It’s a special time of year and the sword army is invited to come down from their citadels and celebrate. What? A summer festival, an offering to the gods, or perhaps a special ceremony of sorts. A normally quiet, rural village at the foot of the mountains will transform for the night with lanterns, fireworks, and music all around but first! Some preparations need to be done. Did you really think you would be invited down here without having to do some work? Prepare to dance, prepare to sing, prepare for a night of fun.
1. CEREMONY PRACTICE
At the citadel, a new chore has been added to the list: ceremonial practice! The swords selected to perform at the festival will have to practice their song and dance or else they'll risk embarrassment in front of the crowds. Or maybe this entire thing is embarrassing... either way, this is your duty! Saniwa's orders! Where and when is up to you but you better be ready.
2. SPECIAL CLOTHES
You can’t wear those same old clothes. They’re all torn and worn or just not appropriate at all for the type of festival you’re going to. The government has all of your measurements and has sent special robes for the spirits and saniwa to wear. It even comes complete with accessories! What’s taking you so long? We should have left twenty minutes ago. Do you need help? Or are you trying to perfect your appearances for your big debut?
3. PERFORMANCE
Everyone is dancing and everyone is singing. Are you one of the performers? Or are they dancing to you? What kind of songs are you hearing? What dances are you watching? Did you see the ceremonial sword dance? Or maybe you were invited to dance in a special performance with your saniwa! When the performance is over, make sure to congratulate the performers on a job well done… or tease your friend.
4. OFFERINGS AND PRAYER
After the festive ceremonies, there are more serious things to do. There is a sacred fire and you can take a moment to pray to the gods. Remember, we are fighting a war and it’s important to remember those that have fallen. The swords that were broken and damaged beyond repair are gathered up and taken to a sacred fire so that their spirits can be purified and reborn. Later, all of those offerings you have been saving are offered up to the gods for their blessings. It's also a chance to hopefully pray for a turn in luck. Maybe you'll pray for an old friend to return to the citadel. It's been a long time since you saw them, right? They'll come home eventually.
5. FESTIVITIES
The ceremonies are finally over! Wow, that sure took up a lot of time, huh? There are still a couple of more hours left in the night so enjoy the festivities. Try the food, play the shooting games, win a couple of prizes. How many goldfish can you catch? Or maybe the important question is: How are you going to take care of this goldfish? At the end of the night, you can catch the fireworks before the night ends.
6. SURPRISE ATTACK
With so many saniwa and sword spirits gathered in one place, it's the perfect time for the enemy to make a major blow against the Time Government. In what should have been the fireworks finale, there's a loud explosion and lightning strikes. The Time Retrograde Army strikes without warning. It's nothing the Touken Danshi haven't taken care of before but this time, they'll have to protect their saniwa too.
7. WILDCARD
Pick your own adventure. Maybe you have to help make offerings or tonight is a special night for a special summoning.
What if the saniwa had to perform other duties besides just summoning swords to fight? What if they had to take part in special ceremonies? What if they had to invite their swords to perform with them? Feel free to get as creative as you want with this prompt as far as things like: Why are they celebrating? How often do they get to leave the citadel? Etc
[Mikazuki's eyes narrow and his grip on his own sword tightens. All of a sudden, the energy around him seems to focus tightly around him. It is threatening indeed, because he's trying to threaten.]
... You're not real. You don't exist. How... ?
{How does an existence such as this appear out of nowhere, at the same time as their enemies but fighting them too and protecting a Saniwa that doesn't own him... it?]
Don't say that name, Aruji. He's not real.
[And if she says it too much she will make him real and this will be.... very problematic. His little master is too powerful for her own good.]
( What Mikazuki says catches her completely off guard and she looks back at the spirit holding her hand.
He isn't real? He doesn't exist? But how can something like that be possible? Her hand tightens anxiously in his. It's strange though. As uncomfortable as she feels, she still doesn't quite feel like she's in danger. There's still that familiar feeling to him that she can't put her finger on.
When he tells her not to say the name, she immediately understands why but it's too late. She knows it's too late. How many times had she said his name? Three times? A fourth? There's so much to think back on now and she keeps her mouth closed.
With her free hand, she reaches to touch his gently. )
Please, don't fight.
( Put your sword away, Hototogisu. Because as grateful as she knows, she knows that Mikazuki will stop at nothing to keep her safe. Hototogisu won't last. All the while, she also tries to subtly pull herself free from him. )
You helped me and kept me safe so I know... I know you aren't like the Revisionists.
