[Another flicker of memory makes the previous ones clearer. A flash of a light shined in his eye and voices talking about a project. There had been a number among the words. He takes a slow breath and shoves it down. Takeshi needs him as his friend not a patient. Shiro mulls over what has been said and nods.]

And now you’ve had your own experiences and built yourself around that core, right? It might have taken you a long while to realize those things but you have now. Who you are today is more than the sum of the original components. They’re part of you but not the whole you.

[He looks at Takeshi with a small gentle smile. He can understand it. Or at least relate to it.]