"But it can prevent a battlefield, by avoiding the situation that led to it in the first place." Yes, it's still naive - but it's a naivety he needs. To believe the best in people, at least to a point; to simply keep hoping. His words are just as serious as Mikazuki's, even if their contents are completely different. "If I understand your point of view, maybe I don't have to fight you over it. If I understand that a battle will lead to people getting hurt and maybe dying - if I understand the impact that will have on so many people - maybe I'll reconsider."

It's not that he can't understand Mikazuki's stance as well - to a point. Atsushi is aware of the weaknesses, the flaws in his own attitude: apart from anything else, it makes him dependent on other people's cooperation and good will, which is as fickle as anything. But he refuses to give up on it. He has to believe that people are good on some level; that good people exist.

"Do you have anything like fairy tales, where you're from? It's like that: the story tells of people who never actually existed, or never did the things the story says they did - but they might have been real, and they could have done those things." Describing fiction is unexpectedly awkward, but that just makes it more important for Atsushi to try. "It's like a 'what if' story."