The Mods Grimm (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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grimmoired2018-07-29 09:23 am
themodsgrimm) wrote in grimmoired2018-07-29 09:23 am
EPILOGUE ;
EPILOGUE - WEEK 7 Wake up, Narrators. You've done well this past weekend. As you awaken on this beautiful morning, the doors to the castle are wide open and a festive mood fills the air. Music can be heard from the garden and the ballroom, the dining room's overflowing with tasty treats and beverages, and everything is awash in a soft glow of purples, reds, and golds. Yet as you exit from your dormitories for the last time, several things will be noticeable to you... Lining the hallways, several new ornate mirrors flank either wall. Each mirror is engraved with the name of a Narrator and allows each participant of this war to view their world back home. They will be able to see who they wish to see and the current state of affairs in their world. They will also, thanks to their adventures in the Other Space, be able to view the future of their home worlds and what's at stake for them. No matter where they are in the castle, each Narrator will also find themselves presented with a leatherbound book, a jar of ink and a fresh quill. As they open the book they will see a write-up of their story up until now with several blank pages at the end of the book. As promised, the ink won by the Dragon's ending is enough to allow Narrators to write their own happy endings... even those that directly clash with what they've been able to witness for themselves in the mirrors. Go ahead, write yourself into the universe of another Narrator. The story is yours to tell. Alternatively - if you seek to write a new story for yourself entirely, additional pages will be provided for you to draft up that fresh start. Meanwhile, the longer you linger around the castle it will become clear that it's much noisier than it should be for only forty people. Venturing further downstairs you will find several guests waiting for you. Some of these may be people you know from your own worlds, brought here to take you home thanks to the extra magic obtained from the Other Space. Others are past participants from previous rounds of this war, battle stories and triumphs to share. Apparently they'd received an invitation to a celebration to mark the end of it all. Even those who had died from previous rounds and not revived are present. While it had been thought that they'd been lost in the Other Side when there was not enough ink to revive them - it appears that they'd been given new life via your efforts. The clock in the foyer seems to have stopped. Take all the time you need to say your goodbyes... you are in charge of your own destiny from here on out.  Welcome to your farewell log, everyone! A couple of fun notes for your perusal. Due to the efforts of characters yesterday in the mini-adventures, characters have unlocked the ability to preview their futures and decide their own destinies. Additionally, they have unlocked the ability for castmates to visit them in the castle, along with characters who have participated in previous rounds of the war! Please feel free to tag in with your gamemates' castmates or other characters from previous rounds that you can make your own Grimm AU for. If you want to share where your character is going, comment here. Your final CR chart is here, your TL;CR meme is here and your friending/love meme is here. Thank you guys so much for a wonderful eight weeks! We hope you had a magical experience here with us. ♥
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And the sound of Shirasu's laughter manages to get everything to unravel.
Tenka mouth starts smiling before his brain gives permission. His heart coaxes a laugh out of his throat before his logic even has a chance.]
Bahahaha!
Come home with me, obviously!
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[a part of him wants that, is the thing. there's still a part of him that remembers the warmth and laughter, that he was happy there. enough so that it felt like a dream to him (and those all have to come to an end, don't they?)
shirasu buried it as well as he could, but being here, away from his work and his clan-- he told himself he'd never smile again, yet he has. he said he wouldn't laugh like that again, but someone so much like the three of them pulled it back out of him.
a part of him, part of 'shirasu kinjou' that didn't die, missed hearing that laugh and seeing that sunny smile.
still. still-]
...you know I can't do that.
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[ - because it gets tricky.
With Shirasu, that gets tricky. There was plenty Tenka didn't know. Plenty that was kept hidden from him, and plenty that was done when he thought that his brothers were safe with Shirasu. They still have to talk about that. Of course they do. Because keeping secrets has never worked out well for the two of them.
He trusts Shirasu anyway.]
Don't be stubborn. Something something Fuuma and clan - all that complicated stuff... but that doesn't mean you can't come back home. Do you have people to take care of?
Just let me help...!
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[he can't abandon them, but neither is their work something he could ever let tenka help with. he'd disagree with so much of what they do, shirasu is sure.]
I'm their Head, Tenka. I can't abandon them now, not when I can finally try to make things right.
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[When will Tenka ever recommend abandoning anyone.
That might be part of the problem with Shirasu, after all.]
