[Yeah. That's it, truly. Kashuu squeezes his hand, and Yasusada shifts to bury his face in Kashuu's neck, taking a minute to let the sorrow wash over him.
...But this is a mission, no matter how he feels. He can't forget that. The mission has to come first.]
Mm... I went... I don't know if it was him, or if it was 9s--but I went to the cemetery. Someone had something that flashed, and made a loud noise... and the other person fell into one of those graves. I heard some digging, and I found a shovel, but that was it.
[If Buzen was found in the carnival, then it seems unlikely any of this had to do with him--but even so, Yasusada liked 9S, too, and they can't ignore the possibility of two entirely separate killers amongst their number. Or one very efficient one, which is a different problem.
He's quiet for a little while, then--but eventually he speaks again, soft and frustrated.]
What's the point of doing this, if I couldn't even try and help save him?
[He immediately shifts to accommodate Yasusada, carefully reaching up to run a hand through his hair and then press it against the back of his neck, like the gesture will provide enough comfort to maybe get him through the weightiest of his sorrow.]
Mm... Might've been 9S, in that case. [For the same logic as Buzen being in the carnival and all. He also likes 9S and wants to solve that just as much. It's just - the emotional impact of losing a comrade, even one they've only known for a few weeks, strikes much harder.
He has more to say about what Yasusada saw and found, but when he speaks again, Kashuu shelves it for the time being. Instead, perhaps a little forcefully:]
It's not your fault. [Not his fault that he's so limited, and this place is seemingly being cruel yet again.] ...It's not ideal, but we can still use this.
[Perhaps it's selfish, to take comfort like this when he knows Kashuu is hurting too. But Kashuu doesn't like to dwell on his pain, not the way Yasusada does. So maybe this, too, is a form of comfort--allowing him to focus on anything but his own emotions.
Kashuu's right, he knows. And it isn't like the saniwa can't find Buzen's spirit again--he has to believe that, for their sake too. They are all, always, aware of the risks they face, purely due to what they are--this place, this odd mission, has been no exception.
But even so, it feels like failure.
He doesn't close his eyes. If he does, he'll see Kashuu shattering all over again. Instead, he focuses on Kashuu's skin, on the steady rise and fall of his chest.]
Mm. [...] I want to know what happened. ...But at the same time, I don't know... if I care very much.
[He'd been sympathetic towards Kazuma, even understanding, willing to believe that he might've been telling the truth.
[He does much prefer this, it's true - being able to focus on others and not have to look inward, where he'll just find ugly, horrible, furious things that he'd rather pretend aren't part of him.]
...Yeah, I know.
[He feels much the same, after all. He'd also understood and been sympathetic toward Kazuma. A man with that amount of respect for his blade would surely be telling a truth as far as he believed it to be true, as far as Kashuu is concerned.
But it will be much harder, this time. Not as hard as if Yasusada had been the target, of course, but - well. They're swords, after all. The bond they share, even shortly after meeting, is one that's hard to describe to anyone who hasn't felt it for themselves.]
But it's better to know. We don't have to care about it.
[He's quiet for a while, then; after all, it isn't as though they need to share words in order to understand each other, or to take comfort. They know what they're feeling, in a way no one else can--in a way that even the other swords couldn't comprehend, not really.]
[It's a double-edged sword, isn't it? Having this kind of bond. Because as much as he takes comfort in Yasusada's presence alone, he knows he'd crumble if anything ever happened to him.
The chance of that is still so real. If Buzen could be taken down, then either of them could. There's so much room for things to go so horribly wrong.]
...I'd probably kill whoever did it, if it was you.
[Right on hearing it, on a confession or a strong enough suspicion. There's no way he would let this place take the satisfaction of sending Yasusada's killer to the grave away from him.
The only reason he's even considering that, though, is because of Buzen's death. Otherwise, he'd push the mere possibility far enough away that he wouldn't have to see it.]
[He can't say for sure--after all, he's been working so, so hard on fighting his weaknesses, on understanding himself better and doing better, for the sake of the saniwa. Maybe he'd find restraint he once lacked, when thrust into such a situation.
...It seems a little unlikely, though. It's Kashuu, after all, and Yasusada has lost him too many times already.
Though, that reminds him--]
...Vin mentioned that one of the residents thought Kazuma might not have died, if he'd chosen combat. Because Riff and Damien survived their fight.
[Whether or not that's actually true, they'll never know--but it is something to keep him mind, depending on how tomorrow goes.]
[He has nothing to say to the first part, because he doesn't want to think of Yasusada having to go through with that any more than he wants to think about any of this. Un(?)fortunately, they're very much on the same wavelength here when it comes to the possibility of two people being able to fight without dying, though. He's quiet for a second, considering.]
...It's something to think about.
[Moving forward, depending on how things go, as Yasusada's already thinking - as he knows Yasusada's already thinking. Likewise, he feels his sentiment is reflected, though perhaps in a less vicious way, when he says:]
It's our right to see to it that they pay in kind, though.
[To both of those, really. He's said as much to other people--that it has nothing to do with whether or not the prism demands blood for blood. They follow their own rules--and they are weapons. Their justice only ever ends in blood.
Even so, they're likely to be kinder than the prism was to Kazuma. It's a little ridiculous.]
[They're weapons, but they can be humane about it, at least. How funny.
He just sits in silence for a few seconds after that, before bringing his hand down Yasusada's back and patting it right in the center, between his shoulder blades.]
--Let's get some early rest today. We've got a lotta work to do tomorrow... I told Clarte and Chinatsu about the luminol I got too, so hopefully that'll come in handy.
