vatheon | Visions of the past, burning brightly~

"There is nothing wrong, Tama," he replied, smile soft. He liked using that name for her, now, when it was just the two of them talking. She called him 'father,' so he called her 'Tama.'

Those names could belong to nobody else, in their hearts.

"This curse gives us a unique opportunity. For all of the bad, it gives us the opportunity to share our memories in visual form."

Mitsuhide's thought bubble shifted to show a memory; within, a woman looked down with a gentle smile and loving eyes. Her hair was just like Mitsuhide's, her skin as pale as his. In fact the overall resemblance was strong, the only feature that was completely different being her eyes. They were larger, the shape different.

"This is my mother."

At the mention of her birth name, Gracia fondly smiled back at her father. She would have nobody else call her their "jewel" except him, not even Motochika. In fact, her own bubble began showing glimpses of her childhood together with him - holding hands, watching flowers fall from the trees, sleeping against the light of the high moon.

She opened her door wider and allowed him to enter. As she took a seat against the edge of her bed, she watched her father's bubble slowly create a picture for her. "An opportunity to share memories..." She mumbled, a pillow suddenly clutched against her chest.

When the image finished forming, Gracia stared at what his bubble showed her. A woman, his mother, her grandmother; beautiful, elegant, perhaps the exact female version of Mitsuhide. A smile formed on her lips, and in her gaze it was obvious Gracia was extremely touched at the memory. He was so close with his mother, almost how Gracia was to him. Her heart swelled with unspoken love, at the woman's lovely expression, her tender eyes that seemed to speak to her from another place, another time. The redhead could not take her eyes off of his thought bubble. So that's where he got it all from.

"Oh, she's like a goddess." She breathed out quietly. She stood and reached one hand out towards the bubble, despite knowing it would only be a wisp and a pop of air on her fingertips. The image distorted slightly at her touch, but regained its clarity as soon as she retracted.

"What was her name? I...I never really got to meet her, back in my time. Or if I did, maybe I was still a baby."

"I do not know for certain how it was in your world." Mitsuhide closed the door, walked across the room and took a seat next to Gracia, folding hs hands in his lap. "But I have my doubts that you ever met her. She died when I was still young."

It took a huge amount of effort to hold back the sorrow and darker images of that time; the peaceful image of his lovely mother flickered for a moment before becoming clear again.

"As for her name... I can only think of her as 'Mother,' as she is 'Grandmother' to you. There is something more powerful in that, don't you think?"

He smiled, softly, and closed his eyes. The image shifted to one which demonstrated the woman brushing her son's hair; it seemed like she was gently admonishing him, perhaps asking him to sit still.

"My father and I were never very close, but my mother... for so many years, she was my entire world."

"Grandmother..." Gracia's thought bubble came up with a rather interesting image; poorly drawn versions of her grandmother and Gracia, Mitsuhide smiling in the distance. She lifts Gracia up and they embrace, as the petals of the cherry blossoms fall from above them. She laughed, and thankfully, that imagined memory of hers distracted her from the flicker of Mitsuhide's thought bubble.

"If that's what you say I should call her, then grandmother it is!" She clutched the pillow a little tighter, happy to have such a caring woman as part of their family. Though it dampened her mood considerably when Mitsuhide raised the possibility of her never actually meeting her grandmother. It would have been wonderful to see that - her father acting as a son, to see his roots, to see him smile genuinely as a boy.

She allowed a short moment of silence to pass over them, before she spoke again. Gracia turned her head to glance at her father, the fondness in her gaze returning.

"She was your world, just like you are to me?"

Mitsuhide's eyes opened just in time to see that image; he raised an eyebrow and laughed quietly, amused that the images in her mind could be like poorly drawn artworks.

"You have a very interesting mind, Tama," he said. "It is easy to imagine my counterpart keeping drawings like this, ones that your hands crafted as a very young girl."

This conjured up yet another memory. None of his mother this time; instead it is obviously a young Mitsuhide practising his own artwork. The boy worked slowly, pouring all of his efforts into creating an ink drawing of what looked like another child.

