sugarcube | psl || since the beginning of everything

[kashuu is out there - and for now, not here, so tsuru will struggle to find someone else who as the app. though as they enter the space, he'll notice that there still seems to be some areas that are getting set up with lighting, banners, and informational pamphlets and stands. all of them seem to denote the different directions of the collection - japanese swords across many eras being brought to their museum for this exhibit.

mikazuki lets his eyes roam over the entrance as if taking note of the initial ambiance - and it's almost like he's not going to answer tsurumaru's question.

a young woman, another employee, seems to notice their arrival and begins to approach. before she makes it within earshot, mikazuki will turn to tsurumaru and offer an almost teasing smile.]

Perhaps I could have longed for a few more surprises.

[ - and then he turns, moving at a leisurely pace to meet the woman who hands him a clipboard of paperwork.

it's not like he could've planned that ecape.]

[ hm.

he watches mikazuki go, curious, but whatever they're talking about isn't actually his business. tsuru is at least polite enough to not interfere in his companion's actual work-- it really has nothing to do with him. while most things tsurumaru has no problems with sticking his nose in, there's still a barrier he can't quite bring himself to pass when it comes to mikazuki.

so he simply turns look around the area. he pauses at the pamphlets, picking one up to leaf through it. ]

Swords, huh...

[they chat briefly and the clipboard is mikazuki's to keep, apparently a list of all the treasures that are currently in displays, which ones are in transit, which decorations will need until the last minute to be completed. but they will be completed, sir, they assure him. the opening gala is the next day, after all.

the pamphlet that tsurumaru finds includes a small directory of the exhibit - there are multiple hallways of places they can go, including installations of a rock garden, a cherry blossom tree, and a porch that can be sat on.

mikazuki wanders back to him after he finishes up talking business, and inclines his head]

Anything you care to see? Normally I'm limited to only surveying areas that are experiencing trouble in their preparation... but I think we can stretch our legs a bit more today.

... is there any spot that you favor over the others?

[ he wants to see what interests mikazuki. he shows him the pamphlet, even though he knows that mikazuki is already familiar with what's here. ]

I want to know what has caught your eye, my dear.

It's a rather impressive collection if I do say so myself.

[please note that he leads the direction of the exhibit but he does not pick the pieces of himself? that is other people's jobs? he just tells them if it's good enough or not? please stop taking credit for other people's work, mikazuki.

but he'll indicate a hallway to the left - ]

We are waiting on a few more ornaments and treasures to be sent to the Sengoku Era exhibit. Shall we see what we've collected there for the time being?

Lead the way then. I have nothing but time.

[ ... he tries to ignore how that might legitimately be the case, depending on what's going on here with their age.

also, even though tsurumaru told him to lead, he immediately just starts walking to the hallway. ]

Very well, very well.

[the concept of leading is relative.

but mikazuki doesn't seem to mind that at all, simply following only half a step behind. he seems to still be looking over the pages of paperwork as they go, somehow managing to not run into anything despite not looking where he's going.

it does help that it seems like any employees milling about will absolutely part and get out of their way as they walk through. not entirely unlike their school days together.]

Do tell me your impressions as well - it is nice to have fresh eyes.

Of course. I'll be very honest.

[ but he continues to take note of how no one seems to consider mikazuki's change in form strange. interesting... ]

How many swords are going to be here? All the way from the Sengoku era... they must be rather old.

[ he assumes they will have actual swords if it's a sword exhibit. ]

Hm... Approximately a hundred or so.

[based on the information that's on his clipboard.]

Ranging from hundreds to over a thousand years old.

[from kanesan to. well. the sanjous and older.]

Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from them.

Perhaps we will have to stop complaining about our joints in their presence...?

[ you're in your 20s right now, fool. what aching joints do you have. ]

I know we're Japanese, but I never actually lived over there aside from visits... you can learn about the history, but it's not exactly the same as being surrounded by it.

Mm, I enjoyed an extended stay there once...

[a few decades ago, which. a bit odd. he's rather sure that he sent letters to tsurumaru, but it was just one of mikazuki's many places that he stayed abroad. his wife would still accompany him then.

they enter the sengoku room, where people are still putting up last minute touches and arranging banners, but there are a number of pieces that have already been placed behind glass.]

It's different, when you're able to walk among it all without worrying about not having enough time. Perhaps we ought to venture there together?

[he looks over the exhibit items - spears, swords, treasures and heirlooms]

When everything here is returned to their original museums, shall we accompany them? It would be nice if they didn't have to make the journey back alone.

[ ... it's odd, to think of making plans like that. tsurumaru originally returned to recolle for a long visit because he wasn't sure when would be the next time he could return to his old home. if he would ever actually be able to, with his growing age. he had been nearing the point where travel simply for the sake of it wasn't really an option anymore.

but to go to the other side of the world, just because they feel like it? it isn't what he expected when he came here.

granted, none of this is really what he expected. ]

I feel like we'd have to return you to the museum as well.

[ it can be an old age joke, or a joke on mikazuki's dedication to his work

but mostly tsurumaru thinks that mikazuki is art. ]

Ha ha ha, I did provide consulting services in Kyoto once?

[please don't ruin the moment, mikazuki.

but he'll let his eyes flick between the items on the clipboard and the displays around them, as if taking everything into account. he performs his tasks as easy as breathing, barely missing a beat before he refocuses his attention on tsurumaru.]

I'd like to bring you to all the places I'd only had the chance to write to you about before.

[when he included pictures of where he went -

bringing an entirely new meaning to wish you were here, transforming it from wistful idea to promise.]

