[294]

 

- spirits pace -

"Through the shadows cast by their graves"

A new name? "I would prefer not to," Unit 294 spoke truthfully. In all of his years of being animated, it was very likely that he'd adopted other names. People liked to give names, and he'd spent a great deal of his time among their masses. But, still, it didn't seem right to him. Perhaps he could have a name. Perhaps he could look human and walk around and pretend that he was something other than he was--but it would do him little good. And, truthfully, it would do him more harm than simply... accepting what he was. Not trying to yearn for something that wasn't possible. "It is exactly as you said. I am not what I once was. In the past, I was human. I'm not, anymore," he spoke gently. "I am not the same--different. Alive, but not living. Unit 294 works just fine for me. It does not pretend to be something that it isn't. It is a number for a shippai--and that is what I am."
    He did not want to play pretend. He did not wish to deceive. He did not want to have to act.
    Unit 294 simply didn't have it in him.
    The shippai looked down to his arm, his resin eyes lightly racing the marks in his artificial skin that he'd received over the years of his wandering. "But I think it is okay to accept that. I think many humans--the ones who know what I am--pity me." He would have, too. But it wasn't something he could escape, really. "They try to cling to the hope that something human can be salvaged out of something that had been lost many years ago. I think it is endearing. But naive. Like trying to beg to God to reanimate the living. Right now, I am not upset at it."
    Perhaps at a different time he would be. But memories were a fickle thing, often shaping one's feelings and beliefs. Unit 294 was no different. And, right now, he simple sought peace. And with that, he had to accept things for what they were instead of... trying to needlessly fight it. He'd only upset himself, he rationed.

Arai Shimako

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[Arai Shimako]

Unit 294 made many good points. Shimako began to fold the fabric on the table as she listened, contemplative. Maybe she was being quite rude, presumptuous. Pity and condescension were sister emotions, she knew, so treating Unit 294 like some poor thing to help wasn't exactly polite, even if it was well-intentioned. Still, there were some things she couldn't help but disagree with.

"I don't think naming yourself would necessarily be trying to cling to a sense of humanity, or denying what you are. All sorts of things are named. Mountains, forests, buildings, animals... I name my own puppets. Naming yourself can, rather, be a method of accepting what you are. Or taking ownership, or expressing pride in it..." She was sure some people wouldn't agree, though.

"It really depends on the person, I suppose, and perhaps 294 is already that to you," she admitted, smiling bashfully. "So maybe I should stop bothering you about it. I can't help but meddle sometimes, even when I really shouldn't," she laughed.

"And I'm here to help patch you up regardless, rather than be a nosy bird. Is there any other external damage you'd like to see to me neatening up?" She asked. Wood could be filled or metal welded, or she could touch up a paint job in order to make things look more seamless. Whatever was needed!

[294]

 

- spirits pace -

"Through the shadows cast by their graves"

Shimako did bring up a good point, he supposed. Many things had names. People, places, and things. They could all have names, and that wasn't something he could entirely argue against.
    Still, the act of naming something felt entirely human to him.
    Out in the wild, the wolves and rabbits did not name each-other. There was simply an understanding, awareness, and reaction to what the other thing was. They communicated without words, and in many ways, Unit 294 was the same. He could speak to humans, he could understand them, but, naturally, he was more fluent in body language and action. He did not name his katana just as he'd not named himself. It seemed unnecessary to him and did not come as naturally as it seemed to for people.
    The puppet manufactured a slight smile when the woman commented on their nosiness, perhaps a bit embarrassed over her own behavior. "I believe there's some punctures on my leg," he searched briefly, "and a couple of these fractures here in my chest cavity." Considering all of the possible damages that he could have suffered, even these were relatively few and light. Still, it was better that he brought them to her attention--even if he could not feel pain, and the damage was minor enough that it did not limit his ability. It was better to have no damage at all.
    "I think meddling is a part of human nature," he spoke quietly after a brief pause from the topic. He did not seem terribly upset by it. "And I don't have any talent for coming up with ideas or names or titles... What name do you think would suit me?"

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[Arai Shimako]

Another sentimental part of her hated to cover over old "scars," though she supposed she had plenty of her own that she'd happily erase if given the opportunity. Scars could be an important reminder of the past, but also of painful moments, and if one couldn't recall them at all, why keep them? A reminder of a time when you were once hurt, but couldn't remember it.

Looking at the cracks in 294's chest cavity, she hummed thoughtfully to herself, examining the wood that made him up, then going to her supplies. She tried to find a very fine sawdust made from a wood as similar as possible to his initial composition, to give it the best chance to bind seamlessly with the remainder of the wood as possible. If this was one of her own puppets, she would undergo a much more complex process with this. Dismantling the chassis, soaking and heating the wood, forming the flexible wood back together. They couldn't do that here without exposing the mechanisms inside 294, though, and they said they wouldn't do that, so the simpler patch would have to do.

As she took the sawdust and began to mix it with a binding paste, she would try to answer his question.

"I haven't known you very long, so it's hard to think of a good answer. I'd need more time to come up with a genuine recommendation. First instincts, though... I'm a little bit of a romantic, I like naming after myths and history," she admitted. "Maybe Momotarō. A legendary hero, said to be able to cut a tree in two with just a knife. He's associated with peaches and longevity, youth, which is fitting for you. Or maybe Tsukumogami would better represent how you see yourself. A tool kami - an ordinary object given spirit." 

