Inaho liked to stay objective, and that usually meant he kept his emotions rather in check. That didn't mean he didn't have them, he most certainly did. It did mean that it was his goal to not let those emotions become so obvious as to hinder his more logical conclusions.

At that exact moment, he was quite concerned his well kept objectivity was not going to last the afternoon. He had not previously thought he had an obvious tipping point, considering the vast amount of accomplishments in the war where he had been able to keep a level head. He was quickly realizing he had been wrong about this fact. Of course, looking at it from a more historic point of view, perhaps Slaine Troyard had always inspired extreme cases of ire and irritation in him. That point was undeniably obvious in that moment, as Slaine played with his new kitten, and proceeded to ignore him.

In the months that had followed the end of the war, Inaho had found it easiest to treat Slaine with a sort of obvious disinterest. He came once every two weeks, allowed Slaine not to really participate, and dutifully answered concerns that the warden presented to him. It had been a minimal effort, but it had seemed like plenty at the time. He couldn't say he was exceptionally happy to be visiting Slaine Troyard, and he was rather sure the feeling was mutual.

It had taken Slaine almost killing himself to pull Inaho into the situation more seriously, and now he was suddenly aware of why he had chosen his previous format to begin with.

Slaine Saazbaum Troyard was one of the most irritating people Inaho had ever met, and he had to deal with people at the top of the UFE from time to time. He now distinctly remembered he had chosen his former aloof nature to counter this fact, something he had since forgotten in the long months of quiet apathy and weekly status reports on Monday mornings.

It had been equally easy to forget this fact when Slaine had almost died and had been hospitalized for his own poor decisions. Inaho's objectivity had wavered, and at the time, Inaho had felt that it was his personal neglect that had caused the situation. Now that he looked at it more rationally, it likely had played some part in the situation, but it was not the only factor, or perhaps even the predominant one. It never was just one thing, when dealing with Slaine Troyard.

From now on, Inaho would have to figure out how best to manage his own time, and what of it he would allow to Slaine from this point forward. He had swung from hardly any contact, to almost constant interaction quite rapidly, and there needed to be some form of medium between the two. He couldn't keep up his former apathy, or it was likely Slaine would backslide back into complete silence again. But at the same time, if he dedicated to much time to the pursuit, he ran the risk of jeopardizing his own stability. Neither was an acceptable option. He also had a strong suspicion that Slaine was also not fond of his more frequent vigilance, if his cutting remarks were anything to go by.

Managing time had always been something he'd been rather poor at. Inaho tended to be slow by nature, so managing his time had always been a necessary activity in his life. It was in stark contrast to Yuki, who was always late to everything, and rushed no matter what she was doing. His solution to time management had always been to simply reallocate time to different things, while dropping others that were no longer as relevant. School work and house work had taken up a lot of his time before the war, but had been nonexistent during it. Now, he was suffering from having to rework his whole schedule around the fact that one highly erratic person under his care was having suicidal, combative tendencies.

He felt clinical looking at the situation so distantly, but he could feel his irritation slipping away at the resurgence of his reason. Logic was the solution to this problem, even if it seemed like Slaine did not work on logic, even slightly.

Inaho couldn't be sure if the irritation had shown on his face, but he hoped it hadn't. It usually didn't; people found him difficult to read, and that was a definite comfort.

"How often would you like me to visit?" This was likely foolish. Slaine would simply mock his efforts at being civil, as he had not five minutes ago. Still, the simplest solution to a problem was often to ask. It made sense to start there. Perhaps Slaine would take some initiative, instead of having Inaho make all of the choices for him.

Slaine looked at him out of the corner of his eye with open scorn on his face, before settling his gaze down at the kitten on his chest. Inaho couldn't really blame him; the cat was a rather pressing distraction, and one that wanted his attention. Still, that didn't make anything easier.

"Though I gauge that my interaction with you has some effect on your state of being, the amount of which it does is highly questionable. I am giving you the option to assert your opinion about what I am doing, and how often I work visits into my schedule." He thought that perhaps Yuki would have told him he was not being tactful, but he saw little use in such a thing normally. He saw even less reason to be tactful with Slaine.

