[ He stops when Souji doesn't walk. Or rather, when he actually hears those words.

"Sorry"? Shinpachi might not exactly be sure what he did expect Souji to tell him (as much as he does trust the other, most of the time it's pretty hard to actually understand him), but he's not sure either if that was on the list of things he might potentially have thought about. It's why he doesn't turn around at first when he listens to the words despite his slight surprise. ]

I don't recall you forcing me to do anything.

[ No matter how Souji might feel about all of it, in the end-- ]

It was my own choice. Both of you told me to leave, but I just decided what to do by myself. [ Sure, if he hadn't done it then Souji would have ended up dead and only god knows what would have happened to Kondou in that state. But in the end he still entirely decided by himself, even in some ways it might have been the better decision.

.. He lets out a breath. ]

To be honest, back there for a moment I actually thought you might start to hate me for it. [ And instead he got a "sorry", huh. ]