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TL;CR
TL;CR MEME
1. Comment with your character.
2. Receive comments from others.
3. Reply to their comments with long ballads and explanations of your characters' relationship throughout the game.
4. Endure everyone else reading your comment like the vultures they are.
ookurikara
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Besides the fact that the cat hat was the entire reason that Kara first talked to him... Shess was somehow the first one to force Kara to open up? At first it was about small, unimportant things like learning to cook from his master, and it gave him a side mission of finding things Shess might like to eat (because good food helps you lead a more fulfilling life whether you need it or not - it's part of the Date way). The entire reason he trusted Shess with Tsuru's broken sword was that, despite only knowing him for a few days, the fact that he was even remotely interested in Kara and where he came from meant that he was the only one Kara felt anywhere close to comfortable with, at that point. It helped that Shess prodded enough to get Kara to admit to being a sword, but you know.
To be honest, the way he kept pestering Kara about being more honest with himself and talking to other people and being friendlier really reminded him of Mitsutada. It was almost like having his partner beside him, but more annoying.
THAT SAID, wow there was that stretch of time that he absolutely did not like Shess! Kara is well acquainted with having allies that he doesn't like even a little bit, but knowing you can trust them anyway - for a little while, he approached Shess like that. It was a little different in that he actually wanted to like Shess, He didn't know why, because he doesn't want to get close to anyone so it doesn't hurt when they leave again, but. He did. But then Shess kept doing shit he couldn't agree with - keeping potentially important information to himself, asking for info from Kara without offering the same (or that's what he thought, at times), telling him to spare people who have willingly killed or tried to hide those who did... all while still bitching at Kara for not talking to people, so really it all added up to him being like, "I hate you right now, but I have to trust you." Kara resented the whole thing quite a bit, even if he (sort of) understood why Shess was being that way. He didn't have to like it!
But that's fine because he was convinced that Shess didn't like him either. Why would he keep telling Kara how he's doing everything wrong if he did? Frankly he thought he was mostly an annoyance to Shess, but they had was working, or they wouldn't have kept conferring about things or sharing information. It's fine.
The problem, in Kara's eyes, was that despite everything, he never really stopped liking Shess. He was kind, and patient, and somehow never told Kara to fuck off when he really should have? Which Kara had to respect because he could never do that. And honestly, he didn't know how to even start trying to fix their friendship, so he just... stayed awkward about it. Being cursed with Undertow actually made it a little worse after it wore off, because once he was done processing all the emotions he'd missed over the past weekend, he felt pretty guilty about ambushing Shess about what happened that Thursday night. He still thought they were questions that needed to be asked, but like... he would have given Shess some space, at least, or maybe brought some snacks while they both grieved for their friends before getting to the business of finding their murderers.
And then he asked Mikazuki for those tasks, and the awkwardness intensified. Surprise, bitch! He's wanted you to be his friend this whole time!
The next step was the boss battle, and knowing that they had to go up against Mikazuki himself... Kara wouldn't have trusted anyone else with his sword, or Tsuru's, or even Mikazuki's himself after they were all broken. To be honest, he might still have stabbed Shess if he tried to take the final blow against Jiji while he was still able to fight, but Kara didn't think it would come to that, so. All he had to do was make sure Mikazuki was down, and trust Shess with the rest - and no one else would have received that much trust or respect from Kara except for another sword or his former masters.
So congratulations Shess, you maxed out his social link! And that is why he's super bitter right now about Shess trying to bail without saying goodbye - Kara, too, is used to being the one left behind, though most of the time that's not their choice, so it really rubs him the wrong way that Shess would willingly just leave without a word. He's too dedicated to his own mission to find fault with wanting to go home, but. That doesn't mean he has to like it, you know? So the least Shess could do is give him the courtesy of a goodbye.
It's complicated, and it's definitely not all smooth sailing, but Shess is one of Kara's favorite people here. He would be... happy, to be able to call Shess his friend.
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For a long time, Kara didn’t have much of an opinion of Emma. She didn’t really stand out, and she didn’t go out of her way to talk to him, so why would he? If someone doesn’t go out of their way to bother him, chances are he won’t bother them, either. He was content with that.
After a while he learned that Lili liked Emma, and trusted her, and that meant he was... willing, if hesitant to trust her. She was usually pretty straightforward, or so he thought? And then she helped teach him to ride a motorcycle, and that was pretty cool? So he appreciated that. Not that he would have ever said it to her face, but the only problem he had with her at that point was her taste in men.
And then Lili died, and Emma cursed him with Undertow. That made things complicated, and he was absolutely willing to burn all the (admittedly short) bridges they’d started to build. If he hadn’t left the village that following Monday, he absolutely would have attacked her on sight, and that would have ended well for no one.
So he was a little surprised when Emma came to him that following Friday with the task, and was straight with him about what she’d done. He could have easily outed her and called for her death, so he didn’t really understand why…? And he probably still doesn’t, honestly - it’s not like he’d given her any reason to trust him. But if she hadn’t come to him, then Kara probably wouldn’t have revised his opinion of her at all. The apology she offered wasn’t particularly appreciated, because it couldn’t undo the curse, but admitting that it was wrong of her to do was the first step to Kara realizing that he could maybe still trust her, even if he didn’t like her.
