fandomhigh | Japanese Blades, First Period, Friday [07/13].

The Danger Shop was in the dojo set-up again, though the little blue-haired child was not present this week. Instead, there was a man about 5' 6" tall in a blue track suit, with long green hair that came over one side of his face to perfectly cover one of his eyes.

"Welcome back," Mitsutada said, smiling at his gathered students. "I am glad to see all of you who were not scared off by last week."

He chuckled, and then gestured at the man next to him. "We are going up in weapon size this week, though my comrade here is a little bigger than most, in no small part because he was once an even bigger weapon. Wakizashi are the weapons of the day."

"I am Nikkari Aoe," the green-haired man introduced. "I'm an Oowakizashi that was once an Ootachi. Yes, yes, you think my name is strange as well, don't you? But well, I wonder if you can still laugh about it when you find out that it originates from killing the ghost of a laughing woman."

"I was forged by Aoe Sadatsugu in 1207. My name comes from when my master at the time, Lord Nakajima Shuuridayuu, grabbed his sharpest Aoe blade and went to the mountains of Hachiman to slay a monster. He came across the ghost of a laughing woman and her infant child, and swung me clean through both. They vanished, seemingly defeated. The next morning when Lord Nakajima returned to where he'd fought the ghosts, there were two stone lanterns, both cut in half. He then named me after the woman's wicked grin."

Ghost murder was so much better than person murder for class stories, certainly? Mitsutada smiled a little nervously. Nikkari chuckled, and raised a finger to pull back the hair in front of his eye slightly, to reveal the hidden eye being a bright red as opposed to the light green of his other. "Though sometimes you keep souveniers from your great deeds."

The lights dimmed in the dojo for a moment, and a faint, feminine voice cackled from... somewhere.

Mitsutada looked very put out as the lights came back up. "Uhhh, are there any questions for our guest or me?"

[ooc: ~~OCD a-comin~~ post is up and going!]

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Like there's a ghost in the room.

Astrid Magnusssen

Jason Lee Scott

Peridot

In case you had some about Nikkari's history or... everything.

Peridot put up a hand.

...

"What's a ghost?"

Look, when you came from a race of people who were functionally immortal...

That was absolutely not a question Mitsutada had anticipated.

"The lingering spirit of a once-living person?" Mitsutada offered.

Peridot considered that carefully.

"The meat?"

'Spirit' didn't mean much.

"Are you familiar with the concept of a soul?" Nikkari asked, chiming in. Best to lay down the basics.

Peridot kind of stared at both the swords blankly.

"It's the part that goes on the inside...?"

Ish?

"It is the essential spirit, that which is contained within, which makes up the identity of someone that is not limited to its physical form. For example, Shokudaikiri and myself are the souls of swords who have now been given human form," Nikkari said.

That probably did not help at all

Peridot stared for another few moments.

"The mind?"

Close, Peridot. Keep trying.

"Close," Nikkari said. "But beyond that. What is made of your mind and your heart, and your very being. It is much more than the pieces that make up your body. Your soul is clearly far larger than your size, for instance"

Peridot considered that for a few moments.

"So it's... myself, contained inside myself," she ventured. "Interesting."

"At least, for now," Nikkari said. "Unless your body is eternal, it may eventually exist beyond, outside your form."

Peridot was silent for a long moment as she contemplated that.

"I don't think that's how Gems work."

Being shattered was very much the opposite, after all. A mind trapped inside the fragments. Eternal prison, spent inside and apart from oneself.

"Mmmm," Nikkari said with a nod. Then a pause. "Wait, gems?"

"Peridot is a gemstone," Mitsutada explained. "Able to project a physical form. No magic involved, or so I understand. Similar but not the same to us."

Peridot nodded her confirmation at that, and then pointed to the gem on her forehead.

"This is me."

Well, this definitely was a...creative way to teach people about swords and what she assumed were legends, Astrid had to admit that, and after the initial confusion of the first class, she was a little more receptive to it this week. The story was creepy...that helped. And then the whole effect with the lights? That was a good touch, and made her realize that she actually kind of dug the story this week. Creepy and weird.

She didn't really have any questions, though. She would have a bit of inspiration for some of her drawings, though.

"Wakizashi are the more well known short sword, thanks to the idea of the daisho being spread in many pieces of popular media," Mitsutada explained. "Though the katana and wakizashi pairing is not the only type of daisho."

"Katana is such an unspecific word," Nikkari said, his face scrunched a little.

"Yes, yes, I will get to that next week," Mitsutada said. "Well then, students, it's time to have a bit of practice!"

Wooden wakizashi-size bokken appeared, one for each student.

"As last week, no striking the face, please keep safety in mind. This is exercise and trial, not battle."

Mitsutada and Nikkari were around in case anyone wished to talk to them in a more one-on-one setting.

Nikkari had somehow produced a golden ball from his track suit and was caressing it against his face.

Still loosey-goosey with practice, so... if you want me to specifically spar with you with one of the boys, tag me here!

Japanese Blades, First Period, Friday [07/13].

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Time for Practice!

After the Class

OOC