estoria | ( OPEN )

[sure, Zoro gave it about a day for everyone to settle back in, after they all returned home, but then he made good on his promise to drop by swordhaus more often. He hadn't seen a single one of the swords while in that place, mostly on account of wandering way too much and never sitting still, but he assumed at least some of them were probably there and decided he ought to check to see if any of them needed repairs or a good polishing. He did promise to help take some of the load off Haru, after all.

He'll be by the day after everyone returns, but if any swords are demanifested and sleeping, he'll be back again in a few days. The second time, he's got the last of Tenka's best sake with him. All things considered, some of them - even Haru himself - might need a drink.]

a: is a mistake involving fish a "fishtake"?

[ It's been a while, but after months and months of not being able to clean the fish tank, Kogitsunemaru has finally gotten around to it. Feeding the fish has always been an Adventure which has always involved many chewed pairs of steel-lined, elbow-length gloves and a bucket full of meat, but having a Saniwa around to repair any wounds has been really useful! Thanks, Haruji!

But no. It's time. It's time. He's been dreading this day. Even after the adventures outside of the colony, the library, and discovering the places underneath... no, this is much worse.

During one late afternoon, one will find him standing outside of one of the bathrooms, the sound of splashing water and hissing echoing throughout the second apartment (and probably every adjacent one as well). Kogi looks full of regret. Fishy regret. The kind of regret on his face that screams "ohgodwhatdidIdo", "Ichosepoorly", and "whydidIletitoutofthetank". ]

b: it's like the batcave, just not a secret and filled with cooler things

[ It's almost the end of the day, and the door is open to Kogitsunemaru and Nakigitsune's shared room. Inside is a plethora of fox-related things, from pillows to stuffed cubes and some blankets. Kogi is busy organizing it all--- shoving some of the things into a pile in one of the corners of the room. A veritable fox pile, as one might say. One bed is made, with one of the fox blankets spread out on top while the other one is left bare.

On the pile sits a fox Cybuddy, watching Kogi do his thing. If someone happens to pass by, the fox will squeak and the other fox will turn his head with some concern on his face. ]

... do you think anything is missing? One can't have too many fox-related things, after all.

[ Inari would be proud. ]

c: wildcard

[ Kogitsunemaru is probably bringing food home from the Kitsune Udon for other swords and friends! Probably some cake, too. He's also really getting into some cooking shows... seems like his current job has him interested in learning more about the making of food and not just the eating. ]

Edited (i'm so dumb) 2016-02-23 03:12 (UTC)

[Koumei has regrets as well, as soon as he cracks the door open to see what is happening in the bathroom that would involve so much water ~~and to make sure no one is dying~~. His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of that icthic abomination.

The gasp was audible. The way he maneuvered to hide his face behind his feathered fan was almost as audible.]

Mister Kogi-- what are you doing?

[Was he going to need to find the nearest (non-sentient) sharp implement to ~~roll a one and stab himself in the foot~~ take care of the beast????]

[Kashuu isn't demanifested the first time, but he's not really spending as much time around the apartment as he usually does, either - so it's the second visit that he catches Zoro.]

Oh— hey!

[Nothing seems too amiss here either, really. He's had a little time to process things and calm down and put some distance between himself and the dark area.]

[KASHUU RECOGNIZES THAT SOUND. Kashuu recognizes that sound... Even ages after Hotarumaru's vanished, he still remembers his first wild event and both of them just being like "you know what sounds like a great idea? Catching this smallish alien fish", and then... doing it.

He remembers the teeth marks that had to be buffed out of poor Hotarumaru at the end of the night, too...

So naturally, when he hears that awful sound, he's trotting over to find the source! And there's Kogi!! Kogi, standing in front of the bathroom... Kashuu stands off to the side a little, like he's afraid the thing might come crashing through the door.]

Do we seriously still have that...?

[He just sort of ignores its presence to the point where it's kind of a blind spot!?]

Closed to Haru

[So.

He died.

He died--and it's kind of funny, that he's alive to think about it. That he's here again, with the sound of snapped metal and the tang of blood in his mouth. But he'd known what he was doing. He'd made his decision, and made peace with it, more or less. He'd done what he'd done to save a friend, and whatever regrets he may have had, that wasn't one of them.

He'd known, very vaguely, that death in Cerealia wasn't the same as death at home. He'd been ready for that too, as much as he could have been. The strange place he'd seen was frightening, but it was too brief and confusing to make much of it.

Right now he's just as much of a mess as he was, bloodied and tattered and aching, but suddenly, he's a mess in the middle of a crowded street, and he was not at all prepared for that.

