Shujinkou absentmindedly stared at the pond before him. He didn't even know why he looked for a pond specifically to stare at, he just did. Maybe it was because he felt like it would be a less weird if someone came by and saw him staring into space.

He felt a little surprise that he considered that, even if unconsciously. It had to be as his conscious thoughts could only playback the events of this afternoon, specifically what happened after he requested a change in location.

Earlier that day, Shujinkou grabbed his backpack and walked towards the clubroom door. The moment he stepped into the hallway, a pair of hands grabbed him and slammed Shujinkou against the wall.

The others rushed out of the clubroom, stunned to find a complete stranger towering over Shujinkou with anger in their eyes.

However, upon a closer look, it became clear to one of them that this person wasn't a stranger.

"Papa?!" Natsuki exclaimed.

Papa? Shujinkou glanced at Natsuki. Her body was subtly trembling and her eyes were filled with dread. He then looked back up at the man pinning him against the wall. This guy's really Natsuki's dad?

"What are you doing here, Papa?" Natsuki timidly asked.

"I just wanted to see it with my own eyes," he answered.

"See what?"

"Now I see why you were always vague about your friends and those trips you went on… All of that was just so you could spend time with your boyfriend!"

Natsuki's cheeks grew bright pink with embarrassment. "Shujinkou isn't-! He's not my boyfriend…"

"Don't lie! I've seen what you wrote about him!"

"You- You read my journal?!"

"And wasn't I surprised by what I read! Going over his house multiple times, bringing him sweets, kissing him twice…!"

"Papa!"

After a brief silence, the man released his grip on Shujinkou.

"Come on, Natsuki, we're leaving," he said.

"But I was already-"

"Now!"

Without saying another word, Natsuki followed her father and soon disappeared from sight.

"Are you okay, Shiko?" Sayori asked.

"…Not really."

"Was… Was that why Natsuki was at your house this morning?"

"I… I don't really know. She didn't say why."

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek as he recalled Natsuki's expression as she walked past him. He recognized that look of powerlessness all too well.

I was hoping that it wasn't as bad as this though…

The young man weakly shook his head, ending that unnerving memory.

I don't get it. Are all fathers just like that? When I think about it… I don't think I've ever really gotten to know someone who's a good father like I see on TV or games or comic books…

Shujinkou then looked around the park. His eyes were immediately drawn to a well-dressed man in a suit walking arm in arm with a lady wearing expensive earrings.

I wonder if they're married and have kids. Is he a good father?

He moved on and spotted a woman pushing a stroller around.

I wonder if that kid's father is in his life…

Shujinkou looked back down at the pond with solemn eyes.

Are dads supposed to make us feel bad in real life or scare us? Is it actually a good thing Dad left? Would I act like my dad or Natsuki's dad if I become one?

He sighed and scratched his right cheek.

Then there's the Akuma thing. I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do about that. I'm way out of my depth right now…

He couldn't help but feel utterly useless as he laid spread across the soft grass.

What am I supposed to do about all of this? Would this be something you ask a father about?

When I think about it… I think almost every significant person in my life is female.

I don't… I don't know what a father is supposed to be like. The closest one I had to one passed on a long time ago.

Shujinkou quickly sat up and slapped his cheeks.

What am I doing?! How'd I go from thinking about my friends to thinking about myself! I can't go back to doing that; lying around all depressed! I… I have to be proactive somehow.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Despite that declaration, he still had no idea what to do.

"Well, there's this…"

Shujinkou dug into his backpack and pulled out the envelope Mali had given him. Part of him still couldn't believe he effectively stole something from a teacher, while another part of him told him that he needed too.

It was as if a voice in the back of his head was telling him he would regret it if he didn't take.

"Shujinkou…?"

Yuri?

Shujinkou turned around. Indeed, standing behind him was Yuri.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Nothing much. Just staring at a pond as I try to gather my thoughts together," Shujinkou replied.

"Ah… I see. I was just doing the same thing by taking a walk. I would usually try to write them down but I guess I wanted to try something different…"

She then sat down next to Shujinkou.

"Ah… Are you okay?" Yuri worriedly asked.

"Yeah. Yeah. Physically I'm good," Shujinkou assured her.

"But emotionally?"

"I guess… I guess you could say that my emotions are 'torn asunder'; so much that I don't really care whether I used that phrase right or not right now."

"Oh… I can understand that. My emotions are all over the place too."

The two silently gazed at the pond in front of them. They both wanted to say something but neither knew where to start.

"…Remember the guilt I told you I had during the summer?" Yuri suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

"To be honest, I feel even worse about that now than I did back then… I talked down to Natsuki when she had to deal with something at home."

