[perhaps we are at the gas station looking through a tasty (???) collection of snacks. aerith seems to be weighing her options between a bag of salty chips and a bag of sweet gummies when she holds both up to iwatooshi.]
If you had to choose, would you like salty or sweet?
[if only all choices were this easy, and yet soon iwa gets to see a different choice until 3:28:28, ray sorry it's like 8 minutes and ignore whatever's going on with zack that's not relevant.]
Hmmm. If I had to choose... something sweet, for Imanotsurugi.
[ not what she asked. but also, you can't just tell me to ignore zack fair, my favorite man in the whole world?
but oooughgh. this is... a lot, considering his stance on history and the talk they had not too long ago. ]
Changing fate, hm...?
[ his voice is uncharacteristically quiet, contemplative. this would be a nightmare, were it to happen in his world. there's no doubt that it would involve far more than just iwatooshi and his comrades. ]
[...wordlessly hands him fuit gummis... one day maybe we'll understand what the fuck's going on with zack. today is not that day.
but she seems to be thinking about this, too, especially given their past conversation about history and fate.]
...you can say whatever you'd like, Iwatooshi. [because it's been some time, and even she's very unsure of it still. they did what they had to because sephiroth wants to ruin the whole world anyway, but the idea of going off the tracks was scary.] I'm sure it's a lot to think about.
[ he shakes his head, turning away from aerith to take a few steps back. ]
It isn't for me to judge a situation I know so little about.
[ he can make as many assumptions as he likes, but it would be rude to actually voice them when he doesn't know. it does bother him, though, based on his own experiences, as much as he tries to push that down - he's terrible at hiding such things. ]
I guess not. [it's difficult without knowing context, and she'd never expect someone else to know it or even ask. she's quiet as she thinks of what she can say to try and make this a little better though.]
...Sephiroth, the man we're chasing, wants to destroy the whole planet. Recreate it into something he can rule eternally. We can't let that happen no matter what it might mean. [including having to stray off the course of destiny for a bit.]
[that's fair, she can understand that. she lets him move and she stands still, considering the question carefully. maybe she knew the answer to that, once. sephiroth hasn't destroyed the planet, but she knows there are things he's accomplished that are beyond their understanding right now. and things that may seem impossible.]
There are several things he's done and seeds he's planted, I think. He has some sort of plan, and now he's after something dangerous that could bring a reckoning so powerful the planet will try to heal herself, and he'll seize his chance to control it. He'll create his own domain, as "his birth right" declares.
He sounds like any other warlord, though maybe with more power than they usually have. Even if someone like that gains control, they're brought down eventually. That's how history goes.
Yeah. It's just that we're the only ones who can, and...with his ability now to sometimes control the flow, we have to fight back harder to keep up. Makes things a little more complicated.
[and the real reason that, while it scares her a little, she'll help change destiny.]
[ he's used to history changing, to having to try to fix it, but being unfamiliar with the world kind of makes it a little harder to understand. japan is so small, after all, and until recently, it was his whole world.
he still can't help wondering about the history there, for aerith to know that they'd be changing things. and how will that affect the world, going forward? it almost always ends badly, so he's heard, and yet... ]
All I can do is with you luck. It sounds like you'll need it, but I think you're also strong enough to succeed, even if it's a difficult road to walk.
[ to decide to do this at all makes her will pretty strong, he thinks. ]
[swords are still learning...she doesn't know a japan, but she does think iwatooshi's wise in his own right. you don't fight to preserve history, at the sides of your masters, and not learn a thing or two about complicated matters. so when he speaks again, she listens before there's a small nod.]
...thank you. Our friends are going to do their best while we're not with them, but once we return we'll do everything in our power to stay on track. It's just...getting everyone out of here first. One step at a time, right?
[i politely holds me hands out for an iwa mem whenever ray.]
One step at a time. [ he nods in agreement. ] And your friends will understand, after everything you've been through here.
[ he has no reason to be so sure of that except that he just. is. that's how friends should be, anyway.
but since you asked, it's his turn to share:
by the time you arrive, the fight is already underway, but it's exactly the sight you were hoping not to see: the four of your comrades facing off with imanotsurugi himself. he insists, again and again that his master yoshitsune is kind, that you don't have to fight. but your team stands fast, reminding him of your duty to protect history - something he can't accept, as he raises his blade in desperation and refuses to back down for the sake of his beloved master.
you can't watch this any longer.
"Imanotsurugi! Step away." he takes a step forward in disbelief, shocked that even you would face him. little does he know how it tears you apart inside to raise your blade to him and roar, "Move!"
