Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Fan Fiction ❯ Lanslide ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

She started checking his location, so she could choose a route to avoid him if they were in the building at the same time. If they passed in the corridor, she refused to acknowledge him. If he spoke, she answered as curtly as possible. Sometime he would stand and watch her as she stalked away from him, with the expression, she thought, of a Rottweiler that didn't understand why its master had kicked it. No, that wasn't fair. There was nothing stupid or canine about him, except the feral smile he occasionally flashed, but she hadn't seen that in a while. He just looked like a man who'd been hurt.
She'd never thought much about Batou's feelings for her. When she did, she felt nervous and restless. So she avoided thinking about it. But she couldn't ignore it now. She'd betrayed him, used him. Hadn't she? Should she apologize? It was easiest to forget about it. She should tell him to forget it. But the idea of sitting down and talking to him scared her more than anything had in a long time.
But damn it, she missed him. She missed his wolfish grin and his lame jokes and his unwavering loyalty and his archaic chivalry and the unexpected gentleness in the way he'd touched her. She suspected, with a twinge of despair, that she would never see any of that again. Because of her weakness. If only he hadn't showed up at the bar. If only she'd asked him to take her home. If only Kuze hadn't died. If only none of them had ever been born.
So she gritted her teeth and shut him out, ignoring the questions the questions in his face as rigorously as she ignored the ones in her heart.

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