Week 5 | Friday, post investigation

[concasse]

[The lounge is likely gonna see a lot of traffic tonight.

Which is why it's probably odd that Sanji chooses to spend any amount of time in here. It's not like he wants to be around people; him fleeing the foyer made that very clear. Luckily for him, there's a pocket of time in which it's only him around, ordering drinks and slowly gathering a collection of empty glasses that make his slightly reddened face and bloodshot eyes very, very explainable.

No one said grief was pretty.]

Comments

[axilium]

[...

well, unless sanji wants to say something first, belph will just glance at him before heading over to get a drink, silent.]

[concasse]

[There's a moment where he stiffens upon seeing someone out of his peripheral, but the moment he realizes it's Belph...

He just sags back into place, staring at a half-filled glass]

Want me to leave?

[axilium]

[he pours a glass before immediately taking down a gulp.]

Don't worry, just pretend I'm not here.

[concasse]

Too late, already broke the illusion.

[Laughing. It sounds... disjointed]

[axilium]

[...

honestly, he shouldn't even bring it up, but—]

You and Jae-ha were pretty close, huh?

[concasse]

[He shouldn't.

... But it's out there now. Sanji stops laughing and returns to his drink]

He was a friend, yeah.

[...]

You?

[axilium]

... Yeah. He was an idiot, but a good guy.

[he thinks of the letter in his pocket.]

[concasse]

... Yeah.

He didn't deserve what happened to him.

[axilium]

He didn't.

[he grips his glass. they just dumped his leg in the maze. what the hell?]

And his partner too? Doesn't seem like a coincidence. [...] Was Sousei the Historian you knew?

[concasse]

... He was a Historian?

[That is fuckin news to Sanji]

[axilium]

... That's a no, then. Yeah, he was one.

[concasse]

[... Holding his head. Sanji looks

incredibly pissed off

for a hot second]

Of course he was.

[anyway--]

No, he's not the one I've been in contact with. We didn't know each other that well.

[axilium]

[... okay, he wasn't expecting that reaction, but sure.]

Well, apparently, you had something to do with him.

[concasse]

Oh?

Are you accusing me of something?

[his tone is flippant.]

[axilium]

That, or you just drank something you shouldn't have.

[concasse]

[... Snorting.

Well.

Belph already knows his role.

And Sanji just does not care what comes of this. At all.]

If it's any consolation, I almost died.

[axilium]

... Wha?

[that was not what he was expecting.]

[concasse]

Don't act so surprised.

You know I'm an Editor.

[Sounding just the right mixture of "tired" and "mmm wow I long for death"]

If you didn't know what that entailed, you do now.

Tiger-sama and Dragon-sama keep me around to increase our chances of a favorable outcome for the war. We need ink for that, as far as I'm aware.

[axilium]

Most people don't suddenly throw out declarations of near-death.

[...]

So, were you given a job this week as well?

[concasse]

I was.

[axilium]

... How many?

[concasse]

Two.

[axilium]

[.. and there they have it.

belph presses a hand against his face, quiet for a moment—what the hell does he even say to that?

...

finally,]

That's seriously messed up.

[concasse]

[...]

I should die, I already know that.

[Also covering his face with his hand. There are tears in his voice]

But I... I have to keep going, until I know for certain we can bring everyone back with the amount of ink we've got.

Then then I pay for everything I've done.

[axilium]

[... he doesn't know how to respond to sanji's grief. a part of him, though, might be able to understand.

promise me you'll do that.]

That's what they'd want.

[...]

For Dragon's ending, we need at least seven objectives from each faction completed. On the other hand, Beauty and Beast are warning us not to trust Dragon either, especially regarding the "three survivors" bit—but the one thing they agree is that we need enough ink to bring back the dead.

[concasse]

[He's frankly going to need a minute to piece himself back together.

It's been a very bad week for him.]

... You've been keeping in contact with them?

[Wiping his face. His eyes are blood shot and his face is wet, but. Whatever. He is beyond the point of caring.]

Do they know anything besides we shouldn't be trusting Tiger-sama or Dragon-sama too much?

[axilium]

Sort of. Only two letters, plus some others' that I've read.

[...]

The issue is that their letters aren't entirely readable, thanks to all the ink splotches—and it's worth keeping in mind that they're mostly going off knowledge of their own game and what they see of ours.

With that said, I know that one Historian received a similar letter to mine, and they're having someone else present said letter tomorrow on their behalf. We're going to have discuss it as a group.

[concasse]

... I didn't mention it before, since I didn't know if it'd be anything to note, but.

Beast and Beauty were the Editors of their game.

[A shrug. He offers it not really out of trust, but hey! If he fuckin dies, he wants Belph to know what he knows.

Maybe that's why he told the other all of this so freely.]

Anyway, is that whole "don't trust the Crafters" thing what's in your letter?

