[Well, if there was anything that could stop that sentence from playing out, it was that sentence. The rest of the words get caught in his throat, left speechless for a moment before settling back down.
It's...nice on him? Sure, he thought it looked nice on Tetsuo. Hell, that's why he protected him for so long over the years. Something soft like that had to be protected. But Kaneda never saw that in himself. Whatever gentleness he showed to Tetsuo was encased in a hard outer shell.
In the end, only those with that hard shell could survive back home.]
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It's...nice on him? Sure, he thought it looked nice on Tetsuo. Hell, that's why he protected him for so long over the years. Something soft like that had to be protected. But Kaneda never saw that in himself. Whatever gentleness he showed to Tetsuo was encased in a hard outer shell.
In the end, only those with that hard shell could survive back home.]
...
You think so?
[It's honest this time, without any protest.]
Soft people don't do what I've done.