[And that right there, all of it, is useful. Revealing. It further helps Xu Shu to understand the two 'faces' of this man, what Mitsuhide is versus what Tenkai is. The result of someone filled with two completely opposing needs. Because however the man acts and whatever masks he wears he is still ultimately one person, isn't he?]
[He doesn't want to, he wishes he hadn't, but again Xu Shu thinks of Shan Fu. Shan Fu, who was the person Xu Shu was, and still is, but feels like a man from another world. He curls his fingers against the ground and slowly drags his fingertips through the dirt, remembering the way he'd been on the cusp of adulthood; shy and uncertain, but also filled with a burning need to help the world and driven by a temper that almost always left him reaching for his sword.]
[Those hands had realised their talent far too quickly.]
Another tragedy? [Xu Shu exhales softly, now tracing a circle.] You're probably not wrong.
[He almost expects it at all times, doesn't he? Despite what Daud has done to ground him it still feels like Xu Shu is constantly on the edge of a precipice that he'd worked long and hard to climb. The idea that 'Tenkai' might do something to help him avoid that, though... and the comment about the ghosts Xu Shu can't even bring himself to react to despite the fact that it's the one that affects him most. When Mitsuhide's views are expressed Xu Shu outwardly and obviously tenses, disturbed, before trying to shake it off.]
Umm... thank you.
[Glancing back at Mitsuhide briefly, Xu Shu is quiet for a minute or two before being drawn back to the flames and asking what is not as pointless a question as it might seem.]
no subject
[He doesn't want to, he wishes he hadn't, but again Xu Shu thinks of Shan Fu. Shan Fu, who was the person Xu Shu was, and still is, but feels like a man from another world. He curls his fingers against the ground and slowly drags his fingertips through the dirt, remembering the way he'd been on the cusp of adulthood; shy and uncertain, but also filled with a burning need to help the world and driven by a temper that almost always left him reaching for his sword.]
[Those hands had realised their talent far too quickly.]
Another tragedy? [Xu Shu exhales softly, now tracing a circle.] You're probably not wrong.
[He almost expects it at all times, doesn't he? Despite what Daud has done to ground him it still feels like Xu Shu is constantly on the edge of a precipice that he'd worked long and hard to climb. The idea that 'Tenkai' might do something to help him avoid that, though... and the comment about the ghosts Xu Shu can't even bring himself to react to despite the fact that it's the one that affects him most. When Mitsuhide's views are expressed Xu Shu outwardly and obviously tenses, disturbed, before trying to shake it off.]
Umm... thank you.
[Glancing back at Mitsuhide briefly, Xu Shu is quiet for a minute or two before being drawn back to the flames and asking what is not as pointless a question as it might seem.]
Another. For you. How good are you at cooking?