minutemen | 6 ❀ Summer Citadel

6 ❀ Summer Citadel

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.

"Right! I'm certain that our feelings will be conveyed. And if the horses can be even more of a strength to Aruji, it is certainly worth doing."

His eyes shine with eager anticipation.

"Let us go right now. --That is, if you have the time to spare?"

"Are you kidding me? Lets get going!"

Kane gives him an eager grin as he quickly starts to move to his feet. Holding out his hand for Tonbokiri to grab onto.

He's pleased that Izuminokami seems as eager as he is!
Tonbokiri takes the offered arm to get to his feet. Flipping his braided hair back over his shoulder, he slides the door open for Izuminokami.

They must look quite the pair, in matching yukata and with hair done up unusually, marching with eager anticipation towards the stables.

It doesn't take long to get there, collect one of the horse's brushes, and come to stand beside Mikuniguro. Surely Tadakatsu's horse would be the most tolerant of Tonbokiri as he learns how to do this.

"How do we begin?"

"The very first step is to brush out the hair so it's nice and straight. You don't want it to be messy or your braid will end up messy."

He smiles as he stands besides Tonbokiri with his arms crossed. He feels like a cool sword in charge right now.

There is more than enough horse to go around. Izuminokami could get hands-on too...
Well, such is the way with this sword. He enjoys being in command, doesn't he.

Tonbokiri combs out the mane straight down as directed, as Mikuniguro turns his head around to watch curiously. Not that Tonbokiri brushing him is strange, but that there's someone else here is.

"Will this be enough hair to braid? Mikuniguro's hair isn't nearly as long as yours or mine."

The strangeness is understandable, especially when it's Izuminokami who is the one beside him. He usually did everything he could to try and get out of doing chores and field work unless he absolutely had to... So it's understandable that even the horses wouldn't recognize him that easily.

"Mm, this will still work. One doesn't need hair as long as ours to be able to braid it. The braids will just be a bit smaller and shorter. "

(The horses are so good though! Don't avoid them! ;A;)

"I see..."

And then it occurs to him-- "Ah, we don't have more hair ties. Should I go back to my room and get something?"

(But doing chores is boring :( )

"I hadn't thought of that.. oh but are you sure you wouldn't mind grabbing some?"

He didn't want to hint at his uneasiness, but being around these horses... well it wasn't that he was afraid of them. It was more like, worried they might be afraid of him? Tonbokiri was a calming presence to be around, so of course they wouldn't mind it so much right now...

(Only because you don't take it seriously. :( )

"Not at all. It won't be but a moment."

And handing the brush over to Izuminokami, Tonbokiri hurries off on his errand. He's not the fastest blade, but it still won't take long!

...In the meantime, Mikuniguro stares at Izuminokami. Is he going to use that brush or what?

(Because he wants to do cooler things! )

For a good few minutes Izumi just stood there with the brush in his hand staring at the spot Tonbokiri used to be. It wasn't until he left that he realized he might have been a bit dependent of him... oops.

Frowning thoughtfully he turned his attention to Mikuniguro.

Deeeeep breath.

He could do this. It wasn't going to be that hard. It's just like brushing his own hair... So Izuminokami took a few steps closer to the horse, brush still in hand.

"I may not have his gentle touch, but I assure you I am just as charming as he is. So just bare with me, alright?"

(What's cooler than a job well done?)

If horses could raise a skeptical eyebrow, Mikuniguro would. Hmph. He arches his neck proudly. Only right that a stranger would be nervous before his proud and awesome presence though.
So he will be tolerant of this guy, for now.

...In the meantime, Tonbokiri is realizing that his own long white hair ties might be much too long for the short hair of the mane, so he's scrambling to find some of the purple ribbons from his armour.

( Uuuuugh now you're sounding like Kunihiro )

He takes another moment to brace himself before he reached out to start brushing out the horse's mane. It was really easy to tell right away just how much care Tonbokiri gave him. He seemed so well groomed already and definitely well fed as well.

"Who would have thought I'd find a horse almost as handsome as me," he said playfully as he continued brushing him.

(Kunihiro is a good sword.)

For all that Tonbokiri loves horses on the whole, he naturally has a bias towards his former master's steed.

Mikuniguro knows a compliment when he hears one, and snorts in satisfaction.
So when Tonbokiri comes hurrying back into the stables, he at once smiles and laughs at what he finds. He understands Mikuniguro's body language well, and he is glad to see Izuminokami lending a hand with the brushing.

"You two are getting along admirably. Did you perhaps compliment him?"

