#hehehe.... blushy toshiro sprite. >:)))

[shadowedresolve]

Toshiro's expression softens at Futaba's words.

"Yeah. I'm sure you're right about that." In the end, that's what matters most. But while he's always felt the same way as Futaba about it, her nonchalant confidence that Erina is still guiding him is reassuring, reminding him it's not just something he tells himself to get by.

When the conversation turns to Eri, though, Toshiro finds a giddy excitement starting to rise up in his stomach again. He'd been hoping to tell the Phantom Thieves of their meeting, and this is the perfect chance to do it - though now that he's in the moment, it's actually a little embarrassing, somehow.

"And, as for Eri, well... we actually did meet up recently." he eventually confesses, trying to keep his words more casual than how he feels. In truth, though - he couldn't be happier.

Even after everything that happened in the Kingdoms, and with his newfound conviction and confidence there to revitalize his life... there had still been one thing missing when Toshiro found himself back in the real world. But now he has her back. Not to mention, it turned out that Eri had missed him just as much as he missed her... she hasn't been angry or upset with him at all, in the way he'd always feared.

"She's - doing well. Great, even! She's following her dream of becoming a journalist, and she's still got the same energetic soul she's always had... I'm sure it hasn't been easy for her, either. But I'm... really glad we ended up seeing each other again."

"Of course she is still watching over you." After all, she was his manifestation of rebellion ultimately, plus was the reason why he hadn't succumbed to the will of Salmael. "She is part of you, just as Necronomicon is part of me. I still feel her within me as well, guiding me and helping me every day. So I know for a fact that Erina is guiding you whether you realize it or not."

Erina seeing the outside world, as impossible as that would be in most circumstances, would be amusing to say the least. But there was Eri who was still around so it would be kind of redundant to say the least. But then again, if Erina and Eri were to meet up, one could only imagine the sort of chaos that would happen in that case.

In any case, she was chuckling internally at her own thoughts. "What about Eri? Is she doing alright still? Have you talked to her?" She had to wonder about that since she didn't know if the two had talked or not. "After everything that she went through according to your memories, I would hope things had gone better for her."