Of Peonies, Chrysanthemums, and Your Smile
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Touken Ranbu - DMM & Nitro+
Story and Plot - Star-Bening
Warning: Implicit Character Death, Angst!
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It's almost like waking up from a deep slumber. Familiar, yet foreign feeling started to form in his heart. Or is it? The next thing he know is a flurry of sakura petals and a pair of brown irises.
"I'm Yamanbagiri Kunihiro. What's with the look? Did the fact that I'm a duplicate bothers you?"
Did he just... talk?
"Hum~ I don't think so. Why must it bother me though?"
It seems he just talked since the one standing in front of him responded, and instinctively, reflexively, he pull the fabric on his head down even further.
He can see the body. His body. And he feels weird. All of this time, he only know that the one has this kind of body is a human, not a sword.
Not a duplicate like him.
"Eh... if you done inspecting your body, let's go around the citadel! Where is Konnosuke?"
That voice invades his hearing again, a calm yet child-like voice. He searches for that figure, his new owner.
There they are. A slender figure with brown locks and light blue hakata is standing not far from him. Yamanbagiri wonders if that body is the same as him.
"Aruji-san! Haah...! Don't wander off yourself like that! Even though I'm a shikigami, keeping up with your antics every time still make me tired, you know!" another voice this time. A small bright yellow fox come from the door. Around its neck is a big bell.
His new master only laughs and scratched his head. "I'm so excited you know! This is my first time summoning a sword soul! Look!" They suddenly grabbed his hand. "I did it, Konnosuke! Isn't this a great start?!" they said excitedly.
Yamanbagiri want to snort. Summoning the soul of a duplicate like him is a good start?
"Then we can proceed to sortie. Aruji-san, Yamanbagiri Kunihiro-san, please get ready to do your first sortie." Said the fox shikigami.
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You can say it's not the best first experience.
Bruise and cuts mar his body and sword. The wounds sting and his muscles sore. His new owner isn't that much different either. But that man never complaint. Yamanbagiri stay silent as his young owner brought many sort of thing to him. First he attend to himself, then...
"This is okay. If I'm all in tatters, no one will compare me anymore..." again his body moved without warning. As if he has done this so many times before.
They still grabbed his hand and attends to it carefully. Cleaning the cuts and wounds then bandaged it. "Don't say something as stupid as that. If you are hurt, no matter how small, it's better to attends to it." They say gently.
And Yamanbagiri still finds it weird, for someone to talk to him that gently.
His other hand grabbed that tattered fabric once again, pulling it lower.
A few minute later, they told him to sit next to them. They pull out an uchako, powder and clean cloth. While chanting, they start to clean his sword. Somehow, Yamanbagiri feels a tug in his chest, a nostalgic feeling from long time ago. When he felt this kind of feeling, Yamanbagiri wonders.
Even after they finished tending his sword, that warm feeling in his chest didn't go away.
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Yamanbagiri didn't realize when "you" become "Manba-chan". Maybe it's after they got little Sayo, or maybe after they got Shokudaikiri Mitsutada. That pet name surely bothers him, but he cannot stop a warm feeling to surface every time they call him that. He silently mutters "stupid aruji" as he pulled his hood down after a series of laughter from the saniwa. He feels weird, and he didn't really like it.
"Your name is too long, you know! Manba-chan is better!" they said every time.
Maybe it just one of their trademark, like "Osayo" for the little tantou, "Bebe-san" for Heshikiri Hasebe, and "Yasussan" for Yamatonokami Yasusada. So Yamanbagiri learn to accept the new annoying pet name, just to make sure that he is different from other Yamanbagiri from other four citadels.
For once, he feels like he is him.
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If there is another weird thing from his new owner, he never truly stays in the citadel often. Sometimes it's a week, sometimes it just a few days or even a few hour.
"I also have other work, you know... It's sad to not able to stay here very often, but I truly always miss you all. Especially you, Manba-chan. Really!"
After that, Kashuu Kiyomitsu usually pouts and sulks while muttering "are you not missing me, aruji". Yamanbagiri didn't really mind that. It's still weird to know that they miss him even though he is only a duplicate. But he feels like its normal. He then pulls his hood down again while Horikawa and Yamabushi Kunihiro patted his shoulder.
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Then one day, he comes.
"Yo. I'm Tsurumaru Kuninaga. Are you surprised that somebody like me came here so suddenly?"
