could do, I thought it'd make more sense to show him something I know really well, not...just make up something fantastical. So I made Umebachidou. When I was thinking about that place too much, the- the thing, it attacked." He'd felt 'allergies' even before Matoba had shown up at the cafe, so that was probably fine to admit to. Right? "My eyes have been irritated for a couple days, but when it showed up, they really started to hurt, and I felt empty and dizzy..." No, wait. The more he talks like this, the higher the risk he's going to say the wrong thing, getting stuck at the clinic or getting his co-conspirator in trouble- he wants to help Matoba, not make things worse for him. Tama swallows thick, looking up at Kawase like he's asking permission. "I can just go home, can't I? I'm just exhausted now, and she's back where she should be. Y-you know I can't relax in a place like this..."
no subject
The handhold is a little surprising, maybe moreso because he doesn't feel like he's earned it, with the white lies. But he greedily accepts it nonetheless, focusing on that than dwelling on where he is. Or what that explanation implies for that whole sequence of events.
"...it pushed 'her' out, then." It had 'dripped' out, dashed his illusions so effortlessly- but was that literal, or not, he didn't know. The hand was squeezed as he wondered about how long something like that could have been lingering...in his system, like a cold. It was easier to think of it like a cold. "When Matoba-san asked what I could do, I thought it'd make more sense to show him something I know really well, not...just make up something fantastical. So I made Umebachidou. When I was thinking about that place too much, the- the thing, it attacked." He'd felt 'allergies' even before Matoba had shown up at the cafe, so that was probably fine to admit to. Right? "My eyes have been irritated for a couple days, but when it showed up, they really started to hurt, and I felt empty and dizzy..." No, wait. The more he talks like this, the higher the risk he's going to say the wrong thing, getting stuck at the clinic or getting his co-conspirator in trouble- he wants to help Matoba, not make things worse for him. Tama swallows thick, looking up at Kawase like he's asking permission. "I can just go home, can't I? I'm just exhausted now, and she's back where she should be. Y-you know I can't relax in a place like this..."