"Alright, Oren," Katsumi demands, "you have some explaining to do!"

Oren stands in the middle of the arena with most of its lights directed towards him. Fewer lights shine over the rest of us in the first row of seats - myself, Katsumi, Crystal, Yuri, Sueka, and Seppe. Oren looks away, remaining silent.

"State your reasons!" Katsumi yells.

"I...acted on instinct." Oren says.

"Is that all you have to say!? We lost most of our team on this mission, and we have nothing to show for it! No cure! No Hunter! Nothing but near-dead bodies!"

"Please, try to control yourself." Crystal says. "You're scaring Seppe."

"How can I be calm!? Oren Tsurai, you disobeyed a direct order from your superiors, acted recklessly on your own, and have nothing to show for it!"

"Honestly, I have a..." Oren starts to say, reaching into his pocket.

"NO EXCUSES!!!"

Oren stops.

"You put your sword and Vega's life above the lives of countless others! Yakuza aside, do you have any idea what Hunter could do with that cure YOU played a part in!? She could poison entire cities and force them to pay in order to survive! You are responsible for incoming biowarfare and ransom demands!"

"Katsumi, listen." Oren starts. "Given the circumstances, we would have lost either way. But Tarran and I..."

"Enough!" Katsumi retorts. "No excuses! You've ultimately hindered the entire plan with your personal vendettas and handicaps!"

" Handicaps?" Yuri asks.

"Oren Tsurai." Katsumi continues. "You have proven yourself to be a capable fighter in your own right, but the fact remains that you have chosen NOT to use your subtone for any reason. This restriction has made it difficult for us to determine whether you should stay or not, but regardless of your reasons, putting personal codes of conduct before the lives of your allies is not acceptable in our line of work! Plus, you had the element of surprise, yet failed to take advantage of that! Explain yourself!"

"You know," I say, "you're not letting him get a word in edgewise."

"I told you before," Crystal says, "Oren's subtone only works with healing, not fighting, which likely explains his tolerance to..."

"Crystal, stop." Oren says.

He begins to tremble, then takes a deep breath to calm himself.

"Wait, brother! You don't mean to...!?"

"It's...for the best, Sueka."

He takes one more deep breath.

"I, Oren Tsurai, do not know my own subtone."

...

"WWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Katsumi, Yuri, and Seppe yell. Crystal and I remain silent, though our expressions cannot hide our surprise. As for Sueka, she simply turns away in defeat.

(Something's off...) I think. (Does this have to do with him being a presumed pseudo successor candidate?)

(Possibly. The "Rhoken's Curse" could explain that.)

"That's not funny, Oren!" Crystal says, raising her voice. "I saw you use rhime with my own eyes in New Vegas!"

Oren remains silent.

"Lying isn't nice!" Seppe proclaims. "Even Seppe can use her subtone!"

Oren still says nothing.

"You really thought that someone who can't use rhime could be a Keisetsu member!?" Katsumi asks.

Oren continues to be silent...but slowly nods, infuriating Katsumi even more.

"We risked so much for you, and you cannot even bring yourself to entrust us with something that important!? Oren, without rhime, your chances of succeeding in our line of work is nothing short of a long shot! We should have made this decision long ago, but I will make it now: you are hereby removed from the Keisetsu!"

"Katsumi!" Crystal yells. "After everything Oren has done for us in New Vegas, please consider!"

"His actions in New Vegas don't come close to the damage he has caused! Hisao, what say you?"

I look at Oren, who looks at me. If he is what I believe he is, letting him go would be a big mistake.

But, it doesn't matter WHAT he is. What matters most is WHO he is. While impulsive, he does what he believes is right while putting others usually before himself. I was no different before I went to war.

And I know that this line of business is not for kindhearted children like him.

"I give you 24 hours." I say.

"HISAO!?" Crystal yells. For the first time in who knows how long, I see her actually look "awake".

Sueka turns away and begins to tear up. Much to my surprise, so does Yuri.

"I know...that what I saw back there is part of who you are." Yuri says to Sueka. "But...I'll still miss you. That one time you acted like that doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed the rest of my time with you two. So...I wish you luck."

Yuri hugs Sueka, and the two girls weep even more.

As for Oren, he simply walks out of the arena, silent.

(It's for the best.) I think. (It's for the best.)