#heard a story he had to go see the shogun at some point

[thezestyone]

The Curse Of An Ikesen Antagonist (Rant Post)

I will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but it might breach that territory:

Ah, yes, the IkeSen antagonist. They are what up the stakes in the story between MC and her chosen LI. They are a fundamental part of the overall general plot, and their contributions to the overall drama is very well noted.

There is just one tiny problem…

All the antagonists, save for the shogun Yoshiaski, are LOVE INTERESTS.

The man using you as bait to reel in your current LI to kill him? Yeah, in another life- Er, route, he’ll be YOUR boy.

Which raises a problem…

How would they be appealing, besides their looks, for many fellow princesses out there, if they are such jerks in certain routes, with certain routes making them out to be akin to the devil while others keep them rather mild in comparison?

Ah, yes, nothing is more romantic than the man who in another route prior threatened my life in explicit detail! Let me just forget that ever happened-

Kennyo was the OG antagonist of Ikesen before Act 2 came out, the one many would grow to dislike just because he played his role well for the plot. So, when his route finally comes out, is it really a surprise to anyone that he wouldn’t be the most popular of characters when he many of times kidnaps MC, threatens her, scares the living daylights out of her, etc in so many routes prior? Kind of a difficult road to romance, ain’t it?

Kennyo, out of the three LI antagonists, is the most sympathetic when you learn of his full story, and how he was once a gentle man who couldn’t harm any creature. However, since he is one of the chosen antagonists, he can be cruel, depending on whose route you read. If I could recall correctly, he makes it a point to make it known that none of it is personal in many a route, and it’s just a case of vengeance for his fallen brethren.

Okay, sure, I’ll bite. Misunderstood monk who is broken. He’s seen as human most of the times, albeit very misguided. I get that.

However, with Motonari and Kicho, the main antagonists of Act 2?… Oh, boy, here we go…

Depending on the route you read depends on just how HORRIBLE they will be… And I am saying that as a huge Motonari fan!

I happened to have heard of many complaints concerning Motonari and his route and his overall character development, and I could see and sympathize with some of those points. I personally happen to like types like Moto, so it’s usually not that big of an issue for me when he is a bad boy, but the fact he is an LI and can be so cruel in other routes makes it at times very uncomfortable for me as a big fan of his.

We all have our types in Ikesen, and we all want our types to be seen in as positive a light as possible regardless of their role to the plot.

However, if your LI is an antagonist, get ready to have to spend many a route having to brush off the terrible things they do because they have to being an antagonist.

The one who has it absolutely the worst though is Kicho. Not only is he a very difficult character for me personally to get my head around, but he is so contradictory, and depending on the route, can be pure evil incarnate.

I am not talking being cruel to the obvious enemies, like Nobunaga, oh no no.

I am talking being cruel to YOU, the MC. The one who will one day read his route with him as an LI, with him trying to romance you.

It is kind of hard to get interested in a man who routes prior treated you absolutely like garbage and had no sympathy whatsoever for his actions or any pity to the terrible things he personally does to YOU.

Most times previously, the antagonists wouldn’t harm MC, which is a boundary I feel should be respected in all the routes with all the characters since there are some fans out there who love them, and they shouldn’t be put in that uncomfortable of a position. The antags’ beef should be with the other LIs, period.

It is absolutely gut wrenching to have your favorite in another route treat you like absolute crap when you care so much about him, and it makes it very difficult to love them genuinely compared with other characters.

This is Ikesen, it is not impossible nor hard to create characters with flaws that make you a feel a bit skeevy, but have other amazing qualities that make you overlook those flaws. Look at popular characters like Nobunaga and Kenshin, it CAN be done.

So why are the Ikesen antagonists, as LIs themselves, treated so bad and at times, even a bit out of character themselves?

If you have read Masamune’s sequel, you will know what I am talking about. It has to be the most worst example of the IkeSen antagonist curse I have seen yet. Let’s just say if you are a Kicho fan, I would give it a pass for your own heart’s sake, just like I would skim a few parts at the end of Keiji’s route if you are a Motonari fan.

(I love Masa’s sequel from a pure story perspective, but the way they characterized Kicho and had him treat MC… check a previous post for my thoughts on that if you like.)

So, to conclude my very fuddled up rant… the antags of Ikesen are bad guys, but they don’t have to be bad guys, especially to MC. They are her LI’s for crying out loud, there has to be a clear boundary they won’t cross to not make reading their routes uncomfortable, and making their fans uncomfortable.

How far should they go in their bad with MC depending on the route? Use her like in other routes as a pawn, scare her a bit like other characters have done due to a conflict where they were left with no other options. Don’t just jump the shark without any chain mail, and cause her actual harm! That crosses a line, and what if the one reading at the time was a fan of theirs? Again, awkward at best, heartbroken at worst!

Kicho fans, you have my sincerest sympathies. Though he is one of my most disliked Ikesen chars, I always try to be as cordial as I could be regarding chars I dislike, or at least be comical and theatrical with it, not taking it to heart. (Hell, I wrote about Kicho many a times! No Ikesen character is off writing limits on this page-) However, I can’t stress enough to y’all… If you are a big fan of his, you see him as your husband, all that, give Masamune’s sequel a skip. You’ll thank me.

[ashthehermit]

Legends of Tomorrow: A Retrospective 2.3

I was full of praise for the first episode of this season, but then I forgot how many growing pains it had.  It does feel like it has those pains all the way up to episode nine.  That's a guess, based on how well I remembered the episodes just from their titles and descriptions.  At least we get a lot of fun settings in the first part of this season, which the first season sorely lacked.  It's no season three yet, however.

This episode is where we start to see Legends get referential.  Later seasons will riff so hard off other media.  Season one did a little of this.  There was the Star Trek episode where they met the time pirates, and the terminator episode with the pilgrim.  But none of them were very good.  They had to lampshade their reference points in dialogue every two minutes, and never seemed to have any fun with them.  This will change.

SHOGUN

I'll admit, I don't think I've seen any of the films that this episode references.  As a concept, I don't love it.  It relies way too much on a white saviour narrative where Nate gets to save the day after literally falling from the sky.  When Nate was first introduced, I didn't love his character.  He was too similar in my eyes to characters we had already axed.  This episode didn't do much to allay my fears.  I was like, ah, a boring white man.  I changed my tune later, but as our first real Nate focused episode, I wasn't convinced.

We open with Amaya sneaking on board of the ship and taking out the legends one by one.  Nate stops her from killing Rory, which lets him show off his brand new powers.  He's got skin made of steel!  Yay!  I like that he's a little mad that Ray injected him with Nazi serum.  What a reasonable response!  Ray is ordered to train Nate.  The start of a beautiful friendship.  No one has any fun costumes in this scene.  I wait eagerly for any fun costumes like Zari 2.0 wears.  Everyone wears jeans and shirts in block neutral colours.  It does smack of them not yet knowing their characters, or at least, not being comfortable with having weird characters.

'Professional?'  'Ish.'

Nate and Ray have a little too much fun fighting in the cargo bay, and Nate falls out into the time stream.  Ray follows him, because he knows deep down that they are going to be best friends.  It does feel like that happened a little too easily.  Anyway, he lands in Japan in 1641, which he identifies immediately.  It is handy that the legends found a historian so dedicated that he had a base knowledge of every possible time period they landed in.  The point is that he replaces Gideon's knowledge of the timeline, as taken from the oculus, so I guess it's allowed.  Ray gets captured, while Nate gets picked up by a nice lady who seems not even sure that he was alive when she put him on the back of her cart.

Nate improvises a story about how he got there, and guesses where he is based only on looking at the field that he's in.  The nice lady is called Masako, and as soon as she was introduced I feared that he would sleep with her.  We cut to Ray, once again tied up by some bad guys.  

'United States.  Which you have never heard of, because it won't exist for another two hundred years.'

Masako gives Nate a bath, which he seems to think is inappropriate.  So do I, Nate!  Masako apparently is supposed to marry the Shogun, so now it's Nate's solemn duty to save her from her terrible fate.

Amaya and Rory squabble.  I kind of enjoy it.  Legends is best at creating odd duck pairings and rolling with them.  The pairing of Amaya and Rory is the first real one of these, in my opinion, and it was the best for Amaya's character.

Jax and Stein learn that the ship has a secret room!  You better check behind all those bookcases in the library.

The Shogun's men arrive to make sure no foreigners have been bothering Masako.  She is pretty good at fending them off, putting on a fake smile, being polite, and lying to them about how many Americans are currently in her house.  However, Nate simply must burst on the scene to save her.  It's particularly annoying, because for all intents and purposes, those guys were going to leave.  Nate fighting them only worsens Masako's situation!  Dumb boy.

'I wear my armour on the inside.'

Nate rightfully gets beaten up, because he has no control over his powers, or apparently his mouth.  He reveals that Masako doesn't want to marry the Shogun, and gets stabbed for all his efforts.  He's super lucky that he's not dead!  He really should be, owing to being a hemophiliac.  We were just told that last episode, and he's over it this one?  He later says that his hemophilia is completely cured, for what that is worth.  

Jax and Stein find the secret compartment, tragically not behind a bookcase.  Jax references lost, which is a flashback.  I genuinely forgot about Lost.

'If I've learned one thing from Lost, it's that you don't go opening secret hatches.'

It's sword fight time!  Thank god, that didn't last very long.  Sara and co find Ray, who has escaped (he's been tied up so much, you'd think he was getting good at escaping).  The gang immediately find Nate, despite not having any sign of where he is.  Nate gets up, despite just being stabbed.  He seems completely fine!  Your super serum didn't make you heal super fast.

The gang decide to prepare Nate for the fight and defend the village.  Except Rory, who just goes off for a nap.  Much respect, Rory.  Jax and Stein find that the secret compartment is an armoury which Rip hid from them.  There's also a messaging system, which has a voice note from our good friend Barry Allen.  It doesn't make any sense in Legends continuity.  The bit is that an older Barry contacts Rip.  Which shouldn't make much sense, as in the future, Barry should know that Rip is long dead.  Anyway.  We all know that this is just crossover fodder.  Legends is at its worst in the crossovers.

Ray coaches Nate in how to destroy his suit, using a very detailed straw man.  Did he halt training just to make that detailed figure?  Was he weaving armour plates from straw all day?  Anyway, he makes sure that Nate knows that this isn't just about his own heroism.  Nate is being selfish!  Ray is being super dramatic though.  It's ok, he'll make another suit simply because he can't possibly come to the crossover without his superhero outfit.  

'At the end of the day, Mick does the right thing.  Usually.'

Amaya tells us a little about her life, and her village Zambesi.  It's a lot of exposition, and it doesn't reveal as much about Amaya's character as it should.  It's telling how cool she is with the time travel.  The JSA accepted the existence of time travel because the plot demanded that they not dwell on it for too long.  Amaya doesn't marvel much at all she sees, nor is she weirded out by any of it.  She spends all her time being chill, or bothering Rory.  Of course, I like the Rory and Amaya bickering, but the rest of her character reactions are rather shallow.  She is friends with Sara almost immediately.  She has a lot of dialogue, but most of it is expository.  They never did as badly with Amaya as they did with Kendra, but they never did great with Amaya either.  Give me Charlie any day.

Masako's father gives Ray the armour he made for his son.  This family feels very strongly about these guys they've known for less than a day.  Plus, these people are fundamentally weird.  Why aren't they more weirded out?  Anyway, it's fighting time, for whatever that's worth.

Masako gets one moment of taking up her brother's sword to fight the Shogun.  She's easily defeated.  It does feel like a pandering moment.  Nate gets to save her.  Ugh.  Not that I needed her to be good at killing the Shogun, but that including it as an inconsequential moment isn't satisfying.  Masako rejects Nate, and then Nate gives her the sword, telling her to be the protector of her village.  Ray asks for their family name and has a moment that suggests he recognises it.  It meant nothing to me, so I looked it up, hoping it was another historical Easter egg.  No.  It was an incomprehensible Arrow reference.  Ah well.

'Why are you two goofy bastards so happy?'

And another thing.  As soon as Amaya is on the ship, she dresses in modern clothing in her down time.  Her costuming is similar in style to Sara.  She's got the leather jacket and everything.  They take Amaya from the 1940s, and she becomes a modern woman after one visit to feudal Japan.  She behaves much like a modern person.  Her language isn't any different.  Her wardrobe isn't 40s.  They do much better later, with Gwyn, in having a character from the past.  With Amaya they don't even attempt to show that she's from a different time period.  She arrives on the ship, and it's like she was born in the 90s.  Sure, she's not your typical forties woman.  She has superpowers.  She immigrated to America to be part of the JSA.  That's pretty special!  She doesn't behave like any of this happened, however.

Jax and Stein debate about what to do about Barry's message, which we don't know the contents of.  It's a tease, and I don't care a lot.  They fly off and there isn't really and ending stinger.  They need to find Rex's killer, but they've not got a place to start in.  Anyway.  Onto the next.

[froggysoup]

wowee

Alrighty I’m just gonna ramble on about my thoughts on the new quest (and things in general because I talk too much) and pray that at least some of it ends up coherent. Spoilers, by the way.

I’ve had this first theory since the last archon quest but got nervous and didn’t share, so here it is now. Maybe it’s an obvious thing that I’m just in the dark about, but I’m fairly sure that Dainsleif’s “Boughkeeper” title has a large part in explaining why he knows so much about things he really shouldn’t. From the newest quest, we learn that he is actually cursed with immortality, which could explain some it, but the guy still knows too much for it to simply be chalked up to his age. He’s literally the designated narrator for half of the official videos and knows a lot about what and who he talks about.

I suspect that the ley lines serve as an information network of some sort, and that Dainsleif’s position as Boughkeeper allows him access to it in one way or another. The only other places we really see the whole tree/branch thing is with the ley line branches, Irminsul trees, the Frostbearing Tree, and the tree who once had roots that spanned the whole continent (which we know the ley line branches were once directly a part of), all of which are connected in a way that I haven’t quite figured out yet. 

Now, from those screens that come up while the game is loading, we know that supposedly, the intertwined roots of the Irminsul trees far beneath the earth determine the pattern of the ley lines above, and we also know that ley lines are a “mysterious network that links the whole world together” and that they are said to remember everything that happens in the world. From this, I don’t think it’d be that much of a reach to say that Dainsleif can access that somehow.

Next. I do think there’s a pretty good chance that the Archons were involved in the destruction of Khaenri’ah. The Viridescent Venerer set actually tells us how the former Dendro Archon died during the cataclysm while in Khaenri’ah, which. Uh. That’s kind of really incriminating. 

However! Obviously, we’ve only heard this from Dainsleif’s point of view and he’s pretty biased considering his whole thing. We don’t know how much control Celestia has over the Archons’ actions, either, and I’m about 98% sure that some of them weren’t into it, and likely didn't even have a choice. Like, look at the Tsaritsa. Her whole thing is that sometime during the cataclysm, she witnessed something so view-shattering and unjust that her whole thing now is to “burn away the old world” and overthrow Celestia. 

I also can’t see Venti and Zhongli going along with the destruction of an entire nation with no hesitation. Like, obviously, again, Dainsleif is going to be biased, but from what we’ve been told Khaenri’ah didn’t even do anything divine-retribution-worthy. Celestia just seems be into dropping skyscraper-sized pillars and other things onto nations who get too good at being independent, for whatever reason. The new quest is definitely supposed to make us question the current systems of this world but I don’t think we’re meant to hate Venti or Zhongli, at least yet. I think they’re even kind of meant to be seen as the “best” out of the Archons, so to speak. (Not that I think they’re perfect, by any means.)

Like, just look at the way they’ve been presented to us, versus how some of the other Archons have been introduced (Storyline Trailer, my beloved). 

Raiden Shogun is made out to be some self-absorbed divine ass-kisser who doesn’t have humanity’s best interests at heart (which we know is supposed to be a thing you do as an Archon). She’s doing her whole confiscating visions and oppressive rule thing in an effort to be seen as more divine, but, as Dainsleif puts it, “what do mortals see of the eternity chased after by their god?”

The Dendro Archon/God of Wisdom is implied to not actually be as smart as somebody with that title is supposed to be, one way or another, and either has turned a blind eye to or blatantly encourages the “push for folly” in Sumeru. Can’t tell exactly what that would mean or entail (thanks, Dainsleif), but obviously. Doesn’t sound good.

Dainsleif says of the Hydro Archon that she “lives for the spectacle of the courtroom, seeking to judge all other gods. But even she knows not to make an enemy of the divine.” While the not making an enemy of the divine thing I get (I guess, coward), the whole “seeking to judge all other gods” bit seems very “remove the log from your own eye”-y. Like, you’re an Archon, too, what are you trying to prove here?

The Tsaritsa is- well, the Tsaritsa, as we know. While I do think we are meant to sympathize and agree with at least part of her core ideals and motives, she still is the one behind the Fatui and is, by extension, a war criminal. She also apparently has “no love left for her people”. It’s a bit of a complicated relationship that we have with her.

The only ones who Dainsleif does not directly slander in the trailer are Venti, Zhongli, and Murata. While I don’t think we have enough on her to come to any conclusions about her character yet, Venti does say of her that she is a “wayward, war-mongering wretch”. Now, he does also jab at Rex Lapis during this voiceline, but unlike with Murata we know that those two are buddy-buddy and it was very likely that it was “buffoon (affectionate)”.

Venti and Zhongli are also the first two Archons we encounter, which is important for multiple reasons.

Gonna derail for a bit because I don’t know where to start. But. The game very likely will (or at least should) end with no Archons.

Obviously, especially in light of the new quest (although this stuff has been floating around since the Dragonspine update and even before that), Celestia Bad. Like, cataclysmically bad (lmao). In fact, I’m highly certain that you could trace basically every problem in this game back to them, some way or another.

Even our main “villain” groups all seem to be gunning for Celestia. The Fatui obviously work for the Tsaritsa, who’s made it very clear that she plans to rebel against the divine. The Abyss Order, too, has their Deeply Upsetting plan of creating a mechanized god with the power to “topple the divine thrones of Celestia”.

Evidence points to an overthrow of Celestia at some point in the game, and considering how being an Archon or even a god is directly tied to Celestia, yeah. No more Celestia means no more Archons.

But even besides that, there’s a lot there to suggest that that’s where things are going.

I find it interesting how Mondstadt’s our prologue chapter, or that there’s even a prologue chapter of the game at all. Prologues are meant to set up ideas that will be present throughout the rest of the story, and Mondstadt does exactly that. Venti’s let the people of Mondstadt govern themselves and has almost completely been out of the equation for millennia, even if that means he is significantly weaker than his godly peers. When asked why he chose to do that instead of remain in charge and just give them freedom, Venti responds that “freedom, if demanded of you by an archon, is really no freedom at all.” This sentiment is also brought up in the Mondstadt portion of the storyline trailer, and the traveler even has a whole voiceline debating what Venti really meant when he said that.

