high_seas | What happens in Deesuko Ballia...

[Just as he thought.]

A few...?

[Actually, this is even more ridiculous than Mitsunari expected.]

Why? Because of your complete lack of self-control! ...And... my own.

[He runs his hand over his face and groans. He can't blame anyone but himself for his part in this. Lord Hideyoshi, please forgive your foolish, irresponsible vassal for his drunken shenanigans.]

How many did you sign?

[Mitsunari only found one on his person, and he really hopes that's the only one out there, because he doesn't envy Motochika right at this moment.]

[Motochika stares fixedly at the floor and resumes rubbing at his head. This is too much thinking to do right now. How many did he sign?]

I...don't quite recall...? One for you clearly...perhaps...yes, a second for Ragna, I think...I think...er...Kodachi?

[Really, the Ragna thing is just a safe bet. He'll do a lot of things to mess with Ragna. Kodachi is a fairly safe bet as well, considering what happened the last time he got married. It would stand to reason that if he did it again, she would have to be involved so she didn't feel left out. There might well have been more, but he really doesn't remember and Mitsunari probably won't accept that as an answer.]

[At least they're all from the Katabami. Makes getting an annulment simpler.]

Were you not already married to Ragna? You would marry him, of all people, more than once?

[Why, that's the most baffling thing yet. ~~Sorry, Ragna.~~]

I don't understand why I agreed to this! I possess not the slightest desire to be married to you!

[He tries to think what line of reasoning would have led him to this and nothing comes to mind.]

Were we tricked into signing these licenses...?

[Motochika pouts a little. Why do people have to say things like that to him? It's not very nice of them at all. He's quite the catch, if he says so himself, so why does everyone make such a fuss at the idea of marrying him?]

It isn't that bad...

[That's not an answer to any of Mitsunari's questions, but his feelings are hurt, dammit.]

How can you stomach it...? I feel ill at the thought of marrying Ragna! I'd sooner wed Kanbe!

[The point.

Mitsunari's head.]

[Motochika is fairly certain that Ragna is an infinitely better person than Kanbei, but that's beside the point.]

It's not so bad...Anyway, I'm the one you married...

[Not that he wants to know where he ranks on Mitsunari's scale of acceptability at the moment. He really just wants to go back to sleep more than anything. Maybe this will all be settled when he gets back up.]

[Most people are infinitely better than Kanbe, but he's not the one Mitsunari's spent the last year living on the same ship with.]

I harbored no wish for marriage to anyone.

[Mitsunari grabs Motochika by the arm to pull him up.]

I won't allow you to lie there and sleep. I want this amended.

[Motochika lets out a pathetic little "noooooo" as he's dragged to his feet. He wobbles dangerously and goes pale, but manages to overcome the nausea (luckily.)]

Have a little pity, Mitsunari...

[Exactly the wrong thing to ask for because he's not going to get it and he knows it, but he hasn't been this hung over in ages and his decision making skills aren't at their best.]

Pity? Cling to whatever semblance of pride you still possess!

[He starts to tug him along. He's not sure where they are. Like Motochika, he woke up wherever the hell he crashed the night before.]

To overindulge so irresponsibly... This is unthinkable...!

[And now he's talking to himself.]

Where are we going...?

[Motochika stumbles along in Mitsunari's wake. He can manage putting one foot in front of the other, but that's about it. It hurts to look at things. If he could remove his head from his body and replace it with one that was working a little better, maybe he could get through this morning alive. Maybe.]

Don't need pride now...need to go back to sleep...

[That would solve a lot of problems, too.]

Where? Whoever oversaw these marriages must still be on this island! I desire answers.

And we must reverse the consequences of our thoughtless actions while we still can.

[He continues tugging Motochika along with no regard for his sleepy protests. Why, he'll drag him if he has to. ...Sure, Mitsunari's probably about to lead them both on a wild goose chase, but. Details.]

You will have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead.

[And married to one less person. That comes first.]

It's not something to kill me over!

[His brain may not be fully functioning, but he's definitely tuned in enough to process death threats.]

Why does everyone always make such a fuss...? I'm a good husband...

[Really, he's the best at everything he does, as far as he's concerned. He's never really understood why everyone makes such a fuss over being married to him. Xun Yu turned him down rather rudely last year and Ragna is always bellyaching about it. It doesn't make any sense.]

Kill you? If I wanted you dead, you would be.

[That is debatable, if only because Mitsunari just assumes he could kill anyone regardless of their skill if he set his mind to it.]

A boastful pirate who steals everything in sight is a good husband...?

[This insult brought to you by Mitsunari's splitting headache. And, well, okay, he'd have said something like that even if he wasn't hung over. Let's be real.

That aside, he shakes his head. ...Which a bad idea, because now his head hurts worse.]

Quit presuming my objections have anything at all to do with you!

Wait...what do they have to do with, then?

[That question, at least, manages to penetrate the haze of Motochika's hangover. Admittedly, he assumes most things are about him by default, but in this case it actually makes sense to do so.]

You're not married to anyone else, are you?

[That seems highly unlikely.]

You should know the answer to that ridiculous question.

