Chapter 60
“…It’s raining.”
Soon after Lancermelo left, the snow on the ground began to melt, and heavy dark clouds gathered in the sky. The red flowers that had appeared as the scenery changed disappeared quietly, replaced by blue and pink hydrangeas that bloomed on the roadside and under the eaves, and the air became humid and sultry.
"My lord has changed his taste for scenery." The four of them managed to get back to the eaves of their residence before the rain. Yamato-no-kami Yasuda stood in the corridor, watching the drizzle outside, and his mind was emptying uncontrollably. "If this happens, there will be no place to hold the banquet in the evening... Eh? Kiyomitsu——"
"This rain will stop soon." Kashuu Kiyomitsu stood at the innermost position, his eyes inadvertently sweeping across the red sheath beside Ms. Okita, "Let's go - I think I know who is looking for Okita-kun and Ms. Okita. When we see him, this rain will stop."
Just as Kashuu Kiyomitsu said - when they arrived at the courtyard where the man was waiting, the drizzle had just stopped, and raindrops were still hanging on the petals and leaves of the Endless Summer tree, carrying a hint of the scent of the early plum rain... It was as if everything in the entire courtyard was prepared to wait for their arrival.
"Haha, kid - long time no see." The light yellow-haired katana in black clothes held the folding fan in his hand and smiled at Kashuu Kiyomitsu. However, his eyes passed the katana standing in the front and looked at the two servants behind him. "Oh, so it's the two of you? Well, it doesn't matter."
"I am Ichimonji Norimune. I am the founder of the Ichimonji school... Oh, it seems a little inappropriate for me to say it myself, but I am just an old man who lives in seclusion." Ichimonji Norimune opened his folding fan and motioned for the four people to sit next to him. His eyes swept over Okita-kun and Okita-san meaningfully, "Anyway - please give me your guidance, hahahaha."
"So, you old man..." Kashuu Kiyomitsu waited until the three of them sat down, then looked straight into Ichimonji Norimune's green eyes, "What's the matter this time? Since we all know that it's a false rumor, there's no need for you to come in front of us again, right?"
"But anecdotes are the basis for the existence of our 'Sword Men' and their 'Heroic Spirits', kid - regardless of whether they are true or not." Ichimonji Norimune calmly folded the folding fan in his hand and turned his gaze to the Endless Summer in the corner of the wall, "So I still have to say - before we officially start, let's tell a story first."
"...In the past, there was a genius young swordsman in the Shinsengumi.
Among the swords held by the young man, there was a famous sword worth 10,000 taels of gold.
"…The name of that sword is Kiku-ichimonji Norimune." Ms. Okita calmly looked at the blue lake in front of her and continued the story told by Norimune Ichimonji. "However, that is just a completely fictitious story - the swordsman could never have such a famous sword. And among the existing works of Norimune, there is not even a sword with a chrysanthemum pattern engraved on it."
"That famous sword worth 10,000 ryo, Kiku-ichimonji Norimune—" Ms. Okita turned her head and fixed her eyes on Norimune's yellow hair that curled like chrysanthemum petals, "It's you, right? After all, here in Chaldea—there are still many phantoms or some kind of collective existence."
"Although there is no real Kikuichimonji as far as we know, according to the definition of the Throne of Heroes, as long as there is the same anecdote 'foundation', it will be given a name that matches it." Ms. Okita closed her eyes, and the figures of some Servants appeared in front of her, "Like the green Archer, or the Lancer who is ashamed of his true self."
Ms. Okita is not the kind of Servant who can say "there's nothing we can do about it" to everything that happened in her life, like Oda Nobunaga, with whom she often acted together. From the very beginning, Archer, who was using a broomstick three hundred years ago, and Saber, who is still using a sword three hundred years later, are obviously two creatures that cannot understand each other.
This difference became more obvious after they officially joined Chaldea. During the time when Oda Nobunaga was busy enjoying his leisure time with the Lord of the Rings, Ms. Okita searched the Chaldea database for all the information about herself, including that of Kikuichimonji.
From the day she successfully broke through to the final spiritual base stage, Ms. Okita clearly understood that she was influenced by the story circulating among the people. From that day on, in the few opportunities to go into battle, the sword she wielded was no longer Kashuu Kiyomizu, who had truly accompanied her in the past, but the katana whose original form might not even exist in the world.
——Just like the right arm of the violet knight, it is a Noble Phantasm that exists only through imagination.
The first person to notice that Ms. Okita paid far more attention to her baby than was normal was Fujimaru Ritsuka.
After hearing about her troubles, the Lord of Chaldea told Ms. Okita the story of another Servant, and concluded for her: "Although the history and name are different, the fact that there is a human who is good at using bows and crossbows is enough to support the existence of Mr. Robinham."
