Week 5 | Wednesday

[concasse]

[But what if your pet is the one who grabs your precious item first and is playing keep away because she thinks it's a game?

That's how Natsuo is going to find Sanji -- literally chasing after a baby tiger who has got a pink apron of all things in her mouth, gleefully zooming about the foyer while the chef yells after]

O-oi, Nami-chan! Don't chew that! It's my favorite one!

Comments

[randori]

[ Cute. Natsuo laughs in delight, like they're playing with a dog and not a man eating tiger. He steps in front of the tiger, arms outstretched like a soccer goalie blocking the way. ]

I gotcha—! You won't pass here!

[concasse]

[She's young enough that Natsuo leaping in the way completely foils her plans, and man eating tiger or not, she sorta... hops back because NATSUO IS BIGGER, how dare he.

Sanji is scooping her up by her middle after that, huffing and looking only vaguely irritated]

She likes pink as much as the real Nami-san...

[SIGH]

Thanks Natsuo.

[randori]

[ He looks similarly disappointed, only because he was ready to play, but he perks up again when Sanji repeats the name. ]

You named the tiger after one of your friends too? What's she like?

[concasse]

[Natsuo, this is a baby predator with CLAWS. Sanji is not letting the two of you interact like heathens all over the foyer.

-- But then Sanji's being encouraged to talk about his FAVORITE LADY IN THE WORLD and hopefully Natsuo is ready for this--]

Aaaaah, the beautiful and smart and dashing Nami-swan~! Owner of my heart~! One of the smartest ladies I've ever met, I tell you! She's the only reason the crew isn't dead in the water! It's her navigation smarts that keeps us alive~!

[... Meanwhile baby tiger Nami does not approve of all of this spinning? Dad? Stop it?? Mewling in agitation, she drops the apron and SPRINGS TO FREEDOM, Hey Natsuo, gonna bat at your feet]

[randori]

[ Those are CLAWS she's batting with, and Natsuo jumps out of the way, lands on the apron and slips, colliding into Sanji's side and interrupting his loving tirade. ]

[concasse]

[Sanji was still in the middle of singing praises? Jeez, Natsuo.

Well, gonna pick up his apron after a huff of disapproval, tone starting to turn chiding]

Be careful, she's only playing but she'll rip your skin with those claws of hers if you're not careful.

[It takes a beat to realize that... uh. All three of them are stuck in a bubble. Though Sanji will be the first to admit this doesn't feel as weird as it could be]

Really, again?

[randori]

[ In contrast, Natsuo is freaked as all hell, jumping back and turning around like he's expecting fully grown tigers to be prowling all around him. ]

Crap- crap- Sanji, we have to get out of here.

[ The scant memory bubbles he's been in were Not Good. ]

[concasse]

[Too late, Natsuo. The bubble remains, it must feast.

-- Or just show them a memory, he should know how it works! The scene whisks them off, showing them what looks like to be a picturesque view of a small island, only large enough for a man and his house to sit upon. The sun is hiding behind the cloud line, the water is lapping gently around, the--

The world is suddenly shaking???

It's from Sanji's perspective on his pirate ship so of course there's a lot of yelling going on, but the man suddenly jumps off during the tremors, into the "water", yelling about "Laboon!" and soon after the tremors stop.]

Oi, what's going on?!

[So clamors a boy in a straw hat with an excited grin, where is his answer? What is going on!!]

Luffy, would your shitty ass be patient already!

[randori]

[ The last memory he had to sit through had a bunch of children's corpses in it, he doesn't trust these memory bubbles!!!

Sanji's, at least, was nice for the half a second that he got to see the clear open sky, before there's a earth/water quake and Natsuo almost drops to the floor.

Laboon is—- ]

What's going on??!

[ Natsuo's voice overlaps with Luffy's, but there's panic instead of excitement, him scrambling to the side of the ship so he can see what happened. ]

[concasse]

... Relax, Natsuo, you'll see.

[Sanji, for his part, isn't fussed or concerned with the scene in front of them, merely folding his arms as his head tilts with something that resembles nostalgia.

The funny-looking old man eventually returns, and after a gruff encounter with the Straw Hats, leads them out of this "island paradise" through a doorway that takes them... outside?

Yes, outside. Even stranger is the door is connected to a massive whale with scars criss-crossed over the front of its body.

It's then that the doctor tells the full story: that this whale has been waiting fifty years for his friends to come back, and in desperation, is smashing his head into a mountain, thinking they might be on the other side.

"If he continues like this, he'll probably die."]

[randori]

[ There's that saying about moving mountains for one's friends, but he'd never seen anybody so serious about that, to the point of accruing so many injuries, that they might die from them.

He turns to Sanji, gripping his arm tight. ]

—Brook! Which one's Brook!? To tell him his friend's here so he can stop!!

[concasse]

Brook's not here -- but wait! A little more's gonna play out.

[And Sanji is right. It seems the boy with the straw hat is not having this explanation anymore than Natsuo, face grim as he steps over to the whale.

And uh... punches him in the face.

Classy.

The whale, at least, gives as good as he got, bellowing in pain before he straight-up slams the boy into the mountain. You'd think a person would be killed after that, but no, Luffy just peels himself off, barely scratched up, winds up for a punch--

And suddenly stops. Battle's over, he declares! It was a tie. So that means Laboon can't go dying on the Straw Hats until they get their rematch. They'll be traveling soon, but Luffy's gonna be the Pirate King. He won't fail to come back; all Laboon has to do is wait a few more years.

To seal the deal in "ink", Luffy gathers up a paintbrush and paint, marking Laboon with the Straw Hat Jolly Roger on his head. If he keeps hitting that mountain, the mark will rub off, and the Straw Hats will know Laboon didn't keep his promise.

So he has to live.

The scene ends with another bellow from the whale, not in anger, perhaps in understanding. As the Straw Hats finally sail off, they all wave to Laboon as he and the old man see them off.]