坂本龍馬 sakamoto ryouma (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kaientai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jigokulogs2022-06-28 02:58 pm
kaientai) wrote in jigokulogs2022-06-28 02:58 pm
Entry tags:
[ OPEN ] trust in me
Who ⬤ Sakamoto Ryouma + others!
What ⬤ Ryouma has more business meetings...
When ⬤ the end of June and throughout July
Where ⬤ his office + wherever else around the city!
Content Warnings ⬤ None at the moment! Will add if anything comes up.
pm or hmu @ ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
koutenko to request a starter!
also open to wildcards!
What ⬤ Ryouma has more business meetings...
When ⬤ the end of June and throughout July
Where ⬤ his office + wherever else around the city!
Content Warnings ⬤ None at the moment! Will add if anything comes up.
also open to wildcards!
no subject
Better now than the last time we spoke. Thanks for asking!
[ it's a visible improvement, seeing as he's back to normal again and free of the creeping poison that was the curse's corruption. his uniform was an unfortunate casualty of the blood rain — he'll need that thoroughly dry cleaned — and so he's wearing the suit he wore to his big important meeting instead. it's a nice suit; the black looks good on him and the blue shirt he wears with it is a striking contrast. ]
I have Emily to thank for that. It's a good thing she's on our side!
[ he's amused at his own dumb commentary but he speaks of her with a very genuine fondness. ]
How about you? I'd like to think all of this is a good sign...?
no subject
[He lowers his bow after a moment and turns to regard the other man. He certainly looked less harried. His shiki weaves across the lawn with two arrows in two and Matoba takes them, clutching them in a single hand with his bow, and bows.]
Ah, our good doctor... The clinic was surely busy during that time. I hope the staff will have an opportunity now to rest. [Even Matoba had been dumped off there at one point or another by a cheeky teenager... Well, he probably deserved it, for the trouble he'd put him through. He had to fix up the wards there anyway, so it was just as well.]
[Looking out across the lawn, his gaze lifts from the makeshift target range to the rest of the temple grounds. Things had mostly returned to normal within the clan. At least the Daitengu was only stuck in the hospital now, rather than leaving leadership squawking and panicking.]
All I needed was a good rest myself, really. Honestly, I was quite worried that you would be dragged into a worse state as things went on... You are far from the only one I spoke to succumbing to the influence of the cursed energy. [Is it Ryouma's imagination, or does Matoba seem a tad put-upon? There's a story there.] So I am glad to see that you have bounced back so well. Being a spirit seems very troublesome.
[He chuckles. A little recklessly rude but overall harmless; that was just how Matoba rolled.]
...I would say things are quiet, but that would imply that there are not interesting things to hear. You are familiar with Haniyasu-no-kami, Sakamoto-san?
no subject
At the risk of sounding conceited, who I am might actually matter, for once. Servants being what they are, I am a product of my ideals. Hehe, I can't help what I am, but I don't get dragged down easily.
[ can stubbornness and determination express themselves magically? considering where he comes from, stranger things have happened. that's the theory ryouma's working with; it's the only way he can avoid hating himself for many reasons lately. ]
I'll admit you were my second opinion in the event what Emily and the others produced didn't do the trick. That's just responsible, huh? If good old-fashioned medicine doesn't work, you can always call an exorcist~
[ if matoba is being rude, ryouma doesn't notice. if anything, he feels like he's been given the go-ahead to make his dumb, informal jokes because ryouma is a very dumb, informal kinda guy and finds any opportunity to ease into it.
at matoba's question, he smiles apologetically. ]
I kinda know the story, but you'll probably want to refresh my memory on the details.
no subject
Is that so? ...I suppose the difference between a human will that has resisted the ages, and something formed from those lingering ideals, is minimal. [Minimal, but still enough to be something fundamentally different, in Matoba's book.] I am glad to hear it, either way. It would have been no good for our center of organization to be lost.
[Knocking an arrow, he turns to smile towards Ryouma, half-cloaked by his hair.] Is that so? ... Haha, to tell you the truth, I did run into Aerith-san and test a few things, between us. A great many resources have shifted in this city since the Night Parade, haven't they? [The last time he had been talking over goings-on with fellow spellcasters, it had been within their own clan. Now...] Tenkohime has many magic users in her employ, and I am still discovering new ways to make use of our combined powers every day. It is quite educational.
[It's a good thing that their incense had worked. With Matoba in the state he had been in just to protect everyone, and his usual partner-in-casting succumbing to the effects of the curse, things might have been rough if it hadn't done the trick.]
[With a slow inhale he raises his bow overhead, and draws it.]
