Mirage 21-22
Aug. 4th, 2005 10:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petroniaMore summaries!
Last time we left off with Ushio and Takaya digging themselves an onsen bath [1]. They have a bit of reluctant bonding over amnesia experiences that's interrupted by the arrival of several members of the Sekigeishuu, or Red Whales - the organization that's been hotly after Ushio to join them. Ushio tries to ignore them but there's not much you can do when sitting butt naked in a steaming rock pool in the middle of the woods. The Whales (Kusama, Reijirou and Eikichi) explain that they're "dead people" and that Ushio is in fact one of them, and they can help him recover his memory and latent abilities if he'll help them fight their war. They demonstrate by floating a shovel in mid-air and breaking it in half. Ushio is suitably awed. Takaya, of whom it can only be said that he's been there and bought that particular t-shirt, is more interested in knowing which side of the war they're on. This triggers Reijirou's interest especially, although they're unable to tell Takaya's a possessor because Kihachi's poison masks his spiritual signature. Ushio agrees to join the Whales, as long as they let him bring Takaya with him as a security blanket. XD; Takaya is thus dragged along willy-nilly.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ayatsujik has a nice write-up of the Whales and their goals and internal politics here, go read it if you haven't. I'd add for future reference:
Hikawa Samanosuke: ichiban taichou. Smart, loyal to Kusama and exceedingly pragmatic.
Iwata "Party Monkey" Eikichi: one of the taichou, trains new recruits. Enjoys social drinking.
Someji "Easy Rider" Shingo: also one of the Tosa Loyalists, assigned to Takaya's mobile tactical strike unit [2] in vol.22 as de-facto lieutenant. Even seen one of those leathery old biker dudes whose age is over forty but otherwise indeterminate from being out in the sun and wind so much? ...Rides a Harley-Davidson.
Kada "El Pistolero" Reijirou: picture the young Antonio Banderas as in Desperado, except Japanese. No, I'm serious, read the afterword if you don't believe me. Boots on the table, leaning back in his chair, polishing a reiki gun. ...Are you picturing? Okay, now picture that he talks ideology like Che Guevara.
Akutagawa Chikamune: or as I refer to him, "Oberstein".
Yoshimura (& co.): or as I refer to them, "the evil Lan Evo team".
Basically, from the X-Files it kind of turns into *M*A*S*H*. Takaya moves through it all in much the same way he did with Mitsui's gang when he was in junior high school: alone in the corner, not socialising if at all possible, contemptuous of the group's goals when provoked (he characterises them tellingly as "chinpira riots"), shrugging off the concerns of others and disavowing any of his own - there basically because it's cold outside and there's nowhere else for him to go. Left to himself he angsts over why he's unable to just commit suicide and get it over with. Nevertheless he does develop a grudging respect for the Whales, who've built themselves up from zero to become a viable force in Shikoku, and are awash with innovative spiritual gadgets. XD Reiki compasses, "kekkai-vision" goggles, spiritual poison-countering chewing gum... it's all very Harry Potter. Nakagawa, for instance, makes him tinted contact lenses with the mantra of Fudou Myouou etched on, so he doesn't have to kill people just by looking. And there are the Bishamontenpaintballs, of course.
"Here. Take these."
"...What?"
"Part of your equipment. They're made from Bishamonten energy - see the 'bi'?"
"......"
"Say the mantra and they turn into a nice suit of armour. You can also use them as grenades. Be sure to memorize the words properly, now, we wouldn't want you forgetting them in the heat of battle."
"..................................Mutou, you want my paintballs?"
"Eh? Sure, but are you going to be okay without any?"
"I'll live."
