[Whenever Kotarou pulls his hands back... The first thing that he sees is Ritsuka's bright smile. It just reminded him how fake his smiles were sometimes. He couldn't help and lean back a bit as he felt his cheeks reddening whenever she got a little closer. This girl has no shame... People might be watching us!]

I... I dunno about that. People are far more self-serving that you think. I can't imagine helping someone if you didn't get some form of pleasure from it. It's usually the bigger accomplishments that are focused on more than the small ones.

[Ah... That came out more pessimistic than he wanted it to sound. But he felt that there was truth to that. Everyone wanted to be accepted in the herd... So you had to do your best to stand out or you wouldn't survive at all.]