"You shouldn't feel that way. I mean, Natsuki would hate for us to pity her…"

Though he tried, Shujinkou couldn't muster the strength to say that like he meant it. It was one of the only things on his mind for the past two hours.

Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek and glanced down at the envelope resting on his lap.

"Yuri… There's something I have to tell you," he solemnly said. "I tal-"

"Talked to Akuma before you came to the clubroom?" she interjected.

Even though he was a little suspicious earlier, hearing that still surprised Shujinkou.

"Fuyu told me," Yuri explained.

"Oh."

Shujinkou felt some disappointment for not being to one to tell Yuri, but refused to let that bother him. He couldn't afford to be absorbed in his own problems again.

"I'm sorry, Shujinko," Yuri apologized.

Shujinkou was once again caught off guard by her words.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked.

"Because I know how you hate awkward moments and I keep drawing into them," she replied.

"I mean, I don't really-"

"I know you don't mind getting into them to help those you care about. It's one of the aspects of your character that I greatly admire, but… This time is very different."

Shujinkou once again glanced down at the envelope. He didn't want to press the issue, but he knew that he was past that point now.

"Yuri, what exactly did happen between you two?" Shujinkou asked.

"That…"

Yuri anxiously started playing with her hair as she averted her gaze.

"It's not really a long story. Essentially, he was someone I looked up too.

I've already told you that I had a hard time forging connections with others outside of my family due to the fact I wasn't willing to accept other people's clashing interests and personalities.

But he was different. We shared the same interests and he naturally knew more about literary devices and concepts than I did. I think I was briefly humbled at that point, but bad habits die hard after all.

Still, it felt nice to have a connection with someone who wasn't bothered by me and I always looked forward to talking with him, if even a little. But then… Something changed… Or maybe I didn't realize it at first; I'm not really sure…

Either way, the way he looked at me really did seem different then at first. I thought it may have been favoritism but a discussion on the roof of the school revealed the truth to me.

Because I was so happy to have forged a connection with someone else, I didn't really question sharing lunch there with a teacher. Everything seemed normal until he kissed me on my cheek.

I didn't know how to respond to that, but the answer soon came to me after he tried to go for my lips while caressing me."

"You ran?"

"Yes… I thought I would have been chased, but that never happened. The next day, I discovered he had quit. I thought that would be the end and I could just forget but he came back, which was when you were dragged into all of this."

"Yuri… You say that like if I knew what was going on back then, I wouldn't have done what I did today. Nothing would have been different," Shujinkou assured her.

"I know that, but… Maybe if I said something instead of hoping things would go away, this situation wouldn't have happened. And even if you're always willing to help, you can't deny that I've had some hand in moments which you're involved in like this."

"Yuri… You can't blame yourself for this situation."

"But…"

Shujinkou solemnly scratched his right cheek. This wasn't just someone looking down on themselves, but regretting a past decision and how it affects others, something he knew well.

And Yuri's feeling it from two past events at once…

Recalling how he responded to his own past, it was clear to him that there was only one thing he could say to prevent someone else going down that same path.

"My sister died years ago…"

Yuri's eyes widened with surprise. "Your sister…?"

"Yeah, her name was Hiroko. When I was a kid, I always felt like a waste of space in comparison to her because our father would always pay attention to her but never seem to have time for me. It got to the point that I figured that it would have been better if I wasn't around so… I ran away."

Shujinkou raised his right hand.

"Thought that was pretty much it, but Hiroko came after me. She took my hand and apologized to me while telling me that things would be different. Turns things would be different, just not in the way she meant.

She pushed me out of the way of an oncoming car and… dad left. I… I always blamed myself for those things happening and tried to live in my head to escape from the pain but, and I honestly don't even know how, but I realized that I couldn't keep living in the past like that.

It's hard not to but… I know that all I can do is focus on the here and now and not what we could have done or what could have happened."

Saying those words filled Shujinkou with happiness. He didn't know why, but accepted the out of nowhere feeling.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't be scared or uncomfortable, that's perfectly understandable. I guess what I'm trying to say is… If you feel like you made a mistake in the past then it's okay to apologize and it's okay to want to try and fix things. But don't waste your life letting it haunt you."

Shujinkou presented the envelope he acquired to Yuri. "So, I'll leave this up to you."

"What's this?" she asked.

"I don't really know. I… stumbled across it when looking around Akuma's homeroom classroom. I didn't look. I guess part of me figured that it was your choice."

Slowly and silently, Yuri reached for and accepted the envelope. Continuing her slow, cautious movements, she opened the envelope and peeked inside.

"Ah!"

She immediately dropped the envelope, it contents spilling out the moment it hit the ground. Scattered in front of the two were photographs of Yuri.