cranelike: (Default)
ᴛsᴜʀᴜᴍᴀʀᴜ ᴋᴜɴɪɴᴀɢᴀ 『鶴丸国永』 ([personal profile] cranelike) wrote in [community profile] elibe2018-10-28 10:01 pm
Entry tags:

voice testing!

White
( It's a pretty normal day at the citadel until news breaks out that the saniwa has managed to summon a new spirit. Depending on who you've heard the news from, you may or may not have the name. Or maybe you've heard that the newcomer is supposed to be a beautiful sword dressed in white. Or that he's an imperial sword or some other vague but specific piece of information. Either way, it should be easy to find a new face here, right?

Just follow the sounds of one (1) distressed sounding Konnosuke and you'll see the newest addition to your rag tag sword army. He's picked up Konnosuke and has him on his back in front of him, rubbing at his belly. Konnosuke squirms to get free.
)

A little fox! You remind me of someone. ( Konnosuke squirms in his hands, trying to get free. ("Tsurumaru-san, please, let me go! I'm a pipe fox spirit, not a common fox!" The new spirit laughs,). ) And you really talk! What a surprise!

( And he looks up to see you, who's arrived to crash his fun, )

Yo~ ( He'd salute in greeting but his hands are a little full, ) Are you surprised to see someone like me?

( SET KONNOSUKE FREE )


Gold
( Some time has passed since Tsurumaru Kuninaga arrived at the citadel and most people are used to his character by now. It's a cool fall day and you're out in the garden for whatever reason. Most of the trees are losing their leaves and can be found in collected piles here and there. There's one particularly large pile and when you walk past it... )

Waah!

( Tsurumaru jumps up, throwing the leaves in the air and at you. Standing straight, hands on his hips and still covered in ginkgo leaves, )

Ahahaha! Are you surprised?

( He's so proud. )


Red
( Returning from a mission, Tsurumaru laughs casually as the Konnosukes scurry towards the squad. The last mission had some unexpected turns and what was supposed to be an easy scouting mission turned into an unexpected battle. Even if they were able to handle themselves, they'd still come back with injuries.

As they run their scan on the returning touken danshi, Tsurumaru holds out his arms, revealing sleeves speckled with red.
)

What do you think?

( He shows them off to someone nearby-- either a squad mate or a concerned passerby or some other sword that was sent to check on them. And he gives a little turn to show the rest of him, revealing more blood on the back and hood. Konnosuke chides him to stay still because he's disrupting the scan. )

It's too bad.

( The battle had been too short and easy. It wasn't enough to achieve his #aesthetic. )

A little more and I would really look like a crane.

( "Stay still!" Konnosuke snaps again. )
tsukijiji: (defend)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-28 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[As soon as the help token has left his hand, Mikazuki takes a step closer.

Those fingers who look so delicate have a surprisingly strong grasp on the younger tachi's chin as he pushes it up.

Maybe it's a trick of the light but Mikazuki's eyes seem to be darker than usual, and by contrast the crescent moon in them is that much more visible. It makes him look vaguely sinister in the not very well-lit corridor.

And in spite of the strong grip, those fingers are still gentle. His thumb is even rubbing against the white skin, a bit like he did earlier wiping off the blood.]


Is it so surprising that I would have a interest in you?

[They are related, after all. Not the same swordsmiths, but still from the same school. Tsurumaru is younger but not by that much, barely seventy years. Given his gap with some of the others it's almost negligible.]

Or that I would look out for Aruji's interests on top of my own?
tsukijiji: (profile)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-28 04:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[So white. So pure. So cold. So easily stained yet so easily restored to that pure whiteness as well.

Sometimes Mikazuki wonders which Tsurumaru prefers. He does seem to relish being covered in blood.

As for himself... it's true that he cares. Probably too much. And it's probably why he does everything he does in the dark, where no one else can see it, so they won't be troubled. Just like the Crescent Moon hides most of itself, to only leave that sliver of blinding light that attracts attention away from the dark parts.]


You can't, or you won't?

What are you afraid of, Tsurumaru Kuninaga?

[They are alike, and yet different. And Mikazuki knows one thing. He hates being alone. He has spent so much time shut off in the dark.]

