[ He laughs bitterly. He's not even sure why he's smiling. He's always smiling. ]

No, I shouldn't have been so foolhardy. It's... stupid, isn't it? To think someone already in pieces might be glued back together. The world doesn't work that way. Besides, it isn't as though I made NO effort. She saw to that. I made nothing BUT effort, after effort, after effort.

[ ... Who is he even talking about? Hard to say. ]