( He can be reasoned with. Surely, he'll let her go. )
[ With Mikazuki's arrival, the situation has changed for the worse. Worse for Hototogisu, at least. Hana is not only "someone to protect" now but also "a safety line." She needs to understand. He has to make her understand. He chews at his lip, grip on her hand tightening a little. ]
Even if I didn't fight, he will. He wants to break me.
[ He lifts his chin. You do, don't you, Mikazuki? But he doesn't say it with any sadness in his voice, only the matter-of-fact tone of someone stating a simple fact.
A moment later and he does let Hana go. He can't defend himself if he still has ahold of her, and though he knows Mikazuki wouldn't risk harming her, he won't risk it either. Not now, not after bringing her this far. But he still implores her: ]
It has nothing to do with what I want. You're an anomaly. You're not supposed to exist. I can't just let you get away.
[Nevermind the many times he has done just that on mission, letting people get away, or just fudging things so historical records don't show anything. This is different. This is not history. This is here and now.]
You may not be with the Time Retrograde Army... but you're also not one of us.
Aruji, please stay back.
[He won't wait until he suddenly charged forward.]
( He'll break him. Even though he's only helped her so far, he'll be punished for merely existing. It doesn't seem fair and she lingers next to Hototogisu for a moment, still too close for Mikazuki to really strike just yet.
He's telling her not to go back but how can she not? How can she not when she has her swords to return to? She feels his hand tighten on her's and it's hard not to feel how desperate he is. She holds his hand until he lets go and she pulls away. She won't say his name again but what she says next is probably just as bad if not worse, )
I won't forget how you protected me tonight... thank you. ( She's loyal to her swords. They're almost everything she has and she can't abandon them. ) But there's somewhere I need to be. I'm sorry.
( She's sorry. She's so, so sorry and she turns her back to him, running back towards Mikazuki's side which gives him plenty of space to strike. )
[ She's said his name so many times. She says she won't forget him. Despite Mikazuki gently admonishing her, Hototogisu can still feel the "Realness" sinking into him. It may not have been his plan, but it's a nice side effect. He doesn't want to break or be broken, but thanks to Hana, he has a very strong chance to return again. He's comforted by that realization and smiles a little. ]
Thank you.
[ It's all he has time to say to her before Mikazuki's sword comes down at him, and he's forced to bring his own up in defense. The weight of the strike jars him all the way up to the shoulder, but Hototogisu is a strong sword, too. He won't break that easily. ]
What is going to happen now? Mikazuki doesn't like what he can feel coming from the other one. There is one bit in particular that just itches, that makes him want to scratch out his own skin. He can ignore it in favor of focusing on the fact that this is not a sword, not really, and it should be broken right here and now.
He is strong, but Mikazuki is relentless - maybe a little desperate too. They all had a fright when they realized Hana had disappeared and now this?
It's when he feels their blades meet that he understands where the itch comes from, and he has a moment of pause, his eyes going to meet the other's - the others' ? - before he pulls back for another strike.]
I do not know how you managed to summon this body, but it's time to stop.
Out of the way, she's careful to stay close enough for Mikazuki to keep an eye on her but far away enough that she hopefully won't get in the way. There are still some advanced members of the Revisionist Army lingering around and while they're safe for now, she'll make sure to be aware of her surroundings.
Like Mikazuki, when their blades meet, there's something that seems to click into place. That familiar energy that had led her to follow Hototogisu in the first place... reminds her very much of Mikazuki. Not perfectly and not completely, but like seeing another person's Mikazuki and recognizing them for who they are. A familiar but unfamiliar energy...
Is this a sword made from scrap pieces? Like the early Kotetsu swords were made from scrap metal and forged to make stronger swords? But Mikazuki was never scrapped and so how could something like this be possible? It shouldn't be, she thinks. It's like Mikazuki said, this is something that shouldn't exist but there he is, in front of them, fighting Mikazuki. He'd held her hand and that had certainly felt real so how can she deny that? )
[ They're both only half right and only half wrong. For all that he may have started as multiple spirits and multiple minds, Hototogisu is a singular entity now. Maybe he shouldn't exist, but he does, and thanks to Hana will continue to do so in one way or another. ]
You're not the one I knew before. You don't have to do this.
[ Breaking him doesn't have to be the final outcome, except it does, at least this time, and he knows it. Hates it, but knows it to be true. The portal that leads away from here is close enough he could slip through it and escape, but it would only lead him to a citadel -- Hana's or another. It would just delay the inevitable. Maybe make it worse.
