[Action] Change in Fortune

[lileggplant]

[The little figure is hanging around at the very edge of the town's market square, trying his hardest to be absolutely invisible -- and probably not faring all that well, as a small child in a heavy iron mask isn't exactly subtle. He's also crying softly, audible only at close range -- not full-on sobs, but little shivering, hitching breaths and his one visible eye welling up with tears. This isn't where he was when he fell asleep, and he doesn't know where he is, and after so long spent in dim solitude, the noise and bright sunshine in the market are overwhelming.

He needs to figure out something about where he is -- what has happened to him, where his home has gone, what he's going to do with himself now -- even though the thought of approaching a stranger is frightening.

He looks around, searching for someone who looks unthreatening, or kind, or maybe like they're good at picking locks.

(After all, if he isn't at home, there is no guard with a key who can unlock the lower half of his mask so he can eat. That's important.)]

"U-Um. Excuse me?"

[When he makes his approach, his voice is thin and tremulous.]

"If... if it isn't too much trouble... could you please tell me where this is?"

Comments

apologies for late skdjlsa

[yamishogun]

[ Law is adapting quickly enough to the idea of this convergence, even if none of his old phone numbers seem to be working on this strange new snail. He'll figure out his way around that, around the new device, eventually; distracting, though, is a familiar voice nearby. In the last few hours he hasn't recognized his location or any of the people in it: a voice not just familiar but of a tenuous ally is welcome. ]

[ And as he approaches, glancing at the sign above the open door to see locksmith as the location, he sees what the proprietor is working on (struggling with) and stops dead in his tracks. ]

[ After a solid two or three seconds of cold, blank staring, a fury like he hasn't felt in years blazes up in his chest. ]

Blackleg-ya.

[ It's a snap, bristling with poorly-controlled rage, even if Sanji isn't actually the source of all this anger rocking his entire core. ]

What the hell is this?

aaaaaah yay!

[lileggplant]

[Sanji doesn't know that voice, but the tone of it freezes his heart in his chest; he knows the rage behind it all too well, has heard it from exactly one person in his life and that one person is the source of more pain and woe than all his siblings put together. This person is angry, and poorly restraining that anger, and even with the locksmith puzzling away at the back of his head, he tries to shrink away, as if he could hide himself behind nothing but himself.

Is this man with him Blackleg? He notices the name, but that's for later -- that's for after this anger, whatever the source or reason for it, is assuaged, or at work, after it has broken over him and left him in its wake.]

Poke at me if I miss a turn.

[gourmet_gams]

Don't scare him. [Sanji doesn't know what to do, he's not equipped to be loving in this sense, to be comforting and supportive. But he can keep himself together, he can keep his tone steady. And he sets his hand on the kid's back, trying to keep WWND in his mind. What would Nami do?. A fantastic idea, in theory. Which doesn't work out so well for him, she's got such a way with kids, and he just doesn't.

And he doesn't exactly have a soft, perfect, comforting form to offer either, but that's neither here nor there.] It's locked on. I hired him to get it off. [His tone is stable still, but the locksmith is getting frustrated. His tools just aren't meant to handle something like this, and one of the more fragile pins he's trying to use snaps while he tries to pick it.]

[yamishogun]

Room.

[ There's no hesitation; Law brings up a (relatively) small blue bubble as soon as that pin snaps, encompassing the entire inside of the building. He can examine the... the muzzle, the cage, like this, without getting too close, because not scaring the child isn't something he feels within his capabilities right now. He can usually control his anger, but this... This child locked up like a monster. The lock is complex, meant not to be picked, multiple interlocking gears and tumblers all focused around this single keyhole. He has no context for this little boy but it's too much like -

- wait a second. ]

[ The boy's body is small and young and not terribly strong but that entire bone structure is familiar, especially with what it reminds him of right here to glance at. ...Mirror worlds converging indeed. ]

[ He breathes out, the surprise actually mollifying his anger a little. So many questions, and none of them correct to ask. ]

Step back, [ he says with eyes on the blacksmith, thumbing Kikoku from its seat in its sheath with a clink. ] I can get it off without hurting him. You'll still be paid for your services.

