Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Fan Fiction ❯ Lanslide ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

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

The cherry blossoms carpeted the ground in pink; the Fuchikomas had crushed quite a few of them, filling the air with their mild, sweet scent. After the others left, Batou lingered. She hadn't expected that. When she'd gathered the guys in the Fuchikoma bay, he'd stared resolutely past her, like a cybernetic gargoyle. But now he was gazing at her with an expression nearly unreadable but for the two worry lines between his eyes.
"What?" She snapped.
"You okay?"
She almost laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He took a deep breath. "Look. We really need to talk. I need to tell you some things."
"Yeah." She brushed a stray flower from the hull of her tank. "Hey, Batou…"
He sat up. "What?"
"I wasn't drunk."
"Huh?"
"I wasn't drunk. I synthed out before we ever got to your place."
His mouth dropped open. "Motoko-"
Her name again. She shivered. "We will talk about it, OK? We will."
He studied her a moment longer. The lines between his eyes disappeared. He nodded. The Fuchikoma's hatch clanged shut as he ducked inside.
When he was gone, she took a few deep breaths to clear the sick feeling from her stomach. She ordered her fuchikoma in the opposite direction.
"We will talk about it." She said aloud. "But not today."

Converting /tmp/phpYUbMie to /dev/stdout