[Mandricardo your nervous dog energy... He's quiet for a second, but just nods. He doesn't want to give this poor lad any more trouble, so he can just do whatever his little chihuahua heart wants.]
Barring any better metal, this works in a pinch. A fire outside of a smithy is nowhere near hot enough to damage a blade.
[IE he's gonna heat it up and do the old "stick your open wound on hot metal to close it" schtick. Despite how generally funky he was being about the blade earlier, he seems to have no issue with sticking the blunt edge over a wholeass tiki torch.]
[Sakyou keeps a watchful eye on it, seemingly focused on mentally counting seconds as they go by. The question has him looking back up, though. His lips purse, and he seems vaguely discomforted, but eventually he shakes his head.]
...No. You don't have to worry; there doesn't seem to be anything dangerous in the woods.
And you...can't tell me that. I can use my concern all I want. Are you someone I'm only startin' to know? Sure. Yeah. Doesn't mean I need to just leave you be.
[mandricardo continues to be a good lad while aki squints suspiciously in the background.......
Sakyou, in the meantime, just gives him a long and quiet look. But he eventually sighs, too; a soft little sound, as his eyes return to the metal as it steadily heats.]
Then I'll say it more clearly. I'm not the sort of person anyone should waste their concern or time with. [Certainly no one kind enough to help a veritable stranger, at least.]
I appreciate the help to this point, but I can't accept anything further.
[HE'S THE CROUCHING GLOOMY HIDDEN DEPRESSO WITH A POISED EXTERIOR. Sometimes you're just out here!!
In any case, his point had been that he's not even worth a sentence like "I don't want to see you hurt", regardless of explanations or anything else. It's always better for people to keep away, and he prefers it if he doesn't take up even a second in someone else's mind.
He's already thrown a lot on poor Mandricardo's plate tonight, though, so he'll keep the rest of that to himself for the time being. Instead, he only says:]
It's precisely because of that kindness that I've said what I've said. [GOD. His expression is a little hard to read then, as he shifts the blade against the flame.]
...May I ask you something? I don't want to pry either, and it's a personal question, so you don't have to answer.
[DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. They can just be two depressos lads being depressed together, it's fine.
Sakyou just gives him a little bit of a look at that, waiting to see if he'll continue on his own. When he doesn't, though, he just inclines his head forward a little and continues with his own question.]
It's definitely a personal question though, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Mandricardo tapped out. The fact that he answers - especially given the answer - is something Sakyou understands the weight of.
He's quiet for a moment, eyes still fixed on the blade.]
...I understand. [Loss! Shit sucks!] It's a difficult thing, isn't it? ...I don't know the differences in death between places represented here, but in my world, crossing the river Sanzu is something only the dead can do. Once they've left our world, they're gone from it.
[A dignified voice. A high stature. A calming hand. A noble aura.]
[And then nothing, nothing left of that.]
...
["Once they're gone from it"...Mandricardo doesn't want to think about what his father would have thought, if he stayed and saw everything his son did.]
It is a difficult thing. It's the thing that made me leave my kingdom behind. And I guess if I had just...let him go...
[Sakyou doesn't prompt further, though he waits for a moment or two before saying anything. Letting go... It's an unthinkable thing, really. In so very many ways.]
One cannot let go of the dead so easily.
[And perhaps vice versa, in some cases.
He lapses into silence again for a moment, glancing back up and over, beyond the heated edge of his blade.]
[Mandricardo's face sets into something serious and hard, like immutable stone, and it seems like it belongs to an older man, not the young one currently standing here.]
[It's a look he doesn't seem all that surprised by, honestly. Even setting aside the strangeness of a Heroic Spirit and all that might mean for one's existence, loss will take a soul and make it ancient. Vengeance will do much the same. It's something he can deeply understand.
It's hard to let go of the dead, after all.]
Were you able to succeed?
[And what a question that is, to lead with. He doesn't need to know the circumstances that led to Mandricardo seeking vengeance, and he doesn't need to know whether or not it was justified. He doesn't need the "other side" of a story in a situation like this.
