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owletstarlet · 3 months ago

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patron saint of the lost causes (1/2)

“You can stop looking at him like that.” Taki’s voice is frank, but not unkind. Katsumi could not be less in the mood for whatever the hell kind of conversation this is about to be. “Like what,” he replies anyhow. “Like you broke his best friend."

(For @goodlucktai. You know what you did.

ao3 link | part 2

The thing is, Katsumi really doesn’t want to hear that he couldn’t have known what was going to happen. He knows. Knows because nobody will let him forget it. Knows from his 2AM search history the night after, curled up on his side on a guest futon in the Fujiwaras’ sitting room, feeling pinned down by the blue glow of his phone screen under the duvet.

Here’s how it happens.

***

It’s not that it’s uncomfortable, exactly, to be alone with Tanuma Kaname while walking the forty-five minute round trip between the temple and the combini through nothing but trees and rice paddies and still, thick summer air. Tanuma’s a decent guy. Quiet, thoughtful. And, as he’d made very clear within two minutes of Katsumi meeting him, fiercely loyal.

All good traits, really. But carrying a completely meaningless conversation with someone he honestly doesn’t know all that well doesn’t seem to be within his skill set. And that’s fine, it’s whatever.

It’s just that Katsumi’s starting to feel like a jackass when he’s the only one who’s talking.

School’s been out less than a week, and for some godforsaken reason he’s been talked into coming all the way out to Hitoyoshi by the group chat he’d been added to months ago, for some other godforsaken reason. The conversation had turned to potential vacation plans—the seaside, or a theme park. And it’s not like Katsumi would’ve said no; he’s got a whole month to fill here. But when Tanuma had either hedged or failed to respond altogether, the others had gotten it out of him pretty quickly that the better part of the month both before and after Obon would be full up with temple preparation and events. Apparently, even back when the temple had still stood vacant, some of the locals who had ancestors’ graves out in the crumbling cemetery there would still come out to tidy up as best they could and leave behind their flowers and incense and prayers. This is the second Obon since the temple had reopened, and not only were more visitors expected, but they’d need to be able to properly host them and provide an adequate place of worship.

From just that couple of messages, the others seemed to work out in short order just how overwhelmed he was. Which was news to Katsumi; sure, the guy wasn’t much of a texter, or talker, for that matter—but the messages had just seemed brief, concise, and apologetic.

But when they all show up on the temple doorstep a week later and Katsumi sees the way Tanuma’s shoulders sag with sheer relief, he knows the others were right.

Thus began a multi-day frenzy of scrubbing wood floors, polishing every metal surface within an inch of its life, weeding, dusting, and near-vicious refusals of Tanuma’s father’s offers to compensate them for their efforts. Katsumi certainly wasn’t against the concept of getting paid for busting his ass like this all day, but the man was drowning in paperwork and nonstop phone calls and visitations on top of whatever else it is that priests do all day, so he’d let it drop.

“He really does just radiate that dutiful son energy, huh,” Katsumi says to Kitamoto one day, leaning on a rake and blinking the sweat out of his eyes in the brutal 2PM heat, watching Tanuma pause to tug a crooked, bright red knit cap back into its place on the head of a tiny Jizo statue with endless care. He didn’t mean it as an insult, but it sounds kind of dickish coming out of his mouth anyhow. “Just looking at him is making me tired.”

Kitamoto hums. “That’s part of it,” he says, at length. “But this is his home, too.”

***

Katsumi feels sort of bad that Tanuma has to make this annoyingly long walk just because he himself doesn’t know how to get to the nearest Lawson. He’d lost a fierce, best-of-ten coin flip battle with Nishimura over whose turn it was to pick up snacks. It’s not that it’s a nightmarish distance away considering they’re on the bare outskirts of town, it’s just the late afternoon sun beating down on them that makes him ready to commit homicide. And most of the way there between the wooded temple grounds and the main residential area is along a dusty gravel road between sunken rice fields, riddled with potholes and not especially worth it to navigate with a bike.

And Lawson isn’t even good.

Precisely none of this is Tanuma’s fault. This is an objective fact that he, of course, knows.

But they’ve only just left the store, and Katsumi ran out of random topics to fill up the stagnant air about ten minutes ago. The best he’s got at the moment, short of intermittent bitching about the heat, is his completely unfounded opinion of some new game he’d seen an ad for at the register which he never intends to play.

And Tanuma doesn’t look especially anxious, or at least not like he’s here under duress or anything��he was the one who volunteered to show Katsumi the way— but he doesn’t look especially comfortable, either. He’s already fished a bottle of tea out of the shopping bag, fiddling with the wrapper between sips and watching the dusty gravel crunch beneath their shoes. His responses aren’t rude, just a little off key, a subdued smattering of ‘oh’s and ‘hm’s and ‘I see’s that don’t always quite sync up with Katsumi’s words, a second too late or too early.

Maybe it’s the truly ridiculous heat that’s getting to the guy. But he’s drinking his tea, and he’s wearing the same old wet towel he’s had slung around his neck all week, ojiisan style. He’d just re-soaked it again in the little sink outside the combini bathroom. It’s funny, Katsumi thinks, that Tanuma’s such a painfully self-conscious person, but then there’s these odd little things here and there that it doesn’t even seem to occur to him to be self-conscious about at all. He didn’t get out much as a kid, from what Katsumi’s heard. It’d be almost endearing if Katsumi was in any sort of mood to be endeared. As it stands it’s too fucking hot out here and now he kind of wants a stupid neck towel too.

Katsumi doesn’t want to make shit awkward, not when he’s staying in his house. But why had it been somehow easier to talk to Tanuma when they were being chased around some hell-mansion about to be murdered by some ghost-doll-things.

He’s not gonna take it personally. Even with his actual friends, where he seems most at ease, Katsumi’s seen him get fidgety, fingers worrying at a fraying shirt hem or drumming on his knee like he doesn’t always quite know how to physically handle too many eyes on him at once, or so many voices in the room. And more often than not, if one of the others picks up on this, he’s seen them seamlessly take the volume down a notch, give him some room to breathe, a little radius of calm. As though his comfort level is some sort of sixth sense for them all.

And Katsumi’s starting to wonder if running his mouth so that Tanuma wouldn’t have to was really the best course of action here. Maybe silence, comfortable or otherwise, would’ve spared them both.

Hell, too late now.

“…and it’s only available on the newest consoles, because of course it is, and even though Sakatani managed to get his hands on a copy and says he’ll let me play, apparently the graphics are kind of ass, so—uh. You good over there?”

Tanuma’s pinching the bridge of his nose, mouth twisting a little and pace falling a half-step behind Katsumi. He doesn’t really answer, just gives an absent diplomatic little hum like he has done for most of the conversation.

Katsumi stops walking.

“Hey.”

And Tanuma honest-to-god almost shuffles right past him, reaching up to rub at his temple now. He only stops when Katsumi snags the strap of the little freezer bag that he’d brought in a thoughtful yet desperate bid to keep the drinks cold and the tops of Nishimura’s chocorooms from all melting together inside the box. Tanuma blinks hard, like all the dust in the air has gunked up in his eyes.

Katsumi frowns. “Your head hurts?”

Tanuma just blinks again, nods once. The look on his face is strange. Vague, kind of.

Katsumi swears under his breath. “Hey,” he says again, louder, when Tanuma’s gaze slides away and out of focus. He grabs his shoulder, shakes him just enough to get his hazy attention back.

“Is this some youkai thing?” He tries to make the words slow and clear. “’Cause if we need to run…” Their chances wouldn’t be stellar, probably, out in the very-wide-open with no visible houses or people that Katsumi can see, but if they booked it they might make it back to the temple in 20 minutes. Barring being gutted in a rice paddy by invisible monsters.

