practicality | (no subject)

[Daitou follows him in, and is content to be silent for now, as the elevator starts moving again.]

[Rain is equally silent, although he does sneak a quick glance over at Daitou. It sounds as if the man may have recently received a memory crystal, and if the two of them are remembering the same things... well, he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions. But it's definitely something they need to speak about.]

[The elevator opens into the expanse of the Wilderness, and Rain steps out, taking a sweeping look around before turning back to Daitou expectantly.]

[Daitou took a glance around as well, taking in the town around them, before catching Rain's eye.]

Let's head out where it's more open.

[Rain simply nods - he doesn't exactly want to risk being overheard, either - but it occurs to him that he's putting a lot of trust in a man he's met only once previously by allowing himself to be lured out away from anyone else. He lets Daitou lead the way so he can watch him. Curious though he is, it doesn't hurt to be a little cautious.]

[Daitou is content to go in front - he's not unaware of the other man behind him, senses on alert after being followed around by Locke. But at the same time, something about this feels oddly familiar.

He doesn't head too far out - they're still in sight of the village as he stops. But it's open here, plenty of nice clean sightlines which makes it hard for anyone to spy on them]

[Daitou has picked a good location, Rain notes with a slight nod. Now to get down to business.]

I take it you've recently recovered a memory.

[Daitou sits - not an elegant seiza, more of a casual sprawl on the grass. He nods, looking out over the hills, rather than at Rain]

I did. It was...informative.

[Rain sits as well, in seiza, at Daitou's side with a little more than an arm's length between them. He watches the other man at the edge of his peripheral vision.]

How so? [A rather prying question, but it was Daitou's idea to discuss this with him to begin with, so Rain's expecting to receive some answers before he offers any.]

You mentioned the samurai code. [That's probably a good place to start. It's something they seem to have in common.]

In my memory, I showed a document to a younger boy - maybe thirteen or so. The laws of the Shinsengumi. [A code for demons - he was still not sure if he had meant that literally or metaphorically]

The first of the trespasses listed was 'disobeying the samurai code in any way'.

[Disobeying the samurai code was against the laws of the Shinsengumi... perhaps the Shinsengumi was some sort of samurai organization? It had to be something closely connected with them, at the very least. And if Rain had ties to this Shinsengumi, it would explain why he had felt so compelled to obey the code despite not being a samurai.]

[He remains silent in thought for a moment, recalling the details of that particular memory.]

Was the punishment for trespasses stated?

[Daitou doesn't glance at Rain, still looking at the hills. His voice is quiet, almost emotionless.]

Ritual suicide.

[And despite all he can't remember, he does remember what /that/ is.]

[Rain nods slowly.]

That's consistent with what I've remembered. [So they're probably talking about the same thing. Interesting.]

[He finally glances over at Rain]

What else do you remember? I know...the list of other trespasses. But not what the samurai code covers.

[Rain frowns, and is silent for a moment. He's never discussed his memories with anyone else, and he still has no intention of sharing any personal information. But what little insight he has on the samurai code... that much, he is willing to offer, now that he's starting to strongly suspect that he and Daitou may be from the same place.]

According to the samurai code, after a failure, one is expected to commit seppuku. [He pauses, and glances away.] I don't know the full definition of 'failure'. But it seems that... receiving a back wound is counted as one.

[Daitou watches Rain, sees that glance away - so he had failed, at some point in his past.]

I...was justifying my reasoning for killing a man.

[Rain looks calmly back at Daitou. He should probably be caught unawares by that sudden admission, but finds that he isn't in the least. He has to wonder if he himself has ever killed anyone... he already knows he's been trained for it. And if Daitou was bound by this code, he almost certainly has been, too.]

Are you a samurai?

I don't know. Though after that memory...I think, maybe. I'm good with a sword - even my dream was fighting.

It seems likely.

[That his dream involved fighting is to be expected, considering what the man chose to name himself. Rain thinks for a moment, then goes back to something else Daitou had touched on.]

You said you know the list of other trespasses. [He's curious as to whether the rest of them are just as familiar.]

[He ticks each one off on a finger as he speaks. Now that he's seen them, it seems almost impossible that he couldn't remember them.]

Leaving the Shinsengumi. Raising private funds. Engaging in private litigation. Engaging in private fights.

[Rain listens silently as Daitou lists them, and remains quiet for a moment afterward.]

...That all sounds familiar. [Like it's something he should know as well as his own name, except that he's forgotten that, too. He looks away, out into the distance, then closes his eyes with a slight sigh.]

We may both be guilty of leaving.

[Daitou is silent for a moment, then nods]

Even if it was against our will. I suppose we'll face the consequences whenever we return home...

...Perhaps being taken is not considered the same as leaving. [He has to hope so, anyway.]

[With everything Daitou's said sounding so familiar, Rain recalls their first meeting at the dojo, when he briefly wondered if he'd seen the man around before. He brushed aside the feeling then, but he realizes now that they almost certainly must have known each other. And that Daitou is the first person he can say that about. His next question is spoken before he thinks it through properly.]

Did you see a young woman in your memory? [He immediately regrets asking - he doesn't want to talk about her - but too late.]

I hope so.

[Daitou's eyes had fallen at the thought of what awaited their return. He wanted out of this place, but that was a hard price to stomach. He glanced up at the question, though.]

No, only the boy. And...there was someone else's name, but I missed it, I think. The person who wrote the code.

...You missed it? Or was it blocked?

[It isn't anything that Rain has experienced personally, but he's aware of the phenomenon. If the tree doesn't want you to remember something, it simply won't let you hear it, or see it. He has heard a few names in his memories, but can't offer any insight as to who may have written the laws. The mention of a boy brings a vague sense of familiarity though, and it takes him a moment to place it. Not from a memory; from his birth dream.]

I heard a boy once, although I didn't see him. He was... very loud. And upset. [Rain frowns.]

[He frowns slightly]

Blocked, maybe. The memory-me said something that sounded as if it should have had a name at the start.

The boy in mine was upset, too. Angry.