A belated entry. I was busy.
The saniwa they are referring to is Ueda Sen, my OC.
Map the Sky
"I see the Water Jar," Mutsunokami, lying on the grass, pointed at the sky.
"We should be on alert," Yamanbagiri sat by the campfire. Their team was in Toba for the first time. Just recently, they had learned that the revisionists could manifest uchigatana. On a previous mission, Yamanbagiri faced off with their first enemy uchigatana. He had gotten a long cut on his arm before slaying it.
Their citadel consisted of six sword. Wasn't Mutsunokami worried about the stronger enemies they would eventually meet? He was the first sword that arrived in the Ueda Citadel; he had been fighting since the beginning. He had yet to grow weary.
"Aren't you curious, Ya-chan?" Mutsunokami rolled over to face Yamanbagiri.
"About what?" his eye twitched. When did Mutsunokami decide to use such a personal nickname?
"Everythin'!" Mutsunokami spread his arms out. "I read a book that mapped the sky. Did you know stars are far away suns?"
Yamanbagiri didn't care to learn about the universe. He was given a body to fight Sen's war. Why would he need to know so much about the world?
Mutsunokami lie on his back again and continued looking at the sky.
"The night looks different here compared to the citadel, don't you think? Master says it's because of 'light pollution'."
How could light litter the sky? Human language made no sense. Yamanbagiri hoped he could return to his sword form soon; he could stop hearing absurd things and avoid contemplating about being a copy. His sentience somehow made him more self-conscious about being a duplicate.
He finally looked upwards to entertain Mutsunokami. The night sky was brighter than what one saw at the citadel. White clouds of stars were scattered above them, tinting everything around it blue and copper. Some stars were larger than others. Was that how Mutsunokami could distinguish and find the constellations?
"People could be on sea or land, and they could still navigate about. Who would've thought humans could look at stars and figure out where they were in the world?" Mutsunokami pointed at the Eagle constellation. "They could make a map, a bird's-eye view of the world, before they could even fly."
Now, humans devices could pinpoint one's exact location in the world. Sen had explained to Yamanbagiri and Mutsunokami how to use a touch screen phone in case of an emergency. Mutsunokami held the electronic while asking a dozen questions. Yamanbagiri didn't understand a thing. A copy like him couldn't adapt so quickly.
"It'll take at least a hundred years to understand how human minds work," Yamanbagiri tossed leaves and twigs into the fire.
"I don't mind," Mutsunokami stood and sat beside Yamanbagiri. He patted the other's shoulder. "I've got great company."
"Like the tantou? Our master?"
"And you, Ya-chan. Don't forget that," Mutsunokami let his arm linger on Yamanbagiri for a little longer. Yamanbagiri would learn to appreciate his own existence, eventually.
My reference for stargazing in Japan - wow-j /en/Allguides/other/sightseeing/01578_en/
Check out /wiki/Phantom_ island for examples of mistakes in maps that were continuously copied.
All constellations were referred to by their Japanese names:
1. Water Jar (a.k.a. Aquarius) constellation - /wiki/Aquarius_ (constellation)
2. Eagle (a.k.a. Aquila) constellation - /wiki/Aquila_ (constellation)
Term for light pollution in Japanese is 光害, which translates into something like 'light harm/injure'. If I'm incorrect in my translation or information, please say so. I have taken liberties and used the English term.
