[ he catches that brief look of embarrassment and shame!! he sees it!! and he knows he's struck gold... but he's also not going to press that topic any further, because he's already gotten the reaction that he wanted.

tsurumaru can also affirm, for a fact, that hijikata hadn't been going this month — if he managed to actually get from his futon to his desk without tsurumaru noticing, then that was a miracle in itself. although, it's the months prior that he doesn't know about, and that worries him.

but while he can claim that he hadn't been expecting anything to begin with and try to blame his distrust and hatred of humanity, it's impossible for him to give up all hope; there had still been a part of him that would have been thoroughly disappointed if hijikata had picked the other option.

although, it doesn't look as if he needs to worry about any of that anymore. he tries to move his hand across the lower half of his face, but he can only cover so much, and regardless, it's obvious that he's more than just a little delighted. ]

I can't speak for all samurai, but at the very least — I don't think my family would mind if you swore on your samurai honor.

[ because, you know, while they're probably rolling over in their graves, if their spirits are floating around somewhere in the afterlife, then they'd probably want tsurumaru to move on and recover. he's been fixed on these people for 800 years... it's time for him to let go. ]

But I'll also accept it if it comes from your heart, as you say.

[ he takes a deep breath, and then, brightly — ]

I may be a sword that knows nothing about your era, and there's no doubt that I'm going to continue being a handful, but I hope that's fine with you.