It's time for the treatment.

–〖 月 〗–

      “Mm…Perhaps if I act as bait to lure it out you can attack from the shadows?”  Mikazuki replies, a light chuckle following after.  The forest was huge–too big to wander aimlessly in search of one enemy.  The enemies seemed mindless–only useful for attacking them and not really making a strategy from it.  It’s possible it could have retreated by now, but then some sort of time jump would cause a disturbance.  

      “The forest is too big to simply wander around blindly.  It would be best if we can draw the enemy out by letting it think it has an advantage by seeing me alone.”  He pauses, glancing back the tantou with a small smile illuminated by the lantern light.  “Then you can ambush it, and finish it off.”

“I was just talking about whether a lone enemy would even want to attack one of us in the first place....” Yagen talked in a low voice that trailed off into mumbles as he felt that this would probably go nowhere. Oh well, maybe he should just let Mikazuki have his way... letting the old man have his lantern could probably save the young boy some medical resources in patching up injuries caused by colliding into trees. 

Although swimming in a river might attract attention, there didn’t seem to be any other direct and quick way across it. “I am.” Avoiding attention would be best, considering their “job”.

“Ah, well, as you can see I chose not to wear everything.” He browsed the selection of wooden weapons against the back wall, hands tucked into his sleeves. “Sometimes it can take an hour if I am feeling particularly sluggish. Other times, perhaps twenty to thirty minutes.” He chuckled to himself. It was still an inordinate amount of time compared to others. “Isn’t it funny? Despite existing with this appearance for over a thousand years, I have never actually had to take my clothing off, or put it on. The first time I had to, I discovered my fingers were not quite nimble enough.” 

And how Tamagane Mayuki, the playful Mistress she was, had howled with laughter! He laughed softly to himself at the memory. His fingers ghosted along the length of a wooden tantou before he selected it. Curiously, he turned it over in his hands, feeling the smooth grains of the wood through the leather of his gloves and marveling at the light weight. The others whispered in the back of his mind and his head twinged. How they hated the bright daylight, streaming in through the windows and open doors. Mikazuki pressed a hand to his brow, rubbing it vaguely until the pain went away. Now was not the time to have a fit. If they wanted to play, they would have to behave.

“I believe I am ready, Yagen Toshirou. If I am lacking, please teach me with the edge of your blade.” 

“Hm, I think it would be great exercise for your hands and your dexterity with them if you put on your own clothing by yourself everyday.” Yagen mused vocally, and while he sounded as though he was poking fun at Mikazuki’s words, knowing how serious the short sword took theoretical ideas could very well mean that he was serious about what he said. 

The Toushirou watched Munechika pick up a wooden tantou training blade, finding it interesting that it was the weapon that the other sword would first go for. In that case, it would only be fair if he took up the wooden tachi to spar with, thus making it so that both he and his opponent had swapped the weapons that they were used to and were associated with. Being tall and more grown for a tantou as compared to others of his sword type, wielding a tachi wasn’t too cumbersome for Yagen, though he figured that he’d have to make some adjustments to his stance and movements in order to compensate for the added weight of the weapon he’s wielding.

@masters-never-die liked for a starter

“Yagen! Welcome home…” He spoke quietly but still, his excitement shone through. It was a rare moment to catch the other like this during the day. Nakigitsune normally would be working in his shop so he’d be unable to greet him like this. His fox was resting on his lap as his hand had been rubbing the top of his head. His eyes glanced between the animal and the other male.  

“Did… school go by fine?”  

“Ah, thank you, Naki-kun.” Yagen gave Nakigitsune a pleasant smile as he placed his bag on the table that the other was sitting at. “It did. It ended four hours ago actually, so I made a detour so that I can make sure that I catch you back at home since your stop would be closed at this time.” The spectacled one chuckled softly before taking out a box of candies and presenting it to the masked one. 

@masters-never-die

She runs her fingers through his hair for a moment before smiling. A chuckle escapes before Elene can reply.

“I’m just happy, is all… Woke up in a good mood today”

“I... see. If that is how the general feels, then I won’t question it.” Yagen replied, quietly keeping it to himself that the pats do feel kinda nice.

Swimming?? In his outfit?? That would be difficult. “Will we have time for our clothes to dry some after we go swimming?” At the very least he may end up having to take his cloak off long enough to swim.

–〖 月 〗–

     He hears the tantou’s hesitation after the first word.  Strategic-wise, he knew it was a hindrance as it gave away their position so easily in the dark.  However, it was better than him stumbling on overgrown tree roots and leaving himself open to attack.  The darkness of night put him at a disadvantage while his companion could move with stealth and grace. 

    If anything, he could simply use himself as bait so the other can make a killing blow– 

    “I trust you to watch my back, Yagen Toushirou.”  He offers another smile, and a short chuckle before he began to walk forward.  The darkening forest tells him to be wary of his surroundings, and he does so with one ear to the ground.  

    “Shall we cause a commotion, and try to draw it out?”

“I will always be watching your back... but it’d be good if your back wasn’t facing risks that can be easily settled on the spot.” Yagen replied in a mutter, still not keen on letting Mikazuki go around with his lantern since it would affect the mission a lot, though he’d rather try to reason with the other sword about it rather then telling him outright to turn the lantern off.

Munechika seemed like a reasonable person after all. 

“Ah no thank you.” He tightened his grip on his cloak, shaking his head. He never took it off, except to sleep. It was easier to deal with a pale complexion than risk someone calling him “pretty”, in his opinion.

“I....” Yagen wanted to say that it was better if they’d drop the lantern as its non-natural light could easily be used by that one remaining revisionist to track the sword boys’ movements, or determine how close they were to it. Also, if said revisionist did decide to launch a surprise attack on the toudans, holding a lantern in the hand would make it impractical to guard against the attack in a time-sensitive situation as you have one less hand to draw out your weapon quickly.

“Funny. Tsurumaru told me the same thing, while patting my back with the hand of his left arm that he was holding in his right hand.” Yagen bluntly replied to Kashuu. “He’s currently made to go to the repair room to sew back that arm on, and maybe get a plaster for that slap on his face made by said arm.” The doctor said this while glancing at one of his own hands and wiping the little blood on it on his lab coat, without going into further detail about that slap Tsuru got. 

The tantou eyed the uchigata intensively as if he was scanning the other sword. “Besides, my job here is to handle the injured swords who have the least serious injuries but still require treatment nonetheless... mainly because we only have two available repair rooms and a party of three swords who are all injured.” The Toushirou reached out and placed a hand on Kiyomitsu’s shoulder. “Your two party members, Tsurumaru and Yamanbagiri, are now being treated in the repair rooms for their serious injures. You are the only one whose whole body is still relatively intact and able to function normally, but if you leave that gaping slash on your side open, you won’t be for very long.

    ❛ Mm, I’m not really sure ! ❜ Taikogane leaned over his fellow swords desk, covering the stack of papers scattered about. ❛ This looks boring and lonely to me, but..you like it, right ? ❜ He cupped his chin in his hand as he looked up at Yagen,  ❛ Do you agree with Fudou-kun? ❜ 

“I see that you have Fudou-kun on your mind a lot... good. That guy certainly needs people who care about him... its just that he also needs some time alone now and then to sort out his thoughts.” Yagen took a small stack of papers to gently pat Taikogane on the head with it. “I too, need some time alone from time to time to sort out what thoughts and things... but I can appreciate good company when it’s there.”