PSL (closed)

[1stknight]

[Honestly, being summoned was quite the surprise to Bedivere. Being a saber, he knew he was at a disadvantage. After all, there were so many more sabers even just from the Round Table who were much more famous, so surely they would have been summoned over him. In fact, he was sure it had happened countless times before. That one master he had met, the one from Chaldea, they had spoken of singularities and grail wars to span several worlds and timelines. And with so many fine Sabers to choose from, he was sure that he hadn't ever been summoned before. The short time between the 'creation of his legend' and 'now' notwithstanding.

It made him feel a touch inadequate, if he was being truthful. After all, he was a simple knight. The master who had summoned him, he deserved better than someone like him. But if he was the one who was summoned, then he would fulfill his duty to this new master. Nothing would be done in half-steps, never again.

So as his form solidified in the summoning circle, Bedivere offered his new master a warm smile. Once again, his life was sworn to someone else's. Whatever his master wished for, Bedivere would help him achieve it.]

Saber, Bedivere. I am honored to be summoned by you. From now on, I shall be your Servant.

['I am honored to be summoned at all' was the truth, but he didn't speak that.

Then he paused, and he took a survey of the situation. The summoning circle was expertly made, but this man in front of him...well. He didn't look like a mage. He looked like a normal person. Perhaps it was a disguise? Or maybe there was more to this situation than he could see immediately. He would have to wait for his new master to respond in order to find out more.]

Comments

[neverwashere]

[Well, no, Dazai hadn't expected that Bedivere was actually beside him, but it was reasonable to think he'd be around and within earshot. Much like an invisible bodyguard, come to think of it.

(The way Bedivere caught himself mid-title, by the way, earned him an approving smile.)

By the time his guest stepped out of the bathroom, Dazai would be in the middle of fixing up his left hand, having finished his right. It wasn't much, just two layers of gauze going between his thumb and index finger down to just above his wrist knuckle, leaving the edges of the seal still visible, but at least it didn't impede his general mobility. Maybe a gauze pad would be better - more coverage, less bandage.]

No, simply hiding my new fancy body art. It's too conspicuous.

[Now, he looked up at Bedivere to study how the clothes fit him and whistled. Just a little taller than Odasaku had been, then.

That's where the similarities ended, more or less. The two of them had very different charms.]

Well, that's a change from white and green. Comfortable?

[1stknight]

[Bedivere did fill out the clothes nicely, surprisingly enough. It was hard to tell under the armor and all the layers, but he was fairly muscular and toned, especially in his arms and chest. he did cover up completely, buttoning the shirt all the way to the top button, but the shirt was still fit well enough to show that he wasn't nearly as twiggy as Dazai was. He was still barefoot, though, and would need shoes to go outside. Unless Dazai wanted him to tromp around in his boots.

At Dazai's explanation, he hummed thoughtfully. That explained the new bandages on the hand, but those weren't the bandages he had been commenting on. But for the moment at least, he decided to leave the question of the bandages be. Perhaps his master truly was injured and just didn't want to talk about it. Bedivere could respect that, as long as Dazai took care of any injuries he had.]

I must admit, I feel a bit underdressed. This is what I would sleep in, were I back in the times when I was alive. Is it really alright to go out in something like this?

[neverwashere]

[Did they even have the same shoe size? Dazai hummed thoughtfully before retrieving socks and two pairs of shoes - one his own, and the other Odasaku's size. These, he passed on.]

Yes. Certain types of vests and whatnot exist for protection against modern weapons, but only the military and those expecting an attack wear those on a regular basis. They're not necessarily effective against abilities... or perhaps even magic, for that matter.

[No one talked about his bandages, Bedivere. Perhaps it might stay that way unless someone got up close and personal at some point in this conflict.]

[1stknight]

[We're going to say Odasaku's shoes fit him so that he's not a barefoot weirdo when they go out in public. Socks and shoes on, and he is mostly good to go!]

The climate must be mild here, if people do not get cold wearing something like this. But thank you for the clothes, Dazai. This will make traveling in the city much easier.

[With that said, he lifted up his right hand and flexed it a bit. The metal arm moved just fine within the shirt, it didn't pinch the fabric or anything. But the silvery hand was still visible, and that was no good.]

Do you have any gloves? Covering this hand may be wise, I don't think many people in this city have hands made out of metal.

[neverwashere]

[That kind of underdressed, huh.]

Glad to hear it.

Yokohama's a port town, so it's more humid. It doesn't snow much either during the winter.