[294]

 

- spirits pace -

"Through the shadows cast by their graves"

Unit 294 watched idly as the woman got to work--he knew there was little point in observing her methods of repair; he would forget it all, and it was not within his specialization of understanding even if he could retain any of it. There would be no emotional attachment to the marks covered up--they were not the same as scars, not truly. And for a shippai--the signs of wear were only a greater risk than those of a human's, who often healed stronger where they had been hurt.
    The puppet listened as the woman gave a couple of name suggestions--and in turn he learned a little about them, as well. What suggestions they'd come up with, and why--it told a little of her own thoughts and internal workings, he supposed. There was the suggestion of Momotarō--a hero of legend. While there were some traits of his that reflected Unit 294's own reality--longevity and youth, which was quite fitting for a being that would not age--it didn't seem quite right to him. While he saw himself in no way as a hero, the ancient creature still held a code of honor to him--and it did not seem right, to him, to take on a name that so distinctly belonged to someone else. Perhaps if it was something more common, he'd have felt otherwise--but to be named after a hero or legend... It seemed like a disservice to their reputation, to the puppet. An insult, almost, to have something like him possess the same name of someone who had been prestiged and honorable.
    She was dead on the money--that Unit 294 would find greater resonance with the name he more closely saw himself in.
    Tsukumogami.
    An object that was given life.
    Yes, that was perfect. He could not have known or thought of something more accurate. Even if, after time of learning about one-another and finding more observations, Shimako came up with some other, perhaps more human, name for him--the puppet doubted it would be more applicable than that one. And, perhaps that was exactly it--the puppet's inhuman nature found more recognition in something that could pass as a human name, but in truth meant the very opposite. It was just as he was--appearing to be one thing, under casual gaze, but in truth being another.
    "Tsukumogami," he echoed lightly. "Yes, I think I like that. Thank you, Shimako-san."

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[Arai Shimako]

It seemed he took a shine to the name referencing the yokai. It wasn't particularly shocking. Shimako had always been fond of the legend of the Tsukumogami, really. The idea that something could be in the lives of people for so long that it took on its own life and spirit. Through simple wisdom, or through being loved so much by generations of family, or from the marks of people coming or going, that existence could be breathed into something as small as a tea cup. Though Shimako wasn't one who truly believed in such spirits, she still liked the idea of it. She wanted to imagine some trace of the care she showed her puppets would be embodied in them centuries from now.

Taking the binding paste, she brought it over to begin filling the scuffs on Unit 294's legs and chest. She scraped the filling on, then smoothed it over to blend it with the wood around it. It seemed she'd made a decent match, because it looked very close in coloration, and would likely be almost seamless once it was properly dried. Old gaps like that would never become completely invisible, but it would take a very close look to notice them after repairs.

"I'm glad you like it. You know, the origin of the word Tsukumo isn't fully understood. There's no specific meaning. Scholars usually translate it as... 99-year. Anything that's surpassed a century in age," Shimako said, thoughtful. "Would you be alright if I called you Tsukumogami from now on, then? It can be our special nickname."

[294]

 

- spirits pace -

"Through the shadows cast by their graves"

"I did not know that," Unit 294 replied honestly when they went in to share a bit more of the history--or, rather, lack thereof--behind a part of the name. He supposed that it still, in its own way, reflected his very own being--a history and origin not fully understood, older than a century. Everything about the name seemed to suit him perfectly--like a match made in heaven. She asked if she could call him by the name moving forward as she finished up his repairs, and Unit 294 gave a small nod of the head. "You may," he permissed. What was the point of a name if it was not to be used? Of course she had his permission to refer to him by that name, though requesting his consent was not unappreciated.
    Unit 294 was uncertain if he would go around giving the name to everyone to speak--he still did not dislike Unit 294. It was the name that was engraved on his arm, the name in his book, and the only name he'd known. It held a great deal of historical significance, it told of what he was, where his life had begun, connected him to his baseline relation as a Shippai. It separated him from humans, and it was a perfectly good name that he had never taken issue with. But if anybody pressed him too much for a human name--or at least, one that sounded human--he had something else to give them, if only to make them stop whining about his existence.
    And it was a name that he also liked. Like a gift, something unique and special to him that he got to keep and share only when he wanted to.
    It was nice.
    "I may forget about it; I am sure it will not come as naturally to me as Unit 294 does. But I will try to remember," he spoke. Unit 294 was quickly growing attached to the name, and so he hoped he would not forget it. In due time, he would be certain to write it down in his notebook--just to increase the chances of this exchange not being lost to time. "Do you have a name you would prefer I call you by?" the puppet asked in turn. He was not used to special nicknames. But if he was Unit 294--who could be called "Tsukumogami"--then was she Shimako who wished to privately be called something else?

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[Arai Shimako]

It seemed he really did take to the name. That was encouraging. Even if he forgot the name, maybe she could teach him the origin again. It wasn't an uncommon thing to have to do, really, for people with memory loss. If you were committed to being close to them, or treating them properly, you would learn to teach them the same thing in new ways.

Unit 294 inquired if they had their own name they'd rather go by. Shimako smiled brightly.

"Shimako is already the name I chose to go by," she admitted. The one she'd had as a kid hadn't really suited her, and it was a reminder of a very bad time. She'd picked out a new one with the hawks, one she was prouder to introduce herself with. Child of ambition, that was the meaning.

"Though sometimes the people in the village, especially other members of the puppet corps, call me Otori. It's a little joke they tell, since it means large bird or lead performer," she laughed. She finished cleaning up the patches on Unit 294's frame.

"Ah, I'm done cleaning you up, it looks like. That sets pretty quickly, but it won't be fully dry until the morning, so try to avoid getting wet until then." That was mostly a joke, too. There weren't many places to fall in a puddle or run in the rain in Sunagakure.