This idea of freedom and that humanity is capable on its own is further reinforced in Chapter 1, in which Liyue learns to move on from the death of its Archon. Zhongli set up his plan with the intention of testing if his people could stand on their own legs without him there to guide them, and they do. He even expresses how pleasantly surprised he is that the Qixing were able to take advantage of the situation and seize control like they did. Keqing gives us this whole speech when we first meet her about how the adepti and gods underestimate humanity’s capability and how Liyue’s future is meant to be a godless one. This, in a way, extends to the rest of the continent as well.

In the storyline trailer (which I quote too often, I’m sorry. My favorite and only party trick is that I got bored one day and memorized the whole thing), Dainsleif spends the entire Khaenri’ah section musing about something similar. 

“In the perpetual meantime of a sheltered eternity, most are content to live and not to dream. But in the hidden corner where the gods’ gaze does not fall, there are those who dream of dreaming,” is obviously about the people of Teyvat vs. those in Khaenri’ah. While a future under the care of the Archons is a safe and reliable one, is it one that allows humanity to chase its potential to the fullest? Khaenri’ah was destroyed for flourishing like it did without gods, both as a punishment and a warning to everybody else.

“Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity.” This is in reference to visions. Throughout the game, this idea that, at least in the eyes of the gods, vision holders are more important than those without them, is constantly brought up.

In the commission “Leaves on the Wind”, Dr. Edith expresses how it often seems as if vision holders are the main characters of this world. From the notebooks we receive during the “Time and Wind” world quest, we learn that the Sumeru Academia actually discourages non-vision holders from conducting outdoor surveys, and how “these days... trying to be an academic when you don't have a Vision, it's really restricting...” Dainsleif even just straight up asks us what we think the gods think of vision holders and people in general during question time in that one quest.

In Lisa’s stories, we learn that the reason for her laziness is that a part of her is afraid of learning or doing too much, after witnessing what “uninhibited erudition” can do to people during her time in Sumeru. She also senses that something beneath the surface is happening regarding the distribution of visions. “For whatever reasons, the gods gave humans the key to changing everything, but they did not explain the cost involved. Lisa grew fearful of the truth.”

I forgot exactly where I was going with that last paragraph, but yeah. There’s definitely sketchy shit going on behind the scenes in regards to visions, possibly to keep people either quiet or complacent. I suspect it may even be to restrict access to certain knowledges or even the elements themselves. Anyways.

I lose track of my thoughts too often. Fuck. Right. Mondstadt and Liyue served as good examples of society under the rule of the Archons, and in Chapter 2 we will encounter our first bad example, showing us the pros and cons of the current situation. However, despite Zhongli and Venti seeming to genuinely care for their people, humanity’s wellbeing shouldn’t be reliant on how their god is feeling that day, and they shouldn’t have to look to the gods for a chance to become something greater than themselves, either.

Um. All that’s to say I’m just very excited to see where the story will go, and if Zhongli’s contract with the Tsaritsa is any indication then it’s gonna go somewhere good. Celestia bad, Archons bad but also not bad but also bad, I don’t know if what I just wrote actually even counts as understandable, thank you and good night.

[ga-yuu]

~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 20~Part 2

Warning!! The story has nudity and sexual content.

Part 1

*

*

*

------Part 4-------

Kurama: “.....so fragile.”

With unusually downcast eyelashes, Kurama exhaled quietly.

Kurama: "I can't stop thinking about you because you left this stuff in my room....to the point where I lost all sense of normalcy when Yoichi told me that assassins from the Imperial Court were after you."

Yoshino: "The Imperial Court....?"

Kurama: "Yeah. He has been watching their movements because of what happened with Ibuki before. Yoichi was biting his tongue at the thought of being a step too late."

Yoshino: "But why are they after me?"

Kurama: "Their true intentions are still unclear. It may be to reduce the power of the Shogunate, or it may be for some other purpose."

(That's....)

Anxiously, I clenched my fingertips.

Yoshino: ".....I want to join the Shogunate as soon as possible. Kurama, will you help me?"

I looked up and stared boldly at Kurama.

Kurama: ".......'Why should I help you?' is what I'd say......but fine."

(Really!?)

Yoshino: "Are you sure?"

Kurama: "It was Yoshitsune's decision to hand you over to the Shogunate. If that were the case, the Rebels would have moved to protect you and deliver you to the Shogunate. By now, the later reinforcements will have been sent out. In the meantime, we'll just have to bide our time."

(Oh, I see....)

Kurama: "Yoshino. We'll do what we have to do now."

Yoshino: "And that is?"

Kurama: "I'm going to secure your roost and prepare you for tomorrow. So first----"

Kurama looks down at me with a straight face.

Kurama: "You need a bath."

(Eh?)

His one hand goes around my waist and pulls me closer. I blinked.

Naturally, a hand goes under my thigh and lifts me up vertically....

Kurama: "Let's go."

.................

Yoshino: "I'm glad we found a good place!"

Kurama: "Yeah. If we hadn't found this place, I would have made you sleep on a tree."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. That's even dangerous...(+4/+4)

2. I just want to get some rest....

2. You're kidding, right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: "I don't think it's safe to go up in the trees..."

Kurama: "I will catch you if you fall. But well, there's nothing better than finding a temporary inn. Because a fragile woman like you should be wrapped in a cloth and laid on a flat floor."

--------Part 5-------

Kurama: "Because a fragile woman like you should be wrapped in a cloth and laid on a flat floor."

Yoshino: "Errmmm....thank you?"

(He's trying to be kind, right?)

Kurama: "I don't know if there's a reasonable amount of sheets in this temple. Well, guess I have to just wrap you up with my wings."

Yoshino: "That's a problem!!!"

As I pictured that scenario, my skin gets hot.

Surely nothing is as embarrassing as that right?....or so I thought. But the night wasn't over yet----

................

Kurama: "Now for a dip."

Yoshino: "Mm...after you, please?"

We stand side by side in front of a lake in the mountains and Kurama shakes his head.

Kurama: "What do you mean by 'after you'? We're going in together."

(Eh)

Kurama: "We have to stay close as possible so we can be prepared for any attack if it happens."

Yoshino: "You're right...but..."

Kurama: "You still have something to say? All right, go on."

Kurama sighs in annoyance as he pulls me closer and puts his hand on my obi.

Yoshino: "And what the hell are you doing when I'm talking!!??"

When he unties my obi, I quickly grabbed his hand.

Kurama: "I'm taking it off because you're bothering me. In the meantime, if you have any complaints, I'll listen."

Yoshino: "You mean you'll listen but you still won't stop doing this, right?"

Kurama: "Why do you want an explanation for every single thing?"

While I was confused, I was quickly stripped off my kimono...

Kurama: "Get in there."

(....Let's finish this soon. I'm sure he won't see anything if I turn my back to him, right?)

I dip my feet gently into the water, and  feel a cold sensation.

Yoshino: "Hmm, feels good..."

Exhaling a sigh of relief, I went a little further and buried myself waist-deep in the water.

Then I heard the sound of water as if Kurama had also joined me.

(.....I'm getting nervous.)

I splashed the water lightly with my fingertips so that he wouldn't notice.

