It's drizzling outside, a light pour that doesn't seem to end. She's not hiding out from the rain perse, nor is she somehow against stepping out into it if she'd have to. Yet, from inside these walls where it's dry, she could hear the light rainfall better as it fell overtop stone and left a small clattering noise in the air.
The only hint of the rain that sneaks in other than the sound is the cooler air, that's almost enough to add an extra layer to her knightly attire. Yet, Kiki doesn't even bother to shiver or to rub her arms; she refuses to yield to the chill in the air. And besides, Mitsuhide's by her side, peering out at the rain that faintly mists past the walls here, and he's smiling. He looks wistful and quiet, and Mitsuhide can be all noise whenever he wants to be.
"It's been like this all day." Kiki answers, not really meaning to step closer to Mitsuhide, but when she does, she feels the warmth emanating off of him. He's so warm, despite this chilly, rainy day.
"It has been." And he turns to look at her, already smiling. It's probably the rain that brings his lips up into a smile or if not that, then the fact that he often smiles. Yet, her heart seems to warm at the look anyway.
"Yeah." Kiki offers without any more clever words that could come to mind, and Mitsuhide bridges the slight gap between them, so that they stand shoulder to shoulder watching the rain.
So, Kiki pauses, debates with something more rational within her, and yet takes Mitsuhide's hand in hers that is so close. Perhaps it looks like an accident, but however it looks, Mitsuhide squeezes her hand in his grip, and Kiki feels like the sun is peeking past clouds and on to them, despite the steady drizzle.
"We don't get the day off." Mitsuhide finally says, and it almost sounds like a joke. Kiki's lips pull up into a slight smile, and her shoulders nearly shake from the laughter that wants to spill out.
"We do not." She says as if it were as serious as could be.
"Yeah." Mitsuhide monotones and gestures with his other hand towards the hallway, offering to walk with her back.
And somehow today, it really is different. Not the drizzle that cools off an early summer day, but the fact that Kiki can and is walking with Mitsuhide through the castle holding his hand. It's probably the most couple-y thing they've ever done or perhaps the cutest thing she's let happen.
It feels nice and cool, refreshing in a way, to allow this to be the case. And Kiki knows that a rainy day didn't bring this on, but she feels grateful for it regardless, for the drizzle that keeps them walking inside the castle and not through the grounds outside, that keeps them hand in hand, because truly there is not a lot of room in the hallways to walk separate from each other.
And when they do make it back to Zen, even standing guard over him as he does paperwork isn't a dull point to their day, not after they'd walked hand in hand through the castle, not after Kiki's heart has been filled past overflowing with this much warmth, warmth that seems to flow from Mitsuhide straight to her.