The tension could be felt even more than seen--but that was nothing new. Tomoe was almost always rigid, the control she had instilled in herself since she was a young girl going straight to the bone. She seemed to prickle further for the briefest moment when his hands found her shoulders before she relaxed against the touch, very much like a cat being calmed by being petted. Touch could be so taboo in her culture--it simultaneously could set her on edge, or in this case calm her faster than anything else.

She let out a slow breath, bowing her head a bit again while she turned to look at his hand over hers. She slowly lowered the knife to the counter and flattened her hand out, momentarily pausing at how tiny her hand was in comparison to his. It was odd how often she forgot just how small she was in comparison to others sometimes...

"Sometimes... I feel as though it is never going to change... No matter how far I come here, I still feel like I'm drowning..." she answered quietly in Japanese. "I'm not stupid, but I may as well be...."