[Receiving the affirmative from Xander is a relief. He does feel bad, asking for a favor with nothing to offer in return - while Xander is not Senku and will not require payment in turn, he still dislikes employing the latter half of a give and take relationship without first fulfilling the former.]
[But that can be addressed later. For now, he falls in step beside Xander, waiting to speak up again until they are further away from anyone who could conceivably overhear.]
I was hoping you might be able to use your empathy to identify this...feeling.
[While there is some guilt over needing to ask in the first place, and some trepidation as to the answer to his question, the larger feeling in need of identification remains: the awful pressure in his chest and tightness in his throat, dragging him down and driving him to distraction. It threatens to become all-consuming if he lets it, and he does not know how to avoid that - hence the request for assistance.]
no subject
[Receiving the affirmative from Xander is a relief. He does feel bad, asking for a favor with nothing to offer in return - while Xander is not Senku and will not require payment in turn, he still dislikes employing the latter half of a give and take relationship without first fulfilling the former.]
[But that can be addressed later. For now, he falls in step beside Xander, waiting to speak up again until they are further away from anyone who could conceivably overhear.]
I was hoping you might be able to use your empathy to identify this...feeling.
[While there is some guilt over needing to ask in the first place, and some trepidation as to the answer to his question, the larger feeling in need of identification remains: the awful pressure in his chest and tightness in his throat, dragging him down and driving him to distraction. It threatens to become all-consuming if he lets it, and he does not know how to avoid that - hence the request for assistance.]