Koumyou tucks his hands into his sleeves, tilting his head forward to hide his face behind his long bangs again.

He doesn't have to search at all to find the stain of his blood on the stage. It's faint, but still there.

"I know you said I didn't... coerce you before, but that doesn't mean I might never-- that doesn't mean I can t-trust myself. When we fought, I..."

Really took to heart the things Devero had said. Even though the man hadn't meant them, ultimately, they'd resonated.

"We don't have to do anything to just, be," he repeats quietly, "I don't want to lose you, and I don't want to ever hurt you, either."

The sutra hasn't gone away, but it's dwindled down to only one tendril, which actually just lays on the stage as though forgotten.