Ishida Mitsunari ▽ 石田三成 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
curseking) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
piratejournal2014-12-17 08:31 pm
curseking) wrote in piratejournal2014-12-17 08:31 pm
Entry tags:
006. voice/action for the katabami
[These innocuous mechanical birds seem to be causing something of a stir, and Mitsunari has to wonder why. So when he realizes one of them has silently perched itself on his scabbard (he has so few valuable possessions, everything important to him is kept on his person) he picks it up and finds himself listening to the song it has to sing.
Unimpressed and wondering what's so offensive about it aside from being dull, (as if he has any right to criticize needless upset) he starts to set the bird down somewhere, only for the song to fade and for a very familiar voice to come through instead. He can't possibly be hearing the voice he thinks -- he knows -- he is.]
...Lord... Hanbei? Are you -- ?!
[He believes, for one wonderful instant, that it may be Hanbei Takenaka himself speaking through this bird, but the words are ones he's heard before. It's like a memory being played out over radio. He can barely speak, so he listens instead, captivated and confused and hurting.
The voice eventually changes, and it is still so achingly familiar. He could not possibly forget who it belongs to. It's the voice he's wished more than any other that he could hear just one more time, even if doing so would open up a wound that never healed in the first place.
He listens. It's as if the bird is repeating everything his lord Hideyoshi had to say to him within those final few days of his life. Be it orders or praise or scolding, they're all precious memories.
The last thing the bird repeats is not a memory -- it's not Mitsunari's memory, that is. But Mitsunari thinks he knows what he's been given the privilege of hearing. Words he'd thought forever lost on the one person who surely deserved to hear them least.
Lord Hideyoshi's last words, it seems, were to Hanbei.
Mitsunari will be found in a strange mood for as long as these birds are around. This has spurred all kinds of conflicting emotions he really doesn't know how to deal with, but it's those final thoughts that have had the biggest effect. This isn't the closure he believes vengeance would bring -- in fact, his emotional damage feels more raw than ever -- but at least now he can finally stop wondering what passed through his lord's head at the end of his life. He was not ashamed or defeated, and he did not waver.
And Mitsunari feels that, if nothing else, the resolve in his own heart has strengthened.]
---
Lord Hanbei... Lord Hideyoshi... I have heard their voices once again.
[In Mitsunari's view, these little birds are kind of miraculous.]
Ieyasu... try all you like. You cannot take this from me!
[Part of him had been wary, and he had wondered if he could trust some of what he heard. But he knows Hideyoshi's voice, and could not mistake it or be fooled by an imposter. And he knows his lord's nature well enough that he has no doubt he would address Hanbei in his final moments. In fact, there would be nothing more like him. That was Hideyoshi.
Quieter, and to himself:]
Lord Hideyoshi... was this your wish...?
[Or was it just by someone else's whim that he was able to hear what he did? Perhaps he'll never know.]
Unimpressed and wondering what's so offensive about it aside from being dull, (as if he has any right to criticize needless upset) he starts to set the bird down somewhere, only for the song to fade and for a very familiar voice to come through instead. He can't possibly be hearing the voice he thinks -- he knows -- he is.]
...Lord... Hanbei? Are you -- ?!
[He believes, for one wonderful instant, that it may be Hanbei Takenaka himself speaking through this bird, but the words are ones he's heard before. It's like a memory being played out over radio. He can barely speak, so he listens instead, captivated and confused and hurting.
The voice eventually changes, and it is still so achingly familiar. He could not possibly forget who it belongs to. It's the voice he's wished more than any other that he could hear just one more time, even if doing so would open up a wound that never healed in the first place.
He listens. It's as if the bird is repeating everything his lord Hideyoshi had to say to him within those final few days of his life. Be it orders or praise or scolding, they're all precious memories.
The last thing the bird repeats is not a memory -- it's not Mitsunari's memory, that is. But Mitsunari thinks he knows what he's been given the privilege of hearing. Words he'd thought forever lost on the one person who surely deserved to hear them least.
Lord Hideyoshi's last words, it seems, were to Hanbei.
Mitsunari will be found in a strange mood for as long as these birds are around. This has spurred all kinds of conflicting emotions he really doesn't know how to deal with, but it's those final thoughts that have had the biggest effect. This isn't the closure he believes vengeance would bring -- in fact, his emotional damage feels more raw than ever -- but at least now he can finally stop wondering what passed through his lord's head at the end of his life. He was not ashamed or defeated, and he did not waver.
And Mitsunari feels that, if nothing else, the resolve in his own heart has strengthened.]
---
Lord Hanbei... Lord Hideyoshi... I have heard their voices once again.
[In Mitsunari's view, these little birds are kind of miraculous.]
Ieyasu... try all you like. You cannot take this from me!
