Hahaha! Thank you for noticing! [ he’s proud of his strength! ] There are a lot of us, yes, and our numbers are growing every day! It’s very lively!
[a patpat to his arm. she has noticed! he should be proud!]
It must get kind of crowded... [she says, severely underestimating the size of the citadel.] You were all chosen by your master? What kind of missions do you do?
It’s not so bad. There’s plenty of room for all of us.
[ he nods as they head out to the fields! ]
They chose each of us, yes. Because our mission is to protect the history of our country from being changed, we’re the best ones to fight for it, because we were there by our former masters’ sides to witness it all firsthand.
[she's marching along, easily heading forward toward the fields and venturing for vegetables. she's busy imagining how good these might taste after a long week of bland food.]
...protect history? [oh. hm. she sees. well, it can't hurt to ask a few questions.] Is there something you're fighting against that's trying to change it? [or is this just general protection.]
Mm. Our enemies are called the History Retrograde Army. Their exact goals are unknown, but they travel through time, similar to my comrades, to find important events and features to change the course of Japan's history.
On my last mission, they tried to kill my former master's lord before his time had come. Of course, they didn't succeed.
[she's not sure how to feel about that, truthfully.]
They must have some pretty big goals in mind if they're able to travel through time and know exactly what points they want to pull apart and what to keep. [knowing what things will branch off into an altered history, and knowing what things have to happen the way they do to create other events later down the line.]
...you can't always interfere with someone's death, I think. There's a specific time people are meant to go, and if it's not their time something will come through the redirect the course. Sounds like your missions are pretty complicated if you have to make sure everything goes as it's meant to.
Their master must. Though I can't say I understand why they'd want to. [ crazy dudes! it's too risky!
as to the latter half, he's... a little surprised. to hear someone put it so plainly, someone who isn't his master...? ]
History is more fluid than most humans want to believe, but it does have a way of trying to fix itself, when it can. We simply lend a helping hand. [ there is, as usual, a smile on his face, but a bit less joyful. ] It can be complicated, sometimes, when we have to watch those we meet their ends. But that is our duty.
I don't know if you always have to understand the goals to know they aren't good. [yeah, weird, let's not think about it why aerith thinks about this the way she does.]
It takes someone very strong to be able to know how something has to go and not interfere themselves. [it's what she says first, and she kind of thinks back to what iwa's poster says.] Not everyone can lend that kind of help and be able to carry on.
That's true! I don't need to know the details to serve my master well.
[ iwa looks away quickly as the smile fades, grip tightening on the naginata's staff. ]
...Yes. It can be difficult to resist changing things, when seeing them alive and well again gives you so much joy. [ but he holds his head a little higher, forcing the smile firmly back in place. ] But our mission is our mission. We have a duty to fulfill it, no matter what we want. That's the right thing to do.
The right thing and the easy thing are rarely the same. [there's an understanding smile of her own, because...there really aren't many people who would be able to carry the mission through.] In a way, it's a nice memory to get to see them again. But it also feels hard to say goodbye. It's the right thing to do in the end, and I'm sure they know that, too.
I wonder if you understand how true that is. Seeing my master’s face, hearing his voice... even speaking to him. Nothing could have made me happier, and the same was true for Imanotsurugi, even knowing the challenges they’d soon face. [ the smile turns a bit more genuine, warm, fond, and mournful all at once. ] Imanotsurugi's smile was the brightest I’ve ever seen, on our first mission - like looking at a star.
[ a pause before he shakes his head. ]
But we didn’t have to see them suffer a second time, and for that, I’m grateful.
[she tilts her head curiously, though maybe a little knowingly. how much she might understand is debatable and that's her own secret for now. instead, she's content to hear iwa talk about these things and share his experiences, explain the things he's seen and done.]
I think I would be grateful for something like that, too. [nobody wants to see someone they care about suffering.] And I'm glad it worked out that way. For both of you.
I think it's important to know what's important to everyone else, don't you? We all have the same goal to get home. So I want to know what you're reaching for so we can work to make it happen. [there's a little smile to that though.]
I like listening. But I don't mind sharing if people think that's important, too. [she just doesn't always volunteer when she's in the phase of being more curious about who she's with.
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It must get kind of crowded... [she says, severely underestimating the size of the citadel.] You were all chosen by your master? What kind of missions do you do?
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[ he nods as they head out to the fields! ]
They chose each of us, yes. Because our mission is to protect the history of our country from being changed, we’re the best ones to fight for it, because we were there by our former masters’ sides to witness it all firsthand.
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...protect history? [oh. hm. she sees. well, it can't hurt to ask a few questions.] Is there something you're fighting against that's trying to change it? [or is this just general protection.]
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On my last mission, they tried to kill my former master's lord before his time had come. Of course, they didn't succeed.
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They must have some pretty big goals in mind if they're able to travel through time and know exactly what points they want to pull apart and what to keep. [knowing what things will branch off into an altered history, and knowing what things have to happen the way they do to create other events later down the line.]
...you can't always interfere with someone's death, I think. There's a specific time people are meant to go, and if it's not their time something will come through the redirect the course. Sounds like your missions are pretty complicated if you have to make sure everything goes as it's meant to.
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as to the latter half, he's... a little surprised. to hear someone put it so plainly, someone who isn't his master...? ]
History is more fluid than most humans want to believe, but it does have a way of trying to fix itself, when it can. We simply lend a helping hand. [ there is, as usual, a smile on his face, but a bit less joyful. ] It can be complicated, sometimes, when we have to watch those we meet their ends. But that is our duty.
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It takes someone very strong to be able to know how something has to go and not interfere themselves. [it's what she says first, and she kind of thinks back to what iwa's poster says.] Not everyone can lend that kind of help and be able to carry on.
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[ iwa looks away quickly as the smile fades, grip tightening on the naginata's staff. ]
...Yes. It can be difficult to resist changing things, when seeing them alive and well again gives you so much joy. [ but he holds his head a little higher, forcing the smile firmly back in place. ] But our mission is our mission. We have a duty to fulfill it, no matter what we want. That's the right thing to do.
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The right thing and the easy thing are rarely the same. [there's an understanding smile of her own, because...there really aren't many people who would be able to carry the mission through.] In a way, it's a nice memory to get to see them again. But it also feels hard to say goodbye. It's the right thing to do in the end, and I'm sure they know that, too.
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[ a pause before he shakes his head. ]
But we didn’t have to see them suffer a second time, and for that, I’m grateful.
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I think I would be grateful for something like that, too. [nobody wants to see someone they care about suffering.] And I'm glad it worked out that way. For both of you.
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[ to let him speak about his partner and their missions like this. ]
You’re a good listener, aren’t you? [ ... ] But you don’t share much about yourself.
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I think it's important to know what's important to everyone else, don't you? We all have the same goal to get home. So I want to know what you're reaching for so we can work to make it happen. [there's a little smile to that though.]
I like listening. But I don't mind sharing if people think that's important, too. [she just doesn't always volunteer when she's in the phase of being more curious about who she's with.