He blocks Mikazuki's blow, shuddering under it. ]
Mikazuki. You would do anything, wouldn't you? To protect your master? Even from me. Even though I also only want to protect.
[Maybe Hana trusts you, but he doesn't. He can't risk it. Already, he senses he might be too late and she may have started something bigger than what she thought.]
She is not yours to protect.
[And if what he feels is right, whoever you should be protecting is dead and you shouldn't be protecting them anyway, so...]
You came here with them and through their rift. I don't know what you are exactly, but you shouldn't be here.
[ It's true. Hana is not his to protect. But he'd felt a deep need to protect someone in Yoshiteru's absence and had felt drawn to her. Because she was weak and strong at the same time. Because he could sense just how much she loves her swords. ]
I did. [ He doesn't see a point in lying about it. ] I used them to get here. There was no other way.
[ Unlike Mikazuki and other citadel swords, Hototogisu has no saniwa to open pathways for him. He had to use the methods at his disposal, which meant hitching a ride with the revisionists. Not exactly the most "pure" method of entry, especially if he wanted a saniwa to trust him, but hey, it worked out in the end, didn't it? Sort of.
Oh well. Just like every other time, it looks like he's going to be broken. ]
Come, Mikazuki Munechika.
[ Not without a fight, though. Hototogisu pushes forward -- he won't break Mikazuki, won't actually try to, because he has no real interest in breaking a non-Revisionist sword, particularly not with Hana watching. But that doesn't mean he'll just roll over and let himself die, either. ]
[Not without a fight, but Mikazuki can sense that he is not trying very hard either. He is fighting back, but not exactly hard enough that it will make much of a difference.
Well... not that it probably would have anyway. Hana's Mikazuki is an old hand. He has a lot of experience under his belt and his stats are all maxed out.
He still doesn't find the taunting very funny, and his look will tell.]
I don't need you to tell me.
[He would slash as hard as he could, but he doesn't want to bring the building down on them... so he has to resort to just putting as much weight and power behind each strike as he can without unleashing too much.]
[ He learned how to taunt from...well, he's not sure which of his parts he got the taunting thing from, so let's just say he learned it from the very best. It's probably true.
Hototogisu fights back just enough to be a nuisance. It's almost as if he knows that even though he's not trying his hardest, Mikazuki can't go all out. Maybe it's not a surprise he knows that, considering the echo of "Mikazuki" that probably rattles through the real Mikazuki with every strike that makes contact. But he does very little attacking, mostly defending himself. Even if he were trying his hardest to survive, he wouldn't be able to last forever that way, and eventually there's a chink in his defenses for Mikazuki to take advantage of. And another chance when the first cracks form, and Hototogisu is briefly distracted by looking for Hana.
She's still there. She hasn't gone back. It's...comforting in an odd way. To have her here to witness him breaking. Maybe because it's not something she'll forget any time soon. ]
This is...as far as I can go this time.
[ This time. Just this time. He drops his arm, his sword falling to his side, and musters up the barest hint of a smile. ]
[It's a weirdly unsatisfying, unnerving and nerve-wracking fight. There's this weird echo, the bits and pieces of himself he can feel in the other as well as some others he know... the strange not-resistance, just enough to be a pain, not enough to be called a fight, really.
Still once the cracks are there, he doesn't hesitate. He presses forward, and then gives the last blow as soon as the other drops his sword.]
'At least it's you.'
[He doesn't like the sound of this either, but it's done, finally, the weird sword is broken and gone.... but whatever Hana did, it is likely to linger, and ass on as he is certain he is finished, Mikazuki turns back towards her.]
( She can't help but scream when the final blow comes crashing down and where she'd been safely out of the way, she starts to run towards both of them. Though young, she's always had a strong spirit sense which had made her so promising to the Time Government. It's that strong sense that got her into this situation in the first place and it's why the breaking resonates so strongly with her. She feels like she's lost a dear friend-- like she's just watched Mikazuki himself shatter in front of her but at the same time, she understands... that can't be possible because she'd never known Hototogisu until this day.
She isn't really sure where she's running to. She'd charged into this without thinking and the end result is a stumbling stop right into Mikazuki, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to stop there or not. Into his robes, she cries loudly. It's been a long time since she last lost control of herself like this. She's always carried herself as mature and composed. )
I'm sorry!
