Something was on 'em. Like a carving. Mine was too messed up to read.
(He's finished with his selection. He's largely favored some rice crackers and hard candies and some taffies. Things with a good crunch or chew.)
Don't think it's s'posed to look pretty. (Like the decorative swords that are meant to be displayed as treasures and works of art instead of real, functional blades. It seems like a waste to decorate something that's just going to be hidden away in a gun and destroyed upon release, too. Too small and too fast for anyone to see.) It's gotta be something short... like a name or a charm, maybe.
[A carving....? Matoba's expression carefully remains neutral, stopping himself from the furrow of his brow that would have shown otherwise. Indeed, apart from the markings unique to a bullet from a gun chamber, the type used by police forensics to identify the gun used, nothing clearly readable should typically be on it... at least, on a normal bullet.]
[But these were clearly not normal.]
Do you have it with you?
--Not here, [He warns, and turns a bright smile upon the shopkeeper as he takes his selections to the counter. He pulls out some coin for his treats, and then watches as Hizen pays for his own.]
Ah, taffy.... That takes me back. [He comments cheerfully, for the shopkeeper's benefit.]
(His own expression doesn't really change but he gives a short hum in response. It's a yes.
To the counter they go and he keeps his distance. He doesn't like being too close to Matoba. It makes him uncomfortable. He pays for his sweets and doesn't react much to Matoba.)
It's just candy.
(He pays and is already heading out the shop. Once he's out the door, he's rummaging through his bag of sweets, )
I'll show you what I have... but I'm not giving you any.
(He's not just talking about the candy. Matoba can look but he isn't going to give him his bullet.)
[Hizen's reluctance to move towards Matoba was cute, in the way Matoba might regard the cuteness of some other feeble, lesser thing. If not for the fact that he would quite like to see the bullet, he might just keep pushing.]
[Oh well. Another time.] Do you not have any memories attached to favorite treats? [Matoba asks flippantly, reaching into his bag to pluck out a sour gummy ring and popping into his mouth with a delighted face.] Well, you spirits have such long memories, after all.
[Matoba waits for the sword spirit to trail out the door before following him, making a mock chide of disappointment at his act.] Hahaha, now, now, you don't have to be so up front about it.......
[(He'll pretend he's not actually disappointed)]
[It's good to walk a little further down before sharing anything further. Matoba stops to lean on the inner corner of an alleyway, still tossing gummies into his mouth with the casual delight of a child.] I'll take a look anyway, if you don't mind.
(Don't call him cute. It wouldn't be so intimidating if he wasn't completely sure what he was sensing.)
No.
(Not entirely true. He might not have any memories of his own but he still has the stories that shaped his character. It has nothing to do with the length of his memories either considering his experiences are only a few short years long.
He follows along until they're in a quieter place and he reaches into his pocket to show Matoba the bullet. It's been damaged from being fired and the impact but now that it's been cleaned up, there is some sort of carving there. Impossible to read now but still present.)
[After emptying his hand of gummy sour dust, he holds it out for Hizen to deposit the bullet into. It makes contact with his skin and he mentally pauses, before curling his palm around it and then working it between his thumb and forefinger.]
[He gazes at it, turns it in the pads of his fingers to look at the warped symbol, before speaking slowly.]
This is not... a normal material.
[Then he was wrong, with his initial thoughts at the Sutoku meeting immediately following the attack. While it could still be human, it wasn't as simple as that. It reminded him of something like an exorcist tool- carrying the signature of something with power. He wasn't sure if it was because of the material it was made from, or because of the craftsman who made it, but he turns it over in his fingers and strains his eye to look at the symbol.]
[It isn't quite clear enough... He frowns to himself.] Did no one obtain a clearer specimen?
[That could mean many things. That it wasn't a sword material; that it wasn't a material of an age that Hizen would recognize. It could be from a different region, a different place, it could be Hell in origin.]
