screwthegods | 009 | [Voice/Action]

Because if something can be gained--if you can grow stronger from what you experienced, then there is something of value there. It's the only form of power we have against the Malnosso.

[And one Homura himself places great value in himself, if the seriousness of his reaction is any indication.]

Refusing to face what they forced you to go through is merely another form of bowing down to them. If you can't even face me, then your will is significantly weaker than I expected.

I'm facing you right now, Homura-san.

[Literally, perhaps. Though she still isn't certain just what he wants. An acknowledgment that they'd spent that time together under a similar delusion? If so, that's simple enough. If he wants anything else — or is interested in discussing what he'd learned from her — she isn't terribly interested in either option.

And still she shows none of her inward thoughts, though she allows just a hint of confusion to enter her tone and shifts her hand on the broom's handle as though impatient to get back to work.]

Because I came here. How long would you have delayed it otherwise?

[Forever is Homura's suspicion. Of course they could pass by each other and exchange casual greetings, but a deliberate meeting such as this? Less likely.

But the silent question of what exactly he is asking of her is one that even Homura himself can't answer fully. The implanted feelings lingered for some time after the experiment, true, but now, what does he stand to gain from forcing the issue?]

What do you think will happen now that I know more about you?

[She has no answer to the first question, so Ayumu simply ignores it in favor of the other.]

I can't imagine. I thought that perhaps you now know so much you'd lose interest.

[He had seemed quite interested in ferreting out secrets the last time they'd spoken before that experiment. If all he wanted was answers, he should have plenty of them by now. The fact that he's here, though, implies that perhaps he still wants more than that.]

What did you expect to happen?

[Now that he knows--Homura finally grins at that, though the smile isn't a happy one.]

Learning so much like that isn't at all satisfying. You might not believe it, but that frustrates me as much about this experiment as anything else.

[Because to Homura, it's more about the challenge, which on many levels has been taken away.]

As for what I expect--I don't know either. But I do not like what exists now, and I'd prefer to change it if at all possible.

[In truth... she can understand that. There's a certain satisfaction that comes from finding truth where it's been hidden, in collecting bits of information just for the sake of having it, because you never knew when it might be useful. When it might connect to something else, and something else yet. If it was simply the game that interests him, then, well, she can understand being disappointed to have someone ignore the rules and drop it all, unearned, unasked-for.

Ayumu doubts that he's nearly as upset as she is at giving such information without hesitation; she'd had no intention at all of telling him about Susumu or anything of what she'd done back home, no matter how much he'd pried. But if he's telling the truth, if he takes no satisfaction in it — and she suspects that he is telling the truth, difficult as he can be to read — then perhaps she can at least listen to him.]

Mm. I suppose.

[For a moment her study of him is just a little too intent to suit her current pretense, eyes narrowing slightly as she considers his words. Then she turns away again, moving to finish sweeping off the section of the porch she hadn't finished yet.]

What is it that you don't like, Homura-san?

[Even as Ayumu asks, her eyes have already given Homura something he's been seeking. For the first time since his arrival, he notes her own searching by way of that gaze--as if she's finally decided to see him, instead of all the aftermath she's been left to deal with.]

Your preoccupation, to start. [There's a tease to his voice as he says it, and he takes a step back from where he's been so far. Judging the angle and the distance, Homura silently punches out into the air, using enough force to cause a substantial breeze to flow over the porch from the force in an attempt to finish off her sweeping. Being a demi-god could prove useful by way of doing household chores, perhaps?]

[He won't say anything, but if she turns, Ayumu won't be able to miss Homura's smug grin.]

[Despite all that she's seen since coming to Luceti, displays of supernatural power are still enough to unsettle her slightly. Ayumu hesitates for an instant before turning, one brow arched in a somewhat exasperated expression that asks if that was entirely necessary. The grin is answer enough, though, and she just shakes her head and turns back toward the door.]

Well, then. It might be easier to speak inside.

[Inside, where there's less of a potential audience. Just in case she has to say or do something she doesn't want anyone else to see.]

As you wish. [Although Homura has to immediately call the motives for Ayumu's invitation into silent question. While she might have simply relented in the face of his sheer stubbornness, he knows better than to underestimate her. If he's learned nothing else, even before the experiment, it's that she's crafty.

Still, he follows her inside quite willingly. It's strange to be back in the house, now that he is once again a guest instead of its "owner." He stays near the door at first, letting Ayumu lead him where she wishes. How much exposure to those closest to her she's willing to risk is entirely up to her to decide.]

