awashlogs | Questing, sparring, training, living [closed log catch-all]

Midoriya-dono. Izuku makes a strangled sort of sound at that form of address. "Y-you're welcome!" He stutters out, hands twisting together in a nervous gesture.

"Ah, it's hard to tell what season it is without a calendar of any kind," he says, an exasperated tone bleeding into his words. "The weather hasn't been very consistent either--it wouldn't be the best idea to base it on anything too complicated just yet."

He blinks curiously at Midoriya's tone and gesture, then mentally shakes his head at himself.

"Please, pardon me. Of course, I did not come here to talk about the weather. I will start my report about what I found in the forest at once, if you like."

He stops drying himself off and stands at attention, which may seem a little peculiar when holding a spear in one hand and a damp towel in the other. But he means to waste no more of the boy's time with idle chatter if it is distracting to the point of exasperation.

Izuku looks a bit startled himself by the abrupt change, then shakes his head with a slight smile.

"While standing the whole time?" He gestures at the table and chairs in the main area of the cottage. They're somewhat old and not in the best condition, like many of the things in this place, but they're still serviceable. "Here, why don't you take a seat? We don't know how long this'll take and I might want to ask questions, too."

That's a lie. He's definitely going to ask questions.

Tonbokiri remains slightly confused about what happened there, but so long as Midoriya is not pressed for time after all and is not upset, he supposes it’s fine.

“If you don’t mind, then… and if it’s not something this dampness will damage. Further.” He tacks on that extra word on the end, aware that there’s hardly an undamaged piece of anything to be found in this place.

As they get settled, he tries to make sure his thoughts are sorted the way he feels will be the most clear, to the point, and factual. Of course, Midoriya will have questions to ask, but he wants to have him ask as few as possible. That is a mark of a good report, after all.

Spear resting on the floor beside him, posture straight and hands on his knees, Tonbokiri nods to Midoriya once they’re both ready.

“Since Yaoyorozu-dono kindly gave me a saddle for Mikuniguro the other day, I went to investigate the forest by riding. Although not too overgrown along the edge, I was expecting to find more undergrowth the further I went in. However, the opposite happened. It was like the forest was opening a path for us. I realized it quickly, and was suspicious. But any effort to go off that path was met with such dense undergrowth that even I could not cut us a path cleanly through it.” He looks vaguely embarrassed and frustrated about that point, but it’s the truth.

“Despite the misgivings of having a strange forest give me a path, I decided to investigate as far as I could before the day was half-over and I had to turn back. We rode at a canter for hours. I saw many strange, freakishly malformed animals along that path. A bird with two heads eating a bug that looked like thorns. A creature that was fox in shape and size, but with fur and face that was more like a bear. Creatures that I cannot even name, perhaps because I only have a vague knowledge of how they are supposed to look. I apologize that it is not simple for me to give more details about them, but if you should need me to, I shall make more effort to describe them.”

He shakes his head slightly. He fought monsters routinely as a touken danshi, but those abominations of nature were worse in their own way.

“They all fled as naturally as wild animals though, and I did not attempt to pursue them. And so, as I felt that the time was fast approaching that I would have to turn back, we came upon a small cave.”

He pauses there and as his expression becomes more grave his fists tighten, making the damp leather of his gauntlets creak slightly.

“Midoriya-dono, the next part… it is difficult to state what happened only factually. I hope that you can indulge the addition of my own impressions about what happened there.”

Once Tonbokiri begins to speak, Izuku leans forward and listens attentively. His notebook lies open on the table, ready to be written in--as soon as Tonbokiri had asked to come over, Izuku had made sure to be prepared. What he's hearing so far, though, is very similar to what he's experienced before.

"That's what happened to me before, too," Izuku says softly, cutting in only when Tonbokiri himself pauses in his storytelling. It would be rude otherwise. "The forest seems to choose a path for you, and it blocks off any other route you could take. And the animals...it's like you said. They look different from what we're used to, but they still act the same."

