Beach. Everyone has been working so hard lately so why not take a break and enjoy the beach? You can make sand castles, play in the water, and there are even umbrellas for those who'd rather just relax in the shade. There's a nice row of water melons ready to be smashed later in the day and when the sun goes down, that's when the sparklers come out.
Suffering. It's the hottest time of the year and the citadel doesn't have central air conditioning. The few air conditions that were installed have given up on life after being used so much and now, we really have to make do with what we can while the Konnosuke try to fix it. There's a limited number of fans, plenty of ice cream to go around, and the citadel should be built to circulate air, right? ... Right?!
Spooks. In Japan, summer is a time for horror. Gather around the camp fire and hear some spooky ghost stories or maybe head out into the woods just outside the citadel for a good ol' fashioned test of courage. It's all good, harmless fun! Of course, with so many spirits gathered in one place, what's to say a stray or curious outsider spirit won't join the mix...
Rain. Summer is also known for sudden and torrential downpours of rain. The clouds always seem to grown and darken suddenly and the next thing you know, it's raining sheets and the ground is shaking from thunder. Once it starts, it never seems to stop. Maybe you were caught out in the rain or maybe this is day 7 stuck inside.
Other! It's summer and there are tons of things to do. Go to the general store and stock up on ice cream, wake up in the middle of the night uncomfortable with heat, or run around screaming because cicadas are dying and flying at your face.
[Tonbokiri smiles softly. Ah, that's a lovely and calm image... . . .
Tonbokiri puts a hand over his eyes. How could you betray his confidence and trust like this...?!]
Mikazuki-dono, I worry you are going to be misunderstood like this. Even though you just said... [He shakes his head and puts down his hand, straining for a smile. If this is just the way he is...] May I ask about your choices this time?
[Hey-- you said it. 'Could'. Could be read entirely innocently. Implying also the 'could not'. It's no mistake that Mikazuki-dono chose the words he did. Well, now Tonbokiri knows.]
... Very well. I had thought that you might be using the image of the moon for yourself, given your name.
But, reading it simply, it is a delicate and calm image. I have not been to Miyagi myself, but the words make it easily imagined.
[Although he knows that there is more to this poem, he doesn't need to delve into the ...ahem... more intimate possible meanings, does he. (And truth be told, he wouldn't know the half of it even so.)
So yes. Calm.]
That it does. It is quite different from your previous verse in that regard. ['Shredded robes' does give a considerably more violent impression, after all.]
You must be very well-travelled. Do you have a region that you like to write about in particular?
[Tonbokiri's lips twitch up in a smile as Mikazuki so easily uses those names for the cities. Although they are natural to him as well, they still somehow feel old. Forgive him, but he will still think that the more ancient blades like you are a tier apart.
Becoming more relaxed as Mikazuki-dono so easily answers his curiosity, (and they get further from the topic of questionable poetry), Tonbokiri ventures to ask,]
What are your thoughts on being put on display as art, compared to being used for battle as a weapon?
[You're not in trouble, Tonbokiri. he is considering your question but you need to understand the context so you can understand his answer.]
I was being kept at Tokyo National Museum... in the reserves.
[So not even on display.]
I did tell you my value is something humans have ascribed to me. Apparently, this value is such that even displaying me for others to see is considered too delicate... so i was only take out of the reserves for a few weeks at a time, every two or three years, for special exhibitions. The rest of the time, I was locked up in a vault.
[Tonbokiri is silent, pondering that. Although their situations were different, he can empathize with being assigned a certain value and yet being kept in a dark box for long periods of time.]
That was your situation then. ... Do you regret that humans placed such a value on you?
Edited (couple letters make all the difference ;;) 2019-10-13 14:54 (UTC)
[Not that Mikazuki himself appears to find it extremely challenging, though. From the start he's always seemed at ease both with himself and with their master.]
[His eyebrows do raise slightly in surprise. He would not have expected that, but of course, it's not impossible for a women to posses a blade...
... Wait, Toyotomi Hideyoshi? He's heard that name recently-- When he places it, his eyebrows lift even further, and some things Ichigo-dono had said make a bit more sense now.
But he is curious where Mikazuki-dono is going with this. Is he still answering his question from before about being art or a weapon, or is this about something else?]
Ah, so a Lady was your master the longest. That is somewhat unique, isn't it? But not too unusual. There are others here who were kept by women as well.
[Less of a sword? Tonbokiri shakes his head firmly, but is thoughtful for a long moment before shaking his head again.]
Not at all. It is... a difficult question, to think "what is a sword" in the first place, to then consider what makes you 'less' or 'more' of one. But-- [He pats his own chest firmly, with confidence, right over the three characters inscribed there.] Blades are not only for cutting. We are also talismans against evil, bringers of luck... even healers.
Then why would being shown in a museum any different?
[Sorry, Tonbokiri, that was a bit of a sidestep, but now they are back on topic.]
These days, humans do not admire me for my prowess in battle, but for how well I was made. And I cannot say that I miss the killing. It might be what I was made for originally, but it's ... tiresome after a while.
[Being old also means having seen a lot more people die... and potentially having caused quite a lot of those deaths.]
[--Oh. So to Mikazuki-dono, being art is part of being a sword, as much as being a weapon. That makes sense. Of course. But... Mm. To him, something is different. Just a little. But he can't find the words with which to answer Mikazuki's question.
But just because he has that feeling, it doesn't mean that Mikazuki is any less correct. So he smooths his expression and smiles understandingly.]
I was used for a tiny amount of time in comparison to you, so I can only imagine so.
