NIKKARI;

[crashout]

Comments

[crashout]

Before the Meiji Restoration. [He knows that much, more or less, given he's still blinking like he's trying to wrap his head around this.] I...didn't realize you were a parent.

[Sometimes Junpei says stupid things. And sometimes Junpei says really stupid things, which will become obvious when Nikkari finds himself in a memory. Novelization takes care of descriptions of his feelings for me.]

[uncleanse]

[ before nikkari can even commend junpei's piece of trivia, he's immersed in junpei's memory instead. over the course of this increasingly cringeworthy exchange, he suddenly Understands why junpei's been drawn to him since their very first conversation.

and when it's over, he's just. snickering. ]

[crashout]

[...he just turns bright red, drops Nikkari's wrist, and speedwalks away and almost directly into a bookshelf goodbye.]

[uncleanse]

[ for a moment, he considers calling after him with a teasing "jumpy," but...

hm. he probably shouldn't do that. so, instead, he simply says, ]

Jun~pei.

[crashout]

[That's probably good because he'd cry but also this time he hears Nikkari and he does bump into a bookcase? And apologizes with a quick "gah, sorry!" before sidestepping and...turning to face Nikkari.]

Nikkari? [He's trying to sound firm and cross with him but. Failing. A lot.]

[uncleanse]

[ this is the tag ]

[crashout]

[A VERY LOUD GROAN.]

Shut. Up.

[uncleanse]

We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

[ he ain't forgettin it tho ]

[crashout]

[Even though Nikkari's making fun of him, he doesn't have an answer. He sort of blinks in response and just...shrugs.]

I'm not really sure what to say anyway. [Also, haha.]

[uncleanse]

Haha... I could tell.

[ he teases! because he likes!! ]

Besides, I'm sure you have far more questions for me than I do for you.

[crashout]

[Rude. But yeah, let's move away from his fiancee and back to something else...]

Yeah, I do. Such as when you became a father and why? I thought you couldn't meddle with history and stuff.

[uncleanse]

Haha... I wouldn't necessarily call myself a "father," but I can see why you would think as much.

That is exactly why my comrades and I had been dispatched to that era in the first place. Our enemies had already laid the groundwork for disrupting history by slaughtering the Matsudaira clan and their retainers. Thus, we took on the identities of the fallen and raised Lord Ieyasu in their place.

It helped that one of my peers was one of Lord Ieyasu's most prized blades—his extensive and intimate knowledge of Lord Ieyasu's lifetime helped us greatly in ensuring that the major events of those years stayed intact.

[crashout]

So...because you knew how the past went, you were able to recreate someone's future in the present. [Back to this bullshit again, because, haha, that's kind of very familiar. He's still highkey humiliated about what Nikkari saw and a little flutter of "want" beats in his chest for someone not even here, but he's stepping away from the bookcase to approach him.]

How many of you were there raising this kid?

[uncleanse]

Mm. There were six of us in total. Incidentally, Tonbo-san was also one—he was, perhaps, the closest thing our lord had to a true father figure.

[crashout]

[...a laugh.] I can kind of see that, actually. He gives off that sort of appearance.

[...wait.] He also told me he was good with children and now I feel kind of stupid for not thinking a little harder on that.

[uncleanse]

Haha... did you just accept it for what it was?

[crashout]

It was the first day, what else was I supposed to do?

[uncleanse]

Fair enough, I suppose.

Curious about anything else?

[crashout]

I'm always curious about you guys. [He can openly admit that.] But...so what, after he was grown up, the mission was over and you went back to the citadel? You had to pose as human for a long time, didn't you?

[uncleanse]

[ he just flashes another smile at that, though this one is subtly... subdued, compared to the usual. ]

Mm... not quite. You see, one of the men we acted as, Hattori Hanzo, played an important part in Lord Ieyasu's life. He would become one of our lord's most trusted allies, even going as far as to help raise his son, Nobuyasu...

And would later kill him once he'd been accused of treason against his father.

[crashout]

[...]

...were you that person? [Curious. Non-judgmental. Nikkari is a sword, after all. He's learned enough from Kanesada that the swords can't change history.]

[uncleanse]

Haha.

Fortunately, no.

[crashout]

[A sigh.]

Good. [...he'll step closer again.] Then...no more questions for right now. But maybe later?

[uncleanse]

[ he tilts his head as junpei approaches. ]

Hm?

[crashout]

[...hm. He's too afraid to offer to let him ask questions so he just turns and gestures for Nikkari to follow.]

Horror novels. Come on.

[He can't stop Nikkari from saying or doing anything though.]