[The warmth and relief from the healing spell amazes Aya, letting him relax where he sat. The pain ebbs away to dullness, which is a level he can handle. Aya gives Selphie's hand an affectionate squeeze.]

[He looks over to Kirika, listening to her words. They're few, but important, and he can see how this ordeal weighs down on him.]

You're right. I don't know. You could just be fooling us all. [He gives a derisive, short chuckle] It wouldn't be the first time I fell for it. But her eyes were cold, and she probably wasn't the type to play with her victims. [Aya turns his gaze to Kirika, his eyes narrowed and determined.] If you were her, we'd have been dead a long time ago. The hesitation in your eyes only proves that.

[He balls a hand into a fist.] What you saw in that guy out there isn't me. I vowed to never let myself become that person, if I could help it. [He knows that such a side in him could still come out, but his will to stronger than that.]

[But it didn't mean that fear wasn't there.]