sacrilegious | ic contact.

( seeing your message nearly causes him to panic. he left you in the apartment, how can you possibly have gotten yourself into trouble? not bothering to type a reply he switches to audio immediately. )

Katou! What's wrong?

( it might be possible to detect some worry in his voice. he will try to sound composed but he's not quite convincing this time. if this is a joke he will kill you. )

[ his call comes several hours later and there’s something obviously … off about his tone of voice despite his attempts to act like nothing’s wrong. like he hasn’t just died — again. ]

Umm, h—hey! Must’ve … ahh, pocket dialed you or somethin’.

[ yup. still a bad liar. ]

( not only does he recognize a lie, he's also quite pissed after having spent the last hours desperately trying to find you—despite being relieved to know you're still here and fit enough to make up excuses. but there's something about the way you speak that makes him swallow down his anger. he might have guessed that someone was holding you against your will but somehow he senses that there's something ... else going on. )

Seriously? Then you won't mind if I come pick you up, do you?

Don’t!!

[ ah fuck.

chastising himself internally for his outburst, katou’s mind races to find a valid excuse that’ll keep you away from him. whatever situation it is he’s in right now, he doesn’t want you to get involved. he has a good idea on how you’d react if he told you the truth and that would just put you into a danger he is certain he would never be able to get across to you. and he doesn’t want you getting hurt too.

so excuse the enlightening pause on the other end. it isn’t a long one, though, since he is unaware of how close you might already be to finding him. it’s a knack of yours, after all. so it’s with a sense of urgency that he finally speaks up, weighing his words carefully so that he doesn’t accidentally say something that’ll make you decide to act out on your own. ]

L—listen … I … kinda got caught up in somethin’, okay? Nothin’ t’worry about! I’m just … needed here. I—I’ll come home later … when things’ve cleared up … It’s … for a friend …!

[ at least it’s not all lies. ]

( he grits his teeth slightly. there's no way for him to know if your nervous behavior means that you're lying to him or stressed out because of whatever mess you might have involved yourself in this time. you have a habit of getting yourself in too deep without even realizing how dangerous something might turn out and that makes it very hard for him to trust you.

but you're also his friend and he knows that you're a little more careful—and a little more capable—than you used to be. )

Can you handle it?

( if you need help this is your chance to admit it. his tone might make it clear that he doesn't like your sudden decision to go solo but he doesn't want to piss you off so much that you'll hesitate to call him if things get out of hand either. )

S—suuuuuuure, yeah. No problem!

[ god, is he glad this is an audio conversation! while he can will himself to sound self assured, he’s never had much of a poker face and even the best of poker faces can’t hold a candle to yours … or your ability to detect one. he would never pass the test. so he’ll be trying his best to end this conversation quickly else you come up with the idea to switch to video.

he’d really want to confide in you — this is pretty damn scary and he can feel that his sanity is walking on thin ice — but he can’t risk it. not yet. ]

Look, I … gotta go! Just … don’t come lookin’ for me, Kira, okay? Whatever the fuck you hear. It’s a goddamn war — rumours’re gonna be crazy. I … need you t’tell me you ain’t …

( there is a short pause as he stares down the device. you might have held your ground pretty well in the last war you participated in but he's not foolish enough to believe that you've grown enough not to need his supervision yet. )

I won't ...

( he's a better liar than you. )

Call me if you need me. And if you do something stupid I'll make you pay for it later.

[ he’s not sure if he buys it but for now it’ll have to do. nodding silently to himself, katou grips the device tighter. he can only pray everything goes smoothly.

your threat brings a bitter smile to his face. for you, he laughs. a little too carefree maybe??? ]

Duly noted. See ya later, alligator!

[ — and he hangs up. ]

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