* Kyon stalks behind Katie. Anyone around?
<Brett> [Occasionally you pass people on the street.]
* Kyon stops a bit behind her, and says in a level voice, "... Katie?"
* Katie sighs, turns around, and looks up at Kyon. "<What do you want?>" she 
asks in English.
* Kyon rocks back on his heels, and looks back down at her. "<Why are you 
running off?">
* Katie doesn't waver. "<Why not?>"
* Kyon shakes his head. "<That's all the reason you have?>"
<Katie> <Maybe.  What do you care?>
* Kyon glances off away from her. "<Try again. Why are you running off? That was 
all that upsetting?>"
* Katie glares at Kyon for a brief moment before saying, "<I don't know. Don't 
you have better things to do, Kyon? Cheering people up isn't your thing.>"
* Kyon looks back, then says something brief in Chinese, before continuing. 
"<Can you stop questioning my motives, and just tell me? I'm here, right?>"
<Katie> <You built yourself that reputation.  You get to live with it.>
* Katie sighs, looking away. "<But... really, I don't know.>"
* Kyon nods tersely. "<I know. I don't care about having it. Makes life 
easier.>" He looks at her somewhat awkwardly while she's looking away. 
"<Usually.>"
<Katie> <Yeah.  So's->
* Katie hesitates, then says, "<I try, you know. I really do.>"
* Kyon smiles, somewhat softly. "<Yeah, I know. Never said this all was easy.>"
<Katie> <Over a month and we still don't have anything!  And everyone's so... so 
*frustrating* I could spit.  Everyone.  I can't- I mean, they're nice people, 
and->
* Katie kicks at a brick wall, then turns and leans against it, still not 
looking quite at Kyon.
* Kyon returns to his normal smirk. "<A month? I spent at least six here with 
way less than you have now. And I can say it. They irritate the hell out of me 
half the time.>"
<Kyon> <Nice, not nice, doesn't matter. Look at Matthias; very competent, not a 
great person.>
* Katie laughs, not sounding quite stable as she does so. "<Irritating? They're 
all irritating. You're irritating. I can go on about why, but... No, see, that's 
the thing.>"
* Kyon shrugs quickly, and walks a bit more towards her. "<Wouldn't be me if I 
wasn't. Like I said, I don't care about it. What's the thing?">
<Katie> <I want... I mean, even though Haruko and Taki make me want to scream 
and sometimes you make me want to rip your hair out and Kaede or Satoshi can 
just->
* Katie stops herself. "<I... you know, I care. But- but I can't trust them. I 
really can't.>"
* Kyon closes the rest of the distance, and looks down at her, the awkward look 
back on his face. "<You can't. You can only trust anyone so far.>"
<Katie> <But it's not- okay, if this were just about keeping my first kiss or 
whatever a secret, fine, that's different.  Hell, I trust them not to trade me 
away or something stupid.  But I can't- I can't trust them to stay alive.  And I 
know that sounds stupid coming from me, since everyone seems to want to kill me, 
not them.>
* Kyon shrugs quickly. "<So you guard as best you can. And if they can't handle 
the rest, there's nothing you can do. You can't shield everyone from the danger. 
It's there.>" He sounds strangely reflective. "<Sometimes, you bring it on 
them.>"
<Katie> <Yeah.>
* Katie stays silent for a moment, then looks to Kyon. "<So, why are you here?>"
* Kyon jams his hands in his pockets, and smirks. "<What, you don't believe it's 
because I care?>"
<Katie> <What I believe isn't my question.  I just want you to tell me why 
you're here.>
* Kyon hesitates, then swings his back around to the wall, and looks down at 
her. "<Because it looks like I need to trust you.>"
* Katie tilts her head. "<How so?>"
* Kyon looks down the other side of the street as he talks. "<I... may have to 
leave for a while. A few weeks, maybe. Haven't decided whether to go yet.>"
* Katie blinks. "<Why?>"
* Kyon looks back down at her, keeping his expression cool. "<My dad. He's going 
into the hospital later today. Something in his lungs. Maybe pneumonia, maybe 
cancer. Don't know yet.>"
<Kyon> <The family doctor has been seeing him. But he doesn't know, so they're 
moving him in. As a precaution.>
<Katie> <Oh God.  I'm sorry.>
* Kyon shakes his head quickly, and swears in Chinese. "<The others are probably 
at the apartment by now.>" He pulls one hand out of his pocket with the phone in 
it, flips it open, and jabs the quickdial for Satoshi.
