deathsdoctor | 023 [Written/Action]

[The earth is soft beneath his fingertips, the flowers of the oleander bush planted next to white heather in the Memory Garden bright pink and fragrant. There’s a crumpled letter in his pocket.

Perona went home this morning. His nakama, found here, now lost, went home. Like so many others from his world. He can easily remember all their names, and they keep springing to the front of his mind until he can think of nothing else.

Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Vivi, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Bellemere, Nojiko, Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Marco, Shanks, Dracule Mihawk, Perona, Zeff, Marshall D. Teach, Bon Kurei, Boa Hancock, Kaku, Keimi, Shirahoshi, Smoker, Coby…

Bepo…

He is the last. The last pirate. The last one of the Grand Line. The last one of the sea and storm.

The only one who remembered all their stories. He is now their memory… the last remaining link to everything experienced.

The thought keeps him in the garden until dark. More names going through his mind. Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Mikoto… his brother and mother in law. His family. Gone. Maes Hughes… his brother from the first Luceti Valley. Elicia and Gracia. Lupin. Daisy. Adele…

.. so many names…

Finally his fingers see fit to close around a pen and he slowly writes in the journal.]

Perona has gone home. She left letters and gifts for others. I’ll bring them around soon.

[Writing it makes it all the more final. Itachi will be worried by now and Law should return to him. Or he’s already out looking. The stars in the sky tell him it’s very late indeed.

On the way back, he forces himself to keep running through another set of names. Everyone he has left. He is the last, but he has to remember he is not alone.]

[The morning passes in a blur. He’s not sure of what he does except for bits and pieces. Passing out things, probably. Giving condolences. Tea. He definitely had tea. He visits Mister Leon for Specialist Davis’s Shift detecting glasses and mentions to him that he’s going down to the third level of the tunnels to explore.

Then he hits the Smithy to ask if anyone would like to go with him. After all, the third level looks to be a former mining complex.

It’s a temporary escape and only that. And then he has to start dealing. Start marching forward and face it all head on. Somehow.

Law doesn’t expect to find anything big down there, but who knows. It’s doubtful that Luceti is out of surprises.]

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[She'd only known Perona by reputation and having seen her posts over the journals, but a loss was a loss, and Law was a friend, after a fashion. And someone who'd unknowingly been a comfort to her when her partner had returned home, too. And that, more than anything, means that she feels she should return the favor. That is the right, proper, and kind thing to do, as all debts must be paid. Even ones that didn't seem like debts.

Seeking Law out isn't all that hard, as there are certain places she knows he'll visit, and one of those is the Tea House. Wordlessly she approaches, taking a seat across from the pirate, a steaming mug in one hand and a small plate of cookies in the other. Sliding them into the center of the table, she bows her head in silent contemplation for a moment before speaking.]

I am sorry, Law.

[It saves him the trouble of deciding what to drink. He's been staring blankly at a menu for the last... oh, say fifteen minutes. Probably not even aware of her approach.

Lost in thought. Lost in memory. Perona had liked tea and cakes. Marco had gifted him cookies after Law had made him keys to Smoker's cuffs. Nami liked chai; she had given him a cup when he and Luke were at her cottage during the Bil affair.

Brook drank nothing but tea. A lingering memory from the first Luceti Valley.

There's a little start as he realizes Saori's there, and then tattooed fingers slowly reach for the tea and cookies. The pirate slowly looks up.]

... thank you...

[It's green tea, a semi-sweet sort she favored herself, particularly when she's sad. There's something in the philosophy of tea that, at least for her, is deeply rooted in troubled times. She couldn't really say why, but tea has been there when she's felt down, a constant companion.

Dipping her head once, she picks up her own cup and sips before replying.]

She was from your world? The...Grand Line?

[Saori had been fond of Marco. More than fond, really. Marco remained one of the people she wished had never departed, in no small part thanks to the stories. Smoker too, held a place in her heart, for all the trouble he'd given her breathing.]