[lileggplant]

[ Don't scare him, his supposedly nameless rescuer says, but it's far too late for that -- years too late, really. Fear is an old companion, familiar but no less galling for it. ]

[ Just like the weight of the mask that these strangers -- three now, his blond rescuer, the locksmith, and now this swordsman -- are all bending their wills to get off of him. The sense of unreality makes the edges of his thoughts waver. To have help -- to have people around him, adults, who want to see him freed of it, who are concerned about him feeling the fear that has always marked him as less... ]

[ It's amazing. ]

[ But that doesn't stop him from shrinking back a little against that supportive hand. The clink of the sword being loosened in its sheath isn't reassuring. Is this newcomer going to cut the mask? ]

Thank you...

[ Cutting him or not, this man just showed up and already intends to free him. He never thought the world might be full of people like this. ]

[gourmet_gams]

[Don't scare him more was closer to what Sanji meant by it. He still remembers, still knows that sickening dread that bubbled up inside of him, how his existence was cruelty. And he's not going to let that pain continue here, in this world of worlds where nothing is limited to them.]

He's going to get you out of it. Hold still.

[Sanji moves away as well, hand leaving the kid's back. But he keeps himself close and in view in case that actually does something to help Sanji stay calm. And he's going to leave this in Law's hands now. If this was someone else, a normal kid in trouble maybe, someone he wasn't so intrinsically connected to he'd probably be fine just waiting for the locksmith or taking him to search for Nami with him. She'd definitely be able to get it off without traumatizing the brat further.

But now, it's about getting it done fast. So he watches, cigarette slowly burning down unsmoked, as he keeps a protective eye over the child that has already been through so much.

A thought comes then.] Be good and when it's off you can come with me and make something to eat.

[yamishogun]

[ Law doesn't have the time or patience to explain himself to the child right now, not when this is about an entirely different kind of mercy than medical life and death, when it's not a delicate procedure involving moving lead out of organs or poison out of blood. Still - ]

Close your eyes.

[ - it'll scare the absolute shit out of him if he figures out what Law's doing. ]

[ So when Law unsheathes Kikoku, wielding it one-handed, he holds out a hand toward the young Blackleg before swinging. A quick flash, a diagonal strike, cuts the mask in two - cuts the boy's entire head in two, but his empty hand closes with a murmur of Shambles to put it back together before it can shift, before it's separated by more than just the swish through of the blade. Invisible to the locksmith, though perhaps not to the cook. Half a moment later the ugly mask separates with an audible clank of angry clockwork and slips from the child's head. Another Shambles deposits the pieces unceremoniously into the locksmith's trash before they can fall far enough to hit the boy's shoulders, much less his small and so important feet. ]

[lileggplant]

[ The stranger doesn't say have something to eat, he says make something to eat, and Sanji brightens up despite himself, despite all the confusion and intimidation, because that's really the crowning glory on today! Out of his cell, freed of the hateful mask, and off to cook afterward? It's wonderful! ]

[ The swing of the sword startles a yelp out of him, and there's a moment of intense, painful cold in his head -- but then the weight of the mask is gone, gone for good, his head so light it could reach the clouds, and he puts his hands up to feel his own face, his own hair, fingers tracing his features as though they're entirely new to him, and the smile that breaks across his face is like the dawn, growing into a pure shining radiance of happiness. ]

It's gone!

[ And before he can think about whether this is a good idea, he flings himself forward and hugs the strange swordsman around the waist. He doesn't understand exactly how it all worked, but it's gone and he's free. ]

Thank you!!

[gourmet_gams]

[Sanji knows what Law is capable of, he knows he's trustworthy when it comes down to it, but that doesn't mean his heart isn't in his damn throat the entire time. And he's absolutely horrified as he watches, even though it's for the best and it's sure as hell getting the job done better than the locksmith's attempts.

Still, he wishes that it didn't have to be dealt with at all, no matter what method got the mask off or how fast it happened.

Sanji turns to face Law as the kid hugs him, fuck that's cute, he's so happy. He probably would have felt the same way though, in this situation. Free of that prison, free of that genetic horror show, free of the mask. It would have seemed too good to be true.] Thanks. Means a lot. [Fuck, he is not equipped for emotional moments with men, this makes things a lot harder. He figures that he'll offer a meal as thank you in a minute too, for now he goes over to pull out his beri for the locksmith. He figures he owes him a little more for that tool too.]