Surprise is one of Kotetsu's favorite emotions to read on Barnaby's face. Knowing Barnaby's background, Kotetsu's put no small amount of thought into how he might be able to open a few more doors, expose Barnaby to certain aspects of life he never had the time or space to explore properly as a child. Things like sharing habits, small intimacies, seemingly pointless but critical to the overall picture. His good mood is restored for a moment with a soft huff of laughter, and Kotetsu leans across the bed to reach for the water and painkillers Barnaby's been thoughtful enough to share with him.

And he discovers, to his surprise, that casual mentions of Kaede are better than nothing at all. (Maybe it shouldn't be surprising. The knot in his chest only unwound all those years ago after he found himself capable of speaking freely about Tomoe again.)

"Ah, Kaede's hair takes after her mother's. Softer than mine, which suits her face well," he says around the pills in his mouth, then taking a moment to down the rest of his water. "She figured out how to style it all on her own. I don't think she'd care for a gelled look."