001

[candlecutterpikachu]

Who: Mitsutada (candlecutterpikachu) and you!
When: ICly 12/23 - 12/24
Where: ViViD centre, all around Cerealia
What: Dumb chuuni sword doing dumb things. Also, gratuitous amounts of 'cool' sprinkled over everything.
Rating/Warning: None yet, will edit as needed!

---

a; - shiny sword not actually looking for an owner (12/23)

[ Being a sword spirit has its benefits.

Firstly, you get a backup life of sorts. Even if your human form gets wrecked to literal pieces, you will be fine as long as your true form stays intact. Sure, it takes time to regenerate all that spiritual energy, but it is doable. Secondly, you don't age, and can live millennia if the circumstances are right. As long as you aren't broken, of course... which apparently is what had happened for the second time. Because, yknow, his world is supposedly gone. Which he isn't going to think about right now, not only because it means he failed in his purpose a second time, but also because one can't really process things very quickly if they have been reverted back to an inanimate object.

(Of course, he still thinks it's all just some strange dream. Everything that they fought for can't be gone just like this.)

You see, the problem with having a weapon as a true form is that sometimes code retrievers don't quite finish the job. Sure, he passed the introductory ViViD level without difficulty - but that was in his human form, which is ultimately temporary. Which means they didn't render it when it comes to actually letting him out into the colony.

The end result is that a sword has somehow ended up slotted between two cushions on one of the ViViD centre's lounge sofas. An attendant had stared at it inside the terminal for a good few minutes before deciding that the booth should be vacated as soon as possible - thus the sword being chucked out and jammed it into the seats, perhaps under some assumption that its owner would come by to pick it up. But it has been quite some time since it was placed there - if only for the very simple reason that the person in question is the sword itself.

To the untrained eye, the sword is a very well-kept one, polished until it shines with the cold brilliance of steel. To the trained eye, the sword would be quite the work of art, hilt and guard forged in an archaic style perhaps centuries past. And to the spiritually-sensitive eye, it would also carry the ethereal quality of having something possibly superimposed over its form.

Still, it is a very shiny (and expensive) sword. Will you claim it for yourself, or pick it up just to see if it is real? ]


b; - tin cans are not friends (12/23)

[ It took some time - a good amount of time, in fact - but he did eventually learn what had happened. (Or, as he would put it, what they told everyone had happened.) It's still a lot to absorb all at once, especially given that the purpose of his second life is to protect his world from those that were threatening to destroy it - but he supposes its not something he can change immediately. So into the backburner it goes, the thought crumpled up and tossed aside into a metaphorical wastepaper basket for perusal a long, long time later.

With that out of the way, more pressing issues begin to surface. Sure, he had been given money and a room (awfully nice of them, he thinks), but that money isn't going to last forever. The Saniwa never charged them, but this place would - so he needed to earn his keep.

You might find him perusing notices tacked into lampposts and walls, or lingering outside shops to read their displays. If there is a job board setup anywhere, he will be taking down notes with good 'ol pen and paper from the ViViD centre.

If you look mostly human and happen to remain in his vicinity for some amount of time, he would be sliding over before lowering his voice to address you - as how one might have a hushed conversation in the vicinity of a particularly large lion. ]

Hey. Do you know what that is?

[ 'That', being the innocuous-looking cleaning droid puttering away on the nearby pavement. It doesn't look suspicious, but the way he squints subtly seems to suggest otherwise. ]


c; - accidental melon ambushes (12/24)

[ Honestly, it's almost refreshing to start on simple chores like these. He still doesn't want to think about what happened the previous day, and there is work to be done - after catching up with the two Samonjis here, he had fallen back into some semblance of old routine. Cleaning, tidying and cooking, what he has always done for the others - but before he can do the third, he needs to buy ingredients first.

