Work Text:
First impressions were very important, Kashuu thought. From getting praise for his well paid off efforts of putting his best into his own appearance and demeanor to presenting himself with the air and presence of not only the citadel’s very first sword but also the first sword to be granted his request to journey back to his past and come back stronger.
At this point now, he was certain that every first encounter he had with other swords had given them some level of comfort in what life in the citadel was like and a good idea of just what that guy was like as his previous master. Bitter feelings now long since put aside, it wouldn't do any good if people thought he was wielded just by anyone.
It was a bit odd he thinks, as Kashuu idles by the doors of the smithy while the smith tempered steel and his master muttered chants and prayers into the blade, that their citadel was so full and the fighting has lasted long enough that his Master was now contemplating marriages and possibilities of children-
All of this time and people passed but there was still one crucial piece missing in their lives.
Or at least Kashuu's life.
Kashuu had been excited at first at the idea of being the only sword warrior currently in the employ of this new and kindly master, who looked at him as if he would never let him break, never letting him feel the same pain that he felt that day.
But slowly the uchigatana had become accustomed to the slowly growing roster of swords that began filling rooms and making their home sound more lively and lived in. He didn't know when he suddenly started truly enjoying the presence of others or when that enjoyment had begun holding sour undertones that he couldn't place the reasoning for.
Except, he did. Kashuu knew the day he had been summoned into on the cold winter's night, as the sole sword belonging to a master and not one of a pair, not one of the beloved swords of his new master but the only sword .
The biggest missing piece in the citadel had been none other than one entirely too Okita-Souji-devoted Yamatonokami Yasusada.
It was already difficult enough to shelve his conflicting feelings about the possibility of meeting his partner who would no doubt be unchanged by time and probably bringing up painful memories whether intentional or not.
Only for years to start passing by and the worry of being reminded about a past he wanted to forget now being replaced by the slowly building reality of never actually meeting Yasusada in this life.
Even if his master constantly reassured him that he didn't have to watch over these summonings, or if it was heartwarming and also a little painful to watch brothers and partners be reunited in a way that he had yet to experience, Kashuu continues to remain a silent vigil in the dim smithy looking nothing short of his best until he finally gets to make the first impression that he’s been waiting what felt like lifetimes for.
Then the sage backs up along with the smith as the room floods with white light and the gentle scent of cherry blossoms wafts over the scent of charcoal and sweat. Kashuu readies the same relaxed and nonchalant smile as he waits for the newest member of the citadel to utter their first words and take their first breath, gut pooling with disappointment instinctively when-
“Yamatonokami Yasusada. Difficult to use, but a good sword,”
A familiar form donning a nostalgic visage of sky-blue and unruly locks of wavy oceans of a deep navy blue wrangled by a pure white ribbon matching an equally white scarf dangled gently atop his head as deep blue eyes wide with naivety and curiosity blink slowly.
Kashuu’s meticulously perfected smile that he used to mask whatever poignant feelings he had, quickly fell as his own ruby eyes widened. His master approaching Yasusada with a warm smile. “Hello, Yamatonokami. Welcome to our citadel,” he says, using the tone of voice reserved for the newly summoned blades who still seemed as if they were still unsure of and adjusting to the world around them.
But the newly summoned uchigatana’s eyes don’t fall on the sage’s, but onto Kashuu’s silently stunned form.
“Kashuu... Kashuu Kiyomitsu?” Yasusada questions with a voice soft like the warm wind on a spring afternoon to Kashuu’s pleasantly distraught ears. The way his partner’s eyes travel up and down his form, scrutinizing mixed with something that Kashuu felt comfortable enough assuming was awe, did make the red-eyed uchigatana a little self-conscious at first of the intense staring.
“The one and only. Kept us waiting long enough, Yasada,” Kashuu replies with an easy grin, nerves settled when Yasusada responds with a gentle chuckle and face drawing into a smile. “Jeez, what’s with you looking all like this ? Where’d you put your haori?” Yasusada says, eyes back on Kashuu's clothes. What would have been a loaded question had Kashuu not yet journeyed to the past and reconciled his own hurt rolls off the uchigatana's back with a wave of a dismissive hand.
(Nevermind that Kashuu had gone out of his way to don his armor in lieu of leaving a less than an impeccable impression with his clothes reserved for housework.)
"Ah, I don't really need it right now, it was time for a change. Pretty good change though, right?" he says, pale face pulling into a smile as he motions towards the intricate and embroidered bits of his gear. "Isn't it a little too dark? You should wear more blue! Like this," Yasusada motioning towards his haori happily. Kashuu found the longer he stayed suspended in this moment of inane conversation his heart felt as if it were becoming lighter and unburdened as if there had been a piece that was missing now being fitted lovingly into place.
There's an awkward cough that interrupts Yasusada's passionate rambling, another sign that the tsukumogami was just as unchanged as Kashuu suspected him to be, as now their- not just his now- master walks up to the pair of swords, seemingly caught up in their moment. "Well, I'm glad to see the two of you get along so nicely. It looks like it won't be an issue getting you to get Yamatonokami acquainted with the citadel?" he says with such a knowing smile that makes Kashuu look away indignantly.