(There are people like that at home, in his citadel, that Kara has trusted with his life before. Working with someone you hate to get the job done without sacrificing more lives is a necessary evil.)
He did appreciate that she and North came clean the following week, though. +1 respect.
And that’s why, when it was his turn to eliminate the corrupted, Kara felt safe going to her with the healing task. Emma isn’t stupid, so he figured she would catch on, even if he was hoping she wouldn’t. But that was fine, because she would understand the position he was in. And she didn’t let him down in trial, which gave him a chance to focus on finding the other corrupted that week. And then she stuck to her guns in the final hours, and walked to her death before the final confrontation. She handled her boyfriend, too, which was the only thing Kara wasn’t sure about, because pesky human emotions get in the way when it comes to things like that. But she did it despite that! Bonus points for Emma!
He’s not sure if he’ll ever be able to forgive her for Undertow, but at the very least, he thinks they’ll be able to work together pretty well, if they have to do it again. No offense, but Kara really hopes they don’t. All in all though - Emma is far from the worst ally he could have had in this village. And it only took murder bonding to figure that out!
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So. That gave him a good reason to trust them, but he still struggled for a while to figure out how to talk to them. The whole thing with Milla and the hunk curses happening somewhere before that just made it more awkward? So he was even more ??? than usual at the idea of speaking to them, after their initial conversation post-hunk.
This went on until Lili and Minato died, and they found Minato’s top when they went on investigation together. He knew, at that point, that trusting Cinnabar was the right thing to do, and as Cinnabar told him later, they trusted him, too. It was… where he wanted to be with them, even if things were still a little awkward. And it gave him an opening to speak to them a little more about unrelated things - like asking how Cinnabar could fix themself after breaking. He’d meant to explain later, to tell them that he was actually a sword and not a human and that breaking, for him, meant unquestionable death.
But he never got a chance, because then they were destroyed. His first instinct, of course, was to find the glue they’d told him could fix it, but when the body investigations reported powder instead of gem fragments, he knew it couldn’t be done. He was… disappointed. Not just in the loss of a budding ally, but also in someone who could understand how awful breaking could be. So he prioritized finding their murderer, and felt… a dark satisfaction, when they found it was Akane, when she’d done it for such a petty reason. Breaking someone is a capital offense, and Cinnabar deserved justice.
He was glad to see them in one piece again in the digital world, just as he’d said. It’s hard not to, when breaking is such a sensitive subject for swords? And he understood their hesitation to help the baby digimon, but he didn’t want to just. leave them there with nothing to do, either? Because he knew Shess would be out helping, and frankly, they did need the extra help watching the ones they’d already rescued. It helped that Cinnabar looked pleased to be given a mission - he could understand that, too.
Kara thinks they could get along pretty well, if they tried, because they’re so alike that it’s pretty easy to understand Cinnabar - at least from what he’s already seen of them. His only regret is that they didn’t have more time as allies on the living side. Maybe if he hadn't taken so long to speak to them, they could have even started to become friends...?
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anyway this is complicated, as is fitting for Mikazuki Munechika!
Like everyone else, Kara started this whole thing out without a clue who Lune was and feeling very disgruntled about the situation. He was… curious at first, seeing how quickly Tsuru got attached to him? But he didn’t like the vague answers to all the questions, or the way he was so relaxed about them being trapped in this village that he threw them a welcome party. It seemed like a waste of time, when they were apparently brought there for a reason? Kara was anxious to get it over with and get home to his actual mission, but neither of the signs would give them any information with which to do whatever they were supposed to be doing, and nothing on how to get back, either.
It wasn’t until Tsuru died that he started to feel suspicious, especially after seeing that Tsuru had given Lune his necklace. Kara knows him - he knows that Tsuru is too dedicated to his aesthetic to lose any piece of it or to entrust it with someone after such a short time. Kara saw it as indication that Tsuru did, for some reason, trust Lune, and took it to mean that he should, too. So he kept an eye on Lune whenever he appeared in the village, and always went to him if he needed something (though honestly he would have done that anyway, since Sol was being a little bitch as far as he was concerned).
And, of course, there was always something familiar about him whenever they met. I think Kara realized somewhere in week 2 that it had to be Mikazuki, but because he didn’t see any need to say so, he just… didn’t. Kara was the only one at any kind of disadvantage with information here, so it didn’t matter? He would have gone on not saying anything for a while, too, if not for being given the partner role. It felt right in that moment to say something, and though he never particularly liked Jiji? He was kind of relieved to have another sword there, to have someone who understood how much of a shock it was to lose Tsurumaru - and how much it hurt. Mikazuki would also understand why Kara needed to get home so badly and why he was so determined to succeed.
And because he knew for sure at that point it was Jiji, he started making treats for him! Not even only when he wanted an audience, but just. In general, because he knows how Jiji is. He didn’t even send Tsuru quite so many snacks, so he was justified in being jealous haha. Anyway he liked hearing those small updates on Tsuru, and he trusted Mikazuki to put their situation into terms Kara could more easily understand, as a sword. No human ever quite seemed to get where they were coming from - for good reason, but still. This is why he never really asked for important information from Sol, even after their spar and subsequent reevaluation of their opinions on each other.
