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@

MONSTER

✖

CHARACTER NAME

Okkotsu Yuta

CIVILIAN NAME

Sugawara Fuji

TEAM

Revelation

HOUSING NUMBER

011

©

Comments

... delivery?

[misclassed]

[ Old folks, they're sneaky.

The days after the return from Egypt had been flurry of activity. Muramasa had set Yuta to work from the moment he'd shown up looking aimless and they'd sorted out the issue of the barrier: clearing the spring brush that began to grow around the building while they were halfway across the globe; finishing replacing old boards in the walls; sanding down lengths of wood for other prjects to a smooth finish. Most important is the fuel. An endless parade of transporting charred logs from the smattering of mounds of dirt and wood that Muramasa'd set in the woods, then an endless pile of fragile, crumbling, charred wood, sitting next to the smithy that splinters with a glass-like sound and leaves soot in every crease of Yuta's hands until its time to wash up and make dinner, and finally the endless task of cutting and sorting the charcoal into usable pieces for the forge itself, which sits empty, hungry, and cold inside.

After a week of splitting glass sounds and quiet chopping, Muramasa starts the work of melting down some of the scrap metal he's collected: rusty nails, an old bike chain, the despised carpentry hammer that was in the toolbox they found in an old storage room. The charcoal pile stops growing but Yuta's chore of cutting and sorting remains as the forge begins to consume the fruits of his labor. Tools begin appearing unannounced, like the spare charcoal hatchet that has become Yuta's out of necessity, and a small fleet of hammers.

One afternoon, a week after the forge begins to eat through the charcoal pile, there's a second bundle next to Yuta's hatchet when he arrives to begin cutting and sorting, wrapped in plain dark fabric. Peeking out from under the bundle is a bright scrap of paper, addressed to "Okkotsu" in a sharp, decisive hand. The unsigned note inside reads:

This one's yours.

Inside the bundle is a long wakizashi, sized perfectly for Yuta's lanky frame. Sheathed in an unadorned saya of plain wood, stained in a warm, handsome, dark color, it has an unassuming air at first glance, but the other fittings are clearly meant for use in battle rather than storage. The tsuba is sturdy iron, shaped like a swirl of flower petals, and the tsuka-maki is a simple dark blue cotton, laced up in an expert manner.

If Yuta unsheathes the blade, he will find an edge so sharp that it barely even needs any pressure to cut things pressed against it. That's as much of a signature as the wave-shaped hamon, or the name hidden on the tang under the handguard.

Of course, this is an afternoon where the old man's off on a patrol without him. It just seemed better to save them both the trouble of fussing with the rigamarole of courtesy, is all. ]

@VESSEL

[eyescar]

hey senpai
i'm sorry.

[copy]

what for?
you have nothing to apologize for, itadori-kun.

[eyescar]

you know why, senpai

[copy]

you weren't wrong though.

@ soba

[gorb]

( In the middle of the night -. )

Sukuna's gone.

Not like the others, not through a rift. Like LILITH has sent him back.

[copy]

[ An immediate response because sleep is for the mentally stable weak. ]

you're sure?

[gorb]

I wouldn't tell you if I wasn't.

[copy]

[ Hold on, checking something real quick... ]

ah, it's because his name disappeared from the network, right?
they delete someone's profile after sending them back?

delivery.

[misclassed]

[ Over the course of May, Muramasa's speed at churning out blades has only sped up as the month has gone on as the stock of scrap metal shrinks and the pile of smelted iron grows. The charcoal pile has likewise shrunken considerably without their old routines of going into the forest to build new kilns and fire them up. Lately, when Yuta goes into the smithy while Muramasa is manning the forge, the smell of woodsmoke is undercut with ozone and magical energy, as he supplements his fuel sources with his own reserves to keep up the production speed necessary for the prodigious amount of work he's turning out. Timelines that ought to stretch over months are compressed and overlapped into days and weeks, without a single moment to sacrifice the quality of the work.

