05 - week five

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FIVE

Come Sunday morning, the portals around Estelline fade away, but not all of the oddities hanging around disappear so quickly. The recreations of your dreams and memories are still around, ever changing and shifting. Whatever it is that brought these things here hasn’t ended, not yet.

You don’t have time to worry about all of that, though, even if you know you should exercise caution once two of you found yourselves on the bad end of a monster’s claws. The course still isn’t over, though, even if the portals changed lesson plans. Everything continues on, with new places to explore as the fog pushes back once again. This week still feels a little more like what you’re familiar with, though, after Saturday’s lack of lessons.

...For now.


SETTING TRACKER

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Comments

closed to sabo

[iubar]

[ this is well before the whole happening on the campus and ace has been... digesting a lot of things from what happened in his memories and the conflicting sequence of events. he knows what the true timeline is, given the scarring on his chest and the fact that sabo and the group couldn't have been there. (well, sabo could have, but it wouldn't make sense for him to be there.)

he could just let it all alone. not talk about the changes make him feel. but he should. maybe he waits for a while to see if sabo is going to approach him about it, but... no. apparently not. he's going to have to be proactive about it. so, he sighs and goes to find sabo wherever he's at right now. ]

[vivens]

[ yeah!!! because it isn't sabo's job to do all of the heavy lifting around here!! but no, more seriously, it's because even if it was just something that happened and wouldn't amount to anything then at least he could have a taste of what could have been. ...even if that was a complete chaotic experience and is almost certain that some of it wouldn't have happened in reality.

nevertheless, if ace is looking for him, then he doesn't have to go really that far or need to look very hard to find him. he'll be on his way to see what new things have opened up in the start of the new week. still hands make idle feet and all of that. so, ace is free to spot him anywhere between the campus and heading towards the residential district. he really is suspicious about the entire thing.

also he hasn't spoken to kyle yet(?) ]

[iubar]

[ good thing this place isn't that huge and they come across one another. ace hesitates a moment to call out to him, but nah. he doesn't stop. ]

Hey, Sabo!

[vivens]

[ small blessings for that. ...even if can make someone a bit stir crazy if they don't get enough stimulation or have enough to do, but that's neither here or there. ]

Oh! Ace.

[ he'll stop in his tracks and wait for ace to catch up with him. ]

Have you come to look around as well?

[iubar]

[ walking up next to him, he gives a nod in response to that. ]

Always fun to check out the new places.

[ wait, no. no, he isn't here for just that. he rubs his neck a bit. ]

I wanted to talk about what happened.

[ wanted to? hm. more like should. things still feel a little jumbled when one has overlapping memories. ]

[vivens]

...about what happened?

[ oh.

well can't say this hasn't been a long time coming but at the same time, probably a little bit long time coming? suppose it's then more about the context of the "what". after all there's...a lot that has happened. where do you even begin with some of this? ]

Sure. [ a small nod. ] Should we go somewhere and sit down or at least more out of the way?

[iubar]

Probably for the best. We can look at the new places after.

[ something fun to do after would be nice. since this is going to be a heavy enough topic. ]

[vivens]

Of course. We're not going anywhere faster anytime soon.

[ according to the map, the residential area is near the lower campus so i guess back to the campus/courtyard they go. but while they're walking: ]

Did you want to start?

[iubar]

I'd actually like to hear what you thought.

[ but, well, he should be a bit more specific. ]

...Did it help with your regrets?

[ since he knows how determined sabo looked there. but he can't be too sure what kind of influence the entire thing had on him. ]

[vivens]

[ you know, at least when ace gets to talking about something, he doesn't talk around it. it's one of the nicer things about this. makes things easy and there's no need to worry about doing any kind of dance but on the same coin...

at least he's fully aware of what ace is about when it comes to conversing, and most importantly, what he wants to talk about. ]

It gave me an answer.

[iubar]

[ one good part about it. he might want to avoid talking, but when he doesn't, he dives right in.

but he has to think about how to respond to that. since it didn't exactly answer his question. but that answer... ]

Yeah? What was that?

[vivens]

[ sorry but also not sorry for not answering the question the first time around because, well, did it really help? no. it didn't change what happened (probably). it was just for him. nevertheless, he gives ace a better answer this time. ]

If I had been there that day—would I have been able to do anything.

[ the things that keep him up at night even now, honestly. ]

I know there were others with me but, I know that it wouldn't have been completely pointless.

[ ...not that it actually makes him feel better yet also does. it's a weird thing. ]

[iubar]

[ he thinks about that and nods. ]

I know you regret it, but...

[ he pauses long enough to hook his pinky finger with sabo's as they walk. he doesn't acknowledge what he did there and just keeps walking. ]

We both have that regret of not saving one another. Sure, you didn't die... but for me, you had.

