I know a good thing when I see it. [Listen he's fine with letting Kanesada preen, he thinks it's sort of hilarious. But...the look goes from flirtatious to intrigued.]
Are you all this loyal when it comes to things like this? [It's a curious question because he keeps hearing from swords that they honor their word. Sometimes words don't mean much without the actions behind it.]
Hm... That would depend on the sword, I think. Some of us have had many masters over the years, so it may not matter as much to them. But the Shinsengumi swords like me...
[ his arms cross over his chest as his expression turns... thoughtful? reminiscent? regretful? maybe a little bit of everything. ]
The Shinsengumi were the last to use us. In my case, Hijikata was my only master. The age of swords ended when he... [ he shakes his head. ] ...when the last of the Shinsengumi were killed at Hakodate.
[Sometimes he likes these conversations because it tells him a bit about the sword he's dealing with. Kanesan provides that bit of information, and he tilts his head in thought for a moment.]
...you're a young sword, aren't you? That battle was only like a hundred and fifty years ago. [Like he's read the profiles and kept track of stuff but somehow he never realized Kanesan really was baby.] Sorry, I guess that wasn't really the point. But it makes sense. If you've only ever had one person to dedicate yourself to, it's more natural than it would be for someone passed from master to master.
And that may be true, but it’s a little different for the Shinsengumi. Our masters held onto us until the very end, even after everyone else had started using different weapons, like guns. It may be the reason they were defeated… but they treasured us as much as we did them. No other swords can say that.
[It's kind of cute? He's not going to outright say so, but it puts some things into context.]
It just means you were prized by your masters. [Like. Yes. Maybe the Shinsengumi should've upgraded but it's not like he doesn't understand that kind of loyalty. Even when there are better things out there, even when there are things that could maybe keep you safer, sometimes you just hold onto the one thing that you can't even put a value on.]
Does the Saniwa count as a new master then? Or is it kind of a gray area?
[ he nods with a fond, if sad, smile on his face. ]
That they did. Enough that I was sent away for safekeeping, before the final battle.
[ it's one of his greatest regrets, but it doesn't make him any less proud of his master. all the same, it's in the past, so he focuses on the next question instead. ]
The saniwa is our new master, but it's a little different than before. We're given these bodies once we're summoned, so he doesn't carry us into battle himself, like the others did. And the war we're fighting is different than any that we've fought in before.
It’s different for each of us. We were all summoned at different times, for one thing. Missions can take years, depending on what we need to do. I don’t know about the others here, but my last mission took about five years or so, and that puts me at about... six or seven years fighting the History Revisionists?
[ he shrugs ]
Most of the time, we aren’t supposed to associate with humans. We do our job from a distance, so we don’t affect history.
You're timetravelers. [NOBODY HAS EVER FLAT-OUT SAID WHAT THESE SWORDS DO.] You go back in your timelines and fix things that are threatening it. Is that it?
That's right. The History Revisionists try to change key events in history for their own purposes. Our job is to stop them, and protect history from changing as much as possible.
[ kanesan’s expression turns grave at this question, and he turns away for just a second before looking back at junpei. ]
That’s not our choice to make. History happened the way it did for a reason, and even if it’s difficult, we have to protect it. There’s no telling what will happen if something changes. Taking that decision into our own hands...
[ he shakes his head. ]
That would make us no better than the Revisionists.
[ his voice is quiet, like he hates to admit it, but... ]
I can't say that it's never happened before. There have been plenty of times where our teammates have decided fallen to the temptation and tried to stop us from carrying out history as it should be. But we are swords, and we will do our jobs, whatever it takes.
I think I understand. Sometimes you have to do what you think is best for the outcome you want. I get the feeling it'll be like that here, too, whether we want it to be or not.
You saw what happened with Polly. We had to pick one of our own to sacrifice because she changed everything and killed people. If the rules are true...this probably won't be the last time.
We're not the first ones to be here and go through this, but we don't have answers about what happened to that group. Some might think this is fake, but...I've never felt that. It's almost a little too real, even before demons came into the picture.
A time loop would make sense though. Something to fix before we can break out of it.
The question, then, is what it is that we’re meant to fix to escape. From the sound of it, we have to trust each other, but all the same… that can’t be all it is, right? There must be something that triggers the time loop.
I dunno. [And that's what bothers him, too.] If there's something someone among us is doing to make sure the loop continues that's one thing, but...how do you pinpoint that and find the person responsible? If this is a game of trust, something like that ensures we won't always trust each other.
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You're sure? That's a pretty big offer to make.
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Of course! I keep my word - it's the samurai way.
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[ his arms cross over his chest as his expression turns... thoughtful? reminiscent? regretful? maybe a little bit of everything. ]
The Shinsengumi were the last to use us. In my case, Hijikata was my only master. The age of swords ended when he... [ he shakes his head. ] ...when the last of the Shinsengumi were killed at Hakodate.
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...you're a young sword, aren't you? That battle was only like a hundred and fifty years ago. [Like he's read the profiles and kept track of stuff but somehow he never realized Kanesan really was baby.] Sorry, I guess that wasn't really the point. But it makes sense. If you've only ever had one person to dedicate yourself to, it's more natural than it would be for someone passed from master to master.
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[ he’s baby. ]
And that may be true, but it’s a little different for the Shinsengumi. Our masters held onto us until the very end, even after everyone else had started using different weapons, like guns. It may be the reason they were defeated… but they treasured us as much as we did them. No other swords can say that.
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It just means you were prized by your masters. [Like. Yes. Maybe the Shinsengumi should've upgraded but it's not like he doesn't understand that kind of loyalty. Even when there are better things out there, even when there are things that could maybe keep you safer, sometimes you just hold onto the one thing that you can't even put a value on.]
Does the Saniwa count as a new master then? Or is it kind of a gray area?
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That they did. Enough that I was sent away for safekeeping, before the final battle.
[ it's one of his greatest regrets, but it doesn't make him any less proud of his master. all the same, it's in the past, so he focuses on the next question instead. ]
The saniwa is our new master, but it's a little different than before. We're given these bodies once we're summoned, so he doesn't carry us into battle himself, like the others did. And the war we're fighting is different than any that we've fought in before.
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How long have you been fighting this war though? A lot of the others seem really old, but they've also spent less time around humans.
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[ he shrugs ]
Most of the time, we aren’t supposed to associate with humans. We do our job from a distance, so we don’t affect history.
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You're timetravelers. [NOBODY HAS EVER FLAT-OUT SAID WHAT THESE SWORDS DO.] You go back in your timelines and fix things that are threatening it. Is that it?
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What about if the history you're preventing from change would be better with a change? Has that ever happened?
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That’s not our choice to make. History happened the way it did for a reason, and even if it’s difficult, we have to protect it. There’s no telling what will happen if something changes. Taking that decision into our own hands...
[ he shakes his head. ]
That would make us no better than the Revisionists.
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Then you must really be good at your jobs. That's a pretty tempting thing to deal with.
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I can't say that it's never happened before. There have been plenty of times where our teammates have decided fallen to the temptation and tried to stop us from carrying out history as it should be. But we are swords, and we will do our jobs, whatever it takes.
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It’s not like any of us want to see our old masters die, but... Yes, that’s about right.
...What is it you think we'll have to do, exactly?
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[ and then demonic possession happens and complicates things. cool! ]
The rules, the broadcasts… What do you think of them? It’s like it’s happened before, like some kind of time loop.
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A time loop would make sense though. Something to fix before we can break out of it.
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