If you had to choose one from a total of five, which would you choose?
Would you choose the one who is the most familiar, the one from the very beginning, the one that is strong and disciplined?
Perhaps the one that you've never met before, but is daring and proper, new and exhilarating, with social values and a sophisticated view of life?
Or how about the one that supported you throughout the mid years, the one that lent you a hand, the one that filled in that hole that was created after the first one had to leave?
Maybe the pretender, the one that has lived under the shadow of their superior, who looks to you as their savior, and is willing to stand up alongside you for what you believe in?
If not, then the last one, but not least one, who is powerful and stubborn, but can be shy and timid, the one that could take the hits for you?
And if all were present, and all were available, how would you face the consequences of choosing one, only to let down and disappoint the other four?
Now you see the dilemma that he faces, the lone being in a school that he was never meant to join. Now you see why he must act innocent and dense, not because he wants to, but because he has to, because he cares for them all. Thus he is the one suffering from playing this act, the one being subject to accusations of being dense and idiotic.
Now you understand the younger Orimura. He has the whole world on his shoulders, the expectations that he never was meant to live up to, and a choice he wishes he never would have to face. He has his own promises to protect, his own belongings to guard, and his own compatriots to shield.
It was all an act. One that is well played and continues today.