“I don’t bullshit,” Shinjiro told him bluntly. He’s very aware Ken was a kid, yes, but he didn’t sugar-coat things for him. When he was a kid he always found that insulting - so he was honest and straightforward with him. Shinjiro looked at Ken while the young boy looked away from him. “Even if I’m not particularly nice.”

His throat went tight, and Shinjiro frowned a bit at that answer. “That’s a good start, sure. I know a lot of people care about you. Hell, I told Aki to look out for you … and if he’s not, it’s his ass I should be haunting, not yours. But - it’s gotta be something you do for your own sake, too.”

It’s so much easier to talk about how to help Ken, isn’t it? Shinjiro wasn’t good at any of this, but it’s still something he felt strongly about. Which is why he said, firmly, “You’ve got a real future, Ken. As shitty as the world is - I think you can make it a good one.”