[... okay, let's see if he can get this across in a way Asbel will understand. He knows the other isn't aware of the fact that he and Naoki were lovers, were anything beyond good friends, so how to convey that?

Oh. He knows.]

Asbel... I gave him a ring, the same way I gave mine to you. When he returned home, he... gave the ring back to me.

[Because never once had Asbel given the ring back, not even when the fighting between the two of them had been the most intense. Even he should realize that such an action is symbolic of cutting ties.]