[Though you could say he was married to his job back home.

~~...Is he cheating on Osaka Castle? Does this make him unfaithful to his duties?! He hasn't been home in so long, after all...~~]

Is it so difficult to grasp my aversion to the binding contract of marriage when my devotion lies elsewhere?

[Don't say things like that, Mitsunari, it makes you sound like you actually are married.]

[Mitsunari, are you saying you want to marry a giant dead guy? It's too early in the morning to have to think about this. Or about anything really.]

It's not that binding...

[Motochika has yet to figure out why everyone is so obsessed with this marriage thing. It's just a bit of a contract, isn't it? You get some political gain and a wife out of it and as long as you treat your wife and her (their?) family well, you keep all of that even if you want to take on some concubines on the side. Well, your wife can't take concubines, though, so perhaps that's part of the problem?]

If it's that there's someone else your heart is set on, though...

[He'll be really, really surprised. Disappointed, too, on some level, but mostly really, really surprised.]

[A contract that isn't too binding. So... like his contract with the Saika would have been had it panned out? Just temporary? He supposes there is a precedent for such a thing.

He's pretty much never, ever had marriage on the mind at any point and doesn't quite understand the finer details of it.

As for Motochika's second statement:]

My devotion is my loyalty. I pine not for the affections of another.

[He's given about as much thought to non-platonic love as he has marriage. So.

At least it technically means Motochika has no actual competition.]

...To bother answering such a statement...

[Huff. The conversations he gets himself into!]

Rather a sad thing, that. Perhaps we should stay married...

[Motochika's brain obviously isn't functioning well enough to put his brain/mouth filter in place. However, the more he thinks about that, the more reasonable a solution it sounds like to him. Mitsunari get someone to look after him, Motochika has even more of an excuse to keep an eye on him, and no one has to drag anyone around Deesuko Ballia way too early in the morning and everyone can go back to sleep until early evening at the least. Win/win situation for all involved, really.]

You think it's sad?

[He stops pulling Motochika along for the moment so he can turn around and face him directly. Check out those circles under his eyes. Someone had a bad night's sleep.]

Why should we? Because you pity me, is that it?

[Mitsunari is feeling too indignant to consider any of the potentially beneficial aspects to such an arrangement. Once he hears anything that could be remotely construed as pity towards at him, his brain locks onto it at the expense of everything else.]

Edited 2015-02-19 10:57 (UTC)

[Trust Mitsunari to have the broadest possible definition of pity and one that ignores all positive connotations the word might have.

Motochika rubs at his arm now that Mitsunari has finally released it from his death grip and frowns. If they ended up married, he must have gotten Mitsunari to agree to it somehow. He wishes he could remember how, because now it seems like they're back to the same impasse they'd reached back when the little metal birds had appeared.]

You say that as if it's a failing on my part. I wish better for you than what you allow yourself and I want to provide it for you if I can. Damned if I know why I keep trying when you obviously want nothing of the sort.

[Motochika does keep saying he wants the best for him. Mitsunari believes that Motochika's telling the truth, even if some of his attempts to help feel like pity to Mitsunari (particularly if he's in a foul mood like this).

Motochika's words bring something to mind, and it tempers Mitsunari's anger.]

You told me before to live my life well. I swore that I would do so. That is why I drank with you. Because it would be "enjoyable".

[And then he got too drunk by accident. As for the marriage... he thinks very, very hard on it. What was his reasoning, drunken or not? It has something to do with this train of thought.

He almost gives up because he's tired and frustrated and it's just not coming to him, but then, at last, something surfaces to the forefront of his mind. He speaks slowly as he puzzles it out.]

I agreed to sign this marriage license... because then, I... would be able to fulfill my vow? I could do so married to you.

[That shuts Motochika up for a second and he stares at Mitsunari while his brain processes that information. It does certainly sound like a very Mitsunari decision to make as well as something he might attempt to talk him into after drinking heavily, so it's the most likely scenario. He really, really doesn't remember, which is vexing, but he's willing to accept Mitsunari's account.]

Then leave it as such.

[If it gives him a better chance to get his point through that thick head of Mitsunari's, then he's all for it.]

If it was your own idea, it isn't like you to go back on it so easily.

[Mitsunari thinks about it.

It doesn't sound so bad, actually, now that he remembers more and more. It was valid, he wasn't tricked, and he didn't promise anything ridiculous. As Motochika said, it's not that binding. He wouldn't be compromising his other loyalties.

It's just a way to uphold a vow he already made.]

...Fine.

[He looks down at the license in his hand.]

I'll allow this to remain.

Really? Glad to hear it!

[Motochika manages a smile, even though moving his face only makes his head hurt more. It's worth it, considering the occasion. Not only has Mitsunari agreed to stay married to him, but this whole annulment business is over, which means that maybe he can go find a nice room at an inn somewhere with a nice bed where he can sleep until some time tomorrow.]

You won't regret it, I promise.

[Too hungover to realize one shouldn't casually make promises to Mitsunari...]

[Mitsunari is uncertain just how much stock to put in that promise.

...He decides he will hold Motochika to it.]

Don't disappoint me.

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