“It’s... not what my dad wants for me,” Ringo said, her quiet voice shaking as she tried to find a reason for her weakness. “I only have myself to blame for slacking off, but he always hints toward me moving away, studying, being better off in some peaceful life.”

She paused, and exhaled, trying to compose herself. She’d never really witnessed Mamoru get angry like that, so it took a while to process. It was easy to understand his point of view. “I’ll try harder! I just can’t find a ‘resolve’ to push myself with. I don’t know what I’m aiming to become, or what I need to do to reach that point. You know?!” she tried to explain. “I keep being kept in the dark with all this mafia stuff...”

“Maybe giving the rings to me is dad finally giving in,” she thought aloud, visibly nervous, and hesitant to look Mamoru in the eye. There was nothing worse than the fact that she’d let him down, and not come through on her side of their promises.