Week 6 | Friday, post-Investigation

[concasse]

[Souji will have to forgive Sanji for not seeking him out for once. If it were any other Friday, he'd find the ill swordsman and bother him with soup and rest, insisting he look after his health.

This Friday?

Ion is dead.

Natsuo is dead.

So Sanji holes himself up in the kitchen, refusing to cook anything -- it's just him and a glass of hard liquor as he stares at the walls, body tense like it might catch fire at any second]

Comments

[sanguinairy]

[Souji is doing as he does and Not Resting anyway so THIS IS FINE. He's got a few people to wheezily track down, and Sanji is definitely among them. At least he's easy to find...

Though he'll also knock against the doorframe to alert Sanji of his presence first, rather than ghosting in like he sometimes tends to do.]

...Do you mind company?

[concasse]

... No, I don't mind.

[Said after some seconds of deliberation, Sanji being careful to not speak a lie right now. It's been a long time since he's felt like... this, and his crew isn't even here to act as a balm.

Still, this is Souji, so Sanji tries to chill out. He'll nod to a seat the other man can take.]

[sanguinairy]

[And into the seat Souji slides! He's quiet for a few seconds after that, as if deliberating between the words he wants to say. There's no real point in asking if Sanji is alright when he so clearly isn't, but beyond that, what else is there?]

...Is there anything I can do?

[concasse]

[... Sanji just shakes his head after another beat of silence, holding the glass of liquor between his hands]

You don't need to do anything, Souji.

[...]

I'm pretty sure Ion knew he was going to die.

[sanguinairy]

[His brow furrows a little, quiet for a second. As soon as Sanji says it, he thinks back to the previous night - how Ion had delivered him a flower crown and said with such solemnity that he was happy for the kindness he'd received.]

...What makes you say that?

[concasse]

... Out of nowhere, he wanted cooking lessons, to give me a concert that he'd promised weeks ago...

Yesterday, he gave me a hug for no reason.

[...]

The signs were there. I just didn't think.

[sanguinairy]

[His mouth opens, closes, opens again. He looks briefly distressed, head immediately dipping.]

...I should have paid more mind to what I noticed, too.

[The softness in Ion's voice and expression when he spoke his thanks. How he had talked about making flower crowns later.]

But why--?

[concasse]

... Ion told me something a couple of weeks ago.

That he made a deal with the Crafters. If the Blotters couldn't figure out who to kill, they'd offer up his name as a solution.

His only stipulation was that he be told he was going to die.

[The hand around the glass tightens]

Maybe that's what happened.

[sanguinairy]

[oh my god ION!!!!!

That is so quintessentially Ion though that he can't even bring himself to feel shocked about it. Just tired and sad. He sighs through his nose, placing a hand momentarily over his mouth in a mildly distressed gesture.]

...It seems likely. If he already knew he was going to die and made that deal so long ago...

[Well. He would probably be unable to back out of it so late.]

[concasse]

[If Sanji could hear those thoughts, he'd be nodding along. Heck, even though he can't hear them--]

He asked me -- hypothetically, of course, probably covering his tracks -- if I could forgive anyone who killed him.

[Souji can likely guess the answer.]

Selfish as it is, I just.

Not yet.

[sanguinairy]

[How did none of them see this coming even though Ion had been so Ion about the entire ordeal... The real questions.

But Souji's brow furrows a little at that, and he shakes his head.]

I don't think it's selfish. I think it shows how much you value Ion. Even if he'd like for you to forgive the person who killed him, it's still asking something very difficult of you.

[He doesn't fault Sanji for it, at least. As far as he's concerned, it's up to the individual to decide whether or not to offer forgiveness.]

[concasse]

[Souji's not wrong.

... It's why he turns to the other, eyes tired, but looking at Souji for a personal answer]

Would you forgive the person who killed Hijikata?

[sanguinairy]

[He's quiet for a second, peering at Sanji with a careful sort of expression. Then, thoughtful but with certainty:]

I would. ...I believe that he was an Editor's target. I've taken lives under my commander's orders before, so I understand.

[That's just war. Moreover, the idea that it wasn't personal makes it easier to swallow, even to a small degree.]

If circumstances were different, I don't know if I could, and it would be a lie to say forgiveness was an easy decision. But it's still mine - not something that was asked of me.

[concasse]

... Hn.

[He turns away, eyes back to his glass... pondering that answer. Maybe it's not the one he expected, after just admitting that meeting Ion's killer would likely send him into a rage.]

... I promised Yasusada I'd look after you, once he was gone, but to be honest, I think you've been looking out for us more than vice versa.

[sanguinairy]

[It's a statement that earns a small, tired smile.]

I think you've all been looking out for me quite well, actually. Thank you for earlier, by the way.

[Carrying his stupid ass out of the library...]

...But if I can look after you all, too, it would make me happy.

[concasse]

[... Heh.

Hehe.]

You've probably noticed by now I suck at letting anyone do that.

[Sanji, who runs around the castle nagging people to take care of themselves before he kicks their asses, but winds up retreating if someone pulls the same moves on him.

What can he say? He never tried to be subtle about it.]

... But I'll make an exception for you.

[sanguinairy]

[Maybe a little bit of that exhaustion eases its way out of his expression after that, and he seems satisfied enough with the response given. He can't ask for much more than this in the end, right? But somehow, even this is enough.]

I'm honored.

[There's the faintest light and teasing lilt to his tone, but he does sound genuine.]

You can be certain that I will, you know - look after you where I'm able to do so.