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.

On one hand, Tonbokiri is glad that Izuminokami didn't take that as a slight against his pride as a sword.
On the other hand, he'd not expected such an amusing reaction! He's embarrassed over that? (To be fair though, he doesn't have much room to talk himself.)

"Of course. Of course." Tonbokiri gives Izuminokami a sound, reassuring pat on the shoulder. "In apology, I'll get you an apple as a treat when we go back inside. They're very delicious right now." (Is he still teasing? Maybe just a little.)

Mikuniguro knows that key word, and wants an apple too! Hey! He shoves his nose into Izuminokami's side.

"H-hey! I'm not a--" He was cut off when he felt Mikuniguro nudge him eagerly.

His face was completely red now. He was thrown off his whole "cool guy" act and it was so embarrassing.

"D-don't get mad at me! Tonbokiri is the one offering apples get mad at him!"

Tonbokiri relents when he sees how red Izuminokami has become, and turns his laugh towards Mikuniguro.

"My apologies, Mikuniguro. I really will give you an apple later." He pats the stallion's neck firmly. The horse recognizes the promise and nudges Izuminokami gently as if in apology.

"And my apologies towards you as well, Izuminokami-dono. He's not mad. He just loves apples as much as he loves compliments and gets a bit carried away."

Izumi lets out a soft huff and turned his head to the side, his hair moving over his shoulder as he does so.

"You owe us both one later."

For causing so much trouble, Tonbokiri!! Well he really didn't cause any, Izumi just flustered easily when it came to the other sword warriors.

"I'll even get you two."

He pats Izuminokami on the shoulder and holds out a ribbon where he can see it, even turned away as he is.

"Shall we finish? I do not doubt that you can make braids twice as quickly as I can, though."

He lets out a loud huff, which was basically just him tryiing to hide his embarrassment. He wasn't actually mad at the other man, which was shown when he took one of the ribbons and began doing another braid on the horse's lovely mane.

"He's going to make everyone jealous with these looks..."

Izuminokami bounces back quickly, ne.

"Hahaha. Usually the horses are only jealous of treats. I wonder if the braids will become another thing to worry about."

He starts braiding as well.

"Perhaps on the next shopping trip, if Aruji allows such an indulgence, I shall look for some ribbon to use with the horses." Or more like if Hasebe allows such an indulgence. He keeps the purse-strings tight...

"If you're going to be doing that, then you'll have to make sure to pick up some red ones. Red would really show nicely in their fine manes."

Not really, it's just his own personal bias. He wore red ribbons and red everything else all the time. It was most likely just his favorite color.

"Some red ones, then," he agrees with a grin. This reminds him of Mutsunokami jumping on 'what things do you like?' Perhaps it's something that one doesn't think about much until asked.
This does make him wonder though...

"I wonder what colours Aruji likes. Even if I got a different colour for every horse, it would be best to honour Aruji by getting his favourites."

Huh... that really was a good question. They've all been with Aruji for quite some time now, some longer than others, but how much of their likes and dislikes did they really know?

Izuminokami frowned thoughtfully, his fingers slowly braiding now. As hard as he thought on the matter, he really couldn't recall anything that screamed out as something Aruji might like.

"He wears so much white, but... that sounds more like a preference to the fabric type than a favorite color..."

He nods in return, also slower in his braiding as he thinks this over.

"I would ask him directly, but when might we have the chance to ask such a casual thing?" He sighs. "I wonder if even the Konnosuke would know."

"Not to mention a certain somebody hardly lets any of us talk to Aruji when he's the one tending to him," Izumi lets out a poutier sounding huff.

Hasebe was a great fighter and a great ally to have around, but Kanesada would admit in a heartbeat how much of a pain in the rear Hasebe could be when it came to matters with Aruji. And if they wanted to go meet him, surely Hasebe would scold them both of wanting to ask Aruji such a 'ridiculous' and 'pointless' question.

Tonbokiri chuckles sympathetically, knowing exactly who Izuminokami means.

"How dare we approach our honourable Aruji with such a pointless question?" Even without knowing Izuminokami's thoughts, it is not difficult to echo them.

"...The point of the question is rather small, but not entirely meaningless. There is the aim to give honour to Aruji by displaying something he likes. Perhaps that would be enough to satisfy Hasebe-dono."

Izuminokami quickly held a hand to his mouth to try and hide the amusement trying to slip out after that. He didn't expect Tonbokiri to read his mind so easily, and it was especially surprising to actually hear him say those words as well.

"You should do the talking if we do decide to ask. I feel like Hasebe would be more willing to listen to your words than my own."

