[HE'S ABOUT TO CHOP OFF BAREN'S STUPID FEET SO HE CAN'T RUN ALL OVER THE CITY BEING AN IDIOT, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON.
Except he just sort of lifts the blade - still sheathed - up.]
This is me.
[Which is the first time he's ever made such a direct verbal connection between himself and the sword that he refuses to put down... That said, in a move that might have normal Recolle Baren hurtling down from the sky to kick his ass, he holds it out.]
If you're really so worried about whether or not you can trust me, then you can hold onto this. You better be gentle with me, though.
[normal Recolle Baren would absolutely be screaming in this moment insisting that Kashuu not trust someone that just happens to look like him with his sword, what are you doing you stupid bag of trail mix motherfucker
- instead Baren will blink once, twice. The other hand that was itching for the knife on his person instead reaches out to take the sword from Kashuu with an experienced hold. He knows what he's doing, apparently.]
... Collateral?
[why does he have to say it like that. regardless he seems to take that into consideration, brow furrowing.]
... Ah. [even if the tsukumogami part is bullshit, someone else gave baren his sword. that's reason enough to at least listen. it doesn't make sense any other way to cut it. baren immediately moves to keep the sword at his side, letting it fall right into place where the kumou sword would normally be.] Fine.
[He's a stupid bag of trail mix with too much trust in his little trail mix heart...
And a little bit of surprise that - for a second - is visible on his face. Baren's not exactly sloppy with a blade, but there's a noticeable difference between the way he'd been held before and the way he's being held now. He can recognize the familiarity instantly.]
—Sure.
[What a STUPID WORD TO USE, GOD-- But as long as he's left the immediate dangerzone of Baren possibly just darting off into traffic to try and escape, he's more or less accomplished what he was after.]
Anyway, I wasn't lying. Yasusada tried to attack our microwave. If you don't remember things like that, you could end up getting, I dunno... stuck in an escalator or falling down a manhole or something. I seriously just don't want you to hurt yourself out here, especially since reality's kinda unstable right now.
Baren blinks once like that's something he's supposed to recognize, but he doesn't.]
What kind of person are you taking me for....
[he's kind of offended by that? look, he's managed to figure out some things decently. street signs are fine, for example. there's a lot of Watch and Learn going on, but at least he wasn't walked into traffic (mor than once). but regardless he'll shake his head and move to pull his hand out of kashuu's grip assuming that he won't run anymore]
[SOMEWHERE, YASUSADA IS CRYING... Except not because he doesn't remember anything either. Why is Kashuu the eternal babysitter??
In any case, he'll let Baren fetch his hand back without any fuss, immediately crossing his arms over his chest once his own hands are free.]
Look, I don't have any precedent for how you'd deal with something like this and I don't like taking risks.
[Not this kind of risk, anyway. He's taking no chances?! Though it's true that Baren seems to be handling things much better than Yasusada, who's his only other point of reference... Tragic.
[It's so straightforward that it is immediately Uncomfortable for someone like Kashuu, who's straightforward in some ways and stupidly evasive and tsuntsun in others. Still...]
Well... Yeah. I am.
[That is what he's trying to do here, after all, even if his brain - still firmly in the WAIT BUT I'M HUMAN camp - hadn't made the same connections between swords and protecting people.
The rest of that also treads uncomfortable grounds for different reasons. Baren had been the one to force him to look at his own situation head-on instead of continuing to pretend it didn't exist, but Baren also doesn't often refer to him like a sword. Hearing the terms laid out so plainly - protecting, serving, acting the part of a real living blade - has some dissonance.
But he's not about to say no, either.]
You only have to ask me once, you know. I said I'd be here when you need me, and even if you can't remember it, it's still true.
[He can't believe his samurai husband has been cheating on him with other swords though, incredible.]
[sometimes you just have to choose between the sword you pick out for yourself and the swords that your family set you up with
it's like a kdrama
that said Baren blinks once at that, because it's interesting. To hear what a sword has to say about it, even if he doesn't quite completely understand the context of the promise. Kashuu promised to be his, for whatever reason. So he'll protect him, and be present when needed. What more could Baren ask for?]
Kashuu Kiyomitsu....
[he repeats the name thoughtfully even as his hand moves to rest on the hilt of the blade familiarly.]
I guess if it's you, then having another blade isn't so bad.