(He also may have lowkey tried to not hate Sol, once he found out Lune was Mikazuki, because if a sword trusts him he must be okay? It didn’t quite work because of that alone but eventually they got there.)
Also Kara never said it, but he did appreciate Mikazuki’s attempts to recreate Mitsutada’s food - both for the party (only after realizing it was Jiji lmao) and when he holed up in the volcano. It was a little weird, to get an offering like that? They were never exactly close, after all, and a few weeks stranded in a village didn’t change that. But it was almost like home, and Kara is a nostalgic bitch who is really weak to that shit. If he were a better person, he would have thanked Jiji, but alas, he is not.
Also thank god he didn’t send a white lily, or Kara would have come for blood HAHA
So anyway! Both because he knew the requirements to end the whole situation and because he knew Lune’s identity, Kara was comfortable volunteering to take over Four and Miki’s role in the village. As he said multiple times over the course of the game, Kara believed it would be better to kill the corrupted than leave them that way - and so he stuck to his guns (sword?) on that one and stepped up when necessary. It sucked, but a mission’s a mission - Mikazuki understood that, but Kara suuuuper resented him for the task that followed. It made him extremely uncomfortable, given who was left at the time - but it worked well enough? So whatever. Moving on.
Lune and Sol were going to be corrupted! Which, of course, meant that they would have to be eliminated as well, per Kara’s own principles. Mikazuki seemed to understand that, but at the same time, because of Roxas, he made it clear that as long as Roxas was still alive, he would stand in their way.
Kara hated that.
He knew Mikazuki would do what he wanted - he always has. But Kara thought it was still for the sake of the mission, in the end? He never thought Jiji would actively get in their way, so he didn’t necessarily mind giving Jiji time for his one last task. Then again, he knew Mikazuki’s power. He knew they shouldn’t wait for him to be fully corrupted to attack - so he did actually look for Jiji, before that Friday came around. Of course he didn’t find him, but Kara tried. If asked, he’d probably say it’s because Roxas was still there, because Mikazuki made it clear he wouldn’t go until Roxas did. But he was certainly willing to try.
When that failed, he went to find Mikazuki on Friday, and well. Some things sure did happen. The whole fight was an exercise in frustration, and Kara got his ass kicked six ways to Sunday, but frankly? He knew that would happen. He went in accepting that Jiji would break him, but he was determined to break Jiji along the way, because later, they would both understand. It wouldn’t be so bad.
And then! Corrupted Jiji opened his big mouth!
Like, forget the stabbing in the heart. Like I said, he’d accepted that Mikazuki would break him and only wanted to make sure that Jiji would go down with him. But it turns out the things he said got to Kara a little too well - enough to provoke him into using the meteors to TPK (sorry, North), and enough that he… couldn’t really forgive Mikazuki, after they were all revived.
That was definitely not Kara’s intent. He genuinely thought it would be fine, that they would move on like they’d just completed another mission and now needed to move onto the next. But as Jiji so loved to point out, he had a very human, very emotional heart as a result of gaining this form. If it weren’t for that - yeah, maybe they could have moved forward without any further issues! The real problem was that Kara served the Date clan for generations, even when all the other Dategumi had left, for whatever reason, so he’s probably more attached to the family than all of them… which means insulting them is personal for him.
The funny thing is, he honestly thought he’d be able to forgive even that, because he knew it was the corruption speaking more than Jiji himself. But the moment he saw Mikazuki, Kara felt so wretched that he knew he couldn’t do it. Maybe someday, he’ll be able to forgive, but not now. Not yet. It’s still too raw.
Aside from that… haha! Kara is still grateful that Mikazuki was here, that Tsuru had someone familiar to keep him company even after he was broken, and even someone to be romantic with, since it made him happy. He was grateful to have someone nearby who understood where he was coming from, after Tsuru was gone. Even now, he’s grateful for all that Mikazuki tried to help him in the village. It’s just going to take a while for the (metaphorical) wounds from corrupted Jiji to heal and the scars to fade before Kara can really face him again without feeling stabs of anger and resentment.
So. No more treats for Jiji for a while :(
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I’ve told you this before, but Kara definitely didn’t get a good first impression of Lili! He walked in on her and Kaoru fighting over the bed of all things, so he immediately decided both of them were dumb as bricks and had their priorities as mixed up as they could possibly be, but if they wanted to waste their time, who was he to stop them? And later she came after him when he just wanted to pet his chicken, insisting on helping him with the magic even when he didn’t want her help or anything to do with her at all - and in so doing, she pushed a little too far. So he decided she wasn’t just stupid - she was annoying, and he wanted nothing to do with her.
Then the party happened! He thought the whole thing was pointless and was rather irritated to have to be there at all, and if it weren’t for the jello shots and the drinks he and Tsuru had earlier, he probably would have just walked away from her again. She was being annoying as usual, insisting he do things he didn’t want to do? But when she gave him an out, a way to escape the party, he had to take it. Why wouldn’t he? Even if it meant leaving with her, they didn’t have to hang out for the whole night or anything. They had no obligation to stick together.
