justicereigns | Appointment Post / Voicemail / All That Jazz

I can't sit still. Ever. And my housemates made me promise to take it easy.

...I've been feeling pretty useless since July, Smoker. Were my nakama here? They would wonder if I was insane but join in the plan anyway. My girl is all ready signed up.

The worst they would do is take off and tell me not to come home dead.

Pirates feel beholden to trying to keep their friends from getting killed Lupin.

[What can he say? "You died so it's not like you can argue it's not a danger" is a little too harsh even for Smoker. Which is saying something.]

Were they willing to listen to compromise?

It wouldn't have gotten me killed. I knew exactly how it was going to go. All I would have had to do is lie, Smoker. I can do that as easily as I can breathe.

[He was serious--very serious. He was tired of feeling useless, of waiting patiently. He wanted to get back into his game.]

...but no, they wouldn't listen. Instead they got angry about not upholding a promise that I couldn't keep. Words were said, and I ended up throwing a verbal nuke.

We're all pissed now, and I left. I was gonna leave, but they want me gone for a while anyway.

So much for finding nakama like those from home, right?

People can't be replaced Lupin. Whatever you had at home, your world is different and the people are different.

Befriending people here can still happen, just probably not as similarly as you're used to.

After all, you and I don't have what you have with Zenigata either.

If you want their trust to keep yourself safe, you have to prove you can do it. And frankly, you've got a shitty record of it so far. But maybe you should have them talk to your girl so they can understand how things work in your world. If it's someone from my world I can only assume they're a doctor? Most people from the Grand Line have seen enough death to realize that wrapping someone in bubblewrap won't keep them safe.

[Although, Smoker privately thinks to himself that Lupin is about as rash as Ace and therefore as likely to get himself killed even just doing something simple like lying.]

I know what we have is different than what I have with Pops, but it's similar enough. Were Pops not the man sworn to arrest me, I'd probably talk to him like this too.

...I somehow doubt that Fujiko would explain things properly enough to be understood. She's as bad as I am about that sort of thing. Worse, even. We're the same breed, she and I. It does involve a doctor, actually--though, the last time there was a crisis [the chaos god.], the only one who didn't give me a lecture was Dr. Law. But he's too far on the inside to ask these questions to.

[Lupin puffed on his cigarette, wondering how the hell he was going to make everything work. As harsh as their fight was, he liked the people in House 46, and wanted to maintain the weird, shaky little thing that they had.

But Smoker was right. Wrapping anyone in bubble wrap didn't do any good. He laughed, bitterly.]

Say what you want, looks like our worlds are really similar. Plenty of people in my world, more than just the military types, have seen enough death and destruction that we can't help but become a little twisted. Bubblewrap saves no one from bullets.

Edited 2012-09-15 03:35 (UTC)

Correct. [A shrug.] Perhaps the idealists really can't see that then.

This is why I don't have many friends though Lupin. I don't like anyone telling me what to do.

I guess the best you can do is point out that you aren't going to take it easier just by being in your room. And even if you stayed there, there's no guarantee mischief wouldn't find you anyway at this rate.

Although it's probably too late now.

Might be...but I've invested too much time. I have to go back anyway, because all of my stuff is there.

...it's in regards to that new mission, if you're curious. It's more tempting than that challenge from Marco, and it is the exact thing I can do. Fujiko and I both have experience lying to guards, entering through the front door like that, stealing government secrets, tech sabotage...

It's perfect. It's the most perfect thing that I've seen during my whole stay here. It's a chance to use my skills to their fullest, steal something of incredible value, and not get in trouble for it.

And no fighting? How were you after that raid on the farm?

--wasn't injured, just tired. This mission...is described as being solely about infiltration and sabotage. No combat. It's in one of their facilities, and we'd be disguised like their own. It's very. Simple. Work.

...I left my meds back at the house, is the thing. They do help, but I can't do this job right if I skip doses. Which, normally, I don't.

Well, you definitely have to get back there even if you are intending to leave again. And if you meant to have me fetch it, that I'll refuse. They're still your friends, even if you're fighting. You'll have to face them sooner or later. It's not like this village is big enough to avoid them indefinitely.

...I know.

[He did. Truly. If his earth wasn't large enough for Goemon to hide in, then there was no way that he could stay isolated from 46 for forever.

Besides. He wanted his Walther ad his Bryar.]

Do you have any suggestions? I feel like there's a huge cultural difference here, once we take away the harsh words.

[Because he felt validated in his first decision, but was willing to admit that he was looking for a weapon with the second.]

[Gives him a blank stare.]

I'm not exactly great at talking to people, thief. [You know. Yelling at them to shut the fuck up, eat shit, and stop telling him what to do? SURE that he's great at. But he doesn't exactly try to make amends afterward. Either his friends put up with him, or don't. He doesn't change either way.] I'd stick to pointing out that you aren't really that much safer in Luceti than on a mission. You could still wind up facing droids here or getting kidnapped. Not so much while on the mission.

If they're so worried you're going to do something rash, then they should either go alongside to help or let it be. [Shrugs and rolls his shoulders.] Tch. Keep in mind, the only person here I'd even listen to if they tried to reign me in is Ikki, and it would take some pretty extreme circumstances. If they're your friends, they have to remember you're not a child. You'll do what you want one way or another, just as your friends from home understand.