Tanuma frowns, like he’s trying to grasp at the edges of his focus. “I don’t…”

“You don’t know? Or you don’t think so?” If there were time, Katsumi would feel like an ass for getting in his face and snapping at him. But he can feel Tanuma listing forward where he’s still gripping his shoulder, and he puts another hand under his elbow to steady him. “Should I call someone?”

Blink, blink. Apparently, that was too many questions at once. “…hot,” is what Tanuma finally settles on, in a small voice. Then his knees buckle.

Fuck.

Katsumi just barely manages to keep Tanuma from a total faceplant. He’s not so heavy, but it’s so abrupt that trying to catch him sends Katsumi falling back hard onto his own ass as Tanuma’s knees hit the ground.

Katsumi yelped as they went down, but Tanuma hasn’t made a sound. They’re both on their knees. Katsumi’s got him by the shoulders, and his head’s lolling forward, bumping into Katsumi’s chest.

And, shit. He was not lying. Katsumi can feel the heat rolling off him. He manages to maneuver a hand up to the side of his neck, and very nearly yanks it away, hissing through his teeth.

“Right, so,” he mutters. “Probably not youkai shit, then.”

Probably not doesn’t mean definitely not, though, and even as he’s trying to lower Tanuma fully onto the parched ground, curled onto his side, Katsumi’s fishing out his phone.

One bar. He’ll take it.

He hesitates for a second, torn between dialing Natsume, firing off a group message, or just calling an ambulance. He settles on the first—Natsume’s got the fastest mode of transport, which also happens to be an apparently giant and terrifying monster, if Sensei’s own words are to be believed, so that’s two birds one stone.

He hits Natsume’s name, fingers shaking.

And, dead air. Not even a dial tone.

He swears, checks the screen. Zero bars. A stupid little red x where the bars ought to be.

Goddamn backwoods towns and their goddamn backwoods reception.

“Hey.” He lays a hand on Tanuma’s shoulder. Katsumi can’t see his face, but his breaths are coming short and harsh. “I’m gonna borrow your phone.”

Less than one minute later and he’s given it up. Tanuma’s got the same network carrier, and an older phone to boot. It’s like there’s some fucked-up barricade made of yellowing rice fields, choking air and far-off cicada screeches between themselves and outside human contact.

Well then.

Tanuma’s eyes are open now. Not a lot, but that’s got to be better than passed out. Katsumi manages to work an arm under his shoulders, get his opposite hand under his head and neck. “Let’s get some tea in you,” he says, because he’s not sure what the fuck else to do. He can feel a pulse that’s far too quick thrumming under his fingertips, can see the intense splotchy flush across his cheeks that seems to have crept up out of nowhere. Tanuma doesn’t answer him, just scrunches up his eyes against the direct sun on his face, makes a small pained noise that makes Katsumi feel ill.

Making him drink turns out to be less than an inspired plan. He doesn’t seem to register the tea at first, letting it dribble down his chin, but then after a few slow gulps, he gags. And then proceeds to be sick, all over Katsumi.

“Eh. Didn’t like this shirt, anyways,” Katsumi tells him, hoping to exude literally any emotion other than pure terror, and barely managing to turn Tanuma’s face away in time before he gags again.

By the time he finishes, there’s tears in his eyes, and his breaths are coming ragged and loud. He doesn’t seem to notice that Katsumi’s dug through the combini bag, sliding the 2 liter of mugicha under his head and neck like a pillow, and tucked the bottle of Calpis that Taki had asked for underneath his armpit. The rest of Tanuma’s own bottle he upends over his neck and chest, soaking his towel and the top of his shirt. That, at least, elicits a reaction, a faint confused “hm” that would be perfectly reasonable for anyone whose friend has just drenched them in a bottle of jasmine tea.

It makes Katsumi smile, just a bit. “Gotta cool you down. Sorry.” He’s got no idea if it’s the correct thing to do; he’s based the entire tactic on some random lackluster TV drama he’d seen years ago, where some captain of a school track team overheated during a practice, and her teammates tried to care for her on the field while someone fetched a teacher.

At the very least, it didn’t seem to be hurting. His eyes are open wider now, marginally less clouded over. Katsumi’s positioned him on his side again in case of more puking, his cheek squashed against the tea bottle, and he seems to be focused on some spot on the gravel past Katsumi. He looks like he wants to say something, mouth forming around the shape of words, but nothing comes out.

Katsumi turns. There, lying maybe a half meter away on the ground, is something small and rectangular. Some kind of talisman, Katsumi thinks; it’s made of thin pale wood and covered in some inked-in kanji and symbols he can’t make out. He doesn’t touch it, at first. “This is yours?”

Tanuma nods, just a little, then screws his eyes shut like his head is protesting the movement. But by his side his fingers twitch vaguely in Katsumi’s direction. It must’ve fallen out of his pocket when Katsumi was getting his phone. Katsumi scoops it up and places it in his palm, and Tanuma’s fingers close immediately around it.

He digs his own phone out again, an exercise in futility, and dials 119, resisting the urge to chuck it into the field as the call refuses to connect. It’s not like he couldn’t half-drag, half-carry Tanuma back towards the nearest house if he really needed to, but god knows how long it’d take, and even with his net zero medical expertise it seems like a bad idea to be moving him from this spot unless it’s on a stretcher, or on the back of a giant invisible wolf monster.

Tanuma’s staring at nothing at all again, his knuckles white from gripping the talisman. Katsumi frowns, grabs Tanuma’s wrist.

“You’re gonna break it. The wood’s pretty thin.”

Tanuma, predictably, ignores him. Even as weak as he is, with his thumb digging into the center of the thing, he’s likely to snap it in half.

But he doesn’t, or can’t, resist when Katsumi takes it from him. “Let’s keep this in one piece, huh. We need all the damned luck the gods want to chuck our way right now.” He’s about to slide it safely back into Tanuma’s pocket when he pauses, glancing down at the talisman.

“You’re sure nothing’s about to pop out and eat us, right?”

But Tanuma’s eyes have fallen shut again. He doesn’t seem to have passed out; he’s still gasping like he’s run a marathon.

“Right. Gonna take that as a yes.” He finishes tucking the talisman away, then slides his hand up under Tanuma’s fringe. He frowns. The intense heat, he was expecting. What he was not expecting was the desert-dryness of his skin. Katsumi’s own hair’s been plastered grossly to his forehead all week long, only to poke up and frizz at odd angles throughout the day. He hadn’t noticed earlier because of the damp towel and the tea-soaked shirt, but Tanuma’s not sweating.

He swallows back panic. God knows how he’s got any more panic to spare, really. “Look,” he says, not expecting an answer. “Nobody’s coming, because apparently nobody in this entire fucking town uses this road except us, so I’m gonna get help.” He blows out a breath. “I think we passed a pay phone. Ten minutes ago? Maybe less. I’ll make it five. If you get eaten by monsters while I’m gone and I ran in this weather for nothing I am gonna be pretty damn irritated.”

***

The only coffee the vending machines have, at least on this floor, is some dismal off-brand that only comes black. But Katsumi resolutely ignores the acid roiling in his stomach when Kitamoto passes him one and pops the tab. It’s something to do. Chug coffee, scroll his phone. Rinse, repeat. At least it’s cold.

“Hey.”

Something lands in his lap. A squashed-looking cinnamon roll, another vending-machine offering.

“Eat that too or you’ll puke again, probably,” Nishimura tells him.

