"Not like a regular stabbing, either, I take it." Ryouma craned his neck to look down at his shoulder, tipping his head a bit further to compensate for his mask. "Takumi does some jutsu with his ink, but that's mostly for the color. What's this one do? Location tracker? Instant death for oath-breakers?"

"Wait and see,” Nanami said, mysteriously.

“Maybe if you ask nicely, Nanami-san will let you customize your tattoo,” Katsuko suggested. “I asked her for sparkles and ink blood streaks before I got mine.”

Ryouma cocked his head to get a look at Katsuko’s right shoulder. Dark eyes glittered with faint amusement behind his mask. “I’m guessing you didn’t ask nicely.”

“I’m always nice,” Katsuko said, quite seriously. “But my old captain told me sparkles would ruin ANBU’s image. What do you think?”

“I dunno.” He relaxed against the headrest. “The more I see of ANBU’s image from the inside, the more I think sparkles might be appropriate.” His attention flicked over to Nanami. “Though not for me. I’m more of a flames-and-daggers type of guy.”

“Original,” Nanami said, a little teasingly. The flash of metal snagged Katsuko’s gaze right before Nanami laid Ryouma’s skin open, flesh parting beneath shining steel in precise lines.