This was the part that had kept him from talking about things earlier. Sure, everything else was admittedly pretty bad and unbelievable on its own. This was the culmination of all his idiocy and regret though. A very different kind of terrible he knew wouldn't sit well with unrested minds.

"He can't die," Kai quietly confirmed for Kyoko. Kei had undoubtedly gotten right back up from that, just like he had before. Just like he had who knew how many times between that night on the riverbank and that afternoon on the base. He went quiet again with that thought, only shaking his head at Shinji's question.

"...Woke up in the sewers under the base," he finally went on, lifting his hand to motion across his chest. "Had huge bruises all over. Broken ribs. My shirt was all kinds of messed up. I..."

He trailed off, his palm fully resting over his heart as if he needed to remind himself that the beat was steady behind his ribs. It was real, just like the important people around him.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one that died."