[Kashuu's always been an idiot of duality. As much as he dislikes looking at himself as a sword instead of a person, as often as he avoids so much as talking about it, something close to pride still settles in his chest when he hears that. Even though Baren doesn't remember him, he's still willing to keep him at his side.
Of course it's not bad, part of him wants to say, because I'm a great sword.
But instead of putting those words out into the Great Big World where they REALLY DON'T NEED TO EXIST, he just huffs like he's vaguely miffed to hide how secretly pleased he is. Truly an idiot, a stupid bag of trail mix.]
Good! Then that's settled. [HUFF PUFF HUFF.] Hooopefully we won't be dealing with monsters dropping out of the sky like before, but you can count on me if something stupid like that does happen, okay?
[Oh, right--]
You have another sword too, but he doesn't remember anything either so he's like, functionally useless.
[HOO BOY he sure doesn't want to be the one to break the news to Baren about his sister, stuck perpetually in an NPC-like state... (Though he's not at all surprised to see that somehow, his memory of Okuni is still intact when little else is.)
So instead, he just nods.]
Yeah. I don't think he would've gone for it at all if you hadn't asked me first. You two huff at each other a lot.
[Less often, lately... And it's not like it had ever been very serious to begin with.]
[His answer is SNAPPISH AND IMMEDIATE. Somehow, he seems more offended by that than anything else so far?!]
You think I'd do any of this for money? No one could pay me enough to put up with how much of a headache you are! D'you just like, not understand the definition of friendship or something?
[Baren with his Recollé memories understands to some extent that he has to at least feign an interest in having friends because in the modern world it's pretty damn effective for getting information, and not having friends just might make you a sociopath.]
I don't need friends, I have Okuni.
[lmao]
Relying on shit like that sounds like an easy way to get betrayed.
He's still not touching that with a 10 foot pole.]
Yeah, see, this? This is why I wouldn't hang out with you for pay. [Even if, to be fair to Recolle Baren, this is like ten times worse than he's ever seen Baren be. In terms of being a semi-normal, sociable person, anyway...]
You don't have to worry about me betraying you or whatever, but you're probably too weird and paranoid to believe it. That's why I gave you that. [A nod toward the sword at his side.] I'm not gonna ask you to believe me either since you're way too hardheaded for talking to be enough. Just, like, try not to make things super hard for me out of spite.
[ - well, it's not like he's wrong. Baren continues to turn the words over in his head and then he huffs faintly.]
You're my sword? By being a tsukumogami, and you agreed to it, and you gave me your own vessel so - you don't have to worry about me making things harder for you on purpose. I can believe you if I have this.
[If he has something tangible. Collateral. But there's a shake of his head and he looks irritated.]
But the me that you know - because that's what this is, right? Whatever that swamp witch took from me is stuff that involves you, and holds more about me.... The me that you know actually believes in shit like having friends?
[It's hard to process if only because - ]
What kind of time is this?
[modern era sure is hard to process for a sengoku man]
[God, Baren is struggling and Kashuu is struggling because Baren is struggling and it's just a circle of STRUGGLE and he's tired. But on the plus side, that's one hurdle down if he doesn't have to worry about things getting worse. As long as his sword is with Baren and as long as Baren is tending to it carefully, that's fine.
As for the rest? He can remember some of the things Baren had told him about as far as his memories went. The courtesans, the old buildings... If he's anything like Yasusada, then Kashuu can imagine exactly why being in a place (or time, more specifically) like this would throw him off so badly. Why hearing things about this "other" self would be hard to believe.
So he starts at the simplest place, gesturing outward toward the street and its passing cars.]
Well, it's 2018, to start. You're a pretty prickly guy and I don't know what kinda stuff you remember now, but it's not like you're gonna get stabbed on your way to school.
[No murder or ye olde assassinations or pretending to blow people up for the giggles.]
It lacks a prefix - it's not Keicho 2018, which isn't possible because no emperor will live that long. Even the conventional time system makes no sense to Baren, but he can at least understand that this is the Future. Whatever that means. How far in the future? He's not sure! But he'll listen and... huff.]
That's probably why you'd skip to do things like steal chocobos and stuff.
[RAISING HIS ARMS... He's honestly not sure why Baren does what Baren does outside of the vague and generally accepted "because he's Baren". He doesn't particularly want to take the time out now to dissect possible motives, either... But that's about the best he can spitball on a whim.]
[ - which is a vague answer, but also the truest one that he has to offer? Baren tilts his head, confused at the idea of settling in with studies and staying in one place for a long time.]
