| [Jan. 21st, 2012|10:41 pm] |
After a moment, Katsuko cleared her throat. “Do I want to—actually, no. I don’t want to know.” She shifted her present to her other arm and marched through the doorway, using her free hand to push Ryouma aside.
He stepped back, glaring over her head. “He said you were pregnant.”
She raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Hatake, who had stiffened a little at her intrusion. The masked man gave Ryouma a dry glance and drawled, “I said if.”
“If I was pregnant, I’d be delighted knowing that my child had a mommy and two daddies to care for it. Cuts down on diaper duty for everyone.” Kicking her boots off, Katsuko ignored Hatake’s incredulous stare and made her way to the kitchen with her head held high.
“If means not, right?” Ryouma asked, taking a deep breath. “Gods. Thanks for the heart attack.” He tugged at his collar, sucking in air, and realized his shirt was on backwards. Katsuko watched with amusement as he stripped the whole thing off to put it back on the right way, shaking her head.
Hatake came in after Ryouma, gaze fixed on Katsuko and her uninvited presence in his kitchen. “Now that you’ve scarred us both for life, what did you want?”
She grinned, turning to Ryouma and offering her present to him with a theatrical flourish. “For you! Go on, open it!”
He looked at her, warily, and then back down at the wrapped package in his hands. Suspicion gave way to delight. “What—” He glanced up at her again, smile wrapping its way around his face. “You didn’t!” He tore at the wrapping paper and pulled out his gift, crowing, “You did!”
The wrestling trophy gleamed a garish gold, its new paint layer catching the light. Katsuko had painted spiky black hair on one of the entwined figures and a mask and lopsided hitai-ate on the other. The whole thing was buffed and polished to a sheen, making it look like new.
Smiling, Katsuko leaned in to tap a fingernail on the bronze plaque affixed to the base. “I promised, didn’t I? It says ‘Cloud’s Number One Pain in the Ass for a Year and Counting’, word for word. And look! Here’s you, and here’s Hatake! I couldn’t figure out who to put on top, so I just played eenie-meenie-miney-mo.” |
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