[Part of him had been wary, and he had wondered if he could trust some of what he heard. But he knows Hideyoshi's voice, and could not mistake it or be fooled by an imposter. And he knows his lord's nature well enough that he has no doubt he would address Hanbei in his final moments. In fact, there would be nothing more like him. That was Hideyoshi.
Quieter, and to himself:]
Lord Hideyoshi... was this your wish...?
[Or was it just by someone else's whim that he was able to hear what he did? Perhaps he'll never know.]
[action]
The Grim Reaper's been informed that there are, supposedly, four of those birds in total, but he's not in a hurry to search of them. In fact, he feels he'd rather never see any of those in his life again. Of course, that plan goes down the drain the moment he spots one of them in Mitsunari's grip.]
... If you wanna cling to the memory of the dead so badly, be my guest. But this piece of shit─
[He narrows his eyes, glaring daggers at the bird, but (miraculously) surpasses the urge to rip it apart here and now.]
How the hell are you keeping this around? Just looking at it makes me wanna hurl.
[action]
-- Don't you dare speak of them as though they are little more than corpses!
[Without really thinking about it, he angles the mechanical bird away from Ragna. If he were to try and destroy this bird too, he'd have something to say about it.]
I have finally heard the voices of my lords once more! Why would I throw that away?! Because it is painful?!
[It's worth feeling the losses all over again if it means having some part of them back.]
[action]
[He doesn't mean it's all they used to be, of course, because that's not true and even someone insensitive as Ragna wouldn't go as far as to claim the opposite. The corpses, however, are ultimately what they are.
There's something about what Mitsunari said that makes him feel uneasy. "Painful"... he knows he wouldn't call it that
despite it being exactly the case, much less admit it out loud. Setting that thought aside, the Grim Reaper scowls. It doesn't seem like they're gonna see eye-to-eye on this matter, but hell, do they ever?]'Cause it's nothing more than a cheap-ass toy that sounds like a broken record, that's why.
[action]
Shut your mouth! It's more than a trinket to have allowed me the privilege of hearing Lord Hideyoshi's last words!
[And he believes absolutely that he isn't mistaken.
It hasn't occurred to him at this point that Ragna must have also heard the voice of some important-but-long-gone person through the little bird he destroyed, but one way or another, it won't change how he feels.]
[action]
Ragna opens his mouth to yell back at him─ probably that he should check his privilege or that he doesn't give a shit about his Lord Whatever or something similar─ but no words come out. A part of what Mitsunari has just said gives him a pause, which may be a small miracle by itself.]
It... can do that?
[He already knows what the birds are capable of, of course, but... "Last words"? Hearing that, he can't help but wonder... if he hadn't flown off the handle and crushed the thing to pieces back then, perhaps he, too, would have... But the real question is whether he would have had the stomach to handle it.
... Shit. He really shouldn't be thinking about things like that now.]
[action]
The words Lord Hideyoshi spoke as Ieyasu snuffed out his life... I know, without a doubt... they are what this bird repeated for me to hear!
[He voice drops down from a furious shout to something more controlled, though a vein in his neck pulses as he says Ieyasu's name. He doesn't want to reveal what those final words were, exactly, because he feels it isn't something just anyone should be allowed to know, but even he knows better than to assume it would matter to Ragna in the first place -- even if he also thinks it should.]
[action]
... Where you there to hear that yourself? When that happened, I mean.
[That's an extremely personal question, and one Ragna wouldn't really ask anyone (much less Mitsunari of all the people) for no reason. He just... wants to make sure if he understood that correctly. He needs to know.]
[action]
No. Lord Hideyoshi was dead when I found him. I failed to reach them in time.
["Them" being both Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. He likes to think he could have intervened had he been just a little faster, but if he were to have witnessed Ieyasu's betrayal right then and there, who knows? He may not have believed his own eyes. Because Ieyasu would never. He was no traitor, no matter how they disagreed...
He can't help but dwell on that day every time he's made to remember it. The crack of lightning that caught his attention, and the horrible sense of dread that followed him all the way to Hideyoshi's dead body. And then came the rain.
-- In any case, Ragna has his answer.]
[action]
... Well, that's awkward. It takes Ragna a moment to snap out of his own thoughts, and once he does, he realizes this conversation has steered into an unexpected direction. Granted, Mitsunari always talks about his Lord What's-His-Name, even when others don't want to listen, but this... is kind of different. He never would've thought he'd get to talk to him like that for sure.]
... That helps?
[He asks, indicating the bird in the other man's hand.]
[action]
...It eases my suffering, as if they have never left... And yet the memory of that day is fresh in my mind.
[The birds are something of a double-edged sword in this respect, though Mitsunari would say the benefits outweigh the negatives. How could he not? He'll take anything that brings him a little closer to the people he's lost.
It doesn't bother him to discuss this with Ragna, not being one to hide his feelings from friend or foe. If anything, it's the most painful feelings that are the hardest to keep to himself.]
[action]
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action;
[She spotted Mitsunari and trotted over, simply standing beside him quietly.]
action;
...Do you want something from me?
