True, this was his life. And one that he'd been buried in so long that for a moment he fights a spike of hurt and disappointment. Logically, he knew that Ran had no reason, beyond what she had just seen, to believe him.

But it felt dismissive, as if everything he'd suffered these last few months meant nothing.

"If you'd rather pretend that it didn't," he says softly. "That's still an option for you. I can't leave, but you don't have any reason to get dragged into this mess."