thread titles are hard

Hattori was well aware of the light his actions painted him in, and though he wasn't the sort to feel the need to defend himself he couldn't quite find the drive to blame her either. She was as polite as could be expected, her greeting a little clipped and curt, but not to the extent he believed she was showing any real disrespect. Always been the very picture of elegance and grace, her movements like flowing silk, words calm and measured like an artisan skilled at their craft.

He was quiet for a moment, considered in the silence as the waves pressed against the cliff below.

"Ikigai." He finally said, voice carrying its usual veneer of distance. It wasn't outright cold, not in the same way a sneer or a glare could be, but nothing ever sat close to the surface with Hattori. Always bundled beneath many layers. He had never been one for small talk and he had little interest in subjecting her to that.  

When he spoke again there was a weight to his words, a slight crack where a flicker of loss squeezed through. "Your Grandmother has passed, I believe." He couldn't say for certain, except that he knew she would have returned by now if she could. Search attempts had been fruitless and given even Raijin himself who had been sent to look for her hadn't returned, well that felt more of a choice than the former. "You are well?"