lucetilogs | There's just no good time to break bad news

There's just no good time to break bad news

Who: Strawhat Pirates
What: Robin needs to have a little chat with her peeps.
When: During the day Dec 17. Morning, afternoon, evening, it's up to threadstarters.
Where: House 6 (or anywhere else peeps wanna be)
Summary: War being the buzzword of the week reminds Robin that there's a bit of catching up to do with her nakama.
Rating: G to R (for potty mouths). Nothing racy here, though. Emo warnings.

It's been a few days since the draftees returned, and Robin still hasn't managed to find a good way of bringing up what she knows of the pending separation, once they all return home.

Still. It's something they ought to know about. She isn't concerned about discussing it with some of her crew, but others- Luffy in particular- well. She doesn't imagine it will be a pleasant conversation. She wonders if he'll even understand why he chose to disband them for so long. She wonders if even she understands it fully.

Today is the day, though. It seems Luceti is determined to keep its residents on their toes, so waiting for things to settle down for a few weeks before upsetting her crew appears unfeasible. And the longer she waits, the harder it will be.

So, fellow Strawhats, Robin's looking for you. Where she finds you, and when, is up to your discretion.

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Luffy is just in his awesome room. Sorting through his animal outfits for winter! Gotta stay organized and all that you know! While he's doing that, he's humming and occasionally singing.

"No sound at all~! With cat-like trend! .... hnn. That still doesn't sound right."

Well, it isn't the song about the different types of idiots that live in the various Blues, so Robin will count herself lucky. In that respect, at least.

Best to get the toughest one over with first.

"Luffy, do you have a moment?"

"Nn?" He turns around to face her and then a wide grin spreads across his face. "Robin!"

He puts a lion suit down on his bed. He'll probably just wear that one today. "What's up?"

Robin invites herself into the room and sits on the bed next to the lion suit, giving it a wry glance.

"What's the last thing you remember from the Grand Line?"

Well she's always welcomed into his room regardless. So is all of his other friends, so he doesn't mind it at all. But when he hears the question, he might physically cringe. Only slightly though. As if he was trying to subconsciously tell himself something. But he just shakes it off and thinks a little.

"Uuh, I was at Marineford. I was on the way to save Ace."

A million questions flare in Robin's mind. There was so much about that exchange that she did not know, couldn't know, and the Historian in her trembled to be so close to a legitimate and, let's face it, likely the most honest source she'd ever find. Certainly he, in his idiocy, would be far more reliable than the gloating officers of Tequila Wolf, bragging as they dumped buckets of ice water over her face.

Focus.

"It must have been disorienting, finding yourself suddenly transported here. Do you ever wonder how it all ended?"

How it all ended? He already knows how it'll end. With him saving Ace and them escaping together. Or at least that's what he's practically forced himself to believe for his own sake. How is he supposed to just up and believe his brother is dead based on here say from Blackbeard? Besides, it hasn't happened yet anyway. But still, her saying "ended" kind of confuses him. Is she from a point later on, or is she just curious? Ugh, he liked it better when everyone was just on one time. For now he'll just play it cool and assume it's the latter

"Nnn. Sometimes. But no matter what, I know I'll definitely save Ace!"

Though she'd never outwardly cringe, a flicker of sadness, of loss, can be caught in her eyes. She doesn't know Ace enough to mourn him, but this Luffy, the undefeated rookie who saved her life in more ways than he can imagine- it's him she mourns. He no longer exists, in her world. Perhaps he's stronger, better in many ways. But there's something endearing about the childlike surety of this one.

Robin thinks for a moment that it might be best not to tell him. What harm is there in allowing him to believe he can win the life of his brother?

It isn't truth. And for all her lies and deceit, the masks she's worn, Robin is and has always been dedicated to the perpetuation of truth. It is her charge as the last living Scholar of Ohara, it is her heritage. Awful as it is, in moments like this.

"No," she says simply, her voice soft. "You disbanded us after being defeated at Marineford."

So his fears were true. She was from the future. He gulped hard in his throat knowing that he was not going to like this conversation one bit. A part of him wanted to just leave. To get away so he wouldn't have to listen to what he feared was coming next. But still, why would he just up and disband them? Did he really give up on the whole crew right there? He couldn't imagine how that was possible, he would never just up and give up on them. The being defeated at Marineford part he could possibly believe but not that.

"Disbanded!? So that's it? I lose and then I abandon you guys!? I would never do that!! Even if it's a me from the future!"

Robin makes an almost inaudible choking noise in her throat, realizing the extreme implied in her words. She puts her hands up soothingly, shaking her head.

"Not abandoned. Not completely," she explains. "You were likely dead, Luffy. No one knew what happened to you. There was no body, and no evidence you'd gotten away. There were rumors that the Marines had completely destroyed you, burned you to ash or sunk you in the depths just to be rid of you," her voice wavers at this.