[All Matoba can say for the moment was that it was not a mere, mass-produced bullet that a human could obtain, as he had thought. Frowning, Matoba holds the bullet back out for the tsukumogami to take.]
Indeed. I also have not yet heard of anyone who has an intact bullet with a clear mark.
...However, should you come across one, [Matoba turns to lean against the wall again, and plucks another gummy from his bag.] I would like to see it. [He tosses the gummy into his mouth, chewing on the thought.]
[The sensation... The sensation was barely on the edges of his further consciousness. If only he had his normal power, his proper eyes, then maybe he could tell something about it. How frustrating.] If you require payment for that, contact me and name your price then.
(He holds his hand out to take it back, fingers curling around it tightly before he tucks it away for safekeeping.
He doesn't really reply right away. Yes, if he finds another one and he thinks Matoba can help, he wouldn't mind reaching out again but he dislikes making promises.)
... I'll see what I can find.
(An offer. Not a promise. As for payment... that's something he hadn't expected. He shrugs,)
Didn't do much.
(He got shot and... shared a bullet neither of them could figure out. If anything, he feels like he just wasted both of their time. He rummages through his bag of sweets and holds out... a random taffy. A strawberry one? Or maybe it's cherry. Who knows what "pink" flavor really is.)
[At the end of the day, the offer, on his part, was a flippant one out of the expectation of business that only came naturally; the Matoba did not offer anything for free, and likewise he always assumed that payment would be expected for the information he was getting out of this, in return. Scratching backs was a part of the lifestyle.]
[Yet he still stares in bafflement for a split second as Hizen digs into his bag of candy and sticks one out towards Matoba until he remembers the joking comment he had made, and has to hold back the laughter. It was like a dog trotting up to you with a stick or a frog in its mouth as a gift of affection to one of its pack; he canโt help the comical scene to his mind.]
I did say I was an expensive consultant, didnโt I? [He cheerfully grins and plucks the taffy out of Hizenโs outstretched hand, and popping it into his mouth like a greedy child.] Iโll accept this payment.
Edited (goddamn you autocorrect) 2022-04-11 18:59 (UTC)
(Just held a bullet, looked at it, and came to the same nothing Hizen did. Something was here, the bullet isn't a regular material, and if they had more, they could probably figure it out. A candy is what Matoba has earned.
But with that, their meeting is... over! And considering he only came here for business, he's going to start heading off now. Find some better company..... like being alone. )
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Re: cw: bit'a injury talk
Something was on 'em. Like a carving. Mine was too messed up to read.
(He's finished with his selection. He's largely favored some rice crackers and hard candies and some taffies. Things with a good crunch or chew.)
Don't think it's s'posed to look pretty. (Like the decorative swords that are meant to be displayed as treasures and works of art instead of real, functional blades. It seems like a waste to decorate something that's just going to be hidden away in a gun and destroyed upon release, too. Too small and too fast for anyone to see.) It's gotta be something short... like a name or a charm, maybe.
(Something short and simple.)
no subject
[But these were clearly not normal.]
Do you have it with you?
--Not here, [He warns, and turns a bright smile upon the shopkeeper as he takes his selections to the counter. He pulls out some coin for his treats, and then watches as Hizen pays for his own.]
Ah, taffy.... That takes me back. [He comments cheerfully, for the shopkeeper's benefit.]
no subject
To the counter they go and he keeps his distance. He doesn't like being too close to Matoba. It makes him uncomfortable. He pays for his sweets and doesn't react much to Matoba.)
It's just candy.
(He pays and is already heading out the shop. Once he's out the door, he's rummaging through his bag of sweets, )
I'll show you what I have... but I'm not giving you any.
(He's not just talking about the candy. Matoba can look but he isn't going to give him his bullet.)
no subject
[Oh well. Another time.] Do you not have any memories attached to favorite treats? [Matoba asks flippantly, reaching into his bag to pluck out a sour gummy ring and popping into his mouth with a delighted face.] Well, you spirits have such long memories, after all.