Takaya also starts having a philosophical exchange/clash of sorts with Reijirou (who takes to him, sensing his carefully-hidden abilities). This consists of Takaya repeating the mantra of the Uesugi's "justice" and "right way" - the dead should not be allowed to interfere with the living let alone rob them of their bodies - and Reijirou pointing out that his moral principle stank ofbourgeois sensibility feudalist overlord honour: foot soldiers and impoverished country samurai like himself fought for spoil and land to fill their bellies, not for highflown beliefs. Reijirou doesn't understand Kusama's (and 99% of Yami Sengoku's participants') urge to retread their goals. As far as he's concerned, liberation from the physical demands of "life" means that he's free to "take revenge on life itself" for, well, sucking. As for blurring the line between dead and living, well, if something were truly against the natural order, Nature wouldn't allow it to exist in the first place (as the disembodied, er I mean disenfranchised are wont to say). Isn't Nature red in tooth and claw, all about robbing other creatures of their bodies and existence in order to supply oneself? If you kill a possessor, aren't you just killing him period, like any other thinking human? And so forth. How Takaya lets himself be affected by the Jack London-isms remains to be seen, but he sure as heck could do with a different code.
Events come to a head when Ushio and Takaya are tagged for a guerrilla strike on the Sogou clan, affiliated with the Miyoshi who are backed by the Oda, in order to steal the Retsumyousei - the proverbial "Star", an all-powerful meteor with a string of legends as long as one's arm attached, sealed by Koubou Daishi in a cave. Predictably, they're betrayed and ambushed. Predictably, Takaya is forced to demonstrate awesome spiritual power, tactical genius and natural leadership ability in order to pull everyone's chestnuts out of the fire. (He "discovers a new use" for the Bishamonten balls; three guess as to what and the first two don't count.) Not only do they escape the ambush, they manage to get hold of the Star as well.
(Hilariously, the battle is witnessed by none other than Ayukawa, who sees the giant fiery youkai Reijirou looses on the mountain as a distraction and drives up to find out what the hell is going on.
Ayukawa: It's a giant fiery youkai!
*the youkai, having burnt out its allotment of energy, shrinks down and reveals itself to be shriveled kappa bits*
Ayukawa: WTF? Is this a joke? Who the hell--
*Takaya runs past, carrying the Star*
Ayukawa: ................Well, shit.)
Takaya's meteoric (ahaha) rise in the group causes its share of jealousy, especially from one Yoshimura and his followers, who beat him up to teach him a lesson and "encourage" him to leave the Whales. Takaya (who already has half a mind to get out before the going catches up to him in the form of one Naoe Nobutsuna) doesn't even bother to defend himself, but somehow makes it clear to Yoshimura in that very special Kagetora way that he, Yoshimura, is less than the mud crawled over by the worm Takaya stepped on that morning on his way to breakfast. The Red Whales cadres alternately cajole and threaten him into staying, but he makes an enemy for life. (Not that I'm capable of taking any of this seriously, I'm too amused by watching Kagetora demolish people's souls with his little finger. XD)
On another front, the acquisition of the Star actually intensifies the disagreement between Kusama and Reijirou - the former wants to fall back, consolidate and use the Star to revive Chousokabe Motochika, the latter wants to ride the wave of success and use it in an attack on Hakuchi Castle. Both are emotional and the argument goes nowhere. Reijirou's resentment centres on the strategist Akutagawa, who's the only high-ranked Chousokabe retainer of the group and respected by Kusama to the point of blindness. In a meeting Akutagawa accuses Reijirou of being the spy who sold them out to the Sogou; Reijirou calls him out late at night; Akutagawa reveals that he does intend to use the Red Whales as a stepping stone to power, but as Reijirou is the most intelligent of the lot he can help him wrest control of the Chousokabe clan. Reijirou sees red and kills him with his pistol. He covers it up afterward by claiming the Sogou did the deed and he only arrived on the scene afterward, but the assassin's true identity is transparently obvious to the cadres (although not to the rank and file, who ironically demand an attack on Hakuchi as vengeance). Kusama is enraged and refuses to participate in the planned siege or to allow Reijirou to use the Star, although this places the Whales at unfavourable odds. Reijirou promotes Takaya to commander of the tactical strike unit, which for a "modern human" is unheard-of. Even Ushio has mixed feelings about him, equal parts competitiveness and guilt for dragging him into the Whales in the first place (after he develops that photo of Takaya bathing he sits down and has a good cry over it XD;;;).
