There's stillness again for a short while, seconds stretching out painfully, as Minato tries to find what he can possibly say to communicate what he means. Never before has he been put in a position where it mattered so much to him, where what he was contributing was more than a means to facilitate someone else's realization. Minato is a participant here, not an active observer, and the difference keeps striking him. He can't afford to remain aloof, he can't afford that because the consequences are a child thinking that he doesn't belong in this world.

While calling the schools earlier, he'd thought, is this really what a brother feels like? but it's such a foreign thought that it makes him downright dizzy. Maybe he should talk to Tadashi-san. Does he have to identify it as brotherly to do that? Can't he just ask for general advice?

If nothing else, he can't leave Ken hanging this long.

"Then I'm sorry it wasn't enough to make you feel like you aren't alone." It's the blunt truth.