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White.

The two Rins were still sitting opposite each other with opposite expressions. The satisfied one spoke first again. 

"You really enjoyed the beginning of your new life, huh?"

Silence.

"It must have been pretty awful for you once things started slowing down again."

Silence.

Eventually, the sullen one responded.

"...Maybe at first. 

But I look back on those days much more fondly now."

***

*Beep*
The doctor removed the thermometer from Rin's mouth.

"Temperatures are normal.", he said.

It had already been a week since the incident at the mall and Rin only showed minor signs of physical damage. Despite this, Lena still had her doubts.

"What about the other tests?", she asked.

Flipping the page of his clipboard, the doctor responded dismissively.

"His blood pressure and vitals are fine too. He might get a tiny scar on his cheek, but aside from that there's nothing wrong with him as far as I can see. How old did you say he was again?"

"He just turned 18."

"Hmm? Isn't he a little too old for you to be coddling him like this?"

Rin's eyebrow twitched in response to this. But he kept his annoyance to himself until the two left the office.

"I told you I was fine. This was pointless.", he said.

"Well, you haven't had a checkup in years, anyway, so get over it."

Rin averted his gaze in response to her tone and saw someone who caught his attention. Miles was sitting in the waiting area. The second his and Rin's eyes met, he smiled and waved from across the room. 

***

*Vroom*
A car drove down the road at a steady pace. Lena was sitting behind the steering wheel with Rin next to her in the passenger's seat. 

This left a deeply confused Miles alone in the back seat of the car. 

"Why am I here again?", he asked.

He was ignored as Rin rolled down his window. 

"Close it. The AC is on.", Lena said.

Rin complied with her demand, but not without any protest. 

"...Are you mad at me or something?"

Lena's gaze softened upon hearing that. She shifted her eyes over to him for a brief moment before changing the topic.

"...Will you be okay?"

"You heard the doctor; I'm not injured or anything."

"That's not what I meant."

The car came to stop.

Rin looked out the front window and instantly realized what she was getting at as his own house stared back at him.

"...It's fine. I'm used to it."

Without saying anything else, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

"Uh, excuse me..."

Miles raised his hand. Before he could ask his question though, Rin opened one of the car's back doors and dragged Miles out and onto his front porch.

"You wanted to bring me to your house?", Miles asked.

"So, you can remove what you left inside."

"...W-Whaat? What do you mean by that? Aha..."

He was even worse at acting than Lena.

"Just get inside already."

Upon entering, the two were greeted by Rin's mother exiting the kitchen. She paid Miles no mind as she passed by. 

***

Miles got to work immediately, drilling a small hole into Rin's wall and retrieving the listening device he'd left inside it.

"Now that that's taken care of, there's something else I need to talk to you about.", Rin said.

A brief pause.

"I need access to my dad's workspace. Can you take me there?"

"You want me to do what? Sorry kid, but no can do."

"Come on, you owe me. I saved yours and Klein's lives, didn't I?"

Before responding, Miles leaned on the door to the room. 

"Which is why I removed the bugs for you. But that's the most I can do. Klein would kill me if he found out I helped you with something like this."

"And who says he needs to find out about this? As long as neither of us say anything, it should be fine right?"

"No way! You saw how bad I am at lying."

"Isn't there anything I can do-"

"Nope."

"But I-"

"No."

He was completely adamant in his position. For the first time, Rin couldn't sway the person he was negotiating with.

However, Miles began to reconsider. He tapped his finger against his arm a couple of times before speaking up. 

"You know what? Fine, but on one condition."

Rin looked up immediately and waited with bated breath for what Miles would say. 

***

*Buzz Buzz*
Lena checked her phone, then raised an eyebrow at the message she'd received. Soon after, she heard a knock at the door.

She opened it and came face to face with Rin and Miles. One was completely ecstatic while the other seemed to be completely done with life.

"Good evening, ma'am! You're looking absolutely stunning today.", Miles said.

Lena looked at him, a bit confused for a while, before turning to Rin.

"Who's this guy again?"

Miles instantly deflated.

"This is Miles, remember? Klein's partner."

Lena took one more look at Miles before brushing him off again.

"Well, whatever. What're you doing here?"

"Well..."

Rin scratched the back of his head as he recalled the rest of his conversation with Miles.

***

"You know what? Fine, but on one condition."

"Name it."

"...Lena. Set me up with her."

Complete silence.

"...W-What?"

It took a lot of repeating for Rin to fully understand what he'd just heard. Miles could have asked for the actually impossible and it would've made more sense. 

"But didn't she..."

"Yes."

"In the-"

"Yes! Moving on. Can you do it or not?"

-He can’t possibly be serious. This has to be a joke, Rin thought.

But no. Miles was indeed serious. He meant what he said. The sheer conviction he had when asking for something so juvenile was honestly astounding.

Juvenile or not though, Rin couldn't let the opportunity go to waste.

***

Rin's arm fell to his waist side as he finally responded to Lena's question. 

"It's a bit of a long story. Could we come in first?"

After a moment's contemplation, Lena widened the gap in the door behind her and stood aside to let the two enter. Miles did so with zero hesitation. 

Rin took noticeably longer though. For whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to step forward. 

The space inside just seemed so far away from him. 

"Rin hurry up. You'll catch a cold if you stay out there too long."

The distant look in Rin's eyes slowly faded as he was brought back to his senses and finally allowed himself to return to the place he'd left all those years ago.