[Speaking of which, those where the kinds of gloves Dazai brought out - black and cozy. Not that Bedivere's metal hand would get sweaty.]

Here. If those don't fit, I hope you don't mind gauze.

[Later, he'd have to brush up on Bedivere's history in case the loss of the guy's original arm wasn't a pleasant topic. It likely wasn't.

In any case, Dazai would head to the door again if they were done. The second set of shoes, he'd leave by the step near the door.]

Mind doing your vanishing act again until we're past the gate? This property is owned by the Agency, and my neighbors - including Atsushi-kun, the one you might've seen earlier - are all my colleagues.

[1stknight]

[I actually had to google it to be sure, but yes, he was one-armed in his legends too. It was lost in one of the many battles that the Round Table took place in, and Bedivere became accustomed to fighting one-armed after that. The legends most definitely did not mention a magical silver arm, though. That would be the first clue that there was something different about this Bedivere.

One of the pairs of black gloves fit, and Bedivere slipped it on and flexed his fingers a bit. They weren't at risk of ripping, which was good, because Bedivere had definitely ripped cloth before with his silver arm.]

And it wouldn't do to have them see me, yes? At least, not until you have established our working alliance with them.

[Even if his way of describing it was odd and dated, he seemed to understand what Dazai was going for. So with a nod, he went into spirit form again.

Interestingly enough, his armor and clothes seemed to disappear when he did too.]

[neverwashere]

[Whereas Airgetlám was from Irish myth, an epithet of Nuada, who received a silver arm to replace the one he lost in battle. Perhaps this was one more layer of misdirection that they could use, once Dazai looked it up.]

Yep.

[Bedivere's descriptions weren't that outdated as far as Dazai was concerned. After all, those were the terms he himself used when discussing negotiation.

The disappearing armor passed without comment, though Dazai made a thoughtful hum as he stepped out and locked the door behind him. Before stepping away, he also spared a glance at Atsushi's door - right, that kid did have incredibly sharp hearing, was he distracted enough to not notice that second voice? Whatever the case, Dazai hummed as he made his way off the corridor, down the stairs and past the yard before gesturing to the air beside him. It was safe to reappear again here as they passed by the telephone pole.]

Let's see. What sort of dishes were you used to having?

[He'd find the opposite of that on the menu in the name of broadening horizons.]

[1stknight]

[That was indeed a good idea. Though with Bedivere's Noble Phantasm being Airgetlám anyway, it might not provide too much of a benefit. Their enemies could still find a way to counter the arm's strength. Though not knowing that it's a reforged holy sword could be a benefit as well, nobody would have expected the holy power of Excalibur to be used on the battlefield, not without a King of Kings summoned.

Then again, Bedivere was a saberface, so that might still cause problems.

If Atsushi noticed anything about Dazai's conversation or the way he left his apartment, he didn't step out to say anything. Indeed, it was as if he was pretending to not be there at all. Or asleep. Or something. Dazai might want to talk to Kyouka later to find out about Atsushi's escapades that night.

But still, once it was safe once more, Bedivere was visible again. Hopefully nobody noticed him suddenly appearing like that.]

In my travels I have eaten a variety of foods, but if you mean what I am used to eating that would be stews and roasted meats and breads. Mutton is rather tasty, actually. But I'm a visitor here, and I'm not unwilling to try new things.

[neverwashere]

[Dazai would catch up with Kyouka, yes. To begin with, he hadn't been on any serious assignments on that day, and this wasn't the first time he'd gone back to the dorms late. It would be good to know if they ran into trouble earlier.

No one probably noticed. Bedivere was in dark clothing, and the shadows were longer this late. One might assume he was hidden behind the pole and they hadn't noticed.]

In that case, I'll have you try something lighter on the palette.

[He led them to a nearby restaurant. Incidentally, it was the same one Dazai had brought Atsushi to on their first meeting. He ordered a bowl of chazuke for Bedivere and salmon for himself, but passed the menu to his guest for him to look at. It had a few pictures, so the language barrier... hmm. He really must've had a lot on his mind today, if something so obvious slipped his attention.]

There are places here that also offer the cuisine that you're used to, but I'll be skipping most of them.

What do you think of this era so far?

[1stknight]

[It was a good choice, honestly. Bedivere may have said he was open to anything, but Japanese food was very different from old English food. He wouldn't have gotten ill from anything he ate, but the flavor was indeed an issue. Especially since Bedivere was only eating for the flavor.

