[Ashitaka has certainly gotten that sense from the man over the weeks and months, that he wrapped himself up in the ideal of what he was now, very rarely sharing with anyone what lie beneath that thin veil. It's not really his intention to pry; he is curious, but he knows as well or perhaps slightly better than most that it is difficult to speak of certain personal matters to others. For him, it was because the wound was fresh, the guilt still slowly settling in to a phantom pain that would be recorded in the body for the rest of its life. He has to assume for the soldier that it was because such matters had settled in long ago, like a sediment at the bottom of a pond, and disturbing them would only muddy the waters for an uncomfortably long period of time.

Ashitaka nods, his mien understanding.

After a moment's thought:] It is not a weakness.

[It's not as though he feels as though he's teaching him anything, or even sharing something he hasn't either thought of before or heard elsewhere. But it's a sentiment which suddenly beset itself upon him.] You have fought in many wars. [It's not really a question; it's obvious enough.] It is important to remember what exists beyond them, whether you can return to it or not.

[It's more difficult to remember and to keep this mind, often to the point of it being painful, but Ashitaka hasn't allowed himself to compartmentalize. What is easier is often more dangerous in the long run, he believes; you ran the risk of missing the whole picture, allowing yourself to make choices you might otherwise have second-guessed.]