But what does 'make things right' even mean? Why can't that be giving them a home over in Shiga too? Ninjas don't need to do that kind of work anymore... and if you're the Head then you can help them figure out new ways of life too!
[Stubborn.
So stubborn.]
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[he pauses there, exhales a slow breath. being honest is difficult, but he's... trying.]
Everything I did was to ensure they would still have a place in the world. To restore our position when we were no longer needed.
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[He was a child soldier after all - he knows it well. The Yamainu, at their heart, was a good group of people that could only retain their beliefs because of their kind leadership. Their actual task was unpleasant.
It's easy to be overtaken by grief when all you know is war and killing.]
The world is a big place, you know?
[He's always been saying that - always thinking about the country as a whole.]
We can just teach them something different - so that they have choices, rather than orders.
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[and he could change things so much more easily.
shirasu pulls out a book from somewhere in his ninja outfit, along with the ink; he places the book in his lap, fingers tracing over the cover of it.]
-I have the chance to rewrite the way things are, though. I could restore everything for us-- I can't change my past failures, but I can ensure that it happens this time. I only need to decide how.
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And pauses.
Restore everything for them. Plunge Japan back into chaos. Ruin everything that Sousei worked so hard for. Put Soramaru and Chuutarou back in danger. Tenka looks like his heart is about to escape his chest at the idea—
He reaches out with his right hand to place his hand over Shirasu's, eyes wide.]
Wait.
[He knows this in his heart - he can't let that happen, Shirasu can't, he can't.]
Just -
Write a future where the Fuuma have choices - so they can live happy lives, like you did... like we did.
[Some part of his tone sounds partially pleading -
and the rest sounds far away, like he's still processing, trying to figure out what he'd have to do if Shirasu betrayed him again right in front of his eyes, when he's right within arm's reach.]
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so they can live happy lives, like you did-- but is that really something that could last? that they'd be happy with, in the end? he managed it for a time, but...]
It's everything I worked for over these last eleven years, Tenka. What I lost-- it was all to bring us back to where we once were.
[would taking a different path mean it was all for nothing, in the end? everything he sacrificed, the betrayals--
...his expression is no longer so certain, though. it's been so long since then, but he still remembers-
my brother, mother, and everyone else can live happily in the world i will create.
he has to wonder if they would be happy, or simply fulfilled. if they would be able to experience the same warmth he had, if he just carves out a place for them through creating chaos.]
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Shirasu lost family - not once, but twice. That's what it was, right? The other ninja that attacked them that looked just like him... that was a brother, a twin. And he let go of the Kumou Shrine too. It was his choice and Tenka remembers that - he can't forgive him, not yet. Not when he remembers asking Shirasu to look after his brothers and instead stumbling on the mess that was made -
But he thinks about it.]
... Nishiki lives with us now.
I don't know what it was like - how she was living before with the Fuuma... but she's growing everyday. I think she's smiling a little bit more now, and she's found a place next to Soramaru - kinda like your place with me. Not as a Kumou ninja... but as a friend.
[ . . . ]
Does it have to go back to how things were? Back when things were bloodier - and everyone was fighting.
... the sun's shining on Shiga now. I think you'd like it.
I think we can move forward - to a world where everyone gets the chance to learn how to smile and laugh, instead of fighting for a way to live, like you need to earn your place to survive.
We can do something different.
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if it can be that way for more than one of them, maybe it really could be that way for the rest, too. maybe he could change that for them. maybe that newly-born child that had smiled up at shirasu when the survivors found him can grow up continuing to smile like that, without knowing the loss the rest of them have--
it won't, if he takes the same route as before. there will still be fighting and blood and death, because it's simply a part of what they are. they may be successful, but they won't be invincible.
maybe if he does something different, none of their children will have to suffer losing their family again.
...this time his voice is a little bit softer.]
I don't know that I could write something like that very well, on my own.
[but maybe the power to rewrite their fate means that warm dream could be a reality.]
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It's a lot bigger than him. A lot bigger than the young boy who wanted to be able to help Japan, but do it under the veil of mystery, and never make it into the history books at all. He wanted to enact that change, to be able to improve the world... and he listens to Shirasu, and the way that he's willing to compromise.
He's willing to write a new future without more bloodshed, without more tears.
And Tenka makes sure that not an ounce of his uncertainty shows as he beams and holds onto Shirasu's hand with renewed energy, with a hold that's firm and solid with the one hand that he has left.]