Attack on Hakuchi Castle! This was a lot of fun to read, like playing Dynasty Warriors without actually having to play. Of course, in this day and age not even onryou attack a castle by running up to the walls with spears and flamethrowers. For one they're not so much trying to occupy a building as something resembling a ley line node. The stages involve taking the hills on either side and setting up parabola dishes to broadcast the spiritual influence of - well, you get the idea. There is however a building, which is problematic because the enemy HQ is at the bottom and there is a giant steel tower at the top, and the two are linked by a little statue of Taishakuten that when activated counts down to a GIANT BOLT OF LIGHTNING that fries everything in the castle. Takaya doesn't even worry about this at first, as he's tasked with neutralising a minefield separating one of the units from the enemy. I like the fact that because he happens to be the "mobile unit", they expect him to show up and just think of a solution. He does, of course: it involves setting a fire to cascade-trigger the mines (pseudo mikkyou babble here I won't go into) and then putting out the fire before er well the entire forest and town go up in the conflagration. Yoshimura and his gang, whom someone in his infinite wisdom assigned to Takaya's team, sabotage the firebreakers in order to make Takaya look bad. The result is that Reijirou's unit nearly toasts to a crisp, before Takaya saves them by - get this - making the fire peel off everything it was burning on and snuff itself out. It turns out that Kihachi's poison gives him the Miike clan's ability to control fire at will. Freakily enough it also makes him cry blood, so it can't be good for him, but well.
They fight all the way up to the castle, and into the castle itself, upon which the Sogou commander activates the tower. When the GIANT BOLT OF LIGHTNING comes down it - doesn't actually hurt anyone, although it chars the walls and furniture, because umm Takaya sucks it all up (it makes him feel warm and fuzzy) and turns it into an impressive fire dragon and makes it disappear. So well, they win again, and he's the hero - again.
Back on the farm, Kusama literally doesn't have five minutes to digest the good news before it's overwritten with bad: there had been an attack on the temple where Chousokabe Motochika's soul was being kept, and Motochika destroyed. In the flush of victory Reijirou doesn't take heed of Kusama's absence until hours have passed. When he finally drives up to the temple to see what had happened, he finds Kusama in alternate blank-faced shock and hysterics, convinced that it was Reijirou who did the deed this time as well.
The complication? From the description given by eyewitnesses, it is readily apparent (to the reader) that the pair of assassins who sauntered up to the front gate, announced they were there to kill the lord, kicked everyone's asses around the block, did so and left were none other than Shikanosuke and Nagahide. XD;; Except when the Whales followed up on "strange ability to make souls disappear in a burst of white light upon chanting the Bishamonten mantra", the accusing finger pointed not at the Oda, but the Uesugi.
More to follow. XD
[1] For one, taking turns. In any case Takaya can't get into a bath with someone else for fear of poisoning them, which is why he has to constantly borrow Reijirou's private shower at Sekigeishuu HQ which causes people to Assume Things which is like #1,059 on the list of Shenanigans Naoe Would Be So Not Amused By If He Found Out Which Hopefully He Never Will.
[2] It took me a while to realise that "mobile" in this context meant "on motorcycles". The first thing I thought was All those years being an unruly teenager finally pay off, don't they? Then my inner Naoe died of a massive nosebleed.
Last time we left off with Ushio and Takaya digging themselves an onsen bath [1]. They have a bit of reluctant bonding over amnesia experiences that's interrupted by the arrival of several members of the Sekigeishuu, or Red Whales - the organization that's been hotly after Ushio to join them. Ushio tries to ignore them but there's not much you can do when sitting butt naked in a steaming rock pool in the middle of the woods. The Whales (Kusama, Reijirou and Eikichi) explain that they're "dead people" and that Ushio is in fact one of them, and they can help him recover his memory and latent abilities if he'll help them fight their war. They demonstrate by floating a shovel in mid-air and breaking it in half. Ushio is suitably awed. Takaya, of whom it can only be said that he's been there and bought that particular t-shirt, is more interested in knowing which side of the war they're on. This triggers Reijirou's interest especially, although they're unable to tell Takaya's a possessor because Kihachi's poison masks his spiritual signature. Ushio agrees to join the Whales, as long as they let him bring Takaya with him as a security blanket. XD; Takaya is thus dragged along willy-nilly.
ayatsujik has a nice write-up of the Whales and their goals and internal politics here, go read it if you haven't. I'd add for future reference:Hikawa Samanosuke: ichiban taichou. Smart, loyal to Kusama and exceedingly pragmatic.