[Right, the luminol. Kashuu with his item, Yasusada with his ability--both of them, set up perfectly to try and solve this, rather than being able to prevent it.
Maybe tomorrow he'll be grateful. Right now it just feels like a mockery.
But with a small nod, he finally untangles himself from Kashuu.]
Okay. If we can, let's start with... what is that place called again? Party city? I thought I heard noises from there too.
[It's fine, they can be Not Grateful for their various items and abilities together for now. As Yasusada untangles himself, Kashuu still keeps a hand in his.]
'Kay, we can keep it in mind. I wanna check out the carnival first, though. Especially if his sword isn't with him.
[His priority right off the bat tomorrow is definitely going to be (hbo voice) Finding Buzen.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
...But this is a mission, no matter how he feels. He can't forget that. The mission has to come first.]
Mm... I went... I don't know if it was him, or if it was 9s--but I went to the cemetery. Someone had something that flashed, and made a loud noise... and the other person fell into one of those graves. I heard some digging, and I found a shovel, but that was it.
[If Buzen was found in the carnival, then it seems unlikely any of this had to do with him--but even so, Yasusada liked 9S, too, and they can't ignore the possibility of two entirely separate killers amongst their number. Or one very efficient one, which is a different problem.
He's quiet for a little while, then--but eventually he speaks again, soft and frustrated.]
What's the point of doing this, if I couldn't even try and help save him?
no subject
Mm... Might've been 9S, in that case. [For the same logic as Buzen being in the carnival and all. He also likes 9S and wants to solve that just as much. It's just - the emotional impact of losing a comrade, even one they've only known for a few weeks, strikes much harder.
He has more to say about what Yasusada saw and found, but when he speaks again, Kashuu shelves it for the time being. Instead, perhaps a little forcefully:]
It's not your fault. [Not his fault that he's so limited, and this place is seemingly being cruel yet again.] ...It's not ideal, but we can still use this.
no subject
Kashuu's right, he knows. And it isn't like the saniwa can't find Buzen's spirit again--he has to believe that, for their sake too. They are all, always, aware of the risks they face, purely due to what they are--this place, this odd mission, has been no exception.
But even so, it feels like failure.
He doesn't close his eyes. If he does, he'll see Kashuu shattering all over again. Instead, he focuses on Kashuu's skin, on the steady rise and fall of his chest.]
Mm. [...] I want to know what happened. ...But at the same time, I don't know... if I care very much.
[He'd been sympathetic towards Kazuma, even understanding, willing to believe that he might've been telling the truth.
It's much harder, this time.]
no subject
...Yeah, I know.
[He feels much the same, after all. He'd also understood and been sympathetic toward Kazuma. A man with that amount of respect for his blade would surely be telling a truth as far as he believed it to be true, as far as Kashuu is concerned.
But it will be much harder, this time. Not as hard as if Yasusada had been the target, of course, but - well. They're swords, after all. The bond they share, even shortly after meeting, is one that's hard to describe to anyone who hasn't felt it for themselves.]
But it's better to know. We don't have to care about it.
no subject
[He's quiet for a while, then; after all, it isn't as though they need to share words in order to understand each other, or to take comfort. They know what they're feeling, in a way no one else can--in a way that even the other swords couldn't comprehend, not really.]
...I don't know what I'd do, if it had been you.
no subject
The chance of that is still so real. If Buzen could be taken down, then either of them could. There's so much room for things to go so horribly wrong.]
...I'd probably kill whoever did it, if it was you.
[Right on hearing it, on a confession or a strong enough suspicion. There's no way he would let this place take the satisfaction of sending Yasusada's killer to the grave away from him.
The only reason he's even considering that, though, is because of Buzen's death. Otherwise, he'd push the mere possibility far enough away that he wouldn't have to see it.]
no subject
[He can't say for sure--after all, he's been working so, so hard on fighting his weaknesses, on understanding himself better and doing better, for the sake of the saniwa. Maybe he'd find restraint he once lacked, when thrust into such a situation.
...It seems a little unlikely, though. It's Kashuu, after all, and Yasusada has lost him too many times already.
Though, that reminds him--]
...Vin mentioned that one of the residents thought Kazuma might not have died, if he'd chosen combat. Because Riff and Damien survived their fight.
[Whether or not that's actually true, they'll never know--but it is something to keep him mind, depending on how tomorrow goes.]
no subject
...It's something to think about.
[Moving forward, depending on how things go, as Yasusada's already thinking - as he knows Yasusada's already thinking. Likewise, he feels his sentiment is reflected, though perhaps in a less vicious way, when he says:]
It's our right to see to it that they pay in kind, though.
[An eye for an eye.]
no subject
[To both of those, really. He's said as much to other people--that it has nothing to do with whether or not the prism demands blood for blood. They follow their own rules--and they are weapons. Their justice only ever ends in blood.
Even so, they're likely to be kinder than the prism was to Kazuma. It's a little ridiculous.]
no subject
He just sits in silence for a few seconds after that, before bringing his hand down Yasusada's back and patting it right in the center, between his shoulder blades.]
--Let's get some early rest today. We've got a lotta work to do tomorrow... I told Clarte and Chinatsu about the luminol I got too, so hopefully that'll come in handy.
[Watch it come in handy for the wrong murder.]
no subject
Maybe tomorrow he'll be grateful. Right now it just feels like a mockery.
But with a small nod, he finally untangles himself from Kashuu.]
Okay. If we can, let's start with... what is that place called again? Party city? I thought I heard noises from there too.
no subject
'Kay, we can keep it in mind. I wanna check out the carnival first, though. Especially if his sword isn't with him.
[His priority right off the bat tomorrow is definitely going to be (hbo voice) Finding Buzen.]