thehometree | Glimmer, glitter, shine...

Entry tags:

Glimmer, glitter, shine...

One by one, new adventurers now arrive in the Tree. As one gain wings and rises to the second floor, another light brings in the next person. Soon, a steady stream of people from all kinds of worlds, times and realities come to join the others. Whether confused, angry, excited or scared, your arrival is welcomed with nothing but joy as the fireflies and glow worms descend to greet their new friends.

The Tree offers no explanation and no reason, but the truth is undeniable.

As you will soon realize, it isn't easy to be tiny.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of all the people Tsuruhime has come across thus far, this man is the first one who doesn't seem entirely foreign in dress, and the calm with which he seems to be handling the situation is grounding somehow, even from afar. It makes her feel like he might be a good person to speak with about all of this.

She approaches him with more caution that she would normally, but the way he interacts with the firefly relaxes her a bit. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing a villain would do. She knows she can't be sure just yet, but there's no harm in just talking to him, right?

"Do you really think so?"

Yoshitsugu glances at the young woman; what she wears is definitely familiar in a general sense. He pats the firefly one more time before drawing himself up straight and tapping his facecloth lightly.

"Yes. What point is there in fighting the flow? Best to accept this and deal with any challenges as and when they come."

Dropping his hands to his side, Yoshitsugu's tone grows serious.

"Do you disagree?"

Tsuruhime makes a soft humming noise as she considers his words. It sounds a bit like giving up to her, and that's not who she is, but at the same time... Some things are destined to happen; her gift has taught her that much. Her fortunes aren't always clear in meaning, but they're never wrong.

"I'm not sure," she says, thoughtfully. "Isn't it better to fight sometimes? If you're always accepting what happens, aren't you just giving up? You can't change everything, but..."

She trails off as his tone of voice finally registers with her. This man... he's kind of intimidating. She can't help but laugh nervously.

"Not all things fated to happen, right?"

Ah, this was familiar. The words, at least, and the suggestion of naivety. Every time Yoshitsugu has tried to defy the flow it has been for a person who spoke as such. There's a moment of quiet while he thinks, and when he speaks he just sounds calm again.

"What do you think is fated to happen now? Is it worth fighting?"

His interest in her answer is genuine, though it might not be hugely apparent that this is so.

"It's hard to say right now, but I'm sure everything will be fine!" She really does believe that, and everything about her voice and body language makes it obvious. "Maybe I could--" she starts to stay, before remembering she really shouldn't talk about that just yet. She won't be taken advantage of!

And it's then that she glances up and finally takes notice of something--that crest. This isn't the man that deceived her, but... Tsuruhime can't help but instantly be on guard. She's not good at hiding it either. Once again, she laughs nervously, but it's a bit forced--transparent, really, for someone gifted at reading people.

"Pardon me for being rude, but that crest you're wearing-- Are you related to Otani Yoshitsugu...?"

...well, that's certainly very interesting. Related to?

Being one of those people who is very gifted indeed at reading people, Yoshitsugu quirks an eyebrow (a motion almost completely hidden by the line of his hat) and wonders what he's done in the past to offend this young woman. There's a whole list of things that he might have done without even meeting her, frankly. Such is the result of being a strategist in a time of war... and also of having a sense of humour very few understand, though the latter isn't something that occurs to him at first.

"As much as any man can be related to himself, yes."

The firefly pushes against his side, though he doesn't acknowledge it again yet.

"Have I committed some great injustice against your family name, or do I owe you money? Both? I can beg at your feet for forgiveness, if you like."

He's an imposter...? Tsuruhime huffs and stomps her foot. She will not tolerate being lied to!

"How dare you try to deceive me! I'll have you know I met Otani-san several times, and he looked nothing like you! He was a liar too, though, so there is some resemblance," she says bitterly.

She cannot fathom why anyone would want to impersonate such a foul man! How can he expect to get away with it, even? The real Otani Yoshitsugu is well known for his illness, and this man seems as healthy as can be! And even then--

"He's dead, too! There's no way you could fool me."

Edited 2015-04-02 01:17 (UTC)

That is even more interesting.

