been ages since I played this lady

[what_drfox_says]

You forgot your medicines again? Really, what should I do with you? And you're so quick to tell people to be vigilant about these things . . .

Well, I won't nag you because it's not as though it was idiocy on your part. You're not a like a certain rooster head whose name I won't mention. Just remember to take your medicines next time.

In addition to that, it's certainly not helping that you're worrying about playing me once again. I haven't changed, and just because you have doesn't mean that there's writing on the wall as soon as you start putting down my thoughts on paper.

I'm going back to work. You should too - and take your medicines!

Comments

[what_drfox_says]

The horror. I seem luckier than you in this aspect.

[She got her way, regardless of what her player did.]

Trust me, if there were a cure for all the questionable behavior, I would've long since offered my services.

Have you met anyone else that we know around here?

[oniwabanokashira]

The Wolf of Mibu, the Tenken, and Battousai's successor to name a few.

[That's another horror right there. The dead don't stay dead when it comes to the mundanes.]

The lot of us aren't as... in vogue... as we used to be. But we are remembered every now and then.

[what_drfox_says]

Funnily enough, my mundane has tried her hand at the first two as well, to name a few. She's also picked up Ken-san's teacher at one point. However, Misao-chan and I are the ones that have stayed with her longest - she's even married both of us off.

[An amused smile. Oh, how she wanted to hear his reaction to the bittiest okashira getting married.]

For good reason, even if those "live action movies" have made horrors of the both of us.

[oniwabanokashira]

[Battousai would've blubbered a long string of 'oro's. Sagara would've done a spittake and caused a bar brawl. Aoshi... just carries right on with that poker face.]

[What's with this guy? Does he even care that his ward got married off to someone he'd never laid eyes on? Whose mettle he could never have possibly tested to prove his worthiness, not just to Misao but to him and the entire Oniwabanshu? Geez, he's cold and still as a stone statue.]

[...okay, except for the slightest tilt of an eyebrow.]

...who was the groom?

[He's doing his very best not to sound the way he did back when he asked you where Battousai had vanished.]

[what_drfox_says]

Tao Ren, a young Chinese man. I'm sure you would have liked him; he's a little bit like yourself, from what I've heard.

[Another of her foxlike smiles. Megumi didn't know Ren personally, but from what the mundane says, he was similar to Aoshi in a few ways. He seemed cold and aloof, but he cared deeply about his comrades, and that included his friend and eventual wife.]

[oniwabanokashira]

[So... she'd given her heart to someone who reminded her of him. Had Misao realized, then, that he could never return how she felt? That he indeed cherished her, but just not in the same way she cherished him? The thought brings a sensation of emptiness, as if he's lost a part of himself. Yet there's a contradictory feeling of joy for her too.]

I would ask if he was truly worthy. But then I'd remember to give Misao's judge of character more credit.

[He looks to the side.]

She is... happy?

[what_drfox_says]

[Letting go was always difficult; Megumi had had her share of goodbyes and new beginnings, and they never became any less bittersweet. Joy and sorrow usually came hand in hand for people like them - children of the end of an era.]

Of course. She looks up to you, doesn't she?

[That was meant to be a compliment, and she hoped he got it. Men were dense about those things sometimes.]

Yes, she is. My mundane made certain of it.

[oniwabanokashira]

[It's a second or two, but he does get it. He shuts his eyes briefly. A gesture of acknowledgement. And gratitude. Then he lowers his voice. It's that of a man who doesn't want to be overheard.]

Then give her my thanks. I've no more place for doubts or worries.

[But while he doesn't say it out loud, his tone makes one thing very clear: if she ever needs him... he'll be there. She may be one of many Misaos living in the headspaces of many mundanes, but there isn't a version of her that Aoshi doesn't want to be happy and free of want.]

Is this the sort of thing I should expect from my mundane?

['If he ever truly lost his mind.' Another thing going unsaid but somehow understood.]

[what_drfox_says]

[Megumi nodded. She may have once held a grudge against Aoshi, but she could never be truly angry with him - he had just been suckered into Kanryuu's web, just as she had been, and to be angry with what he'd done would be hypocritical. Megumi was never truly afraid of him either - she was afraid of what he symbolized then, which was Kanryuu's wrath and her subjugation into slavery and disgrace. Now, to see Aoshi relieved of a burden actually felt relieving to her as well, and she smiled.]

You ought to. Make a list of demands or something.

[Another wry smirk.]

[oniwabanokashira]

That is the act of a common thug, not an onmitsu.

[That was a whole lifetime ago, Megumi. He's above that sort of thing now.]

Subterfuge, on the other hand...

[Well now, how's that for doctor's advice.]

[what_drfox_says]

[That just amused her even more.]

Suit yourself. Good luck.

[ooc; do you play Aoshi anywhere? :) I haven't had this fun playing Megumi in a long time!]