[ As Naruhodou embraces him, Asougi shifts his position just a bit, so he can draw his arms around him in turn, pulling him in close and rubbing at his back quietly. He looks contemplative for a moment before he speaks again. ]

. . . I didn't realize it for the longest while. Or maybe I didn't want to, but. After everything else, ignoring it felt . . . [ His voice trails off. He'd always skirted around talking about his "death" and subsequent return to society and the world in general, but he'd be lying if he said that didn't affect how he looked at things. ] I couldn't. I didn't want to.