[He can see how hard this is for Rosho and how hard he's trying to hold back. Ichiro would feel the same, he thinks, in his position. Having a partner keep a chunk of their life secret... Like, of course everyone's entitled to their privacy but it doesn't sit well. The past is the past so what's the point in keeping it secret? Rosho seems to love Sasara no matter the circumstances; Ichiro doesn't think that will change.

But, this is also prior to Ichiro's conversation with Hitoya so he doesn't know all the details. He hasn't connected the dots between Sasara and Kuko's sudden departure. Maybe something really bad happened between Samatoki and Sasara that his elder doesn't want to bring up.

Rosho wringing his hands, though, really strikes an empathetic chord in Ichiro. It's almost painful to see him like this. He can't cover for Sasara again.

Ichiro takes a deep breath.] He was the same as he is now, honestly. [And because this comment stuck out to him most:] But he wasn't "all by himself." I don't know how they ended up together but he was already with Samatoki Aohitsugi when we met.