Three days after Geto's visit, there's a parcel for Yuta when he arrives to take his "break" from the medical wards and recover his energy, this time left in Aventurine's care. Inside is a full-sized katana, with koshirae that match Yuta's wakizashi. The blade has the same signature sharp edge and wave pattern on the hamon as the shorter blade, a matched pair perfectly complimentary to each other.

If Yuta tries to thank Muramasa, he's rewarded with a reserved expression (which might be called "fond" on someone who is more forthright about his feelings) and a dismissive wave of the hand before the smith returns to his work.

He said he'd take care of Yuta, didn't he? This is all that is. ]

delivery!

[gorb]

( Since he's fed the brother and the boyfriend it feels like Yuta is the next stop. Which means there'll come a singular scraping sound at his door as one of Geto's curses announces itself, scurrying away when it hears noise inside. There's a covered bowl of oyakodon and a note, Geto's scrawl. )

It's not poisoned!

... Or is it? :) Eat it anyway. ~ G.S.

@curse - 06-28-79

[gimu]

hello yuta
not to sound weird
but this paper bird smells like you

[copy]

hello, choso-san!
it's really good to hear from you! (˶◜ᵕ◝˶)

[ Putting the immense relief that Choso's finally woken up mildly, maybe. ]

and that's not weird at all. [ Not to him anyway... ]
i made it.

[gimu]

[ what a funny little feeling that is. what does he make of it? the little face, the little bird perched with care in his palm, it makes Choso feel some kind of way, and that way is warm and gently effervescent. ]

it’s cute
i like it
thank you yuta
for being around

[copy]

[ Choso can't possibly know the impact that those simple words of appreciation for his presence have in the wake of everything he's done, but oh, do they hit hard in a good way that Yuta doesn't feel deserving of. There is a (perhaps slightly misty-eyed) pause before he can get himself to respond casually. ]

oh of course, it's no problem!
learning how to make origami cranes was fun.
sorry the earlier ones are a bit wonky.
i was going to replace them, but i thought they kind of had their own charm?

[ With all the different shapes and sizes, it also felt like a more fitting representation of the ten brothers. ]

un: forgery

[misclassed]

[ The last week of June, early in the morning; before the day's efforts to melt down Silco's scrap delivery have started, or even breakfast. ]

Yuta, will that other job of yours let you leave for a week or so?

[copy]

[ Given that his work at the med bay is on a voluntary basis and his EMT studies have been largely set aside in the chaos of the last month, the answer to the unexpected question is quite easy now that LILITH is able to help again. (Said answer is also pretty much immediate, someone either barely slept or is a very early riser.) ]

yes, that shouldn't be a problem.
why? ( ╹ -╹)?

[misclassed]

I'm going to — well, it's a pilgrimage, I guess. Want to come along?

[ He is. Trying. To not do this in his usual shifty, evasive way of solving problems. ]

[copy]

[ Ganbare, jiichan!! You can do it.

This invitation is already a pleasant surprise enough on its own to Yuta. (Both in that it's Muramasa leaving the forge of his own volition and that he's asking Yuta along.) Naturally, he feels inclined to come along to be of assistance when Muramasa is currently missing an arm, but also because a week away from everything here sounds... nice. Going to Africa had done wonders for him in the wake of losing Rika and his status as a Special Grade. Maybe this can mend what's broken if only a little bit this time, too? ]

a pilgrimage?
that sounds interesting.
if you'll have me, i'd love to accompany you.

@vessel

[eyescar]

senpai
how are you feeling

[copy]

( ╹ -╹)?
i'm doing okay.
how about you?

[eyescar]

i want to fight
up for it?

@vessel

[eyescar]

hey senpai
does rika-chan like festivals

[copy]

yes, she does!
we used to go to every one we could back home in sendai.

[ When she was alive and they were kids, that is. But the feelings transferred over so it probably counts? ]

[eyescar]

does she want to come to one?
wait
you're from sendai???