[It's not what she was expecting to hear at all. Not what she was expecting - and so she isn't sure how to handle it. Her stomach churns and she shakes her head; her grip on his arm tightens in the same way that her grip on her hair does, and Kaoru will certainly have his work cut out for him in trying to loosen either of them.
Unexpected... So it's not the answer she was hoping for.]
It's not, is it..? It isn't, it isn't, it isn't... What do I have to do? What did I do wrong...?
[Because she has to be the one at fault here. If she can't get a "Yes, we're equal" out of him, she must not have suffered enough. Did she have it too easy with the Nagumo clan? The fact that she was able to slip away from them to make this request - did he take it as her not having suffered, of them being too unequal for him to just say yes the way she was hoping for so that he would accept her? His apology and his lament over not being able to protect her falls on deaf ears; it's not what she expected to hear, either, and so it can only be something negative.
She yanks on her hair, once and then twice, and rips out a few more strands before he's finally able to coax her hand free of it. She makes an unpleasant, strangled sound in the back of her throat and shakes her head.]
I couldn't protect you after all. I failed you... I failed you—
[Always, always failing in some way—]
I wanted to be worthless to them, [Because to the Nagumo her worth comes from bearing them a child, and so she wears "worthless" as a badge of pride, because it means she hasn't given them what they want,] But I wanted to be worth something to you! Why... why can't I do this right...?!
no subject
[It's not what she was expecting to hear at all. Not what she was expecting - and so she isn't sure how to handle it. Her stomach churns and she shakes her head; her grip on his arm tightens in the same way that her grip on her hair does, and Kaoru will certainly have his work cut out for him in trying to loosen either of them.
Unexpected... So it's not the answer she was hoping for.]
It's not, is it..? It isn't, it isn't, it isn't... What do I have to do? What did I do wrong...?
[Because she has to be the one at fault here. If she can't get a "Yes, we're equal" out of him, she must not have suffered enough. Did she have it too easy with the Nagumo clan? The fact that she was able to slip away from them to make this request - did he take it as her not having suffered, of them being too unequal for him to just say yes the way she was hoping for so that he would accept her? His apology and his lament over not being able to protect her falls on deaf ears; it's not what she expected to hear, either, and so it can only be something negative.
She yanks on her hair, once and then twice, and rips out a few more strands before he's finally able to coax her hand free of it. She makes an unpleasant, strangled sound in the back of her throat and shakes her head.]
I couldn't protect you after all. I failed you... I failed you—
[Always, always failing in some way—]
I wanted to be worthless to them, [Because to the Nagumo her worth comes from bearing them a child, and so she wears "worthless" as a badge of pride, because it means she hasn't given them what they want,] But I wanted to be worth something to you! Why... why can't I do this right...?!