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)

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.]

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. ]

[ Mikazuki has been Unbelievably Tired™ after everything that happened. Not only that but he's also embarrassed beyond belief after everything that he said. There are things he never wanted anyone else, ESPECIALLY his Saniwa or comrades to ever know about him and to reveal such intimate details and lay himself out bare like that. It's so strange to him to feel so..so...awkward but he does and as such, Mikazuki refuses to leave his room. Yes, he realizes that this is being childish but he can't stand the thought of facing any of his comrades right now. ]

Is this what it feels like to be physically exhausted? What a strange sensation... [ If anyone has particularly good hearing, maybe they can hear the tachi's woes from beyond his locked door. It might have just been easier to demanifest back into his vessel but being alone was never appealing to him so that's not happening. He DOES realize that purposefully isolating himself isn't any better but... ] hmmm.

[ There's a loud THUMP as the Sanjou sword just rolled himself off the bed and literally wiggled the entire way across the bedroom floor to the door. All cocooned in his blanket and generally looking a mess doesn't stop Mikazuki from cracking the door open juuust a bit to see if anyone is out in the hall. Despite everything, he's still a sword that craves attention. ] Is anyone out there? [ It's a mumble but a noticeable mumble. ]

( one )
[ they're all home, and one of the first things haru does is take a very long bath. seriously, how long is he going to be in there..? did he drown, maybe? maybe you should check on him-- the door isn't locked.

if the door's opened, then haru will be found on the bathroom rug in his pajamas, hair wet, concentrating very hard on stitching up his slashed feet. .. he's not like swords, after all. he has to heal the old-fashioned way. ]

( two )
[ for those who've been with haru since he first became a saniwa, his current state of mind might be familiar. he's definitely subdued after that trip to the dark parts of the colony, even more quiet than usual, respectful and nervous and withdrawn. still, he's keeping so busy that it's probably easy to ignore.

the truth is, he was just reminded of something that he'd let himself forget, and he feels guilty, and it's manifested itself the last day or two in deep-cleaning all three apartments. today, he's standing on the countertop in the kitchen, scrubbing above the cabinets. unfortunately, with his feet bandaged like that, he doesn't have the best footing, so he shifts-- and yelps, arms pinwheeling as he starts to fall. ]

( three - a mingle within a mingle??? )
[ finally, like a week later, he asks all his swords to come to dinner early one night. he still looks nervous and shy, like suddenly they're all strangers again, but after he sets out the food, he straightens to his full tantou height and takes a deep, bracing breath. ]

I-- I wanted to tell you all that-- [ you can do this, haru. ] After we go home, after the-- the war's over.. you don't have to go back to the places you lived in before you were given to me. [ his eyes drop to his hands, which are curled tightly in the hem of his sweater, white-knuckled and shaking a little. ] You c-can stay with me or.. or go wherever you want to go. It's your choice, not.. m-mine, or the organization's, or anyone else's, and I-- I'll do whatever I have to.. to make sure you have it.

[ he hesitates, then sinks back down, narrow shoulders hunching in embarrassment. uh.. dig in? ]

[So after grinding for a while...

Sayo made his request and rushed back to the apartment. Which leads to two possible scenarios for this.

► 1. There's the sound of a quiet banging coming from somewhere. If anyone who happens to be at home walked near the kitchen, they would hear it. Where is it coming from? Whenever they look inside, there's no one there.

... Are they haunted?

If they choose to investigate, they might find out it's coming from the fridge... Dare to open it?

► 2. Whenever someone opened the fridge and free the poor troop spirit, Sayo would be home about now. He would announce his presence with the sound of someone entering through the front door, or speaking "I'm home." Whether you call him over or he eventually finds you, Sayo would stare at the troop spirit with a blink.]

... Did he just appear?

[Sayo seems to know something...]

[ So, Kon's pretty sure - judging by the last thing he remembers, and the date that he's looking at on his cerevice - that he's lost an entire month. There's nothing, nada, zilch, in his memory about what happened to him, where he might have been, until he was in ViViD all over again. Considering everything he did, and risked, to make sure that Sensai didn't do basically the same thing to him, the fact that CERES pulled it off and there was nothing he could do...

It bothers him. A lot.

But after dealing with the ViViD level for new arrivals, and talking to Hiro about what he missed, he figures he ought to swing by the apartments just to see what's happened to them. It doesn't matter if there's space for him still or not, he's worried about the saniwa and his swords and the brigade of people that come and go and live here. Even if he won't admit it outright, here he is, poking his head in with his good hand braced on the doorframe of (insert your apartment of choice here), eyebrows quirked. ]

Knock knock. [ 'sup, swordhaus, your residential historian hacker is back. What's good? ]

Edited 2016-03-19 03:15 (UTC)

A

[Spring was a time of changes, both good and bad, and it was a time to step forward in all regards in life. Koumei had been steadily adjusting to life in this city over the last couple of months with as much grace as his awkward and clumsy person could muster and, now that his little brother was in the city, he saw that he had no more excuses to not face some of the more mundane aspects of this world that had been bothering him.

The clothing situation was easy enough to manage, so long as the clothes in question were comfortable, but the food situation was another problem entirely. That was why, late that afternoon, Koumei cracked opened the door of which ever apartment sounded like it had someone inside, and quietly poked his head in.]

Excuse me, [he said, all politeness.] I'd like your assistance with something...

[Slung over his shoulder was a bag of notebooks and stationary, and in his hands was a bucket of chicken nuggets. What on earth was he planning...?]

B-- with Kouha

[For once, it seemed like Ren Koumei wasn't alone. By his side was a delicate looking young man with a jaunty hat and cute little braids in his vibrantly red bangs-- and it was clear that Koumei was helping him with the process of settling into life in the city.

Approach? Ask questions? Mistake the young man for a girl? Your call.]

open!

ota, post-event...