What is it that you don't want me to see?

tsukijiji: (mikazuki)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-28 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[Mikazuki won't necessarily insist on an answer just yet. For now, it is enough that he has asked the questions, put them out there for Tsurumaru to remember that he knows. He knows, and he understands. Maybe not everything, but enough.

The hands on his cheeks are cold on the surface, but he can feel the warmth under it, and he lets go of Tsurumaru's chin to cover one of those hands with his, gently stroking those white fingers.]


I know who you are. I have watched you being born.

[Mikazuki has many secrets, that is true. And he plays his cards close to his chest, and he is cagey. There aren't that many who have seen all of him.]

And you know who I am too.

[The Moon, pure and white and lonely. The Crane, long-lived and bound to just one love.]

If you do not treasure yourself, others will do it for you.

['I will do it for you.']
tsukijiji: (mikazuki)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-28 06:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[If anyone here knows what it feels like to be coveted, treasured, admired, passed from hand to hand, indeed, that would be Mikazuki Munechika. The masterpiece of Sanjou Munechika, the most beautiful sword, a Tenka Goken, owned by all of the great rulers of the land from the Ashikaga shouguns all the way to the last Tokugawa.

So treasured that until he was summoned here, he was shut into a secure box in the dark, only let out a few days at a time every few years for special viewings and exhibitions.

The dark is a comfortable place, he is used to it. But being alone.... he's had enough of that for a long time.

So he surrounds himself with his fellow swords, seeks them out, nurtures them, encourages them in his own, underhanded, cagey ways.

And he can't help but see a slightly distorted mirror when he looks at the white crane.

He doesn't protest or push back when Tsurumaru removes - escapes? - his gentle hold. But he doesn't love from where he's standing either. Close. Too close.]


Are you afraid of hurting me? Or are you scared I might hurt you?
tsukijiji: (defend)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-29 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
[When Tsurumaru stops with his hand on the handle, there's only a second that elapses before the rustle of fabric behind him betrays movement.

This time, the hold is just as gentle and strong as before, but it's also... more. Arms around his waist, pulling Tsurumaru back slightly into the other tachi's slightly bigger frame.

And given where the blood was on Tsurumaru's cloak, there is no way it is not staining the blue silk, a lot more than just his fingers earlier.

When Mikazuki speaks, his voice is a low whisper.]


How would you know what I want, Tsurumaru Kuninaga? You never even asked.

Are you that afraid of what I might answer?
tsukijiji: (defend)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-29 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a sword too. Have you never seen me covered in blood?

[Maybe not. These days, it feels like the blood of enemies doesn't even touch him anymore. He's been around long enough to level up quickly, and he just mows through enemies like they aren't even there at times.

Still, he has had his blade bathed in blood before. Before he was used more as something to treasure, some of his masters were pretty bloody people.

He actually walks a little closer so he can push the door of the repair room open and nudge Tsurumaru towards it.]


Go.
tsukijiji: (profile)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-29 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Get cleaned up, then.

[As it goes, with the help token, Tsurumaru will probably be clean in no time, whereas Mikazuki will have to go change and then maybe find someone to wash the bloodstains out of the blue silk.

He'll have to do that before someone makes a fuss. He doesn't usually dislike people making a fuss over it, but there are times when he just isn't in the mood. For some reason, this often happens whenever he has to deal with some of the younger swords being unreasonable. There are a few of them that can be a headache and a half.

Some people expect Tsurumaru to be the most reasonable out of all of those because he's older, but Mikazuki knows better.

He makes sure to close the door firmly behind himself,and then shuffles back to his own room while avoiding others. At least the other Sanjou swords know better than to ask, although Imanotsurugi does exclaim a little at the bloodstains.

He changes into his lighter, work clothing, tracks Kasen down to give him the outer layer of the kariginu to wash, then settles down in one of the main room with tea, letting the clear voices of the tantou playing with Gokotai's tigers nearby wash over him.

He may or may not be keeping an eye out for a certain white crane who should not be taking so much time to come back out.]
Edited 2018-10-29 22:58 (UTC)
tsukijiji: (Default)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-30 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
[He can, in fact, casually expect tea and sweets. Mostly because Mikazuki gives those out rather liberally whenever needed - and sometimes even when people don't need it.

But it's clear he was expecting Tsurumaru. There is a second, upside down cup on the tray, and Mikazuki answers that more genuine smile with one of his own.]