Right now, the only way Yoshitsugu can reason this out is by assuming that the myriad of rumours he has surrounded himself with over the years, and the air of mystery he delibrately invokes, has been utilised by someone in order to pose as himself. There being other people by the same name as his isn't entirely impossible, but considering the young woman before him has recognised his crest that doesn't seem like the correct explanation.

"I am not deceiving you," he says, still calm and apparently unconcerned. "Nor do I have any reason to lie about who I am in a place like this."

He waves a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Though what you believe about me does not matter either. Call me something else if you want to."

Edited 2015-04-03 18:07 (UTC)

That only makes her angrier, and she makes a frustrated noise. What does he mean it doesn't matter? Call him something else?!

"I refuse! You will tell me the truth, or I will make you regret it!" she yells (if you can call it that), her voice filled with the promise of retribution. "There's no use in trying to lie to me! The man I met was horrible and wicked, but he was not an imposter! I met him at Osaka Castle--and Mitsunari-san too!" You can't fake that sort of thing, geez!

"And no one I met gave me any reason to believe otherwise!"

That'll show him!

Again Yoshitsugu doesn't seem bothered by her anger, though his curiousity does grow even further. This is an odd situation, to put it mildly, and one that's somewhat challenging to figure out. Especially as he's quite sure that this young woman does believe what she is saying.

"How mysterious."

He taps his saihai against his side.

"Mitsunari, as I know him, is a man permanently adored with a scowl and pouting lips who wears a delightfully bright and fluffy helmet adorned with golden horns, an apparent attempt at intimidation, though I do not think it works as he wishes. Does this match what you know, or will you grow even angrier?"

What he says might give Tsuruhime pause if she were the sort of person to truly think before she speaks, but alas, she is not.

"Well, you got the scowl right, but everything else is all wrong! Mitsunari-san didn't wear a helmet at all," she says, a bit of the anger leaving her voice towards the end. "Actually, he was pretty scary on his own..." she trails off. It's a bit strange that he wouldn't know that, she realizes. Tsuruhime was in the shrine all that time, so she hadn't known, but it seemed to be common knowledge to everyone else. Otani-san's illness, too. She should mention that.

"You should give up and apologize to me for lying! You're not convincing at all. In fact, you're a terrible imposter! Everyone knows that Otani-san was sick. You look perfectly healthy to me!" She finishes with a 'hmph'. If he keeps lying after this, he is a very stubborn man.

"This story grows stranger and stranger."

Yoshitsugu still isn't affected at all by Tsuru's threats. He merely watches her with an interested air; the further they get into this conversation, the less sure he is of, well, anything that might explain what's going on.

Which for him is pretty rare indeed.

"I am most definitely not sick right now, it's true. The rest of what I said is true as well."

He sits back down then and pets the firefly again, which seems happy for the attention.

"Two Yoshitsugus and two Mitsunaris... let us be grateful only one Yoshitsugu is here. No world could handle two in the same place."

Even though she knows she shouldn't, Tsuruhime can't help but lower her guard a bit when he sits down. Even though he's totally suspicious, being affectionate to a creature like that... It's not the sort of thing Otani-san or Mitsunari-san would have done, so maybe he's not dangerous. But he's still a big fat liar!

"What? That sort of thing isn't possible," she says, narrowing her eyes. Looking around, it's obvious a lot of these people come from different places, but that's absolutely ridiculous.

"You're very pigheaded, you know. There's no point in lying anymore! You won't fool me."

Pigheaded? That's a new one. Yoshitsugu has been called many, many things over the years, but that's the first time he's had that one thrown at him. It could be considered a kind of achievement!

"I'm almost certain I would fool you if I wanted to."

An insult spoken with the utmost politeness, with his gaze fixed on the content firefly.

"But right now I do not want to or need to."

"You could not! I have learned my lesson about trusting people like you!" She sounds 100% sure of herself, but really, it's just her temper. After all she's been through since leaving the shrine, Tsuruhime isn't completely unaware of how naive she is. If only Magoichi were here... She'd definitely know what to do! But reflecting back on how she came to realize anything was wrong before...

"I bet there's not a single person who would vouch for you!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Glimmer, glitter, shine...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject