abe no "stripper boots" sousei (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
disilluded) wrote2018-06-10 12:19 pm
disilluded) wrote2018-06-10 12:19 pm
week 0, sunday
[Well! He's alive, that's a shocker. He wasn't really expecting it, despite all of his poise and certainty--
But's it's fine. He can absolutely work with this, and he doesn't intend to lose his second chance.
When he runs across Souji, though, he has to stop, of course. After everything...]
... Souji.
[Sup.]
I believe I may be the one to owe you tea this time.
[For filling him with DEATH FEAR and then houdini-ing his way outta death once more.]
But's it's fine. He can absolutely work with this, and he doesn't intend to lose his second chance.
When he runs across Souji, though, he has to stop, of course. After everything...]
... Souji.
[Sup.]
I believe I may be the one to owe you tea this time.
[For filling him with DEATH FEAR and then houdini-ing his way outta death once more.]
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But Souji is - probably unsurprisingly - pretty unfazed by the gruesomeness of executions in general. With a little time passed, he's apparently put the emotional weight of the spectacle behind him, since he sure perks right up at the mention of TEATIME, his favorite meal. With one of his favorite people in the castle, too.
How did this happen.]
Oh! Would that be fine? I was just going to get a snack.
[He's going to kidnap Sousei away with him regardless, but he'll ask to check out of ingrained politeness.]
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Indeed. I was just thinking that it would be nice to take a moment to reflect.
[He has.
A Lot on his mind.]
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Souji nods in understanding, though. He can imagine there's a lot to unpack here... So it's off to the kitchen he'll mosey first, to start setting a few snacks aside and prepare the tea.]
...Luck really does seem to favor you when it comes to things like this. [The threat of being executed, specifically.] Though I'd like to know whose kindness is responsible, I'm grateful for it regardless.
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[Honestly... that's quite the power to have.]
Perhaps someday, I will be able to thank them for myself.
[...]
If they continue to use it wisely from here.
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I hope that they will. We'll need all of the allies we can get, with the way things will likely progress from here out.
[ie Much Death. At the very least, he hopes they can limit their body count from four a week to two.]
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But also, the kitchen is nice and peaceful right now, thank god.]
We need time. [That's what they need most of all.] The most time we can possibly gather, to prevent too many deaths from occurring.
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That's going to be the most difficult thing to get.
[But on the plus side, hey! It's Sousei, who is Smart and A Good Samurai. Souji trusts him more than he trusts himself to actually figure out how to do the things they're attempting to do here.]
...Not impossible, though.
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Absolutely nothing is impossible.
[Don't really trust in him, that's a bad life choices, Souji!!]
We may as well begin with the most difficult thing.
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Certainly, but I hope that you'll take a little time to rest first.
[He says with the tone of someone used to dealing with Stubborn Bullheaded Men who won't rest even for their own good, expecting something about how they don't have time for things like that when there's important work to be done.
He sees you Sousei.]
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Though admittedly like.
He hasn't slept in three days, so yes.]
... I will certainly be sure to rest. I feel as though we will have to prepare ourselves a great deal for the upcoming week.
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[SO SLEEP, SOUSEI, PLEASE??? GOD...
Though that reminds him--]
...Speaking of - there's something I'd like to ask of you. [Now that he's not going to Die Immediately, as Souji had been concerned about yesterday.] I'm looking for people who might be interested in teaching basic self-defense and sparring next week.
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Hm... yes, that's logical enough. Very well then, I will teach as well.
[...]
I will expect the students who wish to learn to be serious about it, however. [NO SLACKING...]
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And by the fact that Sousei is apparently a strict teacher. He likes those best.]
If you say so, I'm sure they'll understand. [But will they actually understand until they're ass deep in Training Hell?? Probably not.
ALSO........]
Sousei-san, I'd also like to spar against you.
[Death.]
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He quirks an eyebrow, and pours the tea, and nods.]
Very well then. I would be interested in that as well.
I believe myself competent enough to at least keep up, if nothing else.
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LOOKING SO THRILLED. Mostly because Yamazaki (rightfully) keeps him from actually doing anything lately?? Wow, it's almost like he wants to preserve Souji's dwindling life or something.]
Oh, I don't doubt it! Which school do you practice?
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... I don't.
[Oh.]
Though I learned swordsmanship from a proper master, he did not practice any particular school of it.
[Sousei practices the school of mcfucking cheating.]
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Wow, though, that's sure unusual... SOUNDS LIKE HIJIKATA YET AGAIN. Does he also carry pocket sand?? Real questions of Beverly Hills.]
