Well... [Rinea returns her hands to her lap, watching Hijikata's expression in the glow of the phone screen. Explaining feels suddenly so shameful, like reliving a moment of weakness. She is glad for the darkness that hides the minutia of her reaction, though she cannot disguise her voice.]

I--I only wanted to bind his wounds sustained in the siege. But he was enraged, somehow, about an enchantment we'd experienced the month before. I have never seen him so angry. He tried to--

[There is something deeply humiliating about being slapped, specifically. It is an attack not meant to maim or kill, but to punish. Rinea's throat closes around the phrase.]

--to, to strike me.

[Rinea feels the pressure of tears behind her eyes, suddenly disgusted with herself. What is she doing?] --You must understand, I do not want to believe it was him! I would never want to besmirch his reputation. But if it was truly sir Somnus, and I ran from him, then...

[then... has she done wrong by preserving herself-- and subsequently Hijikata-- instead?]