Katsumi has to bite back the reflexive dickish retort. Nishimura looks just about as shit as Katsumi feels, but he’s still got it in him to be kind. Katsumi’s got nothing in him but raw nerves and stomach acid, at this point.

“Right,” he mutters. “Thanks.”

There’s not even a good reason anymore for the weird shitty haze over his brain. When Tanuma’s dad had called, just before three AM and only two-ish hours after they’d been forced to leave the hospital last night, the news had been good. He was awake, talking a little, and the fever definitely wasn’t gone but the numbers were creeping back downwards. They’d need a few days, at least, to run some barrage of tests and keep an eye out for lasting damage. Tanuma’s dad had been judiciously vague about just what kind of damage, but the half dozen browser pages on heatstroke currently open on Katsumi’s phone had given him a pretty grim idea.

The Fujiwaras’ house had been closest to the hospital, so they’d spent the remainder of the previous night all sleepless and huddled together on the floor of Natsume’s room. Katsumi hadn’t even put up a fight when they’d dragged his futon into the very center of the room between Kitamoto’s and Natsume’s, when Nishimura had idly flopped his own legs over Katsumi’s, or when Taki pulled up some aggressively cheerful magical girl anime on Natsume’s laptop to fill the dead air. When Sensei had tucked himself in by Katsumi’s hip and gone to sleep. When Touko-san had patted his arm, after their very late dinner, her eyes so gentle it hurt. He’d felt liminal, then, like he’d take off and run if he could just escape his own skin, but at least with the others all squashed up against him he could remember to breathe.

It's past 10 in the morning now. Visiting hours had started at 9, and they’d all piled on the first scheduled bus towards the hospital this morning and arrived before 8, anyhow. They had, of course, not been allowed to step foot out the door without a bag loaded up with bento lunches and a firm promise to Touko-san they’d be back by late afternoon when visiting hours had concluded to get some rest. Though she’d been saying something about “getting some things ready” to bring over herself for Tanuma and his dad, and based on the look on her face when she’d said it Katsumi’s half expecting her to march through the waiting room doors in the next hour or two like a woman on a mission with half the contents of the closest supermarket and drugstore loaded up in her arms. The thought makes his chest feel tight.

But they’d shown up just in time to be informed that Tanuma had an MRI among other things scheduled that morning, and that no, they did not know how long it would take.

Across from Katsumi, Natsume’s dozed off, despite his own best coffee-fueled efforts. He’s slumped sideways onto Taki, lank-haired and restless, flicking through an old magazine with disinterest as her heel bounces on the scuffed linoleum. Sensei’s perched across both their laps, still absurdly half-stuffed into the duffel bag in which they’d smuggled him through the hospital doors, which seems pretty pointless to Katsumi if he’s just going to sit there with his entire head sticking out at this point. But he seems entirely unbothered, his eyes closed; maybe asleep, maybe not. But they’re the only ones tucked over in this little alcove of a waiting room, and damn if not a soul has interrupted them for a good two hours.

It’s probably for the best that Natsume’s getting some sleep, really. He hadn’t gotten any more than Katsumi had; Katsumi had heard his muffled hitched breaths last night when they were all pretending to sleep. Out of all of them, he’s said the least this whole time.

“You can stop looking at him like that.”

Taki’s voice is frank, but not unkind.

Katsumi could not be less in the mood for whatever the hell kind of conversation this is about to be. “Like what,” he replies anyhow.

“Like you broke his best friend,” Nishimura says, lowly, before letting out a slight oof like he’s been elbowed in the ribs.

Damn. Alright then.

None of them seem to be holding their breath for him to respond, at least. They don’t seem to know what to say, either, really. He’s weighing the pros and cons of just fleeing to the bathroom when Kitamoto finally says, “Natsume knows better than anyone that this isn’t on you.”

“Why?” Katsumi feels his gut give a little lurch. “Was it some kind of youkai shit after all, then?”

Taki shakes her head. “I mean, you’ll have to ask him, but. Sensei did go and check the area out last night and ask around and everything, and it all seemed normal.”

Sensei remains silent, naturally, but his ear flicks in Taki’s direction.

Kitamoto’s mouth twists. “What I meant was, just keeling over in random places with no warning or explanation is like. A hobby of Natsume’s.”

“We love it,” Nishimura mutters. “It’s great.”

Sensei huffs.

Katsumi glances at Natsume, still slack and dead to the world on Taki’s shoulder. And okay, maybe he kind of still looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over. But much less so than when they were kids. Less so even than the first time Katsumi had come to this town. “How many times constitutes a hobby?”

And Nishimura frowns, then honest-to-god starts counting on his fingers.

Taki watches him, mouth twisting like she’s considering it. “I guess it depends what counts as keeling over. Or what constitutes a warning.

“Enough times,” Kitamoto says, decisively.

Nishimura scuffs his toe on the floor. “And with me and Acchan, he’d just be lying through his teeth about it, for months, because he didn’t think he could—“

Could what, Katsumi wonders, but Nishimura never finishes the thought. Kitamoto bumps their shoulders together Nishimura huffs, apparently relinquishing the rant building inside him, but Katsumi thinks the look on his face, the tightness in his eyes, is just this side of grief.

“Anyways,” Nishimura says, after an uncomfortable beat, sounding only slightly more subdued. “Even if you don’t wanna hear it, you’re the Big Damn Hero in this situation. No ifs-ands-or-buts, okay. We all know it. Natsume knows it.” Taki nods, flint-eyed like she’s daring him to argue.

“You can’t predict this stuff,” Kitamoto adds, after a moment, his expression hard to parse. “With anyone. And you’ll just make yourself crazy thinking you can.”

“Okay,” is all Katsumi can think of to say. It sounds dismissive, probably, but it’s all he’s got right now. He watches Natsume scrunch up his nose in his sleep. The council hath spoken, and he is too goddamned tired to refute them.

tbc

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume yuujinchou fanfic #natsume yuujinchou fanfiction #natsume's book of friends #tanuma kaname #shibata katsumi #natsume takashi #nishimura satoru #kitamoto atsushi #taki tooru #goodlucktai #otherwise known as shibata katsumi’s crash course in maneuvering uncomfortable friendships and also medical emergencies #found fambly #did I disappear for like 3 years? yes. Will it happen again? Who's to say #this one fully took me a year but at least it's fully completed and I don't have to think about it anymore #incidentally just in time for obon because I was put on bedrest for pneumonia and somehow had both the time and the motivation #owlet's fanfic

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 2 years ago

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I've been loving your ror fam x mha!reader works lately and I just remembered that war arc going on in the manga??? aren't the battles LIVESTREAMED??? ?

How would they react to watching their baby fight for their life back in their original world?? as well as watching other kids nearly die alongside them??? I know for sure Adam would be SEETHING cuz those are literally 15-16 year olds being tossed to the frontlines. Even the gods would be pissed cuz having CHILDREN fight is just too cruel even for them 😭

-Valhalla could only stare in horror, everyone watching, seeing the battle in Japan, where their beloved Y/N came from, seeing the destruction, seeing all of the students fighting against the villains.

-You had been granted your life back, to assist with the fight, to help your friends, who had been stunned to see you come back, but only for this fight, once the battle ended or if you were killed, you would be returned back to Valhalla, but you wouldn’t be able to go back to your world a second time.

-You couldn’t say anything about how you were back to your friends, even though you wanted to so badly, but at least this time, you would get to say goodbye to them.

-Adam was seething, radiating heat, seeing all of these children, your fellow classmates, fighting alongside you, fighting for their lives, many getting injured, some seriously. He felt so hot, so angry, that he almost felt nauseous.

-Zeus and Odin both were staring, glaring at the screen, their own dark aura surrounding them, which would have intimidated the others, if they weren’t all just as angry.

