"We're circling around a stalemate." Sato lowered her cup. "Yes, I could have lied to--sorry, convinced--your mortal self otherwise, but would it have been any more honest? Besides I had no wish to meet you alive; it would've made your eventual departure a loss rather than an indulgence." She shrugged, artlessly philosophical. "A fool's bargain either way."
"Your devotion to my wardrobe is duly noted." But the irate sea urchin was right about one thing at least: this could not happen again. True, Sato seldom used the same trick twice but still. She flashed a high-voltage smile. "I could promise never to personally steal from you again. Would that square things between us?"