...It is. How old are you? Forty? You could've cast your lot in with any other kid, and you picked someone like me. Was it because Toushiro liked me?

[They're harsh words, but they have no bite to them, either. If anything, he sounds genuinely curious, but he's quick to move on.]

I can't say that this was the worst day of my life, or even the most painful, but it is my biggest regret.

[It's the thing he thinks about, that keeps him up at night or shows up in his dreams. It's the one thing he never wants to do again. But that's the scary part, isn't it? He can't just avoid getting that close to people. The only thing he can definitely do is to be himself and do his best not to hurt anyone around him.]