"I don't believe that is so," Shin responds. "To Samurai, true purity of the soul is based more on the motive behind your actions. What pollutes our inner purity is selfishness, bitterness hatred and greed. Cleanse yourself of these emotions and you can become spiritually pure."

"From our brief conversation you don't come across as selfish or filled with hatred." Shintaro didn't sense Tully was filled with hatred, fear was more likely. He didn't feel she knew her place in the world and preferred avoidance over finding the inner strength to stand against those of lesser status but aggressive demeanor.

The topic of how his beliefs dealt with killing another person was both simple and complex. There were plenty of samurai he had seen or heard about how killed without reason, either unwilling or unable to master themselves to avoid needless bloodshed. The time of chaos before the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate he had killed many rebels and even a traitor to the Shinsengumi. He had enjoyed taking life but he never lost control of himself to the point he killed without honour.

"Killing as part of one's duty is honourable and accepted," he responded honestly. "As a samurai and member of the Shinsengumi, killing law breakers, ruffians and rebels was accepted, even expected. If peasants or other lower class members killed, it almost always would be considered a crime depending on the situation."

Tully considered his words for a moment, then frowned.  "Ya mean just because I ain't some fancy name, I can't hurt someone who's tryin' ta hurt Frances?"  She looked up at Shin.  "She's blind, an' so frail...he busted her ribs, put a hole in her lung...she almost died."  Sighing, Tully shrugged.  "He would's killed her, an' me, too.  I'd do it again, even if it meant goin' ta Hell."

There was no way she could have lived with herself if that man had killed Frances.  It was bad enough that he'd terrified her and harmed her, and Tully was still trying to reconcile with that.

"Was my fault," she murmured quietly.  "Thought it was th' church in th' fog, an' I just wanted ta get away from him.  But it was th' Women's shelter..."  The circumstances had been out of her control, but the one thing she could control was fighting back.  "But I don't regret none what I did.  Don't see as that was wrong."  She shrugged again.  "Maybe I'm one'a them Shinsgumi, too?"