[He blanches lightly. He wasn't even thinking about that, but he can't deny that his intentions have flavored the way he's speaking. He curls his hand around his half-full beer.]

That's not what I- All right, fine, look. If you go full Enter on us, and I mean full Enter... I will not hesitate to take you down, too.

[It's a lie. He doesn't want to have to kill anyone, least of all this sorry son of a bitch. Cain is a pain in the ass, but he's not... He just isn't Enter.]

But that's not what I was getting at...

[He glares broodily into his beer, frustrated at the amount of serious he's having to be right now. But Yoko was right, when she got on his case during his heart-to-heart with her... He can't keep lying, whether by omission or otherwise. And Cain is just... Well, he's essentially the closest thing to family that he can understand.]

I was trying to say that... Hiromu was just a kid. Just a dumb idiot kid, you know? I couldn't let him die. I couldn't let... Yoko... or Ryuuji die because I was too scared to just pull the goddamn trigger, you know?

[He bites his lip, bitter, frustrated. Really feeling the loss he went through over all those missing, lonely years, for the first time since the echo hit him.]

I mean, I was already...

[He sighs and puts his forehead in his hands.]

This is not getting any easier...

[He whispers, wishing for another shot.]