jigokulogs | ( open ) 001

Entry tags:

( open ) 001

Who ⬤ Hizen & you
What ⬤ Catchall for March. Open prompts in main post for substories. Closed starters in comments.
When ⬤ All of march!
Where ⬤ See prompts.
Content Warnings ⬤ TBA

SUBSTORY: WELCOME TO THE NIGHT PARADE (I)

("Outta the way, outta the way!"

A group of smaller youkai yell. They might not be big but what they lack in size, they make up for in number in spirit. They push their way through the crowd carrying a portable shrine. It's a diverse group made up of smaller youkai and spirits— little oni, cats walking on hind legs, a one eyed umbrella, something with a face as large as its body, and fish-looking creature that flails across the ground as it makes its way through.

Do you get out of the way? Or do you miss the warning in all of the hustle and bustle?

In the case of the latter, you can expect one of several things to happen…)

A.
(Hizen loudly snaps at you,)

Oi! Pay attention and get out of the way!

(You probably don't want to get caught up with these little guys. Their patience is as little as they are. The shorter the person, the shorter their temper. If you'd like to avoid confrontation, Hizen can suddenly grab your character by the arm and pull the aside. Alternatively, you can just let the crowd crash into you. Maybe he'll help?)

B.
(Or maybe you're helping Hizen with setting up for someone's game stand. Have you noticed that the owner won't actually let either of you help with getting the game part together? Leave that part to them (so they can rig it). You and Hizen can set up the prize wall made up of different masks and toy weapons.

As the little procession goes by, Hizen stops for a moment to stare and mutters,)

The "parade of a hundred demons," huh...

(He sounds like he might know something?)

SUBSTORY: WELCOME TO THE NIGHT PARADE (II)

(It's security detail!

… Or really, it's more like crosswalk duty.

On the night of the parade, you and Hizen will be expected to keep the pedestrians from crossing the street before their turn. Instead, you'll wait for scheduled stops in the parade that will give enough time for people to get to the other side.

Before the parade begins, you'll have to help set up the barrier using cones or barrels or what have you. And the person in charge of overseeing? It's a long-necked woman that keeps looking over your shoulder and telling you the barriers are too close or too far from the street. The crosswalk openings are too narrow or too wide. She keeps picking at everything you're doing! Is this your first night parade? Do you have any idea what you're doing? She asks for help and she gets sent a bunch of fresh lost souls who have no idea what they're doing!

She doesn't even have the courtesy to say this behind your back. She's right there with her long neck, complaining right in your ear. Or Hizen's ear.

And he looks like he's going to snap. )

SUBSTORY: LOOK AT THIS SWEET JACKET

(The first step to any assignment is gathering information. It's time to get to find the bridge in question and meet the client. Hizen checks the writing on one of the columns at the end of the bridge and looks over to you,)

This is it. (This is the bridge.)Looks pretty normal.

(He's unimpressed. But because timing is comedic, as soon as he finishes speaking, a man gets tossed back across the bridge, rolls like a ball, and stops right in front of them.)

...

(Hizen looks down and... looks away. He sure is going to make you take care of the talking first)

WILDCARD.

❀ Hizen is in the Shuten Clan.
❀ If you have another idea for a prompt or would like to plot anything out, let me know
❀ You can check out my intro comment for some ideas, too.
❀ contact; eski | discord: eski#9874 | PM

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(He knows exactly who he's talking about because he met him earlier, too. The first one here to figure out who not only figured out who he was but what he was. He still isn't sure how he feels about that; he needs to investigate this Izo more closely, he thinks, but he wonders if that's also just an excuse to watch.

But the question just catches Hizen in a situation he'd rather not be in. He'd told Izo it didn't matter if people knew what he was here. What's one more tsukumogami in a place where so many others are running and hopping around? But this guy is someone Hizen would rather not reveal himself to. It's out of pure stubbornness that he doesn't want to give him any answers. But if he knows Izo already? It's just a matter of time and that's just another excuse to meet. Another excuse where the attention is going to be focused on him.

While debating with himself, the drinks: Two bottles of sake and two cups.