So here he is inside one of the neighborhood supermarkets, inspecting vegetables with the close scrutiny of a kitchen veteran. He keeps up a faint running monologue under his breath, muttering some form of commentary about the things that he comes across. He makes a pass on the not-quite-potatoes and bizarrely coloured spinach, picks a bit at the ten billion varieties of cheese, before ending up in front of a shelf full of fruits.

Rather unfortunately for him, one of the attendant droids seems to have caught on to his voiced thought about melons, and tries to bring one over from a shelf. Except its wheels get caught on one of the displays, and the melon goes flying -

- he draws in a flash, sensing the round projectile as it enters his field of vision - and the fruit is cleanly bisected, both halves sliding along the floor with varying proportions of pulp in tow.

Whoops.

If it isn't already evident by the look of sheer horror rapidly spreading across his face, this is something beyond embarrassing.

It is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, something uncool.

Hopefully the fruit didn't splatter you when it made its landing. Will you: ]

> Leave the guy with the eyepatch be for now while he tries to grapple with his terrible mistake
> Laugh
> Stare
> Demand compensation
> Attempt to steal the bisected melon
> Attempt to steal the shopping basket (why)
> Attempt to steal the sword (WHY)
> ???


d; - choose your own adventure

[ Throw me anything and I'll roll with it! ]

Comments

a;

[failedmurder]

[ For a thief with an eye for treasure, Kay almost sits on the sword before she notices it on the sofa. She doesn't, which is the important thing, and before long she's carefully tugged it out of the cushions to examine. ]

Huh. It looked like a replica, but this is the real deal... Who leaves a sword lying around?

[ Should she take it to Lost and Found? Is there a Lost and Found? Should she just accept that sometimes you find free swords lying around and take it? Hmm.... ]

YO

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Indeed, this sword is the real deal. Forged by the founder of the Osafune school of swordsmiths nearly a millenia ago, destroyed once and reformed again.

The sword doesn't seem to be any different from a normal ('normal') sword when Kay starts examining it... that is, until her fingers eventually brush against the steel of the blade. Assuming she had, like any sensible person, pulled it out by the hilt.

The blade trembles slightly, letting out a faint note as if it had been struck by a tuning fork. There is no further response from the sword until about half a minute later - there is a flash of bright blue-tinted light beside her - ]

Wait! Please don't touch me!

[ - which fades to reveal a man much taller than she is, and much more flustered than she is.

Yes, he just said 'me'. ]

c

[gareki]

[ Gareki just happened to be shopping for some food, too. He needs those vitamins that only fruits and vegetables can give him. He didn't expect to be wearing it. So yeah, he's going to want compensation. Gareki won't even ask.

He takes what he wants.

And the culprit seems to have done most of his shopping already. Gareki's basket is relatively empty aside from some meat that he bought. Now that he feels sticky and gross, the boy doesn't feel like walking around to pick things out himself. Luckily, this sharply-dressed stranger has a basket that seems to be pretty filled up with all of the essentials. Gareki is going to proceed to dump the contents of his own shopping basket into it and picks it up. ]

I'm taking this.

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Luckily for Gareki, Mitsutada spaces out for approximately two more seconds before snapping back to reality, flustered expression now unleashed full-force across his face. ]

Wait...! [ This is possibly the first time he has ever cursed his battlefield reflexes, but that can't be helped right now - the victim of the flyaway melon is now fleeing with his groceries.

Of course, he doesn't quite expect Gareki to actually stop, so he takes off after the man.

Except it then occurs to him that he doesn't actually have anything prepared to say to this fellow. God, this is so uncool.

NOTHING IS GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN WHY THIS. ]

b

[meridione]

[SUDDEN CONVERSATIONS. Romana is still trying to get her bearings in this place herself, so she does hang around long enough for Mitsutada to shuffle on over. Being easily intimidated, though, she can't help but squeak and jerk back a little when he speaks up... But, thankfully for the eardrums of everyone on the street, she isn't startled enough to shriek. Small blessings.

She slowly looks to the little cleaner droid, then back to him.]

