"Takashi," he said quietly, "there are two things that I want you to know."

Here, unafraid, he met Takashi's gaze, hand on his shoulder tightening in a heartening squeeze. "To speak of your cares and worries as if they are nothing in the face of another's is to belittle your own heart. If it aches, it aches. That is the reason why I had to take this last while to myself: to ease my own burden. To mourn again, in my own way. To attend to the wound on my soul.

"But like all wounds, if left untended, such a thing can fester, and I do not wish that to happen to you. You are too kind a soul and too good a man to let something like that eat at you from the inside." Again, his hand squeezed, and while he let his eyes wander over Takashi's face, he didn't look away from his eyes for long. "Secondly, I do understand your worry. I would do the same if I stood in your place. It is an odd circumstance, one few would ever have to face - and you are a brave man for speaking your concern. Can you tell me what memories there are that you cannot reach?"