But I guess if other people are happy with it, that's fine.
Most people prefer it to what our lives have become, anyway. They're not really like that anymore.
[He makes a vague, sweeping gesture toward the area around himself, as if to indicate the Entirety Of Everything™ that seems to be happening 24/7. Baren in particular included.]
It's kind of a hard shift for looots of people to make. Sometimes the memories help when they come back, but sometimes they don't. Depends on how lucky you are.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Except he just sort of lifts the blade - still sheathed - up.]
This is me.
[Which is the first time he's ever made such a direct verbal connection between himself and the sword that he refuses to put down... That said, in a move that might have normal Recolle Baren hurtling down from the sky to kick his ass, he holds it out.]
If you're really so worried about whether or not you can trust me, then you can hold onto this. You better be gentle with me, though.
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- instead Baren will blink once, twice. The other hand that was itching for the knife on his person instead reaches out to take the sword from Kashuu with an experienced hold. He knows what he's doing, apparently.]
... Collateral?
[why does he have to say it like that. regardless he seems to take that into consideration, brow furrowing.]
... Ah. [even if the tsukumogami part is bullshit, someone else gave baren his sword. that's reason enough to at least listen. it doesn't make sense any other way to cut it. baren immediately moves to keep the sword at his side, letting it fall right into place where the kumou sword would normally be.] Fine.
Tell me what's in it for you.
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And a little bit of surprise that - for a second - is visible on his face. Baren's not exactly sloppy with a blade, but there's a noticeable difference between the way he'd been held before and the way he's being held now. He can recognize the familiarity instantly.]
—Sure.
[What a STUPID WORD TO USE, GOD-- But as long as he's left the immediate dangerzone of Baren possibly just darting off into traffic to try and escape, he's more or less accomplished what he was after.]
Anyway, I wasn't lying. Yasusada tried to attack our microwave. If you don't remember things like that, you could end up getting, I dunno... stuck in an escalator or falling down a manhole or something. I seriously just don't want you to hurt yourself out here, especially since reality's kinda unstable right now.
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Baren blinks once like that's something he's supposed to recognize, but he doesn't.]
What kind of person are you taking me for....
[he's kind of offended by that? look, he's managed to figure out some things decently. street signs are fine, for example. there's a lot of Watch and Learn going on, but at least he wasn't walked into traffic (mor than once). but regardless he'll shake his head and move to pull his hand out of kashuu's grip assuming that he won't run anymore]
You said you were my sword?
[a tsukumogami... but his sword.... ok.jpg]
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In any case, he'll let Baren fetch his hand back without any fuss, immediately crossing his arms over his chest once his own hands are free.]
Look, I don't have any precedent for how you'd deal with something like this and I don't like taking risks.
[Not this kind of risk, anyway. He's taking no chances?! Though it's true that Baren seems to be handling things much better than Yasusada, who's his only other point of reference... Tragic.
As for that:]
Yeah. You asked me to be, so I said yes.
[They got married on the samurai astral plane.]
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So are you protecting me?
[it's a remarkably straightforward question - but that's the point of a sword, isn't it. to protect what matters to you.]
My sword is missing at the moment - well, the family sword - so are you offering to serve in its stead?
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Well... Yeah. I am.
[That is what he's trying to do here, after all, even if his brain - still firmly in the WAIT BUT I'M HUMAN camp - hadn't made the same connections between swords and protecting people.
The rest of that also treads uncomfortable grounds for different reasons. Baren had been the one to force him to look at his own situation head-on instead of continuing to pretend it didn't exist, but Baren also doesn't often refer to him like a sword. Hearing the terms laid out so plainly - protecting, serving, acting the part of a real living blade - has some dissonance.
But he's not about to say no, either.]
You only have to ask me once, you know. I said I'd be here when you need me, and even if you can't remember it, it's still true.
[He can't believe his samurai husband has been cheating on him with other swords though, incredible.]
no subject
it's like a kdrama
that said Baren blinks once at that, because it's interesting. To hear what a sword has to say about it, even if he doesn't quite completely understand the context of the promise. Kashuu promised to be his, for whatever reason. So he'll protect him, and be present when needed. What more could Baren ask for?]
Kashuu Kiyomitsu....
[he repeats the name thoughtfully even as his hand moves to rest on the hilt of the blade familiarly.]
I guess if it's you, then having another blade isn't so bad.
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Of course it's not bad, part of him wants to say, because I'm a great sword.
