[If Muraki had a nickel for every time he used the desperation of others to get what he wanted. It was both amusing and revolting to him how easily humans threw away their so-called ethics and bent to his whims when they needed something. But he refuses to think about his own desperation in the past. And his patients. His poor, dead patients.]

Every living thing possesses the compulsion to return to the inorganic--a pretty way of saying that we're all racing to our graves.

But would it be worth it to become a cliché and harm yourself over a lost love? [An irritated frown tarnishes his features.] Don't be selfish, Tsuzuki.

[Not when he has to see you.]