That... that snapped Yuugi out of his own trance.

For a moment, it was like Kaiba punched him. But why? Why would it be like that? Why did his gut twist and his chest ache? It was time for him to take a single step back.

"I--"

He said he was a person.

He saw him as a man.

For all of this man's stubborn pride, he saw Yuugi as a human being that deserved basic dignity and that was-- not what he expected in this place.

"... That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time."