Shinjiro felt guilty, of course. He would’ve anyway in this situation, but - for being the apparent cause of Ken’s exhaustion. He’s right in his assessment that he’s haunting the kid, he felt.

But there seemed to be something the kid was holding back. Shinjiro was quiet for a moment, debating. Did he even ask?

“… How long has it been for you, since …” Shinjiro trailed off. Did he need to elaborate on that? But it seemed like an important question - one that didn’t involve him prying too much. But - “Did you guys defeat all those big full moon Shadows? Is the Dark Hour over?”

That’s all he wanted. An end to all that shit. He just didn’t know that the Chairman lied. Or what happened to his friends, after. Like Mitsuru’s father dying. Let alone their leader …