hotsteamynights | YEAR OF THE TIGERDRAGON

YEAR OF THE TIGERDRAGON

No matter what language you speak, no matter what country or universe you reside in, a mysterious letter has found its way to you. Those who can read it will recognize it as an ornately scripted Japanese new year's invitation; those who don't might not even know these elaborate squiggles mean anything at all. Either way, when you look up from the neatly folded paper, you're probably nowhere near home anymore.

Where is this?! When is this?! Welcome to Japan as it was ~~kinda, sorta,~~ just shy of the year 1600, esteemed guests! If it somehow feels like it isn't even the right month anymore, that's because local time and date is still on the lunar system. It's fine. New Year's parties are New Year's parties.

And those parties mean alcohol! Music! Dancing! Feasting! Don't be shy! There are a number of attendants in colourful livery nearby, eagerly expecting an influx of new guests. They're all friendly enough, but they don't seem to bear the crest of any particular clan and sharp-eyed visitors may catch the briefest glimpse of a striped fluffy tail or a foxy grin... or is it a trick of the light? If you want nothing to do with any of this, they might pout a little but will send you home without any problem. But if you choose to follow them beyond the gates, get ready for one hell of a night. The only kind of explanation you get for what's going on is that the Takeda and Date clans have set aside their rivalries for a night of PEACE AND PARTY and everyone's invited. What does that mean? Go find out for yourself.

Of course folks from all over have been invited to this thing, but outnumbering the other guests by far are a bunch of rowdy samurai types, some in their armour, many in more formal robes, several proudly bearing banners of red or blue. Nobody appears to have any weapons on them, but if any guest takes that as an opportunity to start some shit they're going to be swarmed in like two seconds, so... maybe don't do that. However! There is plenty of space outside to spar in, if that's your thing! Or you can stay inside and drink, eat, enjoy the music, exchange raunchy stories, be an awkward wallflower, drink some more, witness some weird and kind of horrific family bonding, watch the unique display of gun- and canonfire alongside the fireworks, explore the scenic countryside outside of the compound, listen to some smug asshole in an eyepatch and some kid in red scream really loud at eachother, get playfully bullied into taking part in a ceremony you know nothing about, drain a bottle or two, flirt with famous historical figures, or... whatever you want!

All fandoms, all mediums, AUs, doubles, OCs, etc are all fair play here! Invite your friends! Invite your dog! Go nuts! Just slap a warning up if any threads take a particularly violent or sexy turn. Or both. I ain't judging.

LET'S PARTY!

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[ She's a modern girl, let's go with a modern boy.

She's a little older than high school aged at this point, but she was a teacher once; she's all about encouraging people whenever and wherever she can. And it's for real now! Not It's Complicated Real.

For the most part she's here to flit around and chat with random people, dressed for the occasion with silk peony blossoms plaited into her pinned-up hair. At first glance, she might look like she's more in line with the past-era folks... but when she catches sight of Sasuke with his camera, she strikes a pose, one hand up in a V-sign. ]

Hi, cheese~! ♥

[ Sasuke takes the picture before it clicks in his mind what he took a picture of. (Part of the job is to review all the snapshots after, okay?) Now, that's interesting. Her reaction clearly puts her outside of the Sengoku Era. Well, that's interesting. ]

It looks I'm not the only one who got sent here from the future.

[ It's actually the second time this has happened to him, so he's not as confused as he could be. ]

Ehehe... something like that!

[ At this point, honestly, Chisa isn't really sure where she qualifies as being from, though at least "the future" is a fair enough assessment. Even if her current home is more antiquated than the modern day she was born into, it's still further forward in time than this. But at his comment, she drops the pose and trots over. ]

It looks like they cast their net pretty wide for the guest list. There are people from alllll over.

[ Including not from Earth as they know it, probably, but that should also count in "all over," right? ]

So are you in a newspaper club, or a photography club?

