Between the Evergreens

Not now. Not today. Tomorrow… I don't have time. Please.

It went like this for days.

Enji was trying to talk to Fuyumi. Only a few days after the disastrous incident in front of their apartment building, he had asked for another meeting. At first, she left him without a reply for almost twelve hours, and since then…

She was trying to avoid him. It was obvious, and she didn't even deny it when he told her so.

He didn't know if Fuyumi didn't want to talk, or if she just wasn't ready. In any case, he could not pressure her, so he remained patient. At first.

Several times he went through the contacts in his phone, thinking to call Rei to question her about Fuyumi. The second time Shoto came to visit he ended up asking him. Shoto had not been impressed. That second Saturday he had come alone, and didn't stay for long.

"Don't ask me," he had simply said.

It has nothing to do with me. Don't ask me to choose. I don't know. This is Fuyumi's story to tell.

Enji had heard so many things in that one statement, and he didn't know which one Shoto had been thinking about. He hadn't asked again after that.

"Let's talk."

The tone of Enji's messages had shifted within the last few days, from 'Can we talk?' to 'When do you have time to talk?' to 'I want to talk' simply to 'Let's talk'. And still no definite reply.

January had ended and there was still no satisfactory response from Fuyumi, just the avoidance he was quickly getting tired of. One snowy Monday noon, he complained about it to Irina.

"Give her time. She will tell you when she's ready."

A useless bit of advice he could have done without. How much longer did Fuyumi need? She'd already had three weeks to linger over their last encounter. This was getting ridiculous.

And then, that same day his phone rang.

"Are you finally willing to talk?"

Greeting her first might have been nicer, admittedly, but he was out of patience.

"No…"

"Fuyumi." His voice was exasperated.

"No, I mean… later… I…" She stammered. Not as if she was afraid, though— more as if she were confused, unsure of herself.

"What is it?"

"I need a favor."

He waited for her to say more.

"Could you go to Natsu?"

"Natsuo?" He set up where he lounged on the couch of his living room. "I don't know if that's a good idea." Whatever was going on, Natsuo wouldn't thank him if Enji got involved.

"Why not?" The question was curt, almost snappy. "I know you meet up with Shoto; why can't you do the same with Natsu?"

Enji sighed. "It's not like I don't want to see him."

"I know, I know…" Fuyumi immediately calmed down. He could hear her taking several deep breaths on the other end of the line. "Just… I'm worried."

"What's going on? Why don't you just go to him?" That would be so much easier.

"I don't know where he is."

That finally made him sit up completely. "Don't tell me…" he muttered to himself. "What's going on?"

He's gone again. No, no… Touya wouldn't… Not again!

"When did you last—" But Fuyumi immediately interrupted him.

"No, he… I don't know. He's just been behaving oddly. He's been… Natsu sent me a message. We've hardly spoken in weeks, but a few hours ago he sent me this long text. Apologizing. I don't even know what for." She spoke quickly, her voice was becoming increasingly frantic. He could hardly make sense of it.

"Calm down," he demanded.

"So I called back, but he didn't pick up and… that's four hours ago, so I tried to find him, but he's not at home and not at Mom's and I don't want to tell Mom, so…"

"Fuyumi, calm down!"

"I am calm!" She clearly wasn't. "I'm just worried. Please, you can find him, right? You could just locate his phone like you did the last time."

Enji sighed. Fuyumi was clearly worried, but obviously Natsuo was fine, right? He had probably sent Fuyumi this important message and chickened out of actually talking to her. It wasn't the first time he'd avoided talking to Fuyumi about his problems, and as it turned out, he also wasn't the only member of the family who avoided talking about their issues. But he was fine. It was late, but not that late. He was probably just out and about or at soccer practice.

"I'm not a hero anymore." Although he reasoned to himself that Natsuo was probably fine, he still went to get his jacket and started to leave for his car. "I can't just locate people's phones anymore."

"He's your son! Of course you can!" Fuyumi fumed.

He huffed frustrated. "I don't have custody anymore. Listen, I can drive to his dorm and look if he's—"

"He's not in his apartment! I already told you!"

Annoyed with her stubbornness, he changed the topic. "So, where are you now?"

"I'm at his gym. But he's not here either."

So he was wrong about Natsuo just being at practice. Well. He could still be out with friends, Enji reasoned, but it was Monday evening, and it was unlikely he would stay out to party late.