"I don't want this," he whispers as he stares back at you, betrayed. all he wants is to protect his master, like he couldn't do before. witnessing yoshitsune death again would break his heart. this, you understand better than anyone here, recalling the joy on his face the last time you spoke about meeting his master, a stark contrast to the tears running down his cheeks now. "I finally got to met Yoshitsune-kou again..."
but that grief seems to give him power. he raises his blade and bats your own away, recklessly attacking all of you until you can catch him, naginata at his front while you hold him fast from behind. even as the air suddenly goes stale and makes your hair stand on end, imanotsurugi struggles, insisting that he is yoshitsune's protective sword. as the stars above disappear behind dark clouds, you shift to hold him fast in your left arm, freeing your naginata for what's to come.
"My purpose is to protect him!"
with a thunderous roar, his former master appears and imanotsurugi lets out a scream, wresting himself out of your grip. you demand that he stop, but he refuses and positions himself between the five of you and yoshitsune himself, paying no attention to how corrupted his master has become. his skin turned ashy, his eyes red - even his blade holds a dangerous power not meant for humans to hold.
"If he were to die..." imanotsurugi trails off, and tries again, clutching his knife close to his chest. "I remember his kind smile. I remember his courageous figure."
how can he not see? furious at his blindness, you yell back him, "That man isn't Yoshitsune-kou anymore!"
"No, please don't! If history were to be restored..." he begs you again to stop, becuase if anyone should understand what he wants, it's you. you know how much he loves yoshitsune, how much the man's death has haunted him. you know how vividly he remembers that kind smile, those warm hands, his touch... and his blood.
he screams again, and as he scrambles to protect his master, you call out to him, one last time. because you do understand. maybe you understand better than imanotsurugi himself.
"Imanotsurugi, it's not your fault!" he stares at you in pure shock as you step forward, naginata set aside. you don't want to fight any more than he does. "You've done nothing wrong."
because he blames himself for yoshitsune's death, doesn't he? all this time, for centuries, he's carried the guilt of his master's death on his shoulders.
"I'm not telling you to forget him," you say, the anger evaporating from your heart, "but stop blaming yourself. Remember... that the sky above us brings us a gift."
"What?"
"Many bright, twinkling stars."
using his own words, you open your arms. and finally, imanotsurugi lowers his blade to step forward and wrap his arms around you, clinging to you and sobbing. you hold him as tight as you can, as you always do.
...but it doesn't last. mikazuki shouts a warning, and you have just enough time to shove imanotsurugi aside as yoshitsune strikes. your chest lights up with pain, vision going red.
iwatooshi closes his eyes against the memory, frowning. ]
[well of course she recognizes the name. and she recognizes the feelings a little too well, wanting to stop someone from something they obviously feel strongly about but knowing you can't let them because it'll change everything. it's...not hard at all to see how much iwa cares for ima, and how this must hurt him, too, to watch his partner suffer under the weight of his own guilt. in a way it breaks her heart to watch him mourn the loss of his master and the failure to protect him, but it fills her with a little relief to know iwa was able to be there while he could.
not that that relief lasts, because soon yoshitsune strikes and the memory ends. she's frowning right back.]
There's...that's not an apology I need. [no sorry.] But what happened after that? What happened to Yoshitsune? [she means after that point, but also in general. the man truly looked possessed.]
[ matter-of-factly, though not without some measure of grief. he may not have been as affected as imanotsurugi, but that was still a man they both cared for. ]
That power turned him into something else... something inhuman. It got worse, after that, and killing him became our only option. [ a pause, as iwatooshi sighs heavily. ] But even if it wasn’t, he’d already lived past his time.
[yeah that's what she thought. even if it was out of a kindness, in the end, and out of duty, it's not something that would have been easy.]
...and to preserve the history as it was, you would have had to kill him anyway instead of altering the path. [that...hm. difficult. very, very difficult.] It can be tempting to want to change things, especially for people you love. In the end it was better, I know, but...that must have been hard for both of you.
[imanotsurugi because that was his master, and iwatooshi because it was a man he cared for and also having to see his partner suffering.]
A pain like that doesn't really fade so easily, I think. No matter how much time has passed. [even without being thousands of years old...] The good thing is you have each other to keep working through it. Even if it was awful to have happen at all.
Anytime. [they can keep reminding each other of that, too.] ...come on. Let's pick out some snacks while we're here, hm? [and we can wrap this toooo...]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
w2 monday
If you had to choose, would you like salty or sweet?
[if only all choices were this easy, and yet soon iwa gets to see a different choice until 3:28:28, ray sorry it's like 8 minutes and ignore whatever's going on with zack that's not relevant.]
