Abernathy went straight to threatening others, if not outright attacking them. Zero may be just as volatile - her attitude means she probably won't work well with everyone. And Shiraishi... seems to find the situation funny, somehow. Whether he helps or not, it's probably for his own amusement more than anything.
[He's taking this serious at least because those are all definitely problems to be aware of. He's also spoken to all three of these people himself.]
Zero's difficult to talk to, but if you get her intrigued by something she's more manageable. And Haymitch has been through something similar to this, I think, but it didn't end so well.
...Shiraishi's a harder one to crack. He's the least likely to help if he doesn't see a benefit to it. So. What can you promise to someone like that? Not--you specifically, but in general.
The hard part will be finding exactly what it is to get them to cooperate with us. I haven't quite figured out what it is yet.
As for Shiraishi... [ he shrugs. ] Given how he's been treating anything, I wouldn't be surprised if he were the type to turn on someone just to see what happens. But as long as we're careful with him, it should be fine.
Do you think there are others we should be looking out for?
My former master was known for assassins, so I wouldn't be so quick to judge based on that alone. I'll keep an eye on him, though, just in case.
[ junpei seems to have good judgment? but he won't make a hypocrite of himself, or downplay the importance of any sort of job that hijikata or kunihiro may have done themselves. ]
Maou... He's very enthusiastic, isn't he? I can see how that could endanger someone, if he's not careful.
[ but he's the only one who was willing to talk haiku... ]
It's not that, it's talking to him and being kinda creeped out. [Listen. The man has needles and actually that's what makes him nervous, but he's not outright saying so.] Some assassins probably have good reasons for what they do, but I don't know if I could trust Illumi to help the group of us at large if someone could easily buy him off.
Think there's a way to teach someone to calm down?
Ah, that makes more sense. [ a nod! ] You’re right, it’s better to stay wary of someone like that. We’d have to be sure we have the best bribes in order to really keep him on our side, but there’s no guarantee of that here…
[ look, he isn’t against bribing anyone to get his way. if it works, it works.
at the other question, though, he... looks vaguely embarrassed. ]
...I wouldn’t be the one to ask about that. Kunihiro is better at things like that. My only suggestion would be to talk to him directly to figure out what might get him to back down.
That's the real problem. Until we know him better, we're not going to know what, exactly, would win him over. I might know someone who can find out, but I'm still not sure. That's why he's on my watch list.
[...hm?] Talking to him directly is also a pain in the ass, but I guess that's effective enough. [He tilts his head though.] You don't think of yourself as a calming person?
Then I'd ask that person to try. I think that's the best we can hope for, at this point.
[ since they. won't really know anyone that well within a week. ]
Not particularly. If you ask Kunihiro, he'd probably say I've got a bit of a temper. [ and he's not wrong, so kanesan just. sighs. ] And I'm not that good with the finer points of dealing with other people. That's his job, as a wakizashi.
I'll see what I can do. [Getting people to commit...a problem. But he still doesn't quite get what Kanesan's saying.]
I find that hard to believe, but we are still getting to know each other. [Kanesada's been nothing but chill with him? This means nothing when Junpei himself is not a chill person but whatever.] Wakizashis are littler blades, right? What exactly are you then?
[ HE HOPES NOT it’s a little embarrassing sometimes and kanesan is supposed to be a cool sword ]
That’s right. I’m an uchigatana - an average sized blade compared to the others. I may not be as specialized as the others, but I can be used on any terrain, including indoors.
Versatile then. [He seems pleased with that assessment. He doesn't know that much about blades, to be honest, but he can at least understand that much.] No wonder you're a popular sword.
[And now he's just kind of gently teasing him. Sometimes it happens when he's stressed, this is just how it be like.]
It's a good thing you're here then. I have a feeling we're going to need some pretty strong fighters with whatever comes next. [Brag away. It's fine by him.]
Nope. I know some stuff for my job but otherwise I've got nothing. [...] Well, I mean, I can throw a punch but that's probably not what you meant.
