okitactless | IC inbox; recolle

YASU ARE YOU OK
I JUST SAW YOU AND ANYA GO OVER A WATERFALL???
REPLY PLEASE

[ HE HAS NO RECEPTION BUT HE CAN DREAM ]

are you safe??

[THAT'S ALL HE SAYS because 1. he's shit at texting in the first place and 2. that's what matters the most right now. Why did he see Yato's image on a tapestry, of all places?!]

[ ok technically yato knows yamato survived the waterfall but he still could've died in the past week maybe and yato is glad he's okay!! ]

YASU!!! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´∀`ﾟ)ﾟ｡
I'm ok are you ok??

[ It's actually a miracle that Yato hasn't gotten a single scratch over the past three weeks... ]

[HE STILL KIND OF FEELS LIKE DEATH so it's a fair thing to be worried about tbh... still, he's alive and nothing's broken (his sword included), so:]

that's good
yeah I'm home
got a little roughed up but I'll live
you weren't here either were you

No I was in a lab then outer space
Saw you guys in some pictures though
I'll head over
Want some food?? I'll pick something up

[ he's hungry but doesn't feel like cooking cuz fuck doing anything but lying around with friends for at least a couple days ]

yes please

[And that's all he sends, because he trusts Yato's taste!! Which is a mistake but it's fine, this is fine.

Not that it matters when it comes to Yato, but the door will be unlocked, with Yasusada settled on the couch and his injured foot propped up with pillows. HE'S STUCK HERE please bring him good food yato]

[ When Yato bursts in he'll be wielding a bag from some Chipotle-adjacent burrito place. He looks exactly how he always does, because his tracksuit ensemble was spared any adventuring.

The greeting on his lips dies immediately when he sees Yamato with his foot propped up. ]

Yasu! What happened?

[It's a little sad that he can't get up to give Yato a hug--well, maybe that's not entirely accurate. He could, it's not like his foot is broken, but then Kashuu would probably lock him in his room and go find a doctor, so it's not ideal.

Still, even with the look on Yato's face, Yasusada smiles in relief. Hearing that Yato was safe isn't the same as seeing it for himself, and he's so glad that he doesn't look any worse for wear.]

Well, after the waterfall I had to fight a monster and a dragon, and then I had to walk here from Tisse...

[yams why are you like this]

A real dragon? Cooool!

[ And... he means it... If Yamato got his battle wounds because of badass fights, then everything is okay in the end. He reaches into his bag and deposits a heartily-sized, foil-wrapped burrito on Yamato's chest before taking a seat nearby and grabbing his own burrito. ]

I'm glad you're okay. Did you have fun? Anya looked like she had fun.

["COOL"...

As he catches the burrito, he wonders if Yato's actually spoken to Anya yet, considering how laid back he sounds about the whole thing. Then again, Yasusada has to admit Anya is absolutely the type to focus on the good, talking about how much she loved her monkey friend instead of how frightening it was that they very nearly died more than once.]

I'm not sure I'd say we had "fun"... [IT WAS TERRIBLE but he doesn't want Yato to be upset, so he doesn't go quite that far. He isn't going to lie, though, and before he even starts unwrapping his food, he glances at Yato through his bangs.]

Remember that monster I told you about, from my dream? [If Yato doesn't, he won't be surprised--it feels like so long ago now.] I had to fight one of those, before the dragon. [He pauses, hesitating--but this is Yato, and Yasusada trusts him.] It was way too close.

[Close as in, "I almost didn't make it home". Maybe if it had stayed at jungle shenanigans, he could've enjoyed it, but as it is? He never wants to set foot outside of the city again.]

[ Anya doesn't even want to admit she fell off a waterfall even though she clearly made it out alright, so yeah. She probably glossed over certain parts.

Yato does remember the monster Yamato told him about, though -- and how much that whole memory seemed to genuinely disturb him. Given that Yamato is talking about the monster more seriously than the actual dragon, it must still be the case. Yato unwraps his burrito thoughtfully. ]

Have you remembered anything else about it? Like what it is, where it came from...

[Anya had better hope Yato doesn't ask for more details, then, because Yasusada sure doesn't know that she's trying to be sneaky?? Group Tarzan teamwork fail.

He looks down at his food without really seeing it, and when he speaks, it's like he's reciting from a book.]

They're an army of historical revisionists. They're called the Historical Retrograding Force, and they were trying to go back in time and alter the past. We were given human bodies to fight the war against them... before that, we were just swords.

[He doesn't pause or falter, saying all of it to his own hands instead of Yato. But once he's done, he raises his gaze, looking older than his 21 years and very, very tired.]

Some of that I remembered for myself, but a lot of it I heard from Kiyomitsu when I got back. Our memories keep lining up, so... [He shrugs; it makes sense to assume that whatever Kashuu remembers is the same for him too, at this rate.]

[ So that's a lot of information to parse. The "we were swords given bodies" is so outlandish, but it makes a certain sense? Yato has seen how they can feel through the swords they were given by Retrospec. The bottom line, though, is that "I'm really just a sword" is too abstract to internalize. Yamato will always just be Yamato in Yato's eyes. ]

Who's in charge of the revisionists? What kind of future are they trying to make?

[He hadn't really expected any particular reaction, but Yato's utter nonchalance sets him at ease, somehow. He can't help but smile, feeling something loosen in his chest. He hums thoughtfully, finally starting in on his food.]

I don't know for sure. I don't really remember anything about... later on. It just looked like a regular place. There were lots of people--well, i guess they must've been swords too, but it wasn't just me and Kiyomitsu.

