estoria | 001

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001

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! ]

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[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.]

[ 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. ]

[While Lapis doesn't know much about swords, she's pretty sure they don't shiver. Or suddenly make a sound like that. Tilting her head as she squints at the sword again, though her attention soon turns to the sudden light, and what it reveals when it fades. Her eyes widening as she looks up at him, and she's able to sense from him what she sensed from the sword.

There's a brief second when she glances between the man and the sword, soon sorta understanding what's going on. So she doesn't hesitate to hand the sword back to him. Or him back to him. Yeah this is confusing.]

... That's you, isn't it? [Wait... did she just basically manhandle him, then? Her expression tenses into something that seems almost sheepish, and she glances away to the side.] Ah... Sorry about that.

[ Mitsutada takes his sword form from her, sheathing it in the scabbard tied to his waist. His posture relaxes ever so slightly - it is good to have his vessel by his side once again. It is his true form, after all - and any sword, being separated from their host, will become anxious. ]

It is. [ He affirms this with a nod, it's only logical. ] No worries. [ At least she didn't do anything strange, or worse - though, the very reason of why she would be here already raises questions.

This isn't the Citadel, he realizes as he looks around... wait a moment. ]

Do you know where this is, by any chance?

[Well, at least she was right about him being the sword, and she simply nods in return as she looks back at him. She's slowly starting to wrap her mind around how he's actually a sword...

But she's going to try not to dwell on it and how the sword is him and she's speaking to him; instead she focuses on his question for now. And then answering rather bluntly:]

... We're in the ViViD Center. If you mean in general, a place called Cerealia on a planet called Tellus.

[There's a pause, and then she tilts her head, now looking almost curious. Since she's pretty sure the powerpoint she saw earlier covered those kind of details, even if she doesn't really believe much of what it said.] ... Weren't you shown a presentation too?

[ ViViD Center, Cerealia, Tellus... well. Aren't those familiar names.

His smile dampens, but he manages to prevent his expression from becoming completely serious. It'd be the height of uncool to lose his composure in front of some stranger. ]

Yeah, I was. [ He doesn't sound bitter, but Lapis can probably guess what he's thinking about. And then:] You believe what they'd said?

[ This is important, okay? Surely her world can't be wrecked as well? It's just a lie, definitely. ]

[When his smile dampens, she can feel her own expression turning a bit more somber, even though she quickly tries to even it out again. While she isn't really good with people, she never liked making them upset or anything, unless they deserved it.

Her arms shift to fold in front of her, his question causing her to blink - though she doesn't hesitate to shake her head with a slight frown.]

... No. There's no way my world, or any world, is gone. [She sounds very firm about this, and she does sound a bit bitter. Lapis can't and won't accept that her world is destroyed, so it must be a lie. It's not like they have proof beyond a video, and anyone can edit something like that.]

But we are somewhere completely different, at least. There's no way technology like this exists where I'm from.

We feel the same way, then.

[ It's reassuring to have someone agree with him, even if it's just a stranger. At least there's some sense in this crazy technology-infested place - and he's very much grateful for that. ]

Different is correct. I've had experience time-traveling, but this doesn't seem like it.

[ He trusts the Saniwa to not make such a big mess of everything... though it would bring into question of exactly where, if not when, they are right now. ]

[There's a few nods in agreement from her, also feeling reassured that there's someone who agrees. Though now she's thinking about what could actually be going on here, and she crosses her arms as she 'hmm's to herself.]

... Time-travelling? [What... Even if her expression doesn't change, she does blink owlishly at him. Because time-travelling sword spirit...] How did you do that?

[ It honestly doesn't occur to him that it might be something strange for other humans (except for a vague sense that it isn't something that most of them do), so his explanation comes with a thoughtful tilt of his head. ]

It's part of my job. We travel back to prevent history from being changed. There are nefarious agents out to destabilize the flow of time, and we can't let that happen.

[ To protect the stability of the time stream, like how they have protected their masters before. ]

[Wow he sounds like someone from some sort of sci-fi action movie. Lapis blinks some more, nodding as she processes all that.]

... That sounds really interesting, I've never heard of a job like that before. And I hope you can stop those agents. [Even if her face doesn't show it well, her tone is actually completely genuine and sincere. Since it doesn't seem like he's lying at all, so why shouldn't she believe him ~~even if it all sounds kinda weird.]~~

Though if you time-travel... What time are you originally from? [She'll stop being nosy eventually.]

[ He didn't expect her to know of his job, so it is no surprise when she voices that. The tsukumogami live a very sheltered existence, after all - and they may or may not even be a state secret.

