Page 311 of Mercy Written in Blood

"I do."

"How?"

"Because this is not how he acts."

Haruki gave a quiet, humourless laugh.

"You've met him twice."

"So have you."

"And I don't trust him."

"Neither do I."

"You keep speaking as though recognising his restraint makes him safe."

"It makes his behaviour predictable."

"Until it doesn't."

Renji turned towards the window. The depot appeared beyond a chain-link fence — low concrete buildings, a maintenance yard filled with rusting machinery, one exterior light flickering above a loading entrance. The river lay somewhere behind it, invisible in the rain.

Haruki slowed the car.

"I am not defending Sota," Renji said.

"No. You're understanding him."

The word was deliberate. Renji looked back. Haruki's expression remained forward. The echo of their argument with the Commander was unmistakable.Understanding becomes defence quickly.The bruise had not faded.

Ken cleared his throat.

"Can we hate each other after we retrieve the hostages?"

Haruki said nothing. Renji replied, "We do not hate each other."

"Good. That should make the drive back less awkward."

The car stopped behind a warehouse across from the depot. The two vehicles behind them pulled in separately. Men stepped out into the rain.

Haruki unfastened his seat belt. Renji caught his wrist. Haruki looked down.

"Do not go in first," Renji said.

"That is my job."

"No."

"You do not command my Family."

"I am not attempting to."

"It sounds like it."

"I am asking."

The word changed Haruki's face. Renji felt his pulse beneath his fingers. Calm. Alive. For reasons he could not name, that frightened him.