❀ Yukio Okumura

[cranelike]

Comments

[cranelike]

(Good. He's happy for her.)

You seem to be handling it well.

(Folding his arms into the sleeves of his kimono,)

How did you sleep last night?

[reflash]

Not as well as I would like, it was all rather ominous. And you?

[cranelike]

About the same.

(Arms still crossed but he'll drop some of the silliness. Only a little. He's still as cool as ever but there's enough of a shift that it's apparent he wants to talk about more serious things,)

The birds and music were a surprise. I wondered if the worlds were bleeding into one another.

(The world of the living and the world of spirits.)

[reflash]

[Yukio doesn't miss that shift.]

I think it might be dangerous for any of us to try and apply our understanding of how the supernatural works at home to anything that happens here.

[cranelike]

Are you worried?

(And now he's back to teasing! He waves a hand in the air as if to clear away any vibes Yukio might give him beforehand,)

Things are different here. (He knows that,) But for a moment, things felt the same. I was surprised.

[reflash]

[Yukio's daemon (a dog again) tosses her head in a sharp, quick sort of movement at that question.

Yukio ignores the question.]

It was different from what I would expect, but the barrier between Gehenna and Assiah is very strong in the world I come from.

[cranelike]

... There's a barrier around Asia?

(What?)

And I thought the isolation was serious...

[reflash]

[Yukio looks confused for a second, and then shakes his head, apologetic.]

I suppose you use different terms. Where I'm from "Assiah" is the material world, and "Gehenna" is the world of the supernatural.

[but the fact that he brings up sakoku is interesting.]

Have you been in Japan that long then?

[cranelike]

"Sekai" and "Ikai."

(Which is definitely Shinto and more traditional compared to Assiah and Gehenna. Sekai, "the world we live in" and "ikai" the other world. There are other worlds too! But let's just focus on the main two ok ok.)

Longer. I was forged in the Heian era.

[reflash]

[Yukio nods, understandingly. He's aware of the terms, even if modern-day exorcists don't use them.]

Did you inhabit the sword immediately when it was forged? [Yukio isn't slow on the uptake, and he's very familiar with a few different varieties of demon swords.]

[cranelike]

Do you remember how you were born?

(Do you???)

[reflash]

No, but I wouldn't want to assume you were exactly like a human...

wheezes i lost this in the trial pile

[cranelike]

When an object reaches its 100th birthday, it becomes alive and aware.

(Which might explain what he is" to Yukio if he's familiar.)

Sometimes, we can remember sooner, if something is strong enough. It's always a surprise!

(Nodding to himself,)

One day, I simply "was."

(Like, one day he literally just started to exist.)

extremely understandable

[reflash]

It's a little bit different in my world, but the idea is very similar.

[cranelike]

Almost everyone here is from a different place... even if we're similar, I'm always surprised.

(He's been pretty interested in everyone's stories so far?)

But where I'm from, I've been around for a long time.

[reflash]

Have you had a chance to experience a lot of things?

[cranelike]

It depends on what you mean~

[reflash]

Well, for example, have you met many others like you?

[cranelike]

There are a lot of swords in Japan.

[reflash]

And have you met them?

[cranelike]

Of course. Are you wondering about any in particular?

[reflash]

My older brother's sword is called Kurikara. [Which sort of is an answer to that question.]

[cranelike]

(And that gets a smile from Tsurumaru. Compared to his usual smiles which range from menacing to distant, this one is warm and fond,)

Perhaps not the same... but I'm familiar with Kara-bou. He's strong and reliable, perhaps a little difficult to befriend but it's only because his heart is sensitive.

[reflash]

Do you just move around in the world like humans? Blending in with people?

[cranelike]

This form is new.

(He holds out his arms slightly as if to show himself off,)

For a long time, I was always just a sword. Humans couldn't see me and I couldn't do anything to them. I simply existed. But my master gave me this form.

What do you think? Isn't it impressive?