concasse | 006↠ ACTION

[It's sunny. And hot. And perhaps not the best weather to take a nap in while you're unabashedly unconscious.

... Which is too bad, seeing as Sanji's passed out under a tree located at the village's edge - clothes dirty and ruffled, no doubt collecting more dirt as he rolls in his uncomfortable slumber, the crook of his arm covering his eyes.

Go on. Wake him up. Be a good Samaritan.

And hell, even if you don't, Sanji will eventually stumble upon you -- or into you, if that's your thing. Later in the day he'll be all over the village insisting he's fine, no he's not drunk so stop trying to escort him back to bed. B| He can walk it off.]

[ooc: MALLYNAP EFFECT. Touch him and your character will share a memory with Sanji. It can be a memory of his or a memory of your character's; just specify in the subject line what you prefer. |D Any memory is free game, and the scope of it is at our discretion, but keep in mind both characters will view it until the memory ends or they escape the "boundary". (Just imagine the memory as a bubble and if a character walks far enough for whatever reason, they pop it.) Also note they're still in Luceti - no teleporting anywhere. Just assume the characters are mostly slack-jawed and staring at a tree for the duration.

I also endorse all time-breaking. Tis but a flimsy wall in our way.]

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["Ion..."

Standing a little ways away is a girl with her hair up in pigtails. Sanji has probably seen Ion with her around Seventh Heaven on multiple occassions... though in this particular instance, her arms are shaking and she seems fit to burst into tears. Ion looks over at her.

"You don't have to... watch over me... anymore... Anise..."

"I'm so sorry Ion! I... I...!"

But Ion only smiles -- smiles -- and reaches out towards her, as if trying to call her over. But she doesn't move.

"Thank you... for everything... my most... cherished..."

His hands falls to the ground.

And the scene begins to fade to black.

"...Ion!!"

And just like that, it was over, and they were once more standing there in the village. But even though it's gone, Ion is still staring in the spot where Anise had stood, calling out his name even knowing he couldn't hear her. At that time, his own mind had felt so heavy, and he knew his final moment had been drawing closer and closer to an end. Anise's voice in that instant... he'd very nearly forgotten it, but he had heard it.

And now, he wishes he hadn't.]

... Ion.

[He musters up the nerve to say his name after a very heavy silence filled with anxious thoughts and numbed expressions, though whatever he's thinking doesn't make it to the air. Everything catches in his throat. What do you say, when a person's forced to watch their own death? And knowing you were inadvertently the cause?

Damn it, Malnosso.

Sanji bows his head first, hair covering both eyes as he grasps for anything to say. It's when he comes up blank that he finally chances another look, looking remorseful for all his passive staring.]

[There was a moment there where Ion almost thought he'd somehow been hallucinating. Certainly that was the only explanation for what just happened right? Perhaps all of this was just some strange nightmare, or a stress-induced daydream.]

[It's only when he hears Sanji's voice that he realizes that couldn't be so. It had been so vivid, so real, and so unlike any previous hallucination he'd experienced (albeit at the hands of the Malnosso). But Sanji's tone is enough for him to realize the truth.]

[He still can't bring himself to look away from that spot.]

...you saw it, didn't you?

[Sanji recognizes that question for what it is: a formality. And there's no point in denying it, is there? He's sure Ion wouldn't believe him.]

I did.

...I'm sorry.

[He says it before even thinking about why he's saying it. But why shouldn't he apologize? He doesn't know how Sanji saw what just happened, but he still had to see it regardless. And if Sanji's countenance was any indication, it hadn't been pleasant for either of them.]

[When he finally manages to pull his gaze away, he looks pointedly at the ground.]

But... how did that happen?

You're-- [Just. Flabbergasted. Ion was just subjected to the equivalent of a memory probe and he's apologizing.

Sanji can't let that go.] Anyone who touches me... we end up sharing a memory, I think. [And then his eyes narrow] Look kid, if anyone should be sorry, it's me. I didn't have a shitty right to see that.

[Ion doesn't respond to that. Whether Sanji had any right to see it or not didn't matter. He still saw it -- had to see it -- and regardless of who was at fault, Ion was still sorry it had to happen.]

It... was because of the Malnosso, wasn't it. Making you like this. [Spoken like a statement, rather than a question. He knows well enough that they're the most likely ones at fault.]

[His voice sounds uncharacteristically blank, and he still hasn't looked up.]

They never really know when to stop... do they...

[... Not that Sanji expected the boy to be ecstatic, having to relive his own fuckin death, but that tone and those words...]

Ion. [Before, Sanji had been content with keeping his distance, but now he takes a step forward to peer more closely at him, even with the other's head bowed] Are you-- [A pause, heavy with frustration.] I know you're not okay, but did something happen?

It's... [Nothing, is what he wants to say. But after what Sanji just saw, it didn't seem right to lie to him right now. Not that he thinks, even for a moment, that Sanji would believe him if he tried.]

[He looks back up and Sanji and makes a weak attempt at a smile, but an attempt is about all it could be called.]

...you aren't the only one who had been changed by the Malnosso this week. Though I suppose being forced to see someone else's memories is a little different from having your own memories altered.

Edited 2012-07-01 14:29 (UTC)

[At that, Sanji's visible eye rounds; shit, did the village get hit by an experiment? He's unsure which implication of Ion's statement he should examine first, either. Imagination and first-hand experience treat him to worse and worse scenarios, all enough to bring a stable person to their knees (never mind someone carrying around Ion's emotional baggage), until Sanji frowns faintly and finally chances a guess]

Does it have to do with Anise-chan?

[As if wincing and averting his gaze wasn't enough to answer Sanji's question, he adds in a small nod. It's not as though he could have anticipated the Malnosso would do something like this, nor is there really any way he could have prepared himself for it.]

I didn't think I'd have to worry about anything like this after Valentine's Day had already passed, but...

[... Oh.

Sanji's eye clouds over in sympathy. Even for Luceti, that's a new low. And since he knows Ion already has feelings for the girl, the worst case scenario can only be one thing]

... Are you two doing alright?

I'm not sure. We haven't actually spoken since the effects wore off this morning. I've been trying to think of what I should say to her when I go back... even though I'm probably the last person she wants to see right now.

... You do realize she's probably thinking the same thing, right? That you don't want to see her.

...I think it would surprise me more if she weren't, though perhaps not for the same reason. After all, I'm the one whose feelings didn't change even after the effects wore off.

Even knowing there was nothing I could have done to prevent this, I still can't help but feel as though I've... taken advantage of her somehow.

[A scowl at that] You're being too hard on yourself. [He also knows how easy it is to do, hence why he doesn't continue down that line of thought]

Just don't isolate yourself from her for too long, alright?

006↠ ACTION

/had to rewatch the scene like 3 times to get all this SOB

B[ oh Ion....

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