Then we find him an out. I can talk to Futaba-chan about looking into a way to aid in his escape. We won't let him bloody his hands.

[ He offers him a kind smile, slightly forced and awkward, but it was his attempt. The situation called for it, but smiling isn't necessarily his strong suit when it's supposed to be genuine. It was the you're important to me dripping off Akira's tongue that caught him off guard.

And he squeezes his hand slightly. He said he wasn't ready for a relationship, wanted to find himself first but Akira made him feel alive. Like he wasn't some deranged murderer ready to tear apart the world for revenge, that he wasn't a lost child looking for validation anyway he can.

This wasn't the time to talk about those feelings, his mouth dry as he goes to speak. ]

Cruel or not, perhaps it was something he needed to hear. [ He pauses, licking at his lips. ]

You are... very important to me as well.

[ His heart was racing -- why now? Why when things felt like they were falling apart? ]