“I think I get it,” he said, after a moment of silent study. “You don’t keep anything else, because all your treasure’s here.”

For all her flash and flame, Katsuko could move like a ghost when she wanted to. The barest hint of warmth at his back was all the warning he got before she reached past his shoulder, silent, and picked out one of the daggers.

“This one’s my favorite,” she said, unsheathing it and turning it to let him see.

It wasn’t a design he was familiar with. The scabbard was just two loose pieces of wood held together by loops of brass. The blade curved in angular waves, wide at the base and narrowing to a stabbing-tip. Double-edged and keen, but oddly weighted, with a clunky hilt wrapped in some kind of lacquered fiber. The whole thing was dark and plain, and, if Raidou had to judge, older than both of them.

“Why?” he asked.

“My first kill,” Katsuko said simply. She smiled; it wasn’t nice. “Bastard went for me because I was the smallest on my genin team.”

Raidou suspected that was a short-lived regret. “Well, aren’t we learning so much about each other,” he said, because good for you was obviously redundant.

She laughed and resheathed the dagger, sliding it back into its place. “Are we? Mostly it seems like we're reaffirming my weirdness.”

“Also that,” Raidou said, and rezipped the case. “I might be going out on a limb here, but I think your weapons are pre-packed. In fact, I think you’re ready to go, barring whatever you need to drag out of your closet.” He tipped his head up, quirking a smile at her. “And your stalling is getting less subtle, so why don’t I just make it clear that I’m going to stick around tonight until you feel good to be on your lonesome, and we can get noodles or something?”

Katsuko visibly decided whether or not to bullshit him.

He lifted his eyebrows at her.

“I was wondering when you’d notice,” she said at last, with an uneven grin.