What matters above all else is being able to set the restless souls of the dead at ease, when their killers would otherwise live so freely.]
That, too, is something he deeply understands. He looks for a second like he wants to reach out, but he's not a tactile person to begin with, and his hands are already occupied. The silence doesn't stretch on quite as long this time, but perhaps it's heavier than before.
Quietly, a murmur that barely sounds over the crackle of the flame:]
...Living with that is like living with a curse.
[The shackle of failure, ever chaining one to their past.]
[It almost feels like an understatement. To live with all this knowledge that everything that happened was all in vain is just like being stabbed through the heart.]
[Mandricardo looks distant.]
It's not like I could do anything about it now. The past is dead, y'know. Everyone back then from my life is either dead or...well, like me.
[It just seems futile to think about accomplishing anything right now.]
[It's a strange thing to think about - both the notion of existing so far into the future that everyone you knew is dead, and the idea of leaving the past behind even then.
He repeats once more:] One cannot leave the dead behind so easily.
[Whether it's a person or the past itself. It's hard to shake, isn't it? Even if it's futile, isn't it hard to let it go? Impossible, even?
There are other questions he wants to ask, but he doesn't know how far Mandricardo's willingness to discuss this will stretch. He's already done more than his fair share, anyway; it isn't right to ask for any more.]
...I'm sorry for asking you to discuss something so unpleasant. I was just reminded of someone I lost, earlier.
[And even like this, a Servant, a magical copy given life, and then what, having to carry the burden of memories on his back regardless? Like an unbreakable weight, pushing him down.]
[He lets out a huff, finally turning back to face Sakyou.]
It's fine. It is what it is. It's hardly like some kinda big secret. [Though it probably is, because NO ONE KNOWS HIS LEGEND AND HE'S A SIDE CHARACTER!!! SUCKS!!!!!] And someone you lost...?
[A pause.]
You don't have to answer, but...did you succeed? With yours...?
[He guesses not. "Living with that is like living a curse". It doesn't take a genius to recognize that comes from a familiar place that knows what he's been through.]
Sakyou just assumes that means his legend is very well-known wherever he came from, though! Even if he himself doesn't know it, that's par for the course given everything else.
In any case - haha, yeah. HE SURE DIDN'T. There's a flicker in his expression that speaks to that same guilt, the weight of humiliation and failure and misery that haunts like a ghost in its own right. But it's there and gone; what shines through stronger is a fierceness, a sharpness, an absolute determination that would burn down anything, including itself.
He doesn't hesitate to answer.]
No. But I will.
[He refuses to give up. He can't let it go. It won't let him go. There's simply no other way.]
To live in a world where evil like that goes unpunished... It's something I can't tolerate. I will return the suffering they've caused a hundredfold, with my own hands.
[There's a look of brief admiration, some softening of Mandricardo's expression, because even though Sakyou is, in this moment, speaking with such a burning determination that sharpens him like a bleeding sword, it's something that he's awed by. Mandricardo thought he, himself, could stand like that.]
[And then failure came, like a strangling curse, to take it all away.]
...I...I believe in your power to make that happen.
[How can he not? He may be a Heroic Spirit, but it is true heroes who he looks up to. Those who seem to shrug things off, and move ahead. Wow. That's true strength.]
[It's - a little surprising, honestly. Hearing that. He's gotten so used to the one person he's come to know trying to dissuade him at every turn that hearing encouragement is almost more startling than anything.
But it's nice, honestly. To hear that someone believes in his ability to serve justice. To know that it comes from someone who understands intimately the agony of loss, and of failure. The spiteful fire in him softens again; he's certainly nothing to admire, but the support? The acceptance? It's a nice change.
His head inclines forward a little.]
There should be no world in which the actions of the vile have no consequences. It's simply that there's no other way forward; one must continue, whatever the cost.
[He doesn't know about strength or power, but he sure has resolve in spades!! YEEHAW. Speaking of resolve, he looks down at the metal again, and:]
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Barring any better metal, this works in a pinch. A fire outside of a smithy is nowhere near hot enough to damage a blade.
