Well, it sounds kind of pathetic when you say it like that... [Ha ha, his little joke? No, it really does make him wince, but that should be more than enough confirmation that it's true. She really just disappeared! She did all of that to him, killed two people, and just left! It makes him insane to think about, and it makes him even worse to have thought about it for a year between games.

So, there's that. He pauses then; Akane is important to him, even if she's done all these things. It's complicated—she's complicated, and so it's difficult to say these things that make her look... shitty.

But lying to Charles isn't an option, so,] She didn't want me there. She didn't even want to talk to me until the game forced her to.