The thin man tsks quietly. "Ever careless with your words, Sergeant Suou. I would say that one of these days the habit will get you into trouble, but I am too late. Whose fault is the lack of communication, hm? Who walked away from the attempt at it?"

After a few steps, and a moment's quiet, he adds an editorial. "You should not wallow in self-pity for the fight you started about mistakes you made. Blaming Verity, your culture, a lack of communication--you do very well at looking everywhere but inward."

That last line of Katsuya's gets a dour look. "Her life has seen many changes of late; do you think your presence, or absence, is the only one that might affect her? She has only begun recently, in the whole of her life, to sleep restfully--of course she seems happier. How chipper were you when last you'd had seven hours' sleep in seven days?"