[At the mention of the games though, he pauses.] ...they were puzzles inside locked rooms, yeah. To get through them, and to avoid dying, we had to figure out all of the pieces.
Where would I even find a weapon, Izuminokami? They're not exactly readily available for everybody. [Which is frustrating, but it's something he feels need to be pointed out.]
I feel more comfortable getting answers that way, yeah. Mostly because there's always another way to solve something if you try hard enough.
I've heard some people are getting knives from the kitchen, so you're not completely without options... There must be a way to use the environment to your advantage, as well.
[ he's gonna be thinking about this now thanks
but he smiles, genuinely curious as he asks: ]
That sounds nice - but difficult. Have you never faced an enemy who refused to talk it out, then?
Or, maybe I'll just carry around a bottle of booze and swing. [It's kind of a joke, but. That's not a bad idea.]
Usually our enemies are right under our noses and we don't realize it right away. It's complicated because...some of the choices we make change everything. Sometimes it feels like we're constantly losing in different ways, but there's still options to turn it around and make the future better.
If you’re not drinking at it, and you swing hard enough, it could work. The blunt force would at least stun them, and if it breaks, you'll have another weapon.
[ he’s taking this joke seriously, unfortunately. but then he hears “future” and suddenly he’s focused on that instead. ]
Yeah. That's what happens when things get rough at dive bars, at least. [Sometimes you just know things.] I think most people wouldn't expect it either, or think it was out of place. I'll think abobut it.
[But...yeah. About that. He settles on a shrug that says it's sort of correct.] You could say that. It's...something called SHIFTing. Some of us learned how to do it so we could jump to different timelines and histories. We can go backwards, but it's a different version of history where the events can be changed. Just like we can also go forward and change things there, too.
[ he doesn’t know what diving has to do with it, but kanesan can imagine what he means, at least? bar fights exist no matter what century you’re from. ]
And if you’re lucky, they may think you’re just drinking and underestimate you.
I see… It sounds different for you, then, if you’re dealing with different timelines. For us, there’s only one, so changing it can have disastrous effects for everyone.
I think a lot of people underestimate me anyway. [Which is to say he's 100% considering it. He'll be fine, really.]
It's a little complicated to explain because even if it's a different history, our minds stay the same. So we remember everything that's happened in all of the other ones whenever we SHIFT. Sometimes changing history was the only way to save ourselves. But I can understand what you're saying. It's another kind of multiverse theory.
..do you always have to go on the missions you're assigned? Or do you get the choice to say no? Not that I think you'd want to.
Our master tries to take it into account if we have any misgivings about the missions that we’re chosen for. But they have a reason for everything they do, and usually we’re chosen to protect our own masters’ histories, so… I don’t think anyone has ever wanted to walk away from it.
[ but this brings him to another question... ]
If there are multiple timelines where you come from… What do you if it’s better for history that someone dies?
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Abernathy went straight to threatening others, if not outright attacking them. Zero may be just as volatile - her attitude means she probably won't work well with everyone. And Shiraishi... seems to find the situation funny, somehow. Whether he helps or not, it's probably for his own amusement more than anything.
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Zero's difficult to talk to, but if you get her intrigued by something she's more manageable. And Haymitch has been through something similar to this, I think, but it didn't end so well.
...Shiraishi's a harder one to crack. He's the least likely to help if he doesn't see a benefit to it. So. What can you promise to someone like that? Not--you specifically, but in general.
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As for Shiraishi... [ he shrugs. ] Given how he's been treating anything, I wouldn't be surprised if he were the type to turn on someone just to see what happens. But as long as we're careful with him, it should be fine.
Do you think there are others we should be looking out for?
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Illumi, for one thing. I don't make it a habit to trust assassins. And Maou might get himself and a few others killed by his own idiocy.
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My former master was known for assassins, so I wouldn't be so quick to judge based on that alone. I'll keep an eye on him, though, just in case.
