Kire’s lip curled in hatred the more she learned about these Kartaians. “As if they weren’t formidable enough with their size and Shadow-Walking.” Kire stewed in silence for a while. “That’s atrocious,” she commented after the silence. “No wonder Ikegai and Akuma struck a deal with them.” She was glad that they didn’t have the power the Kartaians did. Likewise, at least the Kartaians would have to have been within reach, and without Ikegai’s help, presumably, they wouldn’t attack during the day. When Ruli told her how Envy used the power in his own way, Kire nodded, not surprised that someone with his disposition would use it for something good. 

She was lost in thought again, pondering on the scope and possibilities of such a power. Useful. Dangerous. “I wonder what he used to get you to soften up then,” she said aloud, not really expecting him to tell her. Imagining it was amusing enough. “But they better have that contingency ready anytime now. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared as soon as possible. Desperate people cooped up in groups can get volatile very fast. And hopefully you’ll stay and help with that, too,” she added, looking sidelong at him for a moment. He kept talking about Zeke’s escape plan as if he was the only one Envy could rely on; Kire dearly hoped this wasn’t Ruli thinking about shutting himself off and running away from them. [i]He’s their first line of defense, Sid said. Maybe someday he can be, again.[/i] “They need you here.” 

She sank back into silence, thinking over all the information he had shared with her. She almost drank from her now-empty cup, pouted when she realized, then put it back down. Her gaze on the water in front of them, she asked in a quiet voice, “Why do you have the Shadow-Walking?” She tapped her cup absentmindedly. “When I said to Envy that this power that I have was given to me, rather than me being born with it, he said it was unlike him and you. So you were born with it.” She paused, then looked at him and shrugged. “If that’s too personal, don’t answer.” She was already expecting some jibe about her being too nosy for her own good, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.