-How could the adults of your world force children to fight, putting their own lives on the line, even though they were gods and some of the greatest warriors of all time, they couldn’t stand to watch children fighting.

-Eve called out your name as you caught Tokoyami who was thrown back by All for One, “I gotcha Yomi-kun!” your woolly hair puffed up, wrapping you both up in your safe cotton as you slammed down into the ground.

-Eve sighed in relief, seeing you both unharmed as you stood, Tokoyami sending you a nod, “Thanks Aries-chan. Now- you wanna tell me how you’re back from the dead?”

-You just grinned brightly, “I can’t tell you everything, but let’s just say I’m a one-time zombie!” his eyes turned into sparkles before you ran back into the fight.

-Hades rolled his eyes at your words, but you didn’t tell your friend the truth, just giving him a basic idea.

-You used your hair to grab All for One, just for a moment, to hold him for Hawks to attack, but you yelped when All for One grabbed your wool and yanked hard, swinging you up into the air, leaving you to be a sitting duck in the air and he charged for you.

-You smirked at him, shocking him as you heard people shout out your name as you tilted your head back slightly. You caught his head, grabbing his cheeks between your hands, “Jizo’s Embrace!!” and you headbutted him hard, stunning him and sending him down hard.

-Raiden gawked, pointing at the screen like a child, beaming brightly, “Go Y/N! Headbutt him again!!”

-It was two hours later, the battle was over, you were panting softly, holding your broken arm, a grin on your face as your classmates, your friends all approached you all.

-You grinned brightly at him, feeling yourself slipping away and they could only stare as you seemed to slowly be fading away, “I didn’t get the chance last time. Bye everyone!”

-Many of your friends were crying, calling you by your name rather than your hero name, but seeing you smiling at them made them all smile back as you disappeared.

-Back in Valhalla, you immediately had been plowed down by Eve, sobbing as she clutched you tightly and the others were quick to approach, some welcoming you back, others praising your skills, while only a few, Brunnhilde and Adam, tried to get you unburied from the hugs, as you were seriously injured again and needed medical attention…again.

-You thanked them all for giving you the chance to help your friends, to save Japan, and to say goodbye to them all. You could rest easily now, knowing your dimension was safe.

#record of ragnarok #ror x reader

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crimium · 6 months ago

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My thoughts on the new Hifuu Album

Well, Taboo Japan Disentanglement just came out! after reading the story and listening to the tracks, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the album!

The tracks

I'm going to go through the album tracks in order and give my individual thoughts on them.

1 - Morning Comes on Tanabata Hill (Original)

This is surprisingly emotional for an opening track. The new drum set here is wonderful, and the piano is soothing and atmospheric. I do think the melody is kind of all over the place though, and it's a bit hard to follow. All in all, a really nice calming song.

2 - Tinkerbell of Inequality (Original)

I've been excited to listen to this one ever since the album got announced because of the interesting title, and HOLY SHIT THIS SONG IS AMAZING. The instrumentation is so weird but oh so good. The track is ominous but jazzy. The melody is catchy. It reminds me of GFC and CoSD, with it's apocalyptic futuristic vibe. This is easily the best track in the album. Solid.

3 - Does the Forbidden Door Lead to This World, or the World Beyond? (HSiFS arrangement)

Now we get to the arrangements. The song is sporting a new drum set and piano, and I can safely say that the instrumentation is a huge improvement to the original. To be frank, I'm not too much of a fan of HSiFS's instrumentation, now don't get me wrong, the songs are great, but they suffer a bit because the instruments ZUN uses are a bit lackluster. Here, that is not the case, this a great arrange. Something I do want to note, is that the BPM of the arranges seems to be lowered a bit from their original counterparts. Not a bad thing, but it's interesting to keep in mind as you keep listening.

4 - Smoking Dragon (UM arrangement)

HOOOOOOLYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIT. The key change. the new drumset. the new, climactic/triumphant atmosphere. The new section added in??? It's all so perfect, this does the original song justice. I love this so much. One of my favorite arranges in the whole album.

5 - Mugen Noh ~ Taboo Marionette (Original)

This song is calming, but sinister sounding as well. It hits a nice balance of calming and uneasy. The instrumentation, once again, is really good here. I do feel that the electric guitar a bit later in feels a bit out of place, but in general, the song creates a really good atmosphere, and it's definitely a standout track.

6 - Crazy Backup Dancers (HSiFS arrangement)

I don't really have much to say about this one, other than that it's a fairy good arrangement of the original song. ZUN added a new synth(?) into the mix, which gives it a distinct sound from the original. It's fun!

7 - Yorimashi Between Dreams and Reality ~ Necro-Fantasia (AoCF arrange)

ZUN. you can't keep getting away with this. This is peak. The song has a newly added intro of the Necrofantasia main theme before the song kicks in, and WOW does it create an atmosphere. The instrumentation is once again great and the key change (that just dissapears half-way through lmao) is also really cool. This is a great track.

8 - The Lonesome Path in Hitachi (Original)

A surprisingly upbeat track given the title. It's composed in swing rhythm, and because of that, it kinda reminds me of Let's Live in a Lovely Cemetery and Like the Brilliance of Fairies. Not that that's a bad thing, but it does make it sand out a bit less for me. Still a good track, though! Also ZUN chill out with those reverbs

9 - The Lamentations Known Only by Jizo (WBaWC arrange)

I like the new choir here, it makes it sound more dramatic. I am a bit disappointment that the flute kind of overshadows the Spooky Lead from the original, but it's not a bad arrangement at all. And man this drum set is really doing wonders rn

10 - The Concealed Four Seasons (HSiFS arrange)

WOW. TALK ABOUT A GREAT FINALE. This arrangement tweaks just enough without completely changing the vibe of the original song, and it's fantastic. About halfway through, there's a key change that makes it sort of feel like a phase 2 to the song, and it really completes the whole package. Fantastic.

11 - Apparitions Abound Even Outside of Night (Original)

Oh cool, what a nice, calming, uplifting trac- ZUN WHAT ARE YOU DOING. So the song starts off very calming and atmospheric, and then turns into digi-rock like a minute in. It's kind of jarring but I think it works, the song is still fantastic, and does a good job wrapping things up for the album, and the story. Speaking of which...

The story (spoiler warning)

Without going into too much detail, because I highly recommend you read the story on your own, the predictions of Merry and Renko being separated where not exactly wrong, although I think the story was a lot less heartbreaking than everyone thought it would've been. It serves as a nice drama and really shows how these characters relate to each other. Seeing Renko drop everything just to save Merry shows that even if they get on the wrong foot, they're still the Hifuu club, through and through.

In conclusion, this album is absolutely stellar. ZUN's instrumentation this time around is incredibly diverse, and I can tell he was having fun experimenting. The story is also well written, showcasing these two characters and their conflicting yet similar ideals. Please, go give this album a listen! It may have been 8 years since the last hifuu album, but it was definitely worth the wait.

#touhou #touhou project #hifuu club #hifuu #maribel hearn #renko usami #touhou music

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woodblxssomcrowned · 5 months ago

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Senju clan Headcanon - The Forest of a Thousand Paths

The Senju are not known as "The Senju clan of the forest" for no reason.

During the era of Warring states many shinobi clans would move around frequently as they were needed throughout the country at the will of their employers, but most also had permanent or at least semi-permanent settlements or basecamps. These were places that would serve as headquarters, where missions would be given, preparations made and training is done. They were safe places for the wounded or ill, for pregnant women and the youngest children.

The Senju were one of the clans with such a settlement.

