| [Feb. 21st, 2015|04:40 am] |
Thinking about her team sparked the memory of that first night in the bunker, reaching out to Raidou with her fumbling attempts at friendship.
“I’m—I’m really glad you’re okay. So when we get home, can I treat you to lunch? All of you.”
Raidou’s hand had been gentle on her shoulder, his voice low and warm. “I’d like that.”
She’d do better, she promised Raidou silently. She’d help keep this team together until he came back.
“Stop bullying your friend,” she said out loud, flicking Ryouma's arm. “Only I’m allowed to bully people.”
He squinted down at her. "I'm not sure Hakone's bully-able."
“How about it?” Katsuko turned to Hakone. “Are you bully-able?”
Hakone gave her a sly smile, dark eyes lingering on her face. "Depends on the circumstances, senpai."
“Oho,” she said, mostly to make Ryouma twitch like a cat that had stepped on a live wire. She hid a grin and gave Hakone an obvious once-over. He was lean and sharp, with dark hair that stood in contrast to his pale skin. He reminded her of a dagger in its sheath, killing edges hidden beneath an urbane surface. ANBU was just full of pretty boys this year; maybe she could start a collection.
Pretty didn’t make up for the fact that Hakone was too observant for his own good. Katsuko liked her secrets; they kept her warm on cold nights. She didn’t need a near-stranger deciding her dashing good looks and enigmatic allure were just the sort of mystery he’d love to unravel.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Katsuko said, polite and firm. Fun as it might have been to torture Ryouma with a few more minutes of flirtatious repartee, she needed to nip this in the bud. “I’m busy enough bullying my team as it is.” She nudged Ryouma’s side as an afterthought.
Ryouma looked down at her in blatant confusion, but there was a startling amount of relief in his expression, too. Had he really been that disturbed by the flirting? Even without her more personal reasons for turning Hakone down, it wasn’t like Katsuko would have pursued anything more serious than some verbal back-and-forth. She wouldn’t do anything when the team hung on the edge like this.
Team Six was what was important right now. Everything else was a distraction.
Hakone was taking his rejection in stride. He gave Katsuko a good-natured shrug, only a hint of wistful regret lingering at the corners of his mouth. "Chalk up another one for Ryouma-kun. I should be used to it after two years." He finished off his tea and added, "But I’d still be down with hearing about where to dispose of bodies. Just in case."
“Oh, I can definitely do that,” Katsuko said, and almost rubbed her hands together in glee before she remembered she couldn’t move one of them without excruciating pain. She leaned in instead, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But first: the trick to carrying a body bag you shouldn’t be carrying is to act like—”
Someone politely flared their chakra. Katsuko blinked and straightened up just as a man in an Intel uniform stepped into the courtyard.
“Agent Ueno?” the man asked in a pleasant, deep voice. The Intel jacket molded to his broad shoulders when he tucked the clipboard he was carrying under one arm. |
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