—then it's really lucky that I'm here, isn't it!
We'll figure something out - which is just like how it's supposed to be anyway.
[Together.
Like how they always were.
Like they can rely on each other as they did for ten years.
Like how it's meant to be.]
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[but he never minded being at tenka's side. he still mourned his apparent death, and while he didn't regret his actions he did have some regret that they were necessary.
he allows tenka to hold on to his hand, and with the other he picks up the ink and reaches over to set it in tenka's lap. another compromise. shirasu is keeping the book with him, but this is his way of assuring tenka that nothing will be written unless they both work on it. he still needs to think, but...
this is an option he thinks will work out for his people, in the end.]
Later. I have others I'd like to say farewell to, before we write this.
--I'd like to know what you're doing with yourself these days as well.
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... I'm going on another adventure soon! Someone offered me a job that'll let me be a diplomat. Can you believe that? Me - getting something that important...!
[He's just the former head of a small shrine, in a small town, who kept his aspirations small because that alone was plenty for him to protect.
It feels like the sun breaking through the clouds as he lets his mouth speak the words that his heart had been set on since he first came in the castle.]
You should come with me.
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[but despite the teasing, he knows it's a good choice. tenka has a way with people, he's proven that much time and again-- he's a clear choice for helping establish relations and the like.
...at the same time, he's so trusting. shirasu thinks he'll win people over, but he also thinks he'll need someone who knows more about the less savory side of things.
if he can write a way for his people to be happy without him, then he'll also be free to pursue his own happiness again. that house was its source, before, but... the household has someone there to help care for it, now. he isn't needed there either, and he's not entirely sure he can live a quiet life such as that.
if he's going to make a new place for himself anywhere... he thinks it has to be at tenka's side.]
You'd show up at important meetings improperly dressed, if I let you just go off and do that alone.
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[He complains immediately -
At least until the sentiment behind Shirasu's words reach him. He blinks in surprise, and then in an almost fragile hope, even though he received the answer he'd wanted...]
You'll really come with me?
[His grip on Shirasu's hand tightens, if anything. His left side is immobile to him now, so all his strength and focus has gotten to his right. Because he can't hold onto his friend with both hands, he thinks that it's all the more important then to grip with all the strength he has, like he's still nervous that Shirasu will slip away from him again.
... but he's smiling like that.
And teasing him so familiarly.
Tenka has to remind himself that there are still things they need to talk about - pasts that they need to clear up, a punch that he definitely owe Shirasu - but after he's faced with the person that he's wanted to see most over the year...
He thinks it's as easy as ever to make a home in that smile.]
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[but he covers it with his other hand anyway, holding on to that one hand with both of his own since tenka can't do the same. it's only a light grip, but it's enough to get the point across: he's still here. tenka doesn't have to hold so tightly or drag him along when he's willing to follow.]
My people won't need me to lead them, after this. Soramaru and Chuutarou won't need me there either, if they have Nishiki, and that girl-- should grow separately from me.
[if she's got a new future for herself, she doesn't need a piece of her past living in it. not permanently.]
Where else would I go, if not with you?
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[For the record.
But he doesn't loosen his grip either, and he doesn't pull away at first when Shirasu takes both of his hands in his.
He won't deny that he's confused. This is the Kinjou Shirasu that he knows. The one who would help Chuutarou with his homework, and take care of the house while Tenka was out, and watch over the Kumou Brothers with a tired but endlessly patient smile. This is the Kinjou Shirasu that was and is part of their family, and even now is promising to come and watch over Tenka - and be the one that Tenka can rely on.
It's such a far cry from the person who told him goodbye at cliffside.
But Tenka is a fool.
Tenka is a fool who sees what he wants - and he pulls his hand away from Shirasu's finally, but only so that he can grip onto the cloth of his clothes and yank him forward roughly, his arm moving quickly to wrap around his shoulders and pull him in for a hug.]
Then it's a deal...! I'll have to watch over you so you don't do anything stupid again -
You're a lot of trouble, you know... so don't make things harder for me again!
[Don't stab him in the back. Don't go off and chase large overwhelming things on your own.
Don't leave him behind again.]
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for a moment, he doesn't move, caught off guard by the gesture... but another moment later, he breathes out a sigh, arms draping lightly around tenka in turn. a lot of trouble, huh...?]
You do realize that what you've seen of me is still part of who I am.
