Snippet #2816167

"W-wait!" Quiet exclaimed, clawing to climb back onto Himari's shoulder as she briskly walked away from the scene. "This could be a significant sign!"

"Nope," grunted Himari. "You're not gonna trick me with that 'there's no such thing as coincidence. Stand Users are drawn together' bullshit again," she grumbled, squeaking loudly as the thoughtless thumped against the barrier behind her and quickening her pace.

"But!"

"This is ridiculous: I'm arguing, in public, with an invisible talking cat over whether the cosmos are conspiring to get me involved in the magical world again. This isn't a goddamn anime! If it were, something dumb would happen to force me to stay like my heel breaking or turning a random corner and comically colliding with a future teammate," she argued.

Himari was shuffling towards said corner while checking over her shoulder as she was finishing her sentence before barreling straight into Akihiko. She recoiled, but managed to catch herself and remain on her feet, and was opening her mouth to apologize when she laid eyes on him. They locked eyes for a solid several second before her gaze traveled slowly up to the brightly colored bird.

"Ooh, a romance flag!" Quiet blurted excitedly, which seemed to snap Himari out of the daze.

"No! No! Nope, uh uh, hell no! This isn't happening!!" She flustered, turning on her heels again and walking straight into the street, to the dismay of several drivers. "This is a bad dream, clearly I'm still flashbacking... you can't die for real in a dream, the monsters aren't my problem anymore, and I don't have to fight them anymore," she muttered under the screech of tires, blaring horns and screaming drivers while clutching her head against the impending migraine.