It's. Uh. [It looks like something out of a shitty sci-fi novel, but she's not going to say that.] Some kind of a robot... I think.

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ The sudden jerk doesn't escape him, and he makes a mental note to speak softer to this lady. He doesn't want to intimidate people unnecessarily, after all... though her answer quickly resolves his expression into a thoughtful frown. ]

A robot? So it is not a human?

[ Please pardon this guy from Ye Olde Japan. He doesn't know about this technology thing. ]

c;

[masakados]

[> applauds with an impressed expression

Because as you do. Not even minding the embarrassed feelings that this guy (??? he also feels like Kousetsu does, in the non-human sense of it, interesting) might be giving off, because emotion sensing. Naoki's toting a basket with various ingredients in it, preparing for some baking tomorrow, but he didn't expect a display like this with grocery shopping. What an interesting day.

And he was even thankfully missed by melon parts.]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ That certainly is something he hasn't been expecting. Applause? For him? Could it actually be genuine, and not cynical, as one would applaud a magnificent screwup?

His one-eyed gaze falls onto Naoki, and he manages to subtly rearrange his flustered expression into something less constipated. ]

Uh, hey. [ no that came out weird, quickly change subject ] None of that got on you, did it?

[ He's already cringing at what he'd need to clean it up... not that it's tough for a housewife experienced sword like him, but it is totally embarrassing. ]

c

[dragonseyes]

[Accidents happen or so Shin-Ah is led to believe. This truly was a magnificent accident to watch, the robot trying to be helpful and the stranger reacting as if someone had throw weaponry at him.

As the poor, innocent watermelon goes splat on the floor, a chunk breaks off and merrily rolls closer to Shin-Ah's feet. He stares at it for a moment before bending down and picking it up as well as the melon part it escaped from.

He's about to offer the mess that is the melon to Mitsutada but it seems the squirrel hidden in his fur piece has other plans. Happily, Ao climbs along Shin-Ah's arm and sinks her teeth into the fleshy part of the melon.

...Well then. There goes any hope left for that melon.]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Mitsutada's one-eyed gaze follows one half of the melon in its tragically beautiful parabola, landing some distance away from the dairy cooler - and it stays there for a few made seconds while he contemplates the sheer horror of what he had just done. And then the snick of Ao's teeth in the now pin-drop silence derails that particular train of thought, shoving it roughly down another set of tracks to the destinations of (in chronological order:)

1. Oh, it's a squirrel eating a melon.
2. It's a squirrel eating that melon.
3. SHIT ITS A SQUIRREL EATING THAT MELON.

and lastly,

4. oh god why. ]

Uh... [ no this is bad quickly say something less uncool ] ... I'm sorry. Did any of that get on you?

A

[oneirism]

[While the sight of a sword just being stuck in a sofa is pretty odd, Lapis ends up wandering over to it because of what she can sense from it. Her sixth-sense is pretty damn powerful, so she can only just... squint at it for a moment, having crouched down a bit by the sofa to get a look. It's a very nice sword, but there's just something about it...

It's after a few moments of slowly increasing squinting that Lapis realizes that whatever this is she's sensing, it's confusing. So she stands up straight, her fingers brushing against the steel curiously to see if anything happens, before she reaches to pull it out from the sofa to get a closer look. At least she makes sure she's careful about it.]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ It is good that Lapis is careful while handling the sword, for it alarms the spirit inhabiting it much less. The polished steel almost shivers a little under her touch, and when she takes it out of the sofa it emits a soft tone as if struck by a tuning fork.

The spirit himself doesn't appear immediately, though - in his reverted state, it takes him a while to realize that he is being handled by someone who definitely isn't his Saniwa. While he isn't awake enough to put two and two together, it is enough to prompt him to emerge from his true form.

A soft bloom of light appears beside Lapis, fading to reveal a sharply-dressed tsukumogami. He doesn't seem offended, only slightly confused - and bemused as he motions to his true form in her hands. ]

Lady? Could I have that?

