September Catch-All

[youwillbeunequaled]

Who: Tonbokiri and everyone
What: Quest, event, and daily life catch-all for-
When: September
Where: All around Chroma
Warning: None yet

Enjoy!

A note that I prefer "prose" much more than [action brackets]. But I will follow suit with whatever format!

Comments

Sept 6 - Maya

[youwillbeunequaled]

Before Tonbokiri worries about doing the quest 'defeat the faries', he feels that some more information is needed.

He is not familiar with what fairies are, exactly, and given the way creatures are in this town, it's probably for the best if he gathers some information about their potential abilities first.

And when it comes to such information, he shall consult an expert.

Which, after a brief message over the forum's mail service, is how he comes to meet Amano-dono at the library this cloudy day.

When the lady arrives, he can't help a brief glance at her arm before bowing his head in greeting. "Thank you for coming. I'll be in your care today."

[scooptimistic]

Her arm is fine, Tonbokiri! All healed up! No more sling!

In fact, she's even going to raise said arm in a jaunty wave. Why Tonbokiri thinks she's a fairy tale expert, she doesn't know, but she at least has some knowledge under her belt.

"Don't even mention it! What was it you wanted to know, exactly?"

[youwillbeunequaled]

(Having knowledge under her belt is exactly what makes her an expert in his opinion!)

He's relieved that her arm seems entirely back to normal, but he will never forget that he put her through that.

As for the task at hand, he answers, "I'm sure you saw Mr. White's quest to 'defeat the fairies'? If I am to take on this task, I felt it best to gather information about their strengths, weaknesses and abilities first." He pauses, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck for a moment. "The foes in this town are beyond my experience, so I must learn how to counter them."

[scooptimistic]

"Mm..." Maya frowns slightly, tapping her chin with a finger. She can't really say she doesn't understand wanting to learn more about an opponent like that, but...

"The thing with fairies is that they're not all the same. There are a lot of legends about them from different countries, for starters. And the one I personally happen to know is... problematic."

Actually, she's a pain in the butt.

[youwillbeunequaled]

"You know one personally? Ah, but I see... It does make sense, but is also troublesome that there is that much variety."

He rests his chin on his hand for a moment then asks, "Would it be more clear what kind they are if you were to see them?"

Sept 12 - Momo

[youwillbeunequaled]

Recently the weather has continued to feel like summer, but considering that it's felt like summer for a while, Tonbokiri has been wondering if fall will be coming soon.

Today he's donned his orange yukata and is working in a small field in Flavo, planting radish seeds. Although they are apparently a fast and easy thing to grow, he's giving the task his full attention. ... More or less. Relaxed (although his spear is near him always), alone, and with his focus on his work, he sings softly to himself.

Autumn is my favoured season
It ‘minds me of my love
Who’d come running to kiss me
With chrysanthemum in her hair
I pressed those petals to ‘mind me
How she long pressed ‘gainst my lips
I shall return home next season
And see camellia in her hair

[rerevale]

It's been a hectic few days of adjusting, readjusting, and recalibrating in this monochromatic town with the occasional burst of one-toned color. Something about the lack of color is a damper on Momo's feelings, not to mention that the occasional waft of grayscale in his peripheral reminds him of who he's missing.

But tallying the negatives has never been Momo's forte; for every tick he makes on the 'cons' side, he prefers to fill the remaining space with a nighttime sky full of 'pros'.

Today's pro: he hears music. A soft song coming from a modest field.

Momo, a moth drawn to a warm flame, wanders over and squats next to a freshly-planted radish. Waits for the verse to finish, before he starts clapping.

"Bravo! Encore, encore!"

all the time. literally just happened in another thread...

[youwillbeunequaled]

(At least the nighttime sky here is far more normal than it used to be!)

He'd sensed someone approaching, and while it's a little embarrassing to be caught singing to himself, it's not a bad thing. At least, not quite enough to stop in the middle of the verse. But he certainly wasn't expecting to be applauded! He raises his head in surprise at that and blinks at the young man crouching there. It takes him a moment to understand what the foreign-sounding words are, too. 'Again'? But why? Slightly befuddled, he bows his head slightly.

"Thank you." Please tell him this guy will still understand him even if he can't speak French? "Ah, it was just a simple song, though."