"Dad, please!"

At her insistent tone, he finally relented. She knew Natsuo better than he did, so her worry was slowly affecting him too.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised.

"Thank you."

He was about to end the call when she spoke again. "When you find him… after… we can talk tomorrow."

He called Silent Tracker after that. While he waited for her to pick up, he started the car and turned the heating on. Snow was lazily falling against the front window, but it had mostly stopped now. As the interior warmed up, the snow melted against the glass.

"Boss!" Silent Tracker greeted him way too enthusiastically. "You should call more often."

"I'm not your boss anymore."

"For now."

Annoyed, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, I need you to locate my son's phone," he paused. "again."

"Natsuo?"

He was surprised, but very grateful that she didn't ask any further questions. He wasn't supposed to make such requests anymore. Doing this for him could get her into trouble, but she didn't even question him. As if she assumed he must've had a good reason for his inquiry. As if she trusted him.

It only took a few minutes for him to hear her voice again. "He's at home."

Enji didn't reply immediately. Fuyumi had already checked his apartment. Natsuo couldn't be there.

"Dormitory E4 on the Musutafu College Campus," she specified at his lack of response.

"Thank you," he finally said. He ended the call.

Wow.

Of course Natsuo would just be at home. He'd probably just returned there from wherever he had been after Fuyumi had left the dorm. They must've just missed each other. Enji was annoyed, now. Still, to make sure, he slowly drove out of his driveway and took the quickest way to the campus. There was still a chance Natsuo had just left his phone lying around, or something might've happened. And even if nothing had happened, he was sure that Fuyumi would be more relieved if he had actually seen Natsuo, instead of just reporting that his phone was at home.

It was late in the evening with only little traffic, so he made it to campus within a reasonable time. He parked his car and took the elevator up to the third floor, needing a moment to find Natsuo's apartment: 317. He had never been here before, he realized.

To his surprise, he realized that Natsuo had exchanged his nametag on the door from 'Todoroki N.', as it was written on all his neighboring doors, to 'T. Natsuo'. Enji only lingered on that for a second before he knocked.

No response.

He knocked again more forcefully.

"Natsuo! I know you're in there!" Annoyed, he knocked a third time. "Open up, already!"

But still, nothing. Feeling disgruntled, he pulled his phone out to call his son. He heard the dial tone from his phone. Toot-toot. Three times, before somebody ended the call on the other end. So, Natsuo had his phone with him, and his phone was here in the dorm, but… where was he?

Curiously, he stared at the door. He hadn't heard it ring nor vibrate from the inside, and his ears were normally working fine.

Enji wasn't particularly happy about his decision to bother Silent Tracker a second time, but he couldn't just call Fuyumi to tell her that he hadn't found Natsuo after all. Thankfully, Silent Tracker took the call immediately, and apparently already guessed what he wanted.

As he waited for her to get a more definite position for his phone, he knocked on one of the neighboring doors. He didn't bother to read the name next to the door. As the door opened he heard a soft jingling sound from the inside, as if something metal hung on the other side of the door. The boy who opened the door stared wide-eyed at him. Enji saw short black hair, dark beady eyes, and a bit of a double chin. Enji didn't pay much attention to the boy— just threw him a passing glance, before gesturing with his free hand to Natsuo's door.

"The boy who lives here – Natsuo? – did you see him?"

The boy stepped forward, looking out of his door and over to Natsuo's. "Not since this morning."

Enji acknowledged the answer with a grunt.

He was distracted when Silent Tracker spoke up again. "I cross-referenced it with your own phone's location and… you're right there." She sounded a little unsure. "Just a step to your right."

Enji did look to his right, but he knew that he would not find Natsuo there. Just the empty hallway.

"Ah wait…" Silent Tracker hesitated shortly, "he's above you."

Immediately he turned his head to the ceiling. Then it suddenly clicked.

Oh no…

"The roof," he said, not quite to himself, but not to Silent Tracker or the kid in front of him, either.

Silent Tracker answered anyway. "It… could also be on the fourth or fifth floor…" she tried, "but yeah. It looks like it."

"How do I get to the roof?" he demanded to know. "Is it accessible?"

