[if nothing else, speaking in hypotheticals gets easier on Sanji's end, even if the topic cuts at him like a jagged blade. He listens, considers the sword's position, and eventually comes out the other side with a nod of understanding]
No, you're right.
[A honest admission]
The goal is to keep Heart's team from going under. We can't control the execution ring outside of betting on who gets stuck there. If I used my shitty ability to try and incriminate one of us, that'll improve our chances... but we can't decide who would meet us.
[And there are other complications, though Sanji keeps them to himself for now. Most of the people in the camp are men, but should Sanji get stuck fighting a woman...
Ha. The last principle he never had to challenge in Grimm. And he doesn't know if he can bring himself to throw it away here.]
Like I said, I'm gonna search around tomorrow, see how many more people I can convince to tell me their teams. The more I know, the more I can hedge our bets in a way that won't completely screw us over.
[...]
Hey, I'm-- [Looking quietly at the ground, past the apple still in his hand]
Thanks. For hearing me out. [Sanji would not have blamed Yams for killing him on the spot]
...At the castle, I asked if Okita-kun could execute me. [Partially because Okita needed it for his objective, but mostly because it was Yasusada's last, selfish desire.] Tora-kun and Ryuu-kun allowed it, so maybe we can ask if something like that can happen here.
[It would be easier and harder all at once, if they could pull the strings and face each other--but that would be a guaranteed outcome. Otherwise, Yasusada can think of a few people he'd prefer to face, but he doesn't know any of their teams. He has work cut out for himself, too.
He--looks surprised, then, before it softens--it's a little too tired to be a smile, after everything that happened today, but the feeling is there all the same.]
Of course. I trust you. [Sanji cemented his position in Yasusada's regard the moment he did exactly what Yasusada thought he would, just like Okita. Things would likely be a little more complicated, if any of the swords (or humans) from the Shinsengumi were around, but they aren't. It's fortunate, for everyone involved.]
...Sanji-kun? Who... [He hesitates, but only for a moment. He's not one to hold back his words.] Who would you choose to save, if your team wins?
[... It's true. Facing each other would be... ideal, for both of them. It's why the man nods in quiet agreement, no matter how his jaw tightens before he squashes down that reaction. He's asked Yasusada to trust him in this; the least he can do is see through his own hypothetical suggestion to the bitter end.
God, that question though. His breath freezes in his chest before he huffs out a hollow laugh, glancing to the side.]
Hikage was apart of Heart's team. So he'd come back and save Belph and Steph-chan, guaranteed. [A small mercy. Sanji is spared from having to consider those two in his line-up]
Jae-Ha and Ion... [He shakes his head.] That asshole would never forgive me, and Ion would just be disappointed.
[So they're out, out of respect for the choices they'd demand he make on their behalf]
I don't want to see Eichi gone, so I'd at least take him with me. [Eichi... but not Akechi. A move that would earn the boy's hatred, Sanji thinks, but he's young and has a future ahead of him. He'll find love again.]
... Zelos, I-- [he stops, and then gives a shrug, deciding to quickly move on] Yeah, guess I'd pick him, too.
[...]
That leaves you and Souji. [He'll meet Yasusada's eyes for this. The other asked for the truth, so Sanji will... give it to him.]
I think he'd be pissed at me, if I picked him. [...] Don't know if that's sway me, though.
[...]
You know him better than I do, Yasusada. Do you think I should? Or should I pick you?
[Eichi... Yasusada can't stop himself from making a little face, at the sound of that name. But it's Sanji's choice--he's the one who asked.
When it comes down to him and Souji, though... well, first of all, there's a question in there with an easy answer, and Yasusada shakes his head. Of course. But for once, it's not just his devotion and his fear that's guiding this. There's logic here that he's been clinging to since Wei Wuxian told him Kane-san was on the island.]
We die, if our blades break. That's how it's always been, back home. [A little sword lore, if Sanji didn't know already.] Master--that is, the saniwa--has found the spirits of broken swords before. That's how they brought Kiyomitsu back, even though he died at Ikedaya.
[Okita, and Kashuu--Yasusada lost them both, in such a short span of time. Is it any wonder that he's so desperate to choose his own path, this time?]
I think... I have to hope that they can do that for us, too. So we'll be okay. [Yasusada would feel a lot worse about not fretting over the other swords, if he wasn't so determined to have faith in the saniwa.
Even if they can't, though... no, best not to think about that. Kashuu waited for him for so long, and now he's waiting again, even if he doesn't know it. Yasusada knows how it feels, to wait for someone who'll never come home, and he can't bear to think about making his partner experience that.
So instead, he smiles, just a little.]
Okita-kun would always suggest someone else, instead of him. He'd tell you to save Fukuchou. [Predictably.] If not Fukuchou, then Evan-kun. If not Evan-kun, then Cardia-kun... [He waves his hand. And so on, and so forth.] But--Okita-kun is so important. The world needs him so much. And he... his death, back home, it wasn't what he wanted at all. I can't save him like that, in my world, because it would change history, and it could destroy everything. But... I can't accept the thought of him being lost like this, either.