He reaches with his left hand-- the one that doesn't bear his brand-- and pours. The way to drink is to take a sip, drink slowly, and savor the taste but he's been here before. He knows how it is already and no one here is going to judge when he just knocks back the shot and goes to pour another. Just when it looks like he isn't going to answer, he grumbles, )

I'm not who you think I am.

(He's not Okada Izo. He's not the manslayer. He's--)

... Hizen.

(Just mumbles it into his cup.)

Eh?

[ he has to lean forward a little to make sure he's heard that properly. at first, ryouma assumes it's the convenient alias he'd been expecting — why not just use the name of the sword? — but then things settle into place on their own one by one. oh. ]

So, when you say you've always had that sword, y'mean—...

[ his accent slips for just a moment because he's preoccupied thinking about how no, that's not impossible at all, considering the things he's seen and that's not even taking into account another world with different rules. at the next moment, ryouma springs up out of his seat again because it finally clicks. ]

Eh?!

[ sorry, everyone else in this bar, there's no inside voices in tosa. no personal space either, apparently, since ryouma is really right here now like he hasn't really been looking up until now. ]

But you look so—... [ he looks thoughtful. ] I just would've expected you to be a lot older. And taller.

[ you know, like he might expect the spirit of a cherished heirloom of the sakamoto family to look. because he obviously has no idea how this works and is just running his mouth. ]

(Takes another shot and immediately goes to pour himself one more which will reveal... the glove on his hand bearing a unique but familiar crest.

And there Ryouma goes. Getting loud, prattling away, making a scene, and he's tired. He's so damn tired he feels like he just aged all the way back into the Heian era. )

(The thing that gets Hizen the most is that last little comment. Emphasis on the little. He picks up the little napkin holder from the table and throws it at Ryouma.)

If you wanna be shorter, I'll cut you at your knees!

(Hizen Tadahiro. Former Sakamoto family sword. The sword of a killer.)

[ well. ryouma should've expected that in all that carrying on he might've poked the bear one too many times. he's not quick enough to evade the napkin holder assault but ducks behind his seat in the event of another, peering out from behind it. which must just look great to anyone else witnessing this right now so it's a good thing no one else knows who he is. ]

Sorry, sorry! [ he only desires peace, hizen. ] I probably could have put that a better way...

[ if hizen will allow it, he's just going to caaaarefully reach over and pour himself a drink finally. for his nerves. ]

I'm not sure what I was expecting, really. Servants take all sorts of forms so it really isn't that surprising...

[ you just don't expect to be talking to what had only just been a sword for his entire life up until all this. which... certainly adds complexities to things if he were to let himself follow that train of thought right now. he won't, but he can't ignore the elephant in the room either. he'd hurt the both of them, hadn't he? ]

But now I understand why you reacted like you did when you saw my sword.

(Everyone can stare. The owner stares, the few regulars stare. Bar fights are expected but at this hour? This was supposed to be a leisurely time and Hizen and Ryouma look easy enough to toss out if they have to. Luckily, nothing seems to happen after the initial attack and Hizen graciously allows Ryouma to sit next to him again.)

You should stop talking while you're ahead.

(Free advice! He's back to drinking, a little more slowly now. There's a curious glance when he mentions "servants" because... what? He considers himself a tool, sure, but servant... Hm.)

... Whatever you're thinking, knock it off. You don't know me.

Probably. But I've never been good at that. [ self-aware to a point, but does it anyway. ] And you're right, I don't know you, which is why I invited you for a drink.

[ he's quite happy now to sit by and sip his sake, looking over and giving the owner an apologetic smile for the fuss. ]

What I'm thinking is that where you come from, it's possible for famous swords and maybe other things, I'm not sure, to take a human shape and that's a lot like how it is where I come from, only not with weapons but Heroic Spirits. That's what a Servant is and they aren't necessarily the same as the person they were in life or how you might expect.

[ and he doesn't usually have to explain this part, but considering hizen is putting up with him and had given him his name, ryouma can explain that much. he'd seemed curious when he'd mentioned it, after all. ]

(He narrows his eyes and offers a glance over his cup. He isn't going to confirm or deny anything for Ryouma. It's one thing for people to know his name. It's another for some people to know what he is. But it's another thing entire if others know their cause. That was always supposed to be a secret.