As they are standing right beside each other as they braid Mikuniguro's mane, it is easy for Tonbokiri to see Izuminokami trying to hide his amusement. He'd just been saying it as it is - it's not all that funny, is it?

He bows his head. "Thank you for your confidence. I shall certainly ask, should the opportunity present itself."

He paused for a moment, in his words that is. His fingers did finally go back to work at the very least. Finishing off another braid with a nice ribbon at the end.

"Does that mean purpose would be yours? "

His favorite color that is. He's trying to recall, but he's pretty sure the only other colors he's seen Tonbokiri in were whites and blacks, but the purple really stood out.

"Mm?" After that surprised hum he chuckles as he continues braiding. "... I'd just thought, it's something that one might not think of much until asked. And now you've asked."

He does take a moment to think about it, but... "I feel that you're right. Imagining all the other colours, something just feels good about this purple for me." He indicates the ribbons now adorning Mikuniguro's mane. "It's hard to put into words, other than I just 'like' it."

"I don't think there needs to be any other reason besides that.I just like it... it's kind of a nice thing to think about, don't you think?"

He smiles a bit fondly as he reaches out to actually pet Mikuniguro now.

"It's something that I've realized recently... I don't really think about enough, and now that I am it's making me more curious about those around me, like my close companions.. and you as well."

Mikuniguro arches his neck under the pat, and turns to gently nose at Izuminokami's shoulder. (First come pets, then comes apples, right? Right.)

Tonbokiri smiles to himself, thinking about how Mutsunokami and Izuminokami influence each other.

The captain had first thought to have everyone in the unit introduce themselves to draw them closer together, but Mutsunokami's brash inquiries about favourite things seems to have planted a seed within Izuminokami in the end.

"Thank you, Izuminokami-dono. That is a significant realization. I look forward to thinking about more favourite things and sharing with them together with you."

He would of course never admit it out loud, and maybe he hadn't even realized it himself, but it was certainly true. Mutsunokami had certainly made an impression on him quite a number of times, and while he still didn't understand the other sword that well, some of his strange habits were rubbing off on him regardless.

"Huh?"

He was lost in thought when Tonbokiri spoke up again, causing a faint blush to form on his face once more. Caught spacing off...

"I-I mean. Of course. And I will share my own findings with you as well..!"

Izuminokami, what did he do this time to make you blush...?

Tying off the braid he'd been working on, he nods both to finishing that, and to acknowledge Izuminokami.

"Good. And now that Mikuniguro is looking splendid, I should make the stable follow suit. Would you lend me your assistance?"

(He's wearing Tonbokiri's yukata, and his hair is tied back. He is completely prepared to work!)

On one hand, Tonbokiri was asking him to help him with chores. And he reeeeeeally didn't want to do chores. At all. Just because he didn't feel as hot as he did before, didn't mean he still felt like he wanted to do chores!! But... on the other hand, Tonbokiri was asking him for help. And that filled him with a sense of pride in a way. They were conflicting feelings, but that smile on Tonbokiri and the prideful feeling he was feeling ultimately won.

"Fine fiiiine, I suppose it'll go a lot faster if we both work on it."

His smile becomes even brighter. "That's the idea. There is not much to do, as we're just giving whomever is on stable duty a bit of a hand." (Yep, he's not even assigned it right now.)

"If you would please check all the water troughs? It's hot for us, and it's hot for them, as well. We'll top off their water, and let me know if any stable needs mucking out." He'll at least take on that part himself. "And finally we'll sweep up."

Not that he likes to show others how much he struggles with that particular chore, but it must be done.

He really couldn't back down after seeing the way Tonbokiri's face lit up. It was actually pretty sweet... Darn it...! He really was a softy sword on the inside wasn't he?

"Fill up their water, you muck out the stalls, and then we sweep. Got it. That really shouldn't take too much time."

Or maybe it wouldn't if Tonbokiri didn't have Izuminokami on his side to help him in this. But still he did make a promise so he wouldn't halfass it at the very least.

(Yep, total marshmallow on the inside :3 )

Tonbokiri can't help but grin at the way Izuminokami repeats it back like he's the one giving the orders. It's very much him, isn't it.

But, time to get down to business! With a practiced motion he ties back his sleeves with the long strip of fabric for that purpose, takes up shovel and broom, and starts looking into horse stalls. Of course, it doesn't take long to find one that needs tending.

He keeps an eye on Izuminokami as he works. Knowing the prim sword doesn't like chores much, Tonbokiri hopes that he'll not have much trouble with this relatively clean and straight-forward task. At the least, he knows that once Izuminokami had agreed to it, he will give it a worthy effort.

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