voice;

[ahappylie]

Who: Okita and you!
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Goldstone
When: October 6th and subsequent days


[Action: Oct. 6th]
[It hadn't been a particularly "heroic" way to go. Certainly, he'd done things as the final ships fled the surface that would warrant being called that, but a dying man could not ask for a seat to safety that could be used by the living. It was simply logical. By the time the last ship failed, he'd already run himself ragged and the demon in his chest was beating against its cage. He couldn't trap those people, already about to lose their home, with a man about to cough blood. So he'd given away his seat to a child and told them he'd find another way home.

Then he'd spent his last moments alive watching the comet come and the last ship flee. The shuttles disappearing through the clouds as the planet hummed in his ears, giving him a sense of peace even as the coughing and the blood racked him. The sight of the massive rock breaking the atmosphere, a blazing streak against the sky, pieces breaking off and slamming into the planet, had been so bright it was almost impossible to watch, but knowing that all of the shuttles had made it away was enough for him. This was a good death.

He only wished he'd been able to say goodbye to people first.

The impact then darkness, a flash of pain and panic, then? Nightmares. It wasn't what he expected from death. Faces he couldn't recognize floating in inky, icy blackness sitting on the edge of familiarity before slipping away again. Paralyzing isolation, screaming, fire that froze instead of burned and then--

Okita shot up in his bed on the Marsiva, hands clutching at his chest as his breath fogged against a medical ventilator. He barely had enough time to guess where he was before he felt reality bend and he was dumped into a hallway on the SS Goldstone, ventilator still strapped to his face, the tube detached from the machine and now trailing uselessly at his side. The jingle and the shower of confetti marked his arrival and then he collapsed in a heap as the fever overtook him.

Welcome...back..?]

[Voice: Later on the 6th]
[He's still so tired by moving around with a fever isn't unfamiliar to him at this point in his life. He bundles himself up the best he can and turns on the communicators, his voice rough and strained, but still managing to sound cheerful despite it all.]

I heard all of the natives made it safely off the planet? Thank you, everyone, for working so hard... I know it wasn't easy, but you saved them. Thank you.

[He takes a moment to catch his breath.]

I also have a confession to make that some of you may already know. It seems silly in comparison to everything that has happened...but I haven't been honest and I apologize. [What good is dying for these people if he can't even trust them with such basic information, right?]

For those who know me as Soujirou, you can continue calling me that if you wish, but my true name is Okita Souji.

[He pauses again because he's already reaching his physical limits, but he doesn't want to end on a downer note.]

So! Does anyone else have a confession to make? It can be silly or serious. It seemed like a good time to start anew.

Comments

[ahappylie]

[Names holding power, huh? He supposes it's good he doesn't go by his full true name then. He wonders what sort of magic a person could do with knowing a name though...]

Ah, I see. Would you prefer I continue using Tempest, then?

[Since it has to do with her safety and all. And when she turns the question to him, he laughs a little.]

But as for why I lied? It's because my name could get me or the people around me killed.

[Yeah, ha ha what a funny reason.]

[noprophecies]

Please.

[she can count on one hand the number of people who use her given name, and only one of them is here. It's one thing to give it out; but it's another to actually use it, openly, with people who don't know the impact it has.

She tilts her head and regards him with a slightly suspicious look]

Why?

[ahappylie]

[He inclines his head and nods. If she prefers to keep her name a secret, he'll do as she asks. He's been witness to some awesome feats of magic over the course of his tenure in the Fleet and if her name is needed to do some of that, then he feels honored to be allowed to know it. It will be a secret he takes to his grave (again) if necessary.

As for him? He sighs a little, picking at the blanket that covers his lap.]

Because my country is at war and my name is well known to the other side.

[He still remembers Tetsu's face the day he had to kill that roushi in the alleyway. He looked so betrayed and yet there was no helping it. The moment his name was mentioned, the unfortunate man stopped facing some random samurai and instead crossed blades with the Shinsengumi's first unit captain.]

Our faces weren't well known, but our names were. [He smiles faintly.] I couldn't know if there were any of those people here on the Fleet, so I had to maintain my cover to protect all of you until I was certain.

[noprophecies]

[her shoulders tense at the word "protect" - a kneejerk reaction, whenever someone even remotely hints at it, whether for her or anyone else. But she doesn't interrupt him to tell him how stupid that sounds, or ask any of her usual, oblivious questions - no, this time she lets it sink and finally nods, after a moment]

You do know had there been people like that here, they would not be a problem, yes?

[ahappylie]

[He notices that tension in her shoulders, the way she pulls back ever so slightly. She dislikes his answer, but she would dislike his other answer even more. He could have quit pretending months ago if wariness about the Joui was his only reason.

He lifts his head and wonders just how much of himself he is willing to actually show these people.]

Why do you say that?

[noprophecies]

[she crosses her arms and gives him a look like he's dumb. Because he is, and - god, she hates being the one to point this stuff out. Usually someone else is supposed to do this]

Because I would have killed them first if they threatened you.

[she says as if it's the most obvious answer in the world]

[ahappylie]

[He's quiet a moment and then he bursts out laughing, not in mockery, but in relief. The sound is light and friendly and he seems touched by her words.]

Yes, you're right - how silly of me.

[Never mind that Okita would have stealth shanked anyone he suspected of being Joui himself. Or that he would likely have been the one that the Joui hid from, the one that everyone would have seen as the villain. He's the first to arrive and thus has control of the narrative. It's a dangerous position to be in, but one that he appreciates right now. No one will think ill of him should a Joui eventually show up, and should he go off and decapitate the man.]

Thank you, Tempest-san. I'm sorry for doubting you.

[noprophecies]

I don't want your stupid apology.

[there's no heat in her muttered words, because - if she's being honest (and she won't be, at least not out loud) she's not actually angry. Or she is, but not as much as she plays at. It's more concern and worry, but again - she isn't being honest about it]

Which name do you prefer? [let's bring it back to a safer topic]

[ahappylie]

[His laughter peters out and he nods quietly. The lack of vitriol on her words makes it seem like less of a rebuke, but her displeasure is still clear. It's almost a relief when she returns to the name and not the reason behind it.]

Mm...Okita, I suppose. `It the name most people called me by at home.

[noprophecies]

Is that not your family name? [for someone who doesn't know a whole lot about things outside of her world, this is something she does. Thanks to having an adopted little brother] But if that is what you prefer, Okita it is.

[ahappylie]

[He inclines his head.]

Yes, but it's normal in my country to call people by their family names rather than their first - unless you are older or in a position of power above me. [Or married to him. But even then, not all the time.

And he didn't want to assume a lady's age, elfkin or not.]

[noprophecies]

. . . am I older than you or in a position of power above you?

[look.

She looks serious, but she's trying to lighten the mood]

[ahappylie]

[He looks at her and then makes a big show of squinting as if he's examining her every feature. After a moment, he lets out a long hum as he thinks.]

I~ think it would behoove me not to answer that.

[noprophecies]

I think that answers my question, actually.

[look at this straight face]

[ahappylie]

[Look at this shit-eating grin]

I never said anything one way or the other.

[noprophecies]

You did not have to say anything.