"You think a lack of trust is the reason?" Really? There's an oddly indignant air of disbelief in his voice. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have awakened Hereward."

But... damn it.

The annoying thing about transparency is that if he expects it from Ren, he has to reciprocate, doesn't he? In the interest of... ugh, fairness.

This is so aggravating.

"I weighed my options. If there was a chance I'd end up in prison, or worse, then what would be the point? I needed to ensure I was in a stable position before I shattered your status quo again and brought more complications."

Because what is Akechi, if not complicated?