[He doesn't mind or look the least bit flustered as such when Kashuu backs away from his touch. But that frozen smile, and the words even more so, bring a look of concern to his eyes. He remembers his own voice, desperate and younger than now, saying, If I can't even do this... I'm completely useless to you, aren't I? He remembers the hurt that remark had caused, too, and how little he had meant it.

He slowly shakes his head, giving Kashuu a solemn look.]

You shouldn't say that. Even- Even if you fail at what you think you're meant to do, even if you can't be what you want, you're not useless. No one is. There's people who care about you, right? To them, even if you mess up, you're still valuable.

[He shrugs a bit awkwardly under the weight of all those towels, a self-conscious smile tugging at his lips.]

It's a pretty difficult thing to remember. I still often think like that too, and I guess that's something you can't help doing sometimes, but... always succeeding at what you do and looking beautiful while doing it seems like a really high standard to set for yourself, that's all. I'm sure no one wants you to be that hard on yourself.