"Yeah, sure," the boy shrugged, uncaring. "There's even a garden up there. It's pretty cool…" He stopped when he saw Enji glaring at him. "Uh… just take the stairs." He pointed down the hallway. "All the way up," he added nervously, "until…"

But Enji was already gone. He went down the hallway and up the staircase in mere seconds, then – taking three stairs at a time – hurried up, past the fourth and fifth floor. He stopped in front of the heavy emergency fire exit. Enji was breathing heavily, a little winded from his sprint and the worry as he pushed it open.

Oh gods… He dreaded what he would see.

And then… behind the door, there was nothing. Or at least, no Natsuo.

Right in front of him across the roof, he could see the waist-high railing and past that, the skyline of Musutafu. In the forefront, there was the main auditorium, a half-round building of white béton brut and light brown wood, with a big window front right at the side. Much further behind, sticking out of the skyline just prominently enough that it was hard to miss, was the Endeavor Hero Agency.

Enji turned around to see the rest of the roof. There, just on the other side, was the garden the boy had mentioned. It hardly deserved that name. Just a collection of sad evergreens in large, square boxes. It seemed obvious that the students were supposed to take care of this area, but had lost interest. The trees hadn't been watered enough and there were dry and frozen weeds sticking out from between the roots. Still, the evergreens were thick enough to make it hard to see the other side of the roof.

Enji quickly hurried to that side, behind the garden. He ran to the railing, looking up and down this side of the roof, but Natsuo wasn't here. Not leaning against the banister ready to—

He didn't want to think the word. Didn't even want to consider it.

Curtly, he glanced down over the rail to the ground. A sixty feet drop, not the highest drop he had ever seen, but…

Don't think about it!

"What are you doing here?" The voice was annoyed, exasperated, disbelieving.

Enji whirled around, and there he sat. Sitting on one of the big square pots right in the middle of the roof, the evergreens brushing his back. His legs hung over the gravel ground of the roof. Natsuo looked disheveled.

Enji must have run right past him, focusing entirely on the banister, fearing to find his son leaning against it or already climbing over it.

Belatedly, Enji noticed that Natsuo was not dressed right for the weather. There was a thin layer of snow over the roof and the evergreens, and the sky was still clouded, although it had now finally stopped snowing. It was dark and cold, but Natsuo just sat there in a pair of jeans and a shirt as if the weather didn't bother him.

It didn't, Enji remembered. Natsuo was never bothered by the cold.

"What are you doing here?" he asked again. There was an impatient edge to his voice.

"I…" Enji coughed, embarrassed, "I was looking for you."

Natsuo snorted. He glared at Enji as if waiting for a better explanation.

Slowly, Enji let go of the rail he was still tightly gripping in his right hand. He only took a few steps towards his son, until he came to stand between two of the pots – one of which was only filled with frozen earth and a bit of dead weed. He was still far enough away from Natsuo, that his son hardly had any right to look the way he did – as if Enji was invading his personal space.

"Fuyumi called," he explained when the silence stretched on. "She was worried."

That finally made Natsuo break eye-contact. His gaze shifted to the side and across the Musutafu skyline. "Of course she was." He bit his lip. "Damn, I didn't…" His eyes snapped back to Enji. "So what? You thought you'd check whether I'm okay? Well, I'm great. Tell her, I'm great!"

Something about the way Natsuo spoke didn't sound right. His words sounded slurred, as if…

Enji only now noticed the empty cans behind Natsuo. "You're drunk," he said.

"I'm not drunk!" was the immediate response.

Enji gestured towards the cans.

"So what? A few beers. I'm not drunk."

"You shouldn't drink on the roof," Enji admonished. He didn't mention that Natsuo was still below drinking age and shouldn't be drinking at all. He knew that that wouldn't be well-received, and it would be delusional to assume his son, who went to college and had been living alone for almost a year now, didn't drink.

"Screw you!"

"Natsuo—"

"Fuck off! I told you, I don't wanna see you!"

"I was worried." Was that so difficult to understand?

"Oh, so now you're worried? Earlier, it was Fuyumi." Natsuo nodded. "But sure, everything that makes you look better. As if you care. As if you ever cared."

"Whether you want to hear it or not—" Enji started.

"Shut up!"

"— I do care."

"Well, as I said, I'm fine. You can go."

Clearly, Enji was not needed nor wanted here. He was about to give up and leave— he could just tell Fuyumi where Natsuo was, and she could come and play babysitter, if Natsuo insisted on getting drunk sixty feet above the ground.