[He smiled--a bitter, twisted little thing--at Smoker's commentary.]

You know? That's what I was kind of hoping they would be like in the first place. I don't know if they can understand this level of scoundreling, because it might be too much...

[He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and blew a ring of smoke out into the spacious room, thinking about everything he had experienced over the better part of the last year. Had it really been almost a year?]

...I just want to come to a reasonable compromise. The Malnosso have shoved us together through Shifts, and I want to think that all of this wasn't just a reaction to their lies. It would be a shame if it was...

[A sigh. Another plume of smoke.]

Good god, I feel like a regular, domestic person asking all of these questions! What next, am I going to go to the same bar with the same crowd of people every friday night for the next twenty years?

[Mildly amused.] There's something to be said for that kind of lifestyle.

If you think you're in the right Lupin, then they should come around. And if they don't...

[Another shrug. Sorry man, it's not comforting, but Smoker's REALLY not a comforting man. Seriously, he's not. ~~Unless yelling at you to get stronger is your thing? He's good at that.~~]

Don't worry about it too much. If you can't find what you're looking for, maybe just shift where you're looking.

You sure, Smoker? It sounds like a boring existence to me. [But his lips quirked upward into a reluctant smile--mostly glad that he still had a reliable friend in the Marine. ] I'll rework my plans then, just in case. They're tied up in my plan to steal the fountain, and they're most likely not going to want in.

[He would do it himself if he had to. The project was that important.]

...In the meanwhile, I'd like to get back to training. Doing something--anything--helps. The barracks have always been a good place to hang out too.

There's something to be said for boring too. [If all his justice was done with, he wouldn't mind a quiet life. But pirates were never all gone so he'd keep fighting. Moot point thoughts.]

[His ears flick again about stealing the fountain. Even knowing "stealing" is in a loose sense of the term and Lupin claims he'll return it, it still unnerves his cop instincts, but he lets it slide with a wave of the hand.]

Are you stable enough for it? It'd be hypocritical to tell the doctor to take it easy and then not do the same right back.

...I need something. I've been taking it easy for two months, and that is far too long for me. I need projects. I need work...or else I know I'm just going to do something crazy. It always happens.

[He sighed and drew again on his cigarette.]

I have worked on a little something, but it hasn't helped keep me calm. It just took the edge off.

Oh? What was it?

[Removes the jacket and loosens the straps on his jitte so he can give Lupin some basic warm ups to get slowly started. He's hardly specialized in P.T. though so as far as recovery, he'd rather a doctor was still overseeing it, but so far as Smoker's concerned, Lupin's an adult, he has to learn to take care of himself, one way or another.]

[Lupin likewise removed his jacket and took another puff on his cigarette before snuffing it out, but smirked playfully at Smoker. It didn't take near as long to clear his mind and focus on the currents this time. The barracks was an ever-familiar location; he knew how the air flowed.

For a brief second he felt the air still as he exhaled in a wreath of smoke--

A simple motion of his hand sent a bare puff of air to agitate the cloud. It wasn't much, but it was something.]

[Smoker's eyes narrow in focus, taking a little while to adjust and spot the exact movements. Yay for haki.]

Wind spirits? I'm surprised. It doesn't seem your style. Did Valvalis teach you? [That would also be surprising as she doesn't like men.]

[Lupin laughed, pleased.]

No--but Fujiko mentioned her. I wanted to try something different. It only took a month of meditation, random conversations on magical theory, and a week of bunking with Law for me to figure out how to do anything with Kipinn.

...besides, I heard that he can help enforce silence. Do you know how awesome that can be for sneaking around to gather information?

[Small stare. :| Trafalgar Law. Why. No, he won't ask. He just... doesn't want to know.]

[Still the silence and sneaking around -_-']

Far be it from me to complain about anyone being quieter in this place.

[He's well aware that Smoker and Law are by no means on the same side and that they even hold a degree of dislike for each other, but that kind of conflict was never a detriment for Lupin. Both men were included in his emergency contacts solely because of their stolid natures. Both men were also among those whom Lupin considered to be the sanest people in the village.

Lupin respected them both, and liked to think of them as friends.]

I just wanted something to even the odds, really. Say what you want, I'm tired of having to rely on anyone's help. If people here use magic and I can learn it? Sure, if it helps level the playing field a little. Brawls and fights aren't my forte, but having more tools never hurt.

...besides, I promised Keimi that I would learn from the water spirit with her. This is practice, but I like the benefits.

Edited 2012-09-17 22:21 (UTC)

[He perks up a bit at the last part.] Good. She does better when she's got someone learning along with her. She could do it all on her own, but... [A shrug. Mermaids and daughters man. Women.]

...but it's more fun with company.

[Lupin finished the sentence and began his stretches to warm up. There was something comfortable about getting back into these movements, like they were an almost forgotten pattern from his time hanging around the université--never mind that he only hung around the campus to pick up girls.]

I didn't have anyone to learn from the wind spirit with, so learning with Keimi will be a very nice change. She's sweet--oh, and I placed an order with her. Her professionalism is remarkable!

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