006↠ ACTION

[concasse]

[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.]

Comments

[allseeingdeath]

[ The man's hand reached for the girl on the ground, herself, but...instead of making contact, simply passed through her. She could hear footsteps behind her of the boy, who himself simply passed through her, like she wasn't there. The stare on her face slowly began to melt, giving away to a glare.

This was another one of the Malnosso's tricks, wasn't it? Her eyes flashed, changing from their dull black color to bright blue and violet, her head shearing with pain as she concentrated on her surroundings. ]

This is... [ Lines, resembling gashes, covered everything in sight. They seemed like they were everywhere. With a final flash, her eyes reverted back to normal, as she grabbed her head. Dammit, what was going on? She looked towards the man. ]

This...isn't real. [ As if the projection like bodies didn't tip him off already. She walked closer to him. ]

This is my home. [ It was supposed to be. Her voice got quieter as she motioned to the girl on the ground, who the young man from earlier was panicking over, now running in the opposite direction, no doubt to get help. ]

And that was me.

[concasse]

[Both his home and Luceti have shown Sanji their share of impossible happenings, so even when this girl motions at the body and tells him what can't possibly be the truth... he believes her. He can see it for himself, after all - the girls look exactly alike.

Is this an experiment, then? Still unsteady and unsettled, the chef climbs to his feet and stares at one of his upturned hands, then suspiciously at the surroundings. This isn't his prison. This girl wouldn't be here, otherwise.]

... So this is-- we're in some projection of the past? [He says this slowly, not completely sold on the idea]

[allseeingdeath]

[ She nods. She wasn't sure how any of this was happening right now, but...she'd been here long enough to know the Malnosso were capable of anything, anything in the way of experimenting with them. The pain in her head subsiding, she looked to him. ]

I can't explain it any other way. [ It was like she was thrown back through her own memory. ]

I...don't know how it happened either. [ She looked to the girl, then back to him. She wasn't going to dwell on this. ]

Since this isn't real, though, there should be a way out. [ She would cut one out herself, but she knew that would be impossible, with the pain the use of her eyes brought. She paused, before speaking softly. ]

Don't worry about what you saw. It was four years ago.

[concasse]

[Being told not to worry doesn't carry Sanji very far. He chews on his lip, staring hard at the ground before it occurs that this girl - the one standing next to him, alive - is suggesting they leave.

She's right, he knows... but that doesn't make it any easier to turn his back on the body, either. In the end, he has to force his eyes closed, and then pivot his step.]

Right. [He glances at her. Before he can properly move on, however... ] Then you're...? [Dead? The word doesn't reach his lips.]

whoops, my bad, it was two years, not four FFF.

[allseeingdeath]

[ She shakes her head. ] I'm alive. I survived, miraculously. I went into a coma for the next two years, but...I woke up. I wasn't the same, but I woke up. [ She couldn't bring herself to look at the body either. It was so...surreal, seeing that. ]

lmfao no problem |Db

[concasse]

[Sanji's eyes round in shock, horrified. He can't keep his exclamation bottled in.]

Two years? [Certainly not a lifetime, but to think she spent that long unconscious... he'd been sympathetic to start, but now Sanji's chest pangs uncomfortably]

[allseeingdeath]

Yeah. [ She turned her head to the sound of footsteps behind her, the boy from earlier running to the body. The sound of an ambulance could be heard in the distance, drawing nearer. ]

Like I said, I'm fine now.

[concasse]

[A million different questions string up in his mind and crowd in his mouth. Sanji's careful not to utter any of them. The last of his disoriented state is vanishing, leaving behind an acute sense of exhaustion, and the acknowledgement that he just watched a stranger nearly die.

He's never seen this person before.]

... Miss? [He steps closer to her and automatically gives the boy some space, even knowing it's not necessary] What's your name?

[allseeingdeath]

[ She knew it'd be natural. To worry, that is. It's not easy watching someone get injured like that, not when you have absolutely no saw in it, and no power to stop it. As he addressed her, she put her hands in her red jacket pocket. ]

Shiki. Shiki Ryougi.

[concasse]

[He commits the name to memory, smilingly faintly. The circumstances are... strange, to put it lightly, but Sanji's always welcomes the opportunity to meet a young lady, even if he isn't feeling up to his usual enthusiasm.

