yourotherleft | IC Inbox: Cerealia

vegetarian buffet, got it.

[And then whatever other shit happens that's supposed to in the intro log WHO KNOWS, but eventually Sanji's out and making his way home!]

anything exciting happen while I was gone?

asshole

[nothing really changes. Oh look, a little while later there's a new message!]

uh let me think. another field trip, shorter, less fun. found out some nasty bullshit about this place.

you gonna elaborate on that?

[It's almost a relief to be back out on the city streets. He'd much prefer having the deck of Sunny under his feet, but at least this is familiar.]

don't think anything changed for me. like I don't got any new memories from home or anything.

not over text, I dont wanna type that much

[it takes too long, okay? Besides, it really is nasty, he'd rather share it in person]

nothing? did you even go home?

[Oh? Well now he's really curious. Not that it gets him back to the apartment any faster because he really does need to go shopping. New shirt and pants is a must.

...Also food. Right.]

don't think I did. feels like I just woke up from a shitty accidental nap or something.

yeah nobody naps for a month, not even me, so.

weird. but you're back.

[thanks Captain Obvious.]

nah, you only nap through hurricanes and shit.

[But yep. He's back. Even though he doesn't remember being gone. Weird, indeed.

There's another break in replies while he wanders through a few stores, but eventually he winds up standing outside the apartment door, arms laden with bags and wondering if he should knock or not.

That'd be dumb, though.

So instead he gets the door unlocked and shoulders his way in, calling out as he does.]

Oi, marimo! Luffy! I'm home!

[he doesn't feel like justifying himself at that point so there's no reply. The long pause afterword, no more questions, gives Zoro time to slowly come to realize that maybe this place is a bit of a mess and he should really do something about that. Luffy's out and about (for now...) so he's alone in this quest, argh.

So when he hears the door and the familiar voice, Zoro is in the kitchen, hastily scrambling to cram as much fast-food refuse into a trash bag as he can. It's already over-full but dammit if he can just fit one more pizza box...

Uh.

[Yo, cook. You see nothing, certainly not a twitch of deeply-suppressed emotion to hear that call. There sure wasn't a weird feeling deep in the pit of his stomach at I'm home, no sir, not here.]

[Yeah, Sanji had more or less...well, not forgotten about some of the shit that had happened between them, his brain just hadn't decided to remember it yet.

It certainly remembers it now, repressed images leaping to the forefront of his mind as soon as he turns to look toward his kitchen where that grunt of a non-greeting came from and his eyes land on that stupid green hair. In fact, memories of that whole shitty book episode in particular wash over him in a terrible, mortifying cascade, leaving him frozen to the spot for only a beat or two though it feels like SO much longer.

Wow, he really skipped on out at a really fucking convenient time, didn't he? And Zoro said he's been gone for over a month, right...? So maybe the idiot won't remember any of...that.

Please god say he's forgotten it. Fucking hell.

In any case, that handful of seconds ticks by and Sanji finally actually sees what's happening in front of him. He takes in the scene, the trash bag, the dishes out of place, the—the everything out of place really, even though a lot of it is small and shouldn't matter but that's HIS kitchen, dammit, and what the fuck have those two done to—

Sanji turns slowly to take in the rest, eyes sliding over to living room and the messy sofa and yet more take-out boxes.

...Done to his entire apartment?!

He whips back around to glare at Zoro.]

The hell have you two done to this place??!

[Oh no, he hasn't forgotten at all, and things Luffy has told him since have only made it worse, but fortunately for both of them, right now Zoro's one-track mind is focused solely on not getting kicked in the face for messing up the apartment. He cringes at the yell, fist tightening on the trash bag.]

Nothing! It's fine, we didn't damage anything. Look, it's just...

[well, no, he can't justify any of this. He and Luffy just sort of existed without their third monster around to kick their asses, he didn't mean to just leave their trash everywhere but it just sort of happened. Zoro decides to just let it be. If he gets kicked, he gets kicked.]

I'll pick it up.

[The shared living space, anyway. His room? Not so much.]

[Sanji would kick him, but that would mean getting all up in his business and the sudden rush of memories that just hit him have left him feeling slightly off-kilter. Also he's got bags of food in his arms.

That's his excuse and he's sticking to it. 8|

So instead he settles for scowling around at everything, before leveling a look on Zoro.]

You're damn right you're gonna pick it up! For fuck's sake, marimo -- I hope you didn't have people over while I was gone!

[Because this is just embarrassing. Sanji keeps making a face at everything as he moves toward the kitchen to deposit his grocery bags on the breakfast bar, and then he frowns at the pizza box still in Zoro's hand.]

How did you idiots even survive before I came along?

[makes a face right back at him, because he's not that ashamed] Just Vietnam. But that was a few weeks ago. [before it got this bad. The last peek she had was thankfully from out in the hallway, and she was smart enough not to enter.

He follows Sanji's gaze to the pizza box and then crams it into the trash bag.]

We had more than just you, you know.

[wow that came out really nasty. But it's true, thanks to Nami and Usopp they didn't have it that bad - Luffy and Zoro never really did survive as a lone pair for more than a couple days. This is probably proof why they never should be allowed to, ever again.]