[IE he's gonna heat it up and do the old "stick your open wound on hot metal to close it" schtick. Despite how generally funky he was being about the blade earlier, he seems to have no issue with sticking the blunt edge over a wholeass tiki torch.]
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[He watches as he heats up the blade, flame licking the metal. Mandricardo frowns, before speaking up, his voice quiet.]
Hey...I wanna ask. Did something attack you out there?
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...No. You don't have to worry; there doesn't seem to be anything dangerous in the woods.
[Like, outside of the geese.]
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[He glances to the side, remembering the state he found Sakyou in. The look in his eyes...that palpable fear...]
If its somethin' personal...I get it. We all have our secrets and all. But even if its personal, I don't want you...hurting yourself over it.
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...My apologies. [Said quietly.] I didn't realize I had. I was-- [Hm.] Caught off guard. But I won't be a second time.
[It's?? Fine, probably.]
You really don't have to waste your concern, though.
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[He sighs.]
And you...can't tell me that. I can use my concern all I want. Are you someone I'm only startin' to know? Sure. Yeah. Doesn't mean I need to just leave you be.
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Sakyou, in the meantime, just gives him a long and quiet look. But he eventually sighs, too; a soft little sound, as his eyes return to the metal as it steadily heats.]
Then I'll say it more clearly. I'm not the sort of person anyone should waste their concern or time with. [Certainly no one kind enough to help a veritable stranger, at least.]
I appreciate the help to this point, but I can't accept anything further.
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[He lets out a snort.]
I didn't think there was someone as gloomy as me.
[And then a shake of the head.]
But I'm...not the type to pry. That would be rude. I mean, I just...don't want to see ya hurt. Explanation or not...
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In any case, his point had been that he's not even worth a sentence like "I don't want to see you hurt", regardless of explanations or anything else. It's always better for people to keep away, and he prefers it if he doesn't take up even a second in someone else's mind.
He's already thrown a lot on poor Mandricardo's plate tonight, though, so he'll keep the rest of that to himself for the time being. Instead, he only says:]
It's precisely because of that kindness that I've said what I've said. [GOD. His expression is a little hard to read then, as he shifts the blade against the flame.]
...May I ask you something? I don't want to pry either, and it's a personal question, so you don't have to answer.
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Kindness...
[Its not that he's troubled by the word, but his frown deepens ever so slightly at it. Him being kind...]
...Um. Yeah? Go ahead?
[He's a little confused, but he nods.]
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Sakyou just gives him a little bit of a look at that, waiting to see if he'll continue on his own. When he doesn't, though, he just inclines his head forward a little and continues with his own question.]
Have you ever lost someone close to you?
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[Yeah, that's a deeply personal question. It's like a dark gloomy curtain comes over his face, and he glances away.]
[Someone close to him...]
[It only takes a short moment before he answers.]
Yeah. My father.
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It's definitely a personal question though, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Mandricardo tapped out. The fact that he answers - especially given the answer - is something Sakyou understands the weight of.
He's quiet for a moment, eyes still fixed on the blade.]
...I understand. [Loss! Shit sucks!] It's a difficult thing, isn't it? ...I don't know the differences in death between places represented here, but in my world, crossing the river Sanzu is something only the dead can do. Once they've left our world, they're gone from it.
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[And then nothing, nothing left of that.]
...
["Once they're gone from it"...Mandricardo doesn't want to think about what his father would have thought, if he stayed and saw everything his son did.]
It is a difficult thing. It's the thing that made me leave my kingdom behind. And I guess if I had just...let him go...
[Things wouldn't have happened the way they did.]
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One cannot let go of the dead so easily.
[And perhaps vice versa, in some cases.
He lapses into silence again for a moment, glancing back up and over, beyond the heated edge of his blade.]
...Why did that prompt you to leave your kingdom?
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[Another long pause.]
[Mandricardo's face sets into something serious and hard, like immutable stone, and it seems like it belongs to an older man, not the young one currently standing here.]
I wished to avenge him.
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It's hard to let go of the dead, after all.]
Were you able to succeed?