But petting chickens with her wasn’t so bad? She didn’t freeze them like he was worried about before - in fact, she was pretty gentle! Kara didn’t expect that, given what he’d seen of her personality so far. And then she suggested he adopt a second chicken, and she found a Masamune helmet for Kazakiri, and that was. So much better. It’s honestly ridiculous how much that alone improved his opinion of her, and then she agreed to help him with the jello shots to surprise Tsuru? Suddenly, she became tolerable!
Then Friday came, and Tsurumaru was dead. He doesn’t know if she came to him first, or if she spoke to someone else before that, but her first instinct was, apparently, to go investigate and look for him. He didn’t know much about her would-be relationship with Tsuru, but he appreciated her attempts to help more than he could say, even if they didn’t find anything at all.
The trial came and went, and he… wasn’t expecting anyone, except maybe Shess, to come check on him afterward. He made it clear he didn’t want to be bothered, and he was busy cleaning Tsurumaru’s broken blade, so he really would have preferred to be left alone, but Lili came anyway. He was too emotionally exhausted to really be annoyed with her pressing that he didn’t have to alright, and he didn’t have to be alone, but… even if he had the energy, could he really have been upset with her, when he knew she’d cared about Tsuru? And she brought him food, even though he didn’t really have an appetite and it wasn’t even that great… but she’d tried, and expressed an interest in learning more. Agreeing to teach her to cook was probably the least he could do, especially after she suggested doing some kind of funeral rights for Tsuru. That… wasn’t really something swords ever got to have? So in a way, it was kind of touching and very human of her to suggest it, and of course Tsuru would have loved the attention (aside from, you know, the having to be broken to get it part). If it weren’t for that, he would have said no, but it went well, so he was grateful to her for that, for better or worse.
So when she told him about the nightmares and wanting to work off the stress they’d caused instead of wallowing, and she asked him to help by teaching her how to wield a sword properly? Again, he would have said no, if she hadn’t already told him that Tsuru had planned on it… and just like before, he appreciated her desire to improve and protect herself instead of remaining weak and relying on others to protect her. So he agreed, and even though she could never really stand up to him, Kara liked sparring with her. Lili always tried her hardest, and he definitely understood the need to move instead of dwelling on how she felt, so. It worked? And she showed some ingenuity in using her magic in tandem with the sword - she was weak, but she tried to cover for it however she could. That much was admirable, even though she still had a long way to go.
AND THEN a week later this bitch had to go and gain his respect by outing her ability in the next trial, just in case it could have been her? All because she wanted to be sure it wasn’t, and if it was her, to make sure she would be brought to justice and be unable to hurt anyone else? What the fuck?? Kara himself had been thinking since Tsuru’s death that there was no real reason to hide their powers, and though he never told anyone who didn’t ask, he would have without any protest. Hiding it out of fear, as he thought the others were doing, only got in the way, so when Lili stepped up like that to prove her innocence (or her guilt, since they didn’t know until she activated it) despite the potential danger to herself, she became one of the few people he could legitimately respect. At the time, even Mikazuki didn’t have that - only Shess did, but even he didn’t reveal his ability easily, so she was starting to become his favorite person in the village.
Oh and I somehow forgot this part but she was the only other person besides Shess to put together that he was a sword! Which was also a big deal for him! So maybe Kara didn’t exactly trust her with that information at first, but she proved herself to be worth his trust, and honestly if anyone had to figure it out, he’s glad it was Lili.
What confused Kara was her apparent concern for him when she expressed her desire not to see him break - or even to drop his sword. It seemed silly to think he would never break? Of course he didn’t want to, but given the circumstances and, well, the passage of time, naturally Kara would break sooner or later. It was… very human of her, and it’s a sentiment he’ll always struggle to comprehend, at least a little. But between this and everything else, he was… well, I wouldn’t say happy just yet, but maybe content to accept her as an ally. Lili had proven herself many times over, so if he really had to work with someone while stuck in that village, she probably would have been his first choice (or Shess, but Lili isn’t a shady bitch so that gave her an edge). Haha and when she was missing an eye, she reminded him a lot of Masamune - not just the physical similarity, but also her attitude and her nobility in putting her people over herself and also to be willing to sacrifice herself, if the need came for it (ie if she was corrupted). All of that meant that, whether he wanted to or not, they kind of were friends?
Weird.
Things only started to get complicated when Kara started learning about romance! Well, not immediately - he first learned about it when Milla was hunked and Lili explained all of the kissing and crush stuff very badly, but he thought it was just useless, unnecessary stuff that he could ignore. Kaoru is the one who made it complicated by explaining romance in a different way, which made Kara start to reevaluate how he felt about Lili. Even if he didn’t necessarily want to kiss her (with his only experience with that being Milla, he didn’t really understand the appeal), he did trust Lili, and Kara was willing to listen to her when he wouldn’t really consider anyone else. He didn’t mind spending time with her instead of being alone, which was… weird, for him, but it was because she seemed to understand why he was Like That, and didn’t seem to want him to change? That’s something even the Dategumi struggle with sometimes - they always want him to be friendlier, but Lili thought he was fine as he was, and that was a new feeling, one even Kara could appreciate. I think that’s what set her apart from the other Date swords, when it came to Kara wondering about friends versus crushes.
