[012] - [Video]

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide is sat next to the tree in the garden of his home. His fairy is back in its usual place; a white light floating near his head. There is an empty dish at his side.]The fairies have returned. I have noticed that the coral seems to be growing brighter again as well. Reassuring, but still leaving many questions. Ones I already know will not

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action;

[behisstrength]

[Not too long afterwards, Motochika, having put most of the new peaches in the kitchen, comes out into the garden. He appears to have more fur than normal, slung over one shoulder, and a peach in hand.]

Mitsuhide!

[He calls and waits until he has Mitsuhide's full attention. Then he throws the peach at his friend.]

Catch.

action;

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide raises his head and catches the fruit with ease. He had been daydreaming peacefully while waiting, but was fully alert now that he held the peach in his hand.]

Thank you.

[A smile. He examines his prize.]

It looks like a good one.

[So he bites into the soft, white flesh. It is a good one indeed, sweet and juicy. ♥]

action;

[behisstrength]

[While Mitsuhide eats, Motochika makes his way over. When he is at Mitsuhide's side, in one fluid move he draws the extra fur free and sweeps it over Mitsuhide's shoulders -- it is a white fur stole.]

action;

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide swallows his current mouthful of peach and stops eating it for a moment. He blinks, and touches the stole with his free hand.]

[It is soft under his fingers.]

Lord Motochika?

[He looks to the side at his companion, expression curious.]

Why did you get this?

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[behisstrength]

I simply liked the look and feel of it.

[He half-steps back, and looks considering for a moment, then satisfied.]

It suits you.

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[wavesoakedlegs]

I see... well, it is very soft.

[Mitsuhide runs his hand along it and tries not to look at all embarassed.]

Thank you, my Lord.

action;

[behisstrength]

[Motochika smiles -- a little knowingly, perhaps -- and then takes a seat on the floor.]

I met a new arrival at the market. A ninja, from another world.

action;

[wavesoakedlegs]

[A ninja?]

What was he like?

[Ninja are often strange folk, understandably so considering what their job entails. Mitsuhide resumes eating his peach, though a little more carefully than before; he does not want to ruin his gift, after all.]

action;

[behisstrength]

Young. He was still only a boy; neither shadow, nor demon.

[There had still been an innocence in his air, more akin to Yukimura's Kunoichi, and the Lady Nene -- abnormal, for most ninja.]

He refused to believe that he could take anything he wished to without paying. When I fetched him a towel, his first concern was whether it was right to have simply taken it.

[He sounds a little amused.]

He was also dressed in a shade of orange as bright as a tiger's coat. You would not have taken him for a ninja. I did not, until he informed me otherwise.

action;

[wavesoakedlegs]

That is most peculiar...

[Finishing off the peach, Mitsuhide places its seed in his dish to dispose of shortly.]

A ninja in orange? Wearing such a colour would surely prove to be a disadvantage for him.

[He leans back, lying down on the floor and staring up at the ocean dome above their heads.]

One cannot help but wonder about the world he must come from, or the master who trained him.

action;

[behisstrength]

Indeed.

[Motochika glances down to Mitsuhide.]

We have been here for eighty days now.

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[wavesoakedlegs]

That long?

[Mitsuhide's eyes flutter closed. He supposes it makes sense for that much time to have passed, considering how much he had adjusted to Vatheon now, but it still seems unreal. Nearly three months since he had fallen asleep in his wooden hut and woken up in the city under the sea, and over three months since the Battle of Yamazaki had ended so badly.]

It all feels so real, but sometimes... sometimes I cannot help but wonder whether this is a dream and I will wake up soon, in my little mountain home, and call myself a fool for believing otherwise. It's such an unbeliveable situation, after all.

action;

[behisstrength]

Unexpected, perhaps. [Motochika concedes.] It takes more strength to believe.

[He looks up, to the ocean above.]

I long for my island. My responsibilities. Yet... [he touches Mitsuhide's wrist.] I would mourn the loss of this.

[There is a bone-deep comfort to this situation -- to their tiny household. Even with the more concerning aspects of Vatheon, and their halted legacies.]

It has been a long time since I've had your company without war or politics between us.

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[wavesoakedlegs]

[A brief pause... and then Mitsuhide's eyes open again.]

A long time indeed.

[Memories fill his mind for a moment (including flashbacks to his childhood, which cause something of a smirk to pass over his face for little more than a second), before he looks over at Motochika. There were the usual fears hovering in the back of his mind, but now was not the time for them. This was a softer moment, a time to appreciate.]

I cannot say I would have imagined engaging in a snow fight with you any time during the past few years, or fighting over sleeping arrangements. It is... precious.

action;

[behisstrength]

[Motochika smirks at that. In both cases, Mitsuhide had put up a spirited resistance. It was certainly behaviour they could not have displayed in their land.]

Yes.

[And really, no more needs to be said. He smiles, and falls into a comfortable silence.]