Homura closed his eyes for a brief moment as Hijikata tried to brush off the question. Somehow he didn't think it was so simple as that; he'd had enough experience with people wanting him dead, after all. But those people had different reasons for wanting his life, and different ways of going about it. Someone like Kougaji or Goku had intended to defeat him in honest combat, and in the case of the latter, succeeded. Others, like the gods in Heaven, used every manipulative and subversive trick they could conceive of to break his will, to have the unclean being die as they pleased, but without doing the deed and dirtying their hands themselves.
The end goal might have been the same, but the means were what mattered in Homura's eyes. He didn't see how it could be so different for others.
"What indeed." Ripping open the corner of his packet, Homura was surprised for a moment when an oily substance oozed out over his fingers. He'd seen a similar thing at the Institute, what was called a condiment by the nurses. So it came in more than one form. Experimentally, Homura tasted a bit of the substance on his skin, finding it not entirely unpleasant, but a bit much on its own.
And of course, the movement of his tongue licking away the object of Hijikata's infatuation was purely innocent, with Homura completely ignorant of any possible effects it might have on the man watching. Absolutely.
"Perhaps something to do with that Kondou person you were so adamant about finding when you first arrived." Homura shrugged, setting down the open packet near the edge of his tray for the time being, leaving it forgotten and mostly unspent. "Or something he's done to you in the past. Someone he's killed that you cared about. Some method he's used to get to you. He might have even poisoned your--mayonnaise, is it?"
Homura met Hijikata's gaze, a faint grin crossing his lips. "I'm asking because as you can probably guess, a certain member of the alternate Shinsengumi is upset with my decision to use Takasugi. So I'd like to know just who it is I'm dealing with before I take my next step." Before he decided whether to keep his protection order over the man, or let Okita have his way with Hijikata's enemy. "Since you likely would have made a similar warning to the populace if he had any allies here, you're the only one in the Institute who can tell me what I need to know.
no subject
The end goal might have been the same, but the means were what mattered in Homura's eyes. He didn't see how it could be so different for others.
"What indeed." Ripping open the corner of his packet, Homura was surprised for a moment when an oily substance oozed out over his fingers. He'd seen a similar thing at the Institute, what was called a condiment by the nurses. So it came in more than one form. Experimentally, Homura tasted a bit of the substance on his skin, finding it not entirely unpleasant, but a bit much on its own.
And of course, the movement of his tongue licking away the object of Hijikata's infatuation was purely innocent, with Homura completely ignorant of any possible effects it might have on the man watching. Absolutely.
"Perhaps something to do with that Kondou person you were so adamant about finding when you first arrived." Homura shrugged, setting down the open packet near the edge of his tray for the time being, leaving it forgotten and mostly unspent. "Or something he's done to you in the past. Someone he's killed that you cared about. Some method he's used to get to you. He might have even poisoned your--mayonnaise, is it?"
Homura met Hijikata's gaze, a faint grin crossing his lips. "I'm asking because as you can probably guess, a certain member of the alternate Shinsengumi is upset with my decision to use Takasugi. So I'd like to know just who it is I'm dealing with before I take my next step." Before he decided whether to keep his protection order over the man, or let Okita have his way with Hijikata's enemy. "Since you likely would have made a similar warning to the populace if he had any allies here, you're the only one in the Institute who can tell me what I need to know.
"So obviously, I'd appreciate it if you would."