[Yasusada would say to save him, no matter what. He's doing his best to be logical about it, but when it comes down to it--his greatest strength is his passion, and his love. So he trails off, looking up at Sanji through his bangs. His eyes are sad, but imploring; he wants to be sure he's being understood.]
Even if it's wrong, he deserves the chance to live how he wants.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
No, you're right.
[A honest admission]
The goal is to keep Heart's team from going under. We can't control the execution ring outside of betting on who gets stuck there. If I used my shitty ability to try and incriminate one of us, that'll improve our chances... but we can't decide who would meet us.
[And there are other complications, though Sanji keeps them to himself for now. Most of the people in the camp are men, but should Sanji get stuck fighting a woman...
Ha. The last principle he never had to challenge in Grimm. And he doesn't know if he can bring himself to throw it away here.]
Like I said, I'm gonna search around tomorrow, see how many more people I can convince to tell me their teams. The more I know, the more I can hedge our bets in a way that won't completely screw us over.
[...]
Hey, I'm-- [Looking quietly at the ground, past the apple still in his hand]
Thanks. For hearing me out. [Sanji would not have blamed Yams for killing him on the spot]
no subject
[It would be easier and harder all at once, if they could pull the strings and face each other--but that would be a guaranteed outcome. Otherwise, Yasusada can think of a few people he'd prefer to face, but he doesn't know any of their teams. He has work cut out for himself, too.
He--looks surprised, then, before it softens--it's a little too tired to be a smile, after everything that happened today, but the feeling is there all the same.]
Of course. I trust you. [Sanji cemented his position in Yasusada's regard the moment he did exactly what Yasusada thought he would, just like Okita. Things would likely be a little more complicated, if any of the swords (or humans) from the Shinsengumi were around, but they aren't. It's fortunate, for everyone involved.]
...Sanji-kun? Who... [He hesitates, but only for a moment. He's not one to hold back his words.] Who would you choose to save, if your team wins?
no subject
God, that question though. His breath freezes in his chest before he huffs out a hollow laugh, glancing to the side.]
Hikage was apart of Heart's team. So he'd come back and save Belph and Steph-chan, guaranteed. [A small mercy. Sanji is spared from having to consider those two in his line-up]
Jae-Ha and Ion... [He shakes his head.] That asshole would never forgive me, and Ion would just be disappointed.
[So they're out, out of respect for the choices they'd demand he make on their behalf]
I don't want to see Eichi gone, so I'd at least take him with me. [Eichi... but not Akechi. A move that would earn the boy's hatred, Sanji thinks, but he's young and has a future ahead of him. He'll find love again.]
... Zelos, I-- [he stops, and then gives a shrug, deciding to quickly move on] Yeah, guess I'd pick him, too.
[...]
That leaves you and Souji. [He'll meet Yasusada's eyes for this. The other asked for the truth, so Sanji will... give it to him.]
I think he'd be pissed at me, if I picked him. [...] Don't know if that's sway me, though.
[...]
You know him better than I do, Yasusada. Do you think I should? Or should I pick you?
no subject
When it comes down to him and Souji, though... well, first of all, there's a question in there with an easy answer, and Yasusada shakes his head. Of course. But for once, it's not just his devotion and his fear that's guiding this. There's logic here that he's been clinging to since Wei Wuxian told him Kane-san was on the island.]
We die, if our blades break. That's how it's always been, back home. [A little sword lore, if Sanji didn't know already.] Master--that is, the saniwa--has found the spirits of broken swords before. That's how they brought Kiyomitsu back, even though he died at Ikedaya.
[Okita, and Kashuu--Yasusada lost them both, in such a short span of time. Is it any wonder that he's so desperate to choose his own path, this time?]
I think... I have to hope that they can do that for us, too. So we'll be okay. [Yasusada would feel a lot worse about not fretting over the other swords, if he wasn't so determined to have faith in the saniwa.
Even if they can't, though... no, best not to think about that. Kashuu waited for him for so long, and now he's waiting again, even if he doesn't know it. Yasusada knows how it feels, to wait for someone who'll never come home, and he can't bear to think about making his partner experience that.
So instead, he smiles, just a little.]
Okita-kun would always suggest someone else, instead of him. He'd tell you to save Fukuchou. [Predictably.] If not Fukuchou, then Evan-kun. If not Evan-kun, then Cardia-kun... [He waves his hand. And so on, and so forth.] But--Okita-kun is so important. The world needs him so much. And he... his death, back home, it wasn't what he wanted at all. I can't save him like that, in my world, because it would change history, and it could destroy everything. But... I can't accept the thought of him being lost like this, either.
[Yasusada would say to save him, no matter what. He's doing his best to be logical about it, but when it comes down to it--his greatest strength is his passion, and his love. So he trails off, looking up at Sanji through his bangs. His eyes are sad, but imploring; he wants to be sure he's being understood.]
Even if it's wrong, he deserves the chance to live how he wants.