[ junpei seems to have good judgment? but he won't make a hypocrite of himself, or downplay the importance of any sort of job that hijikata or kunihiro may have done themselves. ]
Maou... He's very enthusiastic, isn't he? I can see how that could endanger someone, if he's not careful.
[ but he's the only one who was willing to talk haiku... ]
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It's not that, it's talking to him and being kinda creeped out. [Listen. The man has needles and actually that's what makes him nervous, but he's not outright saying so.] Some assassins probably have good reasons for what they do, but I don't know if I could trust Illumi to help the group of us at large if someone could easily buy him off.
Think there's a way to teach someone to calm down?
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[ look, he isn’t against bribing anyone to get his way. if it works, it works.
at the other question, though, he... looks vaguely embarrassed. ]
...I wouldn’t be the one to ask about that. Kunihiro is better at things like that. My only suggestion would be to talk to him directly to figure out what might get him to back down.
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[...hm?] Talking to him directly is also a pain in the ass, but I guess that's effective enough. [He tilts his head though.] You don't think of yourself as a calming person?
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[ since they. won't really know anyone that well within a week. ]
Not particularly. If you ask Kunihiro, he'd probably say I've got a bit of a temper. [ and he's not wrong, so kanesan just. sighs. ] And I'm not that good with the finer points of dealing with other people. That's his job, as a wakizashi.
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I find that hard to believe, but we are still getting to know each other. [Kanesada's been nothing but chill with him? This means nothing when Junpei himself is not a chill person but whatever.] Wakizashis are littler blades, right? What exactly are you then?
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[ HE HOPES NOT it’s a little embarrassing sometimes and kanesan is supposed to be a cool sword ]
That’s right. I’m an uchigatana - an average sized blade compared to the others. I may not be as specialized as the others, but I can be used on any terrain, including indoors.
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[And now he's just kind of gently teasing him. Sometimes it happens when he's stressed, this is just how it be like.]
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That's right. And I'm one of the strongest uchigatana around - aside from Nagasone, of course.
[ he doesn't mind bragging ]
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So you’re not a fighter, then. [ he’d thought so, from how junpei talks and his physique... ] Your... games were really all based on puzzles?
[ yikes ]
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[At the mention of the games though, he pauses.] ...they were puzzles inside locked rooms, yeah. To get through them, and to avoid dying, we had to figure out all of the pieces.
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[ it's practical! please don't die, junpei! ]
So you'd be more at home with something like the missions from the other day, then?
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I feel more comfortable getting answers that way, yeah. Mostly because there's always another way to solve something if you try hard enough.
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[ he's gonna be thinking about this now thanks
but he smiles, genuinely curious as he asks: ]
That sounds nice - but difficult. Have you never faced an enemy who refused to talk it out, then?
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Usually our enemies are right under our noses and we don't realize it right away. It's complicated because...some of the choices we make change everything. Sometimes it feels like we're constantly losing in different ways, but there's still options to turn it around and make the future better.
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[ he’s taking this joke seriously, unfortunately. but then he hears “future” and suddenly he’s focused on that instead. ]
So you’ve traveled through time, too?
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[But...yeah. About that. He settles on a shrug that says it's sort of correct.] You could say that. It's...something called SHIFTing. Some of us learned how to do it so we could jump to different timelines and histories. We can go backwards, but it's a different version of history where the events can be changed. Just like we can also go forward and change things there, too.
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And if you’re lucky, they may think you’re just drinking and underestimate you.
[ it’s worth considering! please protect yourself, junpei. ]
I see… It sounds different for you, then, if you’re dealing with different timelines. For us, there’s only one, so changing it can have disastrous effects for everyone.
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It's a little complicated to explain because even if it's a different history, our minds stay the same. So we remember everything that's happened in all of the other ones whenever we SHIFT. Sometimes changing history was the only way to save ourselves. But I can understand what you're saying. It's another kind of multiverse theory.
..do you always have to go on the missions you're assigned? Or do you get the choice to say no? Not that I think you'd want to.
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[ but this brings him to another question... ]
If there are multiple timelines where you come from… What do you if it’s better for history that someone dies?
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