The hallways of what was once Claw's Seventh Branch Headquarters were now darkened and cold. Even the walls that were mostly left in tact from the wreckage were showing signs decay. The entire building felt unstable, as though it could fall apart at any moment. Ritsu wondered how his barrier would hold up against an entire building.

Teru was leading the way, using his own phone's flashlight for light. Ritsu folded his arms tighly around himself. His teeth were starting to chatter. It was still cold, and the mud on him still hadn't quite dried off. As they made their way further down the darkened hallways, Ritsu noticed a peculiar smell.

"Ugh," grunted Ritsu as he grasped his nose, "Something smells rotten."

"Yeah," replied Teru, "I think I might know what that is."

Teru turned a corner and Ritsu followed behind. This hallway was certainly not like the others. The walls and ceiling looked as though they had been melted rather than broken. In the middle of the hallway there was a mass of… something. Ritsu couldn't quite tell what it was, but he could hear the buzzing of flies coming from its direction.

Ritsu stopped and took a step back, covering his nose and mouth with his hand and held his breath. Teru's light was shining just bright enough for Ritsu to make out what seemed to be human bones, covered by some rotting flesh.

"Guess the scars never cared enough to dispose of them," said Teru, straightfaced and uncaring. "Ah, well. Let's keep moving. There's not enough light here."

Teru started walking ahead, but stopped when he noticed Ritsu was still frozen in place. He turned around to see Ritsu staring straight at him, concerned.

"Something wrong?"

"Ah," Ritsu snapped out of being frozen. "I was just… Did you, uh, do this?"

"Yeah," said Teru in a very matter-of-fact tone. "Why do you ask?"

Ritsu opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. Teru sighed.

"I see," said Teru. "I guess I can understand where you're coming from. I bring you all the way out here in the middle of nowhere and your friends and family don't even know where you are right now. And now that you've learned that I killed someone, I'm starting to seem rather suspicious, aren't I?"

"Well…" Ritsu started.

"It's fine. No worries. But I should remind you that Suzuki-kun's done the same as me. He did it right in front of us, remember?"

"I guess."

"Not to mention that I killed this man on the way to save you, remember? Besides, he deserved it. He was a part of an organization that kidnaps, tortures, brainwashes, and sometimes kills children. He was trying to burn me alive, so I just turned it back on him."

"Yeah, but I was just thinking," Ritsu paused. "Didn't we fight with some of the scars?"

Teru straightened his back and looked away from Ritsu as he spoke.

"They're lucky." Teru's voice turned deep and serious. In fact, this was the most serious that Ritsu had ever seen him. Teru turned his whole body around to face Ritsu straight on with an expression like stone.

"Their being spared was a privilege. None of them deserved it, if you ask me. Each of them earned themselves a lifetime in prison at the very least. But I won't question Reigen-san's decision. They'll just have to spend their whole lives atoning. Helping defeat Claw was definitely a start."

Ritsu looked back down at the body. In truth, it wasn't like he cared much about whoever those bones used to belong to. But there was something in Teru's voice that Ritsu couldn't shake. It sparked something in Ritsu; not fear, but curiosity. There was something hidden behind Teru's stone cold expression, and Ritsu could almost recognize it. It was so familiar, but Ritsu couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Let's get going," said Teru, with his smile already back. "I think the hole in the center of the building would be a nice place to practice, don't you think?"

"Ah!" Ritsu snapped out of his thoughts "Yeah, that sounds good."

"You ok? You seem a bit out of it."

"I'm fine."

"There's no need to be scared of me. You're brother would never forgive me if I let something bad happen to you."

"I'm not scared of you!"

There was silence. Teru seemed a bit taken aback by the outburst. It was the same as yesterday's.

"Sorry," Teru finally spoke out.

"It's fine." Ritsu wasn't sure how convincing he was being. It's not like he blamed Teru, but he really wasn't fine. Even Ritsu couldn't explain it.

"You know, if I'm really annoying you, you don't have to keep training with me."

"You're not annoying me."

"That's a lie."

"I said you were my only option!"

"Is fighting Suzuki really that important to you?"

"Of course!"

"You're really…" Teru started, but then sighed. "Nevermind. I'm just giving you an out if you want it."

Teru turned around and started walking. With some delay, Ritsu followed behind. He wanted to say something in response, but Teru spoke up again, with his old cheery voice returning.

"I won't judge you no matter what you do. I understand you feel like you don't have a choice, but you do have more agency than you give yourself credit for. You don't really have to do anything."

"I'm doing this because I want to."

"I really hope that's true."