Kurama: "Why are playing around?"

~~~~I Won't Let You Drown. (Normal Story)~~~~

Kurama: "Why are playing around?"

Yoshino: "Mm.....!!"

Kurama's low voice echoes as he approaches from behind and grabs my hand as I play with the water.

Kurama: "It's not going to clean you up."

Yoshino: "But......ahh...."

His fingers gently spread in the water.

Kurama's palm slips to shed a trail of mud and blood.

Yoshino: "Nn...I can do it myself."

Kurama: "No. Let me do it."

The water was poured quietly over me and a large hand slowly touched me from arm to shoulder and shoulder to my back.

(The warmth of Kurama feels good compared to the cold water...)

I don't know if it's because of this, but I somehow forget to resist.

(For a demon Kurama, the idea of being naked is not so embarrassing....)

When we met again in Kamakura, there was no rush or surprise at my appearance during his bath.

Kurama: "Done."

(Finished already....?)

Yoshino: "Thank-----"

Kurama: "Now to the front."

Yoshino: "Eh?"

He made me stand facing him as a matter of course.

I, then, had a decent view of Kurama's body in the moonlight.

(Wo..ah....)

I look away, embarrassed by the masculinity of the shadows on his chest plate.

Droplets of light spill over the stark skin.

It was almost mysteriously sexy.

Kurama: "A slim, fragile-looking body."

(.....of course, he's looking at me too.)

Yoshino: "D-Don't look..."

Kurama: "If I don't look, how can I wash you? I can see better at night than most humans. So I have to keep my eyes open."

As if in condemnation, Kurama's commission was dropped around his shoulder.

Yoshino: "Because this is...."

No matter how much I duck and turn, I can't escape his straight gaze.

Kurama: "What’s there to hide?."

Yoshino: "....I know, it's not a very sexy body to look at...."

Kurama suddenly frowns at my remarks.

Kurama: "What are you talking about?"

(Eh?)

Kurama: "I thought I told you it was beautiful."

Yoshino: "!!!"

(You're not teasing me right?)

But the seriousness in his eyes makes me forget to breathe.

Kurama: "----or is it just me? When it comes to you, I'm certainly not thinking straight."

Yoshino: "That's..."

I was at a loss for words when I was confronted with the feelings I had left behind that day.

(Because if Kurama felt the same as me, this love would go nowhere.)

Kurama: "Yoshino."

His neat face approaches before my eyes....

Yoshino: "Mmm....."

Our breaths intertwined and....our lips meet.

(Why....)

A crazy heat rises up in an instant and circulates my body.

The kiss ends with a sad aftertaste.

Kurama: "I knew it. Beautiful and sweet."

Yoshino(making her orgasm face): "Ku...ra..ma...."

(Mm...mmm.....)

Kurama(blushing): ".........!!"

He kissed me again, blocking out the rest of my words.

Yoshino: "Nn.....ahh....."

He traces my lips with his tongue and slips in through the thin opening.

Each time he probed me for a weakness, I let out a gasp.

(I can't...think of anything....)

The sensation of having the bottom of my body ripped out of me made me relax and I clung tightly to Kurama's back.

The water dripping from his wings hit my arms and reminded me of who I was kissing.

Kurama(blushing): "Haa......"

Our lips parted with a dreamy sound and----

Kurama lets out an uncharacteristically languid breath.

Kurama: ".....how can a single kiss make you swoon?"

Yoshino(blushing): "I'm not swooning......."

Even his mumbled voice had a sweetness to it, as if had been given heat by mouth.

Kurama: "It's regrettable that your body is not anyone's toy."

----For a mockery, it sounded wistful and I blushed till my ears were red.

Kurama: "Yoshino."

Yoshino(blushing): ".......Mm."

Kurama no longer touches me.

But still, his feverish gaze that just wouldn't go away, is burning every inch of my skin.

(.....Yeah, I like that.)

(Even if this dream wouldn't come true.)

I was no longer hiding from Kurama anymore.

Kurama: "Don't make any scratches except the ones I give you. In your last moments, I'll let you sleep in your beautiful form."

(.....If that's not love, I don't know what is.)

(If this isn't love, then I don't want any more love.)

Bathed in the blessed moonlight...at that moment, I certainly felt eternal.

Chapter 21

[hellonoblesky]

Happy Saturday it’s past 2am here’s Harbinger Angst. Because I’m up late and I’m havinggg thoughts.

So here’s my hcs about the Harbingers reacting to/dealing with the news of Signora‘s death :)

(CW For like. Mental breakdowns and guilt and general emotional instability because no one is having a good time here. Oh also cussing, anddd some familial angst in Childe’s bit? Also I am so sorry about any misspellings n whatever it is. Very late and I already have two other posts in my drafts collecting dust that are also HCs so.)

Dottore:

So if you don’t follow my art blog or haven’t seen my Harbinger hcs (which are under the process of some change with new info being released and whatnot), you don’t know this but I HC Dot and Signora to be like sorta just evil siblings

Now because death is such a commodity in Dot’s uh… specific line of work, he doesn’t register that Signora is dead until like two days after he hears the news

He picked up the phone (rotary perhaps?) to go call up Signora‘a office to see if she has any good gossip and then stopped halfway through dialing because it hit him that she’s never going to be there to pick up the phone on the other end. Ever.

He usually listens to music when he’s working but with the absence of Signora ranting he has to take up listening to the radio on top of the music

Problem is: the radio doesn’t have the same charm and cadence to it that Signora’s rants did, because normal people are boring and it’s going to drive Dot up the walls if he has to listen to one more commercial or one more anxious ramble about how cool and great the Fatui are from some stupid radio host trying not to overstep the Tasritsa’s favor like she listens to some boring ass radio station in her spare time!!!

HE HATES IT. But is forced to make do because if he shows weakness he will be torn apart (or so he thinks)

So this leads to him locking himself away in his office even more than he already did

Because he was already intrigued by the traveller after their actions in Mond and their victory against Childe, but them beating Signora in a duel before the Shogun? Oh now that kickstarted a whole new line of study

Especially because his only coping mechanisms are Be Destructive and Dive So Far Into Work You Don’t Think so within about three days he has a comprehensive analysis of everything he can possibly get his hands on regarding the Traveler (without interacting with other people) and is about to pass out because he hasn’t slept

Oh and the funeral was absolute hell for him.

Mainly because while he was barely conscious he agreed to play violin at the service and then promptly passed out and forgot about it so he woke up and was hit with the consequences of his own actions in the form of sheet notes

He endured, obviously, he’s not going to back down from playing something at the funeral of one of the few interesting people in the organization, that’s what tools and cowards do and this might be the Fatui but if he’d survived the wrath of dead gods he would make it through this

Went right back to locking himself away after that though

He actually got bad enough that the other Harbingers took notice of his state and MADE him come out of his labs and eat (mainly at demand of the Tsaritsa because she just lost the Crimson Witch as an asset, she wants the rest of her Harbingers in good health god dammit, the Traveler is becoming a genuine threat)

Broke down at dinner a week after the funeral

Swears that if any of the other Harbingers bring it up ever ever again he will kill their bodies and keep their consciousnesses trapped in a machine that he controls forevermore

Really he’s just glad that no one immediately pounced on one of his few shows of weakness

Maybe he’ll risk it again if it means he can cry it out for another hour but he wouldn’t dare say that out loud, won’t even finish the thought

But you know what he will do?

What he does best, of course

Look at an oddity in the world (in this case the traveller) and seek to pick it apart until he can put it back together without looking and still have it work

The only way he can actually get through his grieving is by finding something to take the edge off

And it just so happens that the traveller is a perfect candidate

Childe:

By no means has he ever liked Signora, in regards to personality or method, but her death still hit him

He had to travel back to Snezhnaya for the funeral, and it did absolutely cheer him up to see his family again and get to spoil them all silly, but with a mind whirling with thoughts it was genuinely hard for him to keep a smile up

Mainly thoughts about battle, because that’s really the only way he can interpret the world at this point

Like he keeps thinking about weather the Traveler was holding back with him, or if they had gained the strength to fight off yet another Fatui plot just in the month or so since Liyue? And if they had gained strength, how had they done it so fast? If they’d been holding back against him had he not shown himself to be a fighter worthy of their strength? Had Signora even faced the Traveler‘s full strength?

Overall his head is much too full of too many things, and it wears him out to the point that he ends up sleeping in late enough for his family to actually worry because usually he’s up before dawn training and they don’t see him until the afternoon

But he’s back on track as soon as he can, because the training helps him think, and once he can resolve most of his thoughts (or repress them so they don’t bother him too often) he’s absolutely alright and fine and ready to go! Totally. Fine. It’s fine.

The thoughts were very much There during the funeral, especially as the first harbinger read a (somewhat summarized version) of Signora’s life to the assembly of Fatui

(Oh and Pierro didn’t really care weather or not Signor wanted people to know her life after she died because she was dead now what was she going to do??)

The reveal that Signora had been fighting for the Fatui because her lover had been killed by the actions of the Anemo Archon, and she desired nothing more than to see him again… it got to Childe. It got to Childe more than he’d like to admit

Because suddenly the woman who he had always known as the embodiment of frostbite and frozen barbed wire fencing had someone she had cared about, genuinely cared about, to the point where she had become the Mondstadt legend, the Crimson Witch herself

And she had lost that lover to the actions of a fool of a God

He swore silently to himself that when the Tsaritsa‘s future came to pass he would make a little monument for Signora. Nothing big, probably a plaque on a nice stone where Mondstadt would have been before the Tsaritsa’s success, but a monument nonetheless

This promise was a spur of the moment thing, and later he would be like “Man she was a jerk, lost love or not why did I promise her that?“ but he doesn’t go back on promises

Besides, actually watching Dottore break down in a grief and sleep-depravation induced haze was also something that got to him because of course the two people he happened to simply Hate The Most in the organization were close that makes perfect sense but also wow it is weird to see Dottore cry and it feels Wrong because after murdering and tormenting so many people… Signora is gone and he breaks then??? What the fuck

Avoids most of the Harbingers after that, just heads home to Morepesok to spoil his siblings silly before going back to Liyue

Oh and his siblings can tell something is up, Teucer especially because when his brilliant big brother, the greatest toy salesman in all of Snezhnaya, is suddenly struggling to keep a smile even though they’re at home… he notices

Childe’s other siblings are all avoiding the subject, they heard about the death of Signora and all, they just assume the organization is going through it tight now and frankly most of them are a little afraid of him weather they‘ll admit it or not

Not Teucer though, he’s confused just because he still has grasped how Snezhnaya works yet, so he goes ahead and asks anyway

Childe just says he’s sad because he has to leave again so soon! And he hasn’t even been able to take Teucer fishing this time, isn’t that sad?

Teucer can tell that he’s lying

But Teucer is also beginning to sense the danger that lies behind Childe’s eyes, so for the first time? He doesn’t push it or say that they could go fishing now if they hurry

Just a grin and a “Next time!! Promise?” Makes it all better and he doesn’t have to think about why his big brother feels unnerving to look at sometimes

Childe is oblivious to Teucer’s growing awareness

He heads back to Liyue and makes himself focus on work

Scaramouch:

Now he didn’t particularly like Signora either, and didn’t really care about her life’s story, because blah blah blah we get it lady you lost someone, we all did, cry about it or whatever

But he does feel… he feels guilty for leaving her to face the Shogun

He had the Gnosis, he had finished Signora’s mission for her without even meaning to, and he had thought it would be funny to just let her face the Shogun without knowing that

To some extent, it’s his fault she’s dead

And it’s not the fact that she died because he didn’t go get her that weighs on him, it’s that he left her to the Shogun of all things

I don’t know if puppets like Scara can feel things like people and such do, but considering how the Shogun expressed frustration and stress when Ei disabled the majority of her functions, I’m going to assume they can

And because of the meddling of ‘some eccentric scientists’ his emotions are probably toned down a tad but he can still feel guilt all the same

And leaving Signora to the Shogun makes him feel guilty because he and the Shogun are essentially kin

Disowned and disavowed kin, but you know

He may have been able to easily counter the Shogun, or even help Signora prevail in her duel, but he. Ran. Off.

He happens to think that that was very cowardly of him

It causes a spike in his aggression which everyone unfortunately has to notice every time he walks by because the sheer static electricity that snaps in the air when he’s in the room now? Haha. Ouchie

Fun fact: he has no idea how to cope with guilt

He channels ALL of it into SHEER RAGE

Ever seen a couple hundred year old man go absolutely apeshit in the Harbinger‘s shared training arena? Well now you have!! It’s not a pretty sight!!

He’s crying and can’t tell why, which fuels his anger, which fuels stress as a fun side effect which just makes more tears and now he has to snap someone in half because he needs it to stop he hates it here he hates it here he hates it here

And in the beginning the guilt wasn’t even that severe for him, it was just so immensely magnified by his lack of coping skills that he very nearly broke himself down

He tried going to Dottore to get it disabled but Dottore had his doors all locked so Scara couldn’t even get a word through to him

Oh and the funeral was fine with him he just left early because he didn’t want to deal with looking people in the eye at the time because, again, his lack of coping skills with guilt magnified the whole feeling so it was almost unbearable

It’s a lot of fighting and breaking things before he’s able to resign himself to some semblance of how he was

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Chapter Four

Well, this is probably my 2nd favourite chapter from Ginsei no Shou... Final edits will be done later as always. Need to go over the punctuation and some of the sentences which were compounded in the translation I used so I also need to review that... though it’s probably going to take a while before i get to the subtitled video for this since my finals are literally next week, with the last one being on friday and im only about 3/5 done with the timing for the first chapter. 

Chapter 4 occurs in Edo.

enjoy!

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Chapter Four

Translation by KumoriYami

Twelfth month, third year of Keiou. 

The Shinsengumi was very busy following the aftermath of the Battle of Toba Fushimi and other political affairs, and was very busy......

However, in comparison, the current political situation has undergone even greater changes. [check jp mtl. reword later].

The Edo Shogunate which had been provoked by Western vassals, had been unable to completely suppress them, finally accepted the Imperial Restoration Order [check jp mtl]. 

In name, the shogunate was abolished and a new government was established [reword later].

However, the Shogunate, which had held power for so long, naturally refused to give it up [check jp mtl]. 

At the end of the third year of Keiou, many soldiers had been stationed in Kyoto and Osaka in order to prevent the Sat-cho's forces/armies/troops from entering the capital. 

The Shinsengumi which had been stationed at Toba-Fushimi, also confronted the Sat-cho's forces.

Then, on the third day of the first month, before the atmosphere of the New Year had yet to dissipate——

A single gunshot started the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. 

Until now, the Shinsengumi which wielded blades, could have been regarded as invincible. 

However against the Sat-cho which with the latest weapons and equipment, they had been unable to make up the gap in performance granted by guns [reword later.]. 

The warriors fell down one after another before they even stepped into the attack range of a sword, and their dead bodies piled up like a mountain. 

Watching how he was no longer able to rely on his battle-honed swordsmanship, could only watch as Kyoto, which he had guarding with all his heart, turned into a sea of flames, I had no idea about what Saito-san had been thinking [reword later].

I had always viewed the Shinsengumi as samurai, and so, their defeat felt like it signified the end to the age of samurai...... 

I wasn’t able to put this into words, and was only able to watch in silence. 

After, in order to avoid pursuers, we decided to retreat to Osaka Castle. 

In addition to Amagiri-san, who had been repeatedly fought against.

 because I was the target of that male oni——Kazama-san, we ended up being obstructed once again.

The fighting with the Sat-cho forces had ended up [with them] being completely suppressed by the latest firearms [check jp mtl]. 

Yet even the katana that he had always believed in was unable to resist the strength Kazama-san wielded as an oni......

Even so, Saito-san was like a well-tempered steel blade, completely unyielding——

In order to fulfill his orders to protect me, he drank the Ochimizu, became a rasetsu, and was finally able to drive back Kazama-san. 

Afterwards. 

We arrived at Osaka Castle, and met up with the rest of the Shinsengumi. 

We followed Yoshinobu who retreated to Edo [check jp. pretty sure this is Yoshinobu being mentioned here], and vowed to make a comeback from Edo. 

The reason why I was living with the Shinsengumi was originally to find my missing father.

Now, since there wasn't much meaning in doing so, I didn't seem to have a reason to follow them anymore......  

After pulling myself together, I took [my] sword [check jp for kodachi] from Saito-san, and decided to follow the Shinsengumi. 

This must have been because of being in contact with them all the time , the Shinsengumi had become my home. 

First month and a half, Fourth year of Keiou [uh... reword later.].

We finally returned to Edo, and borrowed a hanamoto's residence/mansion [check game for the term they use] to use as our headquarters to regain our strength.  

But, it wasn't easy to restructure/reorganize a severely damaged organization. 

Kondou-san and Hijikata-san, in order to negotiate with the Shogunate, were attending meetings all day. 

Inoue-san and Yamazaki-san had sacrificed their lives, and Okita-san was still recuperating......

The greatest burdens naturally fell onto Saito-san. 

After turning into a rasetsu, he would feel unwell from simply being awake during the day, but he still never complained and devoted himself to working all day and night/tirelessly working. 

Second month of the Fourth year of Keiou

One day during the second month of the Fourth year of Keiou, when I saw deeply distressed over how Saito-san was working and reluctant to even sleep, the following story occurred. 

Second month of the Fourth Year of Keiou

During the first month of the year, the former/old shogunate army, which had been defeated at/in the/during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, retreated to Edo, was waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback.

The Shinsengumi, who had also returned to Edo, first stayed at a hotel in Shinagawa, then borrowed a hanamoto's residence in Edo to use as their headquarters. 

In order to revitalize/restructure the situation [reword later. think that reads oddly], every day was very busy.

About a month after returning to Edo...... 

Yukimura: Um, I remember that this box should have......

I was in the middle of hastily organizing all sorts of things that had been bought for the/at the new headquarters/I was at the new headquarters and arranging all sorts of things that had been purchased [check jp mtl]. 

However, I couldn't waste too much time on this.

Because I still had to go shopping, and there were many other things that had to be done——

Yukimura: Ah……!

Because of how flustered I was, I accidently knocked down a pile of luggage. 

Yukimura: Ah……

Those things need to be put back/returned to their original positions as soon as possible. 

Thinking this, I quickly/hurriedly picked up the luggage. Just then/At this moment, someone opened the door, and a cool/clear/cool and clear [check jp mtl] voice came [echoed]. 

Saito:……Yukimura.

Yukimura: Ah, Saito-san. I thought you went out, but it turns out you were here [reword later].

Saito: I just returned....... putting that aside, I heard a loud noise just now.

Yukimura: Ah...... I'm sorry, I wasn't careful and knocked some of the luggage down [reword later?]. I'll clean it up right away, so don't worry about it.

Saito: It'll be difficult for you to do this by yourself, so I'll help you. 

Shortly after he spoke, he picked up the luggage and returned it to their original positions [reword later].

Yukimura: But, Saito-san, shouldn't you be very busy……？

Saito: I'm not so busy to the point that I don't have time to put these back.

Yukimura:……Thank you, Saito-san.

Shortly after, we finished packing the luggage [thesaurus later].

Saito: Anyway, Yukimura.

Yukimura: Nn, what's wrong/what is it?

Saito: Are you the only one sorting out the luggage here?

Yukimura: Yes. It's because the other warriors have their own work to do. In the past, Inoue-san would help me clean up, but——

After saying that, I quickly stopped myself.

Yukimura:…………I'm sorry.

Saito: No, you don't need to apologise.

Yukimura:…………

Inoue-san and Yamazaki-san, they died during the Battle of Toba Fushimi.

During such normal daily circumstances, to suddenly think of……

It was depressing/I couldn't help but feel depressed [check video].

However Saito-san and the other warriors would never publicly express their grief.

That's why...... I try to not to mention Inoue-san to them as much as possible.

Saito: Anyway, Yukimura. I would like to take you somewhere later....... Do you have anything you need to do?

Yukimura: I was planning to go buy food for dinner after....... I was just thinking about which of the warriors I could go with.

Saito: In that case, I'll go with you. Afterwards, I hope that you can accompany me. 

Yukimura: Alright, that's fine, but where are we going?

Saito: Matsumoto-sensei. So I can see the circumstances of the wounded.