"Yes; I suppose that is an accurate comparison, my dear." His smile was warm, fond. "The unconditional love of a child for their parent can be a very powerful thing."

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. So he saw...? Gracia shifted her weight on the bed and laughed once more, a bit of her playful nature shining through.

"It was the first thing I could think of." She stood up afterwards, and faced him with a wide sweeping gesture of her arms. The pillow fell on the floor, but she didn't really mind. She continued to laugh. "Oh, I had some drawings as a little girl! You kept some of them in a room, and some of them that I made especially for you, you carried around in your clothes!"

The thought bubble floating beside her head began to shift once more, this time, showing a brief image of a true memory; Gracia as a child, splatting ink with her hands as careless as only a five-year-old could. Her laugh only became louder when she saw that their memories were somehow synced together. She pouted cutely at Mitsuhide as a young boy.

"I wish I could keep one of your artworks too, father! You're so talented!"

She plopped right back down on the mattress, and she looked up at Mitsuhide with the same unconditional love he just spoke of. It was true. She made it clear all too many times back home as well; she was his daughter, from now until her death. Nothing would change that dedication she had for him. She dreaded going back to that train of thought, but nevertheless, the same applied right now. Even if Hideyoshi was here. Gracia would fight against him with all that she had, if it meant her father would smile again.

And though she was rather content sitting next to him, basking in a rare moment of warm silence, something occurred to Gracia. She looked up briefly, meeting the bare wall next to her door frame. Her thought bubble came up with a curious looking question mark, multiplying by two's as she conjured up an idea.

His daughter really was so young, in many ways. Adult she might be, but she also had so many childlike qualities to her that Mitsuhide had some difficulty picturing her married and running a household. The nature of her thoughts was a clear reflection of that.

Such innocence, such simple affection... his counterpart could not have had an easy time of it, seeing her married.

"I am not so talented in art, Gracia," he said softly. "But I shall draw something for you anyway, if you wish. Not the art of a child, perhaps, but the sentiment will be there."

The young boy in the image flickered for a few moments, the memory 'skipping' to make it obvious he was drawing a... girl? A second figure appeared in the memory, looking down at the art. This was definitely a girl, poised and regal even at such a young age.

Kichou. His first love. It showed, too; there was an odd, warm aura to her in the memory.

"What's on your mind?"

Edited 2012-03-31 14:19 (UTC)

She watched the little boy and the lovely girl in her father's thought bubble, tilting her head curiously to the side as it continued to display an obviously important memory.

"Who is she?"

Gracia was never one to hold back on questions. It looked like the boy Mitsuhide in his thoughts was painting that exact same girl. Gracia's thought bubble changed again; the question mark morphed into flashes of faces, trying to figure out who she was.

"Mm, tell me who she is first!" She insisted. There was something about the quality of the memory that intrigued her. Her instincts told her not to let it go until she found an answer.

"She is Kichou, dear friend of my childhood." The memory changed to one fully focused on said friend; Mitsuhide and her were engaged in some kind of game outside. "I spent many hours trailing after her, playing with her, and sometimes just talking."

There were obvious difficulties in talking about Lady Nou; through sheer force of effort Mitsuhide kept his thoughts of Honnouji out of the thought bubble. He had not seen her there, but Lord Motochika had engaged her in battle. Apparently she had died smiling...

"You would know her as Lady Nou."

His own smile turned a touch sad.

"She was always challenging me. That did not change when we became adults."

Gracia looked like she enjoyed watching his memories. She got comfortable on the bed, leaning her chin against her arms as she raised her knees up to her chest. He was so carefree back then, running around without anything to bother him. No shadows to chain him down...he was right. This curse had its perks. On no other occasion would Gracia be able to see him in his youth, a treasure she would keep in her mind and heart forever.

If only the curse showed all the good thoughts in your head. She wouldn't have minded it, then.

