Even now, she wanted to see the best of him.
"So tell me."
Even now, it was in her voice, the desire to comfort him despite Kazeyuki being the reason she was hurting.
"Tell me, please."
And so he did.
He left nothing out. Even the part of him that hated Inori for making things inconvenient. And the part that had started wearing a mask...in order to sleep at night.
"I'm so, so sorry."
She had started crying again, and he was tempted,ah, how tempted he was to just leave it there.
"I'm afraid there's more."
But he didn't...because the truth couldn't be the truth if it wasn't complete.
"A list, specifically, that Anastase gave me at my request."
"A l-list?"
"I asked for his help," he said tonelessly. "I wanted to fool you into thinking I love you back—"
She started to sway, and Kazeyuki moved the moment he saw it—
"No!"
But for the first time since knowing Katherine, she was jerking away from his touch, her shoulder even hitting the wall behind her, so great was her seeming fear to be reached by him, and ah, God, the look in her eyes as she started looking around like a helplessly trapped animal.
God, oh God.
The distance she had managed to put between them was less than three feet, but it was the farthest she had ever been from him, and it hurt. God, how it hurt, because he knew it was all his fault.
"I got it all wrong," Kazeyuki said hoarsely. "I thought I needed—"
"S-Stop."
She was already shaking her head, and somehow—
"I'm in love with you, Katherine. I never needed the list—"
That made him start speaking like he was about to run out of time.
"Or maybe Anastase lied, and the list was to make me realize what everyone knew—"
"That I was an idiot?" she sobbed out.
"Don't say that—"
"Why? Are you afraid I might kill myself like Inori?"
"No."
He didn't even have to think to answer this.
"You would never do that."