[ hmmm. The change in expression is... positive. He was expecting more yelling, more anger, like the ones from the last time they'd seen him on that cruise ship. Something less stable, more fuelled by bitter rage and anger and the urge to lash out at the world and scream about how unfair everything was.

It wasn't like Akira didn't understand. The world wasn't fair, and it hadn't been fair to him. But he'd met Ryuji, and Ann so soon after everything just kept getting tougher. More people who were burned and bruised by people who should've protected them and things beyond their control. They'd kept each other afloat, and been each other's support.

What had Akechi had, other than someone who found out what he could do and saw sprawling possibilities, and power, and benefits for him with no thought for how Akechi would handle things. ]

It's a bit of a double edged sword, but we make it work. I couldn't have pulled off that plan alone though. It took a lot more than just some reckless guts and style.

[ It had taken a team. A team of people who'd clung to each other like life rafts and fought bitterly to protect each other when no one else would. ]