Located deep within a vast forest that covers the foot and sides of a mountain range, it is commonly known as "The forest of a thousand paths", and is the closest thing to an ancestral home they have; having inhabited it since before they even became known as the Senju some five-hundred years prior to he founding of Konohagakure.

The settlement is several hundred years old, and have expanded and been built upon over the years. By the time of Hashirama Senju, it is able to house roughly a thousand people. Although the number of individuals living there have shifted over time.

The Senju have learned to benefit from this dense deciduous forest in many ways, not just the protection it provides as it hides their home, but also for resources such as food, medicine, raw materials and more. They have subsequently formed a very strong bond and understanding of the region, and honors it spiritually.

There are safe paths that are known to others beside the Senju, ones that the occasional traveler or civilian will be relatively safe to walk in order to get from one end of the forest to another. But it is nowhere near their settlement and these roads are carefully watched and controlled by the Senju, as are the few small civilian settlements at the outskirts of the forest.

These settlements are under the Senju clan’s protection and in exchange for that protection they provide things like information and traded goods. But even these people would be unwise to try and find the Senju on their own, or to step too far in among the trees. And the enemies of the Senju know far better than to try and find this settlement.

Not only can you safely assume that the Senju are watching you if you enter the forest, but even if you were to slip past the sentinels unnoticed you cannot hide from the forest itself.

The terrain and density of the forest varies, but what remains consistent are the seemingly infinite number of paths and roads winding through the trees that stretch throughout most of it. Although consistent is a kind word for it.

These paths are not to be trusted for a moment. Not even the Senju have full knowledge of the paths, and know better than to not pay attention as they travel through it, and children are told to take great care if they chose to explore beyond the settlement and the safest known paths.

Ones that seem well traveled with lead into nothing. Others might guide you right back where you started. You might find an abandoned shrine, almost completely reclaimed by the forest, and another will guide you through a clearing filled with bones, both human and beast, and end by the foot of a large tree. One path might lead you underground, into a cave completely empty save for a single statue of a praying buddha.

And the Buddha and jizo statues. They are everywhere. Small and large, ancient or suspiciously new, but nobody seems to know who has placed them there. Some serene and others ominous or mischievous. Overgrown by moss, faces worn by the elements, carved into rocks, lining the paths, watching you from the forest floor, encased by the trunks of trees that have grown around ancient shrines. But there is nothing comforting about them.

"Go back." " Come this way." "Danger, danger, death lies ahead." "Come home." "Come to me." "Come little one." "we see. we see." "it's you. It's you. I know you."

They watch you.

A thousand all-seeing statues that watch you from their perches among moss and stones and trees, and follow your every step, whisper and beckons you their way. Some promising you safety and serenity. Some will threaten you, try to frighten you.

They will remind you of your deepest fears and regrets, of the things you hate and desire most. And it will drive you mad, make you forget which paths you've taken. Make you forget where you are. Make you forget who you are.

But these whispers are not real.

"Eat this." Unceremoniously she pushed something small into his hand. Upon inspection, it was a small pellet. Light green in color and slightly rough in texture. "Are you trying to poison me? I am not going to eat this." She looked up at him, and he stared back defiantly. "I really do suggest you eat it. Unless you'd prefer to go completely mad and try to claw your own precious eyes out like the last Uchiha who stumbled too far into these woods." She shrugged. "Granted she did manage to survive the forest and the beasts and stumbled into our home, the first in a century, but she was half-blind and didn't know who she was anymore, much less were she was." Kaname straightened herself, pointing to the pill in his hand. "You can either eat that, and trust that I am not trying to poison you because it is in my best interest to keep you alive and sane for now, or don't, and feel yourself rapidly spiral into madness within the next few hours after which I will have to kill you whether I like it or not." "I really, genuinely, advice you to eat that sooner rather than later."

As you step in among the trees of the Senju's forest, the air you breathe will change. It becomes heavy, the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. Most will think nothing of it, finding it much like any other forest, but not long after the whispering of the Buddhas will start. The shifting shadows among the trees will seem to close in on you, and a feeling of dread that will grow into a panic.

While the Buddha statues and the paths are very much real and easy to get lost following, the whispering, the shadows and the feeling like the paths are moving and shifting as you walk them, are simply hallucinations.

These visual and auditory hallucinations, and steadily increasing intense feelings of anxiety and paranoia, which will eventually turn into a state of hysteria, are caused by the inhalation of microscopic spores released from a fungus that is native to and grows throughout the entire forest and thrives all year around. With the exception being the higher altitudes during the colder months.

Over the centuries that the Senju clan have called the forest their home, they have become almost completely immune to it, even if they too can sometimes feel some of its effects, and have created an antidote that helps with dealing with the hallucinations for a few hours. This can be given to certain prisoners, or other outsiders that have been given permission to pass through the forest. If this antidote is taken regularly for an extended period, a certain resistance to the effects of the fungus can be built up.

These hallucinations are not a genjutsu. They are the effects of a poison. Not even the Uchiha’s Sharingan can see through the intense hallucinations caused by the toxic fungus, or prevent the effects of it that unavoidably will drive you insane if you're continuously exposed to it. This has very effectively kept the rival clan out of the forest, as well as anyone else with ill intent. Those who are exposed to the fungus but still somehow escape the forest and recover, are far from likely going to dare to set foot there again.

The Senju have also refined this fungus into a poison they occasionally use as a weapon, which inflicts a similar state of paranoia and hysterics in the victim, and visual as well as auditory hallucinations. It takes effect far quicker, but the effects are not as severe and won’t stay in one’s system for quite as long.

For a Senju, who knows safe paths, who knows to tune out the whispering and beckoning that might try and slip through their immunity to the poison in the air, the journey through the forest to their home might take two or so hours depending on the chosen path.

Someone unwelcome, who had been stupid enough to venture in too far among the trees, is unlikely to ever get back out.

You wouldn't find the Senju’s homestead unless they want you to.

And if you are not taken out by the sentinels when you breached the treeline, you may end up wandering their forest until one of the wild beasts you can hear roaming it finds you, or the shadows and whispers drive you mad to the point where you end up killing yourself to end it, or simply lie down and let the forest consume you.

Most of those unfortunate do not last past three days.

The longest lasting known survivor to date was a kunoichi of the Uchiha, about thirty years before the birth of Senju Hashirama. Most of her group had been taken out by the sentinels, but a few had slipped through. She was the only one found however, as she turned up a week later. She was barely acting like a human at that point, having lost all sense of self, starved, and with one eye clawed out of its socket. It had been a kindness to kill her.

After Hashirama Senju struck peace with Madara Uchiha, most of the Senju clan followed him and relocated to Konohagakure, but some also chose to stay.

In the age of the fifth Hokage and onwards you will not find too many Senju in Konoha, but you may still find some at their old settlement, hidden away among their poison trees.

#;;headcanons #I remade this post as I have added new information and fixed some stuff that was bugging me #;;senju #;;Forest of a thousand paths #senju clan

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newtypezaku · 5 months ago

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The weirdo is me visiting nearby Kongoin to see the manga jizo:

#shuumatsu train doko e iku?#train to the end of the world

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troius · 1 year ago

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I think I said this back during the Szayelaporro fight (still my all-time least favorite fight in this manga) but I'm not a fan of Kubo's method of conveying "brilliance", which is to have the character in question pull some sort of underexplained hard counter out of thin air.

Like, how does this thing even work? Even if Ashizogi Jizo now knows a blade is approaching...how does it get in position to block it? And how does whatever does that act faster than Hitsugaya? This is just silly, if you want me to believe Mayuri is smart have him actually work out a counter to the threat Hitsugaya poses, and show your damn work.