... yes, she was.

[The tea is centering. He lets it warm his hands as he inhales its scent. Lets it bring him from the past.

He sips.]

... there have been a lot of us here through the years. [Quiet. It's bringing him back, but the memories are travelling with him.] Twenty nine, including me. I was closer to some than others, but...

... Perona was my nakama.

I've known a few. Nami was sweet, and so was Ace. [She smiles sadly, remembering the Fire-Man's dazzling grin...and just how hellishly bad his temper could be.] And Marco...I can think of only two people I miss more.

[Her fiancee, and her adoptive child. Out of all her friends who've departed, Marco is perhaps the most meaningful, the most lasting, and the most absurdly loyal. In all the years yet to come in her life, she's certain that Marco will probably be remain the single most dogmatically committed individual she'll ever meet.]

I did not know Perona, but if she was your nakama, then she must have been someone very, very special. [Swallowing more tea, she leans a little closer.]

Tell me about her?

I miss Mis--- [A pause as he thinks it over and what Marco wanted. A correction.] Marco a lot. Even though he could be so... him, at times, he was good to talk to. He understood the important things back home.

[Even if he was fond of dousing Law in glitter.

He traces the edge of his teacup.]

She is.

[Special.]

I don't know if what I say could do her justice. Perona could be many things. Proud, uncompromising, and a bit prickly to those she didn't know well or had cause to dislike. [There's a brief fond look.] She had a hell of a temper. I remember how she used to scold me into better taking care of myself or else!

A bit temperamental, even. My people often are. I'll be honest and admit she wasn't the easiest person to get to know.

But if you did, she was very loyal to those that had earned her trust. Caring, underneath the occasional abrasiveness. Very protective. Intelligent and cunning and clearheaded. Fun to be around. She liked cute things. She was awfully fond of Halloween, and spooky thrills and horror novels. Spirits, being one herself time to time.

Strong.

[Another flash of fondness] ... and she liked tea.

[Saori can't help but snort a small laugh when she thinks about Marco. He had been one of the most upfront people she'd run into in Luceti, the man who'd helped her secure her mirror on arrival, and a very, very important person in her life. He'd saved her life once, and fought tooth and nail to keep her safe during the refugee troubles. And...the welcome he'd given Yuuna? No, that man was someone special.

Perona, though, gets a knowing smile.]

Those kinds of people...once you melt through to the person inside...they're really the best kind.

[With a soft chuckle, she lifts her cup and sips, slowly savoring the hot drink, and smiling along the lip of it.]

And she sounds like she has wonderful tastes. Halloween is the best holiday of the Western year. And spirits are naturally quite good to have around too.

[She sets down the cup, looking at the greenish liquid with a trace of regret.]

And tea...well...tea is truly the greatest gift Inari could give. When you sit down for tea with someone, it doesn't matter if you're a myojin or a kami, a human or an alien...you are both there for one thing. And people who can appreciate that are people who are worth knowing.

Edited 2014-08-25 04:30 (UTC)

[There's a little touch on his ring as that fond expression lingers. Yeah. Perona was hard. Itachi was harder (and a slightly different case, but Law decides he counts).]

They really are.

[There's a flash of puzzlement when she mentions Inari. It's an unfamiliar name to the pirate.]

I'd agree. [To all of it. Although he's quite on the fence about a certain owl, okay?] I'm fond of that time too... though not what the Malnosso chose to do during it.

[Moon... falling... zombie drafts... pervert ghosts with boomboxes...]

Though... who is Inari?

Edited 2014-09-07 04:09 (UTC)

On that point...I completely agree.

[The Zombie Draft had been a nightmare even for a god. A special kind of hell. And she shivers, just thinking about it. Some of the things she'd had to do still left her feeling unclean. And others...oh, she had plenty of regrets.]

Inari? She is the goddess of the harvest. Of all food and drink.

023 [Written/Action]

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