And honestly? He didn’t really want to have a crush on her - being friends was bad enough, when Kara was convinced she would leave him just like they always do. Lili could claim she never would all she likes, but even if she never willingly did, she would still die sooner or later simply by virtue of being mortal.
And then she did, and he was… well, he would have handled it better if he wasn’t cursed, let me just say that, because yeah, he was expecting it. If not here in the village, then when they leave for home, even if she found a path between worlds. But between trying to figure out their relationship or friendship or whatever it was and Lili being one of the only people he actually trusted in the village, and then having the choice of deciding how to feel about her death taken from him… haha that didn’t end well at all, and he ended up being more upset about it than he might have been, if left alone - because once Kara learned that she’d been corrupted when she died, he would have accepted it as a necessary loss, even if he kind of hated it.
From then on, he resolved that he had to make it to the end. His priority, after reviving the dead, was to find a way to go between worlds, like Lili wanted - and besides, he’d promised he would try to keep from breaking. Even if he didn’t expect to be able to keep that promise, especially if he and Shess were the ones at the end, Kara wanted to at least try to keep his word for as long as he could.
Side quest: figure out what his heart was feeling about Lili?? Was it a crush or not?? For the longest time, he didn’t know, but he sought some clarification from Kaoru, and after considering all the things he’d been told about romance, he finally came up with an answer. It royally sucked that he took so long that she, you know, wasn’t alive to hear his decision? But as far as Kara was concerned, he’d promised he would give her an answer either way, so it didn’t particularly matter as long as she knew he hadn’t completely let her down. That was more important - and then the dead came to visit the living in the digital world, which meant Kara actually had an opportunity to tell her face-to-face, without even having to break. So he did.
So, surprise! We have a ship now. How the fuck did that happen.
(that’s the power of shoujo)
Anyway that just gave him one more reason to try and make it to the end. Aside from his personal mission to get back and protect his former master, Lili and Tsuru were the reasons driving him to keep going in the village and to defeat the corruption, whatever it took. And he did make it to the end! Sort of. As soon as Mikazuki and Roxas revealed that they would be corrupted, he knew he wouldn’t be the last man standing - but Kara dedicated everything he had to making sure that they would still have a way to get the ending they both wanted in this place. Good thing it worked out!
And now that they’ve been revived and everyone is all and well… It’ll be weird going back to his citadel and not having her by his side, after all those weeks, but he’ll be satisfied enough with knowing she’s alive and that they can text each other without the old limitations. He’ll miss her! And then when his war is over, and he’s free to choose, Kara is going to find her first, and help her with the problems in her world. He doesn’t really know how to be a boyfriend, or how to live without some kind of purpose over his head, but Lili has helped him figure things out before, so he figures she can help him with this, too.
She also probably won’t blame him for wanting to kick Tsuru’s ass either, so that’s nice.
BUT YEAH ANYWAY THIS GOT LONG and honestly… I wouldn’t say Kara loves her just yet? He’s still figuring out how that works. But he likes her more than he likes most people, in a different way than he likes the other Date swords. Lili is very important to him, and that scares him! She’s human and she can’t be at his side forever no matter how much both of them want that, but Kara wants to pretend, and even when she’s gone, he’ll remember her as well as he remembers each and every one of his previous masters. I think he will come to love her if they’re together long enough, but he’ll continue to be very awkward and useless and she will probably have to continue making the first move for most things.
So uh - yeah! Lili is dumb and reckless and silly, but she’s gained Kara’s respect and affection and he lives in fear of the day the rest of the Dategumi learn of this because he will never live it down hahaha.
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you can do nams too if you want but you know who im mostly here for
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So! Namine! What does Kara think about her.
Mostly - it’s what he said in their pc. She’s a good kid, if a little weird and maybe sheltered? Because there’s something Off about her and he isn’t quite sure what? But she does have a kind heart, enough to help a total stranger who’s mourning one of his closest friends just because she happened to be there. He’ll always appreciate her for that.
I’ve mentioned it before in meta tags, but she strikes Kara as a tantou, almost. There’s an air of naivete surrounding her, while somehow retaining the sense that Namine has seen some shit. He doesn’t fully understand what she’s been through, nor does he care to ask, since that’s her business, but he hopes it all works out for her? Because she doesn’t seem like a bad person by any means - she very clearly wants to help people who need it, and she tries to see the good in people.
Though sometimes she misplaces that good intent. Axel. Minato.
That’s one of the reasons he felt so bad when he figured out she did a murder. While she acts a lot like a tantou, he knows she isn’t one, and Kara doesn’t like little kids getting involved in shit like that. Frankly, he was hoping, once again, that he was wrong about it, so he held off from mentioning the toy car for as long as he could, since they had another murder to deal with anyway. But when it came down to it, no one, not even a kid, is worth keeping alive if it means they’ll remain possessed. So he had to say something. It sucked, but isn’t it better as long as she’s free from corruption?
Kara doesn’t expect to ever see her again after this, but he hopes that Namine will forgive him for it, if they do.
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NO I’M KIDDING (mostly) because Kara still 100% believes this is his Tsuru, Hanamaru Tsuru! He’s thought so from the start, and since Tsuru and Jiji made no attempts to tell him otherwise, he’s going to keep thinking that’s the case until they return from the Enkyou mission and he tries to talk to Tsuru about it.