"Well, I suppose since I'm already here it's only natural that I do," Kashuu says, turning with a bow to his master to leave the cramped smithy with the blue-eyed uchigatana whom he put a manicured hand on to guide out (even though he wanted nothing more than to grip his partner's hand with his own for reasons he doesn't understand yet. But he'll play it cool, for now).
Yasusada turns to bow at the sage, seemingly as an afterthought after watching his partner do the same. "Um, thank you!" he says awkwardly before being ushered out of the room by his partner who he noticed sat a few annoying inches above his eye-level. "Wow, way to make a first impression," Kashuu teases with a grin, not really having to point out that Yasusada had completely ignored the sage in favor of catching up with a partner he assumed long since gone.
"H-Hey! I just never thought that... well, this is just weird okay? Besides, I still remember how needy you are. You'd probably not talk to me for weeks if I didn't notice you first, even if you dress all weird now," the other tsukumogami replies huffily, taking in the sight of the evening sun still making its descent in the sky leaving a garishly decorated citadel filled with strange men and boys of varying looks awash in the orange light.
"I'll have you know that I look cute, not weird. Don't worry, I'll teach you plenty about that so master makes sure to love you for all your effort," Kashuu says, fondly flicking the messy mop of navy blue hair. "Oh... that guy was our new master? I wonder if he'll be able to handle me properly," Yasusada says with such a pitiful expression that might have made Kashuu feel some kind of bitterness before, but he's only filled with understanding as he nods along with a hum.
"Well, if you work hard and catch up to me, I think that won't be a problem. Master can handle me pretty well, so why don't you use me as your goal?" he says, getting the familiar puffed-up face that his partner was prone to making whenever he was teased. "Hey, I'm just as strong as I used to be with Okita! I'll definitely catch up to you before you know it! We may be partners, but I won't let you forget who's number one!" Yasusada says with a sudden burst of passion, just as excitable and competitive as ever.
They exchange a few more quips, so nostalgic it almost moves Kashuu to tears at one point, and finally, Yasusada is settled into a new life with the uchigatana in the citadel with their new master.
"Say, Kiyomitsu... what did you think when you first met me?" As they lie in their futons, months having long since passed after Yasusada's arrival. It was almost routine at this point for Yasusada to keep Kashuu up late night with questions about everything and nothing at all. He hums a moment, contemplating if this was something he really wanted to entertain with a sortie scheduled for the early morning. But even in the darkness, he can feel wide-blue eyes looking at him intently.
"Well," he begins with a sigh, accepting that he'll just have to power through the fighting twice as hard just because he was too indulgent with his partner. "I thought you were kind of funny," snickering at the pout he knew Yasusada had been making in the dark. "Hey! That's mean, isn't it?" he complains. "Not really. It was just funny because you took forever to get here and looked exactly like I thought you would. We all have the ability to manifest how we want we like, but I knew you wouldn't change a thing," Kashuu says, turning over in his bed to give Yasusada a fond smile.
"T-That's just because there wasn't anything wrong with the way I looked before!" Kashuu flicks Yasusada on the forehead at the sudden outburst. "Don't be so loud while others are sleeping," he chides tiredly. He only earns a huff before Yasusada adjusts in his own futon, a silence falling between the two of them."What did you think about me?" Kashuu asks after a moment, suddenly filled with a need to know that he was perceived as cool and cute as he strived to be. Yasusada peeks his eyes from beneath his blanket with an intense look up at the ceiling before nodding his head and turning to look at his partner.
"I thought that you were someone completely different. Your clothes definitely threw me off, and your face kinda stayed the same but... I dunno, you look a little older somehow? It's hard to put words to it,"
"That's a weird way to say I look cute and strong," Kashuu complains kicking out a leg to gently jab Yasusada, earning a fit of giggles. "Yes, yes, you're the cutest sword in the citadel!" Yasusada responds mockingly sweet. "And the strongest, don't think I didn't miss that!" The two take to jabbing, poking, and prodding at each other before they're settled back in their own beds, sleep now threatening to pull the pair under its spell at any moment.
"I think I was just really happy to see you again, more than anything. Even if you changed," Yasusada says bluntly with a heavy yawn, as if he hadn't just said something so earnest it almost made Kashuu jump out of his skin. Kashuu is ready to retort, already sputtering with a reddened face at Yasusada's equally as unchanged brutal honesty, when not even a moment later a soft snore indicates that at the drop of a hat, Yasusada was sound asleep.
Kashuu still wants to scold him for being so open and catching him off guard, and maybe try and tease Yasusada longer to get some kind of revenge, but looking at the other uchigatana's peaceful sleeping expression is enough to make him drop the matter and settle back into his own bed. "I guess I was happy to see you again too, even if you haven't changed at all," he mutters, before falling into a fitful sleep of his own.