Haniyasu-no-kami... Is a child of Izanami. In truth though, it is two deities. [Two beings, two bodies controlling the Tower... Surely it was not merely coincidence? Matoba focuses his shot steadily, pausing in his explanation for a few moments before he finally lets his arrow loose.] They are the earthen gods.
no subject
[ he laughs and is only half-joking. seriously, he wonders sometimes. ryouma finds something to lean on and is content to continue watching matoba practise. there's something oddly relaxing about it, but then he supposes he's had a lot of talks like this, if he thinks about it. weird time for nostalgia. ]
Anyway, not for long. [ he knows he has emily in his corner and could not be more relieved. ryouma never wanted any power. ] Things are in motion at the moment that will require more of a team effort than I could ever hope to accomplish on my own. I like what we've started with everyone working for a common purpose, and we need to keep it going. It seems to me we'll be needing the unity to deal with these earthen gods. What's their grudge against the Enma anyway?
no subject
[Not that Matoba would know anything about that, but he shares in the amusement as his shiki lumbers down the lawn to fetch the arrow. He raises his bow again, taking his time in focusing and readying each shot as Ryouma speaks.]
[That's right... The meeting of clans. Matoba watches the follow-through on his next shot with a long and thoughtful silence, consider it and Ryouma's reply at once.]
Isn't that the million-yen question... [Pursing his lips, Matoba squares his stance again and tilts his head. Slowly,] ... I asked the Boss.
[He holds his hand out for his arrows as his shiki returns, and busies himself in checking their tips.]
It seems that when this city was built, the first things to break ground were the Tower, of course.. And the Underground areas that the kappa oversaw until just a few months ago. [He ponders on that for a moment. He has his own ideas about just what had provoked Haniyasu's ire, but he meets Ryouma's gaze. Before he gets to that--]
You went down there not long after that incident, didn't you? ... I heard that there was something even the Enma was unable to obtain. Any ideas just what is down there?
no subject
[ a sigh. the tired acceptance. nothing ever changes, and ryouma is once again carried along by the events happening around him, waiting for a good time to change a little here or there to nudge the outcome in a favourable direction. it's all ryouma has ever known, after all, and it's not like he's going to just put everything down and walk away from it. he'll do his duty one way or another. ]
Before and after, actually. I snuck around down there a little while the Kappa were being all hush-hush about what they were building.
[ that got him thrown in the river eventually! ]
I definitely felt something, but I couldn't tell you exactly what it was, and I'd be lying to say it hasn't been on my mind ever since. Once things settle down, I feel we need to send a team down there to get a good look at everything. Which also reminds me... has anyone ever turned up those key cards? We need to get into those administrative areas eventually too.
no subject
...You know, speaking of the kappa. I managed to get a map from them last week, but I couldn't quite tell. I wondered if the containment level of the Kaigou-no-Bou and that segment of the Underground intersected in any way. If both were built around the same time, don't you think their architects might have had some secrets?
[Just who were the architects of this city? That was its own mystery, and information on the history of this place was, unsurprisingly, hard to come by. It was ancient in its own way, in a way even most ayakashi here were not.]
[It probably dated back to before the Great Three even roamed the mortal realm.]
... I suppose the Enma is the only one old enough to give us any answers to that. [He gives a sly smile.] But I don't like our chances of getting him to talk. Voluntarily.
[Not that he would suggest anything untoward. Dusting off his arrows, he knocks one again.] ...If you had to guess, what do you suppose was in this realm before the Kaigou-no-Bou was established? Let us assume that all is as we have been told, and this is truly the Land of the Dead. [Because even that has been questioned enough by Lost Souls; bear with him.]
no subject
[ that being said, his thoughts turn to one area fairly quickly. ]
I think it's all to do with the river, so if the Underground and the tower turn out to be connected, it wouldn't surprise me. I think whatever these Haniyasu things are, they're pissed off about the Enma's control over the Sanzu. It's nothing but wasteland out there beyond the city, right? Maybe it didn't use to be, but the Enma's sucking up all the resources and leaving nothing for anyone else.
no subject
You see, Sakamoto-san? A second opinion is always valuable. I had hardly considered the angle of competition for resources...
As astute a politician as the texts claim. [He smiles; he's teasing about his age, yes, but it seems genuine?] While discussing the wastes, someone else once also suggested to me that there may perhaps be another 'lost' clan out there, somewhere, biding their time to take revenge against the powers that rule here. That is, of course, assuming there aren't multiple such groups with grudges against the city...
I think that is very possible.
However, after hearing the Enma's announcement and the information from the Boss, another possibility came to mind. No matter how you look at it, the Haniyasu certainly seem unhappy that this city stands here.
Perhaps it is because where we are standing is hallowed ground. [His finger lifts, releasing another arrow with a satisfying twang of the bowstring.] Land that was sacred to the primordial kami. For if you choose to believe the Shinto legend, Izanami and Izanagi created the land far before the Enma came into power over Hell.
[He lowers his bow again as his shiki retrieve arrows.] ...Well, it's just another theory. There is also the possibility that 'something' is sealed beneath us.
no subject
[ he finds this funny and also somewhat nostalgic. ryouma never fit comfortably into a niche back then either and used to similarly baulk at the idea of being a politician but could never come up with a better descriptor. ]
Anyway, who says these things are mutually exclusive?
