“Six months,” Katsuko said softly. She shook herself after a moment and leaned over the table, tapping him gently on the forehead with her knuckles. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. It was one night, and you made it wonderful. I don’t regret a thing. And...I’d hate to lose a friend.”

He grabbed her hand, holding it almost fiercely. "I'm not lost. I came back, see? An' if you'll keep me, I'd like to stick around."

Her smile this time was wide and bright, with no hint of sorrow lurking at the corners. “Yeah, you did. You did come back. Thank you for that. And you’re definitely sticking around, if I have anything to say about it.” After a moment she cleared her throat and looked away, an awkward expression on her face. “I hope you know that I’m actually going to have that trophy made. I’ll show up at wherever place you’re staying and just leave it in a place of honor on the kitchen table.”

Ryouma chuckled. "I'm at Kakashi's for now, until I get a permanent place--or he finally gets fed up and kicks me out again. Let me know when you drop it off. I want to be around when he sees it."

Katsuko raised an eyebrow. “At Hatake’s? Really?” She smirked. “Nice job. Though I’m not sure how happy he’d be to see me again. Last time we talked he looked like he wanted to Chidori my face off. There was growling, too.”