Admittedly, Tonbokiri's expression makes Izuku just a bit apprehensive. Whatever he found in the forest, it's serious enough to shake him up, and Izuku feels a flash of sympathy. "Of course, Tonbokiri-san. You can tell me whatever you want."

"Thank you. So, it did that to you as well... Is that the nature of the forest?" It is somewhat reassuring that someone else had a similar experience to him, at least this far into the story. So with Midoriya's encouragement he nods and continues.

"Of course, having been led there, I went to investigate that small cave. Upon entering, for a moment, I saw the broken swords of my comrades." A slow breath in, then he explains further, "As I told you, I am a tsukumogami, and my comrades are as well. Should we break, it is death. So, when I say that I saw their broken swords, it would be more accurate to say I saw their corpses. Every one of those men I know, strewn in a thousand pieces across that ground." His jaw clenches, recalling that distressing moment again. And yet-

"Yet, it was for only a moment. That vivid and distinct impression of all my comrades broken-- it was gone. Truly, all that was, and is, in that cave are mundane weapons." He shakes his head. "I do not know what to make of it. I cannot think that it was simply a 'trick of the light' or mistaken impression. Was it a premonition, or a warning...?" Shaking his head again he contentiously straightens his shoulders.

"Anyway, to continue, all that was in the cave were countless mundane swords. Some types I recognized, and some were unfamiliar to me, but it is easy to assume that they are from a wide variety of countries. They were all broken, so I left them where they lay." Besides being useless, he cannot help but feel it would be bad luck to bring such things back with him.

"Returning went much the same as going out. There was no way past the cave the path led me to, and there was no way off the path returning back to the edge of the forest. I returned a short time before sunset.

That concludes my report." He sits at attention, ready for Midoriya's questions.

Considering what he's just heard, Izuku can't blame Tonbokiri for feeling shaken by his trip into the forest. It reminds him a little too much of what happened to him that first night, like the forest had known exactly what to show him to get him vulnerable.

Izuku sighs, dragging a hand through his unruly hair. "I don't think it was a warning, but your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. I think you really saw your comrades' swords there in that cave, because that's what the forest wanted at the time.

"From what I've seen, this forest likes to play tricks on people. It separates you from your friends if you're in large groups, and then it shifts so that it can guide you on a certain path. And somehow, it can see your memories and draw from them."

Questions...Izuku thinks about this for a moment. "Did you touch any of the swords in there?"

"...'That's what the forest wanted.'" He repeats those words back thoughtfully, with a bit of an edge. So, it sounds like others have experienced similar distress.

To the question he nods. "At first, I had to make certain of what I'd seen, so I inspected a few of the swords very closely."

"Yeah," Izuku says softly, shaking his head. "It's hard to believe at first, but it's looking more and more like the forest is sentient to some degree. I...ran into something similar the first time I went in with a friend."

Remembering what he'd seen still makes him grimace. "Somehow...the forest knew about... someone I really care about back home. It tried to trick me with a vision of him."

"A-anyway... it's safe to say that we should be careful about anything we see in there."

"I'm sorry to hear that you had such a vision too." He breathes out slowly, leaning back. "After what I experienced, and what you told me, I can believe that the forest is sentient somehow. The thing is, how much can we believe of anything we see there from now on...?" His eyes wander a moment, thinking about it, then he shakes his head.

"For now, I trust that so long as someone has all the information possible, we can gain a larger view of what we are up against. I shall certainly go into the forest again. When I do, may I report the details to you again? Or do you know of someone else coordinating?"

"I'm not sure. Some of the groups were able to bring back items when we all went in together... so some of the things we see in there are real. It'll just be a problem figuring out which ones."

Surprise flickers in his expression. "I...I think it's just me right now. Collecting data like this, it's something that I've liked doing since I was a kid." Izuku smiles at him tentatively again, saying, "If you don't mind meeting up with me more often, I'd be grateful to hear of anything you see when you go into the forest again."