Iwata "Party Monkey" Eikichi: one of the taichou, trains new recruits. Enjoys social drinking.
Someji "Easy Rider" Shingo: also one of the Tosa Loyalists, assigned to Takaya's mobile tactical strike unit [2] in vol.22 as de-facto lieutenant. Even seen one of those leathery old biker dudes whose age is over forty but otherwise indeterminate from being out in the sun and wind so much? ...Rides a Harley-Davidson.
Kada "El Pistolero" Reijirou: picture the young Antonio Banderas as in Desperado, except Japanese. No, I'm serious, read the afterword if you don't believe me. Boots on the table, leaning back in his chair, polishing a reiki gun. ...Are you picturing? Okay, now picture that he talks ideology like Che Guevara.
Akutagawa Chikamune: or as I refer to him, "Oberstein".
Yoshimura (& co.): or as I refer to them, "the evil Lan Evo team".
Basically, from the X-Files it kind of turns into *M*A*S*H*. Takaya moves through it all in much the same way he did with Mitsui's gang when he was in junior high school: alone in the corner, not socialising if at all possible, contemptuous of the group's goals when provoked (he characterises them tellingly as "chinpira riots"), shrugging off the concerns of others and disavowing any of his own - there basically because it's cold outside and there's nowhere else for him to go. Left to himself he angsts over why he's unable to just commit suicide and get it over with. Nevertheless he does develop a grudging respect for the Whales, who've built themselves up from zero to become a viable force in Shikoku, and are awash with innovative spiritual gadgets. XD Reiki compasses, "kekkai-vision" goggles, spiritual poison-countering chewing gum... it's all very Harry Potter. Nakagawa, for instance, makes him tinted contact lenses with the mantra of Fudou Myouou etched on, so he doesn't have to kill people just by looking. And there are the Bishamonten
"Here. Take these."
"...What?"
"Part of your equipment. They're made from Bishamonten energy - see the 'bi'?"
"......"
"Say the mantra and they turn into a nice suit of armour. You can also use them as grenades. Be sure to memorize the words properly, now, we wouldn't want you forgetting them in the heat of battle."
"..................................Mutou, you want my paintballs?"
"Eh? Sure, but are you going to be okay without any?"
"I'll live."
Takaya also starts having a philosophical exchange/clash of sorts with Reijirou (who takes to him, sensing his carefully-hidden abilities). This consists of Takaya repeating the mantra of the Uesugi's "justice" and "right way" - the dead should not be allowed to interfere with the living let alone rob them of their bodies - and Reijirou pointing out that his moral principle stank of
Events come to a head when Ushio and Takaya are tagged for a guerrilla strike on the Sogou clan, affiliated with the Miyoshi who are backed by the Oda, in order to steal the Retsumyousei - the proverbial "Star", an all-powerful meteor with a string of legends as long as one's arm attached, sealed by Koubou Daishi in a cave. Predictably, they're betrayed and ambushed. Predictably, Takaya is forced to demonstrate awesome spiritual power, tactical genius and natural leadership ability in order to pull everyone's chestnuts out of the fire. (He "discovers a new use" for the Bishamonten balls; three guess as to what and the first two don't count.) Not only do they escape the ambush, they manage to get hold of the Star as well.
(Hilariously, the battle is witnessed by none other than Ayukawa, who sees the giant fiery youkai Reijirou looses on the mountain as a distraction and drives up to find out what the hell is going on.
Ayukawa: It's a giant fiery youkai!
*the youkai, having burnt out its allotment of energy, shrinks down and reveals itself to be shriveled kappa bits*
Ayukawa: WTF? Is this a joke? Who the hell--
*Takaya runs past, carrying the Star*
Ayukawa: ................Well, shit.)
