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[ Yata hums in thought. That's right, Mikoto never chose who'd take the helm of HOMRA...

But wait. ]

Then who's your team leader?

Ruby!

[ Are you surprised, Yata? ]

[ He nearly falls out of his seat. ]

SERIOUSLY!? [ But she's also so... so awkward. Not leader material. He can't say that in front of Yang, though. ] Uh, I mean...! Why?

Because she's Ruby! She knows how to keep her head in a crisis. And out of everyone, she's always known what she's wanted to do, and why.

[ He stops and thinks—for a second. ] You mean that's not you?

... I thought I knew. [ she smiles, vaguely, down at her plate. ] But someone questioned me on it, and now... I'm not so sure.

[ Yata's mildly surprised by her answer, but he won't let it go without some teasing. With a grin, he points at her with a spoon. ]

Heh... So you're a kid after all.

I think I'm still better off than you in a lot of ways, old-timer.

[ flat. ]

Hey!

[ But he only takes offense for so long before settling back into a neutral expression. So Yang worries about these sorts of things...]

Well, I'm me. They said I wouldn't get anywhere, but which one of us is actually making a difference, yeah? [ But that was in the past. ]

Back then, I hated everything, and I didn't know how to do it, but I wanted to change the world. Nowadays, I'm just glad there's HOMRA. [ He looks back down at his hands. ] HOMRA changed my world, so I wanna protect it. That's what I wanna do for the rest of my life. Nothing would make me happier, you know?

[ For a moment, his smile tightens and he glances up at her. ]

So, um... What about you? What makes you happy?

Thrill-seeking, honestly... [ but that reminds her too much of what she'd told Oobleck, and how he'd responded, as though he'd expected more from her. Some great, noble reason about defending humanity, maybe, but even the others had reasons they'd admitted to. As for hers... ]

That's the problem. That's what makes me happiest, but I'm pretty sure that's not the only reason why I fight. I mean, if it was, that'd make me pretty shallow.

Haha, yeah... Well, you still got a long way ahead of ya, so you'll find it soon. [ A pause. ] With Mikoto-san gone, I still dunno what to do myself, but at least I know what's important.

You could do what we do here? You know, run into criminals, beat 'em up...

We've always done that.

[ A wry smile as he looks at his plate. ]

But I gotta get the gang back together first.

Will that be hard to do?

I dunno.

[ Now that he thinks about it, HOMRA is like home to him, but he never considered how the others felt about it. It all seemed like they didn't care that day they disbanded. After Mikoto died, did they really have no other reason to stay? ]

Totsuka-san says a goal's enough to unite everyone. I just gotta find it.

...Haha, jeez! I'm boring you with this talk, ain't I? Sorry.

...

[ She's just going to reach out and rest a hand on his head, shaking her own. ]

Nah. I'll be rooting for you, Yata.

[ Yata pouts as his cheeks turn red. ]

... Don't pat me...

[ He'd push her hand away, but some physical contact is better than none. ]

It's a pat of moral support! Endure it.

More like a pat from my mom after she gives me lunch money... I'm older than you, you know!

I know plenty of older people who could use some encouragement, trust me.

That's not the problem! At least pat me on the shoulder. The shoulder!

...

You're how old again?

[ In an act of defiance, he grabs Yang's hand and places it on his shoulder, keeping it there with his hand over hers. His grip is stronger than anything he's done to her outside a fight, and the silence lasts for a moment longer than she would expect. ]

I just want to be taken seriously, too. What's wrong with that?

[ Yang blinks rapidly, staring down at his shoulder, before her gaze shifts to his face. ]

You say it like I haven't taken you seriously before.

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