As the memory continued to show them playing and laughing, Gracia almost missed it. When it caught up to her, who that girl in the memory was, her thought bubble showed a rather animated pop, as if it visualized her surprise. It then showed the Lady Nou she's most familiar with; a memory not too long ago where the busty woman is leaning towards Gracia, a sly smile on her lips, and a finger under her chin. Her mouth is moving, and the Gracia in the thought bubble blushes before hiding behind Mitsuhide's pant leg. She was probably a little older than 10 at the time of that memory.

She readjusts herself on the bed and her eyes remain wide open, staring at him as if he had two heads. How different was Kichou from Nou?

"That's...That's Lady Nou in her youth?" She found it extremely difficult to believe. She looked nothing like how Gracia remembered her. After a few more minutes of staring at the bubble disbelievingly, Gracia leaned in towards Mitsuhide, as if trying to tell him the world's greatest secret.

"That's really Lady Nou? The same lady whose clothes are always too small for her? Oh, I didn't know father was childhood friends with her!"

"Yes." Mitsuhide laughed, surprised as her reaction. "She was not much different back then, really; clever, deadly, mysterious. Her father's daughter, always, who never did anything she did not want to do."

Several different memories flicker through Mitsuhide's head, then; they are all images of Nouhime as an adult, mixed with those of her father, Lord Saitou Dousan. Dousan, too, is seen through the filter of Mitsuhide's feelings; there is a harsh edge to him.

What it settles on after all that, however, is young Kichou again, regarding what looks to be another young girl.

"Let me tell you a small secret, Tama, one to keep to yourself; as I child, I was incredibly infatuated with her."

Gracia continued to watch his bubble shift from one memory to another. Who knew he had such a colorful past as a child! She stifled a giggle as Kichou appeared again. Well hey, they were all children once in their lives! It just turned out that Lady Nou grew up a little more...womanly than others.

She gasped loudly, feeling adventurous and naughty. A secret that only she knew about -- how exciting could this get? "You liked Lady Nou? Oh, father!" Gracia squealed and edged closer to Mitsuhide, the pillow in her arms almost completely flat now.

"Did you ever tell her that? Did she know? What did you do? Tell me everything!"

Not that she was gossiping, oh no. Like he said, this would stay in the room. But it was so strange to think about it! Her father and Lady Nou...he was much too gentle for her, surely! And she, on the other hand, had to wear more clothes! Gracia always felt a tad bit uncomfortable with how much skin she showed everyone, even during the times Lady Nou was extremely nice to her. (Her thought bubble showed Lady Nou wearing Gracia's clothes, in a comedic sort of caricature.)

"I did not tell her, but she knew. I am certain."

In his thought bubble, Kichou seemed to be laughing. The other girl looked rather annoyed about this; Mitsuhide grew closer, tugging at that girl's sleeve, apparently worried.

"She was far too perceptive about such things not to be." He sighed, but it was a warm, amused sigh more than anything else. "No doubt she used it to her advantage at times, too."

Mitsuhide was certain of that. He did not begrudge her it; they were children, after all.

Humming softly, he glanced at Gracia's thought bubble... and dissolved into genuine belly-laughter, clutching his stomach as he did so. Good heavens, that was quite the image!

Immediately, Gracia's smile turned sour. She crossed her arms and pouted in a more serious manner.

"That's still not very nice. If she knew you liked her, she shouldn't play with you like that." So what if they were kids? If she was perceptive enough to see right through her father's brilliant facade, then she was old enough to know what not to do when someone is your friend, and they like you.

She was just about to inquire about the other girl in his thought bubble, when all of a sudden, Mitsuhide begins to laugh. Gracia is left in awe, watching him clutch his stomach and laugh like there was no tomorrow. She joined in on it too, the image in her thought bubble retaining itself all throughout. She even wore Gracia's headband, complete with the elaborate floral headdress on the side.

After the laughter died down, Gracia wiped the corner of her eye with a delicate finger and stared at Mitsuhide once more, the fondness in her gaze returning triple-fold. Gently, she spoke as soon as Mitsuhide regained his composure.

"...When father laughs like that, I feel the happiest."

