[ She turns from him then, abruptly, wounded in a way she would be hard pressed to describe. Maybe it's Ino's name... maybe it's the memory of discovering Riku was dating someone in the midst of her grief over Luke's looming death. Maybe its the strange implicit threat.

But she's still not used to the gravity, and her sudden movement puts her off balance. She falls to her knees with an oof of breath, legs out to her sides. She just sits there for a moment. ]

... have you ever been controlled by someone, Masaomi? Do you know what it's really like to be someone's puppet? To have someone... always pulling your strings? [ She bows her head. She's looking at her hands as she talks, thinking of a predatory smile and orange-gold eyes. There is nothing accusatory to her tone; only something muted and strange and unhappy. ]

I do. Before I got to Luceti, that's all I was... a puppet. A weapon. Trash... I couldn't even do what they made-- what they wanted me to do.

[ Her voice turns a little sharp, only because of her hurt. ]

Luke doesn't own me. I'll never be his possession. He respects me... he would never treat me like that. He makes me happy. You still haven't told me why you said that.