Did… she even love me?

His father's frank question left him dumbfounded. Well, he hadn't thought that far actually. Jiro's brows draw together, giving him an expression that rather matched his father's at times. Even as his ears draw backward and he tilts his chin back up to the sky to allow the droplets to wash over his face, he doesn't respond. The chill of the rain brings him a clarity that allows his clouded thought to brighten. Was there anywhere for him to go? No, not really. Was that what his father wanted to hear? That he should stay anyway because well, where else was he to be?

A resolution settles over Jiro as his chin tilts back down so he may meet his father's gaze. "There is nowhere specific," he begins, a breath settling heavy in his chest. "But I do not wish to be sheltered. I want to see what Auster and Boreas have. I want to know other cultures, other packs. Surely the bamboo and Nihon are not all that is out there," a brow raises slightly, not in defiance or disrespect, but more of a curiosity. What would the rigid and devout Hattori think of this?