It was entirely by chance he happened on the uchi–as is any encounter he’d potentially have in this city, for sure, and it wasn’t like he didn’t expect there to be other swords wandering around this place.
It was far too expansive for that to be impossible.
But he still wears a brief look of surprise on his features, one that dissolves after a minute into a sort of grin as a hand rests on his hips, giving the other a quick once-over to ensure that everything seemed alright.
“You came first again, huh?” Izumi remarks, though the realization then sets in that if Kashuu had gotten here first, he could’ve been here for any amount of time. Maybe?
“At least that means you’re loved then, right? That’s not the point, though–” weight shifts from foot to foot as he gnaws briefly on his tongue in thought, “–if you got here first, then you’ve got to know more, don’t you? Are you alone?”
He can’t imagine that aruji and Kashuu were the only two here, though really it was entirely possible. These ‘scientist’ people could apparently pick and choose whatever and whomever they wanted; for all Izumi knew they decided they didn’t want any other swords on their hands.
( whether that was good or bad, he couldn’t decide just yet. )
He doesn’t expect to hear such a familiar voice after so long; but it goes almost unsurprising, truly. It gives Kashuu a sense of warmth as well as a sharp pain in his chest, because he remembers Horikawa Kunihiro crying and being so tired of how everyone always came and left and he stayed.
Yet it’s good, at the same time. To see a familiar face, to know they’re well instead of only having each other. It’s torture, but it also gives the uchigatana a reason to keep moving forward, to keep waiting day after day for a sign of those he cared for so much. It feels like far too long since he has seen Izuminokami, after all.
❝ I don’t know about being loved in this case, ❞ Not when he was so far from his Aruji, hoping everyday they are safe and sound -- and hoping everyday they miss him, even though he knows painfully well time doesn’t work the same way back in their world. ❝ Especially since I wasn’t the first to arrive, you know. But since it seems I was the first danshi you’ve met here, then maybe you love me too much? ❞ It’s a tease, especially considering there were far too little of them in this city. What were the odds?
He sighs slightly and smiles at his old friend, leaning on one foot with a hand on his hip. Really, Izuminokami didn’t change. Not that he expected him to, and Kashuu is glad he didn’t. It feels like home, this way. ❝ Not really. Very few of us are around. I think maybe just four or five now, not counting with-- ❞ the Saniwa, he wants to say, but it would sound maybe too weird, not to refer to her as Aruji, and Kashuu doesn’t want the other asking too many questions. ❝ ... Aruji. Or that’s what I’ve heard, anyways. Things change here in the blink of an eye. It’s quite annoying, really. Ah, Horikawa is around too. We actually live together. ❞ Further details isn’t something he needs to know.