Yukimura: Ah, so it was like that....... But, is that okay for you? It's still early. 

Having become a rasetsu, Saito-san would feel unwell in the sunlight [check jp mtl 'during the day'?]

But, he still......

Saito: That doesn't matter. Please get ready as soon as possible.

Although I  was very worried about him, but...... [check game]

Yukimura:.......I know.

I'm afraid that telling him to rest now, would instead be more painful. 

I silently convinced myself, and decided to go with him.

Afterwards, we visited Matsumoto-sensei, confirming the/Matsumoto-sensei to confirm the circumstances of the wounded......

Yukimura: The majority of people seem to have recovered from their injuries, which is good [check jp mtl].

Saito:......Yes, it can be said that this is good luck/blessing despite misfortune. In order to prepare for the next battle with the Sat-cho, it is necessary for as many soldiers to recover from their injuries as soon to regain [their?] combat effectiveness. 

Yukimura:......Nn.

Saito: Unfortunately, Souji......

Yukimura:......!

Hearing Okita-san’s name, I froze.

Just now, according to Matsumoto-sensei, Okita-san's seems to have seriously/significantly deteriorated——

In the future/From now on, I'm afraid that/perhaps he will never be able to hold a sword [ever] again. 

Saito: The Chief and Vice-Commander hope that they will be able to fight against the Sat-cho again soon, but I do not know if they will be able to fight alongside Souji the day that hope becomes a reality...... [check jp mtl. difficulty with translating]

Yukimura:…………

Even Saito-san, who rarely expresses himself, couldn't help but feel extremely regretful when he thought of never being able to fight alongside Okita-san again. 

Shortly after, he shook his head. 

Saito:......Sorry, I’ve upset you by saying that. [check jp mtl. Tl is more literally: Sorry, for saying that, hearing that upset you]

Yukimura: No, how could that be…...

Saito: [We’re going] back to headquarters [check jp mtl], there is still work that needs to be done.

Just as Saito-san finished speaking, and was about to move [tl is “to take a step”. Check jp mtl]. 

Saito: Guh……!

Suddenly, he winced and groaned in pain.

Yukimura: Saito-san!?

I rushed forward to support him.

Saito:......No, you don’t need to worry, I was just feeling dizzy [check game for punctuation].

Yukimura: But......!

After Saito-san turned into a rasetsu, even/just walking in the sunlight would cause pain beyond imagination/would be accompanied by unimaginable pain. 

Yukimura: After we return to headquarters, why don't you go rest for a bit? You've recently been busy with work, and don't seem to have enough rest [reword later.]. 

Saito: There is no time to rest now. 

Yukimura: But, if you continue like this……!

Saito: I said that you don’t need to worry. Now, we’re going back to headquarters.

Yukimura:......

From the bottom of my heart, I could not accept Saito-san's words. 

But, I also knew that the work he was doing, was something only he could do. 

For that reason, I didn't say anything, and returned with him to headquarters. 

Following that, it seems that Saito-san seemed to be reluctant to spend any of his time on sleeping/reluctant to even sleep, and buried himself in his work. 

It wasn't like visiting the injured soldiers yesterday, or dealing with various trivial matters, such as allocating the necessary supplies for headquarters, would do anything to raise the funds that were needed to pay for the expenses during this period of time, or anything/and so on [check jp mtl. had difficulties with this sentence].. 

Additionally, preparing money/funds for new clothes and bedding, the purchase of weapons, preparing medicine, arranging for food ingredients [reword later. check jp mtl. "money for clothes." word i have can be translated to a money-related word or "change" as in 'change of clothes']...... There were a lot of things that needed to be dealt with.

Of course, I also wanted to help as much as possible. 

Despite that though, I am unable to completely do everything. 

If only he would take a day off for his health......

Yukimura:……?

At this moment, I heard some noise from in front of the entrance. 

Those voices, it couldn't be......

I hastily ran over to the entrance. 

Opening the doors, standing in front of me were——

Yukimura: Nagakura-san, Harada-san, are you heading out?

Shinpachi:: Nn? Ah, yeah. I was planning on asking/inviting some of the soldiers to something good to eat/to eat something nice, to(/and) cheer them up [reword later]. 

Yukimura: That's it/That's...... 

If only doing something like that could encourage/cheer Saito-san up. [check jp mtl. Don’t think “cheer” is appropriate for Saito though that’s an accurate translation. thesaurus later?] .  

Seeing how I was unusually lowering my head, Harada-san looked at my face. 

Harada: What’s wrong? Did something happen?

Yukimura: Actually......

I told them about what I thought when I went out with Saito-san yesterday. [reword later?]

Harada: A way to cheer up Saito…... 

Shinpachi: What can we do about that [though?]? Even if you told him to rest, there's no way he would just obediently do that. 

Harada: Yeah. There'd be no choice but to use force to get him to sleep, right? [check jp mtl]

Yukimura: Fo-Force/By, by force? 

Shinpachi: Hey hey, you're talking nonsense, Sano. How can a girl compel Saito with brute force? [check jp mtl]

Harada: We also should be helping [check jp mtl], but,  it's not good to leave the other warriors to themselves...... 

Yukimura: The other warriors, are they too busy that they don't have time to rest......?

Shinpachi: Well...... we were ultimately defeated in battle. There are a lot of guys who are constantly accumulating resentment [reword later]. 

Harada: After all, they're all vigorous youngsters/young people, if they aren't allowed to drink and vent their frustrations, I really don't know what they might do. 

Yukimura: That’s…...

Harada: Once we come back, we'll take on/share a portion of Saito-san's work. We can't always leave the entire burden on him/all the responsibilities to him...... right?

Yukimura:......Nn, both of you, thank you.

The two men walked shoulder to shoulder. 

Watching their backs, I suddenly got an idea. 

Yukimura: Letting them drink sake to vent/express their frustrations......

I didn't know if such a thing would work with /if such a method would be effective for Saito-san. 

However, compared to doing nothing....... perhaps it was worth trying. 

Thus, later that night. 

Yukimura: Saito-san, are you/did you fall asleep?

I asked the question from behind the sliding door. [reword later?] 

Saito: Come in, Yukimura.

Yukimura: Yes, excuse/pardon me.

Saito-san still looked too busy to pay attention to me/still looked too busy to me...... [check jp mtl]

Without looking away from the/his desk, he remained focused on writing a letter. 

Saito: It's very late, is something wrong? [reword later]

Yukimura: Saito-san, are you busy right now?

Saito: There are still matters that must be completed [reword later]. Western-style training and weapons must be arranged for as quickly as possible. 

Yukimura: Then when that is finished, will your work for today be done?

Saito:......?  

Saito: No, after that's done, even though that is finished, there's still work that needs to be done and it is best to start sooner——

Turning his head, when he saw me, his expression instantly hardened/froze. 

Saito: Yukimura, what is that?

Seeing how speechless he looked, I replied with a smile. 

Yukimura: It's sake——I'll wait for you to finish that letter, there will be drinks tonight [check jp mtl. had difficulties with this sentence]! I'll be accompanying you too!

Saito:……What……?

When Saito-san's work finally came to an end......

I hurriedly explained my intentions, and poured the sake into a cup. 

Saito:.......What is this/this for. What on earth are you thinking?

Yukimura: The letter's done. You can finish the rest of your work tomorrow....... 

Saito: Even if it's not urgent/an emergency, it's better to finish this early. 

Yukimura: But, can't you have a drink? It's important to rest properly. 

I pushed the cup of sake in towards him/in front/before him.

He hesitated doubtfully for a moment, [but?] he still took the cup. 

Saito:…………

But he still didn't drink. 

It was difficult for someone to drink by themself, I thought, so I poured myself a cup, and drank it without the slightest hesitation. 

Yukimura: Ah...... It's, it's good sake! Saito-san, please [check jp mtl. word i have is "please" but it can also mean 'to ask/invite' or 'request'. maybe change to 'please have some'?]! 

Saito-san’s brows furrowed tightly, as if he was thinking for a moment......

Saito:......In the end, what is your purpose? [reword later? i don't like how that reads]

Yukimura: Actually, I——

How should I answer that?

Choices:

[It's to get you drunk] <-

[I just wanted to drink with you]

Yukimura: Because…… it’s to get you drunk.

Presumably it was because my answer was too startling, that Saito-san fell silent/was speechless [probably change to the latter].

Saito: To get me…… drunk? Are you able to drink a lot [tl is more “hold your liquor/have good capacity for drinking. reword later]?

Yukimura: Th-That's......

How was I supposed to say that I almost never drank, but was I being too bold to try and get Saito-san to be drunk? [reword later]

But......

Yukimura: If I don’t do this/If this isn’t done, you’re never going to rest. If you continue like this, you’ll definitely collapse one day. Please, just for tonight, please listen to my request and drink this sake/drink this [check game]!

Saito: Wa-Wait. You're not making any sense. Considering that....... you're not actually drunk, are you?

Yukimura: I'm not drunk! I only had one cup. Rather than me, you should be drinking this, Saito-san! This sake was specially prepared for you!

Saito:......Apparently, you won't let me go if I don't drink [reword later?].

He finally raised the cup of sake to his mouth.

Yukimura: Saito-san, did you drink it......?

Tonight's goal was to get him to rest properly.

If I was the only one that got drunk, then it was meaningless. 

While I only had one drink, I wasn't sure if he actually drank anything......

Yukimura: Saito-san...... what do you think of this? [how is it]

Saito:  Ah, aah......

Although I felt dizzy, I felt comfortable, like I was soaking in a warm bath. 

Yukimura:.......By the way, Saito-san, you always, always...... act recklessly. Do you know how upset I get watching you...... No, you don't know.......

Saito: Even if you say that you are suffering/upset, as a member of the Shinsengumi, I must follow the Vice-Commander's orders....... 

Yukimura: Then, when you were fighting against Kazama [check for -san], your entire body was covered in blood...... At that time, I really thought that you were going to die....... 

Saito: I, I see....... Sorry.

Yukimura: Since coming to Edo, you've obviously been unwell, but you've been working so hard...... That's why I hoped you would be able to rest, and at least have a drink.

Saito: I understand.

Yukimura:....... Re-Really?

Saito:......Yes, I ended up drinking. But, you drinking in order to get me to drink feels odd....... For forcing yourself to drink to get me to drink, I apologize. [check game]

Yukimura: No......! I don't need you to apologize to me....... I just....... wish that you would cherish your body a bit more......

After that, Saito-san began drinking, and while I didn't know how much time passed...... 

I was hit by an intense feeling of drowsiness, and I couldn't even sit properly——

I fell onto the tatami like that. 

I felt so weak and couldn't get up. [reword later]

If I relax a bit more, I'll probably fall asleep like this. 

It was only out of a sense of duty that I wanted Saito-san to rest, and I then opened my mouth to ask a question.

Yukimura: Saito-san...... how are you......? Are you asleep......?

Saito:…………

I heard quiet breathing from the person sleeping beside me. 

Yukimura:......That's great......

Although this method was a bit rough [thesaurus?], Saito-san finally slept.

I felt relieved from accomplishing this and I couldn't help but say what was on my mind. [check game]

Yukimura: I.......

Yukiura: I've always been worried about you....... You drank the Ochimizu, and now have a body that loathes the sunlight, and it's my fault...... that you've become a rasetsu.

Saito:…………

Yukimura: But....... if you didn't drink the Ochimizu and become a rasetsu then....... I would no longer be here...... and I would never see you again....... 

Saito:…………

Yukimura: So even though it's painful...... even though I feel sorry...... and even though I feel sad...... I still want..... to thank you....... for protecting....... me.

…………

…………

Saito:……………………Are you asleep, Yukimura?

 Yukimua:…………

Saito:……Really……to think that you'd talk to yourself if the other person was asleep....... I don't regret drinking the Ochimizu in the slightest. I only made the right choice for my own honour, and to protect you.

Yukimua:…………

Saito:.......But you're worried about this and my body. However when I think about the Shinsengumi's situation, I cannot rest...... Nevertheless/Even so....... I'm very happy for you to have broken into my heart like this. Thank you, Yukimura.

Yukimua:…………

…………

……That night, I dreamt that Saito-san was saying something into my ear [reword later].

His voice, which sounded more gentle than usual, seemed to whisper [reword later].

It sounded so comfortable, so full of affection/care......

I slept like this until the next morning [reword later].

- The End -

*happy sigh*

Well, in kyoka-roku, during one of saito’s char perspectives, he does say that he might have been attracted to Chizuru since they talked in that alley… 

[innranrae]

🌈 Under the Colorful Sky

A/N: a rewrite of yoimiya's story quest ending and the ending sakujirou and keisuke deserved (ノ_<。) i got so emotionally involved with these two, the ending was so heartbreaking i just wanted to see them together (sob)

￫ pairing(s): Sakujirou/Keisuke

￫ word count: 1.2k

￫ cw: pining! regret! tears!

￫ ao3

🎆

Having beaten the officers from the Tenryou Commission that blocked the way to Keisuke and Sakujirou, the traveler, Paimon, and Yoimyia ran towards the men before it was too late.

"But your return says that you finally came around to my point of view, doesn't it?"

An unknown voice sounded, but it could only belong to the Imatani couple's son, Keisuke.

With the little hope Yoimiya had left, she decided to hide behind a rock that blocked them from view. Aether and Paimon followed her judgment and peaked their heads to look at them.

Half of Sakujirou's body laid on the sandy shore, one hand supporting his weight and the other holding his chest, visibly injured from dueling his old friend.

"Whatever you say," Sakujirou said defeated, staring at the ground.

"You will return with me to the Tenryou Commission to await your sentencing," Keisuke sounded confident.

However, his actions betrayed his words. He only stood there for some time with his arms crossed instead of apprehending the man. Aether sensed that something wasn’t right.

He stopped Yoimiya from barging into the scene, and raised a finger to his lips, urging her to stay quiet.

Reminiscing of the times he had lived with his childhood friend, Keisuke's memories overwhelmed him. He wanted to say what was on his mind but something kept him from doing so, and he didn’t know what exactly to say either.

His body moved on its own, crouching awkwardly before Sakujirou, who looked at him in surprise.

Keisuke kept his eyes low, afraid of making eye contact. But he finally let out the simple words that he had already failed to say once,

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Yet, he wanted to say another phrase. A phrase he had never considered telling anyone in his life before and even after meeting Sakujirou.

He wanted to declare “I love you”.

Keisuke doubted the depth of his feelings for his friend for a very long time. He didn’t want to acknowledge them, but seeing him in that state, defeated and hopeless, stripped of his freedom, he finally gave in to those neglected emotions.

He couldn’t watch the man he loved suffer.

But couldn’t watch him slip through his fingers either, not again.

The thought of feeling the same anguish and regret of those earlier days terrified Keisuke.

Helping Sakujirou into a sitting position, Keisuke couldn’t hold in his tears anymore. Chewing on the words, his lips opened and closed many times.

"Keisuke..." Sakujirou was taken aback, conflicted if he should start speaking despite his reluctance.

He cupped Keisuke's face, wiping the few escaping tears, "My return to Inazuma doesn't mean that I changed my beliefs. Seeing the vast lands and experiencing the diverse cultures the world had to offer was an experience I'll forever cherish, and I do not regret it. I came back because... I felt empty without you. At that time when we had that argument, I ran away instead of confronting my real feelings for you and I'm still afraid of your response."

Keisuke finally raised his eyes to meet Sakujirou's. He wasn't the only one crying.

A wild thought popped into Keisuke's head, maybe what he meant was exactly what he thought he meant. Maybe Sakujirou was saying he loved him as well, but that was too good to be true, right?

"What I am trying to say is that I can't live without you. I want you by my side..." Sakujirou's cheeks reddened as he averted his gaze bashfully. Still, if it weren't to be said now, he wouldn't have another chance to do so, "I'm in love with you."

A few feet from there, Aether nodded knowingly. On the flip side, Paimon and Yoimiya were shocked at the outcome, mouth wide open.

"Guys, I don't think we should be watching, this seems too personal," Aether felt a sudden wave of embarrassment.

"No, no, no. What if- What if he doesn't let Sakujirou go?!" Yoimiya countered, trying her best to sound convincing, but truth be told, she was just extremely invested in the couple's story.

Keisuke's tears now freely dropped. However, not from sadness, but relief.

The years after his beloved set off were filled with sorrow and dismay. But now, all the burden that weighed down on him had been lifted.

He scrupulously embraced Sakujirou, finally feeling the warmth of the person he longed for the most. "I love you too, Sakujirou. I feel the same way as you! When I heard of your return, I didn't know what to do with myself. I wanted to see you so badly I sent officers to every corner of Inazuma to find you, I'm so sorry for the pain I caused you..."

"It's okay now," Sakujirou said between sobs, "I can't put to words the joy I feel at this moment..."

Keisuke parted from the embrace and straightened his face, suddenly recalling something, "Sakujirou, not only for that I am sorry, but for not understanding and dismissing your beliefs. I do worship the Raiden Shogun and I joined the Tenryou Commission to serve her. But now, my role is to forcefully take people's visions, seize people who break the decree, bringing immeasurable pain to the people... I don't want to do that, not anymore."

"Keisuke..." Sakujirou felt his heart break.

"The seasons may change and the years pass, but if I am with you, these factors don't mean anything. The Shogun desires eternity, and so do I. YOU are my eternity, Sakujirou. It doesn't matter where you go from here, I just ask that you allow me to be with you."

It was Sakujirou's turn to jump into the other's arms. Joy felt like it was flowing through his veins, the empty feeling inside his heart was now foreign to him.

With both of their smiles gleaming under the moonlight, the trio that watched the whole scene unfold from afar finally decided to leave, getting ready to watch the fireworks.

Yoimiya was more than excited to set off the fireworks Sakujirou had commissioned her to make previously, trying her best not to think how she ought to be the one to, not only explain to the Tenryou Commission about Keisuke's whereabouts, but also his parents.

When Sakujirou first asked for those specific fireworks, he wouldn't even dream of his wish of watching those fireworks with Keisuke that night coming true. Yet, the situation was even better.

Setting the boat afloat, the two men got on it, rowing the boat a few times before coming to a stop upon the loud noise behind them.

The murky skies of the land of eternity had been let up, the fireworks show started. Colorful beams of light filled the sky one after the other, leaving falling sparks as they ascended and exploded.

Sakujirou and Keisuke watched them rise, their eyes sparkling at the same rate as the sky. Side by side, fingers intertwined, resting on the wooden bench of the small boat. That instant, they felt the urge to see each other's faces on that timeless passing moment.

The coldness of the night and sea was compressed by the warmth they felt as the distance between them closed little by little.

Under the fireworks that night, Keisuke and Sakujirou proved their love for one another, sealing it with their first kiss.

The first of many to come.

—

After the fireworks show, Paimon spoke about the meanings of fireworks to people. As for Kouchi who built the boat, it was friendship and for Keisuke's parents, their engagement.

"And for Keisuke and Sakujirou, they were commemorating, hmm..."

Aether pondered with Paimon, but after some thought, he gave a simple answer.

"Love."

[jade-parcels]

My thoughts on the 1.7 update

(Spoilers! And my own opinion, you are free to disagree!!)

Overall I am absolutely thrilled!! I can’t wait for this update, Inazuma looks SO gorgeous!! Getting to meet the new characters and see all of the new landscapes/enemies/puzzles will be so fun!!

I’m glad that the Inazuma release is in 2 parts. Not only that, but the Sacred Sakura prevents us from exploring everything at one time. This way we can take our time and not really have to worry about speed runners spoiling everything the second the islands are released!!

The areas I’m most excited about are the shrine at the Sacred Sakura cause oh my gosh it’s gorgeous!! I also can’t wait to meet the Shiba inu running the tea house, I can’t remember the name of the tea house but it looks so pretty!! Lastly, the big building in Inazuma City, the shogun’s palace? Is that what it is? Idk, it’s where Baal lives(maybe??) and it looks like it’ll be so cool to explore!

I cant complain about any part of the map yet since I haven’t seen it. Right now, I only have positive opinions on Inazuma as a region

Moving onto the characters so far:

I yoinked these images off of Google so idk the source, sorry!

Gouru: I think his design is interesting, I enjoy his color palette! He’s nice to look at. I like the fact that he’s a Geo bow user but…Im disappointment that there are so many bow characters being released at once :( They’re just so hard to use on mobile and though I’ve forced myself to suck it up for Venti and Childe, I wish we’d get more catalysts and claymores instead of archers UGH lmao

Tohma: I am SO looking forward to Tohma’s release!! He seems like a fun guy! I don’t know much about him other than the fact that he’s Ayaka’s fiancé but hey!! Apparently we’re gonna meet him sooner than I thought we would!!

Yae: I absolutely adore her design. She breaks the “Hydro = blue clothes” “Electro = purple clothes” color palette trend. While there are exceptions like Beidou and Kazuha right now, most characters share color schemes with their vision. So seeing Yae with her pretty pink hair and red clothes while wielding an electro vision just makes me happy!! I’ll definitely be pulling for her

