( open ) 007

[harimaya]

Who ⬤ Hizen Tadahiro & you
What ⬤ Catchall for open substories, closed prompts, and custom starters for September and October.
When ⬤ September and October
Where ⬤ Everywhere
Content Warnings ⬤ N/A for now

❀ Prompts in tags
❀ cr meme comment
❀ contact; yosakoi | discord: eski#9874 | PM

Comments

[baofeng]

[Yizhi is walking home with two of his coworkers when the splash happens, loud enough to startle them out of their conversation. With the city being the way it is, suspicious noises come out from alleys all the time, so Yizhi's coworkers aren't too fussed about it. It's just weird that the commotion is right under them this time.

This bridge doesn’t have a hashihime, does it? One kitsune remarks curiously.

No- the other replies, but as the splashing and cursing continues- Maybe one moved in recently?]

Maybe someone's in trouble, [Yizhi says, as all three heads pop over the edge of the bridge and stare into the dark waters below.] Hello?? Is someone- are you okay??

[Honestly, a supremely useless question, but it's the thought that counts?]

[harimaya]

(He goes under the water and kicks himself back up. It's awkward enough trying to swim while keeping a desperate grip on his sword so just imagine how all of this is to deal with suddenly without any warning. He breaks water and spits up in the air.)

Do I look okay?!

(And back under he goes, swallowing a mouthful of water and coming back up. He seems to be doing better this time around and is able to keep himself afloat a little longer,)

Fuck off if ya aren't gonna do anything!

[baofeng]

[Yizhi can see a face break the water now- humanoid, their face scrunched in shock or distress. That’s probably a Lost Soul. Most would-be saviours would leap into the water at this point, but there’s another catch: Yizhi’s not a strong swimmer. He doesn’t know if the seniors with him can swim, but they don’t seem inclined to get their fur wet for this person, either way.

Yizhi paces left and right, trying to find a spot on the bridge where he’s the closest to the person in the water. This spot seems to be it. Yizhi fumbles off his jacket- it’s not his usual aesthetic, but it’s good for the colder weather- and dangles it over the side, the sleeve dipping into the river water.]

Can you grab on to this!

[harimaya]

(It's more like... anger. Frustration. Embarrassment. He doesn't get distressed he just gets mad sometimes. He grabs onto the coat but what he does instead is... wrap his sword around the sleeve hastily and yell up,)

Just take this!

(


And back down he goes for a second. He's back up though and he seems to be adapting a little better now. He's staying afloat at least but he's still kind of in the middle of the river.)

[baofeng]

[He pulls up when he feels a weight on the sleeve, but it’s much lighter than he expects- is the person a child or made of air?- but no, what comes up over the side of the bridge is a sword. Is the person a sword in human form? No, Yizhi glances back at the water and the person is still there. This decision is mildly incomprehensible to him.]

Your life is more important than your sword!!

[An entirely incorrect statement, but no one’s perfect.]

“Yii-chan, it could be a free sword-”[Kumiko-san pipes up-] “-No! That’s not a good idea!” [Yizhi protests, hugging the sword to his body like it’s a baby.] “Oh, you’re too nice. Seriously, it’s a free sword.”

[The sword is manageable enough to hold, but Yizhi’s definitely feeling his shortcomings now that he’s been relegated to sword babysitting duty. If he were drowning in the river, would he also pause to hand off his weighty tablet to safety? He doesn’t know for sure. Kumiko-san calls down:]

“Hey, do you want us to try and get help, or are you good?”

[harimaya]

(Wow, if only he was a sword in human form, right? With his sword up on land, he takes a deep breath before he goes back down under the water again. This time, however, he doesn't come back up. The water stills and no one replies when Kumiko calls down.

If Yizhi has any sort of spirit sense, he might feel the sword become heavier. Regardless, he'll soon hear a voice snapping at him from.... in front of him? It's like someone is speaking directly in front of him but no one is really there.)

Draw me.

(He is impatient.)

[baofeng]

[He may not have many talents, but, when the going gets weird, he goes along with it. Yizhi is holding the sword close to his chest- it’s someone else’s treasure, he doesn’t want to sling it around, he doesn’t want to drop it!- and if Hizen has any sort of sense that works through his sword, he might feel like he’s been this close to this person before.

That feeling won’t last, though. Yizhi hears the distinct command to draw, and waits only a moment to be sure he heard what he did. Draw me. He’s holding something that can be drawn, isn’t he? Okay. Might as well try.]

([Kumiko:] Hello? Hello??? Eh, he’s not coming back up-!)

[He steps back to be clear of his companions. He holds the sword out, grips the river-soaked handle as tight as he can, and pulls the blade free in an arc of silver.]

[harimaya]

(When he draws the sword, there's a gust of wind like a warm summer breeze and a flurry of cherry blossom petals will manifest in the air around him. It's practically blinding how many cherry blossoms there are and there's an unnatural sort of glow to them-- something magical.

While he's blinded by the blossoms, he'll probably hear an additional voice now. It's someone coughing and spitting on the ground nearby. When the cherry blossoms pass, carried away by the enchanted breeze, there's... Hizen. He's on his hands and knees in front of Yizhi, still dripping wet from his hair and clothes. He's trying to catch his breath and there's this feeling in the back of his head that something feels familiar and not exactly in a good way but he's truly too busy just trying to breathe that he doesn't think much about it. )

[baofeng]

[It worked!! Whatever “it” was. The cherry blossoms are beautiful. But there are more important things to focus on right now.

Yizhi lowers the sword- glancing at the sheath not but sheathing the blade, hit with the sudden fear that reversing what he just did might send the other Lost Soul back into the river- before running over to Hizen. The poor man is soaked through like a ball of moss, but he’s alive! Or at least he looks like his vitals are still going strong. The worry now is how badly the cold water will hurt the person’s system, but they can do something about that now he’s on dry land.

Yizhi thumps Hizen on the back in an attempt to help him cough the water out.]

Are you alright?! Grab me if you really can’t breathe. We’ll take you to the hospital.

[harimaya]

(He coughs up water and wonders briefly how much a humanesque body can take before it catches some hell river disease. The last thing he needs is to wind up bedridden.

What's more important though is he can feel himself being held by someone and his hand reaches out to grab Yizhi from next to him. Wait, was Hizen even listening to him? What did he say-- it doesn't matter because instead Hizen just snaps,)

Give it back.

(His sword. He's being held by a stranger and he doesn't like it.)

[baofeng]

[The guy just fell into a river, he gets a pass for bad behaviour. Yizhi stutters, perplexed,] Uh- [before offering the sword and sheath both.]

[He’s just going to repeat his line of questioning, and use his now-freed hands to take his jacket and throw it over Hizen for some insulation. Kumiko closes in and summons a ball of foxfire in her palm. A candle-like glow flickers over the area, warming up the air.]

How are you feeling?