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(Settling down so he can handle it properly, he holds it in his hands for a moment. It's probably clear from the way Tsurumaru looks at it what it must be. The weight feels familiar and if he runs his hand across the shape... even the shape feels the same.

Untying one end, he begins to unwrap it slowly and carefully until what he reveals is... a simple blade. No handle or scabbard to make it easily identifiable but where the handle should be, a familiar name is carved into the metal. "Tsurumaru Kuninaga.")

... Look at you. You must have been bored to tears.

So it wasn't in the Imperial Palace.

[ A giveaway that he had been looking? Maybe, but Aki isn't embarrassed about it. Why shouldn't he want to find the man he... This man in this strange, twisting world? If the blade had been alone for so long, what would the spirit of Tsurumaru in this world be feeling?

Aki settles down beside Tsurumaru, watching him with a careful expression. ]

What do you want to do with it?

The palace?

(He glances over at Aki. Had he been at the old castle? And from what he just said... was he looking for him? Ah, he can't help but smile. He understands and maybe that's why he explains a little more openly, )

This is a replica. (Gently touching the handle, fingers tracing the name,) The real Tsurumaru Kuninaga is somewhere else.

Perhaps back in Tokyo... but I couldn't sense anything when I revisited the collection.

Bakugo-kun and I were looking for it, before.

[ Yes, he had been to the castle, and he had looked around. He'd even been carried by the kid so that they could scale the roof of the palace, which had been irritating, but... It had been a pointless venture, apparently. It was here the whole time.

Shaking his head, he leans in, almost resting his head over Tsurumaru's shoulder. ]

I have the real thing, but I would like to put this somewhere safe.

(Ah, he's so close, he can almost imagine the weight and he leans back and to the side a bit, just enough to nuzzle Aki briefly before looking back down at the sword,)

I wonder... there are safer places to be but are they really better?

(He can only think of one place that he'd like to send this sword to and that place... well, if this the state of Kyoto, he can't imagine what Sendai must be like.)

... When I was here before, I was stolen and sent away. If this was really me... I don't think I'd forgive being taken.

[ Stolen and sent away...

Aki stores that away for later, filing the information into the back of his mind. He can poke and prod at it another time, when he feels as though Tsurumaru will respond to it without trying to bat it away with a teasing comment or silly remark.

Absently, he kisses Tsurumaru's cheek. ]

More people from the base might come here, but it seems abandoned. It might be safe, and we can keep watch over it, for now. If you think it's under threat, then we can move it.

[ Pushing himself to his feet, he makes his way up, beginning to clean off an area to the north of the room. ]

There's a table, with the fabric cloth. We can use that, if you wanted.

(It's comforting and reassuring, cutting through the heaviness and uneasiness of the situation in front of him. He wonders if the spirit attached to this sword would be surprised to see another man act so familiarly with him. He wonders if they'd be curious as to why he lets another be so close to him. There are a lot of things he could explain to this spirit and he runs his finger along the curve of the blade,)

What do you wish for? (It doesn't answer. ) Would you carry out your duties here to the very end? Or move on and accept something new?

If given a choice, I don't know which I would choose.

(A little more quietly,)

But it's nice being able to choose for yourself.

(He never had much choice before, he thinks. Looking up at Aki,)

Do you believe in fate?

[ Aki allows him to have this moment, to take it.

It must be strange, given what he knows about the connection between Tsurumaru and the sword version of him, even if this one might not be as 'real' as the one that they have in their company now. Does it realise who they are, what they are? Does it have memories like that?

Or is it just a sword?

Turning his head away, he allows the other man these moments before he's drawn back with the question, tilting his head. ]

... Fate? I don't know. I didn't, I don't think, until I met the Future.

[ He purses his lips, briefly, before he speaks again. ]

The Future Devil doesn't lie, and showed me what was going to happen. Isn't that Fate?

...

(The Future again... he's heard Aki mention it several times now but understanding a little more about Devils, he has a better understanding of what this means.)

Maybe it's one. (But only one, he thinks.) There are many fateful moments, each one leading to another.

(He doesn't know what future a devil would show a man. He thinks about the night Aki had drunkenly stumbled to base and confessed his days were numbered. Is that connected? He wonders.

Focusing in on Aki, meeting his blue eyes with his own pale gold gaze.)

Some of those moments might even be good.

It's possible I could have made different choices.

[ If he had really pulled out of the mission. If he hadn't chosen to go to Makima on the beach that day. If he had chosen any other path than the one he had, if he hadn't dragged the Angel Devil with him... All the things that roll around in his mind time after time.

He could still be with Denji. ]

But I made the choices that I was meant to make, and I was able to find a little happiness. It could be that was my fate the whole time, for whatever it was worth.

[ Leaning down, Aki nudges their noses together, steals into Tsurumaru's space just enough, his expression warm. ]

I can think of more than one good moment.

