[ how much should he take these words to heart? is aoba just saying this to make him feel better? does he really mean it? is it a mixture of both? he's just used to taking the blame and having it end there. no one has ever tried to do this to him, so it's strange. he's not sure what to do, because dismissing aoba outright and asserting that he's really to blame would be rude and hurt him.

what should he say? and honestly, he didn't even know he had such feeling for aoba. it's kind of like since then, there are lingering feelings he just can't be blind to. he can ignore them and push them down, but before he never let himself see or acknowledge them. these feelings got a massive jolt, bringing them to the surface at full strength, but they didn't die down fully after. ] Like you said, this place made sure of it, so you don't need to say sorry for something out of your hands. [ yet he doesn't say anything about himself. ] I didn't realize this place could be this messed up; I didn't even listen to my own advice about keeping one's guard up.