Ren nods, conceding that Akechi has made a solid argument. He can’t stall any longer, and Akechi is clearly not letting this go without a fight. And Ren would rather not fight him, if it’s all the same.

“I’m not happy you didn’t contact me … I thought by now you would’ve trusted me enough to help you with something that important.”

He shrugs. This is … not technically a lie, but it’s not the main truth, either.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ll get over it.”

Ren pushes his glasses back up and shrugs again.

“Satisfied now?”