[Once inside Ayumu doesn't move too far into the house, not at first— she pauses in the living room, turning to face him with hands on her hips and head tilted slightly as she watches him with a more guarded expression.]

And there, Homura-san. No more preoccupation. You can say what you wish; I'm listening.

[Now it's Homura's turn to quirk an eyebrow in surprise.] That was truly all you required? Sweeping a porch certainly can't be that much of a burden.

[Which of course it isn't. But if she wants to feed him weak excuses, far be it from him to not call her on it.]

I don't suppose you'll honestly tell me how you're doing?

Hardly that. But did you intend to assist with the laundry? Or the cooking? You complained that I was too busy to listen, and now you're displeased that I stopped to talk?

[At the question she merely shakes her head, allowing a hint of impatience to show.]

I'm much as I was before that interruption, though busier now that there are new arrivals to look after as well. Was that all you wished to know?

I'm displeased that what you offered is the best you could come up with.

[Homura hardly cares if Ayumu feels a sense of growing impatience or frustration. To the contrary, that could be useful, depending on how genuine the feeling is.]

Hardly. I asked for your honesty. That may be how you wish things were, but you are not so unaffected by what you experienced, Ayumu. For someone who works so hard to restrain herself, being so easily opened and exposed is the worst of blows.

[He's correct, certainly, but the fact that he's pointing it out is another blow— not quite so jarring as the way the Malnosso had manipulated her with such ease, but still not pleasant. The fact that they'd been caught up in the same experiment together hardly gave him the right to analyze her, to demand anything of her.

She holds the mask steady, though, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had hit his mark.]

I fail to see why it should interest you, Homura-san. Perhaps during that experiment we believed that we knew one another, but now? Why would it matter?

[Ah, but if Ayumu fell apart so easily, Homura wouldn't find her nearly so interesting as he does. The unchanged expression doesn't phase him, nor deter his determination to not only pick apart her mindset, but also his own. There has to be a reason, after all, that he does feel such concern. Something dangerous is happening for Ayumu, or so his instincts tell him. He simply hasn't been able to reason out what it is just yet.]

I knew you before the experiment. And I believe I also told you that you held my interest. That is enough for me to act, when I wish.

Now, I'll ask you why--why do you struggle so hard to put on a mask of indifference, Ayumu? Everyone around you would understand how the experiment cut to your core. In fact, even without you telling them, they should know because they know you.

They simply may not know how afraid your alter-ego was of what you truly are. Perhaps the reverse is true as well. After all, how separate are you really, from that person the Malnosso made you out to be?

[Perhaps the others do know, but if so they wouldn't say anything about it: that's simply not how things work with them. As long as Ayumu pretends all is fine, then they will also, and business will continue as usual in the house. Houses, now, but the new residents know nothing of the last experiment, and... she would rather keep it that way.

Which is why, even though she shows none of how his words have affected her, she still turns away with a brief gesture to indicate he should follow. This may be more private than the street, but still not enough for certain things to be discussed.]

I am still who I am, Homura-san, no matter what else changes around me.

[And with that quiet comment she'll just be heading farther into the house, toward her room.]

[Now this is even more interesting. Despite his comments that the others around Ayumu should know, it seems as if she's leading him deeper inside the house, to a place where perhaps they can't hear. He follows, of course, hardly finished with their conversation. But Homura has to wonder just how deep the secrets run, if Ayumu doesn't even want to expose that much of herself to them.

When they move into the chosen room, Homura closes the door behind him, then leans back against the wood. He walked in silence out of respect for Ayumu's obvious wish, but now that they've resettled, he'll pick up the conversation again.]

And just who are you, Ayumu?

[Ayumu can't help but note that once they were in the room, he chose to stand where it would block the exit— deliberate or no? Knowing what she did of the man, she suspected the former, whether he was trying to prevent her from escaping the conversation physically or otherwise, and it adds just a certain amount of tension to her perception of the situation.

She doesn't sit, however, instead taking up a position farther into the room and not so incidentally somewhat closer to the window. It seemed clear enough that he wouldn't leave her alone until he got an explanation that satisfied him, but he already had enough of her secrets that she hardly wanted to provide more. She watches him in silence for a moment, considering more whether to say anything at all than what she needs to say, then clasps her hands behind her back and shrugs just a little.]