I'm in the newspaper club. The photography just supplements the stories.

[ He's never had much of an interest to take artistic photos. He wants the facts, the information, no matter how pretty or ugly it might be. ]

Sadly, I don't think anyone would believe me back home if I told them that in another place and time, I was that guy. [ He points to his Sengoku counterpart who still looks like he'd be a threat despite appearing unarmed and not in armor. ] So, the photos are for my own enjoyment mostly.

[ Why put in the effort for a newspaper article that's just going to be read as fantasy by others. ]

Photography can tell a story too--

[ She was about to go further on that, when what he actually says catches up to her. Past lives? Reincarnation?? Alternate universes?!

It's not the first time she's encountered it, but that doesn't mean she's not pretty obvious when her head snaps around to look where he's pointing. ]

...ehhhh, I can see the resemblance...

[ At least she's used to threatening-looking guys. One of her best friends routinely looks like he wants to punch someone's face in even when he's in a good mood. She looks back and forth between the two Sasukes with a thoughtful hum. ]

--ah, that is to say! As long as you know it's real, that's all that really matters, in a case like this! Who cares what anyone else thinks? They're just missing out!

[ Sasuke thinks he is cool but also a bit messed up. The older Sasuke thinks the younger one is a wimp and a loser. They have a love-hate relationship. ]

Yeah sure, but that doesn't mean I'm going to waste my time writing an article for the paper.

[ He might write it down in a journal for his own keeping, but nothing for the newspaper. And then he'll have to hide that journal really well, so his secrets don't get out. ]

So, how'd you end up here? You're not someone from school, are you?

...Not precisely.

[ Technically speaking, she's now from a quiet little city where everyone has some kind of kemonomimi-type feature but shhhh. To her, there's only one school that could exist, and even if she's now met multiple people who've never heard of Hope's Peak, she still defaults to thinking of it first. And there's a part of her that finds it funny that even someone who doesn't know better wouldn't just somehow Know that Hope's Peak was the Only School There Is.

That's not fair to him, though, so she just smiles. ]

You could say I'm something of a veteran at this! When an invitation comes, as long as I have a guarantee to get back home, I'll take it. I'm all about making memories! Experiencing new things, seeing what new places are like... that's important no matter what your age is, but while I'm young, I wanna take full advantage of it!

But someone from your school, you say... what, are you part of some class trip?

Actually, no. At least, I don't think so. It's just that there are a couple of people from my school here that I thought that maybe it was connected to our school somehow.

[ Sasuke's just going with it for the most part, but he still wants to know if there are connections and reasons for the people at this party. He likes to be informed as much as possible... and sadly it never seems to go his way. ]

Wait, you said you're a veteran at this? What do you mean by that?

Eheh, well...

[ She puffs up a little at that, hands on her hips and proud. ]

Doing this sort of hopping around thing is becoming pretty familiar to me! I've been to places a lot wilder than just ancient Japan! Places where most of the population wasn't even human! And even when they were, you might not recognize them as such at first sight.

[ That's taking it too far, surely. Most Japanese teenagers would likely recognize kemonomimi when they saw it. But it sounds cooler, so she goes with that. ]

So after a while, you learn to adapt pretty well! It's like the whim of the gods more than anything else.

I didn't think all this was common enough for someone to become a frequent traveler.

[ He's about to ask why it's not in the news, but then he thinks about what he said earlier. No one would believe it. How would these stories spread? Online? That would just be brushed aside as a troll or some crazy fantasy. In any format, it'd be easy to disregard.

Huh. That puts things in a new perspective. ]

You must have dozens of stories to tell.

[ He'd be interested in hearing a few, not for any research or info gathering, just for curiosity's sake. ]

Ahhh, well... I might have been a bit of a special case.

