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[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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