Sara: As much as I want to like her, I just can’t. At least not yet, maybe I’ll change my mind once we get to meet her and learn about her personality! There’s just too much about her that I don’t like. First off, I think she is bland. Mihoyo low key does a not so good job of designing women. Amber, Eula and Jean all suffer from bland outfit syndrome. Sara suffers from bland hair and face syndrome. Even her outfit could have been more detailed. And in addition to that, she’s another archer. So yeah…If she’s a 4 star, I know I’ll get her at some point but if she’s a 5 star, she’ll be a banner I skip

Shogun/Baal: Oh miss electro archon….Mihoyo did you so dirty. I’m sorry, she’s the goddess of electro and she looks like any other civilian. I was expecting something more grand for our first female archon release. I was hoping she would have more detail in her clothes, maybe extra hair accessories or thigh highs that aren’t one solid color? I don’t know, I just had high expectations! Am I being too judgmental? Possibly. But looking at characters we already have or have met, she doesn’t give the ‘wow’ factor I thought she would. Will I pull for her though anyway? Of course

Kokomi: She WAS going to be Mimi I think! This is Mimi’s model in a different outfit! Names aside, she’s very pretty! I was iffy on her design when I saw the leaks but when I saw her on screen in the livestream today? I was sold on her!! However…She will be our third, you heard me THIRD hydro catalyst which is a HUUUGE bummer. Of course, we never saw her fight so her weapon could maybe change (please Mihoyo please please give her a polearm) but I doubt that will happen. So for that reason, I won’t be pulling for her. But I will admire her from afar *sigh*

Kazuha: He wasn’t included in the update since he’s…out right now but i thought I’d talk about him too. I think his character is super interesting!! But sadly I will be skipping his banner. I did one ten pull and got Keqing so I’m going to save my guaranteed for miss Yoimiya!!! I am looking forward to a Kazuha story quest for sure! I think his design is cool, I don’t have much to comment on other than….why did he get the same face as Aether…dude…

Yoimiya: My Queen. My love. I have 20 wishes saved for her already and now a guaranteed on the event banner. I am not a fan of archers but she is an exception for sure! Her design, her ult animation, her idle animation…She’s so cute and I NEED her!!! I can see it now, my built team with Yoimiya, Eula, Bennett and Keqing all together fighting samurai in Inazuma! Wowwww :’) I am biased because she’s my favorite of the confirmed characters but…We’re all allowed to be a little biased sometimes :)

Ayaka: Everyone is hyping her up!! I am not really on that train! I’m excited for her cause she’s an interesting character! Her animations look cool and her design is beautiful, I’ve thought that since the eaaaaaarly leaks!! I just personally don’t enjoy her play style enough to go wild and pull for her. Sorry!! But I am loyal to Kaeya. He’s the only cryo sword user for me 💕 that’s a joke

Sayu: Eh, I’m pretty neutral on her. I’m glad to have an Anemo claymore combo but I just don’t enjoy playing as kid characters, they’re too small!! I bet she’ll be great and I hope everyone who wants her will get her!! I just won’t be jumping for joy when I inevitable pull her from Yoimiya’s banner

One more gripe, notice how we still don’t have Dendro characters?? I am desperate for Baizhu. Where is he? :( I need him >:)

In addition to my thoughts on the characters I might have an unpopular opinion reguarding the standard banner. It’s time for an update. Here’s who I think should be on the standard banner reboot if we get one:

- Albedo (takes Keqing’s place)

- Qiqi (stays since she’s a healer)

- Kokomi (takes Mona’s place)

- Eula (takes Diluc’s place) or Ayaka(?)

- Jean (stays unless Sara is a 5 star)

And I have my reasons too. Albedo is popular and would make people pull from the standard banner. Qiqi’s gotta stay since she’s a healer and we need character model diversity in the standard lineup. Kokomi is another hydro catalyst so she can easily replace Mona I guess. Eula wasn’t that popular and could be redeemed by being on the standard banner so people can get her cons, Ayaka could also go on this banner due to her popularity? So after her banner, she can just be plopped on the standard to draw people in. And I can’t think of a replacement for Jean UNLESS Sara is a 5 star, which I doubt she will be. Sara screams ‘standard banner character’.

Finally, I’m stoked about the PlayStation thingy!! We can login on PlayStation now!! Yay!! Exclusive wings, here I come >:)

[yodawgiherd]

You Were Never Truly Gone ch2

>>>Read on AO3<<<

Well, you guys asked for it, so enjoy a few chapters of my post-canon world. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments/kudos, I appreciate every single one of you <3 So for you all, I'm writing this - The end that I would want for Eren and Mikasa :)

It was a beautiful day today. Looking over the waves at the rapidly approaching Paradis shore, Armin couldn’t keep the excited smile away from his face. Soon, he would be seeing Historia again, and they would work together to achieve peace. But that was not all, he reminded himself, fist clenching over the feather in his hand.

Today he would see Mikasa and remember Eren with her.

It would mark three years since the end of the war and his sacrifice, and Armin couldn’t help it – he felt anxious. Mikasa was doing great usually, she was her own person and not a shadow in the past. But this day, when all of them gathered around the grave to thank the person that saved them, was always a trial by fire. He would be there for her, he and everyone else, they would help her push past and return to her normal self. That he swore, both to himself and his dead best friend.

“What are you thinking about?”, Annie’s voice from behind made him jump a bit in surprise.

“N-Nothing. Or well, the anniversary I guess…”

“I could say, anytime you are worried you get a wrinkle.”, Annie reached out, tapping the center of Armin’s forehead, “Rrrrrright here.”

With a smile he swiped her hand with his own, letting their fingers intertwine. The edge of Annie’s engagement ring felt cold against his skin, reminding Armin of the day when he finally gathered his courage and asked her the question. It still felt surreal sometimes, that he was engaged to her. Too good to be true.

“Can you two stop being so disgustingly in love?”, Pieck appeared on the deck, “I don’t want to throw up.”

She lit up a cigarette, watching the shore grow closer. Armin was tempted to let go of Annie’s hand because of Pieck’s request, but she tightened the hold and wouldn’t let him. Yea, Annie was never the one to let herself be pushed around.

“Are the guys ready?”, Armin asked instead, “We will be meeting the queen soon.”

“Jean keeps styling his hair and Connie is teasing Reiner because of the letter sniffing.”, she let out a large puff, watching the smoke curl in the salty sea air, “But other than that, we are good to go.”

Their work was important. Being a group from both the scouts and warriors they were the peacemakers, the ones that kept traveling between the nations to try and keep the fragile ceasefire brought upon by Eren’s actions. Armin’s mood turned sour. Eighty percent of the world was destroyed and still, the leaders were at each other’s throats. The sacrifice gave them chance, but it didn’t magically fix everything, there was still a lot of work to be done.

When the ship finally pulled into a harbor the rest of their group stepped out of the cabin. Jean, looking slick as ever, Reiner tailed by smirking Connie. Pieck threw the cigarette butt into the ocean, dusting herself off before meeting Armin’s eyes.

“Shall we?”

He nodded, throwing the feather into the ocean too. Over the gangway and down, Armin took a moment to help Annie jump down, help she didn’t need but appreciated nevertheless. The others noticed of course, and Jean was the one who spoke up.

“You get engaged and suddenly you are a gentleman, is that it?”, he grinned, “Whipped even before marriage, what a way to go.”

“Ah, as if you are the one to talk.”, Pieck pushed past him with a smile of her own, “I’m pretty sure you weren’t working so hard on your hair for the “history books”, were you?”

“It’s not like that…”

Ignoring whatever excuse he tried to voice, Pieck joined Armin and Annie on the shore, and soon they were gathered again. Then it was finally time to walk over to where Historia was standing in front of her honor guard, flanked by Kiyomi on her right.

“Ambassador Arlert,” rang the queen’s voice, loud and clear, “It is my pleasure to welcome you back to the Paradis island.”

“It is an honor, your majesty.”, bowing deep, Armin was mirrored on both sides by his friends, and when he straightened there was a spark of amusement in Historia’s eyes.

But protocol was protocol.

“I’m sure that you must be tired after your journey,”, the queen said, “Join me for some refreshment.”

Not waiting for an answer, as she was the queen, Historia turned and walked in the direction of the large tent, her guard splitting flawlessly to let her pass. It was a demonstration of military discipline and an effective one at that, making Armin frown. So much death, and it was not enough.

As soon as they were inside, away from the public eye, Historia changed immediately. Throwing herself onto him, she hugged Armin tight, grinning like a maniac.

“I missed you so much!”, she practically squealed, pulling back to look at the others, “All of you too!”

Catching up felt like regressing towards the old times. Armin was almost tempted to say careless, but that was never the truth with them. There was always something – first the titans, then the rumbling, and now whatever this fragile peace was. But there would be time to worry later, so Armin relaxed instead, letting Historia’s cheerfulness infect him. They talked about everything, about Armin and Annie’s engagement and Historia admired the ring on Annie’s finger, modeled after the one with a secret blade she used to wear. Jean recounted the events of their travels after, all the cities that they visited, and all the wonders that they saw since their last meeting.

But then the stories were told and it was time to get down to business.

“Historia,”, Armin said,” how is the situation here?”

Her happy smile soured immediately.

“Bad. The army holds a very important position in the government, and they are not giving it up. The Yeagerists and growing with every single month and I have no idea how to stop them.”, she frowned, “Every time I’m in the city I swear that I can hear them chanting that Fight, Fight.”

“Do you think that they planning to overthrow you?”, Reiner spoke up, but Historia shook her head.

“No, they have no reason to. I am not much more than a puppet queen at this point, they have most of the control, and keeping me as a figurehead lets them work in the background.”

“Can’t Kiyomi help you?”, Pieck asked, “Hizuru military is recovering well, from what I’ve heard.”

“She could, but she is not going to.”

“Why is that?”

“Kiyomi wants Mikasa, she wants her to come to Hizuru, marry and become shogun’s wife, continue the bloodline.”, Historia was annoyed, and it showed in her voice, “She expects me to tie Mikasa up, stuff her in a shipping crate and send her against her will. The hag.”

It made sense that the queen was extra against anything like that, her being in similar situation years back.

“And since I told her that she can go stuff it and I would never force Mikasa into that, Kiyomi grew sort of cold towards me.”

She sighed.

“But we can talk about that tomorrow when the formal meeting happens. Today you guys have other plans.”

“That’s true.”, Annie nodded, “We have to see Mikasa.”

“And Eren.”, Connie added.

“I wish I could go with you, but unfortunately I have a lot to do before we meet tomorrow.”, Historia walked over to Armin, hugging him again, “Give her my love, okay?”

She moved over to the exit, only stopping to add: “And him too.”

With the queen gone the group left the shore, ignoring the stares of the soldiers. Some called them traitors, Armin knew, the Yeagerist faction condemned their peace-making efforts as cowardness.

“Hey,”, Annie squeezed his hand, “Don’t mind them. They are fools.”

He smiled at his girlf-… fiancé. Damn.

“I know, but they are fools with power, and that’s dangerous.”

“I wonder if they would be this warmongering if they knew what Eren’s true goal was.”, Jean said, “All he wanted was peace.”

“It’s not like we can tell them, they would never believe us.”, Pieck had a new cigarette hanging from her lips, the burning tip moving when she spoke, “To them, Eren was a God of War that paved the way to Paradis supremacy.”

They didn’t speak more after that, passing the soldiers and heading out of the harbor. The island nation had grown considerably in the three years, and buildings with concrete replaced the once green fields. Yet that didn’t go on forever, and before too long they were walking in nature’s embrace again.

“Maybe we should have taken a car,” Connie huffed as they walked, “Or a horse.”

“The exercise will do you good.”, Annie called over her shoulder with the typical cold expression.

“We do have a horse,”, Reiner tapped Jean’s shoulder, “Right here.”

“Hah, that was a good one, maybe you could make those jokes more often if you didn’t spend so long on sniffing the queen’s letters.”, Jean shot back.

Back and forth they bickered while Pieck smoked with an enigmatic smile, Armin and Annie leading the group while holding hands. There it was, the familiar field with trees, a lone hill in the middle. Excited to see Mikasa again, Armin let go of Annie and broke into a run, leaving his friends behind. They all ran like this, years back, with Eren in front and Mikasa right behind him, letting him take the lead. Armin was always hopelessly last in those races, but he never did mind hat. Now, he was the only one running.

Up and up, over the green grass and to the tree where Eren’s final resting place was. With a smile, Armin finally got high enough to get a view of that place, but the greeting shout on his lips died when he saw what was happening. Yes, Mikasa was indeed there, but that was not all. Far from it.

Stunned by the scene in front of him, Armin stared, watching the stranger kiss his friend with fervor. Their kissing was passionate and Mikasa was more than into it, her hands roaming all over the stranger's back. If that was not proof enough, Armin knew that she has the ears of a huntress and could easily hear him coming, but she was too deep in the moment to notice. Blushing slightly, feeling like he was intruding, Armin silently walked down the hill where the group just arrived, everyone looking at him with a question on their faces.

“What’s wrong?”, Reiner was the first one to speak, “Is Mikasa not there?”

“She is… it’s just…. I…”, Armin scratched the back of his neck, looking everywhere but not at his friends.

How was he supposed to explain this? Yet when Annie stepped closer, taking a hold of his cheek and forcing him to meet her gaze, her icy eyes speared right through and pinned him in place.

“Armin, what happened?”

Yeah, he could not hide the truth from her.

“Mikasa is there, but she’s not alone.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She is with… someone…”

Now everyone was speaking over one another.

“What?”

“Who?”

“What the…”

“Is she okay?”

“Is he…”

It would probably go on forever if Annie didn’t raise a hand, calming the mess. When they all fell silent, she fixed Armin with her famous stare, letting a single word fall from her lips.

“Talk.”

So, Armin took a deep breath. And talked.

“Mikasa is sitting near Eren’s grave but she’s not alone. She’s making out with someone, and from what I saw she’s enjoying it very much.”

A stunned silence followed, the cigarette falling from Pieck’s shocked mouth. Somewhere high overhead, a bird darted towards the endless horizon.

“Well, I… Uhm… Guess we should be happy that she’s finally moved on?”, the words were awkward, and Reiner knew that, but he pushed them out, “I’m glad that she.. you know... found someone?”

“I agree but does she have to do in front of Eren?”, Pieck said, her brows furled in a frown.

“That does not sound like her at all.”, Annie agreed.

“What, you guys think that he minds?”, Connie noted, “Like.. is he watching her or something?”

“It’s disrespectful, that’s what it is.”, Jean was staring at the tree, voice tense, “He doesn’t deserve that, having his girl kiss a stranger on his own grave.”

“Mikasa is not his girl,” Annie disagreed, “He doesn’t own her.”

“I didn’t mean it like that….”

“Regardless,” Pieck cut in, “I think that it would be best to let Mikasa speak for herself.”

Taking the lead, she took the first steps towards the tree.

“Let’s go.”, Annie agreed, following her friend.

Soon all of them were moving.

Mikasa was still there in the same position, Armin noticed, still in the arms of that stranger. His back was to them and her eyes were closed so she didn’t see them coming, immersed in the kissing, the whole situation made only worse by the small giggle that left her lips when the guy pulled back for a moment. Look, Armin loved seeing her happy, but watching it happen here felt… wrong.

The pair totally ignored them, lost in the kissing, neither of them noticing the group that was a few feet away from them. Finally fed up with it, Jean cleared his throat, loud enough for them to hear. Mikasa’s eyes shot open as she pulled back from the kiss, her cheeks reddening immediately. Her gaze shot between the stranger’s face and them, embarrassment evident.

Slowly, very slowly the guy untangled himself from her arms, standing up and pulling Mikasa to her feet too. Only then did he turn, and Armin’s mind went blank.

No.

There was a ghost in from of him. A blushing enemy of humanity with kiss-swollen lips that didn’t let go of Mikasa’s hand after helping her stand, keeping them linked. An island devil that looked at each and every member of their group with a fond smile. Next to that beast, Mikasa hid her face in the red scarf, eyes ticking between everyone. The grave was still there, Armin saw, the small headstone with those fond words on it, a few flowers lying on the patch of ground. And yet….

The dead man, the walking corpse, the impossible, he opened his mouth and spoke.

“Hey guys, long time no see.”

[caelumriptide-a]

I really don’t think Kazuha is going to die and here is why:

1. He’s not alone. The fact that we’re seeing the cutscene at all means that the traveler is there at least.

2. During this Yae is heard saying that “some ambitions have the power to heal wounds, to bring victory”. At the same time the vision is seen beginning to reignite. I feel like he’s going to win in his fight against the shogun, which would be when the Fatui show up.

3. He has 3 things that Tomo didn’t have when faced with the Musou no Hitotachi. The first being his weapon. Tomo’s had shattered upon being defeated by Sara, and thus could not defend him against the shogun. The second is an anemo vision. The shogun is immune to electro, but not anemo. So he has another weapon against her that Tomo didn’t have. The third goes back to point one. He’s not alone. He has friends with him that won’t let him die.

4. He has a locked voiceline about Sara still. So he needs to be alive after whatever happens for him to even give that voiceline. Plus the fact that Beidou also has a locked voiceline about Kazuha. I actually saw the voicelines from both of them and Beidou’s is a good sign I’ll just say that. The vision shell story also has something but I’m not saying it bc spoilers.

[umnvatra]

take me with you [zhongli]

fem! reader, fluff.

word count: 2.2k words

warning: contains spoilers of 1.1 story quest, "A New Star Approaches".

notes: wanted to post something before Zhongli's banner officially gets released in game! To my fellow travelers who are pulling for him, goodluck. Ad astra abyssosque. May the archons be with you. I haven't written in a long, long time so i apologize if the fic seems rushed or smth shdjdjsjdj

The winds on the harbor are as gentle as ever, brushing his hair lightly as he stood waiting. For some reason as always, he couldn't stop his heart from beating fast in his chest, anticipation eating away at him. It gave him the urge to pace back and forth, but he held himself back. It's been awhile since he's felt an emotion this strong before.

The feeling of awaiting someone's return.

Unconsciously, he held a hand up to his chest, where he could feel his own heart beating wildly. Calm, he thought to himself. Well, he supposes that it couldn't be helped. He missed you so, so much after all.

He knew he could not come with you on your adventures. As much as it pained him to part with you, he had a job at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and you had a quest to fulfill. However, on your time away from him, he could not stop feeling anxious, worried, and most of all, melancholic. Your presence was something that he got used to, to the point where going on everyday without you made him feel as if something was amiss with his day.

When the silhouette of The Crux appeared on the distance, he felt his heart beat faster and he finds that he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Finally...

Without thinking, he immediately steps down into the docks of the harbor, awaiting for the ship to set anchor in Liyue.

The sight of you and Paimon's floating figure appears on top of the ship, with Beidou following shortly after. He could see you waving at him enthusiastically from afar, making his smile widen more than it's supposed to. It's silly, of course. How Zhongli himself acted so differently around you.

When the ship drew nearer, it seemed that you couldn't contain your excitement anymore as you immediately climbed the sides of the ship and jumped, your glider spreading its wings as if they were your own. Zhongli couldn't help but chuckle at the surprised exclaim that came out of Beidou and Paimon at your actions, but it didn't seem like you cared. After all, you had your eyes on him. The pixie immediately followed after you dejectedly as the captain couldn't help but break into an exasperated smile.

He came closer to the edge of the dock, spreading his arms out. He already knew your habits. And if so, he knew that at this moment, you wanted him to...

"Catch me!" You shouted, before retracting your glider. As you fell towards him, Zhongli had already readied himself for impact only to catch you on his arms in time. He struggles to regain balance for a little only to have laughter erupt from you both, your arms automatically wrapping around his neck.

After a month, you have finally returned from Inazuma.

"You lovebirds sure missed each other that much, huh?" Beidou teased, stepping out as The Crux anchored. She looked highly amused at you and Zhongli as she made her way towards you both. Zhongli gave her an appreciative smile in return.

"Beidou. Allow me to express my gratitude for escorting [Name] back safely to Liyue," he says, to which the woman playfully rolls her eyes.

"Oh, don't sweat it. Besides, it was fun to bring [Name] aboard the Crux," she says, casting a grin towards you. "She is... a strong spirit. I gotta say, i'm impressed, Zhongli. The electro archon had lifted the Vision Hunt Decree because of [Name] over here."

At that, Zhongli's eyes strayed back towards your face, who now gave him a shy smile. A feeling of pride bloomed in his chest, and he couldn't help but smile warmly down at you. "Indeed, she is."

"Well! I'll be going to get dinner for myself then. I heard that Xiangling will be cooking in Wanmin today. See you two lovebirds," Beidou said. Paimon lets out a sound of dissatisfaction as she places a hand on her stomach.

"Uuuuugh. Paimon is hungry too. I could really really use some food right now," she says, looking towards you for approval. Zhongli sets you down on the ground as you dusted yourself off.