[Matoba waits for the sword spirit to trail out the door before following him, making a mock chide of disappointment at his act.] Hahaha, now, now, you don't have to be so up front about it.......
[(He'll pretend he's not actually disappointed)]
[It's good to walk a little further down before sharing anything further. Matoba stops to lean on the inner corner of an alleyway, still tossing gummies into his mouth with the casual delight of a child.] I'll take a look anyway, if you don't mind.
no subject
No.
(Not entirely true. He might not have any memories of his own but he still has the stories that shaped his character. It has nothing to do with the length of his memories either considering his experiences are only a few short years long.
He follows along until they're in a quieter place and he reaches into his pocket to show Matoba the bullet. It's been damaged from being fired and the impact but now that it's been cleaned up, there is some sort of carving there. Impossible to read now but still present.)
Something was there.
no subject
[After emptying his hand of gummy sour dust, he holds it out for Hizen to deposit the bullet into. It makes contact with his skin and he mentally pauses, before curling his palm around it and then working it between his thumb and forefinger.]
[He gazes at it, turns it in the pads of his fingers to look at the warped symbol, before speaking slowly.]
This is not... a normal material.
[Then he was wrong, with his initial thoughts at the Sutoku meeting immediately following the attack. While it could still be human, it wasn't as simple as that. It reminded him of something like an exorcist tool- carrying the signature of something with power. He wasn't sure if it was because of the material it was made from, or because of the craftsman who made it, but he turns it over in his fingers and strains his eye to look at the symbol.]
[It isn't quite clear enough... He frowns to himself.] Did no one obtain a clearer specimen?
no subject
(The metal. So yes, Hizen is agreeing with Matoba's observations there,)
We found some others but they're all pretty bad. Someone might get lucky and find a better one, though.
no subject
[All Matoba can say for the moment was that it was not a mere, mass-produced bullet that a human could obtain, as he had thought. Frowning, Matoba holds the bullet back out for the tsukumogami to take.]
Indeed. I also have not yet heard of anyone who has an intact bullet with a clear mark.
...However, should you come across one, [Matoba turns to lean against the wall again, and plucks another gummy from his bag.] I would like to see it. [He tosses the gummy into his mouth, chewing on the thought.]
[The sensation... The sensation was barely on the edges of his further consciousness. If only he had his normal power, his proper eyes, then maybe he could tell something about it. How frustrating.] If you require payment for that, contact me and name your price then.
no subject
He doesn't really reply right away. Yes, if he finds another one and he thinks Matoba can help, he wouldn't mind reaching out again but he dislikes making promises.)
... I'll see what I can find.
(An offer. Not a promise. As for payment... that's something he hadn't expected. He shrugs,)
Didn't do much.
(He got shot and... shared a bullet neither of them could figure out. If anything, he feels like he just wasted both of their time. He rummages through his bag of sweets and holds out... a random taffy. A strawberry one? Or maybe it's cherry. Who knows what "pink" flavor really is.)
no subject
[Yet he still stares in bafflement for a split second as Hizen digs into his bag of candy and sticks one out towards Matoba until he remembers the joking comment he had made, and has to hold back the laughter. It was like a dog trotting up to you with a stick or a frog in its mouth as a gift of affection to one of its pack; he canโt help the comical scene to his mind.]
I did say I was an expensive consultant, didnโt I? [He cheerfully grins and plucks the taffy out of Hizenโs outstretched hand, and popping it into his mouth like a greedy child.] Iโll accept this payment.
no subject
(Just held a bullet, looked at it, and came to the same nothing Hizen did. Something was here, the bullet isn't a regular material, and if they had more, they could probably figure it out. A candy is what Matoba has earned.
But with that, their meeting is... over! And considering he only came here for business, he's going to start heading off now. Find some better company..... like being alone. )