But he knew he couldn't just go. He might've never been a great father, but even he knew that this was not a situation he could leave Natsuo alone in, nor should he push the responsibility over to Fuyumi. Never mind that he had done just that far too often and for far too long.

"I think I'll stay a little longer," he declared, sitting himself down on the edge of the almost-empty pot.

Natsuo glared at him again. Enji didn't react, didn't move nor say anything, didn't even return eye contact. This was not a glaring contest. Instead, he looked at the different pots and plants and all around the roof as if it were several times more interesting than it was. He half thought that Natsuo would finally snap and leave the roof himself. Maybe Enji even hoped for that; he didn't feel assured with Natsuo sitting here obviously in a bad mood and with his own stock of beer cans. And it wasn't like he was doing anything to assure him, either.

But Natsuo didn't leave. Nor did he say anything. He just sat there, and glared.

And then, he finally looked away, his shoulders slumped a little, and he grabbed the half-empty can sitting beside him on the potting soil. Enji let him drink in silence. Several times, he noticed Natsuo glancing back at him as if he expected Enji to stop him from drinking, but Enji didn't.

"I don't get it," Natsuo finally muttered.

Enji raised his eyebrows at him, but Natsuo shrugged instead of explaining himself.

"What are you doing here?" Enji asked the same question that Natsuo had asked before.

It seemed like Natsuo needed a moment to search for what to say.

Where Enji sat, the earth was freezing cold. He could feel it even through his trousers. He wasn't actively using his quirk, but his body temperature was higher than most people, so it would only be a matter of minutes until the soil would warm up. But it wasn't very comfortable.

"I like it here."

Enji quirked an eyebrow. It was an awfully simple answer considering how long Natsuo had taken to give it.

"It's just weed and some half-dead trees." Enji touched a twig of the nearest evergreen, giving it a dismissive nudge. Snow fell on the gravel.

"I like the snow," Natsuo clarified. "Down on the ground it never lasts long, but up here, nobody clears it away." He flicked a bit of snow from next to where he sat. "I come here to cool down."

"Cool down?" It was an odd choice of words, Enji thought. Enji needed cooling down, when he used his quirk too much, but Natsuo's quirk was not like that. He had an ice quirk like his mother. Of course, that was not the kind of 'cooling down' Natsuo was talking about.

"Why have you been drinking?" Enji continued.

"I'm nineteen."

Again, he didn't get a satisfactory answer. Annoyed, Enji pinched the bridge of his nose. He could see Natsuo's lips quirk, as if he was amused by his father's annoyance.

It was then that a hole in the clouds let the moon shine through, giving Enji a clearer view of his son's face.

"Why have you been crying?"

Immediately, self-consciously, Natsuo rubbed his eyes and cheeks as if that would destroy the evidence Enji had clearly seen in his puffed skin and red-rimmed eyes.

"Natsuo?"

Suddenly, the boy stood up. His white hair was reflecting the moonlight. Then, a cloud moved in front of the moon again, putting his hair and face back in the dark. Enji watched him move across the garden area with the potted evergreens, towards the banister. Immediately, Enji stood up, following him. Worried, he watched his son's every step.

"Relax." Natsuo was leaning against the banister, peering across the city. His eyes lingered on one building then the next, and finally, some fixed point far away. Enji followed his line of sight, but there was nothing— just dark sky, and an indication of the ocean.

"I'm afraid," Natsuo admitted, finally. "I know, there's no need to be."

Enji shook his head, not understanding.

"What do you think Yumi and Shoto will think?" Natsuo glanced back at Enji as if Enji had the answers he was looking for. As if Enji even knew what he was talking about.

"About what?"

"About what I did," he answered, but Enji still didn't get it. "I never told anybody."

"You mean the kidnapping?"

"I mean my part in torturing you."

The words were picked so direct and unflinchingly. Enji almost stepped back in surprise.

"You had no part in it," he said decidedly.

"Of course not, that's what you like to believe." Natsuo continued staring out into the city. "But we both know it's not true. Without me, none of it would have happened. I delivered you to them. And they… Touya…"

Enji couldn't quite deny it. "After everything I did," he argued instead. "After all I did, I—"

"It's no excuse."

