Page 111 of Mercy Written in Blood

"You really speak like this all the time."

"So do you."

"No, I'm charming."

"You are persistent."

"That is a kind of charm."

"It is not."

Haruki smiled into his cup. The departmental meeting became irrelevant. Renji realised this only when his phone vibrated. He looked at the screen. Three missed messages from Akiko. The meeting had begun six minutes ago.

Renji stood.

"I have to go."

Haruki looked at the clock.

"We exceeded eighteen minutes."

"Yes."

"You're late."

"Yes."

"Because of me?"

"Because I failed to monitor the time."

Haruki rose more carefully than he once would have. Renji noticed that too. Medical advice followed. Perhaps not all of it. But some.

"Thank you for the coffee," Haruki said.

"You did not buy my drink."

"Thank you for sitting with me while I had coffee."

"That is more accurate."

Haruki put on his coat. The movement remained slightly restricted on the injured side.

"How is the wound?" Renji asked.

"Closed."

"That was not the question."

Haruki smiled.

"Sometimes it aches."

"At night?"

"Yes."

"Any fever?"