[And what a question that is, to lead with. He doesn't need to know the circumstances that led to Mandricardo seeking vengeance, and he doesn't need to know whether or not it was justified. He doesn't need the "other side" of a story in a situation like this.
What matters above all else is being able to set the restless souls of the dead at ease, when their killers would otherwise live so freely.]
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[He had everything in his hands, and yet he...]
No.
[A man now trembling at the thought of failure, because, after all, what was hanging over his head from the past...?]
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Well.
That, too, is something he deeply understands. He looks for a second like he wants to reach out, but he's not a tactile person to begin with, and his hands are already occupied. The silence doesn't stretch on quite as long this time, but perhaps it's heavier than before.
Quietly, a murmur that barely sounds over the crackle of the flame:]
...Living with that is like living with a curse.
[The shackle of failure, ever chaining one to their past.]
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[It almost feels like an understatement. To live with all this knowledge that everything that happened was all in vain is just like being stabbed through the heart.]
[Mandricardo looks distant.]
It's not like I could do anything about it now. The past is dead, y'know. Everyone back then from my life is either dead or...well, like me.
[It just seems futile to think about accomplishing anything right now.]
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He repeats once more:] One cannot leave the dead behind so easily.
[Whether it's a person or the past itself. It's hard to shake, isn't it? Even if it's futile, isn't it hard to let it go? Impossible, even?
There are other questions he wants to ask, but he doesn't know how far Mandricardo's willingness to discuss this will stretch. He's already done more than his fair share, anyway; it isn't right to ask for any more.]
...I'm sorry for asking you to discuss something so unpleasant. I was just reminded of someone I lost, earlier.
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[And even like this, a Servant, a magical copy given life, and then what, having to carry the burden of memories on his back regardless? Like an unbreakable weight, pushing him down.]
[He lets out a huff, finally turning back to face Sakyou.]
It's fine. It is what it is. It's hardly like some kinda big secret. [Though it probably is, because NO ONE KNOWS HIS LEGEND AND HE'S A SIDE CHARACTER!!! SUCKS!!!!!] And someone you lost...?
[A pause.]
You don't have to answer, but...did you succeed? With yours...?
[He guesses not. "Living with that is like living a curse". It doesn't take a genius to recognize that comes from a familiar place that knows what he's been through.]
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Sakyou just assumes that means his legend is very well-known wherever he came from, though! Even if he himself doesn't know it, that's par for the course given everything else.
In any case - haha, yeah. HE SURE DIDN'T. There's a flicker in his expression that speaks to that same guilt, the weight of humiliation and failure and misery that haunts like a ghost in its own right. But it's there and gone; what shines through stronger is a fierceness, a sharpness, an absolute determination that would burn down anything, including itself.
He doesn't hesitate to answer.]
No. But I will.
[He refuses to give up. He can't let it go. It won't let him go. There's simply no other way.]
To live in a world where evil like that goes unpunished... It's something I can't tolerate. I will return the suffering they've caused a hundredfold, with my own hands.
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[There's a look of brief admiration, some softening of Mandricardo's expression, because even though Sakyou is, in this moment, speaking with such a burning determination that sharpens him like a bleeding sword, it's something that he's awed by. Mandricardo thought he, himself, could stand like that.]
[And then failure came, like a strangling curse, to take it all away.]
...I...I believe in your power to make that happen.
[How can he not? He may be a Heroic Spirit, but it is true heroes who he looks up to. Those who seem to shrug things off, and move ahead. Wow. That's true strength.]
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But it's nice, honestly. To hear that someone believes in his ability to serve justice. To know that it comes from someone who understands intimately the agony of loss, and of failure. The spiteful fire in him softens again; he's certainly nothing to admire, but the support? The acceptance? It's a nice change.
His head inclines forward a little.]
There should be no world in which the actions of the vile have no consequences. It's simply that there's no other way forward; one must continue, whatever the cost.
[He doesn't know about strength or power, but he sure has resolve in spades!! YEEHAW. Speaking of resolve, he looks down at the metal again, and:]
--May you hold this?
[The torch, which he holds out.]
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