( To Mikazuki, for running off the way she did, for getting into this sort of trouble, for not listening to him as well as she should have when she acknowledged Hototogisu, for being so upset right now because she knows he'll worry.
To Hototogisu, who had helped her and kept her safe, even if he'd lured her away from her swords. For trying to send her back home to some place where she would have been safe. And for something she can't quite put into words.
Her heart aches right now and she hugs Mikazuki, speaking between cries she's trying to contain, )
[Mikazuki's eyes widen for a second and he is quick to put his blade to the side so Hana won't get hurt as she all but slams into him and starts crying, her small hands bunched in the silk of his robes.
It's been a while since the last time he's seen her so upset, and given what he has felt from the other, he can only guess at what this felt like for her.
Soon, he puts a hand on her head and then kneels in the corridor, putting down the blade on the ground and gathering her in his arms, shielding her from view with his billowing sleeves.]
I'm fine. I am not hurt, Aruji.
... What happened? How did you end up here with... him?
( She shakes her head. How did she end up here? It's hard to explain. She isn't sure where to start, especially with so much happening right now. She catches her breath and though the sobbing stops, she doesn't look up. It's obvious she's still crying when she speaks, her voice hitching every now and then, )
He... found me. Before the fireworks. ( Before the attack. ) He said if I stayed... ( She would die. ) I didn't w-want to get in the way and I thought... he felt...
( Like someone she knew but also didn't. )
I don't know!
( She really doesn't understand and it frustrates her as much as it hurts her. When she finally looks up, eyes bright with tears but determined to make at least one point. )
[He's not sure if that will change anything now that the physical blade is broken, but better safe than sorry.
He know the other didn't hurt Hana. He even was weirdly protective of her even though they don't have any particular link... or rather they didn't. There is no saying what might happen now.]
He wasn't a sword.
[Hm. That probably doesn't sound right. How to say it...]
(She bows her head at the warning. Sorry, she hadn't meant to. Now that Mikazuki is here... now that she's seen them both side by side, she nods. Yes, she thinks she understands.)
He was you. (Not exactly him but there was enough of him that she'd naturally felt inclined to go along with him.) But more... how...
I don't know, Aruji. I've never seen anything like it.
[But now... now he's pretty sure he's going to see it again. he's not exactly happy about that. And judging from what he felt, this is all related to Ashikaga Yoshiteru, which is a part of his history that he rarely shares with anyone. he's so old and it was so long ago that no one ever really asks, but...
He uses his sleeve to gently wipe her tears, rubbing her back soothingly to try and help her calm down.]
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[Mikazuki's eyes narrow and his grip on his own sword tightens. All of a sudden, the energy around him seems to focus tightly around him. It is threatening indeed, because he's trying to threaten.]
... You're not real. You don't exist. How... ?
{How does an existence such as this appear out of nowhere, at the same time as their enemies but fighting them too and protecting a Saniwa that doesn't own him... it?]
Don't say that name, Aruji. He's not real.
[And if she says it too much she will make him real and this will be.... very problematic. His little master is too powerful for her own good.]
Get away from her. Now.
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He isn't real? He doesn't exist? But how can something like that be possible? Her hand tightens anxiously in his. It's strange though. As uncomfortable as she feels, she still doesn't quite feel like she's in danger. There's still that familiar feeling to him that she can't put her finger on.
When he tells her not to say the name, she immediately understands why but it's too late. She knows it's too late. How many times had she said his name? Three times? A fourth? There's so much to think back on now and she keeps her mouth closed.
With her free hand, she reaches to touch his gently. )
Please, don't fight.
( Put your sword away, Hototogisu. Because as grateful as she knows, she knows that Mikazuki will stop at nothing to keep her safe. Hototogisu won't last. All the while, she also tries to subtly pull herself free from him. )
You helped me and kept me safe so I know... I know you aren't like the Revisionists.
( He can be reasoned with. Surely, he'll let her go. )
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Even if I didn't fight, he will. He wants to break me.
[ He lifts his chin. You do, don't you, Mikazuki? But he doesn't say it with any sadness in his voice, only the matter-of-fact tone of someone stating a simple fact.
A moment later and he does let Hana go. He can't defend himself if he still has ahold of her, and though he knows Mikazuki wouldn't risk harming her, he won't risk it either. Not now, not after bringing her this far. But he still implores her: ]
Don't go back.
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[Nevermind the many times he has done just that on mission, letting people get away, or just fudging things so historical records don't show anything. This is different. This is not history. This is here and now.]
You may not be with the Time Retrograde Army... but you're also not one of us.
