estoria | ain't no party like a kumou party

Entry tags:

ain't no party like a kumou party

Who: the residents of the Cloudy Apartment (aka Tenka & Sousei & Soramaru & Nishiki & whoever else they might pick up....)
When: varies
Where: the best apartment Ever
What: Home is where the chaos is.
Rating/Warning: none at the moment!

[In this nifty little space, I'm going to mention that Sousei and Tenka used the HOLO(gm) to make the entire apartment look closer to the shrine, complete with sliding screen doors and tatami mats. They tossed all of the chairs out the window and proceeded to get really low tables and cushions so that they could sit around as they normally do.

The kitchen is the only modern-looking part of the apartment because they realized that as much as they fail at cooking, what they have is already better than the kitchen of the shrine. They also bought a rice cooker because that's pretty important.

For now, everyone has their own room. Subject to change if this family gets bigger or they decide to knock down a wall to the next apartment over. Who knows, maybe that'll happen on accident.

Lastly, they kept the couch. Because Tenka liked it and he still claims to be The Rule.]

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[Sousei is quiet for a moment, picking up that cup of tea and just reveling in the warmth that seeps through his fingers. It's a settling feeling. He'd never been afraid of dying, but dying like that-- (with all of the regret of killing his--no, her most important person even before the moment of inevitable death)--

It was not good, that's for sure.

He's quiet, and then he takes another slow breath and is as blunt and straightforward as ever.]

It was not my memory, but nonetheless I experienced it. [He suspects that if Tenka experienced sone thing similar, there will be recognition.]

Are you familiar with a Pekoyama Peko?

Edited 2015-03-10 20:01 (UTC)

Peko-chan.

[That would be a yes.

Except Tenka had called her brave, once. He'd said that she was strong and he respected her. But the reason for that is because she had experienced a game of murder before, young as she was. He didn't get details and yet-

It's not hard to imagine what could've made Sousei sick.

So he's reaching out to hold onto Sousei's wrist then, a loose hold and yet one that gives him some form of connection to his partner.]

Are you sure you're okay?

[... he feels bad, in a way. This is her memory. He shouldn't be prying into her personal life like this. And he doesn't want to spread all of the details around, and he thinks Tenka will understand, like that. Because it's not their right to know this information--they did not ask her.

But he has to explain enough, too.]

I don't...wish to share much that was of a personal nature to her. I should not know it myself. [but he does, and maybe that means...she knows something about him too.]

There was...an execution. Her execution, presumably. Following a trial, which found her as the guilty party in a murder. [... he looks blankly at Tenka's hand on his wrist, and then sets his tea down to use that hand to push his hair behind his shoulders, out of his face.]

[For a second, Tenka's grip on Sousei's wrist tightens as he tenses - the concern for Peko showing clearly on his face. He's always been the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. Then he immediately pulls his hand back and digs his fingers into his palm instead, opting for not gripping onto Sousei so tightly that it might hurt him.]

... then she--

[He cuts himself off though.

Because he understands. This is Peko's information. If something happened to her, then he'll ask her himself - or rather, he'll likely check up on her. For now, he just shakes his head slowly and repeats his question, because he can't help but notice that Sousei didn't answer:]

Are you sure you're okay?

[Tenka knows what it's like to die, after all.]

[Tenka cuts himself off, and Sousei is relieved he doesn't have to answer. He'd never keep anything from his partner, that was their agreement--but this isn't his, and isn't about him. It's Pekoyama's life and her memory and she confessed to the murder, but he doesn't want to say it.

It is her story to tell, not his.

Instead, he looks at Tenka, only a slight weariness visible on his face, and nods. There's really only one acceptable answer to that question.]

I am fine. It was...simply startling.

[That's a nice way to put being chopped and stabbed to bits.]

[ . . . . . ]

Mild as always.

[Though he says it wryly-

He's concerned. No matter how you look at it, there is a sort of mental taxation that comes with literally feeling death coming for you. Tenka doesn't think it'd be too much to assume that would apply to everyone, not just him.

