[TOO MANY ATTENTION... Manabu ducks his head, shoulders shrugging up.]

I! I wanted to ask! If I, I, we--that is, I never got to properly, without...weird Trench things happening, and even after all the dis-discussion, still...!!

[the embarrassment is almost suffocating; he cringes, his unoccupied hand lifting and trying to wave, as if mortification is just something he can wave off like fog.]

Khh-k-ki-ki--