[Despite his steady nature, he gives a guilty jolt at Mikazuki's accurate comment. However, it's also reassuring to have it directly said to him that he can have his own answer.]
...Thank you.
You have given me much to think about, so I shall consider it as I find the words for my own answer.
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. . .
Tonbokiri puts a hand over his eyes.
How could you betray his confidence and trust like this...?!]
Mikazuki-dono, I worry you are going to be misunderstood like this. Even though you just said... [He shakes his head and puts down his hand, straining for a smile. If this is just the way he is...] May I ask about your choices this time?
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Besides, this could be read entirely innocently. Maybe I should ask you what it was that you read into it.
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Well, now Tonbokiri knows.]
... Very well. I had thought that you might be using the image of the moon for yourself, given your name.
But, reading it simply, it is a delicate and calm image. I have not been to Miyagi myself, but the words make it easily imagined.
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Ah well, I have done so in the past, but at times it is a bit too obvious.
[Like the 'silver dewdrops spread like gems' are not obvious, Mikazuki. But anyway...]
Yes, calm. That is what this moment should evoke.
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So yes. Calm.]
That it does. It is quite different from your previous verse in that regard. ['Shredded robes' does give a considerably more violent impression, after all.]
You must be very well-travelled. Do you have a region that you like to write about in particular?
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['Young being relative, he was already pushing three or four hundred years by then.]
I am more familiar with Heian-kyou. It was where I was the longest, back when I was still being used for battle regularly.
[And that was not a particularly peaceful time.]
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[Tonbokiri's lips twitch up in a smile as Mikazuki so easily uses those names for the cities. Although they are natural to him as well, they still somehow feel old.
Forgive him, but he will still think that the more ancient blades like you are a tier apart.
Becoming more relaxed as Mikazuki-dono so easily answers his curiosity, (and they get further from the topic of questionable poetry), Tonbokiri ventures to ask,]
What are your thoughts on being put on display as art, compared to being used for battle as a weapon?
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Do you know where I was before I was summoned here?
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...No, not exactly. Yet you are one of the five Great Swords, so in a museum.
[His tone lilts questioningly though, asking for confirmation.]
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I was being kept at Tokyo National Museum... in the reserves.
[So not even on display.]
I did tell you my value is something humans have ascribed to me. Apparently, this value is such that even displaying me for others to see is considered too delicate... so i was only take out of the reserves for a few weeks at a time, every two or three years, for special exhibitions. The rest of the time, I was locked up in a vault.
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Although their situations were different, he can empathize with being assigned a certain value and yet being kept in a dark box for long periods of time.]
That was your situation then. ... Do you regret that humans placed such a value on you?
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Most of them do not see or hear us anyway, unlike Aruji. We cannot ask them to understand our feelings when they are unaware of us.
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I am glad you think so.
[He then ducks his head for a moment as he chuckles ruefully.]
In this form, I have to work hard to understand my own feelings, let alone ask others to understand them.
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[Not that Mikazuki himself appears to find it extremely challenging, though. From the start he's always seemed at ease both with himself and with their master.]
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[Out of everyone, Mikazuki has the air of struggling the least with that...]
A challenge you seem to have overcome.
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[He has seen and heard and experienced... a lot, by their side. And of course, he has another little particularity.]
Do you know who was the master who kept me for the longest time, Tonbokiri?
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Tonbokiri sits up straighter at that question, rubbing his cheek thoughtfully for a moment.]
My apologies, but I do not. I would like to hear about them.
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[Yes, 'her'. You heard that right, Tonbokiri.]
She was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife.
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... Wait, Toyotomi Hideyoshi? He's heard that name recently--
When he places it, his eyebrows lift even further, and some things Ichigo-dono had said make a bit more sense now.
But he is curious where Mikazuki-dono is going with this. Is he still answering his question from before about being art or a weapon, or is this about something else?]
Ah, so a Lady was your master the longest. That is somewhat unique, isn't it? But not too unusual. There are others here who were kept by women as well.
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During about fifty years, I was rarely taken out for battle. It happened once or twice with Hideyoshi-sama, but not very often.
Do you think I was less of a sword then?
[Some people would say so. He disagrees, of course.]
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Not at all. It is... a difficult question, to think "what is a sword" in the first place, to then consider what makes you 'less' or 'more' of one. But-- [He pats his own chest firmly, with confidence, right over the three characters inscribed there.] Blades are not only for cutting. We are also talismans against evil, bringers of luck... even healers.
There are many ways to 'be a sword'.
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[Sorry, Tonbokiri, that was a bit of a sidestep, but now they are back on topic.]
These days, humans do not admire me for my prowess in battle, but for how well I was made. And I cannot say that I miss the killing. It might be what I was made for originally, but it's ... tiresome after a while.
[Being old also means having seen a lot more people die... and potentially having caused quite a lot of those deaths.]
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So to Mikazuki-dono, being art is part of being a sword, as much as being a weapon. That makes sense. Of course. But... Mm.
To him, something is different. Just a little. But he can't find the words with which to answer Mikazuki's question.
But just because he has that feeling, it doesn't mean that Mikazuki is any less correct.
So he smooths his expression and smiles understandingly.]
I was used for a tiny amount of time in comparison to you, so I can only imagine so.
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[He's an old sword, Tonbo, he saw that look on your face.]
That is simply my answer. It doesn't have to be yours.
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However, it's also reassuring to have it directly said to him that he can have his own answer.]
...Thank you.
You have given me much to think about, so I shall consider it as I find the words for my own answer.
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