[Like it is in many other things 😔, Ryunosuke's trust would be misplaced here--he has no real intention of following up with the man any time soon. As much as he desperately craves answers, that will always come second to keeping his position in London secure. Until he knows for sure that Naruhodo won't pursue his curiosities with the authorities, he doesn't dare risk giving any more rope he could be hanged with.
He spends the next few days with his heart in his throat, waiting to see what Naruhodo does, dreading hearing that Stronghart has summoned him. It's enough that even van Zieks asks after his health, at which point he realizes he really needs to get a grip; fussing over what he can't control is hardly doing him any good. As long as Naruhodo says nothing--and it seems he will not--the real question becomes: Does Naruhodo know what he wants to do here?
What were they to each other? Could he possibly have trusted Naruhodo enough to have told him his mission? Could he have trusted anyone that much?
Probably not. At the very least it's not a gamble he can take yet. And so he settles into a restless sort of equilibrium for a day or so, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it comes in the form of running into Naruhodo at Stronghart's office.
They don't exchange words. They hardly even exchange glances, making eye contact only long enough for him to know Naruhodo definitely saw him, before he resolutely refuses to look at Naruhodo further until he and van Zieks have swept out of the building entirely.
Van Zieks, mercifully, does not question it when he requests to be excused from his duties early. (He chooses not to dwell on how van Zieks has always treated him with true respect, despite how very easily the man could abuse the power he holds over him. It galls him to feel gratitude toward someone for simply not taking advantage of the ways they could exploit him, but this is the position he finds himself in these days.) He's able to double back soon enough that it's possible Naruhodo will still be in his meeting with Stronghart, or near enough in the general area--
There. As he skirts through the alleyways on the way back to the clock tower, he sees Naruhodo walking his way down one of the well-lit main streets--apparently he's learned. (Good.) Unfortunately, it doesn't help much when there's still nobody around to witness anything, and it's easy enough for him to slip into a side street ahead of Naruhodo's path and wait--a situation he's aware feels eerily similar to the one Naruhodo had already found himself in just days ago.
He says a silent apology for doing this to the man again, and then at the right time, steps up to Naruhodo from behind. One hand claps over his mouth and the other grabs onto his arm as he pulls Naruhodo back into the alleyway.
At least, he wastes no time in hissing into Naruhodo's ear:]
Be quiet. It's me.
[...He'll wait until he's sure Naruhodo won't struggle before he releases him, though.]
no subject
He spends the next few days with his heart in his throat, waiting to see what Naruhodo does, dreading hearing that Stronghart has summoned him. It's enough that even van Zieks asks after his health, at which point he realizes he really needs to get a grip; fussing over what he can't control is hardly doing him any good. As long as Naruhodo says nothing--and it seems he will not--the real question becomes: Does Naruhodo know what he wants to do here?
What were they to each other? Could he possibly have trusted Naruhodo enough to have told him his mission? Could he have trusted anyone that much?
Probably not. At the very least it's not a gamble he can take yet. And so he settles into a restless sort of equilibrium for a day or so, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it comes in the form of running into Naruhodo at Stronghart's office.
They don't exchange words. They hardly even exchange glances, making eye contact only long enough for him to know Naruhodo definitely saw him, before he resolutely refuses to look at Naruhodo further until he and van Zieks have swept out of the building entirely.
Van Zieks, mercifully, does not question it when he requests to be excused from his duties early. (He chooses not to dwell on how van Zieks has always treated him with true respect, despite how very easily the man could abuse the power he holds over him. It galls him to feel gratitude toward someone for simply not taking advantage of the ways they could exploit him, but this is the position he finds himself in these days.) He's able to double back soon enough that it's possible Naruhodo will still be in his meeting with Stronghart, or near enough in the general area--
There. As he skirts through the alleyways on the way back to the clock tower, he sees Naruhodo walking his way down one of the well-lit main streets--apparently he's learned. (Good.) Unfortunately, it doesn't help much when there's still nobody around to witness anything, and it's easy enough for him to slip into a side street ahead of Naruhodo's path and wait--a situation he's aware feels eerily similar to the one Naruhodo had already found himself in just days ago.
He says a silent apology for doing this to the man again, and then at the right time, steps up to Naruhodo from behind. One hand claps over his mouth and the other grabs onto his arm as he pulls Naruhodo back into the alleyway.
At least, he wastes no time in hissing into Naruhodo's ear:]
Be quiet. It's me.
[...He'll wait until he's sure Naruhodo won't struggle before he releases him, though.]