(Without thinking, he raises his face to meet Aki, brushing his face against his. He can't help but smile, especially when he sees that look. It's better like this. He looks better like this. Not so serious, more relaxed, happier, warm, refreshingly full of life,)

Just one more moment.

(Only one good moment, he teases, and as if to shield the eyes of someone younger and more innocent, he spreads his hands across the blade.

Smiling,)

We'll leave things to fate.

(He's made his decision. He knows what he wants to do.)

Let's clean up a place for him, first.

(This other Tsurumaru.)

[ They can lean into each other, lean on each other, and that's enough for now. Aki can bask in the quiet peace of something warm and affectionate, allowing himself this if nothing else: the tenderness of the moment. It falls away, briefly, as they turn back to the shrine, and he nods his head. ]

That's a good idea.

[ Pushing himself up, he looks around and begins with sorting out the corner near the small staircase, tilting his head as he starts to tidy things as best he can. He's not exactly sure where everything needs to go, but he's naturally efficient and practiced. ]

Do you want to take a photo when we're done? The three of us together.

(Ah, he'd almost forgotten about the pictures and he brightens up,)

It'll be like a portrait!

(A family portrait in a sense if he thinks of this other Tsurumaru as something like a brother. He nods and holds up the blade,)

We can remember this moment forever.

Just like that.

[ Aki doesn't have a lot of those - photos, portraits, pictures, anything like that. He lost them all the second his family home was destroyed, all those years ago. Making some more here, with the people he's come to care about, is something he's anticipating.

Nodding, Aki steps back over, leaning down to look at the other blade. ]

I wonder if we can use the implants to take a photo together like that.

(Luckily for them... there is a mirror on the altar. Is it a little sacrilegious to use it to take a selfie? Maybe. Do they have many options? No.)

We can use the mirror.

(It's a little small, it might not be the best photo, but it'll be enough.)

That'll be enough.

[ Reaching out, not thinking about it, Aki takes Tsurumaru's hand and tugs him towards it, if he's permitted. ]

Pose how you want and I'll match.

Any pose...

(He's really thinking about it. )

(Situating the blade in front of him so it rests across his chest, he holds up his hand... and raises it to make a peace sign right next to his eye. It might be the same pose he made Aki do the first time he helped him at the medical bay......

Do it, Aki. Do it again. He's watching.)

[ Aki gives him a look for a moment. He remembers, of course, that meeting in the infirmary, showing off his metal hand with the peace sign, but he didn't think that was the pose that Tsurumaru was going to go for.

All the same, he steps up beside Tsurumaru, leans down to rest his chin on top of his head and then holds up his fingers in a peace sign. ]

(They just have to pose and angle themselves just right and... there. The picture is done. Tsurumaru holds his pose for a moment and then relaxes, lowering his hand.

He raises his head up, forcing Aki to move and looks up at him.)

We'll be back some day.

(Running a hand down the flat of the blade,)

So enjoy your days. When we come back, we'll show you a place beyond here if you want.

(They'll leave the blade here for now. And for some reason... no, he understands the reason. For a certain reason, this feels right. It feels like the right thing to do and he can't help but be a little jealous. He wishes he had the same chance back then.)

It may be sad to leave but you'll find happiness again.

(And he'll get up to set the blade down on the altar.)

[ Aki leans back when nudged, feeling something soft and warm uncurling inside of him.

... Oh. It's happiness.

He steps back to allow Tsurumaru a little time to say goodbye to the other version of himself, to let him have this brief respite. He goes back to adjusting some of the other things, tidying up just a little bit more, before he returns to his partner's side.

When he leans down, he presses a soft kiss to Tsurumaru's cheek, a hand touching the small of his back gently. ]

We'll come back, wheneer you want to.

(It feels quiet here again. Having a moment like this really makes him feel how still this shrine has become but in this room, surrounded by familiar buildings and regalia... he doesn't mind.

(He might even admit that it feels nice.)

A kiss on his cheek and Tsurumaru lets the feeling settle like the air around him. He stands straighter with his touch, as if he wants to keep himself proud and tall for him. Image is important for him, after all, and after a moment, he lets out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding, turns to him with a quiet smile, and reaches to take his hand,)

I'd like that.

(Lacing his fingers with his,)

You should see it later in the summer. When the hydrangea bloom.

(And like water, he slips away, right back out to the main grounds of the shrine,)

But that's a long time away! So let's go back to base! If I stay here any longer, I might be bored to tears!

(He might get more emotional.)

[ It's nice. It feels nice, to stand here and accept this, to let himself enjoy the quiet, the comfort of it, before he nods his head.

Taking a step back, Aki offers a little bow before he offers his hand to Tsurumaru. ]

Let's head back.

[ Easy, simple. He can do this. He can stand at this man's side. ]

We'll come back in summer. Maybe Denji can come.

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