[DON'T DO THAT EITHER BAREN what a big fat jerk!!! Kashuu jolts upright, nearly knocking over his little box of sewing supplies that he really needs to stop precariously setting on the edge of things.]
Cut that out! You're gonna drop it!
[Better than that time Yato punched it for funsies, though...]
[baren's a giant fucking jerk and he watches the reaction - but maybe it's just some prized family heirloom and kashuu doesn't seem to have some kind of weirdass connection to it???]
No, I won't.
[instead he's just gonna
wiggle his fingers almost menacingly (why) before tap tap tapping them against the sword and almost tickling it
But no, instead of just having stashed some secret family heirloom in the closet, he's stashed a sword he's apparently lost part of his soul to. His physical body jerks a little in the same way one would expect of someone being suddenly tickled and he makes an inelegant snorting noise. MIRACULOUSLY he manages to still not knock over the sewing kit...
Even though he's now coming at Baren with a vengeance.]
[GOD, BAREN. Still probably not as much as getting punched, but he doesn't want to experience Fresh New Voodoo Pains, either...
ALSO THAT'S RUDE but totally true. Fortunately it doesn't take a lot of prying to get Kashuu to talk about this, considering nothing about it is too personal. Yet.]
Anyway, I seriously don't know what's going on. I went to a doctor who's on the network and everything and he had nooo idea. He said it might be some kinda soul transfer-y thing or whatever? Someone else said I might be some weird genie? [HE'S EXHAUSTED.] No one knows, though.
[Baren wracks his brain for memories, for weirdo myths that could apply here. He's got a couple of ideas, but none that he's willing to say out loud. Maybe a visit to the library or actually pretending to attend a class will be enough to convince him that he can share with Kashuu. As is, it's not enough to break his weird image of not being studious for the sake of tossing out theories.]
But you feel whatever this thing feels, right? And it's a full on sword? Doesn't feel fake...
[He's actually gonna check, just because he's kept it in the sheath so far?? So sorry Kashuu, he'll go ahead and unsheath the sword out of curiosity.]
[Why is Baren like this, the eternal question with no answer.
Either way, since Kashuu still hasn't looked into it himself (mostly because he's half-convinced that if he ignores it it'll just stop being a thing?! LET HIM LIVE), he doesn't give it any particular mind in this case either.]
Yeah, it's a sword. It's— [Definitely real, is what he's going to say, but then BAREN RUDELY UNSHEATHES IT.
Well, it's definitely a real sword. Very well-made, even! Kashuu's watching with some amount of wariness, though it's mostly because this feels oddly uncomfortable and not because he actually expects Baren to drop it.]
—It's real, yeah. And I've just kinda been describing it as like, an extra arm or something? ...Look, I know it's weird.
[Baren's openly curious in this sense - turning the sword over in his hand and getting used to the weight of it. The hand holding the sheath lets it rest on his shoulder, a movement that's unconscious and distantly familiar. Even though he'd studied kendo when he was in Japan, he can't remember ever laying hands on an actual sword.
Until now.]
Some of these have inscriptions, right? To tell you who made it, who owned it.... Did you do research or did you literally closet the situation.
[can you believe kashuu has to come out as a sword]
Maybe you were cursed by a witch to have some part of your soul locked away in this one and we need to figure out how to break the spell so you can be a real boy.
baren tilts his head, because he's sort of used to kashuu skirting around things. there's enough vagueness in that statement that he doesn't see an issue in pressing more directly just to see if he'll get a bite]
[Apparently not because he doesn't even argue against that.]
A bunch of old photos, but that's pretty much it. There were some pictures of swords that used to belong to warlords or whatever, like the one she woke up with. [POOR HASEBE.] We think we saw one that looked like mine? But it was suuuper grainy and in black and white, so it was hard to tell. I guess the smith was Kiyomitsu too, though.
I can see Aki being a warlord. She's always been aggressive—
[and he makes note to ask her about his later, maybe. sort of. it's a half-formed note because he's suddenly blinking in confusion as a series of images flash before his eyes. ninjas. a pipe. some green-haired kid yelling about his left side, a disadvantage, a blind spot.
a sword, a familiar weight in his hand and then bodies falling to the forest floor in a heap.
his hold on kashuu's sword might've grown more certain, more confident instead of just appraising.
and then he blinks away the last of the images, sheathing the sword again in one smooth motion before turning it so that he can offer it back to kashuu, looking away in contemplative silence. then, a tired:]
[It's weird, how attuned he's becoming to being able to tell the skill level or certainty of people just based on the way they handle this sword. Yato had been confident and skilled - unnaturally so, even. Yamato's hands were familiar and strong, even if they lacked the flourish of Yato. With Baren, it's strange because he can feel the difference as it happens.
He'd have probably been able to figure out what happened even without that additional note, but he pieces things together very quickly with it.]