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[ not what she asked. but also, you can't just tell me to ignore zack fair, my favorite man in the whole world?
but oooughgh. this is... a lot, considering his stance on history and the talk they had not too long ago. ]
Changing fate, hm...?
[ his voice is uncharacteristically quiet, contemplative. this would be a nightmare, were it to happen in his world. there's no doubt that it would involve far more than just iwatooshi and his comrades. ]
no subject
but she seems to be thinking about this, too, especially given their past conversation about history and fate.]
...you can say whatever you'd like, Iwatooshi. [because it's been some time, and even she's very unsure of it still. they did what they had to because sephiroth wants to ruin the whole world anyway, but the idea of going off the tracks was scary.] I'm sure it's a lot to think about.
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It isn't for me to judge a situation I know so little about.
[ he can make as many assumptions as he likes, but it would be rude to actually voice them when he doesn't know. it does bother him, though, based on his own experiences, as much as he tries to push that down - he's terrible at hiding such things. ]
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I guess not. [it's difficult without knowing context, and she'd never expect someone else to know it or even ask. she's quiet as she thinks of what she can say to try and make this a little better though.]
...Sephiroth, the man we're chasing, wants to destroy the whole planet. Recreate it into something he can rule eternally. We can't let that happen no matter what it might mean. [including having to stray off the course of destiny for a bit.]
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but that revelation does pull his attention back to her, as he glances over his shoulder. ]
He sounds like someone who needed to be brought down. [ on that, he can agree. ] Are you saying that he's succeeded before?
[ "changing fate" and all. ]
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There are several things he's done and seeds he's planted, I think. He has some sort of plan, and now he's after something dangerous that could bring a reckoning so powerful the planet will try to heal herself, and he'll seize his chance to control it. He'll create his own domain, as "his birth right" declares.
no subject
[ arrogant, but that's nothing new. ]
He sounds like any other warlord, though maybe with more power than they usually have. Even if someone like that gains control, they're brought down eventually. That's how history goes.
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[and the real reason that, while it scares her a little, she'll help change destiny.]
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[ he's used to history changing, to having to try to fix it, but being unfamiliar with the world kind of makes it a little harder to understand. japan is so small, after all, and until recently, it was his whole world.
he still can't help wondering about the history there, for aerith to know that they'd be changing things. and how will that affect the world, going forward? it almost always ends badly, so he's heard, and yet... ]
All I can do is with you luck. It sounds like you'll need it, but I think you're also strong enough to succeed, even if it's a difficult road to walk.
[ to decide to do this at all makes her will pretty strong, he thinks. ]
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...thank you. Our friends are going to do their best while we're not with them, but once we return we'll do everything in our power to stay on track. It's just...getting everyone out of here first. One step at a time, right?
[i politely holds me hands out for an iwa mem whenever ray.]
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[ he has no reason to be so sure of that except that he just. is. that's how friends should be, anyway.
but since you asked, it's his turn to share: iwatooshi closes his eyes against the memory, frowning. ]
I'm sorry, Aerith-dono.
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not that that relief lasts, because soon yoshitsune strikes and the memory ends. she's frowning right back.]
There's...that's not an apology I need. [no sorry.] But what happened after that? What happened to Yoshitsune? [she means after that point, but also in general. the man truly looked possessed.]
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[ matter-of-factly, though not without some measure of grief. he may not have been as affected as imanotsurugi, but that was still a man they both cared for. ]
That power turned him into something else... something inhuman. It got worse, after that, and killing him became our only option. [ a pause, as iwatooshi sighs heavily. ] But even if it wasn’t, he’d already lived past his time.
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...and to preserve the history as it was, you would have had to kill him anyway instead of altering the path. [that...hm. difficult. very, very difficult.] It can be tempting to want to change things, especially for people you love. In the end it was better, I know, but...that must have been hard for both of you.
[imanotsurugi because that was his master, and iwatooshi because it was a man he cared for and also having to see his partner suffering.]
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[ he will simply not comment on anything else for now. ]
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He did. [...] How long ago was that for you?
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[ when you're over a thousand years old, it really is nothing. ]
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[ which part. he isn't specifying. ]
That's what his journey was for... but I still want to be there for him, when he returns.
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[they really did both die this same week, but it's okay.]
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[ still... his voice softens, just a touch. ]
...Thank you, Aerith-dono.
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Anytime. [they can keep reminding each other of that, too.] ...come on. Let's pick out some snacks while we're here, hm? [and we can wrap this toooo...]