[ There is not really a graceful way to say, "so this one time, after I died..." to anyone, let alone someone you just met. She wouldn't exactly blame him for that; more often than not, these days, the memories of her original home, feel like a strange fever dream. High school shines more brightly than the years that followed, and that's not just Despair talking. That's not something she wants to talk about at all, unless she's a lot more drunk than she currently is.

So instead, she sets her palms together, smiling as brightly as she can. It's not quite perfect, wobbling at the edges, but could be easily passed off as a trick of the imperfect lighting. ]

If you want to hear, I'd be happy to tell you some! Buuuuut, if we do, we should find somewhere to sit. It could take a while.

[ She fishes out her phone and waves it at him, like a lure. ]

[ With the things he's being exposed to recently, he might take it better than one might think. Sure, it'll sound strange, but he's also seen himself as an adult badass ninja.

However, he's not that badass ninja, so he misses the slight falter in her smile. Her secret is safe from the eyes of a stranger. ]

Sure, let me grab us some tea.

[ It's the least he can do if she's going to be talking. He'll find her wherever she sits down. ]

[ The circumstances of her death were kind of awkward and bad in many ways, but who knows how drunk she'll end up getting tonight,

But for now she's found a comfortable spot to sit, adjusting her yukata to be neat and tidy around herself as she waits for him, waving when she catches sight of him in the crowd. ]

Ah~! I realized, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yukizome! Nice to meet you. ♥

[ Sasuke starts searching for the young woman with two steaming hot cups of tea in his hands. He looks out at the crowd but also glances upwards at the sky, using what he sees to direct him on way or the other. Spotting her, he picks up his pace and hands her one of the cups of tea. Then he sits next to her. A crow flutters down from air and lands on his lap. Sasuke gives the crow a gentle pat. ]

I'm Basara Academy's soccer club goalie and member of the newspaper club, Sasuke Sarutobi. And this is Mr. Tori.

[ Yes, his crow's name is essentially Mr. Bird. Sasuke never said he was good with names. ]

[ Mr. Tori is a much cuter name than The Four Dark Devas of Destruction. She'll take it.

And she'll take the tea and introduction too, breaking into a sunny smile. ]

Ah, soccer and newspaper? That's nice, being well-rounded like that~ and hello to Mr. Tori, too! I was actually a teacher for a while, at Hope's Peak Academy. One of my students was a pretty well-known animal breeder and handler.

[ Once a Hope's Peak alumni, always a little self-superior about being a Hope's Peak alumni. But after all her world-hopping and traveling, Chisa at least no longer automatically expects other people to know and recognize the school. ]

Before that, though, I was the Ultimate Housekeeper. ♥

You're a teacher? You must be like Ms. Saika.

[ In that she looks young and is a teacher. Magoichi Saika is a pretty awesome woman, She looks out for her students, especially the girls, and Sasuke places her in the "can trust" category of staff at his school. When there was still a school. ]

But what's an Ultimate Housekeeper? It sounds like something besides you'd find as a title in a video game.

It's exactly what it sounds like!

[ She lifts an arm, curling it to show off her bicep. For such a delicate-looking woman, she actually has some pretty good guns on her. ]

I was the best of the best! Cleaning, cooking, managing a household smoothly and perfectly, so that your home becomes the envy of your neighbors...! Every household is yours, when you're a housekeeper! But only the Ultimate can manage all of it!

[ Even if her words weren't that, her tone of voice is bright and enthusiastic; her pride in this is unwavering. ]

You don't get recruited to Hope's Peak unless you're the absolute best in your field.

[ Sasuke makes a mental list of all the tasks mention and how they can be they could be different than just normal household chores and... well, he's not really seeing it. But he is impressed at the guns she puts on. He's a scrawny teen, so... ]

Don't take this the wrong way if I'm wrong, but does that make you like a super maid? Or am I missing something?

[ It still sounds like a silly video game title to him, but there are stranger things in the world. He goes to school with a self-proclaimed One-Eyed Dragon after all. ]

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YEAR OF THE TIGERDRAGON

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