#bleach #troius reads bleach #toshiro hitsugaya #mayuri kurotsuchi

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unohanadaydreams · 1 year ago

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Here's some commissions I made for @unohanadaydreams, they were an absolute blast to work on:3

Commissions are still open btw! More info here<3<3<3

#I haven't had the time to scream about this until now but please know that I have stared lovingly at the pics you emailed me SINCE #I LOVE how Gigi's power manifestation has such a sticker quality it reminds me of that gloomy bear post someone made a bit ago #find her in your local sticker app for the creepy cute connoisseurs #And all the details on her boots is insane #her PURSE TOO #you're a detail wizard #literally insane #AND FINALLY WE HAVE HELL ARC MAYURI IN SEN STYLE #*holds him up like he's fucking simba*#featuring jizo was SUCH an inspired choice too like you're right Jizo is just fucking Not There in his hell arc fit maybe hes in a pupa #You did such a great job on his outfit like MASTERED the pillowing quality of his new coat and the headdress!!!! MUAH #Like his fingers wrapped around the spikes and his scars and his hold on the fucked up sheath #my mind is just that lady gaga gif #THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR YOUR HARD WORK I LOVE THEM #queue

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rukimakino-heirofheart · 6 months ago

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ZUN's Music Collection vol. 10: Mugen Noh of Tanabatazaka ~ Taboo Japan Disentanglement.

Getting a new Hifuu CD after so long is extremely exciting, especially when the cover looks like this (Maribel's design getting ever so slightly closer to her completed Yukari appearance) and especially when one of the arranged tracks is fucking AoCF Necrofantasia. The CD was fully uploaded and translated within 24 hours of the Reitaisai release — never change, RenMerry shippers — so I immediately went to check it out.

Track 1: Dawn Breaks on Tanabatazaka (Original)

Not very much to say about this one other than that it's nice and the soft instrumentation lends it an interesting tone.

Track 2: Tinkerbell of Inequality (Original)

Surprisingly heavy percussion and bass here. Unlike the minimalist Fires of Hokkai, though, this track has a complex "mechanical"-sounding drumline that feels more like something you'd hear out of Len'en. I like this a lot.

Track 3: Does the Forbidden Door Lead to This World, or the World Beyond? (HSiFS)

A hard downgrade over the original. I get what ZUN was going for — stage-1-ifying the song makes it more of a tonal fit with the album — but making it less punchy and softening the drums in the mix makes it sound kind of generic.

Track 4: Smoking Dragon (UM)

Mostly the same as the original but with a key change and a more complicated piano harmony. Not much to write home about.

Track 5: Mugen Noh ~ Taboo Marionette (Original)

ZUN rarely writes in 3/4, so this was pretty surprising. I like this a lot; the mood is tranquil but with plenty of drive at the core, and its instrumentation gives it DiPP/PCB-era vibes while still being unmistakably modern Touhou.

Track 6: Crazy Backup Dancers (HSiFS)

Woah. I like this a lot better than the original from HSiFS, the updated arrangement does a great deal here and the new section in the second half makes the track as a whole a hell of a lot less annoying.

Track 7: Yorimashi Between Dreams and Reality ~ Necro-Fantasia (AoCF)

Opening right off the bat with an original intro (is that 12-string guitar(?) patch a new instrument???), the long-awaited AoCF cover sounds fucking awesome in the newer style! Cutting down the mix to just the ZUNpet and one or two other patches for percussion texture is a fun technique and it's cool to see it deployed so well here. My only real complaint is that it feels like it should be longer.

Track 8: The Lonely Road of Hitachi (Original)

3/4 swing melody over an unswung 3/4 beat (with occasional 4-tuplets?), neat. The heavy arpeggio delay on the piano gives the track an "asynchronized" feeling that I like a lot.

Track 9: The Lamentations Known Only by Jizo (WBaWC)

The addition of the choir layer is a good choice imo, and the tone overall is more melancholic which fits its context in this album. Feels a bit space-filler-y but it's still solid.

Track 10: The Concealed Four Seasons (HSiFS)

This sounds pretty much the same as the original. Don't get me wrong, the original was a good song (if atypical for a stage 6 boss), but it's kind of disappointing that the arrange isn't very distinctive.

Track 11: Ghosts Exist Even When It's Not Night (Original)

A slowly-building staff roll-ish track that works nicely to cap off the album. I like it.

Overall thoughts & story

Eight years since the last Hifuu CD, ZUN still has it. The worst it ever gets is "well that was disappointing" and the best it gets is fresh and exciting. The story is an interesting development while leaving plenty of room for future exploration — it explicitly connects the shared features of Okina and Yukari's abilities to Merry's use of time travel in CoSD, for one thing — and the choice to include Okina's narration stands out and has me curious what volume 11 is going to be like.

9/10 definitely worth it.

#ruki's album reviews #touhou #hifuu club

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littleeyesofpallas · 2 years ago

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So BBS left these untranslated this time. It's really weird to me that they're so inconsistent with this from set to set. There really don't seem to be any clever wordplay with these. I wonder if they were kind of halfbaked as far as concept goes and just pushed out the door to meet a seasonal banner quota.

Konjiki Yaya'jarashi[金色稚戯らし]: "Golden Baby Play/Frolic"

I do like the animation for this. Jizo gumming at his halo like a baby's teething ring is very funny to me. Weird that they took away his caterpillar body and replaced it with just the two random weird buggy legs though. I guess his sorta sad wet crinkled looking wings are supposed to mean he just emerged from a chrysalis? But that transformation into an "adult" form feels at odds with the baby teething thing.

Kodoku-no-Tanga[狐毒の綻牙]: "Fox Venom's Unraveled Fang"

This one did have a weird kanji choice. tan[綻] can mean a variety of things like "to burst open, be rent, ripped, unravel/to split (at the seam), begin to open, smile(?)" It's definitely tempting to want there to be some double meaning with "Smiling Fang(s)" but I don't know that that actually reads for this practically. Otherwise it seems like it's supposed to be describing the dissolving dust particle effect his bankai has as "Unraveled (at the seams) Fang," and the "fox poison" is of course fairly self evident.

Again, weirdly overly literal names here, unless there are homonyms in here that just totally fly over my head.

#bbs #bleach brave souls #kurotsuchi mayuri #ichimaru gin #konjiki ashisogi jizo #kamishini no yari

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the12thnightproject · 1 year ago

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Chapter 13: Jizo Saves: By the end of an eventful night, Katsu finally remembers where she’s heard Shojumaru’s voice before.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

Ok Jizo… any suggestions?

Wheellock pistols are faster than matchlocks.

How much faster, I didn’t know. Nor did I know if the priest was considered a good shot, but I did know that there wasn’t time to carefully evaluate my options. Maybe if I had been able to think things through I would have done something differently.

Instead, I left it up to the patron God of children and travelers, whose stone avatar was right by my foot, and smashed the statue into the priest’s head.

THUNK.

Technically Jizo hadn’t answered my prayer… but he was solid enough to knock out the priest, who crumpled heavily to the ground.

Heavily… and loudly enough to attract the attention of Shojumaru and Mitsuhide, who both withdrew their swords and assumed defensive postures. As I stood over the body, unsure whether to run or wait, Mitsuhide said something quietly to Shojumaru, then headed in my direction, presumably to check things out.

Taking in the unconscious priest, the pistol, and the statue I now clutched to my chest, Mitsuhide reacted instantly. He turned and called toward Shojumaru. “It was an owl… hunting,” he lightly prodded the priest with his foot, “…vermin.”

With rather impressive theatrical skills, he cupped his hands to his mouth, expertly imitating a night bird call, then creating the impression that a large bird was flying off into the night. To me, he simply waved toward the shrine, and whispered, “Go.”

