"Kotetsu!" Anju smiles when she sees her son, but he can see the confusion coming when she notices he has a plus one.

Yuri has stopped humoring Kotetsu - fair enough given they're now safely in the countryside. Hat thrown back at Kotetsu, face mask pulled down, and sunglasses clipped to the front of his shirt. It's still hard to recognize who he is if you're not looking for it, though.

"Mom!" He gives her a hug and gestures towards Yuri. "This is my pal, Yuri. He needed a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, so I brought him along, hope that's alright!"

"It's fine, but I wish you had told me sooner," she sighs, shaking her head. "I only prepared one room for your move, you know!"

"That's fine," Kotetsu says. "All we need is an extra bed roll, I'll set it up and everything! He can stay with me."

"Are you sure?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Yep, just between you and me, I'd like to keep an eye on him…" He leans closer, whispering. "He's the type that vanishes the minute you take your eyes off him."

"I can hear you, you know," Yuri says, shooting Kotetsu a look.

"W-well you weren't supposed to!" Kotetsu shoots back.

Anju and Kaede look at each other and laugh a bit, as Anju moves around her son and holds out a hand. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Yuri. I hope we can make you comfortable."

"Ah…" Yuri freezes for a moment again, but does shake her hand. "Thank you, ma'am. I apologize for showing up out of nowhere."

"Oh, it's not your fault," Anju shakes her head. "I should have expected something like this, but with Kotetsu you never do know what to expect."

He looks towards the man, grunts. "I suppose you're right."

Kotetsu gives an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head. He sure hopes Yuri means that in a nice way, but with this man? It's kind of impossible to be sure. He decides to just hope it's in a nice way and work with it.

"So," he says after a moment. "Same room as usual, Mom?"

"Yes," She nods, turning to her granddaughter. "Kaede, dear. Will you help me get another bedroll for Yuri while the two move their things inside?"

"Sure, Grandma!" Kaede chirps, and the two vanish around the corner.

"Come on," Kotetsu gestures, picking up the bags he'd put down to greet his mother. Yuri mirrors the action, picking up his own share. "I'll show you our room."

"I would rather have my own," Yuri says, rolling his eyes. "But I suppose you truly don't trust me."

"Not right now, sorry," Kotetsu says, shaking his head. "I can't risk you running off and hurting yourself again."

Yuri grits his teeth as Kotetsu pushes the door to their room open. "I told you I don't want your help."

"Well, see, we're at an impasse there," Kotetsu replies. "You don't want my help, but you want me to stay true to my sense of justice. In case you forgot, that sense of justice means I don't believe criminals deserve to die. Especially not one like you."

Yuri sends a glare his way, but Kotetsu remains firm. "Like me?"

"You're a victim, too, right?" Kotetsu's voice is soft. "You told me what Mr. Legend - what your father did. I'm guessing that scar on your face is from him, too."

"From when I killed him," Yuri says. "Does that change your opinion?"

"Not at all," Kotetsu says. "If anything, I wanna know how it came to that."

Yuri's lips forms a thin line, and he says nothing. That's alright, Kotetsu thinks. He can wait - they'll have plenty of time together. Plenty of time to try and show Yuri he can trust him, can talk to him.

"Well, there's more still in the car," Kotetsu says after a long moment of silence. "Let's go. Can't take all day doing it - Muramasa would never let me hear the end of it."

Yuri follows him out of the room. "Will he let you hear the end of it about bringing someone like me out here?"

"He doesn't know who you are, at least not the darker parts. Same with Mom and Kaede," Kotetsu replies, voice low. "And we'll keep it that way. You need a fresh start, not people afraid of you."

Yuri doesn't reply, he just refuses to meet Kotetsu's gaze. Kotetsu decides not to push it too much. He just hopes Yuri will come to agree, that he won't have to babysit him and keep him from spilling the beans himself.

They finish unpacking the car, the bags and boxes all in his room. The bedroll placed nicely in the corner. Kotetsu smiles, wiping his forehead, that went pretty well. He peeks at Yuri - he certainly doesn't look nearly as happy.

That makes Kotetsu frown.

"Good work, you two," Anju's voice pulls Kotetsu from his thoughts. There she is, tea for the both of them. "Here, you must be thirsty."

"Thanks, Mom!" Kotetsu says as he takes his own and gulps it down.

"Thank you," Yuri says with much less enthusiasm as he sips on and off at it.

Anju smiles, holding the tray to her chest. "I'm glad you're back, Kotetsu. I'm sorry about what happened, but… Kaede's been excited."

"She'll be even more excited when she sees what I got her!" Kotetsu replies, puffing out his chest. "And when she hears what I'm planning on working towards."

"Oh?" Anju raises an eyebrow.

"I can't do what I used to," he says. "But I can still help people. That'll start here, of course, but… maybe I'll go back to school. Get a degree that'll let me help rehabilitate incarcerated NEXT."

Anju's eyes widen a bit. "Kotetsu, that sounds wonderful! Are you sure you can do it, though?"

"I'm sure!" Kotetsu nods. "Some of them might not be too happy to see me, but that's how it is. If I can help even one of them get back on the right track, that'll be enough for me."

"That sounds just like you," Yuri speaks up. "Never taking a moment to look at the dark side."

"I did that back when my powers first started declining," Kotetsu replies. "I've had enough of that… It's time for me to look the bright side, no matter what!"

"Hmmm…" Yuri closes his eyes. "I see."

Anju raises an eyebrow and Kotetsu shakes his head. A silent plea to talk about this later, maybe when Yuri was asleep. She nods and excuses herself, tells them dinner will be ready in a few hours and to make themselves at home.

Kotetsu waves her goodbye, and then, he and Yuri stand in silence.