[ He'd like his body back, thank you. ]

a

[arcanaofdeath]

[If there is one person who tends to poke his nose into places it might no belong, it's Pharos. Up and about and exploring places, it seems like today is a good day to stumble upon lost things.

Or treasured swords.

It's as if his eye is drawn towards the sword, carelessly placed between two cushions as it is. There is something about it he can't place his finger on but something like that as to have an owner. ...Maybe a new arrival left their sword behind by accident? If so, returning it to its owner would be prudent.

Curiously, Pharos approaches and reaches out to touch the sword.]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ The surface of the sword is cool to the touch - but not cold enough as to be uncomfortable. It certainly feels like a normal sword - but the spirit within it has already sensed Pharos' approach. And this isn't a human, but a different spirit - what would another ethereal being be doing here?

His mind might have been slowed by reversion, but the thought is still enough to prompt him to emerge. A soft hum comes from the sword, as if someone had struck it with a very small mallet, and a circle of light appears a little to Pharos' side.

Mitsutada steps out, his expression relaxed and tinged with only a little confusion. Oh, some kid is playing with his sword. ]

Hey, could I have that back?

a!

[idealistic]

[ holy shit. holy shit.

that is one nice-looking sword. even with his limited knowledge, it looks like something that was made by the people of Mizuho-- very well-made, especially. even without looking at the blade, he can tell the quality is superb and it leave Lloyd appalled that someone would just leave their sword here like this.

the only thing that disappoints him is that there aren't two of these. ]

Did someone leave this? [ he considers taking it to a lost-and-found, but… it wouldn't hurt to at least look at it first, right? ]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ The sword doesn't react visibly to Lloyd's presence, but if he stays very close to it for a while he would be able to hear a very faint hum coming from its blade, as if it had been struck by a tuning fork.

The spirit inhabiting it has reverted, this not being very aware of his surroundings - but even then, he is able to sense humans in proximity. Very close proximity.

It hasn't occurred to him yet that he is somewhere that he shouldn't be. ]

c;

[topscores]

[Nice does stare for a little bit, and he puts his hands in his pockets as he sidesteps the melon pulp. He wasn't just going to let himself get that stuff all over him...]

I don't really think melons are that life threatening.

[Thank you for the commentary nobody asked for, Nice.]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ No shit, Sherlock Nice. But that statement certainly is enough to snap Mitsutada out of his reverie of INTENSE HORROR - because it is true that melons aren't life-threatening, and he did just slice one to pieces. ]

I thought it was a bomb...! [ Which would have made more sense if Nice knew the context - the tachi spent pretty much his entire second life fighting demons with portable troops, which included musketeers, archers, and yes - artillery. Tough luck when something similarly spherical comes your way...

He sighs, unnaturally deeply, before scratching his head a little. Though it's more of a symbolic gesture than anything else - he isn't going to mess up any more than he already did. ]

Did any of it get on you?

a; let's get it on, eon

[birthmarkless]

[ As another person who's lost about how in the world this whole event could have happened, Ookurikara seems to be coping very well. In a way, he gets what he want: Freedom. He's a free soul now. In the cost of his friends. Which somehow doesn't balance out too well.

But he was never one to dwell on the past. What's done is done. He's alive, and some of his 'friends' are probably dead. Although Ookurikara is actually a bit grateful at... whatever gods existed in this place that a good amount of the talking swords are alive and kickin' around. Their bonds, the memories... No matter how much he wanted to refuse them, they're important for Ookurikara.

Well, on the other hand, that means that he should mentally prepared himself for loads of stupidities those people have in their minds. ]

...

[ ...And unsurprisingly, he finds a very certain, familiar sword sticking himself in a place where other could've use for a good rest. There's in, no way in hell, he can ever not notice him, after all. It's definitely Mitsutada. Or his replica. Either way works well for him.