So until then, he’s… really glad Tsuru was here in the village with him, even if it was only for a short time. Tsuru is one of his best friends, along with the rest of the Dategumi, and Kara would do almost anything for any of them and for the Date themselves. That, and the fact that Tsuru is the eldest and best preserved of the lot of them, meant he was in denial after Tsuru was pronounced dead until he found the broken sword, and that… kind of broke him, too. He’s used to being left alone, but none of the Date swords have ever broken before. It’s a different kind of pain.
He probably would not have done as well as he did without Tsuru having been here. He wouldn’t have learned to make jell-o shots, wouldn’t have adopted the chickens or named the horses, wouldn’t have reevaluated Lili or bonded with Shess as quickly - all of these things happened because Tsuru was there, in the beginning. Without wanting to revive Tsuru, he may not have seen the point of trying so hard in trials or anything. He might even have just gone and TPK’d as once they discovered only one could be left. It would have been a very different game!
But all of those things did happen, so he had someone present to keep working for, besides his drive to get back to the Enkyou mission. He didn’t want to let Tsuru down, and that was the only reason he ever wanted to be lms. He’d been resigned to bringing a broken sword back to his saniwa, but once he heard there would be a chance to revive him, Kara was all about it! It was his responsibility as captain to protect Tsuru, after all - he had to try. As annoying as Tsuru could be, there was no way he would ever abandon him.
And then they got tweets! And Tsuru wouldn’t stop sending them to him - and Kara would have responded immediately, if he knew how. That’s the only reason he didn’t, and why Tsuru had to start sending other people after him. Sure, it was annoying that the messages cut off instead of delivering the full message, but whatever. Kara never dared to mention it to anyone, but he was more relieved than he’s ever been to get messages from Tsuru, because it meant he wasn’t really gone, he hadn’t really left - and he was still trying to help. He didn’t know until then that they were being kept on a different plane, so he could imagine that Tsuru was losing his mind from boredom until then, wherever he was.
As much as he groused about the messages getting cut off, the only time he was genuinely annoyed with Tsuru for them was when he tried to give romantic advice. Like, first of all - there are more important things? Didn’t Tsuru say they were supposed to be getting important information? Why was he wasting messages on things like this! What is he getting at! This is dumb!! And who does Tsuru think he is, anyway? If Kara didn’t know romance before this, why would he? Secondly, wasn’t Lili dead by then? (I don’t remember when these texts happened.) How did he expect Kara to follow his advice?? AND ALSO - there was a mission to accomplish and learning about romance was not part of it. What the fuck.
It was a big circle of dumb and I hate it.
Moving on - he didn’t say so but he was very happy to see Tsuru in the digital world, and even more so to have the chance to fight with him again. It was almost like Tsuru had never broken at all, and they could pretend for a little while that he’d just been on a different mission. Kara missed him immediately when they went back, but it left him with a renewed sense of motivation to make it to the end.
And then he did, and they learned that the signs would be corrupted. He knew about Tsuru and Jiji by then, so he knew Tsuru must have been devastated to hear that. And swords being swords, he knew that no one was better suited to take Jiji down than Kara himself, though he wishes with all his heart that Tsuru would have been there to help him. It didn’t feel right to do it without him, but it was necessary, so he gave it his all, for both their sakes. As much as he hated Jiji during that battle for the things he’d said, Kara can’t say it wasn’t appropriate, for them both to break in battle at another sword’s hands. It was really the only way it could have gone. He’ll just. Pointedly pretend not to know how Tsuru must have felt, in that moment that both he and Mikazuki broke on the battlefield.
But then! They were all alive again! And everything was great! Kara’s super looking forward to going home with an unbroken Tsurumaru, to take on the Enkyou mission together and then get back to their regular lives in the citadel without all this murder. Imagine the surprise when he tries to talk to his Tsuru and finds out that he doesn’t have a clue what Kara is talking about!
Cue him bursting through the portals to find Tsuru and kick his ass. You could have told him, you absolute jackass. And don’t say it’s for the surprise - Kara isn’t going to accept that shit. He’ll be angry about it for a while, once he finds out, but eventually, I think he’ll go to visit this Tsuru to demand an explanation and to like… try? To make up with his friend? Because it may not be his Tsuru, but he’s still Tsurumaru, and they had a unique experience together that Kara will unfortunately never forget. He can’t leave this Tsuru behind forever, you know?
He loves any Tsurumaru, even if they’re being huge jerks, and he hates that. Please don’t keep any more big secrets from him :/
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Who is this child and why won’t she leave him alone. Man, while she was alive, Kara spent most of their time together annoyed and mildly confused. Here is yet another child who can’t cook, the problem being that this one, as opposed to Minato, has attached herself to his leg and won’t let go.
He actually didn’t mind cooking for her if it meant teaching her to not waste the food by making something terrible that no one would eat? It’s fine, he’s used to helping cook for over 40 swords or however fucking many Hanamaru has, I lost count. What’s one more gremlin tantou? She was always bugging him about food for those two weeks anyway. He thought it would be over once she died? But then the oracle bells happened and she. Kept. Bothering him about food, without even saying who she was.