[rerevale]

Fortunately for Tonbokiri, Momo is The Most Japanese Person Ever, so whatever language barrier may or may not exist is rendered irrelevant. That said, Momo's initial reply is in the universal language of nonverbal expression: his lips curve up, his arms wrap around his knees, and he tips his head in gentle scrutiny.

"Simple is best! We all want to listen to simple songs when we're sleepy or tired, right?"

To prove his point, he hums 'Twinkle, Twinkle'.

Quest 24

[inheritance]

It's lucky that Dave was available right when Izuku and Tonbokiri were looking for someone to join their little quest group. Someone from Ruga, specifically.

"Tonbokiri-san!" Izuku lifts his hand in an enthusiastic wave as he tugs Dave along behind him. "Strider-kun's willing to do the quest with us!" And then, it occurs to him at that moment, what he should've asked in the beginning. He looks over at Dave. "Have you two met yet?"

[parodeity]

It isn't like Dave has a busy schedule or anything, but he's always willing to clear it for a friend. When Izuku popped over and asked if he had time he didn't have any qualms about saying "sure" and leaving a message behind for John to find.

He's seen Tonbokiri around, of course - it's impossible not to see people around in a town this small - and he's heard him mentioned before, but Dave's somehow managed to never actually speak to the guy. He lifts a hand in a little wave. "Nah, but I think I've heard him mentioned, and like, I know the face from seein' you around town..."

[youwillbeunequaled]

Similarly, Tonbokiri has heard of Dave Strider, and seen him around. But for him, the bigger impression is putting a face to the name (and code) from the forum. Those bright red posts were often incomprehensible to him... and now he is meeting the writer in person.

He nods his head to the young man. "Likewise, Strider-dono. It is a pleasure to meet you in person. You were one of those who coordinated naming Chroma, were you not?"

He turns to Midoriya for a moment. "Thank you for introducing us. I hope that Mr. White counts this as forming a new bond, as well. Two birds with one stone."

[inheritance]

"It's nothing!" The reply comes easily, even as Izuku glances between the two of them, smiling. "I guess when there's so little of us around, we all hear about each other or meet at some point."

The introductions were easy enough! And now for the quest. "Have either of you done the quest yet? Oh, I brought some containers to put the honey in!" As usual, he's come prepared.

pre-event, warning bells

[messianic]

Cleaning up the bells had taken way longer than anticipated--though perhaps that shouldn't have been such a surprise. They were rusted and practically unusable, after all, until they were cleaned up. Minato supposes he should just be grateful that that aside, they were actually in pretty good shape.

Either way, the next step was clearly actually making sure they were put where they were supposed to, and that they worked the way they'd envisioned; getting someone on board who would be able to help a lot more than a spear and a high school boy seemed like a pretty good idea.

Enter Clark!

So now, there's just the cleaned up bells resting on the grass in front of them, and Minato standing there, his hands tucked into his pockets as he glances between Tonbokiri and Clark more curiously than anything.

"So... what's the next step?" he sure has no idea about any of this, but he's willing to put in the elbow grease to make this work.

"We have to hang up on per district, right...? In an accessible location."

[girod]

"I've got a few spots picked out for the waterway project," he admits with a scratch to the back of his neck. He looks at the bells, looks at the size of them, and pauses with a finger up.

"Give me just a moment? I'd like to get a bird's eye view to make sure the placement ideas I have are feasible."

He'll wait to make sure neither of them have an objection, but otherwise, he's going to push off the ground. He hasn't made a secret of his abilities lately, but he'll pause if either of them blink at the, er, flying.

[youwillbeunequaled]

Tonbokiri had some basic idea for the end result, based on alarms he'd known in his time as a spear. However the fact that a more modern sensibility might be helpful, as well that implementing the system would need someone who had a dab hand in construction... Kent-dono was a clear choice.

But knowing the man most as a go-to for farming advice, Tonbokiri is surprised for a beat when Kent-dono starts flying straight up. But his round-eyed blink quickly turns to an appreciative nod.

"We'll leave it to you," he calls up to him.

"Being able to get to rooftops easily is one thing, but being able to fly..." He gives Arisato a small grin as he confides, "I must admit to being a little envious of such an ability. But I am now even more pleased that Kent-dono is the one to help us with this."