With him (assuming that this one is that candle cutter Mitsutada) , of course he doesn't need to say anything. Ookurikara crosses his arms for a good one minute, before he pulls his own sword out of its sheath on his hip, obviously gives little to no shit for other people around who are totally creeped out by Ookurikara's sudden action. Moving his legs slightly, the tachi then enters his stance as he watches over the sword on the cushion.

Mitsutada have ten-- No, five seconds to materialize back into human forms before Ookurikara destroy the sword for good. Here's hoping that this is the real Mitsutada because if it's a fake/replica, Ookurikara's going to enjoy destroying it to the smallest piece because no one- NO ONE is allowed to put his bro in a spot like this. Even if it's just a replica, he deserves to be put somewhere more deserving. ]

MY KOKORO

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Honestly, Mitsutada had thought it was all a dream. And since he always sleeps in sword form, he just went on sleeping - though with one eye open, metaphorically speaking. While he couldn't use any human senses while reverted, he did have his spirit sense turned half-on. Which means he does sense Ookurikara approach - his best friend's soul signature is all too familiar to him, something that he could recognize in a heartbeat. And it is enough to rouse him, because Ookurikara never voluntarily came to him at night unless it was something urgent. Did the Citadel get ambushed? Set on fire? Whatever it was, he needed to wake up and assess the situation.

A circle of light appears beside Ookurikara, flaring blue almost lazily before it fades to reveal Mitsutada. He rubs his eye blearily before stretching, not quite awake yet. ]

Kuri-kun? Why're you here?

[ And then his one-eyed vision actually clears, and he realizes about ten things that are wrong all at noce.

This isn't the Citadel. It's some strange place filled with sofas and other folks that he absolutely doesn't recognize, not by appearance nor by spirit sense - and then he remembers, remembers running through ViViD slashing demon swords to pieces, wrestling with a kebiishi, and then that one fucking powerpoint which said that everything he ever fought for was now gone and completely in pieces.

What the hell. ]

Hang on...

[ His golden gaze darts around the lounge, taking everything in. While he is experienced enough to not look too shocked, Ookurikara would already be able to tell what is roughly running through his mind right now. The tachi frowns, sucking in a breath. It's... honestly, a bit too much to think about right now. His bro is here, which makes everything tons better; but the fact - no, the possibility - that their world was just destroyed -

- it can't be. Everything - it just can't be gone like this. They didn't even have a chance to fight back. This wasn't how it was supposed to go...!

Just... excuse your buddy here for a moment while he tries to put everything together without having some sort of mental breakdown. ]

C

[littlestbaskerville]

[Going to the store was something she's learned she has to do here. Back home she would let Lottie, Doug or Fang get her food, but here so wants to do some on her own. So as she's looking at the fruit, most of it looks yummy, she notices the eye patched man. He looks new.

Not paying much mind to him she grabs an apple until she hears the sound of something hitting a stand. The moment she looks she closes her eyes as pulp splatters over her face and clothes. This is her luck...

Opening her eyes and blinking she tries to rub the melon off of her face.]

Hey!

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Oh, it's a bitty. Shit.

Seeing a girl get smacked in the face because of his mistake just makes him feel worse. Little kids shouldn't be subjected to these traumatic displays of uncool fuckups... and her clothes are quite detailed, too. He's cringing at the amount of washing that would need to get things clean. ]

Gods, I'm so sorry! [ He quickly sheathes his blade - never mind the melon debris, he can clean that later the kid is more important - retrieving a handkerchief from his pocket and rushing over. Though he knows it's impolite to touch someone without their permission, so he just half-offers it to the girl. If she doesn't take it, he could do it for her instead. ]

b;

[heiwana]

[ On his way to his own designated workplace Mitsutada will run into Kousetsu at some point. It was strange to think that even more of his comrades were arriving here. He wasn't the most sociable back in the Citadel but he would try and help out the others as much as he was able to. The peaceful air about him is undeniable and Kousetsu's own head tilts a little when the question pops up. Ah, yes, the droids or...robots as he's been told they were called. ]

They are...not dangerous. [ At least not these ones. ] It is a...robot, from what I have learned here.

