Week 6 Catchall with Sanji

[fragileprophet]

[Hi Ion's going to be roughly attached to Sanji at the hip whenever he gets the chance to be.]

Comments

[concasse]

No.

[firmly]

... You know what's gonna happen to me, so I'd like to leave the past where it is.

[Nostalgia will... only damage him.]

[fragileprophet]

...Right.

[Oh. Ion's fingers hit a wrong chord, the music disrupted. He stills the strings...and has to say it.]

I'm sorry.

[He feels a knot forming in his throat, and looks from Sanji to the instrument.]

Something else, then.

[concasse]

Oi now, none of that.

[His voice is pleasant, uninjured. There's a certain pride in what he says next]

I had a good life, y'know? Got to meet my crew, came close to fulfilling my dreams...

There's no regrets on my end, so don't mourn for me.

[fragileprophet]

...could I ask you something?

[Sanji doesn't seem to have any regrets--both indicated by his voice as well as his words, but still, a thought nags at him.]

[concasse]

Yeah.

[Resting his arms on his knees]

What's up?

[fragileprophet]

If you had one wish, right now--catches aside--knowing what you know about yourself and with everything else that's happened...how would you use it?

[He plucks a few soft strings.]

On yourself? On someone else from home? On someone else here? On more information about the war and how to win it?

[concasse]

[No hesitation]

How to win the war.

[...]

We don't belong here, and me using the wish for someone else might be a lost cause if we get stuck here indefinitely.

[fragileprophet]

[There’s a pause, and then Ion laughs under his breath.]

I see.

[He smiles softly, but the look brightens.]

You’re a lot smarter than I am.

1/2

[concasse]

Heh.

Intelligence has got nothing to do with it. That's just what I want the most.

If someone told me that my wish would just cause pain... I'd still want it, no matter what.

[concasse]

Now.

... What did you do?

[fragileprophet]

[Detective Sanji, on the case.]

Oh, don’t worry. If was just a thought. I don’t have any wishes to spend.

[He pauses, leaning back in his seat.]

It’s just interesting the different way that we all think. I wonder if the Crafters took this into consideration when they chose us, and gave us the titles and roles that they did.

[concasse]

Probably. They seem to have a very good grasp on how we'll act in certain situations.

[...]

You asked me what I would do with a wish. What about you?

[fragileprophet]

Use it on someone else.

[He doesn’t need to think about it, either.]

Someone who might be hurting.

[His smile turns shy.]

Not very logical. I hadn’t even thought that it might amount to nothing, to make a wish like that.

[concasse]

No, that's a fine wish.

I think of it this way -- you need people who are willing to make those small wishes, and those who want the big shit. Covers all bases.

Me wanting everyone to get the best ending possible won't mean shit if they're battered and broken at the war's end, y'know?

[fragileprophet]

[Ion nods, and some of his apparent sadnsss fades from his smile.]

I’d like it if, at the end of all this, we can be sure that we have something happy waiting.

[concasse]

Of course we will. That's what we're working for, after all.

[Of course by "we" Sanji means "everyone except me", but...]

[fragileprophet]

[That’s one thought they have in common, go figure!]

Of course. I don’t have any doubts.

[Ion begins to play another song, something a bit less demure, which I’d link but I’m mobile and lazy at the moment.]

Sorry if my curiosity worried you.

[concasse]

S'alright, I know my ass is getting too jumpy.

[Have you seen how pale he is? Thank the shitty seas Sanji actually has a strong constitution or everyone would probably think he's dying, too]

I need to stop expecting bad news at every turn.

[fragileprophet]

I hope you have people you can talk to about yourself it worries. It isn’t healthy to keep it all inside.

[He glances over, his brow starting to furrow.]

You know you can tell me anything you need to get off your chest, don’t you? It’s the least I can to for how often you’ve listened to my troubles. I know I’m weak, but...I’m very good at listening and keeping secrets. Well, secrets that aren’t my own.

[concasse]

[Secrets, eh?

...]

Of course I know. You're a good kid. Everyone's real lucky to have you here.

[... A pause.

But in the end, Sanji closes his eyes and sighs.]

I'm just a little tired. The music helps, though...

[fragileprophet]

I feel the same way.

[About all of it. About being tired, about the music helping...about everyone being lucky to have Sanji.]

You're a good person.

[It bears repeating.]

It may only get more tiring from here...but we'll be able to rest easy soon enough, I think, if we can only endure a little longer.

[concasse]

Somehow I think we're both good at enduring, even when we don't want to.

[Words that will be put to the test in a couple of days, haha, but for now he seems firm in his conviction]

.. Yeah.

We'll be fine.

[Won't they?]