[He hesitates, but only for a second, as if he's remembering who exactly he's speaking to.]

I'm not sure we ever got a fully explanation, really. If we had... then I'd like to think I wouldn't have been tempted so easily.

[ An army of swords-turned-people. Huh. Yamato's world is a strange place. And it really is a different world, isn't it? That part is difficult to parse too. Unless Yamato is from the distant future in Yato's world, they come from completely different realities. Yamato has been such a constant in Yato's life that it's hard to place him as anything but a rumble-ready college student with a love for kendo. ]

Tempted? By the revisionists?

Not directly...

[He pauses to take a bite of his food, a distant look on his face--but not in the "caught in a memory" sense.]

But I... there's a person I keep seeing, somebody that must've been extremely important. I think he was the first person to take home--my first "master", I guess you would say. [Which sounds... kind of weird, but Yasusada doesn't mind all that much. Not when he remembers just how overjoyed he'd been, feeling those hands pick him up for the first time.]

It was vague in the dream, but I finally saw everything about that battle I was in. And from what I can tell, that person was there... and I abandoned our mission to follow him instead. [If he'd had all of his memories, maybe he'd sound ashamed right now. And he does sound a little guilty, but not for the same reasons.] If it wasn't for Kiyomitsu, I don't know what I would've done.

I see... In that case, you were just being loyal to the person who took you in. Isn't that natural? Every swordsman has to form some kind of bond with his sword. And you wouldn't be you if you didn't return every ounce of loyalty and affection he showed toward you.

[ There's no judgment from Yato, because... well, he's never been a man to sacrifice himself or his loved ones for the mission either. He can understand the need to ensure the safety of a few above all others. ]

Actually, I used swords that were people too. They were ghosts that would turn into katanas and stuff for me. Like a backwards version of you, I guess.

[All at once, something loosens in his chest. It isn't the lack of judgment (he knows Yato well, after all) that gets to him, but the casual reassurance, as though what he'd done was something completely natural, even acceptable. It's such a far cry from how Kashuu had reacted, from the guilt and shame that had swept over him when he'd come to his senses, simply knowing in his heart that he'd nearly chosen betrayal.

It's a simple sense of understanding, an acceptance without fanfare that he hadn't realized he'd wanted until just now, and he doesn't try to hide the relief in his smile.]

...Thank you.

[It's not a whisper, but it's quiet all the same, though no less sincere for that. He perks up right after, looking curious.]

Really? Like that girl you saw?

[ Yato has barely scratched the surface of Yamato's other life, but he's certain that Yamato in any form would only have the best of intentions. He smiles warmly in answer to Yamato's thanks. If he's brought Yamato some small comfort, then he's glad... ]

Just like her. When I gave a spirit a name, they'd become my shinki -- kind of like a retainer, from what I can tell. Her name was Hiiro as a person and Hiki as a sword.

[ ... Hm. ]

Did you have a sword name too?

[ Naming swords is a thing people do, right? Right. ]

[He hums thoughtfully, going back to his food and taking in everything Yato says. He can't help but smile as he does, shifting just a little to ease the currently ever-present discomfort of his injuries.]

Giving them a name... that sounds really nice. [There's so much more that comes with that, he imagines--a name means an identity, a family, a home. In some other life, Yasusada can absolutely imagine Yato as the type to provide that comfort for someone, especially the dead.

The question catches him off-guard, though, and he looks surprised.]

Me?

[He blinks, brow furrowed as he thinks back over his memories, but slowly, he shakes his head.]

I don't think so... Kiyomitsu called me "Yasusada", and he's the only one who ever said it.

[Other people have spoken to him, but he doesn't recall hearing anything that could've been an alternate name for him. Of course, this will get proven wrong in the span of a few days, when he wakes up with sleep in his eyes and the name "Yamatonokami Yasusada" on his tongue. But for now, he remains none the wiser.]

Weird that we have the same names in our memories... Still, "Yasusada" had to come from somewhere. If it was your family name, then it probably came from your dad or the guy who made you.

[ The point being... nothing at all, really. What does it matter where Yamato's hallucinomemory name came from? Yato shrugs and unwraps more of his burrito. ]

Do you remember anything from when you were just a sword?

Mm. [It is weird, that hasn't escaped him.] I know I called him "Kiyomitsu" too, so it wasn't just me... I don't know if it was my first name or my last name, though. If swords even have first and last names...

[WHAT EVEN ARE SWORD NAMES, the struggle. Yasusada is now getting the "early days of Touken Ranbu fandom where nobody knew anything" experience.

He picks quietly at his food as he thinks about how to answer, mulling over the ever-increasing scenes he'd seen.]

I remember getting... "chosen", I guess? "Bought" sounds weird, but that must've been what happened. [He smiles a little.] Whatever it was, I was so happy... the person that chose me, I loved him right away. All I wanted was to be the best I could be for him. I don't think I cared about anyone else before he came along, so when he did it was like he was my whole reason for existing.

[It's probably not that surprising; Yasusada's always had a devoted personality, getting attached and clinging hard. Still, the instant intensity of his love had surprised even Yasusada, when he'd come out of it.]

...

[ Yato stares at Yamato. Stares really hard. ]

I'm disturbed by how cute you sounded just now.

[...

...?!?!]

Ha? Where did that come from?! [NOW HE'S EMBARRASSED]

You sounded like a puppy getting rescued, is all.

[ He scratches his cheek. Yamato getting attached and overflowing with unconditional love like that really isn't surprising. A tiny part of Yato is jealous... ]

The guy who chose you was lucky to have you.

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