* Kyon speaks into the phone. "<Yeah. I caught up with her. Won't be there for a 
while yet.>"
* Kyon shrugs hard, shakes his head irritatedly, and answers back. "Go get 
something to eat. Good soba place nearby. I'll call when I'm close. Or wait 
there, if you want. Doesn't matter."
* Kyon flips the phone closed, and jams it and his hand back in the pocket. 
"<Talk in English too long, and it sticks.>"
* Katie tilts her head up. "<I haven't had too much trouble switching from 
Japanese. Probably not that comfortable with it, still.>"
* Kyon shrugs quickly. "<You haven't been learning Japanese since you were 
three.>"
* Katie frowns. "<Should've. Mom mostly spoke English around the house, 
though.>" She shrugs.
* Kyon pulls a hand out of his pocket, and waves a hand dismissively. "<Anyway. 
You know what my family does?>"
<Katie> <I can't say I do.>
* Kyon nods tersely. "<We run the Arisugawa brewery. Mostly sake. Pretty well 
known in Japan for its quality.>" He smirks. "<We've always been good at what 
we've done.>"
<Brett> [Kyon's phone rings.]
* Katie mmms. "<For some reason, I'm not surprised. So you might leave to 
help?>" She looks down at his phone.
* Kyon scowls, and pulls it roughly out of his pocket. He checks the number 
quickly, and flips it open. "Queen of Wands."
* Kyon cocks his head. "The jail? Why, the bike mechanic get arrested?"
<Kyon> "Right. And you need me there for it?"
* Kyon shrugs quickly. "Fine. If you leave before we get there, give me a call."
* Kyon stabs the button to hang up, flips the phone shut, and puts it back in 
his pocket.
* Katie looks at Kyon questioningly.
<Kyon> <Dad called and asked me to.>
* Kyon looks off down the street again, his voice calm. "<I haven't been home in 
three years. Don't know what to think.>"
<Katie> <You... haven't?  Why not?>
* Kyon looks back, the same old smirk back in place. "<They've got reasons. So 
have I. Not the time to ask.>"
<Katie> <Hey, a girl had to try.>
* Katie considers, then nods. "<All right, then. So if you're going, you'll just 
be gone, poof, no good-bye? I'll miss your insufferable wit, you know.>"
* Kyon shakes his head quickly. "<It'd be temporary. I have to finish school, 
and I've got too much to do here. There's some unfinished business now, though. 
Important. They want me to handle it.>"
* Katie nods. "<All right.>"
* Kyon looks down at her, a strange look on his face. "<If I go... I need you to 
keep things together for me here.>"
* Katie sighs dramatically. "<Does this mean I'm not allowed to go into 
hysterics at the drop of a hat anymore?>"
* Kyon barks out a laugh. "<Only when you think it would suit my purposes.>"
* Katie smirks. "<Of course. Because I'm looking out for your best interests and 
all.>" The smirk tones down into a faint smile. "<But really, Kyon. I'll do my 
best. It's all I can do, with or without you here.>"
* Kyon shrugs. "<I make a good shield, though.>" He moves his hand out of his 
pocket, and adjusts the armwarmer over the scar. "<You will, then?>"
<Katie> <Of course.>
* Kyon hesitates, then reaches over and rests his hand very lightly on her 
shoulder, while looking off past her down the street. "<Right. If there's 
anything really big, call. And...>" He stops, then says something quiet in 
Chinese.
* Katie looks up at Kyon, worry tinging her voice. "<What?>"
* Kyon shakes his head bemusedly. "<No, that's the only language I'm saying 
things like that in.>"
* Katie blinks. "<You don't want me to understand whatever that is? I don't see 
what the point is.>"
* Kyon smirks. "<Just trust that there was one.>" He looks down at his hand on 
her shoulder, and says in a mocking tone, "<Feel better now?>"
* Katie smiles brightly. Too brightly, even. "<Just dandy.>"
* Kyon shakes his head bemusedly. "<If you're going to do it like that, no one 
will believe you.>"
<Katie> <Give me a little credit.>
* Katie pauses, seeming to consider something, then closes that little space 
between her and Kyon, giving him a hug. "<And thanks.>"
* Kyon blinks, and his body goes tense. He reaches his other hand down, resting 
it gingerly on her other shoulder. "<Right, Katie. Want to go to jail now?>"
* Katie lightly asks, "<Can I see if you're ticklish first?>" She stays that way 
a little longer, then lets go, stepping back into Safe Distance (tm).
<Brett> [Session End]