Oh... So it's like a fusion of schools, then? A little of this and that? Well, we're used to unconventional fighters.
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Maybe.]
Mm, something along those lines. I cannot say that my fighting style is particularly conventional, but its only purpose is to do accomplish my duty.
[So... it doesn't really have to be...]
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That's something Kondou-san said often. ["I FOUND ONE" IS RIGHT. He knows the Shinsengumi shape when he sees it!!] I'll look forward to seeing what it looks like, in that case.
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I will look forward to it as well.
[Here, have a cup of tea, Souji. He can't cook but he can at least make tea.]
It would not do for my skills to grow rusty in a place like this.
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But he'll accept the cup with a grateful little nod, not taking a sip yet to let it cool down a bit.]
Thank you. [A tiny part of his little sad Souji heart feels glad, being given a cup of tea without any packets of bitter, awful medicine alongside it.]
Ah, it'll be nice to stretch and practice after this last week! It would be even better if we could do it outside, but I guess inside is fine.
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I suppose it is what it must be.
[He hates that they can't go outside either.]
We will find a place where it is safe to spar in one way or another. Or we will destroy this castle. I do not care.
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[Too bad it's deemed not special enough of a special occasion for ballroom use, rude!! On the plus side they'll all get to go outside and die in the snow now, though.]
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Asking them for anything...
[His nose!! Wrinkles!! Distaste!!]
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Would you rather the foyer? I don't think anyone would want to be thrown into a suit of armor.
[WHY IS ANYONE GETTING THROWN PERIOD.]
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You're expecting this to become rather noisy, then?
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[He is
used to training with the Shinsengumi though.]
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I suppose I am used to more uniform training than throwing people into suits of armor, but... I suppose that is one way to grow stronger.
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It's rare to leave a good training session without needing to see a medic. [No nevermind judge him to hell and back.
THOUGH HE PAUSES, AT LEAST.] ...Seeing as we don't have one here, scaling back a little would be good, though.
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So this is how the Shinsengumi functions...
[DOUBT]
Yes, let us scale it back--at least for those who are not used to handling such things.
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[People only go to him for training if they want to DIE. Or become eternally youthful?? It's a long story.]
I agree, though... There's always room to increase the difficulty later if anyone wants, but if we're just starting with the very basics, it should be fine.
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[He's kind of amused by this, honestly. Souji has such an easygoing demeanor, but you really just can't trust that at all.]
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[Trust no Souji is the main takeaway here, basically.]
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[...A death wish...]
... Is there something wrong with you? [JUST...JUST ASKING.]
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If it's teaching, that's fine! If it's sparring, I have a little trouble holding back.
[This is a sensitive subject since he accidentally literally fucking murdered Sannan because of it.]
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He was not expecting that to be a fair question.]
...Why is that?
[he's gotta know these things??]
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Also, that's another fair question, but he doesn't actually know the answer to it!! Incredible.]
I've been that way since I was very young.
[Let him regale you with the time he straight-up murdered some weird goblin that stole his face in cold blood when he was nine, Sousei.]
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It is not something you can control?
[It's just how you are? That's wild, Souji.]
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Anyway, he just shakes his head!! Why is he like this.]
When I was a child, it felt like a curse to me. [Because unsurprisingly, no one wants to hang out with the tiny kid that can benchpress fully grown men and win their katana.] But I found people who could make use of it.
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Is that correct?
[... What a tragic reason to throw his lot in with someone like them...]
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Hijikata-san was the first person to tell me that what I had was a strength.
[A gift, not a curse. It had definitely been a wild thing to hear, and clearly it stuck.]
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[He can't deny that, though he certainly feels A Concern over all of this. It's a lot to process, but...]
Are they aware of your illness?
[They must be, right?]
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...They know of it now.
[He managed to hide it for a ridiculously long time, though.]
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[I mean, honestly, as a commanding officer himself--]
They will only blame themselves otherwise, if it is made worse because of tasks they asked of you.
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Unfortunately, the downside of building yourself up around your strength alone is the fact that without it, it seems like there's nothing left worth hanging around for. Which is an incredibly sore sticking point, and something he hasn't come anywhere close to making peace with.
So, after a brief pause:]
--Let's talk about something else, Sousei-san. [When in doubt, RAPIDLY BAIL OUT.] This tea is very good and you're alive to enjoy it with, so it would be a shame to waste time on things like that.
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You know.
He'll let it go for now.]
Indeed. For now, we are both alive, and that is something worth celebrating.
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That's exactly what I think.
[and since we have another pc we can just say NINJA CLAN HERE THEY STAND, chatting and being glad they aren't dead.]