Page 175 of Mercy Written in Blood

"I brought dessert."

Haruki accepted it.

"What is it?"

"Pear cake."

"You made it?"

"Yes."

The answer produced a silence Renji did not understand. Haruki looked into the bag as though Renji had revealed a second impossible species.

"You bake."

"Occasionally."

"You told me you cook."

"Baking is cooking governed by measurement."

"That sounds like the only kind you would trust."

Renji untied the apron. Haruki watched.

"Are you actually putting that on?"

"Your household appears to require labour as an entry fee."

"You could leave."

Renji slipped the loop over his head. Haruki's expression softened.

"No," he said. "I don't think you could."

Before Renji could answer, Reina appeared in the corridor. She pointed towards the kitchen.

"Vegetables."

Then at Haruki.

"Dessert in the pantry. Do not touch it."

"I live here."

"And yet the cake is not yours."

Reina disappeared again. Haruki leaned closer to Renji.

"She becomes tyrannical on Sundays."

"Only Sundays?"

"You haven't seen her organise a funeral."

"I have."

Haruki considered that.