"We are friends."
"We are?" The words fall out. Surprise, not skepticism, but Naoto flinches.
"Yes," he says, voice level. "That is—I would like to say that we are friends. We..."
He trails off. They must look stupid, Yousuke thinks. Two fops about to fall out of their chairs. And because he cannot shut up, he says, "So, it was like—a 'boss looking after his employees' kind of thing?"
It's funny, but that seems to hit Naoto worse—he inhales sharply, gaze wavering.
"This is my fault," he says for a second time, and that's almost funny, too.