Kinda hard to when there's a comatose body right behind you.

Meh. He shoves that thought out of the way so he can turn his full attention to her, and not be caught in the middle of an angst battle with himself. Sanji senses he owes her an apology.]

Aa, Shiki-chan then. I think this is my fault. [He's still smiling, but it's weary] The damn Malnosso must've done something to me.

[allseeingdeath]

I see...you're okay though, right? Aside from this. [ She'd met the people who had been experimented by Malnosso before...they weren't always in the best shape. She couldn't help but wonder how they were even able to do something like this.

Magic? Science? She couldn't even imagine, anymore. ]

[concasse]

A little tired, but nothing some sleep won't fix. [If he can manage to walk to his house the way he is. But one last glance behind his shoulder, and he's ready to leave this dream, is possible. He starts walking slowly, away from the increasingly animated scene as paramedics rush in]

I've had worse done to me.

[allseeingdeath]

Hm. That's good then. [ She turned her back onto the scene as well. She had already lived through it once. She didn't need to be reminded. ]

I guess I've been lucky. [ Her eyes narrowed as she followed behind him. ] I've seen what they do to people sometimes. It's cruel.

[ She looked to him. ] How do you think we get out?

Wow, I'm sorry for the lateness ><

[concasse]

Not a shitty clue. [The Malnosso failed to return him with a manual.] Either wait for the memory to end or--

[Or walk right out of it, which is actually what the pair end up doing. Sunlight abruptly floods around them, the dismal scene replaced with forestry and the outskirts of Luceti's village. Sanji halts to reorient himself]

... Tch, that was pretty simple.

It's okay! Back tagging is fun |D

[allseeingdeath]

[ Wait for the memory to end? This all she could remember though. But almost as if on queue, the scenery began to fade, giving way back to familiar trees and the view of the Luceti village in the distance. Hmph. Easier than she would have expected, but...it was better this way. She turned to Sanji. ]

How are you feeling? [ Seemed like an appropriate thing to ask, now that they were out of whatever the Malnosso had done to him. ]

/o/

[concasse]

[Sanji thinks to lie, to feed her some story about being right as rain, but after what he just witnessed, the chef is frankly too tired to bother. He treats her to a sheepish smile instead]

Tired as hell. [He leans his weight heavily to one side, taking a breath] Not how I expected to spend my first minutes back here--

[Er. That didn't come out right. Immediately he attempts to smooth over any feathers he might've ruffled] Not to say this was your fault at all!

[allseeingdeath]

[ Heh. No offense taken. ] No, it's okay. Neither of us could have expected it. [ Her own head was still kind of spinning, from witnessing that all over again. ] As long as you're not hurt. [ She said, looking off to the side.

She couldn't shake off the memory they both just saw. ] Will you be fine on your own?

[concasse]

Yeah, I can take it from here. Thanks for looking out for me.

-- Listen, you should drop by Seventh Heaven some time so I can make it up to you~!

[allseeingdeath]

[ She thought it over, before speaking. ]

I'll go with you. Just to make sure. [ Not to mention... ] You work at Seventh Heaven?

[concasse]

[He's not keen on requiring an escort, but neither is he going to turn down her offer either. He nods in the appropriate direction and carefully begins walking]

Aa, I'm the head chef and owner!

[allseeingdeath]

[ A small look of surprise crossed her face, before she continued. ]

You cook great. I've been there a few times before. [ Weird...she didn't remember seeing him much, if at all. ]

[concasse]

[Sanji's as surprised as she. It's a rare day when a lady escapes his attention, but he supposes it's bound to happen sometime. He'll just use it as an excuse to make it up to her]

Such kind words you spare for me~! Next time you're in, I'll have to be sure to greet you!

[allseeingdeath]

[ That brought a smile to her face. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help it. He was nice. ]

Then I look forward to it. [ She checked their surroundings. ] How much farther to your place?

[concasse]

Not too much farther. [He points in the direction his house will be] You'll be able to spot it, too. It's the house with a lawn on the roof.

[allseeingdeath]

[ She nodded. A house with a lawn on the roof? Strange, but, it didn't really surprise her. In fact, she's passed it a few times on her walks around the village.

She looked back from the distance and to him as they made their way. ]

By the way...What you saw...can you keep it a secret?