awashlogs | Captcha happened

Continued from here.

Edited 2018-08-12 05:32 (UTC)

"The coolest sword stuff?" Although he can understand the meaning, he hesitates for a moment over what might be 'cool'. Well, maybe he'll just go with 'sword stuff' and perhaps that will be enough!

"Very well! Let's go this way, then." He leads them through disorientingly similar halls before sliding open a broad pair of doors. It is a large room of warm wood, the doors beyond open to the outside and a fresh breeze blowing through.

"This is the dojo. All the touken danshi practice here, and there are practice swords of every kind. You are welcome to try out whatever you like."

[Continued from here.]

Both! That's the perfect answer! Why should we have to choose between two perfect vacations?

[With that important point cleared up and Elizabeth ready to go, Keigo doesn't delay in taking her to the library.]

If you can't find paint anywhere, making your own sounds like a pain. And if we have eggs, or berries or something like that for the color, it's better to eat them. If you managed to find one color, you could use it with paint made from something gray that doesn't even taste good, but then what if the color came back to the thing you made it out of and they don't match? [He has never thought this much about painting in his life.] I guess it won't work after all.

[When he opens the door to this room, he stands to the side to let her go in first, looking as proud as if he personally built and stocked it himself.]

And now the amazing Karakura High School library!

[Continued from here.]

[To Keigo, this isn't defeat. He holds the book out, presenting it to her.]

Then here you go. One book, just for you.

[Continued from here.]

[Already expecting the worst, Keigo is ready to assume it's here for him at the slightest hint of a problem.

This is more like a large blinking sign.

There must be a Hollow in the hall, coming to devour them. It's amazing Shiho can see it. It's the end.

It's all a joke.]

Why would you do that?!

If I had died of fear, I would have come back to haunt you!

For Keigo, "sword stuff" equally means stuff swords do and stuff involving swords, so he was happy to follow wherever Tonbokiri As long as he didn't get lost along the way.

Swordsmanship isn't a great interest of Keigo's, but in a place like this, so traditional looking and where he knows the spirits of some of Japan's actual greatest swords practice, it would almost seem disrespectful to his country not to take a minute and make use of the space.

He picks up a practice sword that looks closest to the kendo swords he used every once in a while ~~in horrible filler~~ back home and tries out the moves Percy showed him. Might as well not let his raffle prize sword fighting lesson go to waste!

... Thank you. I do mean it.

[He needs to keep some books around all the time to stay on Maribelle's good side.]

What next? The gym and sports fields? Where we could buy lunch?

"Oh! You know these forms." He doesn't mean to be surprised, but the boy had given no indication that he had such training. With a broad grin he takes up a wooden practice spear and joins Asano in his practice.

"The onsen will be fifty times more enjoyable after this exercise!"

[Being haunted actually does make her pause a little and she takes a step back into the school.]

You’re too young to die from something like that. Besides, ghosts don’t exist.

[She's going to wrong direction if she wants to be in a ghost-free place.]

They do. You just can't see them. I wish I could go back to before I could see them.

"I only know a little. Have you ever met Percy? I won a lesson from him at the friendship festival." Practicing with Tonbokiri makes his playing around seem even more pathetic. Keigo doesn't last much longer after he joins him. Then again, there's an onsen soak on the horizon. He might have lost interest quickly anyway.

"That's enough exercise!"

Yes, let's go see them both. I'm already very curious about them.

Food first.

[If he can't take piles of food out the door with him, he's going to get something to snack on while they check out the gym. And so he's grabbing a wrapped rice ball and some bread the instant he walks in.]

A lot of people brought their lunch, but you could buy food here. Then we would go eat in the classroom or up on the roof. Do you want to try anything?

Hm... what would you recommend? Something you can afford.

[TRYING NOT TO BE SNOTTY I SWEAR]

I can afford anything from the school lunch counter. It's not like I have to pay for it right now anyway.

You should try one of the sweet breads. [With his empty hand, he points to some choices.] This one if you think you'll like red beans. Or this one if you want something plainer.

[Contemplating... thinking... a snap of her fingers!]

Let's be daring! I'll have the sweet bread!

[so bold!!]

[That's daring? He needs to get some more excitement into Maribelle's life.

On second thought, any ideas for that would probably get him splatted like an apple.

He just grabs her one with chocolate chips in it.]

The least healthy lunch you could have!

They don’t and they better not! [But now she’s frozen in place, hands clenched. Why did she agree to this again?]

... Not exactly encouraging...

[But she'll take a bite.]

... Oh! It's actually good!

"I haven't. I may have to seek him out sometime." Always good to know more people who are able to use a blade.

"Already?" He can't help but let the word slip, but he at once stops. "Very well. You must be eager for the hot waters!" With a laugh he puts away the practice spear, takes up his own again, and bows to the room at the threshold before he leaves.

Leading the way again, it does not take long to arrive to the right place. Even before he opens the door, a trace of humidity can be felt.

"Feel free to take as long as you like. I can appreciate the need to take a long soak after going so long without." And without hesitation he enters the change room and starts undressing.

See! I did have a good reason not to want to go in there!

[She looks so worried, though...]

Do you need me to go first?

See? You're enjoying an authentic Japanese teenage snack.

[Keigo finishes his rice ball and takes a chocolate chip bread for himself. These snacks might not be here forever.]

Do you want to try anything else?

"You bet!" He has to turn back around when he practically has one foot out the door to copy Tonbokiri's bow.

Keigo hasn't been to a lot of public baths, but shy is not a word anyone has ever used about him. His only changing-room-related concern is that comparing his sword skills to Tonbokiri's is nothing compared to comparing his everything to Tonbokiri's. He could carry all the weights in his school back through the door and not get those muscles.

When he slips into the water, though, everything else fades away. Its warmth soothes his physical and emotional aches.

"This place seems pretty big. How many of you stay here?"

He is well-pleased that Asano-dono seems to be enjoying it! Settling into the water, he gives the nearby yellow duck an idle push away from him, towards where the water is springing from.

"It is quite a large citadel. Muramasa was the 61st, so there are well over sixty of us, now."

... Perhaps even over seventy, with how long he has been gone. But Mutsunokami had said that Tonbokiri hadn't been noticed missing, so... time was surely passing differently back home.

Captcha happened

For Tonbokiri

Thanks!

For Elizabeth

For Maribelle

For Shiho

No problem!

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