Lapis' question, however, is a bit hard to answer. ]

The year when I left was 2205. Though if you are asking for my original, birth time - I was forged in 1250 by the founder of the Osafune school.

[ Which would make him almost a millennium old. Including the three centuries he spent being dead, but that isn't exactly relevant right now. ]

[Wait what? But his sword seemed like it was in perfect condition, and a sword that's nearly a millennium old can't look like it's brand new, right? Just gonna mull over this for a moment...]

... You look very good for your age. [That's said a bit too bluntly oops. But okay, he's a spirit of a sword who is from the year 2205 to stop evil agents from messing with history. Got it.

It's still kinda weird though. Though she realizes that she should probably introduce herself, since she's asking him questions.] ... Sorry, I should've introduced myself before I started with all the questions. I'm Lapis Fathalla.

[ Truth to be told, his sword form is brand new. It is an exact replica of how he was back then, down to even the smallest microscopic detail - but that doesn't quite change the fact that it is still a replacement. A few of the other swords also lived on second bodies like this, a soul centuries old tied to a vessel minute fractions of their true age.

But time is still fluid, especially for tsukumogami. He can no longer remember huge swathes of his life, so that was just as well. ]

You're very kind. [ He smiles, perhaps a little charmingly, but that quality is unintentional as usual. ] Ah, it's fine. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for troubling you.

[ By, yknow, suddenly manifesting and generally falling asleep in the middle of the ViViD centre. ]

Nice to meet you, miss. Are you a Saniwa?

[ It's an important question, at least for him. ]

[That would probably confuse her even more for a moment, but she would still stick to what she said. Since it is technically true.

Even though the smile is charming, Lapis tends to be very, well, blind to that kind of thing, so it's not really something she thinks much about. But she does shake her head at his apology, giving a soft smile in return to try to reassure him.]

... You didn't trouble me at all. I wouldn't have approached if I thought it would be troubling. [That was probably a bit too blunt, but she does always try to be honest.

Though the smile fades as she starts to look thoughtful at his question, mulling over his question.]

... A Saniwa? [She blinks, looking almost puzzled, before she shakes her head.] No, unless that's another term for a spirit medium.

You could put it that way. A saniwa is a human sage with spiritual abilities. We tsukumogami are summoned with their powers.

[ Something like that. The sequence requires a vessel and a great deal of preparation beforehand, so he isn't about to go into all that just yet. Haru might have preferred he kept it secret. ]

You have a sixth sense, though. I've heard most humans don't. [ Or something. Otherwise tsukumogami would be everywhere, metaphorically speaking. ]

Edited 2015-05-05 09:32 (UTC)

... I see, that does sound a bit similar to what I am. [But not exactly, considering Lapis rarely summons the spirits and usually just meets them randomly. Plus there's the bonding process which takes up a bit of energy.]

Mmhm, that's right. It's very rare for humans to have a sixth sense, and I'm one of only a few back home. [There's her grandmother and her 'rival' who she barely acknowledges... So yeah, not a lot of people, as far as she knows.]

That'll take a while to get used to, I suppose.

[ Humans really are strange, aren't they? And yet, tsukumogami aren't that different. They take on human form, and ultimately were made by humans. Maybe he'll learn more about their culture here.

And find a way back, of course. To his obviously intact home, because Haru needs him, the world needs him. ]

Say, are you here alone?

[ Is he hitting on you??? ]

... If it helps, I don't think there will be a lot of people with powers like mine here.

[Since most people so far tend to be pretty surprised when she mentions the whole 'yes i'm a medium who talks to ghosts' thing. But maybe she'll meet more people like her here, since there are so many people from so many different places.

And huh that's kind of an odd question, at least the thought of him hitting on her doesn't even occur to her -]

... Hmm? Kinda, my friend has gone to take a look around. Why? [Her ghost buddy is a tech geek so he wants to look at everything. Lapis can sense where he is anyway, and vice-versa, so it's not like she won't be able to find him.]

[ That in itself is a whole other can of worms altogether, but he supposes he can attend to that when the time comes. The immediate question would be how he could heal himself without a saniwa - but then he'd just have to be more careful not to get permanently injured. ]

Well, that's good. Wouldn't want a lady like you wandering around on your own.

[ Because people travel safer in groups, even if they aren't women. ]

You have a friend?

[Lapis does at least hope there is a saniwa here - but considering she thinks this place is pretty harmless besides the kidnapping and aliens thing, she thinks of it more as having someone familiar around than anything else.]

... Hmm? I would be fine, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. [Such as teleporting and being able to create barriers. Since she can't really fight at all, she basically just cheats.]

That's right, though he's a ghost so most people can't see him. [She takes a glance around, even though she can sense that he's nearby.] He likes technology, so he's having a look around right now.

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