“Yeah. And shoes,” Genma said. He felt the question shiver through her as her eyes flicked to his sandal-shod feet. Only his toes were visible, long and bony like his fingers, but not nearly so scarred. Why had he said it? Outside of the medics who’d treated him, Rina, who’d been there for those excruciating first steps, and Raidou, who’d asked about the odd discolorations striping the soles of his feet and deserved an honest answer because he was Raidou, no one knew. No one needed to know, and no one asked or whispered or pretended they weren’t staring, because there wasn’t anything to see.

Maybe that was why he’d said something. Because Katsuko was someone who wouldn’t gasp in horror and fail to understand.

Like Raidou, actually.

“They didn’t really get to my hands until late in the game. They started with my feet, so even if I managed to escape, I wouldn’t be able to run away.”

Katsuko blew out a long, slow breath and closed her eyes. The sunrise lit her face softly golden, picking out strands of her hair like fire. After a moment she opened her eyes again and turned to Genma, looping both arms around him in an awkward hug. He hesitated, then wrapped her in his arms as well, twisted towards her, and dropped his head onto her shoulder.

“I know about burns, too. Raidou, my—” Partner? Best friend? Lover? “—boyfriend.” Where had that word even come from? But it was the right one. “He was burned really badly. On the face and chest. On our last mission he got burned again. I know how awful those bandage changes are,” he said quietly.

Katsuko’s grip tightened. “How is Raidou now?” she asked. She didn’t let go.

“Better. Healed,” Genma said. “He still thinks I’m crazy for calling him handsome. But he’s wrong. There are a lot of reasons to call me crazy.” He chuckled softly. “Same as you, right? But that’s not one of them. He’s... He... I like his scars. I don’t care about his scars. They’re just one small part of him.”