Natsuo's hands tightened around the railing. Then, he pushed a little away from it, took half a step backwards on the gravel roof, and stared up into the dark sky. The wind ruffled his hair. "It's no excuse. We all have to live with what we did."

There was something in his tone that Enji didn't like. No… There was something lacking in his voice. Natsuo, he now realized, spoke without the resentment and contempt he had normally reserved for Enji.

"What did you do?" Enji couldn't help but worry. He had never witnessed Natsuo like this: so quiet and somber.

"And I can't live with it, anymore. I can't even look Yumi in the eye! I feel like a coward. I hate it!"

The words made a shiver go down Enji's spine. Instinctively, he stepped closer to Natsuo again. Just one step, just in case. Consciously, he checked the height of the drop again. Natsuo wouldn't…

"Don't be ridiculous." Natsuo finally turned towards him, leaning casually against the banister. "That's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what are you talking about?" He was getting increasingly impatient with Natsuo's riddles.

"I talked to Ide about it. She's good. I can get a deal. A hundred or so hours of community service if I fully cooperate."

Suddenly, it all hit Enji at once. "You confessed?"

Natsuo shook his head. His white hair softly swayed in the cold night breeze. "Not yet. But I will… They want a signed confession; that's part of the deal."

"Natsuo…" He didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry," Natsuo said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You won't get into trouble. I'm your son, so you didn't have to implicate me. And you're the victim anyway, so…"

"That's not what I worry about," Enji said, shaking his head. "This will go on your record."

"Not for long," Natsuo said. "I'm a minor, so—"

"Still, long enough to inhibit your employment chances after your studies. And what about—"

"I want this!" Natsuo interrupted him. His eyes glared at Enji in determination. He meant what he said. Natsuo's jaw snapped shut and he grit his teeth. Enji saw his veins pulse across his temples in focused concentration, saw him swallow drily, ball his fists until his knuckles cracked and then finally let it all go. From one moment to the next, Natsuo's whole posture relaxed.

"I'm fine with it. I did this, and I'll live with the consequences. I've been hiding like a coward for way too long."

Enji stared at him. Natsuo seemed certain.

Coward?

He was braver than Enji himself. Enji had never accepted the punishment for his actions. Even now, with the press slowly calling off their crusade against him, he had not yet actually stood in court for what he had done. He had simply counted his blessings, that none of his family had pressed charges against him.

Maybe it was the long pause, but from one moment to the next, something shifted. While he'd seemed self-assured before, now Natsuo was shifting around where he stood.

"What do you think Yumi will say? And Shoto?"

Enji paused for a moment and thought about it. Ultimately, he had to admit that he didn't know either of his kids that well to make a definite prediction. He could only guess. Slowly, he shook his head.

"They'd be proud." That sounded about right. Enji knew that he himself was proud, at least. And Fuyumi and Shoto – they'd even given him a second chance. Accepting Natsuo's explanation would be an easy task in comparison.

Natsuo looked at him curiously, as if he could hear the underlying meaning.

I am proud.

"Don't say it," Natsuo warned.

"I didn't say it."

"Don't start. I told you…" Natsuo took his hands out of his pockets and crossed them in front of his chest. "I want no part in your… whatever this is. It's too late. I'm almost twenty." His arms tightened around his chest. "We're not anything. That train left the station a long time ago."

Quietly, Enji took one last step to close the distance between them. He didn't touch his son, not quite, but they were close. He could feel Natsuo's cold breath against his collarbone. There was not much room for Natsuo to back away to. He stood stuck between Enji and the railing, glaring up at his father in a mixture of confusion and anger.

"What's that supposed to be?" he asked through gritted teeth.

But Enji just waited for the inevitable to happen.

And indeed, it was only a matter of maybe a minute or two when Natsuo started breathing more heavily. Sweating, almost.

"You're too hot!" Forcefully, he shoved Enji away.

Enji didn't give him any resistance and just backed two steps away, watching as his son folded forward a little, bracing his weight against his knees and breathing in deep gulps of freezing cold air.

"What the fuck!? What was that about?"

"You never liked it when I got too close," Enji explained when Natsuo calmed down and straightened up again. He walked up to the railing, leaning against it a few feet away from Natsuo.

"What are you on about, old man?"