"I don't know if any of the others were able to contact each other, but I was... otherwise detained. In East Blue. If Kuma could send me there, then it's likely the rest were similarly scattered. Whoever saved you, kept you hidden for so long, they knew this. The fact that you lived, and returned to Marineford to send a message across the world is a sort of victory in itself."

In a way it pissed him off that so much stuff happened that he had no idea about. It was hard to digest it all. So much so that he really didn't GET most of it. He could understand the words that were coming from her mouth, but it all just seemed so foreign. He LOST? But how, who beat him? He made sure to keep his priority mostly on Ace. To not waste too much energy on fruitless battles. He had been so careful. Possibly more careful than he's probably ever been. How did he just fail? There was a lot of thoughts going through his head right now, but he decided to stick to something a little closer in the time line to where he was.

"Yeah, but-- Ace! What happened to Ace!? He's okay right? Even if someone beat me The Old Man and those other guys could've saved him!"

The set of Robin's jaw could have been answer enough.

"I can only assume that their deaths are legitimate, based on your later actions. If returning to the site and paying your respects to them is a subterfuge, it is a good one."

He stays silent for just a little while before he gets his lion suit again and goes over to the closet. He starts to just slowly... hang the lion suit back on a hanger. Very slowly. It's taking forever to do it actually. And it might be parly due to the fact that his hands were shaking. Why this? It takes a lot of will just to stay in this place and now this too on top of it. He manages a fake unseen smile to try to sound at least somewhat legitimate about his words.

"A-ah, so... so there's no guarantee then. I could've just been doing that for Bon-chan... Ace might still be alive somewhere..."

"It isn't likely. But without a more definite source, I wouldn't completely disregard the notion. The newspapers speak of Firefist and Whitebeard's deaths as absolutes. There are reports that Blackbeard did something to Whitebeard's body and possibly now possesses the old man's ability, as well as his own. It seems the one here comes from a point in time after that, so perhaps he'd have more information..."

"... I already knew about that." His voice was beginning to sound more and more distant as he felt his body stiffen. He had already heard all of this before. And the fact that Robin had heard about it had made things a lot worse. "Smokey told me what he did to the old man..." The sound of his voice barely showed any signs of immediate anger, but even so he still implanted his fist into the nearby walls. He clinched his eyes closed as tight as possible to try and stop any of the upcoming tears in vain.

"I-I go back home.. just to fail again... I'm still that weak!?"

If one is looking to find an Usopp, the item store is the best place to do that looking. He's just hanging out at the counter, trying to work out how to play with the Etch-A-Sketch he found.

These things never make much sense.

Whether there's a bell on the door or not, Robin manages to enter silently. She approaches the counter and props her chin on her palm, watching as he experiments with the strange little device. The smell of flowers may alert him to her presence before she speaks, but that all depends on whether or not he's paying attention.

"Your lines could be a bit smoother on this part of the drawing," she says, tracing the tip of her finger along the smooth plastic surface.

He promptly jumps like he's been shocked, sending half of the sketch fading into horrible oblivion. Usopp would be more upset, but he wasn't all that big a fan of where it was going anyway.

"I- I'll figure out how to make smoother lines sooner or later."

If Robin feels even the tiniest bit of guilt for having scared the sniper and ruined his drawing, an amused smile is the only indication she gives of it.

"Indeed," she agrees, nodding. A quick glance around the shop ensures that they're alone and Robin, using a discrete fleur, switches the sign from OPEN to CLOSED. If the door is easily lockable, she does that as well.

"I was wondering if I could commandeer a few minutes of your time, Usopp."

Well, he'd be pretty worried if she did show signs of guilt over something like that.

Usopp straightens up at the need for privacy, setting the toy to the side. "Yeah, sure," he says, regarding her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

It's never difficult finding Sanji, especially in the morning, and a searching Robin will be sure to notice him cooking away in the kitchen before heading off for Seventh Heaven... for more cooking.

At least he seems to be in a more pleasant mood. These past few days have been good for unwinding, and while there's still much for him to think about, the announcement of an ocean and just being home have set him humming in time with the clinks! and clangs! of pots and pans.

Sanji's predictability is something Robin's grateful for, this morning in particular. It isn't simply pretense which drives her to the kitchen for a robust mug of her favorite Luceti brew. There's honestly nowhere she'd rather be on a chilly morning than basking in the warmth of atmosphere that isn't simply the scientific result of increased temperature.

"It sounds like you're in a good mood this morning," she comments.

Ah, it's a Robin. Well, right on cue he hands over a mug of coffee and greets her with his usual flair.

"It's always a good morning around Robin-chan~!" True enough, if the flourished grin is anything to go by, but he follows up his own words with something more to the point when he turns back to the meal. "And can't say I mind being back here. Those idiots finally did something right, with the new sea." He can't wait to drop by later in the week - bless Erim for willingly doubling as their taxi. He'll have to make it up to her, later.

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There's just no good time to break bad news

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