[axilium]

Yeah, the Historian's letter mentions that. So... tomorrow, everyone will know that, I guess.

[...

he fishes a letter out of his pocket, before walking over to hand it to sanji.]

Might as well read it yourself. Ah—this is mine. Not the Historian's. I asked about a memory that Historians recalled, Dragon's ending, and why they killed Tiger back then.

[concasse]

... So they succeeding in killing Tiger.

[Interesting.]

Dragon-sama made it sound like they had failed.

[axilium]

Seems like it. Not sure what this is all supposed to mean yet, though.

[concasse]

Same.

[Leaning back in his seat.]

... I'll see what I can do and dig a little. Dragon-sama and Tiger-sama both... [Squinting to himself]

Maybe not trust me, but they're more likely to answer my questions.

[Closing his eyes briefly]

... I'll be honest with you. If I had my way, I'd just die already and get that shit over with. I don't have a home to go back to. And I'm not planning on letting myself off the hook later.

I'm only hanging on now so I can get everyone their happy ending.

So I'd appreciate if you wait a bit before selling me out, if that's alright.

[Rest assured, Sanji will make sure he pays for everything. But please. Until then, he needs to live.]

[axilium]

... Yeah, don't worry. Everything else aside, it's more beneficial to me to have you around, anyway.

[which sounds callous, but, well. "everything else aside." sanji had to kill—and someone who was his friend. it's hard not to feel sympathy.

but it's easier to talk about it from a purely business point of view.]

[concasse]

[... Hehe.

Nah, it's fine. Sanji is done with emotions for today.

Belph being callous is a breath of fresh air right now.]

Alright.

Lemme know if there are any questions in particular you need answered, and I'll try and get them from our hosts.

[axilium]

... Keep focusing on the possible endings, I guess.

I cashed in my reward for finding you and asked about other endings, outside of what Tiger and Dragon want—they're basically on the level of bad and more bad, based on having insufficient ink. Though we've apparently gathered enough to bypass the worst-case scenario, at least...

[concasse]

... So we have to keep gunning for Tiger-sama or Dragon-sama's ending.

[axilium]

Or find one they don't know about or aren't telling us.

But as for the options we have now, yeah. The others were "bring back the dead, but we're all stuck here" and "everyone loses".

[concasse]

[... Yeah no. his expression hardens at those options]

Beauty and Beast'll hopefully be able to help with that. Or maybe there's some shit for our comrades to find on the Other Side.

[Either way, trusting Tiger and Dragon is... dangerous.]

[axilium]

... Hopefully. [one benefit to having dead friends, apparently??] I'm not keen on either Tiger or Dragon's endings, so I'll keep looking for another one.

[concasse]

... Good luck.

[...]

Try and keep off their bad sides, alright? From what I can tell, they don't like anyone who will disrupt the war too much, one way or another.

[Do not put Sanji in a position where he has to hunt you down, Belph.]

[axilium]

[that's reassuring.]

... I've been playing nice, and I'm pretty decent at my role. Dragon said it'd be a shame to lose me, so with any luck, I'm safe for a while.

[...]

Is that why they had Sousei killed? He was pretty open to me about how he had no intention of playing along with their game.

[concasse]

... Each time I'm told who to take out, I try to work out the specifics of why they're being targeted. Maybe... change their minds, if necessary.

[It doesn't work. Clearly. But--]

Sousei was uncooperative, yeah. I knew it was only a matter of time given how he seemed to be, and Dragon-sama hinted he'd been given the role of Historian so he'd have something to focus on.

... As for Jae-Ha, my assumption is they thought he'd be unruly without his partner.

[axilium]

[...]

I have one question. Just to preface: it's nothing personal for me, so don't worry about that.

Was Monika also yours?

[concasse]

[...]

Dragon-sama didn't like how unstable she was -- was sure she'd snap down the line, so wanted her taken out before she broke further. We had a real argument over that. I thought she was gonna strike me down for the backtalk.

[...]

But no, it wasn't me.

[axilium]

Your Editor partner, then? I know there are two of you.

... Anyway, this is just a heads-up that Akechi's trying to hunt you guys down—probably to take revenge for her. So, be careful around him.

[concasse]

Tch. Figured. That's why I didn't see a point in lying.

[And just. Snorting at the mention of Akechi.]

Noted. Lucky for him, Eichi's someone I want to survive as long as possible, so he gets a free pass.

[axilium]

I feel like at this point, Akechi should remember to thank Eichi every week for contributing to his continued survival.

[concasse]

[Okay, actually laughing into his glass of alcohol]

Damn right.

[Shakes head]

... Well, in any case. I need to track down my partner and see if he's still alive.

[He says it like a joke, but the threat of it is real. They didn't find that third body, after all.]

We'll keep in touch, I guess.