@tales-of-lost-fantasy liked for some of that nobody!
It was a peaceful atmosphere within the tiny space, nary more than one other customer tucked away in the cafe— hidden from sight and largely unknown unless one knew just where to search. ( Just like he was. ) Tentative sips are taken from his near black coffee, the bitterness chased away with the half eaten cupcake set aside. Violet hues flick up as another customer makes a quiet entrance, a heavy swallow unintentionally taken as the visage registers within the demon’s head.
Even if the third born largely kept from the public eye, someone like Azazel still knew who he was looking at. ( And he managed to find a tiny bit of gratitude that his underground existence had largely been left alone. ) Orange hues flick towards his seated figure after they search the room for any semblance of staff, only to find it lacking.
“Counter’s around that corner. Just ring the bell.”
“He is...! Sorry, let me think, I mistook him for someone else for a moment... Souza-san is capable of smiling even in his situation and... He doesn’t bend his knees to the saniwa, something that I wanted to be able to do. He is a goal that I’ll never reach, being able to have such strong willpower is truly admirable. Sometimes I hate it, but it can’t be helped. Souza-san is at least able to bite any hand close to him that he doesn’t approves, while I... Can only feel relief that one hand is trying to reach for me.”
“A closed space is a prison, but if you don’t wish to escape it turns into a castle. If someday he decides that he wants to be freed from his prison... I’ll be glad to help him, even though for me this closed space is a castle.”
Most attractive physical feature:
“... I used to describe him as beautiful as a bride, the bride being Jokei-in. Her beauty wasn’t great as Haruhime’s, my fair Aoki Gozen, but it surpassed Tsukiyama Gozen’s... Now, how can I call him this way? I couldn’t recognize him. Once I discovered about the Honnoji Incident and the Great Fire of Meireki that I could connect the dots and understand the cause that Souza-san has no beauty in comparison to his former self, yet I’ll always describe him with the same beauty that Joukei-in had, because that’s how Imagawa Yoshimoto described her until the last time I saw him, four years after her death.”
“I feel at ease looking at his hair and back, so I can pretend that nothing ever happened. I wonder how his eyes would be if he was still the same from before, probably they would be calm, but not empty.”
Most annoying habit:
“I want him to remember the past before Oda Nobunaga, Nothing that I tried worked and Sensaifumetsu refuses to help me. I don’t think this habit is annoying, I outright hate it. I would exchange this, my new chance to be useful, just for him to not be so influenced by someone who is no longer here. I know that I sometimes get nostalgic about my own masters, but... This isn’t nostalgia, it’s like an obsession. Sometimes I think he can only think about Oda Nobunaga for a reason, and this reason is frightening to think about.”
“But I can’t complain about it.The same way he can’t let go of Oda Nobunaga, I can’t let go of his former self. Pathetic, right?”
Something they would like to do with them:
“I already thanked him for Mikawa Province, the only home I knew. So anything more is out of question. He is no longer Miyoshi Samonji, nor Yoshimoto Samonji... I wish I was at Okehazama instead of Sensaifumetsu so could know what happened to him, but I guess that my existence was more peaceful not knowing what happened to him for centuries than it could be if I knew. As soon I recognized him I wanted to free him from the haunting figure of Oda Nobunaga, I tried, I really tried, but it won’t happen. So now, if he asks me to free him, I’ll even make it look like it was the enemy’s fault. That’s how much I want to show him that I care about him. His willpower is the thing that I admire the most, so I’ll face any punishment and swallow my regrets for the sake of him being able to have his wishes fulfilled.”
“But there is one thing I wanted to do with him once he manifested, if he hadn’t gone through everything that makes him himself now. I ... That’s so embarrassing... I wanted to hold his hand and say that I am glad to see him again and... Maybe ask if I am beautiful, now that I am no longer falling apart and my paintings are no longer faded.”
“Sure. Except it won’t happen.” Mutsunokami’s sheer endless optimism was almost admirable, if only it wasn’t so damn annoying. What was he even aiming for? No matter how much he tried, things won’t be like they used to be. “Is it so much fun to hang out with an eyesore like me?”
She screamed. Nouhime did not want to scream, but screamed as the hot water splashed into her hand. Quickly, Nouhime wraps her hand with a cloth. “It’s nothing. I splashed tea in my hand. It’ll get better soon”.
Nouhime hates making mistakes. She does not have time for such a mundane concern. In an era of war, none of them can afford to burn a hand with hot tea. And yet, it would be nice if all her troubles were a simply a burnt hand.
