If Atsuro couldn't admit the fact that he had been under an incredible amount of stress and concern over the course of 24 hours, then he might as well would have gone terminal and shot down by the SDF by now. All of the running around and keeping track of the very hour where their comrades would have met their potential demise was arduously taxing; Causing a distraction here, and saving a person there, all the while rushing in to protect innocent civilians against the judgement of one of your closest friends from Jr. High. Of course, in this specific event, Atsuro was thinking of Keisuke, the one person he never would have expected to turn into such an extremist over the course of a year or two alone. But he had his reasons, people were imperfect, and his imperfections just ran a little deeper in circumstance.
But passing his own opinionated law and playing God like that? It had been terrifying. Never in the course of his entire experience in the Tokyo Lockdown had Atsuro seen such the potential danger that giving the power of demons to humans brought out; Humans were even more frightening than the very monsters they feared, and that in itself was the truer nightmare...
--Seeing that familial head of cat wired head phones from the other end of the sunset lit niche, Atsuro offered a tired smile, gaze else where as the bright rays prevented him from raising it upward. Ah, he had wanted a moment or two alone, to sort out his thoughts before meeting back with the others, but he had been spotted; As expected from their reliable leader.
"Hey... Kazuya..." he forced a chuckle, body too beat up and exhausted to lift itself from the dusted pavement, and remained seated. "I can tell you're not really trusting of him, but I really do appreciate all the effort; It's because of you that we ended up saving Keisuke today after all. I would say that you didn't have to go out of your way like that to do something just for my sake, but... Thank you. It means a lot..."