That was fine. He really didn’t like seeing that young girls got corrupted anyway? They could pretend they were just penpals or something. Annoying ones, because she still kept yelling at him without explaining why.
Honestly, he doesn’t really understand why Futaba is apparently that attached to him? He made food a few times, no big deal. Maybe it’s just because she’s been hanging out with Tsuru, but that doesn’t explain the weird investment in his budding love life or wanting him to be the last man standing. He appreciates the support, but. What??
So their relationship in a nutshell? Kara tolerated it. That’s it. I don’t think he really knew her long enough to get more attached than that, so mostly he’s just confused about why Futaba is attached to him. So she’s lucky she’s the size of a butter knife - that’s the perfect size to convince him to put up with it haha.
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Kara didn’t think much of anyone at first, but Akane started out with annoying him by just kind of accepting their fate in being in this village and then being Like That at the party. So he didn’t really like her!
And then she appeared in the kitchen to demand that he teach her to cook, and frankly, he didn’t want to - again, because she was annoying. What convinced him to do it anyway was a mix of appreciating her desire to learn and Akane just. Not leaving. lmao. So he decided to help her, and then they started talking, and Kara thought he might understand where she was coming from. Their conversation about being alone versus having friends and how difficult it can be to make friends kind of endeared her to him a little, because - yeah, he understood that. He wouldn’t have complained quite so much from then on, if Akane still wanted to learn about cooking.
When he was given a task to find someone from each element that he trusted, Akane was his first choice, for this reason. He didn’t really know any of them that well, so it wasn’t like it meant a lot, but their kitchen conversation was a start. But when he asked around, he was told specifically not to trust Akane, and why - so uh, there went that. He felt bad for it, because she did say she had trouble connecting with other people and he gets that? But he couldn’t give her his full support, knowing that she would burn the world down for a special few, if given the choice.
Then the trial to find Minato’s murderer happened, and he was… not quite on Emma’s side, as far as the strip search went? But he was being impartial, and Akane clearly didn’t appreciate it even though he also made Kaoru comply when he wanted to skip out, too. But Kara was going to let Emma handle it once Akane refused, and it just kind of spiraled from there. So when Akane decided he was against her, even though he really didn’t have an opinion one way or another - he didn’t bother to correct her. There wouldn’t be much point when he already knew he couldn’t trust her anyway, right?
So he was just. Steadfastly neutral regarding Akane, until she was outed as Cinnabar’s killer. If she had a valid reason for it, he would have stayed neutral. But he trusted Cinnabar, was trying to trust them more, and when he found out that Akane killed them just because they were “mean” to her in the last trial?
Well, that was it. He already didn’t trust her, but that was the catalyst he needed to just… write her off entirely, and he had no regrets sending her to her execution. No one who would kill for such ridiculous reasons should be allowed to decide the fate of the universe, after all.
Though he maybe still wishes things could have gone better for her. Maybe if the right person had managed to connect with her (not him, he knows he wouldn’t be good for this), she would have learned and grown instead of… this.
But he’ll never know, so. He'll probably never find a reason to forgive her - though he's sure she doesn't care.
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minato: hmm what if i text it to him and then run away asap so he can't get me
also the top kept screaming at minato all week bc he gave milla trash bread that sunday and the top was screaming about his guilt, which was on the level of being a murderer for minato ig
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Ugh Kara thinks Minato is such a weird kid? And he has no idea how to speak to him most of the time - you covered this in your own tl;cr but Kara really doesn’t go out of his way to speak to people, so because Minato was at a loss for how to talk to him, he just. Didn’t bother? Haha. For a long time, he really just thought Minato was just… weird, and reckless, and didn’t bother thinking about him beyond that.
The cooking competition kind of offended him. Sure, he was teaching Akane and that was fine, but of all choices… Shirasu?? No?? Please don’t create such foul things in his kitchen when he is the only reason most of you weren’t starving to death. And to think he would have gladly taught Minato real cooking if he’d actually asked, like Shess said he would! But it was clearly not meant to be.
The omamori and cat headbands were… cute. The shirt he took from Kara, too. Didn’t make up for Minato being a weird kid, but at least he has cute taste.
And then, lmao, there was the trash bread incident.
Kara honestly didn’t know why Minato was trying to avoid him so hard. He didn’t care much, except that Minato was wasting food by trying to make it the wrong way? Which is why he threw the dough, if they could call it that, into the trash - it was a waste, and he knew it wouldn’t even taste good, so why bother? There was no saving it at that point. And then Minato went for it anyway, and he couldn’t believe it but also - what the fuck. The whole thing is like - if you want to eat the trash bread yourself the same way you bring harm to yourself, fine. Just don’t drag anyone else into it - at least without them knowing exactly what they’re getting into, you know? So he allowed Minato to keep it on that condition - and really, he didn’t mean to follow up on his threat. It was enough that Minato was scared of him, or so he thought. TOO BAD HE WAS WRONG, so now he’ll have a grudge forever because, like, at least tell someone you’re about to feed them trash bread, okay. Let them make their own choice about actually eating it or not.
Also, getting the text about it later saying he could have Minato’s hand for it really creeped him out. Thanks! But at least he owned up to it.