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Well, at least he knows what they're called now. Being able to put a name to these things certainly helps. ]

I see. Robots, huh... [ He rolls the word around his tongue, feeling the shape of the syllables. They're a bit too rough for his liking, but maybe it's just his bias against the actual objects at work.

And because this is Kousetsu, he'll add on after a pause: ]

Don't you find them a bit... weird? They have no soul.

a

[sheathwife]

[ Ending up in this world reminded Horikawa of the time he was separated from the comfort of familiar, peaceful walls; of the time that he was taken by the Allied Forces. After serving his time for Hijikata Toshizo, he once thought his purpose was completed right then and there. He was fine with being taken away from Hijikata's residence at that time. But the situation changed... Thousands of years later, Horikawa is simply one of the many ancient swords brought back to life and given another purpose.

So, why did he find himself here all of a sudden? Did they possibly fail? That... couldn't be, right? The memories he held prior to arriving here didn't match the circumstances from Atsukashiyama nor from Kyoto. They've won those battles, so they should have been able to continue fighting. Yet what has he found out in this strange place, he's been fed incomprehensible information that basically informed them of their destroyed world. It just didn't fit. It didn't make any sense. Despite this whirlpool of questions, he chooses to remain calm.

After all, the answers will come sooner or later. He's confident of his scouting abilities to be able to secure these answers... So he's decided to treat arriving here in Cerealia as another detour. It won't be the first time that these swords experienced turning the wrong way, after all! It'll be fine...

It'll be fine, Horikawa tells himself within his mind as he smiles with his usual calm. But he is momentarily surprised after noticing a sight that he didn't think he'll encounter so soon. His smile grows more warmly, quick on his feet to hurry forward and pick up a familiar comrade. He could almost embrace him... Mitsutada! ]

You... You're here, after all.

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Mitsutada had been resting in his sword form. The whole ViViD journey and the powerpoint presentation that ensued were so outlandish to him that he's just... shut the whole process down and ever so casually tossed it under the carpet. He'll deal with all those claims and complications later, when he's had enough evidence to unfold like a map and plan his route.

The sword in Horikawa's hand emits a single, clear note, as the spirit inhabiting it rouses himself. While he isn't as familiar with the wakizashi's signature as he was with some of the other swords, it is enough to tell him that he is probably Needed and should report to duty. Wherever this duty will take him. At least, now he knows that one of his comrades is safe here.

It takes a short while, but eventually the tachi appears beside Horikawa in a fountain of blue light, stretching ever so slightly as he settles himself into his usual relaxed countenance. ]

Hey, Hori-kun. [ Still smiling, cheerful as ever. Nothing out of place to see here. ] How're you doing?

c!

[uchinoke]

[ You certainly are starting your time off here right, aren't you Mitsutada?

Though it had taken some time for Mikazuki himself to get adjusted to his new and current surroundings, he never found the need to use his weapon just yet- or at least in the way he happened to witness just now. The sight came as a shock at first, noticing the sword wandering around in the distance gave way to a small sense of relief in the older sword.

From what he had been told of his home world there had been some doubt in his mind as to the whereabouts of the others, yet from this one simple sight he could quickly come to terms with a thought he held dear in his mind. That the others were safe and sound just as he were. And yet, when he chose to approach the other sword, he was stopped momentarily by the swift cut of the melon slicing in two... and right in front of him.

Oh my. ]

Aaaaah... as sharp as ever, I see. Though I have to wonder how threatening that fruit may have been.

[ So much for a proper greeting, but Mikazuki was now far too amused to say anything but. Really, the other had not changed at all... ]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Oh, it's jiji. Well.

He's just going to let that pun (whether intentional or unintentional) slide (like the melon across the floor), instead trying his hardest to arrange his expression into something suitable. Rather unfortunately there is a short tug-of-war between relief, embarrassment and horror, which results in a rather constipated-looking mix of the three before he settles on letting the first one dominate. ]

Mikazuki-san. [ Just... excuse him for a moment here. ] - sorry about that. [ YOU SAW NOTHING ] Did any of that get on you?