Tonbokiri smiles warmly at the boy in return.

"If you like doing it, then it will be even more well done. Of course I would not mind meeting with you often! For as long as we are in this place, let us work well together, Midoriya-dono."

Sometimes it still feels surreal, having people acknowledge him like this. It's one thing when it's classmates in a more sheltered environment like school, but here, where there's constantly danger? It gives Izuku a warm feeling that translates into his smile.

"Let's! And well, I know you mentioned your comrades before...I'd love to hear more about them if you don't mind sharing stories of your home," Izuku says, just a touch nervously. While Tonbokiri seems happy enough to share any findings with him, Izuku doesn't know how he feels about something more personal like this. "We don't have to meet only when there's something like the forest to discuss."

"You are interested in that?" And here he'd thought for a moment that Midoriya was not interested in idle chatter! It seems he was quite mistaken.

"Whatever stories might be of interest to you, I would be happy to share them with you! If I may say so, my comrades are rather exalted company. No doubt you will know many of the names.

"And... if I may ask in return, I am curious about your world. It seems that you, Ochako-dono and Yaoyorozu-dono are from the same world, where people have superpowers called 'quirks' and heroes are somewhat common? I would be pleased to hear more about it."

"Of course I am!" Izuku's reply comes quickly. "I love hearing everyone's stories and learning the differences between all our worlds... it's really great!"

It stands to reason that Tonbokiri would be curious in return, and Izuku just nods eagerly.

"Yeah, that's right. Quirks are so common nowadays, more heroes are needed to combat the villains with quirks. Besides, the government needed a way to safely regulate quirk-use, and having people register as heroes was the most efficient way to do it," Izuku says, somehow managing to get all of that in one breath. It's obvious that he loves explaining all of this.

It is indeed clear, and he smiles at how Midoriya lights up as he talks about it.

"Amazing. It sounds like such a complex, rich world. It is hard to imagine 'hero' becoming a vocation, complete with superpowers. I wonder about how that world came to be. But you know of Honda Tadakatsu, so at least as far as that your history is the same as mine." (Priorities.)

He then rubs at his chin thoughtfully, thinking of where to start with a story in return.

"As for my comrades, one place to start would be the other two of the Three Great Spears, Otegine and Nihongou. Otegine is a specialist at stabbing, and is amazingly strong despite how thin he looks. Once, he balanced both I and Nihongou on his shoulders! ...Ah. That didn't particularly end well, though. Nihongou is a powerful and treasured spear. He is rather laid back, and we often go drinking together."

"It was hard for people to believe at first, too. Superpowers and heroes... those were all things that belonged in comics--um, stories, I mean. Besides, quirks are a pretty recent development, in terms of Japanese history. Everything before that must have been the same, since we know of the same things." It's fascinating to him, seeing how their two worlds might have split off into alternate universes at a certain point.

Izuku soaks in the story that Tonbokiri begins in exchange, growing more and more amused. "Wait, you can't stop there! What happened after he balanced you both?"

Although he looks even more embarrassed, Tonbokiri doesn't back down from telling the story, especially as he's been asked.

"Ahem. Perhaps a little context is in order. You know the story of the blue bird of happiness? It so happened that as I finished reading that story to one of the young swords, a blue bird appeared in the garden. Nihongou became determined to catch it, but the bird wily evaded him. So he asked for our help. That's when Otegine balanced myself and Nihongou on his shoulders, so that Nihongou could try to reach the bird. Hahaha- you could say it led us on quite the chase." You... could say that about what happened. "Otegine lost his footing and could not stop from rushing forward- through the garden, past the stables and across the field... In the end, Otegine used his stabbing prowess to stop us, but it also landed us in the pond. And would you believe, the bird still evaded Nihongou! But it left behind a bright blue feather, which he was able to keep in an omamori given to him by that young sword."

He smiles, recalling that touching scene.

Questing, sparring, training, living [closed log catch-all]

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