cartographie | inbox for golden peacock

[ooc: Continued from here]

If you got a plan, I'm all ears. Or are ya makin' me your lackey now?

[Since she's a Queen, or so she says, that means that he might be able to leave as long as she vouches for him, right? He's not sure what that entails exactly, so he's cautious, but so far she seems more haunted than interested in him. It's a weird feeling, and he's not sure what to make of it.]

Exactly what I'm doing. [ Nami walks close enough for the quiet way she speaks to be heard, and no closer. ] And if anybody tries to stop us, we just tell them you playing lackey turns me on, and they'll let us walk right out.

[ She'll get him out of ball boy duty, and they can go their separate ways from there. If pressed, she'll claim it's merely acting like the kind of honorable pirate her crew is made up of, keeping whatever vows she's made to be good to him, even if she's the only person here who actually made those vows. If their positions were reversed, she believes he would have done the same. ]

Are you gonna go find the Pachinko machines after this? [ More things she forgets she shouldn't know. ]

Edited 2025-04-30 03:30 (UTC)

You might as well put a collar on me to sell it. Bet they'll get a kick outta that.

[He actually has no idea, and maybe that seems like an overreaction to being brought here in barely passable 'workout' clothes, but he has a feeling they're into the sexier aspects of it rather than the practical.

He notes that-- she definitely could have guessed, but that seems too specific, especially since it's not the first time she's hinted she knows him, but right now-- he'll play along. He can ask more when they're out.]

They got 'em here? That sounds like my lucky day then.

[ As though she's entertaining the thought, Nami studies him briefly, her eyebrows raised, before seemingly dismissing the idea with a quick shake of her head. ]

Nah. I bet you'd be terrible being walked on a leash.

[ Though they're mostly out of the woods once they reach the locker room, Nami walks a little faster, eager not to be dragged into any more displays of athleticism. ]

Down in the arcade. Sounds like you'll be an easy guy to find once you find them.

Kyahaha! Not even remotely tempted, are ya?

[He'll follow her pace, smirking in a way that probably doesn't spell good things for her, but it's fine. She's fine.

Maybe.]

What, I give the impression of a pachinko guy? How'd you figure that?

[ She rolls her eyes at the question, and suddenly finds she has to fight the urge to grimace as the familiarity of rolling her eyes at Rinne hits like a shove to the ribcage, not quite enough to knock the wind out of her, but it does make her have to draw deep on that poke face of hers to keep her expression neutral after he asks her about pachinko. ]

Yeah maybe that's what it is. You look just like every guy in a pachinko... [ Help, she doesn't know where people play pachinko. ] Place.

[Oh?]

Ya must go to 'em a lot if yer sayin' that. What kinda guy is that?

[More importantly, how does she know of his habits?]

[ What kind of guy is that?? Inreasingly concerned that she's painted herself into a corner with her words, Nami plays off the question with a shrug before making a show of pointedly looking him over. ]

You know. Shady. Probably trouble. Why does it matter?

Trouble already and we just met? Didn't think my vibes were that bad already.

[He smirks once he turns to her, tilting his head as he studies her.]

Unless you already got a clue about who I am.

Well, you know. Redheads.

[ One hand reaches up to ruffle her own hair, as she shrugs, doing her best to seem innocuous, until he points out the obvious, and makes her throat go dry in the process. ]

No, not– [ Nami answers in haste, before forcing herself to pause and attempt to piece a story to cover her tracks together in the span of seconds, but the truth tumbles out anyway, before she even gets the chance to lie. ]

I know who you are, but I don't know who you are. [ She falters with a groan, pressing her lips together as her brow creases. ] You know how some people think you get to be reborn over and over when you die, and live a lot of lives? When the casino brings you here, sometimes that's true. [ Her chest hurts, but vows don't expire if you're the only one who remembers taking them. ] People come back and don't remember being here before, or, from a different place in their lives from what the people in their world remember. I've been here over a year, but Zoro, my crewmate, thinks he saw me less than that months ago aboard the ship.

[ Falling quiet with a shrug, she meets Rinne's eye with a frown. ] So, like I said, I know who you are, but I don't know who you are.

Edited (STOPS EDITING NOW) 2025-05-03 01:21 (UTC)

[That... wasn't quite the response he was expecting. Sure, to an extent, it was in that general ballpark. However, when she starts spitting out ideas like rebirth and living multiple lives, even he has to pause and drop the smirk on his face, visibly confused.

How is he supposed to answer that?

And it's hard to say she was being honest, though he isn't sure why she would lie about something like that. It could be a tactic to throw him off-guard, since she clearly does seem to know something about him, but...]

... I ain't sure where to start with all that. You sound like yer sayin' something straight up from a manga plot.

A what? [ Her only context for manga is the shirt she's owned since around the time of her arrival, sorry Rinne. ]

Look, don't worry about it. [ Nami shakes her head and looks past him as she tilts her chin up in the direction of the corridor behind him, regretting her words and hoping he takes her up on her offer to go his way while she goes hers (to drink, and cry probably, shh). ] You're free from ball boy duty, or whatever, that's what matters, right? I'm not asking you to hang out with me to thank me.

[He frowns at that, an expression she probably doesn't see often, uncertain what to make of that.]

You...

[He rubs the back of his neck, trying to figure out what to say to that.]

Just who was I to you?

[ Ah, there it is. The one question she's been hoping to avoid despite the way she trips over her words. ]

To me? [ Buying herself some time by repeating his words is a stupid tactic, but nothing about how she's played this interaction is especially smart. ] I already told you, you're not the Rinne I knew. [ Nami tries and fails to sidestep the question, shaking her head as she tries to banish that weird feeling in her chest. He's not who she knows, and she doesn't have to answer that.

And yet, stupidity just keeps stacking up the victories today. ]

My favorite. At least, for a little while.

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moves this here coz i got tired of waiting for captcha

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