It was a rare sight indeed; the image in Mitsuhide's thought bubble changed for a moment, becoming nothing more than a haze of constantly shifting-colours. Only when his laughter stopped did it shift back to the memory from before, though a little advanced; Kichou is no longer in the picture, just the other girl.

"I am glad, then," he said softly, when he had caught his breath. "You have an inventive mind too, don't you?"

His smile was almost radiant now.

"Maybe I got it from you!" She points at his thought bubble, clearly very amused at all the things he has shown her. She had to admit, he may say he's not artistic, but his thoughts were vivid and clear as day. Perhaps it might be because he was attached to these people from his childhood, but still. Gracia was extremely happy to have been witness to his past, even if it's just a little bit of it.

Her giggles died down, and she moves on to her next question. She stared at the girl that was left in his thought bubble, completely clueless as to who she was. Her father only mentioned Kichou, Lady Nou. So who was this one?

"Father, this girl here now, in your thoughts...Was she one of your childhood friends too?"

At that question mirth filled Mitsuhide's expression again. His Lord Motochika was not going to be very impressed when he heard about this.

"That's not a girl, Tama; and yes, he was."

Ah, Himewakako. A past his dearest one would rather forget; few had ever recognised him as a boy upon first sight. Mitsuhide's memory changed to one which showed the the face of the 'Princess' a lot more clearly.

"Look closely at his face. You'll recognise him, if you look hard enough."

"He?"

Gracia moved forward, leaning as close as she could to the bubble floating above his head. She squinted, trying to make out the extremely feminine yet fierce facial expression of the girl -- or rather, the boy. Well, it wasn't anything new; Ranmaru looked more like a lady than Gracia did at times! But who could this mystery boy be? Someone from his childhood, someone her father knew way back then...

...The realization came to her like a raging stream pouring out of a blocked river gate. She howled in her laughter, pointing at the bubble as she fell down on her back.

"It's Motochika! Oh, Motochika looked like a woman when he was a child!"

She stopped laughing after a few minutes, though her smile was still as wide as ever.

"But how? Father, Motochika looks so manly now! Does this mean when Ran grows up even more, he'll turn out the same?"

Her thought bubble shifts again, this time, showing a very vivid image of Ranmaru struggling to get Gracia off of him. She's laughing as she crawls on top of him, trying to put on a very bright shade of red lip stain on his face. It was a memory. But her imagination twists it around; Ranmaru morphs into a Motochika-like body, but his face remains the same.

That mental image was... disturbing, to say the least. The look did not work, the head not matching the body it had been mentally attached to.

Not to mention the fact that Gracia was crawling on top of Ranmaru. There was obviously history there, a certain place for him in her past. He wasn't sure he wanted to ask about it, either; the topic of Ranmaru alone was distressing, but crawling on top of another like that?

He managed to stop those thoughts from infiltrating his own bubble, however.

"Yes, he did. Lord Motochika was beautiful, back then, rather than extremely handsome. People change with time, especially when moving from youth to adulthood."

A soft smile spread across Mitsuhide's face.

"Not to mention all the work he did to develop such a physique... and that he still does, to maintain it."

Gracia was not the only one who was prone to daydreams. Even as Mitsuhide spoke he was switching off a little, trailing off as pleasant mental images filled his head. They were, thankfully for both father and daughter, not explicit ones, but the images of Motochika with a completely bared chest had a certain aura about them that made his affections for, and attraction to, the other man clear.

Needless to say, that image would pop up in one of her conversations with Motochika in the near future most definitely. It was perfect fuel for her mischievous side. She started into another fit of giggles again, however, when she saw what was inside of her father's bubble next. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as she half-turned away and half glanced over her shoulder.

Mischievous, indeed.

"Father! Don't think about things like that when I'm around! How embarrassing...!" Her words don't match her reaction. She's obviously enjoying the daydream because it goes to show, even her father had a silly side to him. Her own thought bubble showed Motochika nodding wisely, with a knowing smirk on his face.

Visions of the past, burning brightly~

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