The language barrier, on the other hand, was a strange one. Obviously he was conversing with Dazai just fine, and he seemed to be considering the menu closely. But at the same time, there was no way a man from 1500s England should have known Japanese. So that was certainly strange. And Bedivere didn't explain, not if he wasn't asked about it.]

I will trust your judgement there.

[What did he think of that era, though. That certainly was the question of the day. He had seen so much already, and he was sure his previous astonishment at everything had been a solid tell of what he thought. But if Dazai was asking, he would explain it.]

It's certainly fascinating. I haven't seen anything like this before. The buildings are so tall, how did humanity manage something like that?

*palate, not palette fffffff

[neverwashere]

[Huh. Judging by the lack of blank staring, he could read modern Japanese, too. Wonder of wonders.]

The answer, my dear Ellis, is plain old technological advancement.

Believe it or not, the buildings from your time and the others preceding it are the true marvels. There's a whole field of study dedicated to finding out just how those castles and pyramids were built, and a whole slew of conspiracy theories to entertain the ungrounded imagination.

Apart from that, what else do you know about this time? I'm sure zippers can't be that old, unless there's something they haven't dug up yet.

his tongue is totally full of paint

[1stknight]

I actually know about zippers. This...well. This may be my first time in the modern world, but it's not my first time meeting people from a modern world.

[His thoughts flashed back to that sandy desert, where Camelot loomed threateningly, and one Master and their two lovely servants were the first ones to stand up and go 'this isn't right'.

Oh, how he missed them. Though he probably wouldn't be so lucky as to see them now, maybe again in the future he would be able to.]

I know it is a world run on electricity rather than magic, though I suspect magic had some part in the creation of this modern time. And rather than fearing beasts from the woods, the terrors come from other people.

[neverwashere]

[Talk about unexpected.]

What, you came across time travelers? Do tell.

[Bedivere didn't look like he was pulling a leg here, either.

That description on fearing other people in modernity, though, made Dazai lift an eyebrow.]

True, most of us won't run into wildlife any time soon, but I somehow doubt mercenaries, bandits and the like didn't exist back then.

[He wasn't just being cynical. The Art of War that a certain mafia boss loved quoting included historical examples, and Dazai's passing familiarity with the Crusades was limited to how it was ultimately used for profit.

Before they could continue, however, their food had arrived. Dazai picked up his chopsticks but made no move to eat, gesturing at Bedivere to taste the chazuke first.]

[1stknight]

Something like that.

[But then the food was there, and Bedivere took that moment to avoid answering more about the group he had met and to instead try out the new food. He picked up the chopsticks with his left hand and held the bowl in his right while he twirled up some noodles to try.

As soon as he had his first bite, Bedivere's eyes lit up. It was a simple meal, containing few fancy spices or flavors, but somehow that made him like it even more. He could be polite, though, and refrain from gorging himself on it.]

What is this? It's quite tasty.

[neverwashere]

[How enlightening.

Any mild dissatisfaction he might've had from the lack of answers, however, could be put off. It was good to know that his new companion also appreciated simpler pleasures outside of whatever fancy meals they probably served in court.]

Chazuke - tea poured over rice, essentially. It's quite good if you've had enough of greasy food, or if you're suffering from a hangover.

[1stknight]

Aaah, so it's hangover-food. That explains why it's so mellow and comforting.

[He could see its uses as a palate-cleanser, though he also thought it would be tasty enough to eat on its own anyway. Bedivere did like simple foods, this was right up his alley.

But as he ate, he watched Dazai too, making sure he ate as well. Dazai's energy mattered more than his own, and his master looked far too skinny as it was.]

What sorts of things do you eat? You don't seem like the type to indulge in greasy food.

[neverwashere]

[Dazai snickered. So Bedivere's also acquainted with the ways of drunkards, hmm?]

We have to make it up to our stomachs and livers somehow.

[No worries, Dazai was eating, arranging bits of salmon on his rice before placing it in his mouth. It was early evening still, and Kunikida would still be glaring at his monitor by the time they were done.]

You're correct. I prefer seafood, especially crab. There's nothing like tasting lightly sweet meat and the sea.

Earlier, you mentioned travelling. What kinds of places did you end up going to?

[1stknight]

[I mean. Just look at the other knights of the Round Table.

But Bedivere found Dazai's food intake to be mostly-satisfactory, though the like of crab was odd. Wasn't that a food for prisoners?]

Just make sure you eat plenty. I will be siphoning energy from you pretty regularly, and physical contact between us sends more in my direction. I wouldn't want you to pass out from hunger.

