estoria | ( OPEN )

[Considering that she's seen him in situations such as a MACHO CAFE, seeing him with paper work reminds her that he is definitely a commander's sword. Seeing that, she had gone to get him a cup of tea, which is what she returns with, ready to put it down on the table.]

I do have a moment. [She sets the tea down.] And that is for you.

But ah, Dotanuki mentioned this recently. I wish you luck on this idea, Nagasone! I am interested in it myself. [She remembered when he spoke of it before, asking for other] This is a place you want for physical battles, no? Outside of the game. I am certain many would be interested. There are some around who are also skilled in weapons other than swords, if that could help? I do remember your idea was a sword school, primarily.

He told me about that.

[ He nodded his head to what she said, straightening his back some as he watched her. ]

In the beginning it was like that, but I realized the thread and what's happening. We can't focus on just one area. There are plenty of people here who need to know what to do when the time comes, and a sword isn't always going to be the right choice.

[ After everything happened when the electrical things went haywire, and the tours? Nagasone had the feeling it was very necessary. ]

[Dotanuki's on the ball! She'll have to thank him for throwing a name in.]

If everyone specialises in something, together we will be able to come up with a perfect strategy when it comes to fighting such threats. I am not skilled with the sword, but many swords helped me during those events. [Be proud, Nagasone!] I hope to be able to give you my skills in return. If there is anything I can do to help you all too, please tell me. This includes whatever I can contribute to your school.

[ Noding to that and thinking. ]

We're made to serve, but even we need help from time to time. If we ever unmanifest, we need to know that there is someone there who can take care of our sword. It's our body and lifeline.

[ He also doesn't put it past this place to create a situation where that would end up having to happen. ]

I'm sure we'll be training people to trust for things like that as well. You could end up being one of them.

[ That he gave her a smile after. She's been here for them and also understand them as tsukumogami. ]

[She suddenly straightens up. She had heard of how the swords lifelines were connected to their vessels, though all the information so far had been sketchy as hearing from several different swords mean she is missing some parts of the puzzle. However...]

I have heard about how your swords are your true bodies. I saw how Ookurikara got better after they just tended to his sword? I once carried Dotanuki's sword to Haru to be repaired as well. But I never knew exactly about how you turn back. [She never actually witnessed herself, and Dotanuki never disappeared before her eyes either. But she swore that she would protect those vessels, she will do the same for Nagasone and the others.

So she nods after her smiles, giving him a determined look.]

I will protect you too. If you will teach us how to protect your vessels, I will do all I can!

[ He nodded with that smile. He never knew Dotakuni trusted Vietnam enough that he actually let her carry his vessel to Haru. Trusting Haru is a given, as he's the Saniwa. Trusting others and giving them permission to handle you now that they have ways to have opinions? It was a much bigger deal. ]

If he allowed you to carry his body to Haru, that is a huge show of trust. If damage comes to the blade, we can become crippled or even die. Some of the swords we have had received great damage in the past. Kashuu's tip was broken when we were in battle for our former masters, for instance. Were that to happen now, I don't know how that would reflect on his physical form, but it wouldn't be ... very pretty.

[ He wouldn't say it, but he wasn't as concerned about him. He was a fake sword, after all. If he ended up having to break himself for the protection of the others, it was just the fake of a counterfeit. It wasn't a crutch he was leaning on, however. It was just a fact of life. It was just about of being a tsukumogami to him. ]

[Trust was one thing, but it was also a matter of pride, since Dotanuki couldn't actually go up the many flights of stairs at the time. She sure showed him. She never actually realised this though, even though she promised him. Now that she thought about it, whenever the others got injured fighting, were they confident that all will be well as long as their blades were not damaged? They constantly made her go on ahead first. SWORDS!!!! /imaginary fist shake.]

Dotanuki... [She's touched though, by the idea. Though, she winces when she hears of what happened to Kashuu. He's so bright, no? But he endured a lot too.] Kashuu wouldn't like that. So, if we had all the pieces, Haru would be able to fix them, no? [She had to make sure if something like this happened. That includes you, Nagasone. He's also not the first sword who thinks of himself is lesser than others, so she certainly has Words to say if she knew.]

Worst case scenario is that if you need someone to physically protect you, then you can use me. As long as I don't die, anything that happens to me will heal. [Now that her immortality has been taken away from her, it's definitely a pain.]