Nouhime almost likes to imagine it. Almost… a life like this does not exist in a world where Oda Nobunaga exists, and Nouhime would never betray her husband.
Kage heard the scream and immediately came down thinking it’s an attack. But not, it’s an accident of hot water being spilled. For some reason, Kage is relieved? He is hoping to find some intruders to have his blade go through. It doesn’t look like it.
“I see.” Kage went back into his calm composure and kneels in front of her with his head bowed, “Very well.” Kage keeping his voice neutral, “Would you like the burn to be attended to, immediately? I would get an ointment for you or have me call in the maids if you wish.” Kage suggested.
For how long has he been doing this? At this point, he didn’t even remember anymore. It was for the greater good, he kept trying to tell himself, for every dead person another one will live. Yet, each time another life fell to his blade, he felt another piece of him dying. Will he ever get used to this? Will he one day grow numb enough to endure this endless fighting? This bloody business, born out of a foolishly naive wish, the dream to see a world where everyone could be happy.
I don’t want anyone slain. I don’t want anyone gunned down. Yet, here he was, slaying people, gunning them down. How ironic. Painfully ironic.
He sighed after another one of his targets fell to the ground, slowly wiping some of the blood off his blade before sheathing it. Will this be finally over? Just in that moment he noticed steps behind him. Ryouma immediately drew his gun, ready to shoot down whoever was unfortunate enough to witness his work, but...
He hesitated. The man appearing before him seemed somewhat odd. Tall, clad in a red kimono. He wore the wrong clothes for the era he got summoned into. Something wasn’t quite right here.
“... Who are you?” The Guardian asked, eventually lowering his gun.
“I’m forced to disagree with you... Souza-san.” For someone who was used to call him by Imagawagatana, the name felt strange, to the point she smiled out of discomfort a little about the new sensation. Well, she started it all due to discomfort, the shaking hands shielding her chest weren’t helping with that at all. “A gunsen should be light and flexible. The heat of a battle is meaningless when you are just carried around only because your master pities your existence.” And, here we go! The caged bird speech. She didn’t heard it herself before, but she didn’t lived under a rock. “Half of Mikawa province wasn’t enough for you?” For an uncomfortably long moment she just stared him. Maybe this is the so called nature of a sword? “Do you remember about Takeda Nobutora? When his daughter married Imagawa Yoshimoto still is my favorite memory because...” She wanted to say so many things about that day, however she choose to not dwell further in this memory. “... That day gave me a reason to remember about someone who wasn’t my master or his family.”
“He used you, didn’t he? To march against Oda Nobuhide, to take Mikawa province back to my master. It was you, right?” Her distressed smile turned into a relaxed one while her hands finally stopped to shake and finally rested by her sides. Of course she won’t mention when her master turned his back to Imagawa Yoshimoto after that, this memory can simply be forgotten for a while. “Matsudaira Hirotada... I can’t remember what he felt towards having at least part of his home back, but if wasn’t for Imagawa Yoshimoto, your master, maybe I would never be able to return to Okazaki castle and see my master’s family grow. So, I don’t think is a completely empty title.”
To cry out of pain, to cry out of grief... He was used to it. However how he could place his newfound tears? He had no reason to cry, yet he let the tears roam freely. After all is the only thing he knows how to do when his eyes weren’t clouded by a distant memory. Yet even with his eyes clean of any daydreams, he saw the only person who mattered to him and cried. Maybe he was happy?
He could faint just to hear that voice. It was different, but he would always recognize Uesugi Kenshin, no matter how... To receive something from the only master he cared about was enough to make him lost his words, to get them stuck in his throat for long and bothersome seconds. He feel on his knees and thanked the gesture with a bow and fresh tears. “... Alright... Reality... At last...” He wasn’t able to accept it, it meant too much... His hands trembled while he was lifting himself, he even had trouble to hold the fabric between his fingers when he finally took it. The smile he saw was enough to hurt him, he wanted to have it burned into his memories once more, a smile just for him and him alone. “... It’s still... So strange.” Unable to speak further he hid his face behind his hands while holding the fine fabric. “Sorry and I’m truly glad to receive it.” He said while wanting to say how could I possibly accept it? My worth pales in comparison to yours. Himezuru is an overconfident prideful man, to the point of being called names and think it’s compliments, but he is weaker than he shows.
And Uesugi Kenshin would be always his biggest weakness.
