[ hijibot will find himself thoroughly disappointed, though, as tsurumaru decides to make it clear that by now, he's caught on. most of his act is bravado, though, because the fact that he's being put at swordpoint by something that looks way too much like hijikata is, well, going to leave a lasting impression in his mind.

so he takes a deep breath, putting all of his effort into keeping his voice steady, since the last thing that he wants hijibot to pick up on is that he's still just as frightened; the first phrase — that he wants him all to himself — is one that frequently comes out of the mouths of collectors and thieves while staring at him, and it makes him remember things that he doesn't want to remember. ]

How can I love you, when I don't love you at all? [ although his voice does shake, just a bit — so there's a pause, before he continues more gently. ]

But I do love him. I love the Hijikata that gets angry at me for messing up, that yells at me for surprising him too many times, that constantly calls me a child and then goes ahead and tells me all of these dirty things, without any kind of shame, but then tries to deny it when I call him kind.

That annoying, bothersome, kind person is someone that I love, more than anyone else that currently exists in the entire world. And if he asks me to, I wouldn't even mind being owned by him for the rest of his life. [ which is mostly a reference to how he was constantly owned BUT, hijikata's filthy kink might take it another way...

but back to the situation at hand! his wistful expression quickly turns back into an angry glare, looking at hijibot with impatience. ]

Keeping me here like this isn't going to make me love you any more.