| [Jan. 22nd, 2012|12:09 am] |
“S’weird,” Katsuko said after a moment. “Like I’m on one side of a door and it’s on the other, tryin’ ta get in.” The slow burn of her coils was muted, in any case, sullen and low. “It’s nice.”
Was this how civilians felt? Light and free, barred from ever having to strain their coils or suffer from burnt pathways? Katsuko propped herself up against Kakashi’s shoulder and crossed her arms, considering. “I’d miss being able to walk on walls, after a while,” she told Kakashi. “And water. Walking on water’s cool, except when it’s the ocean and there’s sharks tryin’ to eat you ‘cause you’re bleeding. I hate sharks.”
Kakashi braced his arm behind her back, giving her somewhere to lean. "I'm going to fix this. Then you'll be able to walk on anything you want."
The corners of her eyes prickled. Katsuko swiped at them with her sleeve. “Thanks,” she muttered thickly. “You didn’t have to help me, but you did. An’ you didn’t have to watch me, but you did. I told you you weren’t mean.”
He cleared his throat. "If you ever tell anyone, I'll kill you dead."
“Won’t,” Katsuko chuckled. “Cross my heart and hope to...actually, no, that’s a bad way to promise something. Let’s just say I won’t, an’ leave it at that.”
Kakashi tilted his head to look at her, unreadable but not unfriendly. "You should finish your beer."
“Knew they called you a genius for a reason.” Katsuko lifted her can in a benevolent toast to the Monument, then knocked the rest of it back in one long swallow. She sighed and leaned against Kakashi, tipping her head against his shoulder to blink up at the night sky. “Forgot how floaty alcohol makes you feel. Weird. Nice, though. Not having to think about the dark things, and the dead people.” |
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