If the damage is too great, nothing can be done. Being shattered beyond repair is possible. [ He gave such a lazy grin like he was talking about the weather. He's seem broken swords, the ones that can't come back. It was always a sad sight, but he would bet that it was even worse for the Saniwa. ]

We're durable and strong. We aren't going down so easily. This is why we were called on in the fight. Yet everything has a weak point. We're only as strong as the steel we're forged with.

We wouldn't let you die. You're our friend and ally, Vietnam. Watching our back goes both ways.

[He might be taking it well, but she's not. She looks positively horrified. And right then and there she swears to protect their blades. Somehow, it seems to be even more dangerous than even humans fighting: they fight with weapons that aren't actually their own bodies.]

And you use that steel to fight too. You're really putting everything out there. I've seen some of you fight. It is a sight to behold. [Though now she's nervous.]

But yes, I thank you. Just as I won't let you all be irreversibly damaged either.

Don't worry about us too much. We're pretty sturdy. We've lasted quite a long time already-- some of us have.

[ Jiji was a test of time, even if he was decorative for most of it. The older swords were a source of inspiration almost. They all choose to help knowing what would happen, but for ones like Nagasone, making sure the history of their masters stayed the way it should. That was something Nagasone still struggled with even now, to be honest. ]

Haru was also practicing, I've heard. It will give him a place to do it and have people who can help him.

[ Naga wanted Haru to get stronger and to learn, but he was also intending to test him as well. After being the sword of a samurai, he wanted to be certain Haru could handle being not just his new master, but the master of the other types like him. ]

[She's heard from some how they're treasured swords! But no one has mentioned a single thing about their demise, just a hypothetical one here. This is the first time she's heard "some of us", so a few them might be...well dead. Who? And has it changed? It seems like they were still summoned somehow. This was rather complex.

She laughs shakily, but then having steeled her resolve, she doesn't sound so awkward as she speaks.] I have witnessed how sturdy you are. Wounds seem to mean nothing to you when not on your blades. [And she will keep it that way.]

Ah! Has he? [If he is so determined to learn, then she can help too. His wellbeing also ties into the morale of the swords. Both him and the swords will be more confident, she believes.] He could learn a lot from all of you, and others too. I remember Mutsunokami was trying to find him friends.

That mutt does a lot of unnecessary things. [ They rarely ever see eye to eye on anything. The only thing that he really commended about him was his skills. He would give him that given he was never used. ]

Haru tries for us. He seeks us out and tends to us. He also saved my brother. Helping him in times he needs it is the least we can do. [ Although now he thinks about it and smiles her way. ]

Have I ever mentioned my brothers before?

[She blinks in surprise, because hearing Nagasone's disapproval of Mutsunokami is a whole new side she's never witnessed before. It hasn't yet occurred to her that Kondo and Sakamoto are enemies, since her grasp on Japanese history isn't that quick. But she knows of it. It's strange because if not for that, she would've thought that Nagasone and Mutsunokami would get along.] He has his heart in the right place, at least.

And oh! [So does Haru!] Your brother as well... [She shakes her head and looks more attentively.]

You have not, what are your brothers like?

[ He didn't expect Vietnam to know anything about that. Logically he should have let it go already, but sometimes it was just really hard to come to terms with him and remember the fate of is master. It was going to take a couple of miracles to get their relationship evened out.

Asking about his brothers, though, that made him smile more.]

Hachitsuka and Urashima. Urashima is a wakizashi who was also captured like me. He's a good kid though. If he took training seriously, he could be on our level. [ Nagasone sighed a little, although he really looked fond. ] He's a good kid who likes to carry around his pet turtle.

Hachitsuka... [ He was still smiling, but it took on more of a sad and guilty edge ] He's the Kotetsu owned by the Hachitsuka clan. He's very prestigious and powerful, and has the personality to match it. [ Chuckling at the end. ] Gold armor and long purple hair, he's nice to everyone but fake swords.

[It's thanks to Japanese dramas, but it isn't something Japan would've spoken to her about. She could only hope that they would get along, only because aside from that, their personalities would've been compatible. At least in her opinion.

They share the same love for family, for example.]

Y-you were once captured? [What is this! What a fearsome situation!] How did you and Urashima get out? But ah, he sounds very friendly! How endearing! [Pet turtle!!

Meanwhile, it looks like there's something deeper between Hachitsuka and Nagasone.] Proud and talented, I am assuming? [Her expression changes to confusion.] Why is he against fake swords?

