Page 106 of Mercy Written in Blood

"In what way?"

"You stopped having coffee."

"I am drinking tea."

"You stopped being here."

Renji said nothing. Haruki had noticed the withdrawal before Renji had.

"The Accord has told me very little," Haruki continued. "They provide updates that contain many words and almost no information."

"That sounds typical."

"So you know them well."

Renji looked down at his cup. There were answers he could give. None would be honest enough.

"Long enough," he said.

Haruki accepted that more readily than Renji expected. Perhaps because he understood deliberate boundaries. Perhaps because he intended to cross them later.

"What did you think of me?" Haruki asked.

Renji looked up.

"When?"

"When I arrived."

"You were critically injured."

"I know. I was there."

"You were unstable, argumentative and unwilling to answer questions directly."

Haruki nodded.

"Accurate."

"You also had poor judgement."

"Because I flirted with you?"

"Because you continued fighting after sustaining multiple penetrating injuries."

"That too."

Renji waited for another joke. It did not come. Haruki's gaze dropped to the table.

"I thought if I stopped moving, they would reach the others."

"They might have."

"So it wasn't poor judgement."

"It was effective."

"That is not the same as wise."