[ he looks around where they're walking, feeling very exposed right now. so many emotions. he knows he was asking sabo about how he felt, but it bridges into this just right. ]

We can change all of that now. We're both alive. You're not taking off on an adventure without me again.

[vivens]

[ sabo won't counter what ace says because it boils down to the same kind of argument. ace was a child—how in any world could he have done anything about the situation that sabo was in? he might not have known what dadan said, but it was the world itself that "killed" him.

much like how it was the world that truly killed ace. he really just says nothing for a bit and just quietly notices the way ace hooks his pinky. ]

Not right now I'm not. [ because who knows what will happen once this is all over. plenty of promises and words are being thrown around right now. ] There's the matter of what's going on right here that I want to help out with. I'm not going to ignore people who are trapped and have their freedoms restricted.

[ this much is very much true. sabo can't speak to a future—not under these circumstances. he'll only speak to the present. ]

[iubar]

[ there's a slow nod at that. he's not surprised that sabo can't look away from something like that. not with his family situation and the obvious want for freedom as he tried to escape. ]

Suppose you're right. We should focus on that part.

[ it does make him question if he should continue on this talk about the memories being conflicting now or not. he did get an important answer from sabo... so that's what matters, right? ]

[vivens]

[ unfortunately for ace, it's not just pain that's being shared but their emotions. and while it has been sabo to have been almost embarrassingly open with what he's feeling at any time, it doesn't mean ace is immune to it. he'll casually just kick at ace's ankles while they walk. ]

Say what it is that you really want to say, Ace.

[ might have been a "nicer" way to go about but it was more them this way. ]

There are no secrets between us, remember?

[iubar]

[ he frowns at that. no secrets, huh... ]

If there aren't secrets, why didn't you tell me about my devil fruit?

[ it might be weird with his memories, but he sure does remember seeing sabo turning himself into flames and sharing his own as sort of a heal or a boon to him.

it's annoying to think that sabo wouldn't tell him something that important. ]

[vivens]

[ ah.

well. hmm. he didn't see that one coming. ]

It's not like I hid it from you.

[ he just never brought it up in conversation. or made it a point of conversation. he's not about to say something as stupid as say that ace never asked so he never told but the sentiment is still there. ]

[iubar]

Then why didn't you tell me?

[ it seems like something he'd want to tell sabo right away, if their situations were reversed. but maybe that's just the way they operate. ]

[vivens]

It didn't seem to be as important compared to everything else at the time.

[ not to imply that it wasn't important but among all of the things that were happening around when they arrived and were adjusting to things... the devil fruit seemed to be at the low end of things. ]

[iubar]

[ he doesn't remove his hooked pinky from sabo, but does lift his other hand to lightly punch sabo's shoulder and sighs. he can't really argue that. it is a heavy topic, too. ]

I guess that's one hell of a way to reveal you've got it. [ a sigh. ] But you know, there's no one else I'd want to have my fruit.

[ luffy had his own tricks. somehow it feels right that sabo would take this mantle since he was alive. ]

Hope it's been treating you well.

[vivens]

[ he'll flinch but not because it actually hurts but more on reflex before smiling softly to himself. ]

That's what I figured as well. [ softly. ] I made sure to ask Luffy if it was okay for me to have it.

[ he'll bring up his free hand and look at it as though he had become accustomed to. of course, there is no flame that awaits him and it's just his gloved hand that he sees but he can still imagine it being there. ]

I had to spend a lot of time training myself with it, but it's been comforting to have. It's like you haven't left me.

[iubar]

There's no doubt he'd want you to have it. You're our brother, after all.

[ he almost finds it a little silly that sabo bothered to ask luffy about it. of course it would be sabo's and no one else's. but, it is the right thing to do. ]

I'm glad to hear that it's comforting. Being by your side... Like it was always meant to be.

[vivens]

I know, but I had been gone for so long and he also thought that I was dead. I didn't feel like I could have taken it without asking him first.

[ for all of sabo's bravado, he was still very anxious about it all. it's silly now to think about luffy ever being angry with sabo for waltzing into his life after over a decade asking to have ace's fruit... but he wouldn't have been surprised if luffy had been angry with him.

sometimes he wondered what kind of person he'd be without the kindness from luffy and ace. ]

You really did expect me to be your navigator, didn't you? Without even bother to ask me.

[iubar]

Always so polite.

[ it's not a dig at sabo. far from it. it's just how the other man had always been when they were young. well, not always polite, but certainly a lot more polite than him or luffy. it was where it counts.

and at that last part, he can't help but laugh a bit. ]

It's because I know you wouldn't have said no to me.