Usopp's gone too, both of you disappeared. What did you expect? It's just me and Luffy right now and I thought no one was coming back.

[Vietnam-chan was here? And Sanji missed her visit? Dammit.

The rest of what Zoro says seems like the more important thing to focus on right now, though. Sanji knows that they're not helpless, and that before he joined up it wasn't like they just didn't eat or some shit. But he still doesn't like the idea of Luffy and Zoro being left on their own, especially in a place like this. It's different than being separated back home.

And the way Zoro says they thought no one was coming back hurts somehow, makes his chest pang in a weird way. He can't bear the thought himself of nakama disappearing and not returning. He already misses the others in their crew fiercely. So it's almost like he's feels guilty for leaving those two dumbasses here on their own.

Sanji huffs, letting the tension drain out of his shoulders as he starts rooting around in his grocery bags instead.]

I expect you morons to act your damn age, but I guess so long as nothing is permanently damaged... [He tips his head back toward the living room.] You can pick all that shit up while I cook.

Nothing's broken! We hardly touched your kitchen, even your fish are fine. [points toward the living room wall-aquarium] Don't get your pants in a knot, all right? I'll take care of it.

[ugh, stupid cook making him clean like some kind of child doing chores. But it does need to be done, and even Zoro can't really hide that he's actually glad to see that curly brow again - and not just because he prefers a home-cooked meal to more pizza. Maybe if he blusters and grumbles a bit he can cover it.

That bag's full, so he ties it off and snatches another one before shouldering past Sanji and heading into the living room to start scooping empty take-out boxes into it. Okay, now that he's in the middle of this he can smell it, it's pretty gross. Oops. Sorry, cook.]

[He does glance toward the aquarium at that, grinning a little at the sight of his fish all swimming peacefully around.]

Yeah, well. I would've kicked your ass if something happened to them.

[But he wipes the grin away as he moves to clean up the rest of his kitchen and reorganize things until it's how he likes it. Can't let Zoro get off that easily.]

Please tell me you remembered to get in the shitty shower at some point, at least.

[Though thinking about Zoro and showers reminds Sanji of how good the man smelled during that whole fucking book thing, which is not something he needs to think about because it also brings up the memory of how soft his hair was and—

Sanji sort of freezes up for a moment, but then quickly shakes it off and doesn't wait for an answer before he barges on to his next question.]

So you said you found out some more shit about this place?

[he misses that, thankfully, with his back turned. Yes, good, he can talk while he throws out the garbage]

No, I haven't bathed once since you left. It's my way of pining.

[so, so dry and deadpan. Geez, cook, he does still get his once a week in, maybe more if he's been working out.]

Sort of. The kind of stuff that makes me want to barge into that big office building and rip everyone I can find to shreds, but that's not gonna help us in the long run. [his methodical motion helps to keep him calm - pick up box, shove box in bag, move to the next - while he talks over his shoulder, his back still to Sanji] I said we went on another field trip, right? Yeah, this one was to some ruined part of the city with a bunch of caves underneath it. I don't think it was planned, people found out a lot of stuff about CERES they probably didn't want us to know.

[that's the point at which he stops and straightens up to his full height, shoulders tense, though he still doesn't turn around.]

Like the fact that they're working with the ones they say destroyed our worlds.

Well, don't I feel real fucking special?

[Deadpans back at him -- automatically, thankfully, because his brain sort of trips over the pining bit like it's not quite sure how to handle such a concept coming from the other man, even if he is just fucking around.

Sanji busies himself with attacking the dishes that are stacked in the sink, muttering under his breath as he scrubs off dried food and shit. He's listening to Zoro, though, and as such nearly drops the plate in his hands at that bombshell.]

What? [Spins around, finding Zoro across the room.] The hell do you mean they're working with them? You mean their whole bullshit story is even more bullshit that we realized??

[do you know what he actually missed more than your cooking, cook? This. He missed the give-and-take, the snark and snark back. But he's not going to show it. At least, not right now.

There's more important things to get through, and Zoro finally glances his way at the reaction. The growing darkness in his good eye might be enough warning that there's more. Much more.]

Yeah. Exactly. Turns out they've got a contract with these Flaming guys. [ha...Zoro no] If our worlds really are destroyed, they made it happen. If they're really not, they're still working with these bastards to do whatever the hell it is they do to us. It's not just the things they put in our eyes, it's worse.

[he lets the second full bag drop next to the first one and goes to wash his hands, meaning he shoulders up next to Sanji at the kitchen sink - all the better to say the next bit in a much quieter tone.]

There was a meeting. I went for the free pizza and walked in just in time to hear some guy talk about how CERES tortured him on an altar and used him as a human sacrifice to the spirits that kidnapped us that one time. Some of the swords... [even quieter, now] ...might have had the same thing done to them.

[He doesn't back away or anything. Maybe tenses for a beat, but the importance of the conversation overrides anything else, so mostly he just turns his head to watch Zoro with a furrowed brow.]

Human sacrifice...? The fuck good does that do, we don't stay dead here. The guy was even alive enough to tell you all that so what the hell did it accomplish?

