[She chooses not to answer the question outright. It's a recipe for disaster. Love is hard work. I don't do love. There's a point at which she can't just say what's on her mind - the puppy-kicking point, the rubbing-it-in-point, the hitting-while-they're-down point (though Kaede Akamatsu be very much "up").]

Maybe in books.

[What matters right now is these...rocks. It's just all rather uncanny. So, what, she's seen these not lit up before? What the hell is going on in this city? She does not let go of that wrist. Hold your damn horses, she's still looking at it.]

What I'm hearing is that you stick to people who give you a hard time. [BUT WEIRD SUBTLE IMPLICATIONS ASIDE, she looks her directly in the eye, wags her own wrist at her, and says:] This is a friend-making contest, Akamatsu.