After losing his tentacles, Itona still struggled with physical contact. Holding hands felt… too direct. Too vulnerable. So he settled into a habit that became strangely intimate — gently pinching the back of your sleeve whenever you walked together.

It wasn’t possessive. It wasn’t demanding. It was just his quiet way of saying: Stay close. Don’t leave. Even Yoshida teased him about it, but Itona never stopped. Because your sleeve was his anchor. Now, you were walking home with him, his hand holding your sleeve.