(Uncomfortable, but expected. It doesn't change Ren's stance, intense eyes staring at scarlet ones, unmoving while he waits with still hands. Even the fidgeting had stopped in the face of the heaviness that surrounds the room.

The words arrive eventually, and Ren lowers his head to agree.)

Maybe so. (After all, he knows that vulnerability is not the other's strongest skill. Ren pushes himself off the bed, and with each step towards the other, his anxiety grows but even so, there's nothing but certainty in his approach.

He comes close enough to be at arm's length away from Akechi, studying his features before he speaks again.)

You should have said it existed in the first place. (Akechi could have called, instead of facing the cognition by himself. Was he scared to the point Ren couldn't even know it existed?) I... (And it's a sigh that leaves instead of words, leaving space for silence while he gathers his thoughts.)

I want to make you happy. I can't do that if I don't know what's hindering it.