( for a moment, her expression doesn't change—she knows it was an unfair question, because she's had a similar one given to her before. in a different context, with a different situation... and that had been her first real fight with someone she considered a friend.

junpei is not a friend, and this isn't a fight. it shifts thoughtfully, and she sips tea from her big duck energy mug. when she lowers it, it's back to placid neutrality. )

...It was wrong of me to pose a question like that to you. My apologies. ( saying sorry is becoming easier and easier these days, with so much to apologize for. ) Maybe if we're all allowed one good punch, we'll find the determination to move forward and not turn away from our circumstances, whatever those might be back in our worlds.

( ...even she knows she can't run from it. everyone has to know that, too. dead or alive, the only way is forward. )