The moment when he felt the ground fall out from under him is still all too familiar.]

If you're sure. Tell me if you change your mind.

[He's always been the type to shove his ideals and ideas at Sousei one after another - but he tries to stay away from telling Sousei how to feel. If he really is fine... then Tenka will leave it alone. He trusts his partner to tell him.]

[There are a few things holding him back. For one, he is not sure if sharing the details of her execution is...right. There are a lot of privacy concerns here that are simply...so very complicated. It isn't as though Tenka would spread them either (he's very good at keeping secrets, Sousei knows, no matter what everyone else thinks) and yet...

Well, for another, he's also not entirely sure how he feels. He always knew that there was a chance of death in his line of work, and if it came for him, it'd be by Orochi or sword or gun.

This one was by sword. So why was it so unsettling...? (Maybe it was because she had been a puppet on strings, and the thought of dying while dancing to someone else's tune is intolerable to him.)

He breathes out slowly.]

What did you see?

[He suspects that it wasn't just him, and-- and he'll tell Tenka if he changes his mind, but for now, he's going to change the subject.]

[ . . . . hah. He watches carefully and then shakes his head. Okay. Fine. Perhaps Sousei just needs more time to deal with that. Tenka wouldn't be surprised, it's not like he's actually addressed his own death and how it felt - not even when he was a ghost and essentially felt the consequences of death without dying again.

As for what he saw, he smiles sadly.]

The Orochi, oddly enough.

[ . . . . and his shoulders slump a bit, because even in his dreams, he can't run. Even when Sousei sees something that belongs to someone else, here's Tenka looking right back at his own family history.]

I think I saw the incident through Kagemitsu-san's eyes... back at the beginning of my clan.

[He lightly pulls on the sleeve of his robe, pulling the cloth tighter around him.]

It was Kiiko's ancestor that time. He, Kagemitsu-san, and Botan-sensei -- they were a family too.

[So why? Why was there an ailing soul among them? Why did the Orochi pick on their little town of happy people to draw a vessel from?

Why was it so hard to find happiness?]

[Kagemitsu's...? He wasn't expecting that at all. Sousei blinks for a brief moment, the only surprise that he shows. The Orochi...that would have been 600 years ago, wouldn't it? It came in cycles of 300, and that... would have been when Botan had sealed it away.

When the Abe family had "lost their familiar". But she had been there all along, striving to remove the Orochi. He'd never considered that maybe, it was something personal to her too.]

... I see. [A shikigami with a family....he doesn't see why not, really. But the cogs are turning, and he's thinking. Hirari-- Abe no Hirari--was in love with her. He was there, as well, because Kagemitsu knew him. The Abe family...

Hirari would have been bait, just as he'd learned before. His eyes narrow slightly in disgust. The Abe family... the Orochi... what difference was it, really?]

Then that was when Botan sealed the Orochi away.

Think so. She had to perform a ritual but it took a long time, so Kagemitsu-san acted as her shield. [ . . . . . he hums thoughtfully, reflecting on it a bit more. Botan had come to him saying that she was indebted to the Kumou, after all. Everything's slowly piecing itself together.] That's why she agreed to help me find a way to separate the Orochi from the vessel.

[Makes sense to him.

He drums his fingers on the table for a moment, trying to pick apart what should be said next. It's working to him right now as a relay of information. It's something that they're both curious about, after all - their own history. He'll check in with Kagemitsu a bit later but for now....]

.... You know, even as the Orochi, the vessel retains some consciousness. Not a lot but--

[ . . . . . ]

It's truly an evil spirit.

[... That rings true. Ashiya had mentioned something along those lines--Botan referring to the Kumou as her shield, and their family line as something she wanted to protect. Hm... it all comes together so neatly, knowing all of this.

Sousei sips his tea, stomach properly settled now that they're discussing this instead.]

It is. [The Orochi has always been evil, and cruel, and terrible.

The vessel has never been at fault. He thinks of Soramaru, and hesitates. And--]

...They do not always. On occasion, they retain some consciousness. Other times, they do not remember a thing from when the Orochi takes over.