[Turns his gaze down to the plate still in his hands, trying to think.]

Torture, worlds destroyed... I almost forgot about those shitty spirits, but they didn't seem like huge assholes or nothing. [Well...] For the most part. You think maybe they're pulling all of us here to have something to keep 'em appeased? Mah, but that's fucked, too, they wouldn't need to get rid of entire worlds just for that.

[Probably.]

Dunno, but it goes to show that the under-handedness doesn't stop at "oh by the way your enemies are our allies." Anybody who'd happily take someone they supposedly rescued and torture 'em to death can't be trusted.

It's too much for me, I can't piece it all together. I probably missed some of it, too, I got there late. But people are figuring things out and the upshot of it is, we really are prisoners here.

[If he's lingering over-long in Sanji's personal space, the conversation isn't the real reason. But once he dries his hands, Zoro takes a few steps back to let him do the dishes in peace. He's cleared away enough trash to find things that should be kept (books, clothes, and so on) so he'll wander back out to start piling those on the coffee table.]

You wanted to know what you missed. That's probably the most important thing.

Don't know how much we trusted 'em to begin with. Just now it seems more like we're gonna have to take the fuckers head-on at some point. [Frowns.] This is a shitty weird prison to be stuck in, the way they try to make you...want to feel at home. Probably so they can catch us off guard.

[Because Sanji has definitely had moments where this kind of life almost seems okay... Almost. It'd be better if the rest of their crew were here and he'll never stop missing the sea, but when he keeps busy enough with his show, and since having the apartment isn't necessarily terrible...

It would be really easy to get too complacent and just start to accept this shit. And that's a problem.

He'll have to start keeping on his toes more. And maybe try to see what kind of things he can find out on his own about this place. Staying here forever and letting those assholes do whatever the fuck they want definitely isn't an option. He's already been too tolerant with everything happening to them.

Sanji watches Zoro as he wanders back to the living room, leaning his hip up against the sink as he grabs a dishcloth and starts toweling off the dishes.]

Did I miss anything that isn't completely shitty and awful?

[Dry tone over here, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.]

How's it been with just you and Luffy around? Aside from the whole eating like shit thing.

Well... [straightens up and sniffs a shirt. EW okay that has to go in the laundry] The guy who owned the bar where I worked disappeared, so someone else has it now. I haven't worked in a few weeks, but there's bounties to be hunted so I've started doing that again.

[and then out of nowhere he remembers what Sanji had teased him about movies and...]

There's underground fighting rings, too. Made a bit of money that way. It's kinda fun.

[he makes a laundry pile on the table and then stands back, rubbing his neck. God, they really let this place go to shit, didn't they?]

Fine. He's been even more restless than me, there's really nothing for him to do and we both know he'd never keep a job more than a day. He wanted to work at a restaurant just to eat there.

[Blinks.]

You actually got a job?

[That's news. He thinks. Did he know that? He doesn't remember knowing that...

Hang on.]

...At a bar?

[Peers at Zoro suspiciously suddenly.]

You know drinking away all of some shitty establishment's booze doesn't actually count as work, right?

[But hey, good for you, marimo. Drinking and bounty hunting, at least those are things you're definitely good at.

The mention of fighting rings has Sanji perking up.]

H'ohhh? You telling me they actually got fight clubs here? [Though you're breaking rule #1 by talking about it, GOSH.] Luffy didn't get in on that at all?

[looks up and then casually flips him off]

A guy I met, he lived with the swords. Tenka. He owned it, but then he disappeared. I passed it on to some other sap but he's been remodeling or some shit so it's closed. [and then, more to himself] Shit, I hope Tenka didn't end up on that altar.

[he scoops up a couple of glasses that had been buried under laundry and trash - how neither of them stepped on them, it's a miracle - and brings them into the kitchen to get washed]

Something like that. They move around - never on the same day twice, y'know. Keep 'em secret from the law or whatever. I want to drag Luffy to one but I have to find it again.

[let's be honest 50% of not finding the underground fighting ring again is Zoro's sense of direction. But the other half is, truthfully, the fact that they move around and don't publicize. You have to be lucky and stumble on one, apparently.]

[Tempted to do something dumb like stick his tongue out at being flipped off, but he manages to refrain and just grins instead as he moves to wipe down the counters so he can finally start cooking. He glances up at the comment about Tenka, smile fading, but just looks away again until he realizes something else that makes him pause.]

You passed it on?

[Marches back over to the sink (since now apparently he's got more shitty dishes to wash anyway) and crowds into Zoro's personal space so he can poke him in the chest.]

You telling me you actually had control of a bar and you gave it up? What the hell, marimo? Do you know what I could've done with a place like that? They got food there or is it a drinks only place? Shit, we could've turned it into something really good!

[Ah, but see? There he goes again, getting caught up in long-term job ideas when there's more important things to focus on. He shouldn't be starting up shit that's only going to make him feel more settled in this stupid place.

...Though it would be kind of fun to run a restaurant again.

Damn.

He backs off with a disgruntled look, snatching up one of the glasses so he can clean it.]

Moving fight clubs, huh. It's a miracle you ever find one.

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