Takaya's meteoric (ahaha) rise in the group causes its share of jealousy, especially from one Yoshimura and his followers, who beat him up to teach him a lesson and "encourage" him to leave the Whales. Takaya (who already has half a mind to get out before the going catches up to him in the form of one Naoe Nobutsuna) doesn't even bother to defend himself, but somehow makes it clear to Yoshimura in that very special Kagetora way that he, Yoshimura, is less than the mud crawled over by the worm Takaya stepped on that morning on his way to breakfast. The Red Whales cadres alternately cajole and threaten him into staying, but he makes an enemy for life. (Not that I'm capable of taking any of this seriously, I'm too amused by watching Kagetora demolish people's souls with his little finger. XD)
On another front, the acquisition of the Star actually intensifies the disagreement between Kusama and Reijirou - the former wants to fall back, consolidate and use the Star to revive Chousokabe Motochika, the latter wants to ride the wave of success and use it in an attack on Hakuchi Castle. Both are emotional and the argument goes nowhere. Reijirou's resentment centres on the strategist Akutagawa, who's the only high-ranked Chousokabe retainer of the group and respected by Kusama to the point of blindness. In a meeting Akutagawa accuses Reijirou of being the spy who sold them out to the Sogou; Reijirou calls him out late at night; Akutagawa reveals that he does intend to use the Red Whales as a stepping stone to power, but as Reijirou is the most intelligent of the lot he can help him wrest control of the Chousokabe clan. Reijirou sees red and kills him with his pistol. He covers it up afterward by claiming the Sogou did the deed and he only arrived on the scene afterward, but the assassin's true identity is transparently obvious to the cadres (although not to the rank and file, who ironically demand an attack on Hakuchi as vengeance). Kusama is enraged and refuses to participate in the planned siege or to allow Reijirou to use the Star, although this places the Whales at unfavourable odds. Reijirou promotes Takaya to commander of the tactical strike unit, which for a "modern human" is unheard-of. Even Ushio has mixed feelings about him, equal parts competitiveness and guilt for dragging him into the Whales in the first place (after he develops that photo of Takaya bathing he sits down and has a good cry over it XD;;;).
Attack on Hakuchi Castle! This was a lot of fun to read, like playing Dynasty Warriors without actually having to play. Of course, in this day and age not even onryou attack a castle by running up to the walls with spears and flamethrowers. For one they're not so much trying to occupy a building as something resembling a ley line node. The stages involve taking the hills on either side and setting up parabola dishes to broadcast the spiritual influence of - well, you get the idea. There is however a building, which is problematic because the enemy HQ is at the bottom and there is a giant steel tower at the top, and the two are linked by a little statue of Taishakuten that when activated counts down to a GIANT BOLT OF LIGHTNING that fries everything in the castle. Takaya doesn't even worry about this at first, as he's tasked with neutralising a minefield separating one of the units from the enemy. I like the fact that because he happens to be the "mobile unit", they expect him to show up and just think of a solution. He does, of course: it involves setting a fire to cascade-trigger the mines (pseudo mikkyou babble here I won't go into) and then putting out the fire before er well the entire forest and town go up in the conflagration. Yoshimura and his gang, whom someone in his infinite wisdom assigned to Takaya's team, sabotage the firebreakers in order to make Takaya look bad. The result is that Reijirou's unit nearly toasts to a crisp, before Takaya saves them by - get this - making the fire peel off everything it was burning on and snuff itself out. It turns out that Kihachi's poison gives him the Miike clan's ability to control fire at will. Freakily enough it also makes him cry blood, so it can't be good for him, but well.
They fight all the way up to the castle, and into the castle itself, upon which the Sogou commander activates the tower. When the GIANT BOLT OF LIGHTNING comes down it - doesn't actually hurt anyone, although it chars the walls and furniture, because umm Takaya sucks it all up (it makes him feel warm and fuzzy) and turns it into an impressive fire dragon and makes it disappear. So well, they win again, and he's the hero - again.
