( He sees the doubt, but he won't contest it. It doesn't really matter if he can prove to Ginger their God is cruel, because - it just doesn't matter. He's not going back. He won't be himself, even if he did.

So Ginger's words strike vulnerable, strike true. They strike right into the tender heart of the matter, his eyes a little misty in the way they so rarely are, save when it comes to hunger, and Yuu. )

... I...

( I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. I never had a choice. I,

He shakes his head. )

... I can't.

( Be his most important; can't see him again. He squeezes Ginger's hand, this time for his own sake. He refused to give himself time to grieve; even now, he still refuses. But in the quiet solace of his room, with someone who - wants to comfort, and hear... it's hard to keep his heart quiet, when he thinks about Yuu. )

... I failed to protect him like I promised, again. I tried to make up for it. So I spent my life to keep him safe. I think... it worked. I don't know. I hope it did, more than anything.

( And in the end, that's what scares him most - that Yuu isn't safe. That his life only caused harm in the end. That he failed to do enough, even in his final moment. If all that's not enough, then is it really okay to feel like just listening and talking to Ginger is enough to do right by someone?

But maybe some small part of him, the part not yet fully eroded, wants it all to be enough. )