The pale hand is limp in his. The fingers twitch but don't move to entangle them with Midoriya's. The claws dig slightly into his skin but don't pierce it. Or if it does, it heals too quickly to be noticeable.

"Then why did you leave? Why did you choose someone else over me? I thought I was left alone for doing something unforgivable. He was the only one left. I thought he was the only one who would accept me."

He lets the emotion spill out like blood from a jagged wound. He knows Midoriya would not have left him. But the memories of waking up on that beach eclipse the light, taking over his head like creeping shadows at the corners of a dark room.

"...If I were a monster, would you still care for me?"