[Dave could take the easy option here and clam up, refusing to divulge what exactly happened and what was responsible for it, but even he's smart enough to see how that would make things exponentially worse.]

[not smart enough to stop arguing, though.]

Ryuji, c'mon. You didn't do anything wrong. [he was the one who fucked up here, who tumbled ass-backwards into a fight when he should have done the smart thing and escaped while he still could.]

And it's not like I don't get how you feel. You think I wouldn't be ready to scalp an entire fucking Christmas tree if it so much as dropped a pine needle on you? Wouldn't wish dangerous festive shit on anybody, much less someone I lo—

[whoa — whoa — extremely big guns very nearly blurted out here. awkward and still pretty riled up, he lifts a hand to run his fingers through his own hair.]

The idea of you getting hurt 'cause of my fuckup ... I can't stand it. I get where you're coming from, I really do. But I just can't.