Ahaha, doubt it would go well for me if we did.

[If they fought for real Shin would be a smear on the ground, and he knows it. Don't need to worry about that one, Sara, as far as he's concerned.

Verbal sparring now... absolutely still on the table, even if Keiji's got more fencing skill there as well. Even with Shin getting the hang of it, the gap is smaller.]

...the world's cruel that way, isn't it?

[All you can do is be caught in it's jaws, if you aren't already strong. He hasn't found a solution to it, beyond the dim inklings behind a pane of smoked glass he's been reaching for here, with as much thought as a plant towards sunlight and as much pain as resetting a bone. The last sentence sours in his ears, his smile taking on that calcified cast.]

Do they now? [Do they, Sara? Has forgetting things worked out for him? There's things he doesn't want to remember, but that's different. What you don't know can hurt you equally as much as what you do.] Hey, Sara? How many times did you use Safalin's machine? Did forgetting Joe work out better for you?

[There's a point in here... somewhere.]