No other urging needed. I set Jizo down, patted its little head, and fled the scene of the crime.

When Mitsuhide finally caught up with me, he had the priest’s gun tucked into his sash, nestled next to his sword. By my estimate, it had been nearly an hour since I’d left the courtyard. While I waited for Mitsuhide in the main shrine, various scenarios rebounded as regrets. What if I had killed the priest? While I had no affection for him… I didn’t want to be a murderer either.

What if the Nanban found his body and it mushroomed into a diplomatic incident? What if I hadn’t killed him, but it became a diplomatic incident anyway? What if he had seen me right before I’d hit him with the statue?

Maybe instead of doom scrolling I would be better off just asking a direct question. “I didn’t kill him, did I?”

He glanced over his shoulder and put his finger to his mouth. “Come this way; everyone is leaving now.”

Translation – we’ll discuss this later.

He’d already flipped back into character, so I put on the attitude of the meek Kaya and nodded.

As we made our way toward the entry, he put his hand in the small of my back, an oddly intimate gesture that I puzzled over, until he gave me a slight push, just hard enough to send me stumbling into the path of one of the Nanban merchants I had been spying on earlier – Senhor de Sousa.

Only my innate sense of balance kept me from knocking the poor man over, but I had to grab onto his sleeve in the process.

“Kaya! You clumsy idiot!” Mitsuhide yanked me upright and pulled me back to his side. “I am sorry sir, this little girl has forgotten how to walk.” His words were in Japanese, uttered in a tone of voice that suggested anyone unable to understand our language shouldn’t be here.

Given that I was in character as well, there was no way to protest his flinging in me into de Sousa, but I wished Mitsuhide would tell me whatever his plan was first, instead of throwing me into a situation and assuming I could improvise it. I mean, I could improvise – case in point Jizo statue. But my preference would be to have at least a general outline of the scenario in advance.

The merchant waved Shojumaru over to translate and then complimented Kyubei on having a beautiful wife. After a quick conversation, in which Shojumaru it clear to de Sousa that I was a prostitute, not a wife, the merchant made a more general comment that this country was full of beauty and to have been accosted by a lovely young woman was no imposition.

What followed was Shojumaru more or less accurately translating the conversation between Mitsuhide and de Sousa about beauty, the about art, which somehow turned into de Sousa deciding to host a dinner in order to show us how things were done in Portugal.

And no, I still haven’t figured out how Mitsuhide manipulated things to that end – especially without speaking a word of Portuguese. He’s just that good at mind control.

By the time we climbed into that dreaded box, Mitsuhide seemed pleased.

“That was the entire point of the evening, wasn’t it?” This time, I settled quickly as close to the window as possible, hoping to get this trek over with. “You wanted a chance to meet de Sousa.”

“Mm. That’s rather an oversimplification. I had many objectives, but indeed Master de Sousa was an important one.” He shifted positions, and physically lifted me over to face him. “Sorry Brat, but your elbow was in my ribs.”

“Rude.” I waited a moment for him to explain further about de Sousa, and when he didn’t, I took the initiative and asked. “Why is he important?”

“Nobunaga had arranged with de Sousa to import arquebuses from the west. “Two days before the scheduled fulfillment, we were informed the shipment had been stolen.” He peeked out the window. “Far enough, I should think.”

He banged on the side of the palanquin, until we stopped and one of the porters opened the door. “We will walk from here.”

They seemed surprised, but Mitsuhide had already paid them the full amount, so they were happy enough to carry the empty box back from whence it came.

“Thank you.” Walking was definitely more pleasant, even with factoring in Mitsuhide’s unorthodox distraction methods.

Even with? Especially with.

“An umprompted thank you. You must have an improved opinion of me. Pity. I shall have to do something villainous to even the scales.” In spite of his words, he did offer me his arm companionably and after a moment of hesitation, I took it. Funny how quickly that had become a habit that we’d both fallen into. “We’re far enough away from the shrine that our walk will not be noticed. Far less likely to be overheard out here.”

He does nothing without figuring out how to multitask it.

“Why did Nobunaga order western muskets? Isn’t he already keeping the Kunitomo gunsmiths busy?” Our country had already begun the habit of improving upon western technology, a trend that would continue into the century that I was born in.

“We wanted to discover whether they are any faster or more accurate than what we currently use. As more enemies add guns to their arsenals, it behooves the Oda to use the most advanced weapons available.” He indicated the gun that he had apparently confiscated from the priest. “This appears to be an improvement over the flintlock.”

“Hm, that’s what it looked like to me too.” Aki had shown me drawings of the European wheellocks, but this was the first time I’d seen one up close. “What are you going to do with it?”

“Keep it for now – it could be useful.” He tucked it back into his sash. “Give it to Nobunaga eventually. I imagine he’d like it for his collection.” He paused a moment. “Or if you have any interest, I could teach you how to use it. I taught Mai and you appear to be much more…” He stopped, although, I’m not sure why. I was beginning, however, to recognize that note in his voice when he spoke of Mai.

“Athletic?” It was just a guess. Given that Mai was a seamstress, I figured she hadn’t spent much time on sports.

“Bloodthirsty was the word that came to mind.” It was said without any indication as to whether he thought that was a bug or a feature.

“As it happens, Aki taught me how to fire a gun. I’m just so much better and faster with my bow, that I never saw the point.” This century’s firearms were still pretty slow and clunky. Adequate for war, if you used them in staggered firing lines the way Nobunaga did. But not useful enough for me to use as a personal weapon. Although the Priest’s wheellock might a better for that purpose. Still… a gun was never going to be as comfortable for me as a bow. Or… a stone statue. “Do you know why the priest wanted to kill you?”

“Me? Was I the target? And not Shojumaru?” He took hold of my shoulders, almost… affectionately? “Stay there.” Then he paced off an approximate distance to where he and Shojumaru had been standing. “Could you be certain from this length?”

Hm. I thought back to the moment in question. “No. His body was blocking my full view of the scene. I um…” Assumed.

Mitsuhide returned to my side and tapped my forehead. “Thought that because you are often tempted to kill me, that the priest would be as well.” He laughed, a sound that was two parts amusement and one part bitter. “It’s true, there are many who wish me dead. However, besting the man in your auction is hardly the motivation for murder.”

I couldn’t disagree with that without seeming conceited. Nor could I disagree with the fact that I had sometimes thought about killing Mitsuhide. Although I probably would not have followed through with those thoughts. “People have killed for less.”

He hummed with what probably was an agreement, as we continued through what during the day, was a bustling area of town. Now, however, the shops were quiet, and there was little light coming from the personal living spaces above the businesses. It felt like we were the only awake people in Sakai.

It felt almost like… a date? Well, a date if your dating profile listed your interests as ‘murder, espionage, and long walks through sketchy dark alleys’ and your ideal date included assault with a deadly statue.

“I will know more after my interrogation.” Ah. So the priest was still alive. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized I’d been afraid to ask again. Afraid to think about, afraid to ask, and afraid of the answer. My worries, and subsequent relief must have been clear enough for he continued. “No. You didn’t kill him, although figuring out what to do with him now is an unwanted complication.”

“Hitting him was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I couldn’t call out a warning without dropping the Kaya act.” It wasn’t like we’d put ‘what do to when you come across a sniper’ into our contract.

“Peace, brat, it wasn’t a criticism.” In spite of his words, he squeezed my arm in a light warning. “That said, I expect you will otherwise consult with me before taking drastic action.”

