"Baka!" The grip tightened, and he got a hard glare in return from Aoko. "Of course she'd want to know, even if it hurt her! You're important to her!" Not to mention there was something about what he'd said...

The artist stared at the thief. "You said she should 'stay away'," she repeated suddenly, picking up on the strange phrasing. Not that she 'shouldn't know', or 'not get involved', but that she should 'stay away'. "What do you mean by that?"