[messianic]

It really is amazing to watch him fly right on up there like that. Minato's quiet, watching for a long moment--before he just shakes his head a little, turning his attention back to Tonbokiri.

"The people here are really amazing..." He has to agree easily with that, peacefully waiting for Clark to join them back on the ground.

"It's true though, he's definitely the best choice for helping out on a project like this. I would've been stuck at this point if we didn't have his help."

How can either of them hope to haul a bell up to the top of a building?

Memory share mini-event

[osteotome]

This is probably going to be a bit... unorthodox. Honebami has been receiving the memories of others as of late, and Honestly he's been managing. Most aren't too cruel or harsh. He's sure there are those. Over time though, this wakizashi wonders about his own memories. Like Mutsunokami, he wouldn't want to burden people, especially strangers with that. At the same time... what can he give? He only has pieces, flames, and what he can vaguely secondhand now thanks to his travels.

Who can he trust to try and pass on a memory? Well, there's one. They promised to be honest with each other after all. Maybe this isn't very "honest" though. Being acquainted with Guren makes it easy to find him, and with a brush of his hand to Tonbokiri's arm. He can't have him try to dodge contact like some have done when they figure it out.

—He's writing letters, accepting the responsibility for taking a more personal journey than training. At least he's longing to move forward like the others, his little brothers have done this and he wants to as well. That is how Honebami feels as he travels to Osaka, wearing a blue travel cloak. There's curiosity, but also a growing ache in his heart the longer he's there. Is because of the fire when Hideyoshi fell? He reads pages of documents, summons the nerve to talk ask people. Where was he when the Osaka castle was besieged and burned?

Not there. He was safe, away from the flames. But his brothers weren't, like Ichigo and Namazuo. He was alone after that, alone like he is now. He'll burn another day, that will take his memories and his pain. Now though, he wants to return home, grateful for what he does have.—

"—Tonbokiri-san?" That's enough,and he lets go. In the case that eye contact could lead to another memory, he looks down at the ground, maybe to also bow in apology for that action and what he might have given him.

"... I'm sorry. I wanted to know."

[youwillbeunequaled]

He'd had some sense that Honebami was near, but given how things have been over the past few days, he's a little surprised to feel the light touch on his arm.

Then, he is immersed in the memory. He watches, and feels, everything carefully. This is the private life of an important comrade, after all. He wants to better understand the quiet wakizashi.
When the memory ends, he blinks to reorient himself before looking down at Honebami.

"Ah- Honebami Toushirou-dono. Could it be you touched me on purpose, then?" He is careful to hide his reassuring smile behind his hand, but the sword is looking at the ground anyway. "It is fine. I am glad that you can trust me with your memories. Did you find what you wanted to know? If not, you may use me to summon your memories as many times as you need."

[osteotome]

"I did." It's soft and still a little guilty. He lowers his hands, clasping them together. Tonbokiri is a very resilient, understanding person, but if even this memory was not what he was looking for, it doesn't feel right to use his comrade like that. Especially when he offers it like that. He used to be pretty reticent in response acts of kindness, but now...

"Would you be kind enough to give me one of yours first, Tonbokiri?" That feels fair, as he holds out his hands while looking back up with a firm expression. "I didn't get a memory that I was looking for-- but for now, I want to be fair." He's curious too, both on a level of trust and exactly what Tonbokiri may have for memories.

[youwillbeunequaled]

"Of course. That does feel fair, doesn't it. I'll let you see as much as you want."

His own 'trigger' for giving a memory seems to be smiling, but he firmly takes Honebami's offered hands before openly showing his reassuring smile.

Although Tonbokiri is 'yellow', there is a distinct lack of normal, human, physical feeling in this memory. A spear does not feel in that way, after all. It is more about his 'state of being' than a 'feeling'. In that way, it is a sense that Honebami may well be familiar with.

He is but a spearhead, his time of use over in the peace of the new Tokugawa shogunate. He is now displayed reverently in an alcove of what is clearly a rich estate, befitting the great general Honda Tadakatsu. The only physical sensation is that his metal is a bit chill from late season air.

The sliding door to the patio outside is open, and a man only in the autumn of his years is sitting at the edge in the sunlight, carving a piece of wood with a blade.