He waited for an appropriate amount of time for Slaine to respond, knowing very well that nothing of the sort would be forthcoming. Once that suitable amount of time had passed, Inaho went on. "Without your input, I will not consider your feelings in the matter, so if you want to speak, now would be the time for it."

This would be his last prompt, and since he was quite sure Slaine would say nothing, he used the silence between them to start arranging a schedule in his head. When there was no response, as he had predicted, Inaho started speaking again. "I will make an effort to visit three times a week." And because he most certainly needed a tactical retreat. "I should return in a few days. Do as the nurses, doctors, and guards tell you till then."

With that statement made, Inaho stood, and moved to the corner of the room, where he'd placed the small little carrier. When he'd turned back around, the feeling in the room was very different. Slaine had shifted, and scooped the kitten into his arms. It almost looked like he wanted to protect her. In response, Anemone was licking, and nudging at his face. Slaine's eyes were a blaze with emotion, of which Inaho could not place. Inaho looked at him impassively. Did Slaine think this was some sort of punishment? Or that he would have been able to keep the kitten in the hospital?

Inaho blinked impassively at the stance. "It is unsafe for her to remain here unsupervised. You can't even leave the bed to pick her up if she jumps off. The most logical course of action is for me to keep her, until you have been discharged. At that time, she will remain with you indefinitely. Until then, she can only visit." The fire in Slaine's eyes had not diminished, but he was looking down at the kitten in his arms, snuggling up against his face instead. Inaho couldn't tell what he was thinking, just that whatever it was, burned with a great intensity. He wondered, in an absurdly metaphorical sense, how often that flame had burned him.

"It is for her own safety. If she jumps down, and wanders out, or away from the room, she could easily be stepped on, or hurt."

They spent a long time in silence. He didn't know how, but Inaho knew that he was not allowed to move forward without Slaine's permission. It was a strange thought, since he had never really allowed such a thing in the past, but in that instant, he knew to keep his distance until given permission. It was a warning he'd only ever heard once, and hadn't followed, to dire consequences. The stakes were certainly nowhere near the level they had been then, but it confused him the intensity in which he was being regarded.

Slaine didn't look at him again, but at some point, he nodded his head in acknowledgement. Inaho took it for permission to move forward, and crossed the space between them in a few well placed strides. He held up the case, and opened it. He expected that Slaine would simply hand the cat over to him, but instead gently laid the kitten inside it. The kitten bit his hand hard in the process, obviously displeased about going back into the cage. Once it was in there, Slaine pet it a few more times, and prevented it from escaping as it whined piteously, then shut the cages door.

"She is attached to you." This was meant as a compliment and general observation towards Slaine and Anemone's budding relationship. By the way Slaine glared at him, it was as if he'd threatened to murder the cat. He chose to remain quiet with whatever other kind comments he had to say. "I will return in a few days." He stated, and turned towards the door.

"..sooner." Inaho almost hadn't caught the statement, as his feet had carried him to the door. It had been soft, and he hadn't caught all of it, just the tail end. The wailing of the kitten had also not helped his situation. But he had heard it. He stopped for a second and turned his head back around.

"Pardon?"

Slaine swallowed, his eyes downcast, locked on the carrying case. "Bring her back sooner." Whereas the first statement had hardly been there, the second was a demand. Inaho was prepared to respond in kind, when Slaine spoke again. "If she is my pet, and not some trinket you can use against me, then bring her back sooner."

Inaho only realized he hadn't answered Slaine when he was already heading down the elevator. He'd had much to contemplate with the statement out in the open. He might have offered some dismissive answer, but he couldn't remember. Anemone had quieted down once Slaine was out of her sight, and had instead curled in the back of the carrying case, looking around at everything with inquisitive eyes. Inaho was surprised how deceptively simple it all was, perhaps because he never would have considered it himself. Interesting, he thought, as he exited the elevator, and the hospital. Very interesting.