Come in, come in!

[He is going to go and get to pouring the second cup and setting it up on the table nicely.

And not comment on whether Tsurumaru looks better like this. That is a matter of opinion after all.]
tsukijiji: (profile)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-30 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[Mikazuki Munechika knows masks. Some would say he wears one himself, and he would not necessarily deny it, although in his case it's mostly born from age and a certain wariness with how fleeting human life can be, how fragile. Most days, though his smiles, his laughter are genuine. It's just that they're always tinged with the weight of his years and a slight melancholy that can never seem to completely leave him.]

I have time.

[Time is something he has no short supply of indeed. So much time.

As he moves things around on the table, puts down the teapot, pushes the plate with the teacakes towards Tsurumaru, something becomes visible under his arm warmers, on his hand.

A brown stain. Blood, dried and flaking. The blood Tsurumaru rubbed on his hand earlier and that he didn't bother to clean.]
tsukijiji: (mataseta na)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-30 07:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[Mikazuki blinks as his hand is suddenly grabbed, but before Tsurumaru can actually wipe the blood away - and that would be hard to do with his sleeve given that it's dried up now - he gently extricated his hand from the hold and takes his hand back.

Not everything can be wiped away with a sleeve or a repair token, Tsurumaru.]


No, I did not miss it.

[Which just cements the fact that yes, he did leave it there on purpose. Which he did.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga is free to try and appear flippant with the other people in his life. But he should know better than to try and do so to Mikazuki Munechika. The older sword will only allow it up to a certain point.]


Does it bother you?

[And if it does, why does it bother you so much?]
tsukijiji: (Default)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-10-31 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Doesn't it? Hahahahahaha!

[Is there really a need to scold him? It's not like Tsurumaru doesn't know that he crossed the line, so making him squirm in anticipation for a scolding that Mikazuki doesn't feel like giving because, well, how many times has he said the exact same things before, maybe that's punishment enough.

Maybe they can just continue their earlier conversation instead. Mikazuki is much more interested in that than in why Tsurumaru insists on coming home covered in his own blood or that of his comrades. It doesn't take a genius to understand that, after all. but what is an expression of? That's much more challenging.]


Why does it bother you to see it on me when you find it beautiful on yourself? Besides, you put it there yourself.
tsukijiji: (come here)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-11-01 09:34 am (UTC)(link)
[And he still doesn't mind having it on him now.

But it's interesting to hear your take on this Tsurumaru. So it's only okay when it's red and dripping, not when it's faded to brown and flaking? It's only okay when whoever got cut still can feel the blood dripping out, when the blood is still warm and alive?

Mikazuki looks at the trace on his hand, then brings said hand to his mouth and starts licking it clean.

It's a strangely... animalistic thing, unlike the usually refined elegance he shows in everything. Almost jarringly so. Then again, most people who end up fighting alongisde him in battle do come out of the experience a little shaken, especially if they've only seen him around the citadel before.]
tsukijiji: (defend)

[personal profile] tsukijiji 2018-11-01 11:14 am (UTC)(link)
[For a long moment, Mikazuki stares back. Then, he smiles. His free hand comes up, fingers threading through the white hair before cupping Tsurumaru's cheek. He moves to come closer, bumps their forehead together.

It can be hard work, making Tsurumaru come towards him. Most of the time, when one tries, the crane just dances away. The smiles and jokes give an illusion of closeness, but he is closed, guarded, cold, distant. Some people stop at that. Others know better, but they don't know how to get past the masks to the glimpses of the true heart they've seen under it.

Mikazuki Munechika is relentless, though. Maybe he has been around too long. Maybe this, at least, is something that he feels he can do for others. Espacially for the ones like Tsurumaru Kuninaga.]


Why do you keep trying to hide from me?

[Don't you know that it's useless, Tsurumaru? He has seen you without all those layers before. He knows what's inside.]

Are you scared of me?

[It wouldn't be unthinkable. Mikazuki is a congenial sword most of the time. He is genuinely nice to his fellow swords, and he does care, as Tsurumaru was quick to notice. He has spent too long in the company of men not to.

But he is also very, very old. Maybe more aware than some other of what he is. A blade, made to kill.]


It was your blood... Why is it so scary to you to see it on me? Why does it bother you so much?

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