A tachi with white pallet, a playful sword under a calm surface, stronger than him, of course. A total opposite of him. And they also realize that. Placing the newly manifested sword immediately to the first team, giving him three gold troops and giving him the only omamori that citadel has.
No. Yamanbagiri doesn't feel jealous at all. Definitely not. He is just a duplicate after all. He knows that his owner will surely find a new stronger, better sword soon. Then he will be obscured once again, just like what a duplicate sword deserved. He is not jealous to Tsurumaru Kuninaga at all.
Or maybe he is. A little bit.
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"He is late." Yamanbagiri said.
"Who?" asked Horikawa.
Yamanbagiri decided to only sigh. Maybe they have bored to stay in the citadel anymore. Or maybe they already find another stronger sword somewhere and stay with them.
Yamabagiri squeezed his chest, there is a little pain there. He never felt this before.
"Ah~! It's finally done, kyoudai!" Horikawa said after planting the last few seeds. Yamanbagiri nods and bring their tools, "Yes... let's go back." He answered.
Suddenly, the sky looks weird. A portal manifested just above them. Yamanbagiri wonder if another saniwa come to spar their touken danshi with them.
"Is another saniwa coming to our citadel?" seems like Horikawa also have the same mind as him.
A series of lightning strike down not far from them. The impact blow some dust away. When it's cleared up, they can see the black figure of Time Retrograde Army.
"J-jikanshokogun?!" Yamanbagiri cannot believe his eyes. The corrupted sword look at their direction and immediately charging. With great reflex, Yamanbagiri and Horikawa dodged the first attack. Both of them then run as fast as they can to the citadel.
"EVERYONE! THE CITADEL IS UNDER ATTACK!"
And all hell breaks lose.
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How long have he fight? Those black corrupted sword always come back like there is no end of them.
"AKITA!"
A shout heard from his left. Another sword has broken again, it seems. How many of them left he wonders. Also..., when will they come back? Will they ever come back?
Yamanbagiri gritted his teeth and charged to the nearest Time Retrograde Army. His body hurts, his muscle sore, cuts and bruises has formed on his entire body, his sword has dulled from all the stabbing ad cutting. But he cannot stop now. He once again glanced around him. One, two, three, four... Around fifteen swords still able to fight. Then he glanced below him, countless sword, his own comrades and his enemies.
Why did this happen now? Why did this happen when the saniwa is not in the citadel? Will he broke like others? Will this be their end?
Will he... lose everything now...?
"CHARGE!"
That familiar voice finally heard, a calm yet child-like voice, a brave and commanding voice.
A figure then attacks the Time Retrograde Army on his right. Blood splattered everywhere, and there they is, with a glinting sword in their hand, stabbing straight to the corrupted sword abdomen. With one swift movement, they pulled the sword and saw the corrupted sword breaks away.
"I'm seriously late isn't it?" They said.
Yamanbagiri never felt anymore relieved than this.
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All that said, they fight a losing war. From thirty one touken danshis to fifteen to three. Then...
"Jiroutachi!"
Two, he guessed...
Jiroutachi fall down after shielding the saniwa from the Time Retrograde Army's attack. There is only one of them left, but this one is stronger than many others. An ootachi with golden armor. Tsurumaru and Yamanbagiri stand side-by-side in front of the saniwa as they tries to prevents Jiroutachi from breaking. It's futile, he sees. Jiroutachi's blade has long wore down. The sword vessel can't hold the soul any longer.
"This is a very bad situation isn't it?" He heard Tsurumaru Kuninaga speak.
"But we can only fight." Yamanbagiri answers.
Soon, the sword breaks down, leaving the three of them.
Tsurumaru Kuninaga is the first one to move. Yamanbagiri followed not long after. Both of them attacked the ootachi coordinatively. The saniwa also attacks after Tsurumaru and Yamanbagiri give them the opening.
Between attacking and defending, the three of them do it cautiously until Yamanbagiri missed the ootachi's attack. His body thrown quiet far from the battlefield, crashing to the half-standing citadel wall.
"Will I break now...?" he mutters silently. His vision darkens. He can hear the voice of the saniwa, the sound of sword clashing, the sound of spring wind and the faint smell of sakura.
"Ahh... I don't want this..." he thought. He still want to fight, he still want to protect them. He wants to show that he is different from that person. He wants them to recognize him.
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"Will the comparisons continue even after I disappear...?"
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