[Yosuke sucks in a sharp breath at that comment. She might as well have actually punched him in the gut, for how well the comment lands. It's the second time in a handful of minutes that something he's said about himself has been turned around like that, and even he can't help but admit that aimed at anyone else it's an awfully venomous thing to say.]

[He sighs, rib still not taking well to being expanded that way, and tips his face down, almost trying to hide it in Nill's hair. He stays that way for a brief moment, and then shakes himself out of it. No. He can't soften on her now. She needs him to hold her up. She'd never ask, but she needs a wall to lean against for a while. So he straightens up again, and tucks her back under his chin. He kinda deserved that anyway, and he knows it.]

The end doesn't happen here. I was wrong, alright? That's...he was still fighting. That's all that counts, right? If you get up every time someone knocks you down, you still don't lose. You d-

[Die with honor, but he can't even say it. Some wall he is. But if he doesn't blink, and the tears don't fall, maybe it'll still be enough. Maybe he can at least be a fence for her.]