"With food poisoning? Once was enough, thank you." She resisted--barely--the urge to make another minuscule adjustment to the line of seasonings. "All right. I'll go see Shiranui-san tomorrow. And I'll try not to pick up anything from him, either."

The thin attempt at a joke fell painfully flat. Natsumi looked away. Ibiki really did need to take better care of the spider plant in his windowsill. Its leaves were beginning to curl. "You should water your plant," she said distantly. "And open your blinds once in a while. This room could use more light."

And that still wasn't what she meant.

She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. "I can meet you at Botan Garden in an hour. That should be enough time, shouldn't it?" It effectively derailed her plans for a long soak, but that wasn't what she needed right now, anyway.

What she needed was still sitting in his chair, watching her.

"Ibiki," she said quietly. "Thank you. I'm...glad you're here."