The air grew colder the closer she stepped toward him, a chill that seemed to rise from the very ground beneath his feet. Hisame’s eyes locked onto hers, cold and unreadable. His posture stiffened, as though her presence alone unsettled him. It was a subtle withdrawal, as if he instinctively recoiled from the closeness she brought.

"You should leave," he said, his voice low, a command wrapped in a plea. "This place… is no place for you. You don’t belong here."

His words were harsh, sharp even, yet his eyes betrayed a hesitation, a crack in the icy wall he had built around himself. It was a warning, but also a silent cry for her to stay away.

"And you… you don’t know what it’s like to be near someone like me." He took a small, instinctive step back, creating more distance between them.

His hands clenched at his sides, the tension in his body palpable. He spoke with a cold edge, but beneath that, there was something fragile—something deep within him that he couldn’t allow anyone to see. His words were a shield, meant to keep her from coming closer, but they couldn’t mask the fragility in his expression.

"I cannot afford to let anyone get close. Not you, not anyone." Hisame’s gaze flickered away, unable to hold hers for long. "You should turn back before it’s too late. Before you get caught in something that will break you, too."

His voice dropped slightly, a hint of fear creeping in despite his best efforts to control it. The curse he carried was something no one could understand, something that made every emotion—love, sorrow, joy—feel like a threat. Each feeling left a crack in his heart, a fragile thing beating beneath his chest, one step away from shattering entirely. Hisame turned away, a quick, sharp movement, as if to push her back.

"Please…" His voice softened, barely a whisper, filled with unspoken desperation. "Go."

But beneath his hardened words, there was something else—a flicker of fear urging her to leave before she became part of the fragile world he couldn’t allow anyone into.