B

[manolia]

[Instead of getting someone similarly suspicious of the cleaning droid, Mitsutada gets an incurably curious guy who loves robots like his sons. Er, the sons of civilization. All of them.]

[Chibi follows the other man's line of sight to the cleaning droid, which is circling quietly a bit away. Aw, he's working away! Chibi cracks a little grin.]

Looks like a robot... Cute little guy, too. [He slinks a little closer, then gets on one knee to level himself with the cleaning droid. His cloak billows around his legs with the movement.] I don't know what he's doing over there, but he doesn't look too smart.

[Now, if the robot were smart...! That'd be a conversation about slave labor in the making...]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ He... actually likes the thing? The thing is a he? Wait a minute...

Mitsutada's slight frown deepens into a thoughtful one, his golden gaze darting to the robot before returning to Chibi's face. And the other is willing to even get so close to it... hmm... ]

Robot, huh... [ Still a bit weird. ] So, he's not a human? Or an animal?

C

[newtimes]

( Fortunately, the fruit did not splatter on him but unfortunately for our one eyed sword friend, he'd caused quite the scene. And now all of China the supermarket knows how uncool you are. It probably doesn't help that a certain someone has to make an even bigger scene out of it, )

BWA HA HA HA!

( Mutsu, calm down... but no, he can't help it. He finds a familiar face and this is the state he finds him in? It's too good. )

Melonslasher Mitsutada... I like it!

( You see? He's so funny. So funny. )

[candlecutterpikachu]

Argh!

[ As if this isn't bad enough already - ] Goddamnit, Mutsu! [ Though this second statement is only muttered to himself, not wanting to offend the other. ] And it's candlestickslasher, got it?

[ A lot of his anger and/or frustration quickly simmers down, though - it truly is his fault, and he accepts that fact. He messed up, time to pay for the consequences...

... though if Mutsu is already here; ] C'mon, give me a hand.

[ He might still sound grumpy, but he's already starting to smile - because even if this is one of the most magnificent fuckups he's made in quite a few centuries, this is one of his friends laughing at him. And he wouldn't pick anyone else, and definitely not a stranger, to do that.

At least, he now knows that Mutsu is safe. ]

c!

[adornmental]

[In the distance, a surely familiar-sounding:]

UWAH—?!

[where did he even come from... why is he even here..... WHO KNOWS. Busy being fascinated by the ten thousand different types of cereal they have in Cerealia, maybe? His hyperfocus would explain how he managed to get hit at all, at least.

Either way, it sure is Kashuu and he sure is looking down in horror at the gross, pulpy mess that is now decorating the side of his shirt. He just bought this shirt. He just bought this shirt (using his points and his arrival time for the important things, clearly) and now he can already feel melon juice seeping through and he's gonna get sticky and what if there are WINTER BEES out and about or something?? They'll find him and try to feast on his melonclothing and HE'LL DIE.

It's like he's trying to convey all of this when he looks up, honing in on Mitsutada immediately with a stare of betrayal.]

I LOVE THAT ICON

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ It certainly is familiar-sounding. Almost too-familiar sounding, in fact. It's Kashuu... and everyone in the Citadel knows exactly how much appearances mean to that sword. And that certainly is a spreading stain on that new shirt... well. How did he manage to upset about five people in a row? This is a question he will have to ponder at a later date. One, because it's starting to feel like some sort of karmic retribution, but also because Kashuu is coming, and that certainly is not a face of mercy.

Sigh. ]

I'm sorry! [ He really is, okay? If his expression isn't enough to tell Kashuu that, he'll try to explain himself - ] It looked like artillery!

