[Her grip loosens, and lowers her voice so it can only be heard between the two of them.] Why haven't you told them? Don't you want them to know?
[It's not her business to tell anyone what happened at Toba-Fushimi, and his right and duty as vice-commander. But she worried about how cohesive they would be as a unit if they weren't all on the same page.]
I don't think he does. As far as they know, you cut your hair simply because we had to bow to foreign pressure, I think. [It's only then that, as she said those daring words that she realized just how tall Hijikata was beside her, and how small she felt. Though shorter than Okita and Harada, the sheer force of Hijikata's personality dwarfed them all, and his imposing presence made her acutely aware of just how easily she could be subdued if she ever mis-stepped.
As a rasetsu now, all the more aware was she of the delicate line Hijikata toed. She lowers her head, dropping her hands into her lap as she began to pick at one of her nails.] I mean...I don't think that's what anyone thinks...but I imagine they all have questions they'd rather have answered, rather than left to speculation...
[Looking up to Hijikata, it's painful, how clear his fatigue was. It weighed down all his features - a man who appeared as delicate as the sakura was now sharp and tired.
...just how long had it been, since he'd first taken the ochimizu? Was this all because of the bloodlust?]
no subject
[It's not her business to tell anyone what happened at Toba-Fushimi, and his right and duty as vice-commander. But she worried about how cohesive they would be as a unit if they weren't all on the same page.]
I don't think he does. As far as they know, you cut your hair simply because we had to bow to foreign pressure, I think. [It's only then that, as she said those daring words that she realized just how tall Hijikata was beside her, and how small she felt. Though shorter than Okita and Harada, the sheer force of Hijikata's personality dwarfed them all, and his imposing presence made her acutely aware of just how easily she could be subdued if she ever mis-stepped.
As a rasetsu now, all the more aware was she of the delicate line Hijikata toed. She lowers her head, dropping her hands into her lap as she began to pick at one of her nails.] I mean...I don't think that's what anyone thinks...but I imagine they all have questions they'd rather have answered, rather than left to speculation...
[Looking up to Hijikata, it's painful, how clear his fatigue was. It weighed down all his features - a man who appeared as delicate as the sakura was now sharp and tired.
...just how long had it been, since he'd first taken the ochimizu? Was this all because of the bloodlust?]
We'd just buried Yamazaki-san.