[He wasn't offering so much as just asking.]
action;
[For once, she wasn't asking to be doted upon or to be patted or consoled. This was Kodachi's true sadness. Oh, it was better that they were out at sea, or she may have destroyed another island - but now that the urge for destruction had waned, as had the wailing and the tears, she was left with the quiet aftermath, like an emptiness after a storm had passed.]
[She would be back to her usual self in a while, but even maniacal gymnasts had moments of silence.]
What about you?
action;
I have all that I can be given.
[He idly toys with the mechanical bird he's holding in his hand. There's no doubt what he means.]
action;
[Kodachi wasn't certain if that was good or bad. To hear the voice of someone important to you, and yet be unable to see them again . . .]
[Action]
When he notices how Mitsunari has been spending a lot of time around the birds, he realizes it's something he probably shouldn't let go without comment, especially when he hears him speaking to the journal.]
Has this done anything to put your heart at ease?
[As usual, Motochika doesn't wait for any sort of invitation to take up a place at Mitsunari's side, reaching over to poke one of the birds.]
[Action]
...I have been reminded again and again that I cannot ever again hear their voices so long as they are dead. It was not enough to steal Lord Hideyoshi's life. Ieyasu went so far as to take Lord Hideyoshi's last words... until now.
...Ieyasu did not kill Lord Hideyoshi's spirit! He was not afraid. And Lord Hideyoshi, he...
[Addressed Hanbei, is what he means to say, but decides against it. Mitsunari lets the sentence trail off.]
Never will I forget what I have heard. I am... grateful to have been allowed this.
[Anything to do with Ieyasu leads to emotional turmoil, yes, but some part of his heart has been put at ease.]
[Action]
You can't hear them, but you can remember them. That's what's important. No doubt it would come to that eventually anyway, be it age or sickness that would have taken them in time. You just keep their memory in your heart. I'm sure I've told you that before.
[Action]
[Hanbei's death was tragic and cruel and it will never strike him as anything other than unfair, but in Mitsunari's view, at least it's not betrayal. Of course, when someone dies from an illness, there is nothing to avenge. That's its own kind of cruelty.
His insistence aside, he doesn't move or protest when his shoulder is pat. He's gotten kind of accustomed to Motochika's Motochika-ness. It doesn't make him want to automatically try and, oh, bruise him in retaliation anymore.]
Lord Hideyoshi and Lord Hanbei are alive within my memories, and those cannot be ripped away from me. But it is not the same as seeing them in the flesh.
[Or hearing them in real time. Mitsunari looks at the bird he's presently holding in his hands. When it rusts and can no long "sing", he's going to be indescribably disappointed...]
[Action]
[Motochika sighs. That would be a mess and even he knows it. The souls of those men have already passed on and there are some things even a pirate shouldn't go about stealing.]
This place certainly does like to play on nostalgia...
[Action]
Maybe he shouldn't ask whose voices Motochika heard, and maybe the answer is obvious, but he finds anyway that he must.]
...Your dead pirate crew.
[But ultimately, it's not a question at all.
There was a more delicate way of phrasing that, but as Motochika surely knows, he's not one to spare others' feelings with carefully-chosen words.]
[Action]
Ouch, Mitsunari, geez.]Aye.
[For someone as long-winded as Motochika can be, it's a suspiciously succinct answer. There are days when he can talk about them for hours on end with a smile on his face, but then there are days like today when that's all he's willing to offer on the topic. Maybe it's hearing their voices again. As much as it had put his heart at ease, it was still a heavy sort of thing.]
Not all of them, not yet, but I'm sure the birds will keep busy with it.
[Action]
Mr. Sensitivity, this one.But cold phrasing aside, even Mitsunari has figured out that this is a subject that needs to be treated with some care, so he is dead silent until he decides he really needs to ask the next thing that comes to mind.]
...Are they as important to you... as Lord Hideyoshi and Lord Hanbei are to me?
[Action]
Aye. Different in a way, perhaps, as I was their master rather than their servant, but they are very important to me. The most important thing. The same goes for the rest of my crew, as well, of course. The men who serve me are more precious than any treasure I might steal for myself.
[There's not as much pain in his voice as there would have been a year or so ago when the loss was more fresh. Now it's mostly pride and fondness, though he can't help but be a little wistful. He'd like to sail his own sea again with the crew he left behind sooner rather than later. He can't deny that, no matter how much he enjoys himself here.]
[Action]
...I see.
[In a way, it's difficult to take in, because his failure to keep a closer eye on Yoshitsugu and Motonari and stop their traitorous plan before it could be hatched is the reason they're having this conversation at all. That he is complicit in that betrayal -- no, that it is betrayal, specifically -- feels more important than ever.]
...Then... your grief...
It... can compare to mine.
[He sounds like he's forcing himself to admit some deeply painful truth. But from his perspective, that's exactly what it is.]
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