[ Very few people have pushed this hard for him to open up about his feelings, so this is... still different. Still new. And, for some reason, it has his heart racing the tiniest bit. ]

...

[ For just the fraction of a second longer than necessary, he holds a blink. ]

I know they will.

[ His jawline tightens. ]

The Akira Kurusu before the games had gone back to being just a normal human who lived a normal life...

[ With his gaze averted, he releases an almost inaudible laugh - it's lacking in anything remotely humorous: ]

And, pretty soon, I won't even be human period.