Apparently, neither was anyone else. It's only a minute before someone notices the blood all over him and screams--and then, of course, it's only a matter of seconds before other people start to notice too. There are screams and shouts and hands reaching for him, demands to know if he's alright, if he'd hurt himself, if he'd hurt someone else-- it's too much, too much, too much.

So he runs.

He runs until it's safe to stop, then he ducks into a shop with lots of fluffy fabric and bright colors and flashing lights. It's easy to hide in here, but it'll only be a matter of time before someone sees the state he's in, and it's not like he can stay in here forever. So he grabs the first outfit he sees and sneaks out to change in the dark alley, mentally apologizing to whoever's store he'd just robbed. He'll come back and pay later.

It's-- not an outfit he would've chosen on a normal day, that's for sure. Bows and straps and way too many complicated pieces... was this meant for a girl? What kind of store was that? But it's not like he has much of a choice, and this outfit, if totally bizarre, is at least free from claw tears and blood. He's still a mess, but this is the best he can do for now.

Anyway, it's fine. Worrying about his clothes means he doesn't have to think about what he did. How he failed.

He tries his best to sneak back home, too, his ruined outfit balled up and held protectively against his chest. He doesn't want anyone to see him like this, least of all Haru. If he can get inside, he can throw these clothes away, and take a shower, and then... maybe then he'll be ready to face other people. Maybe then he'll have figured out what to say.

But first, he needs to get inside.]

OTA-- 5/30 to 5/31

[Of course, he doesn't succeed. Haru catches him, and Namazuo can't even bring himself to be all that surprised about it. He doesn't have the energy for that kind of emotion right now. But after Haru, there's no sense in bothering to sneak around and hide.

So once he gets cleaned up, he'll be curled up on the couch in a bathrobe that's far too big, engulfing him in white fluff. For the first time since they'd gotten these bodies, he looks... old. Old, and very, very tired.

But he's awake, and if anyone comes looking for him, he won't send them away.

He won't be leaving the apartment for a while, anyway. It'll be easy to find him.]

[She was coming to visit just as Zoro was, so she quickly calls out to him as she steps out of the elevator.] Zoro!

[Hearing a bit of a rustle, Vietnam moves into look at what Kogitsunemaru is doing. Once the CYbuddy makes some noise, she'll greet them both.]

Goodness, Kogitsunemaru, what are you up to?

[random encounters are the best!]

Oh, Vietnam. Hey.

Yo, Kashuu. How's things?

[just setting the bottle down over here. Just in case any swords need a drink. He doesn't know a thing of their rough time, sadly]

[He's heard by now, of course. He'd figured it out as soon as Namazuo hadn't returned with the rest of them because he's been here for quite a while and he knows how these things work, even if he's only ever observed from a distance before. Now it's come home, someone close to him has died, and he doesn't know what to do about it. Even Kashuu, who knows death better than nearly anyone else in their army, doesn't know how to console anyone when death visits them too.

So it takes him a little while to actually talk to Namazuo, and even the talking doesn't come first. First, he just makes his way over to the couch, and takes a quiet seat next to him, testing to see how comfortable Namazuo is with the presence of others. He's already guessing that it'll be fine, though. After all, he could hole away in his room instead if he didn't want to deal with anyone.]

[ Wah! Koumei surprises Kogi out of his stupor, making his hairears stand up on end. He looks around for a moment, only to realize it's just the other man near him. Thank goodness. Still! Perhaps the little fox finally has found some backup in trying to get Fishy back into his tank... ]

Ah! Koumei! I was merely strategizing. [ He coughs, trying to look like he was deep in thought and DEFINITELY NOT REGRETTING ANYTHING. ] You see, I've been trying to think of ways to get our friendly guest back into its tank. Unfortunately, now that it's tasted freedom, I don't think it'll go back quietly.

[ More loud thumps, hissing, glass shattering, even more hissing, and then... a burp? Kogi looks at the ground. Rude fish. ]

Yes. I've been taking good care of it! Fishy's been really great until recently. I was going to reward it with a nice tank cleaning, but now it seems that it rather just have the bathroom.

[ At least, Kogi is definitely thinking about putting up a sign that says 'Fishy's Room', but having to share a single bathroom with an entire apartment (regardless that it's not full) is kind of a pain. Kogi needs his personal time in the mornings, he needs to brush that hair--- one hundred strokes with a special implement! ]

... it's really strong, Kashuu. I never realized how powerful a fish can be, especially one that doesn't seem normal. And it keeps smiling at me, like I'm food or something. Do fish eat metal?