Did you just see something?
[Reaching out to take his sword back, thanks samurai jack]
[stop it, yamato is samurai jack and baren will never fight him for the title
that said he's just gonna hand over the sword and then proceed to make himself way too comfortable in kashuu's room, flopping over on his bed and pulling out his phone like some kind of angsty teenager.
(his thumb hovers over the call button for okuni. ah. he wants to tell her. he doesn't.)]
Mm.
[ . . . alright, it's too obvious even for him and so that's why he adds:]
You know, it'd be funnier if ninjas really did run the way they did in that one anime? Ah, that's such a weird trend...
[ . . . . ]
Actually, they weren't bad dressers. I'll jot it down for you later if you need inspiration.
[THAT DEFINITELY JUST ADDS MORE QUESTIONS... Kashuu will move to safely put his sword into the closet after getting it back, in any case. He's mostly moved past the point of trying to just pretend it doesn't exist, especially since he kind of needs it if he has to defend himself or anyone else in the future. There's still no other place he can really put it, though...
Anyway, while he's doing that, he's also going to voice his confusion.]
So... what, are you saying you saw ninjas? Like real, actual ninjas? [A BEAT.] Did I remind you?
[He's been on a roll with that, lately... Tripping battle-oriented memories. Why.]
[And Baren rolls over, looks to the ceiling as he tries to parse through the new pieces of information rattling in his head.]
Covering their faces, holding kunai, more fast than they were powerful. Ninjas were primarily for intel and assassination, right? I don't know how much they worked in groups, though I guess there were different clans...
[ . . . . and he sighs. The kanji on the mask said "Iga" from what he could tell.]
Anyway, I dunno if that was you or if I would've remembered it if I just held a fancy kitchen knife.
[ . . . actually. A moment of silence after as he realizes that's not a terrible idea.]
[WELL, that's not untrue... He'd actually be more convinced Baren was lying if he was talking about having a 9-5 desk job than him talking about dinosaurs and space and ninjas.]
Mm, probably not a model.
[What a tragedy, what a waste of a good face.
Why does Kashuu play along every time Baren wildly veers the conversation off of a serious track, why.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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because even in his angry yodeling he heard the little yelp and he's squinting at the timing there.
which is why he's not going to listen to kashuu he's just
going to give the sword a
friendly little toss before catching it again
staring kashuu down all the while]
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Cut that out! You're gonna drop it!
[Better than that time Yato punched it for funsies, though...]
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No, I won't.
[instead he's just gonna
wiggle his fingers almost menacingly (why) before tap tap tapping them against the sword and almost tickling it
why is this
why]
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But no, instead of just having stashed some secret family heirloom in the closet, he's stashed a sword he's apparently lost part of his soul to. His physical body jerks a little in the same way one would expect of someone being suddenly tickled and he makes an inelegant snorting noise. MIRACULOUSLY he manages to still not knock over the sewing kit...
Even though he's now coming at Baren with a vengeance.]
Quit it, you jerk!
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this is what gets baren to stop, instead just pressing a hand to his forehead as he closes his eyes as if trying to fight off a migraine]
I don't know where to start with this....
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Look, I don't either, okay? So just leave it.
[NO EXPLANATION NO NOTHING it's fine... He's just become even more of a samurai soulbonder than Yamato.]
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Nope!
I know you're shit at it but start talking, trail mix.
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[GOD, BAREN. Still probably not as much as getting punched, but he doesn't want to experience Fresh New Voodoo Pains, either...
ALSO THAT'S RUDE but totally true. Fortunately it doesn't take a lot of prying to get Kashuu to talk about this, considering nothing about it is too personal. Yet.]
Anyway, I seriously don't know what's going on. I went to a doctor who's on the network and everything and he had nooo idea. He said it might be some kinda soul transfer-y thing or whatever? Someone else said I might be some weird genie? [HE'S EXHAUSTED.] No one knows, though.
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[Baren wracks his brain for memories, for weirdo myths that could apply here. He's got a couple of ideas, but none that he's willing to say out loud. Maybe a visit to the library or actually pretending to attend a class will be enough to convince him that he can share with Kashuu. As is, it's not enough to break his weird image of not being studious for the sake of tossing out theories.]
But you feel whatever this thing feels, right? And it's a full on sword? Doesn't feel fake...
[He's actually gonna check, just because he's kept it in the sheath so far?? So sorry Kashuu, he'll go ahead and unsheath the sword out of curiosity.]
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Either way, since Kashuu still hasn't looked into it himself (mostly because he's half-convinced that if he ignores it it'll just stop being a thing?! LET HIM LIVE), he doesn't give it any particular mind in this case either.]
Yeah, it's a sword. It's— [Definitely real, is what he's going to say, but then BAREN RUDELY UNSHEATHES IT.
