#hokvso

–〖 時鳥 〗–

     He had seen this scene many times--the clouds that float quietly pass the full moon, and the quiet chirping of crickets that reach his ears.  The same tea he always drank sits besides him as gold-tinged gaze watches the serenity only seem to grow the longer the night went.  The fireflies that greeted the summer night had long faded away as time marched towards autumn.  

      Kogitsunemaru calls him a night owl, while Tsurumaru calls him an early bird, and he ponders on which is true.  Many of the swords in this citadel were night owls, evident as he hears muffled laughter coming from one of the common rooms.  Muted light showed through the paper doors, while the other part of the citadel was dark as some slept through the night.  The ones drinking were often late for breakfast, while the ones sleeping were the “early birds” who woke up with the sun.  Can one be both?  A question he mulls over to have his mind busy.  

    Footsteps alert him of another walking towards him, and he pauses in his thoughts before glancing towards the noise.  His fingers twitch in surprise as the newcomer appears, his lone gaze showing surprise as he caught sight of the azure tachi.

–〖 時鳥 〗–

     "It is a wonderful thing to look forward too, hm?”  The tachi replies, a smile forming as he watches their squad go into the repair room.  He can hear their master lightly scolding and fussing over Tsurumaru and Taikogane as Ookurikara and Kasen stands by the entrance to wait their turn.  He pats the other tachi on the shoulder, giving him a small push towards the lit up room.  

–〖 時鳥 〗–

      A smile creeps onto his face as he turns towards the other tachi, a tilt of his head as he stares at the other with amusement.  They’ve been fighting together for a long time now--after all, they were both one of the first swords their master breathed life into.  The status of captain switched between the two, with Tsurumaru being the third choice.  

      It was nostalgic.

      “I am afraid I will be staying in the citadel for this sortie.  But I am sure you will do a wonderful job as always, Shokudaikiri.”  The azure tachi replies.  

      His hand tenses under his long sleeve, signaling that his paralysis had returned--but he gives away nothing with his usual nonchalant smile.

▤ = falling asleep on them .

—「 日 」—

        Tsurumaru feels as if he's floating on a cloud. He feels peaceful, like he is drifting along a soft and gentle breeze. But there is something squeezing him around the chest. In fact, it is making it kind of hard to breathe...

        By the time Tsurumaru fully opens his eyes, he does not expect to see Mitsutada's figure wrapped around him and his haori like a clingy tantou. The other is fast asleep, but he is holding onto the crane so tightly that he thinks the other is faking it. Attempts at nuding the other awake are in complete vain

        "Mitsu-bou... are you drunk?" he asks incredulously. The crane is still somewhat groggy from his nap, but he can't think moreso because of how tightly the tachi is holding onto him. There is a very faint smell of alcohol that wafts into his nose. Suddenly, the tachi wonders where Ookurikara was when you needed him to keep Mitsutada in check.

        "Mm... Kae-chan... yer so soff... Mitsutada murmurs as he snuggles closer into Tsuru's haori.

        Tsurumaru isn't even sure what he's supposed to say in this situation. A part of him wants to pretend to be Kaede just to see how Mitsutada will react, but not even years of voice training could ever allow him to sound like his saniwa. Though he knows it is futile, the crane begins to struggle against Mitsutada's solid grasp vehemently.

—「 日 」—

        "Well yeah, of course, you big idiot," The baku bites back as he pulls the bandages on the kodama's arm with much more strength than was necessary. He groans under his breath as addresses the rest of Mitsutada's shallow cuts with a potent salve he had kept for ages. Honestly, who'd ever heard of a spirit with reduced powers fighting a stronger one before bleeding to death afterwards?