[ he smiles wryly because, once again, he finds it very easy to draw on his experiences when he thinks about these things. maybe one day, ryouma will stop being surprised when it happens. ]
That was a major sticking point once upon a time, you know? The reason everyone was spinning themselves up into a frenzy to keep foreigners out was the whole great worry about them corrupting hallowed ground and running off with anything else they could get their hands on. It wouldn't surprise me if we really were on hallowed ground and the Enma's hold on the Sanzu just adds insult to injury. Maybe the Enma needs all that power to keep whatever's down there locked up tight.
[ which is not to say he agrees that whatever is locked up needs to be, only that it is. ]
no subject
...But, you know, [Matoba tilts his head thoughtfully.] It is a skill worth appreciating. In a city of ayakashi, your ability to reach to the hearts of spirits is necessary.
I am glad to remain something that is only of use in the shadows. [Fiddling at the handwrapping on his bow, his eye draws down.] That is where an exorcist, one who deals with the filth that stain a land of purification and rebirth, belongs.
[A forward-facing power and a back-facing power; in the same way Matoba sees a great use in the two of them working from different angles to keep together the threads of the Alliance together, he sees the use in at least the appearance of all the clans united against whatever their enemy was, even if they continued to struggle against one another in the background.]
[If this land was ...Yomi, if it was indeed considered something of importance to the old gods, and they had been evicted for the Enma to take their place, then at least it was easier to understand the curses that were being hurled at them relentlessly.]
[Yomi.... huh.]
[If something that powerful were being held down there, Matoba wonders if even the Enma had the power to keep her locked up for long.]
What would your position be on that, Sakamoto-san? If this land was indeed stolen from the native gods, how do you think their anger should be handled? Putting aside what I'm sure are the complicated details.
no subject
[ and so he's resigned to his fate now, as ever. ]
You make this easy then, telling me that! Some people don't appreciate the implications of being associated with anything that doesn't firmly stand in the light because they struggle to see the necessity of both. Even so, I may need to count on you more in the future. Some will listen to me, but in some cases, I think my presence may be more of an obstruction than a boon.
[ so he hopes you like the shuten clan, matoba...
ryouma considers the next question, no longer surprised to have them put to him anymore because this is just the conversation they're having now, and these things bear thinking about. ]
Of no fault of your own, "complicated details" is probably an incredible understatement if that's the case. I suppose the first thing to consider is if we can communicate with them. Can they be reasoned with? Do they see the Enma as the problem or the entire city?
[ is he suggesting they throw the enma under the bus if it would save the city in the future? he's not not suggesting it. ]
All signs would seem to point to reason not being an option to count on, in which case we have to consider what's best for the people who live here now. It isn't their fault that they have no control over something that happened a long time ago. You don't blame the people living at the foot of a volcano for being born there, but you can try to find ways to make them safer. In this case, maybe there are even ways to make the hypothetical mountain less... vengeful? [ wishful thinking?? way above his paygrade indeed. ] It's certainly... a lot. Do you have to think about this sort of thing all the time?
no subject
[He's been called that and a lot worse in this city already, to say nothing of in his life back home. But he's sure Sakamoto Ryouma isn't someone that needs to be told about bad reputations. And so, jokingly, he replies,] Are you saying that you have enemies, Sakamoto-san?
[If Ryouma, the front facing peacemaker of their organization, couldn't grease the wheels enough, then Matoba had no problem being relied on as the backroom weapon to get things moving along. It wasn't something he could come out and say in the midst of a tenuous political negotiation, not so boldly; and there hadn't yet been a need for it. Their Boss seemed willing to sacrifice any number of other holdings to avoid force by any means, and he understood the consideration to keep balance between clans. But Matoba felt on the horizon that if things continued on the way they had been, it was unavoidable.]
[He hoped that whatever hesitation the Daitengu had to make use of the tools available to them would not hold out too long, and lead to another situation like the Night Parade.]
[(Does he like the Shuten? In truth it's probably the clan he respects the least. Oni are probably the youkai that hate exorcists the most, and the feeling is mutual. All pride and chest-beating and no deeper thought to be found with those ones. Still, he has certainly found some interesting individuals within their ranks...)]
No. My job does not generally give consideration for 'fairness' to the other side, [He replies, finding a bit of humor in that. Does an exterminator seek 'fairness' or 'compromise' when hired to kill rats?] I am hired to get rid of nuisances, by any means necessary. Which is why I will rely on your expertise, in the matter of negotiations.
...Of course, communication with the gods is also one of the roles of an exorcist, but if they are unwilling to cooperate, sometimes it comes down to the necessity of sealing them. Quite inauspicious, as you might imagine, and Haniyasu-no-kami is certainly not in the realm of power we normally see in modern times. I foresee a great number of casualties if it comes to something like that.