[it's quiet; they're close enough now that he doesn't have to speak any louder.]
I have no reason to do the same things I've done to you before, and I have no desire to, either... but I have always been Fuuma Kotarou, even if I'll no longer have a need for that name.
[tenka he killed three people in the last eight weeks. two of them were in the last several days.]
I don't know if that's something I can change.
[he's changed before, with them. his own brother called him out on it. but how much can one person really change from what they are?]
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[He thinks he does - he thinks that he can't run away from it, and lock it away and forget, like he'd told Soramaru to do. Tenka is both very good and very bad at leaving people behind, with dealing with abandonment... but he tries not to be blind.
Pretending that Fuuma Kotarou never existed... would just hurt them both in the end, wouldn't it?
He doesn't sound happy about it but - ]
... we've both kept secrets. [ . . . ] Yours were worse.
[Just saying.]
... but maybe we just shouldn't do that anymore. Talking about the hard things isn't... [He's not good at it. They both know that. He's better at covering everything up with more yelling, with the loudness.] But if it means that I can still accept you for you - and you don't have to leave, then I think it's worth it.
Right?
[He's not sure - it shows in his furrowed brow, like he's not sure what to do. He knows only what he wants to do... and that's to bring his family back together.
The 'how' is a little harder.]
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[that's- probably the best either of them can promise. tenka isn't good at talking about difficult things, and shirasu is too good at keeping secrets... but they can make an effort. they'll have to, if they intend to try to work together.]
Mine may have been worse, but you know the sort of trouble yours caused, don't you?
[also just saying.
the thing is that 'just saying' is because he never got the chance to say it, before, and-]
You have no idea what it was like without you.
[of course not, he was gone (even if he wasn't truly dead)-- and of course shirasu was the root cause of that, too, considering tenka's injury. but still-
his fingers curl slightly into the fabric at tenka's back.
he was never going to be able to stay and watch over them like tenka wanted, but he's not sure he could have managed that even if it weren't for his plans. expecting anyone else to fill in for tenka was like trying to hang a lantern up in place of the sun.
sometimes shirasu still has to wonder how much would have been different if he'd never disappeared like that.]
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The reason why he had to take the Orochi cells as medicine was because of the wound on his back - he couldn't even walk without the medicine, and when he took too much of it, he ran out of time and needed to be executed. Even now, as he sits here, confined to a wheelchair, he thinks about the injury that cost him everything. He saved his little brothers and so he couldn't regret it.
The man who stole everything away from him is the one that clings onto him now.
. . .
What is he supposed to do about that?
What can he do about something so complicated?]
... yeah, I made a mess of things, didn't I?
[Maybe if he was someone a little bit stronger, he'd be able to point fingers.
Instead, he takes this upon his shoulders too.]
I... left you with all of that... Even if you were an idiot after - I should've...
[Done what?]
Well - I don't plan on letting anything happen again, any time soon.
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but the fact remains that tenka wouldn't have been in that situation at all if it weren't for shirasu. he knows that. knows that everything tenka has both offered and asked of him is a lot more than he deserves, and that anyone else would think he's an idiot for speaking to shirasu at all.
it's selfish of him, ultimately, to entertain any of this or to even think about being at his side again, but he's never claimed that he isn't a selfish person. as long as the fuuma get their happy ending, he can let himself be that way, can't he? tenka is capable of making his own decisions, and if he says it's something he wants, isn't it all right?]
I should hope you don't plan on it ever. We may have been able to return to life here, but-
[...mmmmaybe that's something he shouldn't bring up, actually, and shirasu stops himself there, hoping to move on before tenka picks up on the difference between "we were able to return others to life" and "we returned".
he lets go, straightening back up.]
-I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it. Just as you'll have to accept mine when I say that I'll make sure you stick to it.
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Tenka knows he has more to ask - more he needs to know, because why is it that this person would let him die before and allow Soramaru to be possessed - but there's still that reminder. Sousei had been the one to tell him why they were all gathered here in this castle, for something as terrible as murder...
And so even when Shirasu pulls away, Tenka lets his fingers curl into the cloth of his sleeve, holding onto him.]
... something happened, huh?
['We could return to life' - Shirasu personally, it sounds like.
Immediately Tenka wonders if Sousei had died too, and simply smothered it away better to avoid worrying him.]
Are you hiding something complicated from me again already?
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