Anyway he was pretty convinced that the top was screaming because Minato was corrupted or something that week. It looked like a miserable way to die, yikes, but at the same time… it seemed like something Minato would do? Somehow? So he didn’t put a lot of effort into trying to find the murderer when there were others to focus on. If he did it to himself them why bother?
So! Long story short, he hates Minato! Probably not as much as Minato thinks he does, but hey. The kid fed someone trash bread. He’s justified (maybe).
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As the entire game knew from day 1, Kara hated Roxas! Okay, but that’s not entirely true - he was angry and Roxas provoked him, but he didn’t hate the kid until Tsuru’s trial, where it felt like he was downplaying Tsuru’s death. I don’t know if he ever forgave Roxas for that? But it was nice, maybe, to get an apology weeks later.
Speaking of - he was really surprised when Roxas approached him for that. He’d never expected it, because those in power never so rarely feel the need to apologize for anything at all. And he offered Kara some information, or tried to direct him to where he could find it, at least, so that helped improve his opinion a bit.
The invitation to spar was also unexpected? But Kara did want to see how powerful he actually was, though, so of course he took Roxas up on the challenge. And because they’re dumb boys, it turned out really well! Roxas is a good fighter, so he got Kara’s respect for that. It helped that Roxas actually tried to enlighten him on why they were there and why the signs couldn’t help? And that Roxas’ frustration with the situation was very clear. He wanted to try, and that meant a lot.
And in the end - Roxas stuck to the mission, even when it meant he had to die. He trusted Kara with his wish when asked, and then he followed through on letting himself be purified. There are a lot of people who would resist that fate, no matter the cost, because of fear or determination to be the last despite the votes…
So even though they didn’t have a lot of interactions, I think they’ve come a long way! I can’t say that Kara particularly likes Roxas as more than a sparring partner yet, but that could change if they were to talk a little more down the line. Until then, Roxas definitely has his respect, so good job, kid! If he ever needs a sparring partner, he’ll know who to go to.
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I guess first impressions are just bad? Considering he walked in to Kaoru and Lili fighting over the bed. Kara thought it was astronomically stupid, so his opinion of them both was just. Really bad, lmao. It didn’t help that he learned fast that Kaoru was not a fighter and had very little desire to do much more than gather information? So he decided to never associate with either of them again.
And we saw how well that went!
Well, actually, he did avoid Kaoru for the most part. The only reason his opinion started to improve after a while was that Lili thought so much of him - and, I guess, that he helped Kara find clothes once his usual ones were destroyed. That was helpful, even if he thinks Kaoru went a little overboard?
Then Kaoru decided to meddle. This after Kara had decided he didn’t have a crush on Lili - but when Kaoru explained crushes again, it got more complicated. As a sword, he has a hard enough time understanding normal human emotions, but all these vague definitions of a crush or liking someone made it even harder? But he knew by then how Lili could make things a little too simple at times, just like he does, so he listened to Kaoru and. Well.
Long story short, it’s the shoujo’s fault they started going on dates. Kara doesn’t dislike him for that, and later he came to really appreciate Kaoru for it. And when Lili died, he decided that he would try to protect Koaru as much as he could, because she wouldn’t want anything to happen to her partner.
And Kaoru was also being really emo about the whole thing, so like, mood.
Fast forward a week or two, and he was assigned to kill Kaoru for being corrupted. Kara… wasn’t happy, to say the least. He knew that, in the end, he wouldn’t be able to protect Kaoru forever - but having it happen so soon after they lost Lili kind of really sucked! But by this point, he’d gained a new level of respect for Kaoru’s information gathering skills, so he thought it might be worth it to tell Kaoru beforehand and give him a choice of how he wanted things to go (and also Lili would probably be angry if he didn’t). Since Kara is dedicated to his mission above all else, the most he could do was promise that it would be as quick and painless as he could manage.
He certainly wasn’t expecting Kaoru to have a plan ready? It makes sense, given his apparent skill for getting info and strategizing, and for a kid with no battle experience it wasn’t even a terrible plan. But Kara was also ready to take the fall for killing Kaoru and Squall when it came to trial - not so much for Kaoru to decide that he would be the one protecting Kara. As usual, he didn’t like keeping secrets like this from everyone else - but after seeing what happened to Four, he could see the sense in it, and it was also Kaoru’s choice, so like. He went with it for the kid, more than anything. He’s big on choices, you know.
He did miss Kaoru when he was gone, just a little, and that completely baffled him because they weren’t even that close? Without Lili, Kara isn’t so sure that they would have been allies, in the end. But he’s… pretty grateful that they were, and maybe someday when his war is over, he’ll actually go check on Kaoru in the Ouran world to see how he’s doing - if he really did become as good a strategist as his potential indicated he could be. (Also maybe for romantic advice because he’s the only other human Kara trusts on that.)
But anyway he hopes Kaoru does well in his world, going forward! And if he loses touch with Lili and hurts her feelings somehow, they will be having a Talk. And maybe someday he'll fully explain the whole nonhuman thing too - Kaoru being Japanese means he should know the impact Kara's master had on history, after all, and he trusts the kid not to go around blabbing that he knows one of the swords wielded by Date Masamune.
Kaoru... You're not half bad, kid. Keep it up!