[A small twitch of an expression passes his face, halfway between laughter and something unusually cynical for someone like Souji.]

Ah, well, I know what that's like too. I mean, I've never been good at being human the way most people see it, and when I was younger there were s lot of things I hadn't learned yet. [He shrugs a pair of bony shoulders, his smile rueful.] No wonder he reminds me of myself when I was a kid, huh?

[It's a bit worrying to Souji too, because he knows how easy it had been for him to start orbiting around Hijikata back then, and it's clear how important he is to Yamato in every way. And, well, he doesn't think he has the right qualities to be thought of so highly.]

I wish my presence didn't hurt him, but... I will try to make it easier and get him to forget about all those sad and difficult things. [He sighs.] I just don't think I'm the right person to think of so highly. That ViViD program got it right - when I first got out, I had "Not Your Role Model" stuck over my head for a couple of hours.