Arsene Lupin III (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redjacketthief) wrote2000-11-14 02:55 pm
redjacketthief) wrote2000-11-14 02:55 pm
Entry tags:
Appointments
This is the mailbox of your's truely, Arsene Lupin III. I take it that you've come here because you want to talk to me or make some kind of plan. Whatever it is, I'l gladly listen, but I need your name, date, time, and the best way to get back to you. Sorry I missed you, and I'll get back to you soon, okay?
[Please denote if you are leaving a written, voice, or video message and comment here.]
[Please denote if you are leaving a written, voice, or video message and comment here.]
September 19th [Action]
A very vicious one. [... mother ocean.] What was said?
September 19th [Action]
They called me a liar because I couldn't keep a promise that I shouldn't even have made in the first place. It was...against everything that I am. They said it was unforgivable--
and I was all ready pissed, so I threw a verbal bomb. Lies are nothing compared to some of the things that Luke has seen and done, but that's not my place to explain further.
That was all I said, I gave no details. They kicked me out for it.
...Then Obi-Wan was abducted just the other day, right near here. I went to go tell them, and there were further comments that I was the only one in the wrong. Maybe I am, but that didn't make their words or actions any better.
So...
I doubt they'll ever hear me now.
September 19th [Action]
... he needs more perspective than this one side.]
... do you think of them as nakama, Lupin?
September 19th [Action]
I only learned that word because of you guys from the Grand Line. The idea of it doesn't really exist at home, but things happen. It's hard not to grow close to someone after you've exchanged bullets and survived. It's twisted, I know, but it works. That idea is the closest way to define how I feel about my partners at home, and I had hoped that the same type of idea could apply here.
So...yes. In a weird way, yes.
September 19th [Action]
I'm willing to bet Luke doesn't either.
[Growing more distant. Reflective.]
She told me you shook on it. Partners. Sealed it with a glass of brandy. She wondered if that was more important to her than yourself, and wondered if you would be straight with her if she asked. I told her if it was important, you would be. And to ask.
... at least for her, and I heavily suspect Luke as well, this fight was more than about broken promises and brushed on dark secrets. That's what I think.
September 19th [Action]
[And it was something he was sought to understand underneath his agitation and trouble focusing. Even underneath his own hurt underneath the cutting actions and words, he was willing to make the attempt]
I think it was a misunderstanding, and the fact that I was trying to be something that I fundamentally am not. I did shake on it with Adele, and did drink on it...and it was a gesture that meant a lot to me. My partners back home, we never did anything so...'official.' This was something different, a solemn agreement to be by each other's side. The same goes for Luke--I want to think that our friendship is more than Shift related. There are days when I have a hard time understanding him because our views are too different, but I trust him...and that's the bottom line.
But I've been taking it easy for two months. I can't do it anymore. Once I'm stable on the pills again, I know that it's just going to hit that same plateau level that it did before. It won't get much better than that until November. [Because he did his research, and he made his calculations.]
...I've gone back to work, not as much as before. It helps, kind of. Working with Smoker always helps. There are materials I need to get, tasks that I need to accomplish...
I'm tired of sitting quietly and waiting.
September 19th [Action]
[More sighing.]
You're not glass, Lupin. To be frank, I don't think I could have held on much longer myself. And at this point, house arrest is not going to do you much more good.
But you're going to have to pace yourself. Prove to them that you know your limits and can take care of yourself.
September 19th [Action]
[An intonation of Smoker's words from earlier in the week, and a startling parallel between the two men that harbored such dislike for each other. Lupin understood this, on many levels.]
I know that we need to give it time, but I still want to try. This isn't something I want to give up on, even if we never really agree on this point. I am also pacing myself, not working as hard as I was. I need to work on my projects, but I am taking my time.
--Their argument against all of this was that they're trying to protect me, and that I'm too compromised to help. That may be so, but it's not that much worse than Robbie or Donatello. And not near as bad as Steve, Tony, and Loki could be.
...I was going to ask around, you first. Then Daisy, Shepard, Fujiko, Shikamaru, and even Steve. He doesn't know, but I would have briefed him on what happened. He all ready has an idea, but I hesitated on giving him the full story. If any one of you had concerns, I would have pulled back. I'd have pulled back anyway, because this weather is making everything tricky.
Even if talking won't work right now, Adele deserves a shot. She at least deserves some honesty, and now it's a question of how her idea of partnership compares to mine. It might be too different, but it should be discussed.
September 19th [Action]
Good.
September 19th [Action]
...off the record, I'd like to know. Would you have cleared me to go on this mission?
[Because knowing the answer was important to him.]
September 19th [Action]
I admit I would been torn. This is a very dangerous and quite possibly, the most essentially important mission to date. You know the stakes. You know what it would mean if we fail. [What the Rogue Malnosso will do.] It only takes one misstep. And we need as few complications going in as possible.
You are also an expert in the required fields. There are other experts, yes, and I will not insult their skills, but you are able to do what they do with no special and easily blocked abilities. You also possess what few do - years of experience. We are also already having to accommodate non-combatants, we can do so for one more if the benefits outweighed the downsides.
Lupin, I am not just a doctor, but a commander of men. [Or the Surgeon. People only see one of the three - they couldn't perceive him for the entire trinity of roles that he was.] I don't get to be sentimental; I have to remain objective. Sometimes that means sending out a wounded man to fight. Or putting a friend in the line of fire.
[It's very hard. He conflicts and contradicts.]
... and closure? Is something you need as well.
It would have been conditional. I would have reserved the right to draw back my clearance at any time. But that is my answer.
September 19th [Action]
Your experience...
It shows.
[Even outside of combat, Lupin had his suspicions about Law. Doctors normally weren't trained to plan out and lead such large-scale tactics, nor did they command near the level of respect that Law had around the village.
In the event of another crisis, Lupin knew that he would turn to Law once again.]
It's so easy to forget the strange nature of this place sometimes. Beyond the Shifts, it is positively mundane enough that our proximity to the front lines just slips from notice. Everyone is surprised when it comes back--you'd think that, after how long some have been here, this sort of thing would be well remembered.
[Then again, he was just paranoid enough to suspect that something would go wrong no matter how clean the job was going. Staying alert kept him alive.]
But thanks. That helps. We'll have to get coffee, even if this mission ends badly. It's getting cold, and even you deserve some downtime.
September 19th [Action]
[Can't argue with that.]
Well, I hear there is a coffee place in the works.
September 19th [Action]
September 19th [Action]
That sounds like something I'd be crazy to turn down. [So speaks addiction.]