"Right. I'm hungry too," you say before casting a glance at Zhongli. For some reason, you felt shy around him right now. He looked handsome and elegant as ever, and you looked a little disheveled from your trip from Inazuma. Anywho, his beauty is still enough to make you flustered. "Zhongli? Do you want to come with us?"

"Let it be my treat," he says, making you and Paimon look at each other hesitantly. Before any of you can question him, he brings out a wallet that, surprisingly, had mora in them. "I bought mora with me this time."

"Just so you know, i don't have all day," Beidou calls out, catching all three of your attention. You and Paimon look at each other excitedly before nodding.

You intertwine your fingers with Zhongli's, giving it a squeeze. He looks at you then, and couldn't help but notice the new bandages and scratches that were on your body. You smelled like sea salt and the earthy tones of wood, but he did not mind. In his eyes, you still looked as beautiful as ever. Especially when you smile at him so lovingly like that.

"Let's go," you said softly, tugging his arm.

In order to celebrate, Xiangling overdid herself by whipping up a deliciously cooked Adeptus Temptation for you and Zhongli, and Tianshu Meat for Beidou. Paimon gets the to share with you and Zhongli much to her dismay, as she absolutely does not like how both of you dote on each other and feed each other occasionally. The four of you dine together, laughing and conversing with each other with Xiangling constantly popping up to join in on the conversations too. It was quite a strange sight to behold, having the captain of The Crux dine with the consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and the Traveler who aided in saving Liyue from Osial.

None of you cared though. Especially Zhongli, who was basking in the present, feeding you food and gazing at your face from time to time. Even with you here, his heart trembles with such longing.

When you're finished eating, Beidou ruffles your hair and laughs at the sight of your pout. "Unfortunately, i have to go and tend to some business now." She sighs. "Sport, take good care of yourself. And you too, parlor man. I'll see you two when i see ya," she says, clapping a hand on your shoulder. Both of you bid her goodbye and watch as she disappears amidst the throng of people in the harbor.

Zhongli takes your hand in his and smiles. "Should we go then, my dear? You look like you need some rest."

You flush at the nickname and nod, squeezing his hand again. Paimon sighs quietly behind you, a hand on her head. Oh bother, here you both go again.

And just like that, you all make it back to the guesthouse where Zhongli stayed in. As soon as the door closes behind him, he eyes each of the scars and fresh bandages on your form.

"...And that's Paimon's cue to leave," she says, looking unamused as she fades into trails of constellations. You let out a light laugh at her comment, making the tall gentleman near you relax visibly at the sound. Perhaps you should apologize to Paimon someday for making her the unintentional third wheel on your relationship.

"How was it?" Zhongli asks, clearly referring to Inazuma.

You squeezed his hand, excitement evident in your eyes as a large smile appeared on your face.

"You wouldn't believe it. Inazuma.. it was... crazy," you said.

He leads you towards the couch as you tell him animatedly about your adventures in Inazuma. Raiden, how her rule affected the people in Inazuma, the technology they had, and about a certain vagrant who turned out to be a Fatui harbinger. He carefully combs and unknots your messy hair with his own fingers, listening attentively to your stories. In his mind's eye, he could picture out your journey in trying, and surviving Inazuma. All the piece of history, the emotions of the shogun herself, and the power of the seemingly innocent Harbinger stood so clearly in his head. By the time you were recounting your battle with the fatui, your voice was already slightly hoarse from the amount of talking you've done.

Your adventures always sounded enjoyable and full of wonder to him. With your goal, you are slowly uncovering each and every mystery there was to find in Teyvat. Although you expressed some sadness about the gnosis of the electro archon, Zhongli kisses the crown of your head tenderly, his actions so genuine that it made you relax immediately.

"You've already done the best you could. I am sure the thought counts to Raiden," he says, drawing soothing circles on your palm. You turned towards him with a smile before suddenly enveloping him into a tight hug. He gets taken aback at first, but he slowly relaxes and hugs you back just as tight. He inhales your scent and holds you close, the emotions that he'd been holding off for so many weeks finally spilling over.

"I... missed you," he says into your hair, voice uncharacteristically vulnerable. You chuckle, the vibrations running through his chest and his stomach.

"I missed you too. You have no idea how much i.. couldn't stop thinking about you when i was in Inazuma," you said, your voice becoming low. "When i was trapped in there, i was afraid for a moment. I thought... i couldn't see you anymore. But then i repelled those thoughts away. I told myself that if i fought hard enough, i could see you again for sure."

He squeezes you. That was certainly a terrifying possibility. One that he only realized on his days apart from you. He almost berated himself from letting you go too easily. After all, he knew how dangerous Inazuma was.

But there was no need to worry anymore, as you returned to him safely. Alive. And healthy.

"I wouldn't want to imagine what would happen if you could not come out..." he confesses. At his words, you run your fingers through his hair in hopes of comforting him.

He wouldn't say that he'd let you go so easily again though.

"I would never let that happen. When i faced off with the harbinger, all i had to think about was my brother... and you," You said, making him break out into a smile again. Empowering. Your words always empowered him. No matter how simple.

"Where is your next destination?" He found himself asking, even though he already had an idea.

You break away from the hug, staring at his intense amber ones.

"I have to go to Sumeru next before the fatui can stir up problems again," you respond, your eyes set in determination. Zhongli nods his head in understanding. Of course the shogun directed you next to the Archon of Wisdom next. It was only natural.

"Then... could you take me with you?" He asks, voice almost sheepish. He looked expectant and openly searched your own reaction, but before you can even respond, he opens his mouth again and the words stumble out. "I find that without you here, i get rather... lonely. I feel that something is amiss— " he pauses, exhaling. Goodness, he wasn't good with expressing his emotions.

"...And i decided that i wanted to take on your journey with you. To fight alongside you, no matter what happens. I want to explore what Teyvat has to offer with you, even if it's dangerous, i- oof —"

He gets interrupted by you enveloping him into an incredibly tight hug that made him feel as if his bones were going to get crushed. Zhongli fidgets uncomfortably, not used to you hugging him this tight when you speak again.

"I thought you'd never ask," you murmur, smiling into his skin. For a long, long time, you'd been worried that you'd have to leave him always just to reach the rest of the regions. Of course you knew that being in a relationship while having a quest such as yours was going to be one full of hardship.

But everything is okay, especially when Zhongli carefully breaks the embrace and cups your face with his hands slowly.

He already made arrangements and talked with Hu Tao. She was willing enough to let him go of his position on the parlor. Leaving Liyue would possibly make him homesick, as he knows no other region like the back of his hand other than it, but he knew that he wanted to go with you no matter what, or where. And he was prepared to take on this journey with you.

It would be of no easy task. He knew an adventure could mean so many things. Joy, rage, curiosity, conflict...

And yet he wanted nothing more than to go with you. And possibly even come with you to your own world.

He leans in, capturing your lips in a slow, sensual kiss that would mark his gratitude.

From the entirety of Teyvat, up until the stars.

[ga-yuu]

~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 16~

Warning!! This chapter contains attempted murder and strong language

Chapter 15

*

*

*

--------Part 1--------

Yoshitsune: “First of all, I apologize because we assume that you might be in danger.”

Yoshino: “Danger...?”

One morning, Yoshitsune-sama visits my room and his first words made me blink.

Yoshino: “Why am I in danger?”

Kurama was also sitting next to Yoshitsune-sama, and he opens his mouth casually.

Kurama: “I’m told there are people in this mansion who wants to assassinate you.”

(Ehhh....)

I felt the blood draining from my face.

Yoshitsune: “Our army is being reinforced in preparation for the first war against the Shogunate. Not a few of the new recruits had a grudge against the Shogunate for one reason or another.” 

Yoshino: “But why would they want to kill me...?”

Yoshitsune: “It’s still unconfirmed but Yoichi is working on it. Until this matter is settled, I want you to stay in this room, just in case.”

Yoshino: “....Okay.”

My voice trembled when I replied.

(I was prepared to put myself in danger on the battlefield one day.)

(But I never thought I’d see the day when my life would be directly threatened in this way.)

(No matter how kind Yoshitsune-sama and the others are....my presence is not interesting to the soldiers of the Rebels)

My fingertips are as cold as if they were immersed in ice water.

Kurama: “Why are you trembling?”

(Kurama...)

Yoshino: “No, no no, I was just surprised. But I’m fine.”

Kurama frowned when he saw me forcing a smile.

Kurama: “......... Take this.”

(Hm?)

I took what was offered to me and it was a whistleblower.

Yoshino: “What’s this for?”

Kurama: “It’s got my spell on it. In this big mansion, I’d be able to hear it from anywhere.”

(Wow! That’s amazing!)

Kurama: “I want you to use it.”

--------Part 2---------

Kurama: “I want you to use it.”

I was stunned when he looked straight at me.

(I’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts since that night in the garden with Kurama....)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I’ll do my best.

2. I’ll take good care of it.

3. That’s reassuring.(+4/+4)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: “That’s reassuring.”

Kurama: “I’m giving you that this time because it’s special. I don’t like to be treated as a shikigami used by humans.”

Yoshino: “Ohh, umm....thank you.”

Yoshitsune: “It’s only good for a few days. I want it to be a good luck charm in case of emergency.”

I agreed without a second, but....

.................

......That night.

Yoshino: “Eh, you haven’t caught the killer yet?”

Rebel vessel 1: “No. Although we are still in the middle of our interrogation, Yoshitsune-sama has asked me to report to you urgently before we take our leave.”

Yoshino: “Thank you.”

(Even though he is under interrogation, can I be a little relieved....?)

After the retainer has left, he breathes a sigh of relief.

My body slowly relaxed and I realise that I was more nervous than I thought.

(Yoshitsune-sama probably gave me the report so that I could sleep a little more calmly. I must thank him tomorrow.)

(Let’s read and sleep for the rest of the day.)

I reached for the tabletop to read the history book I had borrowed to review the knowledge Kagetoki-san had taught me.

..............

Yoshino: “Oh, no! I was told I had to return this book by today.”

(I’d forgotten all about it in the assassination fiasco.)

(I thought I’d ask someone to give it back to library.)

Perhaps it was the noise of the assassination attempt, but the vassals passing through the corridor were not in the mood to be approached.

However, I felt bad about calling them all the way.

(Because it would be unpleasant for the Rebels to take up my errands as a member of the Shogunate that everyone hates.)

Yoshino: “....The library is not far, so it should be fine, right?”

My heart ached for the thorn that I could not pull out.

(But something is bugging me----)

(Because I know that the Rebels, like everyone else in the Shogunate, are fighting for their friends and their beliefs.)

I was walking in the corridor while thinking about this, when----

(Nn.......!?)

Suddenly, a hand reaches out and covers my mouth, pulling me hard from behind.

Yoshino: ”Nnn...nnn....”

Man 1: “Shut up!”

I was pushed into a spare room and the sliding door slammed shut roughly.

Yoshino: “Nn....what the!”

Man 2: “How dare you, a member from the Shogunate walking around with her head held high in front of our eyes.”

------Part 3------

Man 2: “How dare you, a member from the Shogunate walking around with her head held high in front of our eyes.”

Man 1: “Yeah, I’ll avenge my comrades who were caught.”

Two men stood in front of me with swords.

(They’re going to kill me-----)

My blood froze with fear and my toes began to tremble.

(So there are two people!?)

They smile mockingly at me as I slowly back away.

(What should I do? I’ll buy some time and then....)

I remembered the whistleblower in my pocket and reach out for it------

Man 2: “...Our former comrades were killed in the war against the Shogunate.”

(If I call Kurama, he’ll surely kill them....)

(But, even I’d hate my enemies if they killed my friends....)

The words came out of my mouth in a rush----

Yoshino: “Look, we can talk this over...okay?”

Man 1: “Huh?”

(....I’m sorry. I know I’m being reckless, but....)

The faces of the two men became increasingly grim.

Yoshino: “Please, I beg you. I won’t tell Yoshitsune-sama and the others about you.....”

Man 2: “Are you kidding me? Woman!”

Yoshino: “No I....”

They held down my body as I tried to escape and I struggled.

Man 1: “Shut up! We’ll finish you off quickly and you won’t feel a thing!”

(NO!!)

I saw the white blade shining brightly while he was on top of me.

Regret and fear nearly overwhelmed me when----

Kurama: “Footsteps and squeaks like rats in the night.”

(Kurama!)

The men stopped moving when they heard a low voice.

Man 1: “Kurama-sama!”

Kurama entered the room and narrowed his eyes coldly at me.

Kurama: “.....What are you doing, Yoshino?”

Yoshino: “I...”

Man 1: “Kurama-sama! Please don’t move!”

The man screams while pointing the sword at my throat.

Kurama: “Who gave you permission to move? I forbid you to move against my will, not even a finger.”

Men: “!”

As soon as they felt the space distorting, their faces were filled with astonishment.

Man 2: “W-What is this?”

Man 1: “I can’t move!”

(Maybe he used Kotodama!?)

Kurama: “If you come in my way again, I’ll block your breathing.”

It was a blizzard of frost and they both lost their blood, their mouths still tightly shut when they should be free.

Kurama(glare): “Yoshino. Answer me. Why didn’t you call me?”

-------Part 4------

Kurama(glare): “Yoshino. Answer me. Why didn’t you call me?”

A stinging, deadly energy emanated silently from Kurama’s body and filled the room.

(....If I give a bad answer, he’ll kill everyone in this room including me.)

Yoshino: “I....I was almost killed.”

Kurama: “Why didn’t you blow the whistle when you knew you were?”

I can’t breathe properly because I feel the mass of air around me has increased so much.

Yoshino: “B-Because.”

I struggled to speak under the cold stare.

Yoshino: “I thought it would only be natural that there are people in this house who hates me because I’m an enemy. So, if we could talk it through....”

Kurama: “Oh. So, you want to die.”

(......!!)

Yoshino: “No, I----”

Kurama: “You already declared right in front of me that you’re on the Shogunate’s side. Then, why are you trying to make peace with these guys? I despise with all my heart anyone who would describe that warmth as kindness.”

The low voice, crushed my rebuttal.

Kurama: “Yoshino---is it horrible to be hated for real by someone who is right in front of you?”

(Ah.......)

I couldn’t even speak because it was so true.

(Yes, I didn’t want to be the bad guy.)

(I’m afraid of the malice directed at me by someone else, so I tried to look away from it.....)

(As a result, I almost lost my life.)

(If I die, I won’t be able to help everyone in the Shogunate anymore, but I made the wrong decision.)

Kurama: “Be proud to be an enemy that someone hates, if that’s what you’re willing to do with your life. If not, you may disperse here and now in disgrace.”

(.....Those serious eyes.)

With all the energy in my body, I looked straight back into Kurama’s eyes.

Yoshino: “-----I don’t want to die. Even if someone hates me.”

Kurama: “If you want to live, you must beg, and you must risk the lives of others.”

---------Part 5---------

Yoshino: “-----I don’t want to die. Even if someone hates me.”

Kurama: “If you want to live, you must beg, and you must risk the lives of others.”

Kurama snapped his fingers high in the air.

Men: “....!”

As if on cue, the bodies of the men escaped from the Kotodama.

Man 1: “Fuck you!”

Yoshino: “!!”

(No, I want to live!)

I pushed the man’s chest and scream as I struggle.

Yoshino: “Help! Kurama----”

Kurama: “That’s right. Beg me from the bottom if your heart.”

Strong wind blew around the room.

Man 2: “What the hell!?”

One of the men winces as he is cut down by an invisible blade of wind.

Man 1: “Ku...”

The other one, who was cutting at me, immediately seized his hand and removed his sword.

Kurama: “Surrendering already? You got no guts at all.”

(Finally....!!)

Man 1: “I-I heard you were a foreigner. Why would you use such great power to protect a woman of the Shogunate?”

Man 2: “Yeah! We’re just trying to avenge our friends.....”

As I sit there stunned, the men screamed at me.

Kurama: “It is the prerogative of the strong to choose where they wield their power. But before you accuse me of being unworthy.....”

The blood colored eyes took the men in their stride for the first time and penetrated deep into them.

Kurama: “You took Yoshino by surprise in a place where its not a battlefield. It seems to be for a great cause, but it’s only a matter of venting your resentment on an entity that you’re sure has the upper hand. What a pathetic petty way to live.”

Men: “Nn...........”

(Kurama.........)

I can’t help but be drawn to the way he says it with such strength and grace.”

(To everyone, Kurama is fair and merciless.)

(But, I’m sure that’s because.... Kurama himself is not ashamed of his life to anyone.)

The tension that I had felt earlier had dissipated, and I could feel the hot blood flowing through my body.

Kurama: “Yoshitsune will be the one to deal with you. It’s stupid, I’m not even interested in your life or death. Don’t ever stand in my line of sight again. Also.......”

(!!)

As if remembering, Kurama grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

Kurama: “This woman belongs to me. If you have a problem with that, you can tell me who owns her.

Chapter 17

[beneaththetangles]

Light Novel Club Chapter 31: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 2

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 2! We had a fun discussion of the first volume earlier, and with the anime adaptation giving this series some more attention, why not discuss the second volume? After all, this volume shakes up the story a bit and shows that there’s more to winning the game of life than just following along with a human player’s guide… Join TWWK, Jeskai Angel, and me as we challenge the next level of this light novel!

(Note: At the end of the post are the next light novels we will be discussing in the Light Novel Club. As a reminder, Light Novel Club discussions are held publicly on the Beneath the Tangles Discord, so anyone can join in on future discussions!)

-----

1. What are your overall impressions on the novel?

TWWK: I’ve watched the series but hadn’t read any of the light novels, so I took a leap by starting with volume two. The experience was quite different from the TV series, which made it feel almost new to me, despite the adaptation having followed the volume closely. I really enjoyed reading about the characters from Tomozaki’s point of view, as he himself is developed as a character with a pretty quick mind and more intelligent than I think he gives himself credit for. So it was a fun, brisk read for me.

stardf29: This was a really nice volume, mainly because it throws a wrench in the “Hinami teaches Tomozaki something about life, and he applies it” formula that the first volume had going. The whole student council election arc was great because not only does Tomozaki have to figure things out on his own, but his opponent is the very person that’s been teaching him the whole time! Using video game terms, it’s as if the first volume is the tutorial stage, and this is the first real level where the player is expected to play the game on his own. I’m also really liking how other characters are being developed, and in particular how Tomozaki and Mimimi associate with each other throughout all this. It expands what could have been a pretty one-note story concept into something more complex, and makes me all the more interested to keep going with it.

Jeskai Angel: It’s a strong continuation of the first volume. Coming back to read it again for this discussion, I also noticed that vol. 2 foreshadows good bit more than I realized during my first read. Finally, I know this is silly, but my inner historian just loved seeing JOHN ADAMS of all people come up in a Japanese novel. Kudos to the author for that historical reference.

TWWK: To be fair, I thought that was a tough question for a Japanese student. I mean…let’s be honest. How many Americans, even students at that age who might be taking U.S. History, would have answered “Jefferson” as the second president? But Mimimi’s point is still well taken.

Jeskai Angel: I mean, if we want to switch it around, maybe the equivalent question for Americans is “Who was the second shogun of the Tokugawa Period?” or something. LOL

2. What are your thoughts on the characters in this volume?

TWWK: As I mentioned earlier, the Tomozaki in this volume comes across very differently than in the anime. His voice is more humorous and sarcastic here. I once heard Jeskai say that he thinks better of him than my favorite, Hikigaya (Oregairu), because Tomozaki is trying to better himself, and I think that’s very clear from the reading, and together with the humor makes him a fun character. He does also come across as trying just as hard in the anime, but is more obviously awkward than in the book, I think—at least how I view him in my mind while reading. The gap between Tomozaki and a top-tier character feels far less surmountable in the TV series.

Likewise, I find Hinami more compelling in the book. I thought the author did a nice job of making her a character that I empathize with, even though she’s “perfect” in all ways except for her sometimes haughty attitude. That there’s some insecurity there and questioning, particularly when she asks Tomozaki if being so good at what she does is the proper approach, humanizes her.

Finally, Mimimi, who gets top girl treatment in this volume, presents a compelling case, too. It wasn’t at all enjoyable to see her struggle in this volume, particularly in the final chapter or two. It was painful, which I think speaks to an authenticity in the development of her character. It just be that, because I don’t think it’s painfully written (it’s quite well done, I think), not do I feel like I can closely relate to her, as I never worked terrifically hard to get ahead of those in front of me academically (though I was in a similar position as her). I think she’s just in a tough spot, one that can be understood, which made for interesting reading, particularly in light of her outside self.

