"We did everything we could," he said, like he had said it a hundred times before. Most likely to himself, "it's like Kanji said in the hospital. If we went too fast, something else bad may've happened, like one of us dying..."

His words dry up in his throat. It was just a slip of the tongue, but it spoke volumes about what they were all thinking. He feels like sinking into the floor out of shame. This was just going to make it worse.

"I didn't mean--" his voice squeaks, and he swallows hard. Posture withering, he looks down to his knees as well, "she's not dead. She's not gonna die."