Instead, he focuses on the rest of Ryouma's explanation.

Heroic spirit. He tenses, eyes flashing with annoyance before he looks away, setting his cup down and seriously considers just leaving. He hates this. This is truly hell. )

But some things are.

(The same. Sakamoto Ryouma will always be a revolutionary hero. Just like that guy will always be a treasured regalia. In comparison...)

Are they...? Well, I wouldn't dispute that since you'd know better.

[ just as with izō, ryouma won't try to brush aside however hizen feels by making excuses for himself or arguing it. even if it's technically not his issues to take on, he accepts it anyway, like he always does. ]

The other thing about Servants is that it's necessary to hide our True Names because knowing them can reveal a lot — capabilities, weaknesses, ...you understand. You can call me Rider.

[ effectively confirming it without outright confirming it? who else could he be? it's a risk, but he's known since he made the decision to follow and not just walk away in the first place that it was probably going to come out. that gives hizen an advantage over him, so if he really wanted to make things harder for him, hizen has the means.

all the same, ryouma peers over at hizen's cup before he reaches over and refills it. just take it, it's a gesture. ]

But that takes care of introductions, right? In which case, if my theory is correct, then I should thank you.

(Why does it feel like he's just saying it for the sake of saying. it. Why does he feel like he's being looked down on. It's hard to tell if his temperature is rising from his temper or the alcohol and even that gets twisted; why is he weak here. Why is he back at the bottom all over again. It's everything he hates wrapping together into an angry ball inside him and it takes all of his focus to keep paying attention over the rush in his ears.

Secret information. Secret weaknesses. Secret advantages. Why is he telling him this? It's not like he's that guy. It's not like he's his. Is this supposed to make them equal? Even? No, it has to be pity. That's what it is and he refuses to be looked down on. He shoves his chair out from under him and stands on his own two feet, looking down,)

Shut up. Save your thanks.

(The time for gratitude is long passed.)

We've got nothing to do with each other. (Clenching his fists,) Go find someone better.

Then it doesn't matter if I say it or I don't, right? If you want to leave anyway, I'll finish your sake.

[ ryouma doesn't get it and he doesn't know if it's the right thing to say or if it might just get him in deeper as far as pissing hizen off, but of course he's just like this when he feels strongly about something. ]

You helped Izō out, didn't you? So, you deserve to be thanked for that. Thank you for doing your best.

[ maybe things are too different in hizen's world? maybe he's just pouring selfish feelings out and complicating things because he doesn't know better. it's a headache, that's what it is. so he'll just... feel this out, for better or worse. ]

I told ya to--

(Shut up.

And there he goes. Running his mouth all over again. Not even the offer of sake is enough to win Hizen over now. It's not enough when he has to share it with this company.

Bringing up Izo really does just make things worse and more complicated. He knows the two of them are childhood friends. It was their relationship that led to him being given away in the first place. For all of his feelings about Izo, he isn't really the problem either. He's a sword. Swords are tools and they're supposed to be used. He was given a purpose and that became him.

But this guy...)

I didn't-- (Do anything. He was just a tool. He still is.) You don't...

(...)

I'm leaving.

[ he tosses back a cup of sake all at once and then refills it, doing his best job not to react like he's at all disappointed in that decision. it's hizen's decision, so he'll live with it. he really needs to toughen up and stop letting things get to him because he keeps blaming it on how he misses oryou. sensitivity is sort of a liability in hell and all. ]

... I know. And you were patient enough to put up with me this long, so I'm grateful for that too.

[ there's a lot ryouma could say, but he restrains himself. he's arguably said way too much. ]

(Please don't be disappointed because it just makes Hizen feel worse. Luckily, he doesn't really catch it so Hizen's temper stays steady, only spiking with annoyance when Ryouma has the audacity of thanking him for what he feels like a miserable time.

Just say you're disappointed. Just say you wanted this to go a different way. Gods, don't be so nice. Don't be so friendly. Just--

All he can articulate is a frustrated growl. He turns and leaves. Quickly.)

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