I? Shinobi. A watcher. And cook and housekeeper for the Shinsengumi.

[Truthfully, Homura feels no real need to actively block Ayumu's available avenues of escape. That he leans against the door is more an effort to keep others out than her in. Not because he wishes her to flee, of course, but because he trusts in his own speed. Should she make a move, Homura has no doubt in his own ability to react in time to stop her. It's the difference between a human and a god, after all.]

But what do those things mean? [Homura watches her, carefully, looking for tiny signs that escape before she has a chance to correct them.] Simply more masks for you to slip on as you move about your day?

[Because that's the answer, isn't it? Homura finally thinks he understands what he's concerned over in regards to this woman.]

Which of them is real?

[It's a hit, certainly; ever since that moment with Tetsunosuke, when she faced the near-certain knowledge that she wouldn't return and her walls had crumbled, Ayumu hadn't been entirely certain of just where she stood. It shouldn't have been a problem, though— or at least she shouldn't have lived long enough for it to become one. And then there had been the sudden and unexpected reprieve of Luceti, Susumu's presence, and the ensuing struggle to define just how she wanted to be. The latest experiment had only thrown her even farther off balance, and now that Homura not only wouldn't leave her alone, but insisted on prying into the weak points that had been revealed....

There's certainly a visible flicker at that, though whether it's anger or something else is difficult to say before it vanishes, hidden behind that stubbornly-held mask. And though Ayumu doesn't move from where she stands, there's a certain amount of tension present in the set of her shoulders.]

A spy must wear any number of masks, Homura-san, but cannot become caught up in any one of them. All that matters is the mission that has been assigned.

[Homura knows he's getting closer. The look may vanish quickly, but that it is present at all tells him that much. And as a warrior, one who fought countless battles over the course of centuries, he can read that shift in her posture easily. Perhaps Ayumu herself isn't so aware of it, but her body knows--she's getting ready to somehow move.]

Yet what mission could you possibly have here? Your role in your home world was coming to an end--you had resigned yourself to death, only to be brought here instead. How can you have a mission, a purpose in this place when you were ready for the grave? Mere masks can't provide that answer, nor can they take away the emptiness of life without it. Without that purpose, perhaps you aren't even real.

[For years her control had been so perfect, so unbreakable, that she'd almost never showed anything of what she truly thought when she didn't wish to. For years she'd been exactly as she'd been trained to be, the near-perfect kunoichi— and now what?

Ayumu inwardly curses her lack of control even as she feels her eyes narrow slightly, her stance shift just a fraction toward readiness, as she becomes even more aware of the subtle press of concealed weapons. Words are not an enemy she can fight, however, not even words such as the ones the man uses with the precision of a sharp blade.]

I still have a task to perform and duties to attend to, as long as the Shinsengumi are present in this place. Though it's hardly your place to question such.

Perhaps not.

[Homura pushes off the door now, shifting his weight so he's not leaning against the surface. It's a slight move, one Ayumu will no doubt see just as he sees her. If she chooses to come at him, then so be it. A physical attack will be nothing more than a confession to her loss of verbal retort--the last, desperate attempt of a woman with no other escape.]

But I am hardly the only questioning it, am I? You don't dare to admit it, but those questions are nothing you haven't asked yourself, day to day, perhaps the whole time you've been here. I'm sure you're quite good at ignoring the whispers, but then things like this happen. This, and the experiment, detailing the life you could have led if only you had made a few different choices along the way.

You can't run from it forever, Ayumu. That indecision is nothing more than living as if you were already dead.

[When he moves Ayumu does shift just a little, an abortive reaction to a potential threat that didn't materialize, but she manages to rein herself in before actually reaching for a weapon. Just barely, though. Just enough, even if she can almost feel each word as a physical blow.]

You seem so convinced that you're right.

[He is. She knows that he is, but there's no reason to admit it to him. She still can stay herself as long as she maintains her careful control.]

Because I am right.

[Ayumu doesn't need to admit it. Homura knows, from how defensive she's become, from how she reacts to even a slight movement on his part that he's struck to her very core. She's already confessed through those motions, even without her words.

Yet even if she remains perfectly still, Homura would speak without doubt. There is a foundation to his words, to the confidence that marks every phrase. It isn't arrogance that has him pulling away the layers of this woman, but he won't reveal that yet. Not until she's broken down enough to hear it.]

You know that I'm right.

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