Well, that was a ‘do as I say, and not as I do’ statement if I had ever heard one. I could comment on his habit of flinging me into the path of merchants without any warning. But… it wasn’t worth getting further distracted from our original discussion now, especially as I was still trying to figure out how Aki’s disappearance was connected to everything. “Did you want to find out directly from de Sousa what happened to the shipment? Do you think he sold them to another and kept Nobunaga’s deposit? Why this charade? You could simply have asked him yourself.” Mitsuhide had a fearsome reputation, even amongst the Nanban.

“Hideyoshi thought it was wise to give the man a chance to prove his innocence. He and Mai came here to, as you say, ‘simply ask.’ That was the last we heard from them.” The muscle in his forearm tensed under my hand – the only clue I had that there was something more primal under his teasing mask.

That tension… it occurred every time he mentioned her name, and unwilling to probe in that direction any further, I diverted the conversation to my own missing person. My missing father. “I wonder how or if Aki fits into all this.”

“Who knows what we will discover in the coming days?” Placating words. It was nice that he at least tried to make me feel better. “What did you discover tonight? Anything beyond what I already learned?”

He hadn’t bothered to actually tell me what his discoveries were, but… details. “Let me backtrack first and tell you what I discovered about Shojumaru this morning.” Had that been just today? I suppose if a day feels like it is a year long, then maybe so. “So, two things. One is that he appeared to be familiar with – friendly even – a crew of sailors from an atakebune. It didn’t fly a banner, so I don’t know its origins.” I thought back to that moment on the dock, trying to put into words why it seemed suspicious. Because when I said it out loud, it really wasn’t. Not in these times. “I thought it odd for a merchant.”

“He could be relying on a nearby Daimyo’s naval forces to protect his shipments from pirates.” He was quiet a moment, possibly considering the issue further. “So that alone isn’t evidence of crime.”

Mitsuhide had been in Sakai longer than I had, so he did likely know they did things here. “The other thing… um, I had a source inform me that he had seen Shojumaru converse with an agent of Yoshiaki’s.”

“A source?” Mitsuhide swept one of those head to toe searchlight glares on me. “I ought to commend you for having managed to turn an Imagawa into a spy, for Yoshimoto is the only person I can imagine who would realize that Shojumaru had a connection with the deposed shogun. Although Yoshimoto is not someone you should be spending any time with.” He rubbed his chin. “As with the other, on its own, it’s not particularly damning. The Kaigoshu merchants are desperate to avoid Sakai falling under Oda’s rule, and Yoshiaki has quite the grudge. It would not be out of the question for them to send another merchant, such as Shojumaru, to reach out to him. However, Yoshiaki is a man of little imagination who relies on others to carry out his whims. He might pay to raise an army against Nobunaga but would see no value in a self-governing city.”

Maybe. It was true that in spite of its value as a port, Sakai didn’t have the political value of a city like Kyoto. “So, the short version of all that is that the Kaigoshu might have sent Shojumaru to ask for help, but Yoshiaki is likely to have turned them down.”

Mitsuhide inclined his head. “It is one possible explanation.”

“But it’s possible that Shojumaru is not what he seems and Yoshiaki could be involved?” I was undecided about Shojumaru. On the surface, he seemed friendly, and certainly both Hiko and Sho liked him (granted, Sho was biased by his looks). But something about him gave me the woogies (to use a clinical term).

“At this point, it’s best not to discount any idea, but also… not to get attached to any theory either.” Mitsuhide seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “I would prefer to keep an open mind, rather than discount something which turns out to be important at a later stage.”

“Which brings us to tonight, in which I learned a few things, but nothing conclusive.” At Mitsuhide’s ‘carry on’ hand wave, I continued. “Shojumaru slapped down a suggestion from de Sousa’s friend that he could supply human cargo, and the man was surprised to hear that. Also, de Sousa previously imported something for him, but they didn’t go into detail.” That piece of information seemed to intrigue Mitsuhide, for I noticed that he briefly clenched his fist. “Does that mean something?”

“Perhaps. I wasn’t aware that they had any business connections.” He nodded. “It may be helpful.”

Oh. Well. Good. I did want to be helpful, although I cared slightly less about being helpful to Mitsuhide. Hopefully, it had been worth an evening of being treated like an object, or like… well, like a prostitute, for I was not ignorant of the speculative looks I had been receiving from the Japanese merchants either.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Once again, Mitsuhide stopped walking, and only after I looked around did I realize we were home. At the machiya. Not home.

“Nothing to do with our search. I’ll just be happy to scrub Kaya off my face.” I doubted Mitsuhide had ever been treated like a prostitute.

And yet, he did seem to understand after all. “Sometimes one must act in a certain way, a way that may attract suspicion or derision from others. You must hold onto a part of yourself that is true, and real, to fight off the doubts, especially your own.”

He slid the door open and gestured for me to go inside.

The words, or at least the sentiment behind them, even his pensive tone of voice seemed oddly familiar. And though we’d never had this kind of conversation before, something pinged my subconscious. “Is that something you do?” I was suddenly curious about this man, who even a moment ago had seemed only an obstacle.

But of course, he was more than that, even if I had refused to admit it.

“No. I am deserving of all that is said about me.”

I waited for him to say more, but he simply bowed. “Goodnight, Brat. Pleasant dreams.”

It was a clear dismissal.

#Spoileralert. My dreams were not pleasant.

“You there! What are you doing with my … shipment?” Footsteps came closer to the box. I held my breath. Now would not be a good time to be discovered. And I hoped that Iekane wasn’t in trouble either.

“Finishing up unloading them!” I heard the lid on another box open, and the clink of metal. Crap. Of all the crates to pick, we’d somehow gotten mixed in with someone’s weapon smuggling outfit.

“Wait ‘til they get a load of these, heh heh.” The clunk of that lid. I prayed that this guy wouldn’t inspect every box.

Another voice, this one with a European accent that I couldn’t place through the walls of the crate. “I’m happy you approve, Motonari. You, boy, help us move these.”

“Of course.” That was Iekane’s voice.

I felt the box being lifted. It almost felt like being rocked in a cradle, and in spite of my anxiety, I felt myself becoming sleepy. But after about half and hour or so, my crate’s journey ended with a thunk. And then more thuds – oh the other crates.

The clink of coins. “Pleasure doing business with ye!”

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

Holy mother forking shirtballs.

I was halfway out of my bed before before my subconscious caught up with the rest of me, and well, basically slapped me upside of the head.

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

Five years ago, while I had been trapped in the crate, I’d overheard Iekane speaking to a man named Motonari... a man who had said. “Pleasure doing business with ye!” Tonight, I had overheard Shojumaru say the same thing to the backs of the Nanban merchants.

Shojumaru, who now owned that warehouse.

Same voice.

Same man?

The need to tell Mitsuhide had me leaving my room and padding to the top of the staircase, before I hesitated, wondering if this was something that could wait for morning. I peered down to the lower level. If there hadn’t been a glow from the lantern light in the office, I likely would have gone back to bed, for as important as this information was, it wasn’t ugent enough to wake him up.

Even so, before I was halfway down the stairs, I had second thoughts. I could see Mitsuhide kneeling at his desk. The expression on his face was …

Bleak.

Maybe I should wait.

I wasn’t even one hundred percent certain that Shojumaru was…

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

I was certain.

Though I hadn’t made a sound, something must have alerted Mitsuhide to my presence, because he looked up at me. “Couldn’t sleep? Or… were you interested in renegotiation?”

The look of devastation was wiped from his face as if he had dropped a curtain over it. It was replaced by that now-familiar teasing grin as he ran his thumb over his lips. The red stain of lip rouge had long faded. In my head, the memory stayed crimson. At the last moment, I managed to stop myself from touching my own lips.

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