concasse | Luceti Appointments Post

[Perona barely notices the chef in question while she's doing her own winter shopping, piling up some coats, pants, gloves, and long shirts on one arm. She comes very close to bumping into him, muttering a mindless apology before she actually glimpses at the person in question, and instantly perks right up.]

Mr. Cook! [She blinks, and after just one look at him, she can tell something is amiss. And while her instinct is to go near him, she pulls back the free hand she extends toward Sanji. Oh, she remembers last time, but she just can't help worrying. The cook's wormed his way into her heart.] Eh...are you all right? Mr. Cook?

[Sanji stops short of ramming into her, returning her concern with a blank stare. It takes a second before he recognizes who's talking to him. The color nearly drains from his face, and even then, Perona can probably pick up the subtle hints of tension lining his body.

She's back - he should be grateful the Malnosso returned her in one piece, seemingly unharmed, except seeing her face conjures up another mix of grief and shame. The resulting smile is tired and worn.]

Welcome back, Perona-chan! [That doesn't answer her question, of course. Frankly, he isn't sure what response he's expected to give.

(Start with the truth; she doesn't know yet)]

When did you get back? [or he could... not do that thing.]

[Oh, she does indeed note Sanji's unusual disposition, and her anxiety raises, but then balances itself again once she sees his (albiet somewhat forced) smile and hears the same, familiar lilt of his voice that comes from the Sanji she knows and likes very much. Still...something seemed off still. He looked...sick, maybe? It couldn't be that he just now recovered from that little episode he had, right? No, no, surely not, that was nearly a month ago! Is he not sleeping well again, then?]

Thank you, Mr. Cook... Have you been well while I was gone? [A better way of saying are you less crazy? And she has to stop herself from stating how "unwell" he looks. He's pale, he's without the usual glow and zeal he almost always seems to have, and it's concerning. Really, Sanji, you're about as bad as Zoro with how much you make Perona worry about you sometimes. But she steers the conversation far from that path.] Have I missed anything important? Ah, other than the start of the ghoulish festivities, of course.

[He swiftly casts his glance off to the side, both of her questions twisting a knot in his stomach. The urge to lie is strong indeed; or maybe offer little more than a half-truth. She'll have to know Zoro's gone home - you can't hide that type of information - but who's to say she should be burdened with the rest?

If only the shitty journals didn't keep that type of information recorded.]

... Why don't we go somewhere private, Perona-chan. [He keeps his voice soft, knowing the suggestion will only elevate her worries. The lump in his throat hasn't dissipated, either, so he swallows a few times before trusting himself to continue] We could go to-- [My house, except what a cruel twist that would be, taking her there. He stops short and corrects himself] -- maybe your place?

Edited 2012-11-09 14:13 (UTC)

[That does not bode well in the least. Perona pauses a moment, feeling a tickle up her spine from suspicion, anxiety, and fear, but nods her head silently. Something must've happened; why else would the cook be asking to speak privately with her? She can only guess what, though, and her mind begins to buzz with all kind of different scenarios and ideas, though only a handful seem to make any kind of real sense.

With a swiftly muttered "all right", Perona exits the clothing store with whatever she found, and heads right for home. The walk is shockingly quicker than she thought it to be (probably because she's thinking so damn much right now) though it passes in silence. Perona's eyes only briefly glance at Sanji, trying desperately to read his face for a sign, a hint of what was on his mind, but nothing seemed to come up. He looked...well, to be perfectly honest, hollow. It was distressing and so very, very strange. Perona didn't like it.

Arriving at home, she throws her things onto a nearby chair and motions for Sanji to make himself comfortable.]

...I suspect this won't be a pleasant conversation, so I'll hold off on tea for now.

[He only throws a brief stare around the room before pointedly staying on his feet despite the silent offer, and turns to her, expression somber. He harbors no illusions about staying for tea; after he says what he needs to, Sanji doubts Perona will be up for pleasantries, either.

He holds off long enough for the woman to get situated, whether that be sitting or standing. By now he has the first part of his speech ready - he rehearsed the lines over and over on their way here - so it might sound oddly stable, considering that he has to prep himself in order to look her in the face.

His nervousness doesn't surprise him; so far, he's never had to admit the truth out loud. She'll be the first - and if he's lucky, the last. Heh, the stupid shithead never was all that good at making friends.

The sudden clench in his throat goes ignored. He starts]

There was a draft while you were out, Perona-chan. [A pause, to let her digest that statement.] Me and... well, a lot of my crew ended up going. [Another pause. His stance tightens] Zoro was one of them.

On the draft, some shitty virus got out - turned the infected into mindless-- [This pause is for himself, to swallow and blink and tilt his head back until he's certain his eyes will stay dry. Fuck you, Zoro, for turning him into this.]