"Your sensitivity against heat." Enji looked over to his son, then out to the skyline in front of him. "You were born with it. I wasn't there at your birth. I was at work and only came in hours later when all was said and done, and you and your mother were sleeping. I wanted to hold you, but the moment I picked you up, you woke up and started crying and screaming. When you were a baby, you would always cry when I was close. Even when I wasn't even holding you." He shook his head, turning back toward Natsuo. "It got easier to just—"

"What? So now it's my fault?" Natsuo had listened quietly until then, with big, wide eyes— as if this was some grand novelty that Enji was sharing with him. Then, suddenly, anger snapped on his face, like shutters closing in front of his eyes. "Is that what you're telling me!? That you never wasting a minute of your life on me was somehow my fault?"

"No, that's not…" But he didn't really know what he was trying to explain. "I'm not trying to…" He rubbed his hands over his face exhausted. This was not going the way he had planned. "Never mind."

"No." Natsuo glared at him, his arms again crossed over his chest. "Say it. Say what you wanted to say."

"I don't know. I'm not saying…" He was searching for how to phrase his thoughts in a way Natsuo would understand. "There are kids who sweat poisonous acid and their parents still manage to hold and hug them, right? I should have found a way, I know that. But… it was easier… I think— I don't know. I just…" he bit his lip, again trying to find his words. "I want you to know that it's not just because I never cared about you. I did— I do care about you. Just… maybe not enough." He didn't know what that 'maybe' was doing in this sentence, when it was so clearly evident that he had not cared enough. About any of his children. He wished he could have seen that sooner, when they were all still children.

He wondered, if Natsuo was right? Was he too late. Was 25 years after the birth of his first child too late to finally become a better father? Was there even a chance that anything he did would make things easier for his basically already adult children? Or was he just sulking in self-important vanity, indulging in some absurd idea that anything he could do or say now, would still matter, could still help make up for a stolen childhood and a broken family.

Natsuo glared at him for a long time. Enji expected him to retort with another curse or insult, or to take offense that this was supposed to help or change anything. But then he just turned away. "Yeah. Thanks. I get it." He started taking long strides across the roof to the door. That was obviously the end of the conversation.

Back in his car, he finally remembered to call Fuyumi. Her voice was frantic and worried— even more so than before. He felt immediately bad about not even texting her as soon as he found Natsuo.

"I found him," he said without prelude, putting her out of her misery. "He's at home now, and I think he's doing okay. But you should call him."

"What happened?" Fuyumi clearly detected something in his voice that meant that he wasn't telling her quite everything.

"Let him tell you himself. Maybe invite him over for tomorrow," he suggested.

"I already invited you."

"I can wait."

That he was willing to further delay the conversation that he'd been begging her for for so long, was maybe enough for her to realize that it was serious.

"Uh… okay, of course. Then you can come… on Thursday? Thursday is good right?"

"Thursday is good."

"Good. Then you can finally meet Azumi," she hesitated shortly. "I mean… really meet her."

He was about to call Silent Tracker to assure her too, that everything was alright, when his eyes caught on a different name. Ide… He wondered… He felt sorry about interrupting her evening, but he had to know.

And so he called her.


I had this scene in my head for so long. It always feels great to finally write out the scenes you've got stuck in your head for months. And they always come out a little different than expected.
I hope you liked this.

This will somewhat conclude Natsuo's character arc in this story. He'll appear again, but this is very much where he's add now, and we can finally put a big 'check mark' behind the kidnapping plot and it's direcct consequences, at least as far as Natsuo is concerned. I really am proud of the boy. As I mentioned before, I have no clue of Japanese law, and whatever I could find was always very vague and not exactly what I needed. So I've used what I could find, and then eyeballed the rest. I guess, if I really tried to, I could probably find better sources, but I don't have that much time to do added research for this story. So this is it. Japan seems to be... well not the most forgiving country in terms of how they deal with criminals and felons. So, this is something Enji tried very hard to avoid, knowing that it WILL affect Natsuo's future. And it will. Even with Ide's help and getting a very fair deal in exchange for his full cooperatetion, it will it will definiely affect for example his career. But it's also a stigma that Natsuo, especially considering the good lawyer he has, and his social background, can overcome.
As I mentioned, he will appear again, but it also feels a little like I'm wrapping his character arc up. Maybe that's the frist sign this story is actually and finally moving more towards a definite ending rather than destroying Enji more and more every chapter.