[He was speaking cheerfully, though. It wasn't a serious worry for him, just a reminder.

He took a few more bites as he considered that second question. Just how much of his story should he tell? After all, his legend was far more than the stories of the Round Table. Where would he even start?]

I was the last one left. After that final battle against Mordred, only my King and I remained. And as he lay dying, he asked me to cast his sword into the lake, to return it to where it had come from.

After that time, I was a lone knight with no king. There was plenty of the world to see then.

[neverwashere]

[Funny how crab being food for prisoners worked in Dazai's case.]

Thanks for the warning. I suppose asking you to carry me back if I pass out's a moot point if you're not charged enough, hmm?

[So he said in a teasing manner, but the look he gave Bedivere communicated that he'd take that advice seriously. Even without the Grail War, Dazai couldn't afford to pass out in random places.

Now, the end of the Round Table wasn't the mood shift he expected over a light meal, but Dazai listened, nodding. Right, this part of the legend he could vaguely remember. A knight who wanted to spare his King from death... now, wasn't that familiar? Their earlier visit to the place of Odasaku's final moments was fitting in retrospect.

Perhaps they'd be able to get along in a way Dazai hadn't expected.]

Drifting from place to place is a good way to find things you didn't know you were looking for.

[Whoops. That was a bit too telling, wasn't it? Dazai focused on piling a few grains of rice above the piece of fish he'd placed in his bowl.]

Well, Sir Knight? Why continue saving people, when you no longer had an obligation to your king?

[He kept his curiosity out of his tone, although the nature of his question was in itself an indication of interest.]

[1stknight]

[It was indeed a bit too telling, and it made Bedivere wonder if this partnership was truly an accident or not. Even Dazai's reactions told Bedivere that their stories were eerily similar. Was that why Bedivere had been summoned? Because their pasts resonated so well? The Round Table knew Bedivere well, after all, and he had to believe that there was a purpose for his summoning specifically.]

My King will always be my king, in life or in death. Just because he has entered his eternal slumber doesn't mean I have forgotten him, nor the lessons he has taught me.

...I think he would be disappointed in me, if I didn't continue serving people. And I wouldn't want to disappoint him.

[Though he was smiling, it was easy to tell that his heart was heavy in that moment. He truly was an honest person, even if that honesty was painful.]

[neverwashere]

[Loyal to a fault. Although, in Dazai's eyes, there was one crucial difference between them: even without his king's commsnd, Bedivere was still a good person. His kindness was innate. Was there any wonder why he seemed to shine?]

If you can still smile like that [yes, even with the pain] I'm sure you've accomplished your duties to the best of your ability, many times over.

I can't speak for your king, but believe me when I say you've done well.

[1stknight]

That's very kind of you, Dazai.

[And indeed, it did make Bedivere's smile glow a bit brighter. He didn't do good deeds seeking out praise, but there was something special about getting recognition from your direct superior. Especially when that praise sounded genuine.]

I should warn you that not all participants in 'what is to happen' carry my same ideals. It may be a fight to protect the city much more than a fight to win.

[neverwashere]

That's a given, with the prize being what it is.

[Satisfied with his rice topping pyramid, he popped the morsel in his mouth and chewed with gusto. That smile was distracting. If Bedivere ever became some sort of celebrity, he'd be the type to attract overly protective fans.]

Only the most ambitious would willingly sign up for a death match like this. In fact, I'd say your type's usually the rarity.

[Maybe he spoke from experience.]

[1stknight]

[That is a lot of toppings. Bedivere watched curiously as Dazai consumed it all, wondering if the seasoning burned his mouth. Dazai really was a marvel when it came to over-salted foods.]

I suppose people like me have to balance things out.

Do you have a strategy in mind? Beyond 'find out who the others are.'

[neverwashere]

[The fish wasn't that salty, although Dazai's enjoyment of umami might make that judgment questionable.]

Let them show themselves first. If they can reduce their numbers that way, that would be favorable.

Beyond that, I'd like to know their motivations for joining this war. For all we know, the reason why they think a grail is necessary might be because they've blinded themselves from alternative solutions.

[As far as the other Masters were concerned, at least.]

It's such a shame negotiation can only go so far this time. The fallout of zero sum games isn't... great.

[Now wasn't the time to delve back to those days. Dazai shook his head and finished off the last of his meal. He'd fish out his phone if Bedivere was almost done eating and give Kunikida a quick call - still hard at work, Mr. Industrious Ant?]