concasse | Week 1

Week 1 | Saturday

[... considering how much energy that shitty trial cost him, Sanji should not be relieved -- or having the sense not to show it on his expression. A girl's going to die, and whether or not she deserved it remains irrelevant to him. Just another casualty in a war they don't belong to.

... But still. Hanging outside the door to his room, Sanji doesn't seem sad, and especially as Eichi approaches, he'll offer the other a hint of a smile]

Hey.

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...

[How he's holding up... Eichi glances down at the ground between them as he keeps that smile up.]

Wasn't my embarrassing handling of it all answer enough? Though I tried to hold my head high, I broke when it wasn't working and ran out of ways to address it. My whole body hurts and I have no idea if I'll be this lucky at the next trial.

Akechi-kun will be suspected first, you know?

... He will, but I doubt he'll do anything.

[Voice levelling a little]

More likely he's going to be a target. There are plenty of people here pissed off at him, and not many who'll trust a thing he says.

So if you want him to survive, you're gonna have to keep an eye on him.

[His eyebrows furrow like he hadn't even considered Akechi becoming the victim.]

That's... true, isn't it? [He lets out a shaky exhale.] This is too much, isn't it? For all those that I want to— that I want to "keep my eye on"... It's too much. I can— it feels as though I can only help one person at a time.

So what am I supposed to do? Should I watch Natsuo-kun? I'd like to look out for you, too, Sanji-kun. Akechi-kun is my own roommate, so it should be easy, and yet I saw him clearly that night. It must have been an illusion.

You know... I always said that I'd like to be someone like a "main character" but... I've never been very good at handling things like one should.

... Being the star comes with risks. Most don't live long. You stick your neck out, the sooner you get cut.

[That's just the ugly truth. And he suspects that whatever Eichi's role back home, he's somewhat familiar with the fact]

But if you're asking my opinion, put Akechi first for now. [And oh, don't get him wrong, Sanji can't stand the little asshole right now, for potentially framing Reyna and putting Eichi's neck on the line, but--]

He's the partner you got. Your life is tied to his... and I don't think the bastard's evil, either. Just... desperate and opportunistic.

[Morally stunted, too, but hey!]

[That's right. Eichi never wanted to be the villain, but since he wasn't suited for a role of main character, he went with what would work, instead. What would help the school. But this is very different.]

...He's not evil. With a father who was never there, who never cared about who he is and instead focused on what he'd done, he's just like me. Without a childhood, how can someone understand what it means to have genuine concern from others?

Just like I'm not only the precious heir to the Tenshouin name, he's not only the list of great accomplishments he must be held to. ...A year ago, I had thought friends were only people who were using me for my money, my power, my status. I hadn't been wrong, in the circle I was in, but I realized now that that's not what a friend is at all.

I don't believe Akechi-kun has made it that far, you know?

[....

Sanji fuckin hates this.]

I get it.

[Sighing, wiping his face.]

Still don't like him, but I get that much. Jeez, he really is still a kid.

[FAMILY, amirite Sanji]

He's a child. He had said he wished he had a partner who wasn't so useless, and while I do believe he was being honest, I also think he's come to have some level of concern for me, as well.

[It's... something!!!] I'd like to protect him, but I can't guarantee something like that. Beyond that, if I'm focusing on Akechi-kun, and something happens to you or Natsuo-kun...

[hell yeah he's taking his all on his shoulders!! sick boy wants to save them all]

There's plenty of people looking after Natsuo... you're not gonna shoulder that burden by yourself.

[Maybe it's just him, but Sanji maintains that of everyone, Natsuo's been adopted as the younger brother they all want to see survive. And that's good -- Sanji feels the same]

And I don't know why you're worried about me. [Heh, smiling at that.] Trust me, I'll be fine.

[Eichi seems to agree with him about Natsuo, but that scare from mid week had been terrifying. He doesn't know...!

At the last part, though, Eichi gives him a hard stare.]

It's because you're precisely that type of "main character" personality. For as long as you're the type to recklessly risk your own life for the sake of another, I'll worry, of course.

[... Why is he being stared down. Sanji actually lifts his hands like he's surrendering]

O-oi, I got it, I got it!

