[ Brigade feels terrible as he watches Hikaru shake his head. He doesn't know if he wants to shout at him, kick him, or hug him. Instead, he let's his honesty flow out, hoping that his tact will be equal to it proportionally. Or that Hikaru will understand the meaning behind his words. ]

Dr. Eisenstein, my maker, lived a godforsaken long time, brother. I'm guessing I'll live around that long as well, god-willing. Who knows, I might make it long enough till the world churns out another idiot like me to take my place.

[ Brigade pauses and tries to stop the words from spilling out. They do anyway ] I'm not going to die like Akihiko [ He was a good man and an incomparable father ] did, brother. [ He hopes he knows where he's going with this ] I'm not going to let you kill me and make me another sob story.

[ Brigade smiles. He's not angry. Not anymore. He can't hate Hikaru when he understands where this must all be coming from ]
Cause if I do, how am I going to hit you, and drink with you, and break your bad habits? [ He hugs Hikaru tight with one arm, tucking his head into his neck. ] Don't worry, I won't tell anybody you've got skin like a girl who's never done any manual labor [ Brig chuckles softly ]