"Not to mention Jack the Ripper, who is the vengeful spirits of children aborted by prostitutes, and nursery rhymes, which are a collection of stories that children listen to..." At that time, Fujimaru Ritsuka replied to Ms. Okita with a smile, "Not to mention Mr. Benkei - there is no need to be troubled by the fact that he no longer exists in the world, because this is a story 'treasure' that exists because of you, Ms. Okita."
After that conversation, Ms. Okita gave the sword a new concept - later, among the spiritual bases shared by New Chaldea, there was an Okita-kun who possessed two swords, so Ms. Okita tacitly accepted that he would treat the treasures carried by Ms. Okita with different spiritual bases as two completely different swords.
Whether during his lifetime or after his death, the two swords that Okita-kun possessed were Kashuu Kiyomitsu, a katana, and Yamato-mori Yasutsu. The katana that accompanied him throughout the rest of his life and every stage of his spiritual foundation was Yamato-mori Yasutsu. Although Kashuu Kiyomitsu still possessed the sword that was broken at Ikeda-ya during his lifetime, the simple spirit robe that he was allowed to carry was covered in bright red bloodstains.
Ms. Okita's spirit garment is the Shinsengumi uniform in the form of a hakama. Its official registration name in the Phoenix Chaldea database is Asano no Haori Hakama. Although Okita-kun's spirit base was originally the Shinsengumi uniform in the form of a hakama, that spirit garment is not even different from the Heroic Spirit Armor except for the blood stains.
——New Chaldea registered that spiritual garment as the Blood-stained Haori Hakama.
According to Okita-kun, perhaps people mistook his fainting in Ikeda-ya as vomiting blood, so the spirit robe was stained with blood. Except for Miss Cline, the spirit robes of the servants were either purchased at their own expense, or they existed in their own stories but could not affect the changes in the spirit base rank.
The blood-stained haori obviously won't lead to a change in rank, and this is another side of Okita-kun that once appeared on him.
The water droplets that had been hanging on the tips of the endless summer leaves for a long time finally rolled to the ground - Ms. Okita's clothes changed from the pink kimono in the first stage to the uniform of the Shinsengumi, her spirit dress, the light green haori hakama; Ms. Okita held the sword at her side to her knees, and smiled as she brushed the white scabbard.
"Since the banquet last night, he has been the one who has spoken the most." Ms. Okita drew her sword from its sheath, showing it to everyone, a sharp blade that was completely different from Kashuu Kiyomitsu. "So, apart from introducing myself every time, I haven't said anything more."
"I am Okita Souji, the captain of the Shinsengumi's First Division. Unlike that man, I am..." Ms. Okita stepped onto the waterlogged stone slab, turned around and faced the crowd, posing with a sword in hand, showing the chrysanthemum-shaped blade of her sword in front of everyone, "Whether in life or after death, I only have one sword with my name."
“That’s California Clearing.”
Most of the weapons used by the Servants as Noble Phantasms no longer exist in the world, or have been destroyed during their lifetime; even the Noble Phantasms of the Writer Servants cannot be considered weapons - they are the fantasies of humans about them. However, in addition to playing a role in Noble Phantasms, human fantasies also affect the existence of the Heroic Spirits themselves - just like the scars on Andersen's body and their two incurable diseases.
"I have never held a katana named Yamato-no-kami Yasusada, nor a katana named Kiku-ichimonji Norimune - my only sword was broken at Ikeda-ya, that's all." Ms. Okita avoided the sight of Yamato-no-kami Yasusada and looked at Ichimonji Norimune, "This katana is a treasure 'story' that exists in the world because of me, so -"
"No matter how many people think it is Kikuichimonji, as long as I say it is Kashuu Kiyomitsu, it will always be Kashuu Kiyomitsu's sword upgraded with my spiritual base." Ms. Okita sheathed the sword and looked at Kashuu Kiyomitsu with a smile, "Although it may be a little late, please allow me to say this-"
"Qingguang, you have always been my favorite sword."
A large group of cherry blossom petals exploded with California Kiyomitsu as the center, showing a blizzard-like momentum, almost drowning all the people around them - the only one who could be considered slightly better off was Ichimonji Norimune who was holding a folding fan. The folding fan did play a protective role and prevented him from being choked by the strong floral fragrance at the first moment.
“Hahahaha… This is really, a complete miscalculation.” After California Kiyomitsu finally controlled the flying cherry blossom petals, Ichimonji Norimune smiled and looked at Ms. Okita who had completely restrained her previous aggressive aura, “Well, I will introduce myself again.”
"Just as you guessed - I am Ichimonji Norimune, a swordsman who is the collective form of the works of Ichimonji Norimune, the founder of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school." Ichimonji Norimune placed his folding fan on his cheek and looked at the pitiful girl who was only connected to him by anecdotes. "As expected of a genius swordsman - you are such an extraordinary genius in this aspect as well."