[ Sometimes he wonders if they could get over the past. In the present they fought on the same side, and they should act like it, but sometimes it was just too difficult to get over the past. He'd say they were making progress, though. ]

Haru's team got us out. I don't know what would have happened to us if he didn't find us. [ He laughed it off like recalling a fond memory. Nagasone had thought it was hopeless. Even if he wanted to save his little brother, he was in the same position. They were like a godsend, but he wasn't the type of sword to express those type of feelings. ]

Very, he has skills befitting a Kotetsu. [ But he sees it's story time. ]

Nagasone Kotetsu Okisato is renown as one of the greatest smiths of all time, but he's also one who is the most counterfeited. He didn't sign a lot of his blades and there are records of him not being able to tell the difference himself. It led to a lot of people second guessing all of the Kotetsu swords.

Hachitsuka is a Kotetsu that belonged to the Hachitsuka clan. He's a decorative treasure that is never seen by the public, but that lead to them calling him "illusionary" and probably also a fake. His pride can't handle those kinds of accusations.

Knowing his big brother is a fake doesn't help matters. [ with a small shrug ]

[As someone who also had a complicated relationship with some of her own kind back in the day, she would say it's possible. It's a long process, but they are swords. They have a lot of time to figure that out. She took her time too.]

Goodness, I am relieved that he did. Especially when you say... [That he is unsure?!] A-ah. Either way, I see that he managed to rescue strong swords, those enemies who captured you and Urashima must've been formidable. [LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, VIETNAM.

She now listens to his gripping tale of Hachitsuka and his creator, a smith who Nagasone shared his name with. She's understood now that the names they bear sometimes aren't original names, but ones they inherited from their creators. Nagasone must be like that too.]

Hachitsuka did leave a hard life, having to prove himself. [Having others not believe him. Though it is not the fault of the other fake swords, they did not wish to be like that either.

Vietnam freezes though.] Are you implying that you are a fake Kotetsu?

Edited 2015-07-27 16:26 (UTC)

[ There was that slow nod to the truth. It wasn't something he hid. There was no point in something like that. He had steeled himself from caring too much about it, but even he couldn't be fully absolved of being self-conscious. ]

Kondou believed me to be authentic and named me like this. The truth is I'm not. I'm a fake made by Minamoto Kiyomaro, a smith of the time.

I'm not a Kotetsu by birth, but I make up for that in battle. [ It was a very determined musing in his voice. No one could deny his battle prowess. He trained and honed and drove himself. He was a Kotetsu as any other would be. ]

So if you ever meet him and he claims to not be related to me, he's not essentially wrong.

[This is a complication that she probably would not completely understand. She never thought that a "fake" would be able to come to life, considering what kind of fakes and forgery happen in the modern era now.]

I see, because you are not a Kotetsu, but created by another, Hachitsuka does not want to be compared to you?

[She wondered though, was being a Kotetsu, even as powerful, something he should be? Was the skill of this Minamoto Kiyomaru inferior to Nagasone Kotetsu? She can't tell, she's has no knowledge in this field.] You are the sword of a commander. I can see how the swords respect you here. [Barring Mutsunokami.]

I may not be an expert when it comes to swords, but having gotten to know you, I am sure you are splendidly made nonetheless. Fake Kotetsu or otherwise, I respect you as well, you are still a real sword and captain.

[ It was inspiring, he felt, to hear that. Being a fake isn't something he could change and wasn't something he was aiming for either. He's accepted it, but he'll also strive to be the best of them. Vietnam's acceptance of that made him feel good. ]

It's embarrassing for him to have a brother who's a fake. He's always so bitter and upset around me, but he's a great fighter with a warm personality.

Kiyomaro was a good smith with great skills. You're right, I'm not poorly made in anyway.

[ He thought for a moment, looking around as he did and then letting his eyes settle on her ]

Your siblings are the other countries, yes?

[It's not the same, but she knows how it is to play on lower grounds. You have to work harder so that they don't underestimate you! And she had always thought Nagasone great, even before this discovery. Hearing the truth only makes him more admirable.]

I suppose he just needs to understand the position of a fake too. Well, differently from being wildly accused, like what happened to him. You both have had it hard.

[She nods firmly, and there, a tiny fist pump!] To be able to smith a great sword takes a lot of skills. It is something you, or any other apparent fake who wears a human form, can be very proud of.

[Upon his question, she deflates. He did get to meet one of those siblings. The story itself is nothing to be sad about though, so she sits up again.] Yes. We are not linked together by blood. I suppose it is like your masters; to be taught by the same sword school. In my case, I was taken in by China and France, both of whom we call either big brother or Teacher, and those who were also taken in by them, we can also consider siblings. Taiwan is one, she can be considered my younger sister.

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