But instead of putting those words out into the Great Big World where they REALLY DON'T NEED TO EXIST, he just huffs like he's vaguely miffed to hide how secretly pleased he is. Truly an idiot, a stupid bag of trail mix.]
Good! Then that's settled. [HUFF PUFF HUFF.] Hooopefully we won't be dealing with monsters dropping out of the sky like before, but you can count on me if something stupid like that does happen, okay?
[Oh, right--]
You have another sword too, but he doesn't remember anything either so he's like, functionally useless.
[Such a sweet and kind soul.]
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[He tilts his head at that information if only because - ] And he's with me, not with Okuni?
[because that's how the kumou family swords work. there's two of them. they come in a set. but they're always separated to be with one twin at a time.
what an odd concept.]
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So instead, he just nods.]
Yeah. I don't think he would've gone for it at all if you hadn't asked me first. You two huff at each other a lot.
[Less often, lately... And it's not like it had ever been very serious to begin with.]
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[ - it's sort of like Kiheita? He remembers how the shinobi would pick him up when he called, protect him when he needed. Which prompts the question:]
How much am I paying you anyway?
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[His answer is SNAPPISH AND IMMEDIATE. Somehow, he seems more offended by that than anything else so far?!]
You think I'd do any of this for money? No one could pay me enough to put up with how much of a headache you are! D'you just like, not understand the definition of friendship or something?
[At least that hasn't... changed........]
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I don't need friends, I have Okuni.
[lmao]
Relying on shit like that sounds like an easy way to get betrayed.
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He's still not touching that with a 10 foot pole.]
Yeah, see, this? This is why I wouldn't hang out with you for pay. [Even if, to be fair to Recolle Baren, this is like ten times worse than he's ever seen Baren be. In terms of being a semi-normal, sociable person, anyway...]
You don't have to worry about me betraying you or whatever, but you're probably too weird and paranoid to believe it. That's why I gave you that. [A nod toward the sword at his side.] I'm not gonna ask you to believe me either since you're way too hardheaded for talking to be enough. Just, like, try not to make things super hard for me out of spite.
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You're my sword? By being a tsukumogami, and you agreed to it, and you gave me your own vessel so - you don't have to worry about me making things harder for you on purpose. I can believe you if I have this.
[If he has something tangible. Collateral. But there's a shake of his head and he looks irritated.]
But the me that you know - because that's what this is, right? Whatever that swamp witch took from me is stuff that involves you, and holds more about me.... The me that you know actually believes in shit like having friends?
[It's hard to process if only because - ]
What kind of time is this?
[modern era sure is hard to process for a sengoku man]
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As for the rest? He can remember some of the things Baren had told him about as far as his memories went. The courtesans, the old buildings... If he's anything like Yasusada, then Kashuu can imagine exactly why being in a place (or time, more specifically) like this would throw him off so badly. Why hearing things about this "other" self would be hard to believe.
So he starts at the simplest place, gesturing outward toward the street and its passing cars.]
Well, it's 2018, to start. You're a pretty prickly guy and I don't know what kinda stuff you remember now, but it's not like you're gonna get stabbed on your way to school.
[No murder or ye olde assassinations or pretending to blow people up for the giggles.]
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It lacks a prefix - it's not Keicho 2018, which isn't possible because no emperor will live that long. Even the conventional time system makes no sense to Baren, but he can at least understand that this is the Future. Whatever that means. How far in the future? He's not sure! But he'll listen and... huff.]
School...? Like - for lessons and learning?
[he didn't even have that lmao]
That sounds....
[peaceful. nice.]
Dull.
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[RAISING HIS ARMS... He's honestly not sure why Baren does what Baren does outside of the vague and generally accepted "because he's Baren". He doesn't particularly want to take the time out now to dissect possible motives, either... But that's about the best he can spitball on a whim.]
What, does that kinda thing bother you?
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[ - which is a vague answer, but also the truest one that he has to offer? Baren tilts his head, confused at the idea of settling in with studies and staying in one place for a long time.]
But I guess if other people are happy with it, that's fine.
[It just sounds.
Slow, for him.]
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[He makes a vague, sweeping gesture toward the area around himself, as if to indicate the Entirety Of Everything™ that seems to be happening 24/7. Baren in particular included.]
It's kind of a hard shift for looots of people to make. Sometimes the memories help when they come back, but sometimes they don't. Depends on how lucky you are.