Heiji raised a defensive eyebrow at Homura. "I'm calm! I'm totally calm!" Nevertheless, Heiji glanced over at Okita, hoping that Okita wouldn't be alarmed by Heiji's yapping peace-maneuver. He looked back at Homura and Hijikata as they talked.

The detective backed off a little, now that it looked like Hijikata wasn't going to wander off. No need to aggravate the guy or make him feel trapped or anything. Because honestly, if he wanted to walk off Heiji would totally understand where he was coming from, he should be able to.

"He calls me Okita-han's 'puppy', but it's more of an honorary term," Heiji offered, opening his book again. "But I don't think 'dog' is a good term for someone who has skill enough to match Okita-han or Hijikata Toushizou-han.

"But on the subject of whether or not you would receive a sword, I'm nowhere near 's good as Okita-han, 'n we want the best people armed, obviously. So you'd... probably be up there on the list."

Sadly. Heiji had been hoping that Shinichi would be armed soon, but if Hijikata could use a sword, no doubt he'd be pushed up. Dammit...

"Or, I could give you mine."