"And who is that, I wonder?" Koumyou goes so far as to lace their fingers together, and squeezes gently.

"You can't see yourself. No one can. But you, in particular, have been taught to see yourself as less than you are."

The smaller Devero is made within his own mind, the easier he would be to control. Koumyou still doesn't know the depth of the abuse the other man has suffered, but that much is at least clear to him.