Aruji, please stay back.
[He won't wait until he suddenly charged forward.]
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He's telling her not to go back but how can she not? How can she not when she has her swords to return to? She feels his hand tighten on her's and it's hard not to feel how desperate he is. She holds his hand until he lets go and she pulls away. She won't say his name again but what she says next is probably just as bad if not worse, )
I won't forget how you protected me tonight... thank you. ( She's loyal to her swords. They're almost everything she has and she can't abandon them. ) But there's somewhere I need to be. I'm sorry.
( She's sorry. She's so, so sorry and she turns her back to him, running back towards Mikazuki's side which gives him plenty of space to strike. )
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Thank you.
[ It's all he has time to say to her before Mikazuki's sword comes down at him, and he's forced to bring his own up in defense. The weight of the strike jars him all the way up to the shoulder, but Hototogisu is a strong sword, too. He won't break that easily. ]
no subject
What is going to happen now? Mikazuki doesn't like what he can feel coming from the other one. There is one bit in particular that just itches, that makes him want to scratch out his own skin. He can ignore it in favor of focusing on the fact that this is not a sword, not really, and it should be broken right here and now.
He is strong, but Mikazuki is relentless - maybe a little desperate too. They all had a fright when they realized Hana had disappeared and now this?
It's when he feels their blades meet that he understands where the itch comes from, and he has a moment of pause, his eyes going to meet the other's - the others' ? - before he pulls back for another strike.]
I do not know how you managed to summon this body, but it's time to stop.
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Out of the way, she's careful to stay close enough for Mikazuki to keep an eye on her but far away enough that she hopefully won't get in the way. There are still some advanced members of the Revisionist Army lingering around and while they're safe for now, she'll make sure to be aware of her surroundings.
Like Mikazuki, when their blades meet, there's something that seems to click into place. That familiar energy that had led her to follow Hototogisu in the first place... reminds her very much of Mikazuki. Not perfectly and not completely, but like seeing another person's Mikazuki and recognizing them for who they are. A familiar but unfamiliar energy...
Is this a sword made from scrap pieces? Like the early Kotetsu swords were made from scrap metal and forged to make stronger swords? But Mikazuki was never scrapped and so how could something like this be possible? It shouldn't be, she thinks. It's like Mikazuki said, this is something that shouldn't exist but there he is, in front of them, fighting Mikazuki. He'd held her hand and that had certainly felt real so how can she deny that? )
no subject
You're not the one I knew before. You don't have to do this.
[ Breaking him doesn't have to be the final outcome, except it does, at least this time, and he knows it. Hates it, but knows it to be true. The portal that leads away from here is close enough he could slip through it and escape, but it would only lead him to a citadel -- Hana's or another. It would just delay the inevitable. Maybe make it worse.
He blocks Mikazuki's blow, shuddering under it. ]
Mikazuki. You would do anything, wouldn't you? To protect your master? Even from me. Even though I also only want to protect.
[ It's a sad thought, but one he's had before. ]
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[Maybe Hana trusts you, but he doesn't. He can't risk it. Already, he senses he might be too late and she may have started something bigger than what she thought.]
She is not yours to protect.
[And if what he feels is right, whoever you should be protecting is dead and you shouldn't be protecting them anyway, so...]
You came here with them and through their rift. I don't know what you are exactly, but you shouldn't be here.
no subject
[ It's true. Hana is not his to protect. But he'd felt a deep need to protect someone in Yoshiteru's absence and had felt drawn to her. Because she was weak and strong at the same time. Because he could sense just how much she loves her swords. ]
I did. [ He doesn't see a point in lying about it. ] I used them to get here. There was no other way.
[ Unlike Mikazuki and other citadel swords, Hototogisu has no saniwa to open pathways for him. He had to use the methods at his disposal, which meant hitching a ride with the revisionists. Not exactly the most "pure" method of entry, especially if he wanted a saniwa to trust him, but hey, it worked out in the end, didn't it? Sort of.
Oh well. Just like every other time, it looks like he's going to be broken. ]
Come, Mikazuki Munechika.
[ Not without a fight, though. Hototogisu pushes forward -- he won't break Mikazuki, won't actually try to, because he has no real interest in breaking a non-Revisionist sword, particularly not with Hana watching. But that doesn't mean he'll just roll over and let himself die, either. ]
If I shouldn't be here, then break me.
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Well... not that it probably would have anyway. Hana's Mikazuki is an old hand. He has a lot of experience under his belt and his stats are all maxed out.