Abruptly, he grunts and drops the knife and the wood. Blood is streaming from his left palm, quickly dripping to his lap.

"I have surpassed death countless times, and went untouched on the battlefield. To see my own blood like this... It must be, I am at the end of my life."

Tonbokiri breathes deeply before blinking his eyes open, his smile faintly sad. "Ah... He did pass away, a few months after that. It was the beginning of a very lonely time."

It is impossible to say how memories are chosen for this strange happening, but he can't help but think that the sliver of loneliness in the memory Honebami shared affected him.

memories!!!

[tosa]

Mutsunokami is a lucky spirit and he knows that. Being the tsukumogami of a sword, there are only so many paths he could have gone down and he's proud to say that his blade is clean and his experiences have largely been good. But when you're half a millennia, you're bound to have a few lows. After all, even humans have their moments and their time in this world is much shorter.

He likes to think that the odds are in his favor, at least but there are things that have been on his mind. There are things that have been on his mind for the past month and it's probably why one memory in particular keeps recurring. Well, that does it! If the magic in this town doesn't out him first, he'll definitely clear his conscience when it's all over. This is his decision and he means to stick to it! But things are never that easy, right?

He's found himself retreating into Tonbokiri's company today. He's shared enough of his memories and would prefer to keep them to himself now if any are going to spill out, he'd rather do it in familiar company, with someone he can trust with his more personal moments should they come out. Like right now when he looks up to greet Tonbokiri out of habit and he finds himself meeting Tonbokiri's because of course he would— he's always been direct and straightforward, the type that just meets others by looking them in the eye and with a smile. He's quick to break eye contact, closing his eyes and making a point to sigh dramatically at Tonbokiri, "Taking a break from everything?"

(He wonders what Tonbokiri has been remembering these days.)

"Have ya figured it out, yet?" Whatever triggers these things for them. "It's different for everyone."

!!! (Sept 24, because weather.)

[youwillbeunequaled]

The need to be around more people has driven Tonbokiri further into town today. Although windy it's warm, so he's taken shelter in the lee of a building to read a book outside. He has seen many other people pass by today, so it is no particular surprise that Mutsunokami comes by him as well.
Likewise, Tonbokiri greets the other sword with a smile out of habit, but quickly hides his own face behind his book with a sigh. He can understand why Mutsunokami would so quickly break off his usual eye contact, too, and that is confirmed when he asks the question.

"Yes, it is smiling for me. The trouble is, at first I could hide my smile behind my hand, but now even if I'm smiling with my eyes it seems to count." Schooling his expression into neutrality, he looks over the edge of his book.
"How about for you, Mutsunokami-dono?"

[tosa]

It's like they're both being shy which isn't like them very much at all. He gives a cautious glance at Tonbokiri without actually looking at him. A smile, huh? Gee, that's rough.

"It's the eyes," He explains, raising his fingers to his still closed eyes and tapping the bridge of his nose. "If I end up looking someone in the eye, they get a whole lot more than just my face."

And as light and casual as he usually is, he can't help but be annoyed. Of all the memories he could share, it seems to be the same two that keep recurring. Is it because of all the memories he could share, those are the two he keeps to himself? "Haven't been sharing too much, have ya? I know you're the generous type..." It's a joke! And he realizes that immediately after, "Sorry."

[youwillbeunequaled]

He hums sympathetically. Not being able to even look at someone properly would be extremely difficult, and for a straight-forward person like Mutsunokami, even more so.

Leave it to him to still try and keep things light with words like 'getting more than my face' and teasing about being generous with memories... But Tonbokiri feels like he understands more than that.

"Haha, no, you are correct. And there have been some missteps, I admit. However with people I do not know, I have been cautious. And with those I do know, I have tried to not burden them overly. Still, it is good that out of everyone in this place, there are two comrades who would not count my memories as a burden. And I hope they feel the same of me."

It is impossible to keep a kind smile from his face, so he steps forward to touch Mutsunokami lightly on the head. Perhaps it is a gesture more suited to tantou, but Tonbokiri just wants to convey reassurance to Mutsunokami.
And if Mutsunokami-dono chooses to look up, then he will see Tonbokiri's smile. He'll just be like this for a moment before getting his smile under control again.