[ That kind of makes him want to laugh. Wasn't he himself scolded quite loudly over his desire to remain behind if it meant closing the gate? Now here's Vash, and Pure Vanilla knows he means to take himself out of the equation so that this city of his doesn't get destroyed.

If he's not around, it won't happen.

It does make him smile sadly, because the man follows the same path he does when it comes to considering things others want over themselves. ]

It does sometimes feel like that, doesn't it? Times when that tiny voice in your head asks you why you bother, when everything you touch ends in failure anyways. [ Silly-vanilly, a half Cookie, useless, failed your friends, your people, and still failing. ] But Hope is not such a tiny, fragile thing, that it ceases to exist in those moments. Even if you cannot see the Light of it, it shines there. It's in the dirt under your nails when you cling the hardest, it's in the grit of your teeth, the beat of your heart.

[ He squeezes his hand again. ]

Hope is you fighting still. Making plans still. You are Hope, so it is no wonder sometimes you lost sight of it. When was the last time you have looked upon yourself without despair?