[ true, tsurumaru doesn't really get it — that rigid sense of duty is lost on someone as dispassionate as him. the concept of people coming together, unified so strongly under one name, is what he considers to be a waste of time and energy. ]

Right, right. [ his gaze coldly rests on hijikata's expression, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. ] As far as I'm concerned, all you were doing was running around and making a fool out of yourself, fighting a one-sided battle against a friendly bird. You really shouldn't act as if you had any other duties to take care of at the moment.

[ in the end, this is ultimately tsurumaru's ploy to get hijikata to name the bird, saying and doing whatever it takes to convince him to be kind to it and to give it a name... and he may or may not be a little bitter, too, that hijikata had tried to hurt the bird, so maybe he's a bit more bitter than he needs to be... just maybe!!

anyway, tsurumaru's satisfied with the docile name that hijikata comes up with, so he'll drop his act for now. pleased with how cute it sounds, the bright smile returns across his expression as he lets out a quiet laugh, hands held out and waved in front of his chest. ]

Aah, did you really think I wanted to name it Hijikata? I knew that you probably wouldn't like it, and then you'd come up with a name for it — and see? Aya's a cute name.

Now that you've named it... don't you think you can be its friend? You should apologize to to Aya, too.