I would like to go to the Pokemans store.

[ the pikachu fellow is someone that tsurumaru can support.

he wanders over to an empty display case, meant to house one of the items that hasn't made its way here just yet. ]

... but I think that would be enjoyable. We never really did get to travel together.

[ there were occasional trips, but it was mostly to things like location weddings or other events where they would be with other people they know. mikazuki visiting the farm, or tsurumaru visiting this city, isn't the same as the two of them traveling together on their own. ]

[mikazuki will follow him - the display case reads tonbokiri. hope he makes it here okay.

mikazuki will briefly write down a note in the margins of his paperwork as he hums thoughtfully]

So we didn't. I'm rather sure that someone has a summer home they wouldn't mind allowing us to borrow - if they'd be willing to trust us, given the mischief we brought with us when we were younger.

[though he'll pause then, and incline his head closer to tsurumaru's as if sharing a secret]

Though I wonder if we're truly any better now?

I am not sure what you mean? I have always been well behaved.

[ how he manages to say that with a straight face... horrible.

but then he leans in closer to mikazuki as well, so that his lips are close enough to brush against the other's ear if he moves even slightly more forward. ]

We'll have to be careful. I believe someone I broke up with now lives in Osaka. She still sends me a passive aggressive Christmas letter every year.

Aha ha ha—

[it's perhaps a bit funny - the way that even the workers who are milling about might briefly incline their head toward the two of them.

because it's easy, you see, to catch mikazuki munechika when something is amusing him, and his laugh isn't particularly rare. but it's harder to find him being delighted by something, with an almost childish mischief that always stands at odds with his age. but the expression that's startled out of him then, taken off-guard by the statement, is nothing short of that pure and certain delight.

reflexively, his free hand comes up to obscure his smile with the back of his hand, as if to hide away his rude tendencies like clouds obscuring the light of the moon.]

Is that so... Certainly it cannot be entirely deserved.

[just mostly deserved.]

I was a gentleman.

[ which isn't a lie-- tsurumaru was always kind to those he dated, until the novelty wore off and he realized that he wasn't actually getting anything out of it other than a companion who would always get jealous of the way he would run to mikazuki's side the moment he saw him.

but sometimes you're young, and bored, but very attractive, and you never say no to anyone who asks you out. and even though he eventually got a reputation for it, people still kept trying. after a while, he assumes that they wanted to be the one with the honor of actually winning his heart.

tsurumaru just smiles at mikazuki. ]

But she was the one who wanted me to meet her family in a different country... I thought we were meeting a little fast!

[ and also he had plans with jiji that summer? he had priorities? ]

[there's a slight tilt of his head at that, as if he finds the notion curious. stealing tsurumaru away in order to meet her family? he supposes that it's not surprising that he doesn't always know what happened during their relationships - but it strikes him as a bit funny that this detail eludes him.

after all, why would tsurumaru ever have wandered to another part of the world in those days without mikazuki at his side? perhaps it's something that he should not have taken for granted, and yet.

(and yet.)]

I'd rather thought you enjoyed taking things fast - or perhaps that is simply the case when you are the one to set the pace?

[and letting a girl decide their summer plans would not have been at tsurumaru's pace]

[ that gets a laugh out of him, and he straightens up so that he is no longer leaning entirely in mikazuki's space. ]

I think she saw me as a potential marriage match. She was really looking ahead.

[ and tsurumaru was only looking at the present.

that probably hurt him more than it helped, in the end, but he isn't really the type to linger too long on past regrets. ]

But I believe she found someone in Japan, but some offenses are still hard to let go of, even in old age.

[ . . . it's not as though it's a thought that mikazuki had never entertained. that at some point, tsurumaru would likely have to marry as well. mikazuki knew it was a responsibility of his own, for the sake of his family. he carried it as a weight on his shoulders, certain as everything else that came with being an heir for old money.

but perhaps it's a bit odd - how decades have passed, but the same apprehensive feeling settles in his chest when he thinks of tsuru marrying another.]

Mm, that is true. You seem like someone who would be easy to hold a grudge against.

[teasingly -

probably.

but if tsurumaru will move away then mikazuki will move on, turning to examine a different corner of the hall. heirlooms belonging to the date family.]

There are definitely others. [ even ignoring his dating around, tsurumaru's jokester lifestyle did get on the nerves of some. but, ] I must admit, not all were my fault though.

[ he does not sound that upset by this despite that.

but he'll follow after mikazuki, glancing at whatever displays might be over here. ]

It would appear as though your reputation preceded you.

[it would appear as though for this section, more of the swords have arrived. shokudaikiri mitsutada, ookurikara, and sadamune all sit on their displays underneath the proud date crest. mikazuki's eyes flick down to the clipboard briefly before rising to review the items in front of them again.

off to the side, there's an empty display - apparently there's one more sword that's still in transit.]

Ah, a late arrival tomorrow... Well, we shall make do.

[ he looks at each of the displays, glancing at the empty one before turning his attention back to mikazuki. ]

Better that it's only one instead of all of them.

[ he actually starts to head over to it so he can read the display, but then stops as one of the employees walks in to ask mikazuki a question about the opening. it distracts tsurumaru enough that he switches direction and walks elsewhere instead. ]

[ah - distracted. mikazuki will at least stop to take the question though, answering it easily. he notes that this worker doesn't seem to notice the change in their appearances either, as if it's normal to see a 20-something in charge of a museum's art direction.

but once the question is answered, he'll wander to follow after tsurumaru]

Something catch your attention, my dear?

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