No one could find a cure. [Excuses.] No one could heal it, either. [Excuses]

Zoro was-- [I couldn't save him] The idiot knew he was too dangerous like that, so he decided he'd... He wanted us to take care of him.

[One last pause. And in the end, Sanji can't look at her, after all.]

He's gone.

Edited 2012-11-11 18:47 (UTC)

[Perona does not sit, just keeps her eyes on Sanji until he begins speaking. She may be watching him a little too closely, but it's just in her nature - she was good and unnerving and intimidating people, and watching for signs of change in body language, facial expressions, and posture was good to know to rope victory. It's why she cues into to almost every detail of what Sanji's body is doing, and her own body, unconsciously, begins to tense as well. He's nervous, he's scared, he doesn't want to say this. It's so obvious that Perona can't help but hold her breath until he's done talking.

Though, it's about half way through that she stops listening. At least mentally. There's a loud, dull throb in her ears and her lips, previously tightened into a thin line, slack and open slightly to allow for shallow gulps of much needed air.

He's gone.

He's gone.

That's--no. No, she won't accept it. She won't believe it. That idiot's too stupid to die. Too stubborn. He wouldn't... No. Sanji's lying. This is just some kind of prank. Y-Yes, a late Halloween prank, right? It's a terrible one, though. She's not laughing; it's not funny...it's not funny at all. Zoro's not...]

You're lying. [Stubborn. Desperate. Who are you even fooling?] He is not...

[Ah, denial. He should've anticipated as much. Sanji recognizes the statement for what it is - a desperate plea to stave off the truth, and who is he to deny her that for a little longer - but even still it ignites in his chest, having the one truth he's been suffering with so pointedly denied, and his lips curl just barely around his tightly wound words]

... It's the truth. [You wanna know why, Perona? You wanna know how Sanji's so fuckin sure that he's willing to stare you down with the same blank expression that looks like it might crumble at any second?]

I did it.

[There. He'll even give you a target for your rage]

Wh--

[That actually is enough to make Perona stagger somewhat. She can't get out the rest of the word before her throat forcibly tightens, choking out the remaining sound and making it hard to even breathe. He did it? Sanji? He did it?! Half of Perona want to, again, deny that possibility - he wouldn't, couldn't, it'd never happen - but the other half, the stronger of the two, embraces this information and sears Perona's body with a fiery hot anger. He did it. He did it. It's his fault!

The distance between Perona and Sanji is closed in the blink of an eyes, her body moving on instinct alone - the same anger and sadness and grief taking over for just one second, one moment to strike out. She slaps Sanji across the face with as much force as she can muster up, but feels nothing. No satisfaction, no triumph...nothing. You'd think she'd be used to feeling completely and utterly hollow. But the hollowness doesn't last long, and deriving no pleasure from her "attack" leaves her empty, filled suddenly with the truth, the horrible, sad, writhing truth.

Zoro's dead. And Sanji killed him.

The same hand that struck out against the chef goes to her mouth to cover the sob that escaped her lips, and her legs wobble too much to hold her up any longer. Perona crumbles to the floor, curling up on herself to just give in the torrent of sadness as well as her tears. Idiot...that idiot...why'd he have to--?!]

[He expected as much; it's why he is careful not to dodge the slap, though he barely feels the sting. And he can do little besides slowly cock his head back into place and watch numbly as she slips to the floor.

... He'd hug her, but he's fairly sure she doesn't want to be around him anymore.

Even still he doesn't leave; there's more ill-tidings to bring, he realizes, because that's exactly what the girl needs right now - more bad news.]

Perona-chan... [He isn't just dead - he's gone. Gone home, in fact, to a place where maybe he didn't die at all. And there's some consolation to be found in that, right?

Killed straight out of Luceti.

The chef's face contorts, not that it matters - Perona won't see it - but he turns away quickly to grant himself a brief moment of privacy. His voice comes out a rough whisper as he walks away]

I'm sorry.

[Sanji's apology does not go unheard, though Perona really wishes she didn't hear it. It just makes everything feel so much worse - reaffirming the truth. She doesn't want to forgive him, she wants to hate Sanji and hit him again and wish and hope that this time it'd actually make her feel better, even a little bit. But she knows better - he's just as hurt by this as she is, maybe more. Something happened to Zoro that ending his life was the only option...that idiot. That idiot.

Her teeth grind together angrily and she shakes her head furiously after Sanji talks. She doesn't want to hear it. Not right now. She doesn't want to hear an apology. An apology will fix nothing, and it sure as hell won't make her feel better, either. She just cries right into her hands and curses as well as she can through her tears. She's angry, hurt, and sad at the same time.

Stupid...stupid people. They're all no good. No good at all. Getting caught up with them was a mistake...she should have just left the idiot swordsman to bleed to death. Stupid, stupid--damnit.]

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