Izuminokami had gotten really into brushing the horse out. He was so focused on him and quietly complimenting his beauty that he hadn't even realized Tonbokiri had returned until he heard his voice. He jumped at the sound of his voice and whipped his head around so fast to see the other man standing there.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. Of course he'd naturally just be attracted to me. I'm a charming person...!"

Oh-hoho, he even surprised Izuminokami! Sorry. (kinda.)

Tonbokiri can't stop grinning. He knows Mikuniguro's preening when he sees it.

"You are two of a kind. A charming person," he gives Izuminokami a stout pat on the shoulder, "and a charming steed." He slaps Mikuniguro on the neck affectionately.

Pulling his hair over his shoulder he continues speaking to the horse, "we shall braid your hair like this, so that you can be even more charming. You'll enjoy that, won't you?"

Mikuniguro's just spent a handful of minutes being brushed and complimented. He's game for anything.

Izuminokami quickly holds the brush back out to Tonbokiri as he tries to hide his own face a tiny bit. Look, it's embarrassing being caught being sweet to others, even if it's an animal..!

"He'll be the best looking one here. Braids are charming on anyone who wears them"

Izuminokami has a very low threshold of ~~what he considers 'being sweet' on someone~~ becoming embarrassed over odd things.
Not that Tonbokiri doesn't get embarrassed over odd things, too. Such is the way of being human.

So he just takes back the brush with a kind smile and looks Mikuniguro over.

"You did a lovely job brushing out his hair. Good preparation is essential to good execution, right?"

He then slips one hand into his yukata's sleeve and pulls out a handful of small, purple ribbons.

"We are now properly prepared, so I shall take your instruction."

(I'm so sorry Tonbokiri is completely missing the subtext that he's charming too because he has a braid now?)

"Alright. Since his hair is a lot shorter we'll be making smaller braids obviously. So you're going to take a large amount of his hair and divide it into three sections."

His hands folded over his chest as he watched Tonbokiri. This horse honestly looked like he was made for him.

(Like Tonbokiri is somewhat larger that other swords, Mikuniguro is somewhat larger than other horses...)

Large, but smaller braids.
Tonbokiri has large hands, so it's easy for him to take a large handful of hair. But comparing it to how his own braid is... maybe a little less than a large handful?

He fiddles with his handful of hair for a moment, trying to work it into even thirds. Although he is good with fine, dexterous movements, it does take a bit of practice to get the feel of it first.

At last he presents his parted hair to Izuminokami for approval. He hopes it's about right.

Hopefully he didn't mind Izuminokami moving in on his space to inspect what he's done so far. Since he was teaching Tonbokiri and everything, he wanted to make sure everything turned out perfectly!

After a minute of looking, he gives him a grin and a thumbs up. He approved of what he's done so far.

"Now here comes the fun part. One by one you're going to take these parts and cross them over. And you'll keep doing that until you feel like the hair might be slipping out of your fingers too much. Now give it a try."

He is glad he's done all right so far but,

"Cross them over?"

He crosses two parts one over the other, but blinks down at the third. How does this work?

"My apologies. Could you show me how?"

Ah... he suppose it is a little easier with visuals than it would be just saying it. He gives him a small smile before reaching out to where Tonbokiri's hands were.

"No worries, it's a little tricky at first. It took me a while to get used to them in my own hair."

He chuckles a little and takes the hair out of Tonbokiri's hands before slowly crossing one over and then bringing the third up to cross over.

Tonbokiri hums thoughtfully as Izuminokami makes the braid.

"Ah, it seems a bit easier once it's been started. So the part that is on the outside, you bring to the middle..."

Tonbokiri takes up another handful of hair beside Izuminokami and sorts it into three parts again. Then he begins the braid, frowning over how awkward it is to start. But once he has a few plaits going, his expression softens.

"This rhythm is rather relaxing, isn't it."

And then he realizes, he's left Izuminokami to finish that one braid on his own, so he'll need something to tie it with. But Tonbokiri can't let go of his braid!

"My apologies. My hands are full now, but if you reach into my sleeve, you can get a ribbon to tie your braid off with."

"Oh..! It's no problem"

Awkwardly his fingers shift to hold onto the braid he had finished up so he could reach into his sleeve with his free hand. He tugs out a couple ribbons and his hand accidently brushes against his arm as he tugs them out.

"Purple? How fitting..."

He apologizes for it being so awkward. But he's glad that Izuminokami pulled out more than one.

He is a little surprised at the complement, but smiles.

"You think so? They are just ribbons from my armour..."

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