(no subject)

[ledbythewind]

Who: Richard (ledbythewind), Nami (mikangirl), and spectators
What: A date. Yes, a date.
When: The evening of Sunday the 22nd
Where: Seventh Heaven
Summary: Richard has internal conflict! And clearly the best way for him to resolve this particular internal conflict is to ask Nami out on a date. (It makes sense to him, okay.) However, it... doesn't exactly make sense to anyone else.
Rating: PG-13 for Sanji and Isamu's mouths.

[A date. It's a strange concept to Richard, even though they're both clear on the fact that it isn't serious by any means. He's never really been on a proper date before, and certainly not with a woman, and as such he can't help but feel just a tiny bit nervous about it. But it's Nami, so he feels somewhat more comfortable in that respect. At least there's no chance that she'll get the wrong message.

Regardless, he figures it can't hurt to look nice, which is why he'll be slipping out of the house that evening dressed in a fancier-than-usual dress shirt, slacks, and a bowtie before he heads on over to Nami's house to pick her up.]

Comments

[mikangirl]

[She suspects they'll deal. Or rather, Sanji will-- she knows him well enough, but she's barely spoken to Isamu.]

Well, it could be kind of fun to watch them come up with mad conspiracy theories.

[Something she wouldn't say if she knew you'd KISSED him, Richard. B|]

[ledbythewind]

With the two of them together, the results certainly could be interesting...

[Hey, that's not something he really wants to go around broadcasting, despite the fact that it actually plays into his whole decision to do this in the first place.]

[mikangirl]

Hmm. I'll play it by ear.

[And leaving that subject by the wayside:]

So I think this is the part of the date where you keep me entertained with charming small talk.

[ledbythewind]

That much I can do, though I suspect you must have questions for me now that you know about my title.

[mikangirl]

I'll say. Are you rich?

[BEST FRIEND EVER.]

[ledbythewind]

Not as much as I used to be. I've caused my country a great deal of debt that needs to be repaid.

[mikangirl]

[Oh, boo. One day she'll meet a rich emperor and it will be awesome. And watch, he'll turn out to be blond and gay, too.

More serious conversation, though:]

Why? What happened?

[ledbythewind]

[Hey, Richard is still rich, it's the gay part that's the bigger problem, okay.]

It's a long story. Suffice it to say that I... very nearly destroyed the world.

[And he can't even claim that it wasn't on purpose, either. At that point, he WANTED to destroy everything and believed it was for the best.]

[mikangirl]

[...hnn. That is a heavy topic for a date, but this isn't really date, is it? Nami's fingers tap on the table as she thinks on it. She's met a few people who've 'nearly destroyed the world' in Luceti. Most of them regret it.]

...you wanna talk about it?

[ledbythewind]

That all depends on what you'd like to hear about it.

[He does regret it, of course-- more than almost anything he's done in his life. But that doesn't mean he's going to shirk responsibility for it either. Besides, he knows Nami well enough by now (or at least hopes he does) to know that she isn't going to go around spreading this everywhere.]

[mikangirl]

Anything you want to tell me. [And she smiles a little, propping her chin on one hand.] It won't go any further.

[ledbythewind]

[Richard has to consider this for a moment. It's still not a topic he's comfortable discussing too openly, not even with Asbel or Isamu, in part because it's not something he likes thinking about. On the other hand, he doesn't want to lie about it either.]

... I spent seven years of my life parasitized by a being known as Lambda. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for that fact, so I suppose I can say I owe him my life for it, just as he owes me for his. But... neither of us had very positive views of the world at the time.

[mikangirl]

[Parasitized... The way she draws back, she's clearly imagining what Richard must mean by that. But that's clearly not the full story, so she says nothing.]

[ledbythewind]

[Seeing the expression on her face, he gives her a tiny wry smile in return.]

Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. I wasn't even aware of it for the majority of the time, and he saved my life more than once.

[mikangirl]

So...what happened, exactly? You...you're not still...?

[ledbythewind]

No, I'm not. Asbel saved both of us... but not before I'd already done many things I regret.

[mikangirl]

I'm sorry to hear it. [It doesn't answer the real weight of her questions: what he did while ... infected, the whole story, but maybe she won't ask. Not on a date. She'll let him volunteer whatever he wants to.] How long ago was that?

[ledbythewind]

I was still affected when I was brought here for the first time-- not that I was aware of exactly what was going on just yet. However, it seems that my arrival in Luceti separated me from Lambda, so I was never truly under his influence while I was here.

[mikangirl]

But you're not affected now, right? I mean... you won't go home to that?

[ledbythewind]

No, I won't. Asbel made sure of that.

[mikangirl]

Glad to hear it.

...and sorry. That was sort of a deeper line of conversation than I expected.

[ledbythewind]

That's quite all right. It isn't something I can run away from, no matter how much I might like to at times.

[mikangirl]

Well, I guess it makes you part of who you are.

Maybe you should ask a question, now. [Because hers led deeper places. '_']

[ledbythewind]

A question...?

[Give him a moment to think.]

Since I told you something about my past, I think it's only fair for you to tell me something about yours in exchange. You can choose whatever subject you wish.

[mikangirl]

Hmmm... [Tempted to take the cheap answer here, but she feels bad she dredged up a bad subject by accident. Something to even it out...]

Well. The Straw Hats are actually my second crew. I was the cartographer for another pirate crew for about eight years before I met Luffy.