Jeskai Angel: Kikuchi is awesome. My biggest complaint about pretty much every volume of Tomozaki is that Kikuchi doesn’t get enough screen time. And that’s not just because Tomozaki’s descriptions of her are so hilarious. She proves herself quite insightful this time around; even though she doesn’t personally hang out with Hinami and Mimimi all that much, she makes some incisive remarks about both. I thought Kikuchi’s question, “Why does she [Hinami] work so hard to be perfect?” was profound.

Speaking of Hinami, something is seriously off with her. With the benefit of hindsight, I realized this volume reveals or expands on a lot of troubling things about her. There’s a ton of ambiguity surrounding her. Why did she suddenly change so drastically in middle school? Why does she continue to be such a perfectionist? That kind of obsession isn’t healthy at all, and should raise questions about her mental health. Plus, how can she be so two-faced, is she training to become a Batman villain, and how real / sincere is she at any given moment? Then there’s the occasional downright creepy things she says, like that remark about persuading people as the path to become a cult leader. Some of her advice to Tomozaki is legit, but it takes an increasing amount of critical thinking to sift through her words.

Hinami plays a role in my favorite Tomozaki scene of this volume. Earlier, Tomozaki told Mimimi that being number one didn’t matter so much as continuing to improve and not losing to oneself. When he reports the situation to Hinami, she responds that there’s no way he could actually believe that. “…you’re the same as me in that respect, right? You must be, if you’ve gotten that far in Atafami.” And Tomozaki comes back “…What the hell? I genuinely think that. Atafami is a battle against myself.” His advice to Mimimi was good, but it gets even better when it turns out to reflect a fundamental difference between him and Hinami. Also, it’s not like he was trying trick her, but the fact remains that Hinami was WRONG about something: she misread Tomozaki’s motivation and project her own desire to be number one onto him. It’s an important moment in establishing how Tomozaki differs from Hinami.

Mimimi was the star of this volume. She turns out to be a lot more complex than the lovable goofball we met in the first volume. And we don’t just see this through her relationship with Tomozaki, but also her relationships with various other characters, like Hinami and Tama. I mentioned it earlier, but Mimimi in particular had some moments that I didn’t pay much attention to during my first read, but with the benefit of hindsight, seem like foreshadowing.

Something that struck me while reading this volume that I hadn’t really thought about before is how the five main girls in Tomozaki’s life contrast with each other. Izumi, Mimimi, and of course Hinami are outgoing normie girls, but Hinami is duplicitous, while Mimimi and Izumi seem far more genuine. And between Mimimi and Izumi, the former is more independent while the latter is more go-along-to-get-along (though she’s trying to change that). And then Kikuchi and Hanabi are both non-normie girls who don’t quite fit in, but where Tama is bold and outspoken, Kikuchi is quiet and introverted. I knew this stuff about these characters, but didn’t realize just how much each girls serves as mirror for one or more of the others.

stardf29: Tomozaki continues to grow in this volume, not just in how he “plays the game of life” but also how he works through some things on his own, particularly with when he was helping Mimimi with the student council election. And I really like the moment when he explained how his motivation for becoming the best in Atafami is more so he doesn’t lose to himself, and then how that creates a notable difference in his approach to gaming compared to Hinami.

And yes, I like how this volume makes us question the whole mentorship Hinami has over Tomozaki, particularly with how their approaches to “gaming” are ultimately different, but also how Hinami might have her own issues to deal with, as well as how there are things she can’t handle, like the whole situation with Mimimi. It’s part of what moves this story away from just being a “self-help” book and into a more complex story with various character motivations.

Mimimi is the “star” of the volume, and rightly so. She provides an interesting “Player 3” to the story, as her natural friendliness makes it easy for her to get along with Tomozaki, while also having her own history with Hinami and her own perspective towards competition. There’s a nice line of character development for her going through this volume, and I like how it’s neither Tomozaki or Hinami who ultimately helps her with her biggest insecurities; that would be “too easy” for either of them.

Overall, I really like how this series has been incorporating more of its side characters. Even the guys have a good presence here. I’m definitely looking forward to what role these other characters play in the story.

3. One of the themes of this volume is “losing”, and how different people feel about not being “first place”. What are your personal thoughts on how we should approach competition, particularly when we lose?

Jeskai Angel: I think we all take some competitions more seriously than others. The novel shows this with Hinami and Mimimi’s middle school teammates. Those girls just weren’t invested in basketball in the way that Hinami and MImimi were. That doesn’t necessarily mean those girls were all lazy losers who fail at everything in life because they never put forth effort. It just means that particular kind of competition wasn’t as much of a priority to them. A big factor in how seriously we take competition is the stakes. Is there a prize we care about? Alternatively, sometimes we feel our sense of self-worth is on the line in a competition. Of course, it’s not so much the case that our value as a person is on the line, but rather than our pride is what’s at stake.

This brings us to the Bible, with all its “The last shall be first,” and “The meek shall inherit the earth” messages. A consistent theme in the scriptures is that God’s idea of “winning” is different than ours, and God will overturn human expectations about who the “winners” are. The Bible promotes humility and discourages us from seeking the glory of men. Most of the winning we can do in this life just isn’t meaningful.

Now, that said, winning is a lot more fun than losing. It’s okay to wanna be the very best, like no one ever was. But “fun” and “the meaning of my existence” are very different kinds of stakes, and I think Hinami, and Mimimi to a lesser extent, have mixed them up. Mimimi felt kind of lost in this volume; she’s not competing for fun, but neither is she an ego-driven maniac on the level of Hinami. I think Hinami’s form of competitiveness is dangerous, while Tomozaki’s is more benign. Competing because it’s fun to win is much less serious that competing because we need to affirm our pride.

TWWK: Mimimi is a good example of how sport and competition can dictate your self-worth. And not just those, but anything in which we put forth energy and show talent and excellence. Jeskai points toward scripture, which is totally unique is showing that our self-worth is in the creator and his attributes, not in our own, which when lived out most fully can both help us excel in competition while lifting us up in our failures. I think that’s such an incredible and life-giving message, because my experience with some I’ve known in athletics mirrors Mimimi’s, and my own academic studies when I was younger mirrors hers, too—when we eventually fail, for we all will (look at Hinami in gaming), do we have a foundation to help us from bottoming out? If there was is a criticism I have for this excellent volume, it’s that Mimimi recovers almost unrealistically, or at least, without us being truly privy to what it is that leads to that change in her. I don’t think it’s so easy to step back up when you have such a reaction as hers to failure.

stardf29: Given how prevalent “competition” is in the world, there’s clearly something about wanting to beat others at something that is a part of human nature. One could argue it’s not inherently a bad thing, either, as there are plenty of stories where healthy competition encourages two people to both improve. This seems to be behind Tomozaki’s approach to games; he’s mainly focused on mastering the game he plays, and losing means he has more to learn and master. His statement that he mainly doesn’t want to lose to himself is a great statement: when he loses, it’s less about losing to the opponent and more about the realization that there’s still more to be done to master the game. This pursuit of getting better is the healthy side of competition, and if God designed us to seek competition as part of our nature, it would be for this reason.

Unfortunately, competition also has its ugly sides. With Mimimi, we see something more just misguided: the belief that she won’t mean anything unless she is in first place. It’s definitely an unhealthy attitude to have, but thankfully Tama snaps her out of it by making sure she knows she means something to her no matter what. It’s the kind of attitude that can easily come about if one grows up in an environment without unconditional love, and likewise one which God’s unconditional love can help a lot with.

And then with Hinami, we don’t know yet why exactly she’s so fixated on “winning”. Maybe she just likes the feeling of having asserted dominance over other people. That’s definitely a common source of unhealthy competition. She might also feel something similar to Mimimi, where she feels like her self-worth is based on successful competition. Whatever the case, it definitely seems like she’s unhealthily obsessed with winning.

4. Were there any particular bits of advice on life that you liked from this volume?

TWWK: The bit of advice that Aoi had given Mimimi when she wanted to help Tama become integrated in their class was simple but I think helpful in many real-life situations, too—it basically was to talk to her a little each day. I’ve been in Tama’s shoes before, and thanks to friendly and extroverted classmates, have been integrated better into classes and developed good friendships, something that was far from guaranteed due to my shy nature and the frequency with which I transferred between schools as a military brat. I’ve always been grateful for the Mimimi’s in my life, though thankfully, none have been so, uh, intimate with me.

5. If you watched the anime, what do you think about how the anime adapted this volume?

Jeskai Angel: I don’t recall any glaring oddities with the anime. As with many other anime adaptations of first-person-narrated light novels, the biggest difference is the lack of the protagonist’s inner monologue. This a journey-before-destination story. What Tomozaki ultimately says or does is less important that the thought process he uses to get there, and the anime just can’t convey that with the kind of depth we get in the book. More specifically, I think Tomozaki’s comments on the other characters are especially noteworthy. His impressions can reveal things (about himself, and about the other characters) that are much less obvious without that first-person narration.

TWWK: I mentioned it earlier, but what’s most obvious to me is the difference in Tomozaki’s. No, they’re not really developed differently, but the anime is heavily focused on “what we see,” the outsider’s view of Tomozaki, which is appropriately awkward and especially voiced as such. The light novel is almost the opposite, as we mostly experience his inner voice which is witty, humorous, and just as engaging (and usually more so) than that of the people he’s trying to emulate. It’s a nice contrast, actually—I enjoyed this source material more than the anime episodes, but appreciate the anime a bit more now as well, now that I can see a fuller picture of this character.

Christina Kelly, who voices Mimimi in the English dub, chatted with us about the character among others she’s voice.

stardf29: I like the point about the anime allowing us to see Tomozaki more from an outsider’s perspective. I’ve heard others make comments about how “cringe” Tomozaki sounds when they actually got to hear him with proper voice acting, and usage of somewhat-overused buzzwords aside, I think it’s a good reflection of how the anime makes it clear how socially awkward Tomozaki really is, which helps me appreciate his growth more. I do still prefer all the internal monologue we get with Tomozaki in the light novels, but I do like this part of the anime, at least.

Also, while not technically part of this volume, I should say, the anime really went out of its way with the portrayal of Atafami, with a whole bunch of characters designed for the anime that don’t even appear in the story. I like it when animators go just that extra little bit further for these adaptations.

=====

If you read through our discussion, I hope you liked it! As a reminder, our next Light Novel Club discussion is on The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! The discussion starts on June 25th, and will run through much of July, so there’s still plenty of time to read it and join our discussion!

The following light novel is none other than Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 4! Tearmoon Empire is basically the flagship light novel of the Light Novel Club at this point, and there’s a pretty good chance we will be discussing every volume of this series, so if you haven’t yet, why not start catching up with this series so you can join our discussion? You have a little bit of extra time, too, as our discussion will start on August 1st. Also, starting from this point, all Light Novel Club discussions will start on the 1st of the month, which should make it easy to know when these discussions start.

And why not reveal yet another light novel we will be discussing? After all, on September 1st, we will be discussing one of the most iconic and popular light novel series as we finally discuss Sword Art Online! …or rather, we will be discussing Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1! This is a re-take on the story starting from the Aincrad arc, going into more detail and overall considered an improved version of the story, so this is definitely going to be a great discussion for SAO fans.

If you are interested in discussing any of these series with us, join the Beneath the Tangles Discord and look for the Light Novel Club section. Happy reading!

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Tsukikage no Shou - Kazama Final Chapter Translation

So. [im going to swear.]

I tried doing something truly fucking insane. I wrote and copied out almost every single stupid shitty word in Chinese from the CH subbed video for this (99% of everything of this was done w/o freaking copy and pasting since it was too fucking hard to locate every stupid duplicated word that i wrote) with my mouse onto google translate (I don't have any other way to input words cuz i don't have a damn input device) before i went and translated this. 

at the time i did this, writing out every stupid shitty word was a lot fucking faster than using an ocr text extractor at the time since i kept having problems with the one i was using... and my fucking gawd did this feel soooo freaking tedious and it really did hurt my hand and arm for a while.... to the point that i’ll still complain about it despite how that was done back around the time i did the tsukikage countdown video....

i fucking demand that everyone who reads this thank me for hurting myself for the sake of getting this stupid chapter translated lol... all in all, i wrote out over 4600 stupid fucking Chinese characters of this in one sitting....

oh and i think i might have forgotten about copying some of the punctuation but idfcrn.

some words/phrases i don’t wanna write in excess ever again: 1) 知道 2) 就 3) 然 4) 一族 5) 着 6) 这 7) 在 8) 我 9) 萨摩 10) 里

you guys better fucking enjoy this lol. or im going to flip a fucking table. or ten. hahaha lol. seriously (not really lol). 

on that note, i also found the Hakuoki stage play with Chinese subs but I refuse to do anything with it as long as those words aren't in text since that's more than 2 hours long, and i’m not that masochistic or insane xD. if anyone wants to volunteer as tribute though to copy/isolate the text though that’s another matter. 

also i had to go read up on more damn history than i'd have liked to in order to translate this damn thing cuz i couldn't understand several words in Chinese since they were Japanese terms which made doing this even annoying since that meant extra work for me to do... and omfg i hated writing this out despite the fact that doing so did save me a significant amount of time cuz I was still pretty bad at using photoshop when i did this...  though I can definitely say that this will be the absolute fucking first and last chapter of anything that i’ll ever write out again since i can say that my photoshop skills have improved enough so that i can extract text at a significantly faster pace and with more accuracy...

images used in this post were snips of the some video of the chapter aside from the last 2 which were from the cgs i posted a loooong while back.

if someone decides to repost this elsewhere, i will seriously stop posting my translations publicly (also i will curse you) :D

(p.s. i don’t have the chapter intro since that wasn’t translated for any of the final chapter tls that were posted online, and as always, edits will be done later)

Hakuoki Tsukikage no Shou - Kazama Chikage - Final Chapter

Translation by KumoriYami

Eighth year of Meiji 7th month

Six years later after what later generations would refer to the "Boshin War." Chikage-san took me away to live at his village within the Satsuma Domain. This is a story of what happened 5 years after I married into the Kazama family.

Eighth year of Meiji, 7th month

My eyes were unfocused.

I was quietly mending something——

Kazama Chizuru: That hurt......!

I accidentally hit my finger with the needle.

Kazama Chizuru:......Messed up again.

This type of housework, would usually be finished quickly.... But today my concentration, from the start until just now, wasn't here.

I know the reason why.

Kazama Chizuru: Ah......

I stopped/lowered my hand and softly sighed. Recently, Chikgae-san has been increasing his visits to human villages. 

It seems that Amagiri-san has also been frequently rushing around to collect information. The oni in this village saw this, and one after another, they began talking about 

——Soon, there will be no more war with humans.

The female oni were especially scared of war.

However I didn't think it wasn't improbable......

But there was no way to say that war wouldn't happen again.

It's hard to think that the world's become so peaceful.

When I was thinking about these things. (door slides)

There was the sound of a door opening.

I didn't need to confirm who this person was——

Kazama Chikage: I didn't see you, so this is where you were.

Kazama Chizuru: Chikage-san......

The instant I saw him, I immdiately felt relieved...... I couldn't help but smile.

Kazama Chikage: What is it? Is there something funny?

Kazama Chizuru: No, That's......

Kazama Chizuru: I always think it's unimaginable in how I am able to recognize you by your breathing, Chikage-san.

Presumably my answer probably surprised him since Chikage-san's eyes widened......

Kazama Chikage: Of course I am also able to recognize you by your breathing, you and I are husband and wife.

If this had been before, I probably would have immediately denied Chikage-san's words.......

Kazama Chizuru:......That's right/Is that so.

There's no need to deny anything now.

Because Chikage-san and I have already had our marriage ceremony in the Kazama village to become husband and wife.

Kazama Chikage: What are you doing here?

Kazama Chizuru: Sewing clothes.

Kazama Chizuru: If the children's clothes aren't taken care of, they might get torn when caught on a branch or from falling down. 

Kazama Chikage: this sort of housework, you can just give it someone else to do.

Kazama Chizuru: But, I have happen to have time......

Kazama Chikage: Accompany me for a walk.

Chikage-san raise his chin, and spoke with an indisputable tone of voice.

Kazama Chizuru: Wait a moment, let me tie this knot......

Kazama Chikage: That thing can wait and be done later, come with me for a walk first.

Really......

Chikage-san's unyielding personality hasn't changed since [even before] we married.

Kazama Chizuru:......I understand, I'll come with you.

Anyway fighting is useless, so I followed him.

It was slightly hot when we reached the forest.

As small birds could clearly be heard chirping nearby, Chikage-san and I walked together.

Kazama Chizuru:......You seem to be so busy lately, have things calmed down yet?

I spoke to him in this way......

Kazama Chikage:............ [he sighs/breathes out  here]

Not hearing my words, Chikage-san showed a distressed expression, and was silent.

Kazama Chizuru: Chikage-san....... Chikage-san.

After using a slightly heavier tone, he finally stopped.

Kazama Chikage:......What's wrong?

Kazama Chizuru: To ask me what's wrong......

Kazama Chizuru: Just now I called you several times just now and you didn't respond, it's very concerning

Kazama Chikage: So it's like that, I apologize.

Kazama Chizuru: No, I'm not upset......

Kazama Chizuru: What's bothering you?

Kazama Chizuru: If it's alright, you can talk about it with me.

Kazama Chikage:............ [he sighs/breathes again here... this one sounds more like a sigh imo]

Kazama Chizuru: If there's anything that's difficult to talk about, I won't force you to say anything.......

Kazama Chikage: No.......it's not something that cannot be said.

Kazama Chikage: As the leader's wife, I think you should know about this matter.

It felt like there was a different weight to the way he was saying "the leader's wife."

After moving to this village, Chikage-san has told me those words [in that manner] several times...... The subjects that followed afterwards, were matters that directly concerned the village.

As I nervously waited for his next words, Chikage-san spoke in a solemn and careful tone.

Kazama Chikage:......There are rumours, that the Satsuma shizoku has been engaging in suspicious activities. [check audio]

Kazama Chizuru: Shizoku......?

After entering the Meiji era, former samurai are now referred to as "shizoku"...... No longer able to receive an official's salary, I've heard that they have had difficulties in securing their livelihoods.

Kazama Chikage: After last year's "conscription notice," it is said that official talks to forbid carrying of blades were given with the "conscription notice."

Kazama Chizuru: Forbidding the carrying of blades? That is to say......

Before I asked my question, Chikage-san nodded.

Kazama Chikage: Banning the wearing of katana

Kazama Chikage: [Meaning] Depriving warriors of the rights associated with them.

Kazama Chizuru: Doing that sort of thing...... aren't the Satsuma shizoku unlikely to accept that?

The Satsuma shizoku were [perhaps: had been] proud to be part of the Meiji Restoration, and before I heard that it was their greatest pride. They had overthrown the Shogunate with great difficulty, but they [however it seems that they] haven't received a decent reward [pay-off is prob more accurate]......

If they are deprived of their privileges that they had and are again forced into having difficult lives, it is obvious that there will be resentment.