Well, it's definitely a real sword. Very well-made, even! Kashuu's watching with some amount of wariness, though it's mostly because this feels oddly uncomfortable and not because he actually expects Baren to drop it.]
—It's real, yeah. And I've just kinda been describing it as like, an extra arm or something? ...Look, I know it's weird.
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Until now.]
Some of these have inscriptions, right? To tell you who made it, who owned it.... Did you do research or did you literally closet the situation.
[can you believe kashuu has to come out as a sword]
Maybe you were cursed by a witch to have some part of your soul locked away in this one and we need to figure out how to break the spell so you can be a real boy.
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[And it'll be a bad time because his physical strength is slowly but surely increasing in a very unnatural way...]
I looked some stuff up with Aki earlier, but that's it... I don't even know where an inscription would be.
[He also doesn't mention that the sword he found when looking things up with Aki was called Kiyomitsu...]
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[is there a limit to vanity
anyway
baren tilts his head, because he's sort of used to kashuu skirting around things. there's enough vagueness in that statement that he doesn't see an issue in pressing more directly just to see if he'll get a bite]
What'd you find with Aki?
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A bunch of old photos, but that's pretty much it. There were some pictures of swords that used to belong to warlords or whatever, like the one she woke up with. [POOR HASEBE.] We think we saw one that looked like mine? But it was suuuper grainy and in black and white, so it was hard to tell. I guess the smith was Kiyomitsu too, though.
[HA HA funny coincidence, that.]
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[and he makes note to ask her about his later, maybe. sort of. it's a half-formed note because he's suddenly blinking in confusion as a series of images flash before his eyes. ninjas. a pipe. some green-haired kid yelling about his left side, a disadvantage, a blind spot.
a sword, a familiar weight in his hand and then bodies falling to the forest floor in a heap.
his hold on kashuu's sword might've grown more certain, more confident instead of just appraising.
and then he blinks away the last of the images, sheathing the sword again in one smooth motion before turning it so that he can offer it back to kashuu, looking away in contemplative silence. then, a tired:]
... I need a nap.
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He'd have probably been able to figure out what happened even without that additional note, but he pieces things together very quickly with it.]
Did you just see something?
[Reaching out to take his sword back, thanks samurai jack]
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that said he's just gonna hand over the sword and then proceed to make himself way too comfortable in kashuu's room, flopping over on his bed and pulling out his phone like some kind of angsty teenager.
(his thumb hovers over the call button for okuni. ah. he wants to tell her. he doesn't.)]
Mm.
[ . . . alright, it's too obvious even for him and so that's why he adds:]
You know, it'd be funnier if ninjas really did run the way they did in that one anime? Ah, that's such a weird trend...
[ . . . . ]
Actually, they weren't bad dressers. I'll jot it down for you later if you need inspiration.
[that probably just adds more questions but okay]
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Anyway, while he's doing that, he's also going to voice his confusion.]
So... what, are you saying you saw ninjas? Like real, actual ninjas? [A BEAT.] Did I remind you?
[He's been on a roll with that, lately... Tripping battle-oriented memories. Why.]
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[And Baren rolls over, looks to the ceiling as he tries to parse through the new pieces of information rattling in his head.]
Covering their faces, holding kunai, more fast than they were powerful. Ninjas were primarily for intel and assassination, right? I don't know how much they worked in groups, though I guess there were different clans...
[ . . . . and he sighs. The kanji on the mask said "Iga" from what he could tell.]
Anyway, I dunno if that was you or if I would've remembered it if I just held a fancy kitchen knife.
[ . . . actually. A moment of silence after as he realizes that's not a terrible idea.]
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[Please don't look for a fancy kitchen knife, though... He might actually find one, considering Yato uses their kitchen so often.
EITHER WAY even if this is the first time he's heard of ninjas, it's still carrying on an alarming trend.]
...It really does seem like almost everyone has something like that to remember.
[He doesn't say that he's sorry Baren's getting dragged into it, but the sentiment is probably noticeable, anyway.]
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You have to admit - we all would've been more surprised if I remembered boring shit. Like libraries or being a bank teller.
[So.
Don't worry about it, because he's just laughing.]
Between the dinosaurs and being in space, I wonder what kind of person I was!
[ . . . and in order to dodge an uncomfortable situation, he's now proceeding to use lies.]
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Mm, probably not a model.
[What a tragedy, what a waste of a good face.
Why does Kashuu play along every time Baren wildly veers the conversation off of a serious track, why.]
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matching peacocks.]
You never know. It seemed kinda old timey, maybe I was one of those performers instead. I could've done kabuki next to velociraptors.
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Maybe you just did kabuki next to the oiran. They were all kinda in the same place, weren't they?
[Just implies Baren was some kind of ye olde prostitute, it's fine.]
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[which brings him to an entirely separate train of thought - ]
You ever been to a red light district?
[don't do this]
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