And trust me, I can't risk my life too badly... Zelos would bring me back from the dead and kill me again if I tried anything that got in the way of his comfort.

"Too badly," he says. My heart rate spikes each time you say something like that, and soon I'll die of natural causes.

[It's fine to joke about dying!! Anyway, talking it out has actually gotten Eichi to relax a little. At the very least, he's got a small smile and it's not too forced.]

In any case, thank you, Sanji-kun. I'm having a lot more difficulty than I'd like to admit, adapting to a place like this, but I believe I can manage it a bit better now. At the very least, I'd like to appear unbothered, powerful and tall. That fear of mine should be held back thoroughly, not to trouble anyone else.

[Normally he keeps these thoughts to himself, and he will next time, but with the revelation of it comes him thinking aloud like that.]

... You know it's not a crime to be scared, right?

[A small laugh] Shit, I hope you don't think I'm not. [He laughs a little, shaking his head. Hell, it's like he once told Usopp -- Sanji is far from fearless.]

I wouldn't be doing half as well if I didn't have cooking to distract me. In that way, I'm luckier than most of ya -- there's always need for a guy who can cook, so that means I always have something to focus on.

I'm not so foolish to think that you're not, Sanji-kun. It's just that, like you, I'd like to be able to hold my head tall and appear in a way that's not concerning to others. The weather is against me lately, as are many other circumstances, it seems.

[Like AKECHI EXISTING, he guesses. Sigh.]

Your cooking always puts me at ease, though, so that's true. I tried my best to perform this past week, and I suppose that did help a few people, as well... but it really isn't the same, and I don't have the stamina to maintain that, here.

[He's a pirate who has watched people die most of his life, whereas Eichi is from a time of peace. To Sanji, there's just no comparing them to each other... but he gets it, even if all he can do is sigh.]

Damn, you performed and I missed it? [Gonna focus on the positives here] What a shame. Maybe next week if you're up to it, I can watch.

I'd like that. The cold has taken a lot out of me, and I perform to the point that it drains me, but it brings me joy, and I hope it brings tranquility to those who listen. At the very least, I could always perform for Sanji-kun alone.

[If only he had a piano, it'd be better... but Belph's is the only one he's seen.]

Heh, what's this? I get my own private show?

[He means that way more innocently than the words insinuate, though Sanji now officially disapproves of any canoodling with Akechi.]

[It's sad that Eichi's laugh covers his own realization of how that sounds, because he's sure Sanji didn't mean it. He won't say a thing, he'll enjoy that to himself, thanks!

But at least it gets a genuine chuckle.]

That's right. I don't offer those out to just anyone, you know? Not even my biggest fans. So, I hope you'll appreciate it.

[That horrifying moment when Sanji is purer than Eichi, what have we done]

Of course. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to anyone sing since Brook gave a performance on ship.

[-- a pause]

My crew's musician, I mean.

[Sanji more pure than Eichi? More Likely Than You Think]

Your crew has a musician?

[PIRATES CARE ABOUT THAT?? His eyes are sparkling, he is gone, he is cured, Akechi who]

[EICHI PLEASE]

Of course! Wouldn't be a proper crew without one!

[Musicians aren't essential, no, but they fulfill the role of idols in that sense -- keep up the spirits of those around them]

He's actually a skeleton, too. With an afro.

[One Piece~]

Brook-san, the skeleton with an afro...

[You know, he met a skeleton here, so he guesses he shouldn't be surprised. What kind of world is out there? Did he miss all this from being in the hospital?]

I wish I could meet him. A skeleton playing music... I can't ask "how good is he?" because it's no question that you'd say he's the best, so that makes me want to hear him even more.

Yeah, can't disagree with ya there.

[GOTTA SUPPORT THE CREW. Sanji does not look ashamed by this.]

But he really is the best. The bastard can play any instrument he picks up. Don't know how he got to be that good...

'Course, his favorites are the violin and the piano.

Really? My music heavily features those instruments, you know? I'd love to hear him sometime.

[He'll pay big money!! Bring the skeleton!! Actually...] Once we've escaped this place, won't you tell him that I'd love to hear him some time?

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Week 1 | Saturday

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