Kazama Chikage:......Last year, reportedly Saigo's defeat at the central government and his return to the Satsuma, appeared to be the cause of riots breeaking out in human villages. [refers to Seikanron]

Chikage-san's words caused me to let out a cold breath.

I've heard that Saigo is the Satsuma's most powerful individual.

If indignant warriors gather assemble together under his banner——

Kazama Chizuru: Then, where are you going [probably planning?]?

Kazama Chikage: Come on...... let's walk for a while.

Speaking like that, Chikage-san urged me......

No mater what, I wanted to confirm this matter.

Kazama Chizuru: Chikage-san......

Kazama Chikage:......Nn?

Kazama Chizuru: Will Chikage-san have no choice, but to once again move for the Satsuma?

Kazama Chizuru: Just like when the Shogunate was destroyed......

Because there is a sense of righteousness and companionship with the Satsuma [i'd assume this is more sense of gratitude and debt based on Kyoto Winds/Edo Blossoms], there's nothing to be done on the matter......

If that’s the case, I don't want Chikage-san to once again be dragged into humanity's wars.

He is my beloved husband—— we have many precious things to protect now.

Kazama Chikage:......Do not worry, our Kazama family/clan has promised to help the Shimazu clan.

Kazama Chikage: There is no involvement in the Satsuma right now. I have no plans to be involved in wars between humans.

Kazama Chizuru: Really?

Kazama Chikage: Have I [ever] lied to you?

Kazama Chizuru:.......No

Kazama Chizuru: Chikage-san, thank you. Hearing what you said just now, I can be at ease.

Even so I felt that nothing was stronger than the promise he made just now.

Chikage-san will certainly use all of his strength to protect us.

Kazama Chikage:......Perhaps, in the near future, war may occur in the Satsuma. [the Satsuma may go to war is likely more accurate given the Satsuma Rebellion]

Kazama Chikage: In order to prepare for such a situation, [we] must consider temporarily moving into hiding elsewhere.

Kazama Chizuru:......Yes

The oni of the Kazama village...... everything must be done to protect them. In the past my clan——the disaster that befell the Yukimura clan's oni must not be repeated.

(scene changes to ocean) ~3100 words by now

Afterwards, Chikage-san and I arrived at place....... a place outside the village and near the beach.

The deep blue sea could clearly be seen in the distant horizon, as well as the rolling waves. It's was a symbol and scene of peace and stability.

............However.

Kazama Chizuru:......Is war really going to erupt again?

It seemed as if war would break this sea of tranquility.

Kazama Chikage: I am afraid that it will.

Kazama Chikage: But do not worry. I will certainly protect you all

Kazama Chizuru:......Nn, I believe you.

Our conversation drew to a close once more, but it didn't feel out of sorts.

The sound of the tide carried away all of my worries.

In this way, looking out towards the majestic sea......

Kazama Chizuru:......This reminds me of when the two of us disembarked back then.

Chikage-san was quiet as he turned towards me.

His pair of red eyes looked at me, almost as if to ask for the truth of what I meant just now.

Kazama Chikage: The people [or officials?] from the Satsuma fled, similarly to how the warriors of Aizu did.

Kazama Chikage: It wasn't only the Aizu. The former Shogunate who fought the Sat-cho probably also hated the Satsuma and wanted to go to war with them.

Kazama Chikage: They were pardoned, no longer are they an enemy seeking revenge......

Kazama Chikage: For what reason would they need to repeat a disastrous policy/the same mistake......

Kazama Chizuru:......Yes. I also......don't understand

Kazama Chizru:......However it's already...... fighting between humans, oni must not participate again.

Kazama Chizuru: That's what I think, ever since I chose to live here as an oni.

Kazama Chizuru:.....Yes. Even though——

Kazama Chizuru: Even if  there's a new battle, the surviving members of the Shinsengumi might take part in it, as will others who are the same——

Among them, I heard that some of them had been pardoned.

That possibility of that is entirely possible.

But——

I've truly observed the conclusion to the Shinsengumi's existence.

They cannot be involved, they can no longer live while fighting against the trajectory [of history? alt:against the flow/tide]/ They can't——it's not possible for them to get involved again, and they can no longer survive against the tide.

Right, though it's difficult to say that/sorry/sad to admit to that.

Kazama Chikage: In front of me, you don't need to be strong [put up a brave front]

Kazama Chizuru:......It's alright. I'm not trying to be strong.

Kazama Chizuru: It's true that I have nothing to do with the Shinsengumi anymore——

Kazama Chizuru: Because of that, there have been things [that I have] obtained.

Kazama Chikage: Oh? Such as?

Kazama Chizuru: Yes......

Options

(Choosing to live together with you)<--- (Understanding how samurai/warriors chose to live)

Kazama Chizuru: Your...... being at Chikage-san's side, it was my choice.

Kazama Chikage: Usually you're only complaining, today you're being quite frank.

Kazama Chizuru: Com-complaining......! I didn't say [anything like] that.

Kazama Chizuru: You and the children never listen and don't even know it......!

I tried to argue——

Kazama Chikage: No need to speak. Come. He took me by my arms then held me tightly.

Kazama Chizuru: Ah......!

There wasn't enough time to respond since I was confused, and he grabbed my chin [face/cheek looks to be more accurate] with his fingers.

(Kazama's kiss with Chizuru cg 1)

Kazama Chizuru: Nn......

It was like saying that everything I was belonged to him, as he gave me a fierce kiss.

I also used my lips to respond to his warmth.

Kazama Chikage:......You don't need to be worried.

Kazama Chikage: Even if the Satsuma ['s lands/domain] becomes a battlefield......

Kazama Chikage: I will do everything to protect you, the children, as well as the village's oni.

Although he spoke in a natural tone......

He however was shouldering the fates of me and the children, and of the entire clan.

[To be the one] dealing with this huge amount of pressure, I couldn't imagine it.

Kazama Chizuru:......I will support you. 

While living as a human, then recalling the everyone from the Shinsengumi, I feel sad, although there are times [Although there are times I feel sad when I think of when I lived as a human, and recall everyone from the Shinsengumi......]

But I, have chosen to to support him on this path.

Kazama Chizuru: As a wife...... as an oni, I will do everything to support you......

So, as long as I'm alive, I will always support him.

Kazama Chizuru: Ah. Please stay at my side. You absolutely will not regret it.

(kiss cg 1 again) ——He never broke his promise.

Chikage-san will stay with never go against this agreement, and will stay with me for a lifetime.

So I shall make a promise to him here.

Kazama Chizuru: I will forever be at your side......

——This is the promise of an oni.

——Tsukikage no Shou Kazama Final Chapter End—— 

maybe i’ll go translate yamazaki’s final tsukikage no shou chapter... in like 2 years. or something. if someone hasn’t done it by then. lol. unfortunately, tsukikage is not on my priority list since 95% of what CH TL I’ve seen is only available as videos... and while I’d very much prefer to translate Saito’s ginse no shou route, the only thing that I’ve found with CH TL so far is a short clip from the 2nd common route chapter.... plus, i still have ssl to worry about... and even then, there are some dramas that i really wanted translated along with the rest of kyoka-roku... 

final edits will be done when i start caring about them... later.

also this is chapter 8 for kazama’s route. each route in tsukikage and ginsei no shou has their own unique ending music.

p.s.s. i always love to complain about unnecessary extra free labour.

[kondo-hijikata]

Pairings: Okita/Chizuru, Kondo/Hijikata, Kondo & Okita, Kondo & Chizuru Rating: T Summary: Before leaving for the battle of Koufu Castle, Kondo pays a visit to the house Okita and Chizuru are staying in to see their faces one last time. [AO3]

This story is just over 5k, so I’ve posted a little of the first part. If you’d like to keep reading, please head over to AO3. Thank you!

.*Where the Loyalty Lies*.

Kondo stood before a wooden gate, his chin tilted up and eyes searching jagged tree branches smattered with green leaves. The start of March was much too early for flowers to be in blossom, but he’d hoped to see them once more in Edo—hoped to see them here, at this small house with its tiny front garden. Fate would have it differently, however, and he was but a mortal bound to its whims.

He shook his head and stepped forward, the gate creaking when he pushed it aside. Ensuring it closed properly once through, Kondo turned at the sound of a small gasp, and his face warmed instantly.

“Yukimura-kun.”

Chizuru had clutched the open doorway and once she heard her name, pushed herself from it in a near bound over the threshold, her feet slipping into sandals and clopping against the circular stone path. “Kondo-san!”

Regarding her fondly, he lifted a light string-tried package and placed it in her hands. “You’re looking very well! It’s good to see you.”

“Mm!! Oh!” Her eyes fell shut and she bowed her head quickly, lifting the package in gratitude. “Thank you so much. You didn’t have to bring anything!”

Still kind as ever, wasn’t she?

“I thought I heard the gate, so I came to look and…” The thought left unfinished, Chizuru sighed and hugged the gift gently to her chest. “I’m so happy you’ve come to visit!”

Kondo nodded graciously. “You’ve really done me a great favor by staying here, Yukimura-kun.”

A vehement shake of the head followed, and a hum in the negative. “Not at all!”

“How is he?”

Chizuru swallowed, her features instantly growing serious at the inquiry. “Okita-san is sleeping right now, but his condition…” Brow furrowing further, she curled his lips in.

“It hasn’t changed.” Kondo’s shoulders lowered and his mouth set in a grim line. “I see.” Such an answer was to be expected, but having to hear it never got any easier.

“I’ve been making sure he eats as much as he can and rests.” She exhaled through her nose. “But still, sometimes he tries to train in the yard and it—” A pause. “It doesn’t usually end well.”

Kondo’s lashes fell in a soft huff, muttering sarcastically beneath his breath, “I wonder where he learned that stubbornness…”

“Kondo-san, please don’t misunderstand.” Spine straightening, Chizuru’s eyes grew determined. “Okita-san is very, very strong and I believe in him. I would never speak badly of him, but his body has certain limits now that his mind just can’t seem to obey. He often talks of rejoining you, and please know there’s nothing either of us would like more, but…”

A warm hand pressed to Chizuru’s shoulder before getting ahead of herself. “Understood, Yukimura-kun,” Kondo said gently. “Maybe if I talk to him?”

“I think it would be a great help.” She lowered her head again in respect for the favor. “Please.” When her face lifted, she gestured toward the small abode. “But for now, please come in. I’ll put some tea on.”

“I take it you’re still making the best tea in the country?”

Her cheeks flushed slightly and she merely shook her head, leading the short way up the walk. “How is your wound? And the others? Hijikata-san?”

At first, Kondo grinned at the barrage of questions. “My shoulder is healing well. As for Toshi, the ages change, but he doesn’t. And the others…” It was then that the smile’s luster faded and his expression fell somber. “It’s a very complicated time, Yukimura-kun. The war is coming to a pivotal point.”

A distant despondency was present in her voice. “I see…” Surely, there was more she’d wished to ask from the way her reply trailed off, but it seemed for now her tongue would be held.

When they reached the porch, each pivoted a half-circle to remove their shoes properly and stepped up. Chizuru officially welcomed Kondo into the home, and ever the one for polite tradition, he excused himself for interrupting her day.

“I’ll go and wake him—”

“Ah—” Kondo’s hand raised. “Please don’t. I’d rather he rest, and I have plenty of time. But I also don’t want to trouble you, so I won’t mind waiting outside.”

She breathed in sharply then. “Oh. A visit from you would never be a burden, Kondo-san. Please, let me show you to the sitting room. Okita-san would want you to be comfortable, and I certainly do too.”

Two pairs of socked feet padded down the hall and the inner shoji opened to a space filled with sunlight. A table and two zabuton cushions rested on the tatami, and Chizuru held a hand out for Kondo to sit. She carefully slid the outer doors open so they wouldn’t make too much noise along the track, and excused herself to brew the promised tea.

Alone, Kondo sat seiza before the table and looked around. The house was old and sparsely decorated, but Chizuru had done well keeping it clean and tidy. Hanging on the wall near a closet was the red flag of sincerity—the hallmark and banner of the Shinsengumi—and seeing it inspired a warmth to spread in Kondo’s chest.

Chizuru had been brought into all of their lives by some incidental whim, and quickly became one of them: a fellow servant to Tokugawa and a genuine friend to all. Now, as Kondo had spent the last days in deliberation at Edo Castle and the rest of his men lay in wait for official battle orders, she was still an invaluable help; without her, Okita would be saddled with some unfamiliar attendant (or perhaps, correctly, that attendant would be saddled with him), and that could only end in disaster.

He closed his eyes, listening to the porch chime jingling softly in the breeze—listened to the singing of birds and a cat crying in the distance. How pleasant it was here, and peaceful…how so far removed from the miseries that had been endured and would continue to be. Gen-san would have liked such a quiet place, and Yamazaki-kun as well.

Their losses cut deeply; their deaths would never not bring a crushing heaviness to Kondo’s chest, would never not mar his heart with an unbearable hurt. Yet, these irreplaceable two wouldn’t be the last to slip through his hands like sand in the wind, not by far. Especially not now.

Katsu Kaishu’s decree had been final; the Shinsengumi was to be renamed to Kouyo-Chinbutai and then deployed to take Koufu Castle from Satcho hold. Even if they’d managed to recruit on the way, Kondo’s forces would be, at best, outnumbered by ten-to-one. It was clear there was no longer any need for him or his men—not here in the east, after the shogun abdicated without so much of a fight. Katsu had therefore stripped them of their beloved identity with a new meaningless name, and given the commander and his loyal followers a battlefield to die on.

They would begin moving out toward this graveyard in just four days. Four days: to get all affairs aligned, to neaten up anything that required final attentions, to see the people who should be seen… And that’s what had brought Kondo here on this afternoon.

It was imperative that he spend time with Okita and Chizuru to have the memories to savor, but also not give away too many details about why. Until his diagnosis, Okita had been at his side since the Shieikan days, and though the years didn’t match, Kondo thought of him as a son. He’d grown up under his watch, learned about the blade and the world from him, followed him all the way to Kyoto to lend his sword…

If Okita were to know of the new orders, he would surely demand to rush into battle in his fragile condition, and therefore right into the arms of a premature death. Kondo didn’t want that—not for any of his men, and certainly not for the one he’d practically raised.

The breeze whispered by again and he turned his face toward the door. When his lashes parted, it was to the image of a brilliant white in the garden and the breath caught in his throat. Kondo stood and walked slowly across the tatami to the porch, his eyes focused on a single flower that had blossomed early. The petals were fully open, the pistil golden and heavily dusted with pollen.

One flower had defied all the odds. One flower had become the miracle of the garden.

Kondo crossed his arms and silently mused upon it, until Chizuru poked her head in the open inner doorway.

“Kondo-san, excuse me.”

He turned to see her lips pulling into a soft smile.

“Okita-san is awake.”

~

To continue reading, please head over to AO3. Thank you!

[thetailorofenbizaka]

Chapter 1–The Tale of the Scissors, Act 7: Fate; Scene 2

The Tailor of Enbizaka, pages 159-164

“Excuse me!…yannow!”

Kokutan-douji’s friend Saruteito was yelling before the Freezis Trading House.

“Excuse me!...yannow!”

After repeating this several times, finally Bufuko came running out of the Trading House.

“Yes, yes! –Who are you, if I might ask?”

“My name is Saruteito XVI. I heard that the man named Okuto Anan was working here, and came to visit. …yannow,” Saruteito said, looking Bufuko up and down. “Hm, a foreign maid… I feel like there’s something weirdly charming about that…yannow.”

“Sigh…And what business do you have with Anan-sama?”

“I have some questions that I want to ask him…yannow.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No…yannow.”

“…Well, I’ll go ask for now.”

Bufuko once more entered the Trading House, looking slightly put-off.

After some time had passed, next Anan exited.

“Are you Saruteito XVI?”

“Indeed…yannow.”

“That monkey mask—There is no mistake. This is wonderful, do come in. I have heard the story of the Rangu clan from both my father and my forefather.”

“Ho. So you know of the connection between the Rangu clan and the Okuto family…yannow.”

“I do. It’s not something to discuss out here, so please come inside,” Anan said, inviting Saruteito into the trading house.

.

After being led to Anan’s room in the trading house, Saruteito sat down in a chair inside.

“I have heard that you have been currently working alongside Kokutan-douji, Saruteito-dono.”

Anan sat in another chair, and offered up some tea to Saruteito.

“Mhm. Although, we’ve had less opportunities to spend time together since arriving in Onigashima….yannow.”

“For what reason did you come to Onigashima?”

“I came seeking the legendary blades that the first Saruteito-sama was said to have created. After looking around a bit I heard that those blades are presently being stored as the treasures of the Okuto family. And so that is why I came to see you…yannow.”

“I see…So that’s how it is.” Anan folded his arms, expression turning a little bit grim. “The connection between the Okuto family and the Rangu clan—that goes back to the time of Okuto Gaou, the very first magistrate of the Izami domain. It is said that, having joined the Eto side in the battle of Jagahara, Gaou was able to contribute to the Eto shogunate’s unification efforts thanks to the blades that the first Saruteito of the Rangu clan had sent to him. And so, the Okuto family has since continued to protect these blades as our family treasure. …In the form of keeping them sealed up in a cave along the coast of Onigashima.”

“…Why would you put the blades in such a place as that? …yannow.”

“The blades emit a ghostly aura, and so Okuto Gaou apparently reasoned it would be dangerous to leave them somewhere where people would find them. The blades—the ‘Twin Cursed Blades’, that is, were strictly locked up in an iron box located deep in the cave; no one was allowed to open them, even a member of the Okuto family. So I don’t actually know what the blades look like, myself.”

“…”

Saruteito was trying to drink the tea before her as she listened to his story.

…But given that she was wearing a mask, it wasn’t working.

“’Scuse me a sec…yannow.”

Saruteito took off the mask, and set it aside.

And then she brought the teacup to her mouth and started drinking the tea inside.

“—You’ve taken that mask off relatively quickly, I think. I had gotten the impression that there was some kind of law in the Rangu clan that you’re never to show your true face to another person.”

“It’s not really a common practice like that. I’m wearing this monkey mask because I like to. …yannow.”

“I see…I knew that you were a woman, but seeing you like this now I see you have fairly adorable features. It feels like a bit of a waste to hide them with a monkey mask.”

“That’s enough flattery. –So then, where are these blades now? …yannow.”

“The blades are an heirloom of the Okuto family. Yet, if a member of the Rangu clan seeks then, it would only be appropriate to obediently return them. …But I’m afraid the blades are not in our hands right now.”

“Looks that way. Earlier I entered the cave that you just mentioned, and it was already empty…yannow.”

“Over the generations the Okuto family has appointed one member to be the keeper of our family treasure. But twenty-one years ago. My aunt, Okuto Kagura, who was keeper at the time, stole them from the cave and fled the family with them. …We have been unable to find the blades since then.”

“And you haven’t been able to obtain any clues on this missing woman? …yannow.”

“Oh no—with the fire that occurred four years ago as our impetus, we were able to discern that Kagura had been living in Enbizaka.”

Once she had finished drinking her tea, Saruteito once more put on the monkey mask. “That’s unexpectedly close. Couldn’t see the forest for the trees, huh…yannow.”

“Kagura had changed her family name to Sudou and was running a tailor shop in Enbizaka, but by the time we found that out, she had already passed away. And supposedly her daughter, Kayo, doesn’t know the blades’ location either.”

“Ho…a tailor…named Sudou Kayo, huh…yannow.”

“I have heard that your companion, Kokutan-douji, is currently staying there now.”

“Though Kayo herself appears to have gone missing recently. Well, that’s alright; what you’ve told me is very interesting…yannow.” Saruteito stood up from her spot. “I will excuse myself today, on that note. –Just to make sure, in the event that I do obtain the blades first, you wouldn’t mind if I took them back into the possession of the Rangu clan?”

“Not personally, no. But I don’t know if the current head of the family, Gato-sama, would allow it.”

“…Then what if I present this to you instead? …yannow,” Saruteito said, pulling out the sword that had been affixed to her hip. “’Teigankikujuumoji’. It is my masterpiece, among all the blades I have made thus far. I offer this to the Okuto family…yannow.”

“—The Rangu family is famed throughout Jakoku for their smithing. A blade made by its sixteenth family head would be valuable beyond measure. …Very well. In the event that you get your hands on the blades, I promise to use it as a present to persuade the magistrate with.”

Satisfied by the compromise, Saruteito moved to leave Anan’s room.

And when she did, she immediately met Inukichi out in the hallway.

“Yo, if it isn’t Saru. What’re you doin’ here?” Inukichi asked her cheerfully.

“Oh, Inu. That’s right, you were working here. You seem to be in a good mood…yannow.”

“Yeah, listen to this! I finally got Bufuko-chan to agree to a date with me!”

“A d-date…!? What in the world is that? …yannow.”

“That’s where you go out somewhere with someone and do stuff together. Man, it took so long to get to this point!”

“You never change. You’re always lolling your tongue at women like this…yannow.”

Saruteito moved to pass by Inukichi.

“You heading back, Saru?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna go see Kokutan for a little bit…yannow.”

“—Then I’ll come along too. He’s been pretty down since Kayo-san went missing.”

“Regarding that Kayo-san…did you notice anything about her? …yannow.”

“Hm? Like what?”

“…Well, whatever. We can talk about that after we get to the tailor shop…yannow.”

The two of them left the trading house together and headed for the tailor shop.

<<prev------directory------next>>