[when Kaoru returns after a little more splashing, it's in a slightly ungainly manner, burdened as he is by Tama-chan, who appears to be trying to climb on top of his head, her tail swishing as she makes slightly alarmed chirping noises. Kaoru tries to steady her with his hands, wading back around the curtain without bothering to stay low, sorry Seimei, but it's not like he's completely on show]

...it seems she jumped into the water without considering that she can't swim.

[setting her down on the rocks, rubbing her head until she calms down a bit, though he's really just buying time to think about Seimei's question]

...I'm not the type to flit around from person to person, you know? Some people do - and that's okay but... It's not for me. I don't make connections so shallow as to just drop them when they don't benefit me. If I consider someone to be my friend, that's something pretty big. So for someone to mean even more than that... they have to be pretty stellar.

...I choose you, Seimei. Do you understand what that means?