He still doesn't find the taunting very funny, and his look will tell.]
I don't need you to tell me.
[He would slash as hard as he could, but he doesn't want to bring the building down on them... so he has to resort to just putting as much weight and power behind each strike as he can without unleashing too much.]
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Hototogisu fights back just enough to be a nuisance. It's almost as if he knows that even though he's not trying his hardest, Mikazuki can't go all out. Maybe it's not a surprise he knows that, considering the echo of "Mikazuki" that probably rattles through the real Mikazuki with every strike that makes contact. But he does very little attacking, mostly defending himself. Even if he were trying his hardest to survive, he wouldn't be able to last forever that way, and eventually there's a chink in his defenses for Mikazuki to take advantage of. And another chance when the first cracks form, and Hototogisu is briefly distracted by looking for Hana.
She's still there. She hasn't gone back. It's...comforting in an odd way. To have her here to witness him breaking. Maybe because it's not something she'll forget any time soon. ]
This is...as far as I can go this time.
[ This time. Just this time. He drops his arm, his sword falling to his side, and musters up the barest hint of a smile. ]
...But at least it's you.
[ Better Mikazuki than...most other swords. ]
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Still once the cracks are there, he doesn't hesitate. He presses forward, and then gives the last blow as soon as the other drops his sword.]
'At least it's you.'
[He doesn't like the sound of this either, but it's done, finally, the weird sword is broken and gone.... but whatever Hana did, it is likely to linger, and ass on as he is certain he is finished, Mikazuki turns back towards her.]
Aruji, are you alright?
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( She can't help but scream when the final blow comes crashing down and where she'd been safely out of the way, she starts to run towards both of them. Though young, she's always had a strong spirit sense which had made her so promising to the Time Government. It's that strong sense that got her into this situation in the first place and it's why the breaking resonates so strongly with her. She feels like she's lost a dear friend-- like she's just watched Mikazuki himself shatter in front of her but at the same time, she understands... that can't be possible because she'd never known Hototogisu until this day.
She isn't really sure where she's running to. She'd charged into this without thinking and the end result is a stumbling stop right into Mikazuki, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to stop there or not. Into his robes, she cries loudly. It's been a long time since she last lost control of herself like this. She's always carried herself as mature and composed. )
I'm sorry!
( To Mikazuki, for running off the way she did, for getting into this sort of trouble, for not listening to him as well as she should have when she acknowledged Hototogisu, for being so upset right now because she knows he'll worry.
To Hototogisu, who had helped her and kept her safe, even if he'd lured her away from her swords. For trying to send her back home to some place where she would have been safe. And for something she can't quite put into words.
Her heart aches right now and she hugs Mikazuki, speaking between cries she's trying to contain, )
Are you? ( All right? ) It feels like...
( It feels like Mikazuki himself was broken. )
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It's been a while since the last time he's seen her so upset, and given what he has felt from the other, he can only guess at what this felt like for her.
Soon, he puts a hand on her head and then kneels in the corridor, putting down the blade on the ground and gathering her in his arms, shielding her from view with his billowing sleeves.]
I'm fine. I am not hurt, Aruji.
... What happened? How did you end up here with... him?
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He... found me. Before the fireworks. ( Before the attack. ) He said if I stayed... ( She would die. ) I didn't w-want to get in the way and I thought... he felt...
( Like someone she knew but also didn't. )
I don't know!
( She really doesn't understand and it frustrates her as much as it hurts her. When she finally looks up, eyes bright with tears but determined to make at least one point. )
He didn't hurt me. Hototogisu-san protected me.
( Without even thinking, she'd said his name. )
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[He's not sure if that will change anything now that the physical blade is broken, but better safe than sorry.
He know the other didn't hurt Hana. He even was weirdly protective of her even though they don't have any particular link... or rather they didn't. There is no saying what might happen now.]
He wasn't a sword.
[Hm. That probably doesn't sound right. How to say it...]
He wasn't just one sword. You felt it, right?
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He was you. (Not exactly him but there was enough of him that she'd naturally felt inclined to go along with him.) But more... how...
no subject
[But now... now he's pretty sure he's going to see it again. he's not exactly happy about that. And judging from what he felt, this is all related to Ashikaga Yoshiteru, which is a part of his history that he rarely shares with anyone. he's so old and it was so long ago that no one ever really asks, but...
He uses his sleeve to gently wipe her tears, rubbing her back soothingly to try and help her calm down.]