[Something about this line of conversation irks him. It's not so much dealing in semantics as the topic itself, brushing a little too close to bone-deep misantropy.]
Maybe. I'll give you that much.
[But.]
But that's a very small percentage of people. [Anyway, he continues walking! Perhaps, if one has keen eyes, the flicker of a shadow moves along the row of mirrors nearby. For now, Henry's focused on the conversation.] I think what we're disagreeing on, really, is someone's inherent willingness to change.
[Don't mention the spooky things, Tsuruno, it's probably fine.]
I think people trick themselves into thinking they're happy to be stuck in their ways, no matter what they say. It's easy to fall in-line with expectations and what you're used to. Even if it's suffocating, most keep marching on that way until the end.
[And, despite himself, Henry has to laugh just a little. It's probably one of the more sincere sounds she's earned from him, because it's underlined ever-so-slightly with something that nearly sounds... bitter.]
But it could help to talk about it, though. Or do you not want others to see that side of you?
[ It's difficult not to hear it, not because Tsuruno is particularly looking for it, but because she's someone who takes notice of everything she can. Uses it. Learns from it. Either way, she hears it, and she wonders at it. ]
What a lot of people want to hear... isn't that. I think you do want to hear it, though. To see it from me.
[There will come a time, maybe, when Tsuruno gets to see unhinged Henry. She missed the mall opportunity, but more will come. Then she'll definitely get to see the real him.
Hopefully that'll be fine.
But for now-]
Well, as much as I hate to admit it, some things take time. Maybe that's just the case with you and I.
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Maybe. I'll give you that much.
[But.]
But that's a very small percentage of people. [Anyway, he continues walking! Perhaps, if one has keen eyes, the flicker of a shadow moves along the row of mirrors nearby. For now, Henry's focused on the conversation.] I think what we're disagreeing on, really, is someone's inherent willingness to change.
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Mm... maybe that's it. So you think people are just too stuck in their ways after a certain point to want to change?
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I think people trick themselves into thinking they're happy to be stuck in their ways, no matter what they say. It's easy to fall in-line with expectations and what you're used to. Even if it's suffocating, most keep marching on that way until the end.
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Of course he just smiles though, looking at her askance.]
I think I'm all right, given all that's happened to me. [What a question, Tsuruno.] But, at the same time, no. I'm angry about a lot of things, too.
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... Then we're the same, a little.
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You mean that you're angry, too?
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But the things I'm angry at aren't here, so there hasn't really been a point in saying anything about it.
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But it could help to talk about it, though. Or do you not want others to see that side of you?
[Certainly Henry's own reasoning, at least.]
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What a lot of people want to hear... isn't that. I think you do want to hear it, though. To see it from me.
I'm not sure why.
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I like to know what people are hiding. Whether it's on purpose or otherwise.
I think that's the closest thing to seeing someone's true self.
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[Then it's just the default. Everyone hiding their real selves beneath.]
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So, of course:]
I keep a little anger to myself sometimes. But nothing that hides what I am.
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Don't you think it'll make you feel better to be more like... you? Not whatever you present yourself as?
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Do you think this "me" is a lie?
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Not entirely. I just don't think I'm seeing all there is to you, that's all.
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Hopefully that'll be fine.
But for now-]
Well, as much as I hate to admit it, some things take time. Maybe that's just the case with you and I.