[ He nervously puts his ear to the door. It's gone oddly quiet... then BAM! The door shakes and Kogi winces, pulling away. Ugh, he hecked up. ]

Cleaning the room a bit while Nakigitsune is out. It's been a nice way of not thinking about recent events, you know?

[ He picks up one of the cubes and squishes it against his face. It's so plush! Too bad it doesn't make any squeaky noises. ]

You see, Naki and tiny fox and robot fox all sleep in the pile. I think they all feel more comfortable being surrounded by warmth and fluff.

[ And he'll gently toss the plush in his hands over to Vietnam for her own inspection. ]

[Kashuu, at least, won't be partaking in any this time. Probably not a surprise considering how much he didn't drink the last time they were at a bar together.]

They're— [A beat as he rolls a few words around in his mind before finally settling with:] Better. How about you?

[Oh he catches that...]

Fine, can't really complain. You sure? I'm guessing you were all out in that damn ruined place, too...

[Ah, Namazuo's back. Nakigitsune doesn't really know what to think, other than that--death is as unfamiliar to him as it is familiar to the rest of the swords, and the fact it isn't permanent in this world...doesn't help much with his understanding of it.

What he does understand, though, is that Namazuo doesn't look like the same cheerful figure he's so used to seeing. He's quiet, and tired, and.....the uchigatana pauses only a moment on seeing him, staring thoughtfully, before leaving for a few minutes.

When he comes back, it's to deposit a bowl of mixed snacks on the coffee table in front of his cousin, seat himself on the floor by his feet, and - after a moment's hesitation - grab one of the candies to chew on in silence.]

A

[ Kousetsu will be picking up the slack in terms of cleaning, cooking and household duties. They're down a lot of swords so he is going to be a dutiful sword and do all the chores.

One such being cooking and today he is making sweets to hopefully cheer up anyone who needs it? Sweets make humans happy, right? Right. So he is just going to make some assorted sweet things that hopefully people will congregate towards when ever they're feeling able. ]

These are for everyone...please take some.

B

[ Another chore is taking care of the cybuddies, which Kousetsu regretfully does. Such a hard job, but he might be in over his head as the small herd of them are overwhelming him with their numbers. Though he doesn't honestly look very concerned? He actually looks like he's enjoying himself. This is a good way to spend time, yes, he's enjoying this very much. As unreal as they are he still has a soft spot for the many tenants of the cybuddy menagerie living within the house. ]

C

[ Come nighttime however he is peacefully praying and offering up a small portion of food for the makeshift shrine filled with the collected scraps of those sword's items that were found on that alter. It's not too long before he rests back on his knees, looking over at whoever may be around. ]

["Whoever may be around," for the moment, apparently translates to Nakigitsune and his fox. The uchigatana was just passing by, but - it feels kind of rude to just walk by and ignore the makeshift shrine. He can recognize all the scraps there, remembers who they belong to...and so for once he stands and watches as Kousetsu does his prayers.

There's no noticeable reaction when Kousetsu turns to look at him, either, but.]

I hope we weren't interrupting, Kousetsu-dono...Nakigitsune was simply curious.

[Very rude-- and those teeth were unnerving. Where in the city had a creature like this even come from...?]

So far the free handed approach doesn't seem to be working. Do you need one of the blankets from the cabinet? A harpoon?

[Because, clearly, a blanket and a harpoon were on the same level of dangerous.]

[Heck yeah!! She catches up to him.]

Are you here to visit the swords?

Hmmm... [She nods slowly, it really is a good reason. They just needed to do...a lot of different things.]

A pile though? I suppose that would feel nice. [And supportive, during such a stressful time. She catches the plush cube and then...well she guesses she should do the same as he did, and plants her face into it.]

Oh! How soft!

Of course it's really strong! It's an alien, what did you expect? That thing left bite marks in Hotarumaru, you know.

[HE WAS THERE, HE SAW IT!! It was terrifying and he never wants to experience something like that again, honestly...

But when Fishy crashes into the door, even he jumps a little.]

—What the heck is it doing in there?! Did you put it in the bathtub?

Yeah, we were. I don't think any of us got left behind here.

[Which is a damn shame, since there are swords in their number who really could have used the break and none of the heartache that came with everything in that dark part of the city.]

Yeah, why - is this a bad time or something? I just thought I'd check up, see if any of 'em were in that place.

( OPEN )

open!

ota, post-event...

A (Ignore the short hair)

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a!

IC 5/30-5/31; post-event

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b!!!

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ota, post event

c

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