âKatakuri,â Nene said quietly, âWhy did my assistant come to you?â
The tall man twitched, smiling at her, âIâm not allowed to say,â
âKa.ta.ku.ri.â She stared up at him with a frown, âWhat. Did. He. See.â
âEven if I knew, I wouldnât tell you. You know this. I donât look into the dreams. I just help them find the information they need.â
âYou know what he wanted, tell me that much,â
âI canât,â He looked down at her, his body shifting uncomfortably at the sight of her knife, âI wonât. Itâs not my place, ask the kid.â
She huffed, âIââ
âHonorable No. Seven, please understand my position. I canât just go around telling peopleâs business.â
âYou realize how contradicting that is, right? Your whole thing is showing people things they shouldnât see.â
âItâs part of my rumor, I canât change that,â
âThat still doesnât change the fact that you can and will tell me why he came to you.â
He shook his head, looking away from her, âIâm not going to say. You should really respect the kidâs privacy,â
Nene let out a sharp scoff, âRight, right, cause he didnât want to snoop into other peopleâs lives,â
âHeâs a good kid.â Katakuri scratched at the back of his head, âI think you should try trusting him, Honorable No. Seven,â
âI do,âÂ
âClearly not,â He flinched away from the glare she shot him, âLookâ you donât trust him enough to go to him and ask what he saw or what he wanted to know. And youâre so sure he went behind your back to see something about you,â
âI didnât say that,â Nene stepped back, surprised by his accusation.
âYou donât need to. You threatened me to tell you what he wanted. Thatâs enough to show that you donât trust him.â
She shrugged, âYou donât know him like I do. HeâsâŚâ Nene knows Hanako-kun would snoop behind her back and find some way to mess up the world she made for him.Â
Blinking, Nene tries to find the words, trying to find a way to explain her suspicions without suggesting anything bad about Amane, â⌠Heâs⌠Amane. Heâs always curious and loves learning about everything, you know? And since⌠Since weâŚâ
Weâre friends. Thatâs all she has to say⌠but the statement itself felt strange. She had gone a long time with no friends. Her fellow mysteries donât know this part of her. They only know the mask and character she portrayed to get this far. They donât know the Nene that was alive. They donât know the girl who held her heart on her sleeve.
âWeâre friends.â She can barely scrape it out of her mouth. It felt wrong.
She felt so much more than just platonic. This feeling for him ran much deeper than the surface. It wasâŚÂ
A small chuckle left the other male, âIâm glad heâs your friend. I just think you should have some more faith in him,â
Nene sighed, looking down to the floor, âI know I should. I⌠Iâm trying, I really am, Katakuri.â
He walked towards her, placing a hand on her head, âItâs okay. I know you havenât had the best life, just⌠As long as youâre tryingâŚâ A long sigh left him, âI dunno, kid, I worry for you,â
âYeah, yeahâŚâ Nene pushed his hand away, tugging on her hat, âYou worry too much,â
âWell, someoneâs gotta, either me or Tsuchigomori, and I know you donât like him nagging,âÂ
She rolled her eyes, turning away from him, âIâve got things to do. See you around,â
Katakuri shook his head with a laugh, âAlright, Honorable No. Seven,â