Back on the farm, Kusama literally doesn't have five minutes to digest the good news before it's overwritten with bad: there had been an attack on the temple where Chousokabe Motochika's soul was being kept, and Motochika destroyed. In the flush of victory Reijirou doesn't take heed of Kusama's absence until hours have passed. When he finally drives up to the temple to see what had happened, he finds Kusama in alternate blank-faced shock and hysterics, convinced that it was Reijirou who did the deed this time as well.
The complication? From the description given by eyewitnesses, it is readily apparent (to the reader) that the pair of assassins who sauntered up to the front gate, announced they were there to kill the lord, kicked everyone's asses around the block, did so and left were none other than Shikanosuke and Nagahide. XD;; Except when the Whales followed up on "strange ability to make souls disappear in a burst of white light upon chanting the Bishamonten mantra", the accusing finger pointed not at the Oda, but the Uesugi.
More to follow. XD
[1] For one, taking turns. In any case Takaya can't get into a bath with someone else for fear of poisoning them, which is why he has to constantly borrow Reijirou's private shower at Sekigeishuu HQ which causes people to Assume Things which is like #1,059 on the list of Shenanigans Naoe Would Be So Not Amused By If He Found Out Which Hopefully He Never Will.
[2] It took me a while to realise that "mobile" in this context meant "on motorcycles". The first thing I thought was All those years being an unruly teenager finally pay off, don't they? Then my inner Naoe died of a massive nosebleed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 04:34 am (UTC)I realized that Kagetora/Takaya can never really lead a peaceful life. Everywhere he goes, he's gonna be picked up by some organization somehow, and his charisma will lead to half of the ppl there worshipping him, and the other half hating him desperately(as they try not to bow down to his superiority at the same time).
Naturally, the climax here is when Naoe finds him. XD XD
no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 04:36 pm (UTC)Haha, yes, exactly. XD The thing that really made me laugh is how resigned he is - it's just this sense of "Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt - now can I leave?"
no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 09:40 am (UTC)Also, exactly how many Red Whales end up as slobbering victims of Kagetora's pheromones? There's an alarming lack of statistics in this post. XD
no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 04:32 pm (UTC)Victim-wise... well, Ushio obviously adores him, though Ushio strikes me as being even more uke than Takaya himself (an aberration caused by memory loss no doubt). Nakagawa-sensei goes on constantly about how "there's something about him that makes it so you can't look away - it's not just that he's good-looking, though he is", etc. Reijirou seems to like him purely on the basis of ability, but everyone else thinks they're real close. XD And there's Yoshimura, whom I cannot stop laughing over because he behaves over Takaya like... like Mizuki out of Prince of Tennis over Fuji (and gets shot down in exactly the same way), although I have no idea if that means anything to you. I mean clearly he just has the hots for him deep down but is in denial.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 04:50 pm (UTC)badtouch. XD Also, am totally unfamiliar with PoT, as the brain jury is still out on whether I need more crack to occupy myself with or not. :P Thanks for the clarification though. :)no subject
Date: 2005-08-06 04:09 pm (UTC)Oh yes, you need it! It'll help you to understand MoB better!*nods earnestly while trying hard to keep a straight face*
@petronia: thanks a lot for the summary!^^
no subject
Date: 2005-08-07 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-08 10:14 am (UTC)Ahaha, so manipulative! ♥ Well, maybe checking out some doujinshi won't hurt... will it? *worried blinking*
no subject
Date: 2005-08-08 03:31 pm (UTC)It's pure desperation! I just don't want to suffer alone anymore...
Nope, it won't hurt...a lot...XD
no subject
Date: 2005-08-05 06:02 pm (UTC)however it is 0200h here and I simply cannot get the joke here:
[2] It took me a while to realise that "mobile" in this context meant "on motorcycles". The first thing I thought was All those years being an unruly teenager finally pay off, don't they? Then my inner Naoe died of a massive nosebleed.
*facepalm* EXPLAIN PLS. I want to snork too. Also, if Naoe *did* find out about Takaya using Reijirou's shower...but I can't snark at him without spoiling you for uh...#25? #26? At any rate. XD He takes care of all the eventual paranoid jealousy he builds in uh a very Naoe-rashii way.
Extremely belatedly
Date: 2005-08-07 03:46 pm (UTC)