[... he's been doing some research too, and he heard it straight from Soramaru's mouth as well. But...retaining consciousness....]

... That would be difficult.

[ . . . . . Tenka's gaze shifts down to the table again. Even when it was called Oumi, their town was loved. The Sasaki family had a lost of fondness for the land too, yet Tenka doesn't feel like that's something of his to share. He'll tell Sousei all the general facts about the Orochi but-

Those feelings, they're too personal to be given out. Tenka already feels like he's intruding. So his hand around his cup tightens for a moment before he takes a sip.

Instead of giving someone else's emotions, he explains on his own side-]

It's painful. I've blacked out before and when I woke up, I found out that I hurt a lot of people.

[So much so that he needed to be chained to the wall - yet that's something he doesn't think Sousei needs to know. It would be needlessly cruel to mention.]

When I'm awake enough, I can normally stop myself - but I can't imagine being awake and not stopping.

[Perhaps it was his willpower. It's something Sousei thinks but does not say. Perhaps Sasaki's ancestor had given up, and that was why he was unable to do a thing despite retaining his consciousness.

Or perhaps there was really nothing.

It's impossible to say, at this point. Soramaru, too--he blacked out, and he... killed people, and nearly killed Takamine, and Sousei's expression tightens.]

Neither option is good. [blacking out and hurting someone, being awake and hurting someone--it's only going to lead to pain further down the road either way.]

That is why we will destroy the Orochi for good.

[Which is when Tenka just snorts-]

Yeah, that stolen sword of yours ought to be good for something.

[oh my god can you just--

But he just scoffs at that. The sword is in his room, as it always is when he's asleep, so it isn't at his side BUT HE SURE IS TIRED OF THIS TOPIC.]

I have been accused of stealing my sword by three separate people now.

Like I said, you might just look like a thief.

Perhaps Kumou are simply quick to jump to conclusions.

[since it was tenka and kagemitsu.......

and then hirari but. Hirari.]

The other was Abe no Hirari, and considering the sword is also somehow in his possession, it is understandable.

You could also look like a thief. We may never know until someone else accuses you of stealing something.

[TENKA????

ah well, he's shaking his head at that.]

Even now, it's weird to think of him as an Abe.

[TENKA??????

Sousei just stares at him for a long, long moment, and then shakes his head, dismissing that topic. STUPID.

... ahem. Hirari....]

... His attitude makes more sense to me knowing that. He is not my ancestor, because he is not properly of the Abe family. He would have been adopted into it.

[for the sole sake of being orochi bait...delightful.]

[Now he's going to wait for the day that someone else accuses Sousei of stealing something.

Anyway.

He meets Sousei's eyes at that, thinking for a moment on how to best address the topic of the Abe 'bait'. It's an awful idea to think that they were used to draw out the Orochi, raised only so that they could die for their family later. If Sousei was raised with that kind of mindset, then it's no wonder that he's the withdrawn kid that he was so many years ago.

. . . . . ]

Doesn't matter. It looks like he's familiar with Kagemitsu-san anyway. He'll be adopted into the Kumou eventually, I'm sure.

[Like how Sousei was.]

[you can bring up the orochi bait if you want and the abe family and their entire plethora of problems, but--

Sousei has already gotten distracted.

Namely because--]

Do you think so? They don't seem to like each other much. [even before the entire accidental murder thing??]

[Tenka snorts at that and has an easy rebuttal-]

As if you were a huge fan of us when Dad picked you up.

That is not--

[A pause, and slowly, as if considering this for the first time himself--]

I...did not care much either way, at the time.

[Tenka.... can't help but wonder.]

Did you care much about anything at the time?

No.

[an immediate answer, because--well, it's true. He didn't. He didn't have much to care about--

... no, that's not true.

After a mildly hesitant pause (which is quite a lot for him, he shakes his head).]

... Yes. Somewhat. There was... one thing.

[... he shakes his head more firmly then.]

I was not completely bereft, if that is what you are asking.

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