[ YKNOW, THE SORT THAT COMES RAINING DOWN ON YOU IN WORLDS 3 TO 5. YEAH, THOSE THINGS. PERFECTLY REASONABLE FOR A SWORD TO SLICE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT CRACK HIS SKULL OPEN.]

- I'll fix your shirt, definitely. [ That's what matters most to Kashuu, right??? ]

a.

[dragonizing]

[ ... hm. so, of course, the rest of this place is as foreign as it gets. all this talk of world destruction, code, things that were, admittedly, hard to get his head around at first (not even counting how completely unbelievable it sounded). getting knocked down without so much as a fight that he remembers... not likely.

so, masamune takes to figuring out the place on his own. even without the in-depth looking around, it's pretty clear that nothing here was like what he was used to.

the fact that a sword stabbed into the couch cushions is the most familiar thing here is just a hint at just how questionable the entire thing was, and when catching sight of that in the vivid centre is more than enough to give him a moment's pause.

it's not the fact that it's a sword in a sea of technology that gets him. rather, it's the fact that it's this particular sword, one he knows quite well. his hands move to kagehide at his waist--all six of his swords, resting on one before he moves forward to stop in front of the sofa. ]

Shokudaikiri Mitsutada ... The hell is this doing here?

[ is what he finally says. a fake, maybe? perhaps not. if a sword stabbed into the cushions is weird, then a guy decked out in full armor putting his hand around the hilt and aiming to pull out that sword like some weird college party rendition of excalibur is probably even weirder.

but, well, can't leave one of the dragon's fangs laying around, can he? ]

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ There are only a few things that can rouse Mitsutada from lightly asleep to fullly awake in about less than three seconds. Quite a few of them involved other swords coming to his room and banging on the door, or otherwise trying to poke his true form in a measure of conveying definite urgency. Some others are tied to the basal self-preservation instincts of any sword, such as reacting to fire, ice, or lightning. But this last method, a method that he had never experienced in close to about six centuries, is the one that gets him this time.

Because not only is someone holding him, it's someone so very familiar. Too familiar, almost - because it is someone whom he has not seen for a very, very long time. Someone who was supposed to be dead.

The tachi manifests in a bright burst of blue light, golden gaze focused with equal parts nervousness and excitement. He even reaches up to adjust his tie just a little, for the sake of presentation -

- it's him.

Well, sort of, anyway - because while he does admit that his memory has dulled just ever so slightly in the centuries past, Masamune seems to have... changed. He can't quite put his finger to it, but there is just something a little different this time. It's probably a small detail that he missed by way of his eagerness, but it is enough to unbalance him, like that pea on the metaphorical mattress. (Or however that human legend went.)

But it still is Masamune, so he will offer the human a greeting that befits that status. ]

Master! I'm here now.

a; rip eon's inbox

[shoutai]

[Are we doomed to only have CR in which the number of eyes between our characters only equals two—

Well, either way, like Mitsutada, Takasugi is new. That's about the only reason he's still here, actually. He's more than ready to be on his way, to get out of this place and do something slightly more relevant than play video games, but the sight of the lone sword catches his attention. He has his own sword at his side, of course, and even though it's a sword that shouldn't exist (not in one piece, anyway), he really has no interest in just picking up another and taking it home. But it's a curious sight, so he makes his way over after a moment, once it's clear that no one else is going to claim it, and reaches out to pluck it from the couch. Surely there must be a reason that it was left behind...

He cares more about that than making sure it gets back to its owner, honestly.]

RIP INDEED....

[candlecutterpikachu]

[ Clearly, it's just karma. Because one-eyed dudes are always cool. (Okay, only in CCP's dreams.)

The sword doesn't seem to budge from the couch, for some reason - but it does disengage from the couch after a few tugs, trembling just a little more than it should have been from the force.

Hopefully you're prepared, Takasugi, because about ten seconds later it's going to happen again (or earlier than that, if your hand happens to touch the blade), accompanied by a faint ting as if someone had just struck the sword with a tiny wooden mallet.

This might be a sign that you should put the sword down. ]