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Kasen Kaneda shared a photo.
9/20 near Home

San-ju-roku Kasen

三十六歌仙. The 36 Immortals of Poetry

My namesake. 歌仙. I was named after these men and women.

And that name, associated with these creators of beauty, was used to carry out an act grave brutality. All for some point I don't even understand.

I could really use someone to talk to right now. Someone who has had

seen great violence. in their new memories.

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-It was always a little awkward stepping into places like this. He couldn't ever quite shake that feeling of not belonging. And not just because he wasn't an employee.

He seated himself, straightening out his shirt as he did so.-

Well... where to begin...

[Kashuu, meanwhile, seems perfectly comfortable sliding into the chair across from him. Even with the cramped quarters and the topic at hand, he maintains an air of ease, like they're going to chat about the weather.]

Hm... Well, we can start with what you remember, and I can fill in the spaces with the stuff that I remember.

Most of the recollections I've been faced with so far seem to be the memories of Kasen the blade, itself. Memories of a man who 'owned' me, a very complicated individual...

But as far as memories of something beyond that, I do recall fighting that army you and Kenta mentioned, but little else. How I got from being a sword, to that, is all a mystery.

That one I think I can explain... I'm pretty sure we ended up there 'cause of one person, but I don't really remember anything about 'em. I remember that person pulling me into the place we all stayed at, and I think they're the reason we ended up fighting against that army. I don't remember much about them either, but they definitely weren't good guys. We had to chase 'em all through history, too.

[Just in case the sword part wasn't enough and Kasen wanted to add time traveler to his list.]

I remember that being part of my motivation. To protect the artistic history of Japan, or something like that.

Eh, seriously? I can't really remember why I was doing it, except 'cause that person asked me to... But that's a pretty good reason, I guess. I'm not really sure what those enemies were trying to change, either, but they definitely liked interfering during battles and wars and stuff.

...

Philosophically speaking, it's not as if any of us truly needed motivation to involve ourselves in that. The purpose of a sword is to cut, right?

Well... You're not wrong about that. I know that the people who used me were really important, too - just 'cause I was theirs, I think? Something like that. I could see myself fighting for only that reason.

[Which is pretty weird to admit, since the sword versus human dissonance is still strong.]

I really... really wish I could say that as clearly as you seem to.

The man who I've seen in my memories... I can't say I truly understand him, yet, or have an emotional resonance with.

He's not someone we learned a great deal about in history classes. Ironically, his wife is more well remembered than he was.

Tadaoki Hosokawa.

[Kashuu didn't even recognize the Shinsengumi haori the first time he saw it in his memory, so that name definitely flies right over his head. His nose wrinkles a little, reflecting his confusion.]

What do you remember about that guy, then?

-Kasen settled back into his seat, raising a hand to rub at his chin and nose and taking in a breath as he did so. It took him a moment to speak...-

He... used me... to kill 36 of his vassals. Innocent people that had done no wrong, as far as I can know.

Just... killed them, one by one, in front of his son. Some... demonstration of what it meant to be a daimyo, to have life and death in your hands.

[There's a strange sort of understanding that dawns on him then, and he nods his head just a little.]

And it's pretty much impossible, matching that kinda thing up with our lives today. Right?

Exactly. I can't comprehend what he was thinking, or what point he was trying to make. At least not as I am now.

... And I'm not sure I want to.

To be honest, I dunno if we'll ever one hundred percent be able to understand those kinds of things anymore.

[Even though he's acknowledged that his own thought process is becoming distinctly less human than it used to be, that hasn't undone his experiences as a human. He imagines it's the same - or will at least be similar - for his fellows.]

Because that idea of life and death and feudalism is antiquated, or because we're not human?

A little bit of A and B, probably. But in this case? More of A, I think. I mean, just 'cause we were swords before, that doesn't mean what we lived here is less real, yeah? It's way too hard to think of all that war and junk as being normal.

Normal is relative. -Another sigh, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.-

How... many of us are there?

Hah, I can't really argue with that...

But, hm. There's me and Yasusada, you, Rindou, Kenta and Jirou... [Toshi, too, but he seemed reluctant to even show up to the meeting, so Kiyomitsu leaves his name unsaid for now.] And if I'm remembering things right, there were a ton more of us, too.

I know Jirou and Kenta. Jirou's a friend and model I've worked with a lot. The others... vaguely familiar? -He was mostly talking to himself, gathering his thoughts.-

To have so many people collectively remember such a specific thing...

Pretty weird, right? Especially since a lot of people here are kinda just... by themselves.

At least Jirou and Kenta have history together, as far as I know. But I never met a one of you until recently.

-But the fact they're all in the same town...-

Yeah... Yasusada and I have known each other since we were real little, but I didn't meet anyone else until I was way older. Almost makes you wonder how things ended up working out like this, right?

[Creepy as it is to think about, he wouldn't be surprised if Retrospec had a hand in their lives long before coming to Recolle was even a conscious idea in some of their minds.]

So even though some of us had connections prior to this, there was still some force in this city that drew us in, all the same. -Kasen sighed again, humming in thought.-

Are we all simply swords?

Mmmhm. That's what it seems like, anyway. ...I'm not really sure about that, either.

[A BIG SHRUG both literal and metaphoric.]

And I'm still not sure how we went from swords to something more humanoid...

Kasen Kaneda shared a photo. 9/20 near Home
San-ju-roku Kasen 三十六歌仙. The 36 Immortals of Poetry My namesake. 歌仙. I was named after these men and women. And that name, associated with these creators of beauty, was used to carry out an act grave brutality. All for some point I don't even understand. I could really use someone to talk to right now. Someone who has had seen great violence. in their new memories.