tampered | Log; Completed

Log; Completed

When; October 21st
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Naoto

naoto_two & Rob Lucci

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Summary; Naoto wants to know if the things that she heard from Robin are true.
Log;
Lucci closed the door behind him with a loud bang—-he didn’t give a damn about the annoyance it could've possibly been to the other inhabitants of the building.

He refrained from locking the door, as he expected to be back soon; he hoped Naoto would just say what was on her mind so he could get over with it. On the other hand, he'd probably end up staying longer than necessary, just to have some “fun”.

Either way, he didn’t bother anymore as he walked up to Naoto’s door and knocked; waiting for her to open the door.

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Naoto heard the door slam from her apartment and knew immediately to expect him. She had a hand on the doorknob, but she waited until he knocked, disconcerted by Robin's claims and by the fact that they might contain some truth. Taking a deep breath, Naoto opened her door wide.

"Hi," she greeted Lucci quietly, stepping aside to let him through. "Come in."

Lucci sure as hell didn’t like her quiet tone; she seemed more tense than usual. It made him wonder about what had happened that made her look so troubled.

She had been talking about a friend that wanted to kill him, but that wasn’t really the problem, since he’d deal with possible enemies anyway. Still, it didn’t make sense; as he couldn’t recall pissing someone off in such a way that he or she wanted him dead. At least not in the City.

Without acknowledging her greeting, he stepped inside and turned around to face her; he wanted to get to the point right away.

‘What did you want to talk about?’ he asked.

Naoto shut her door, stalling for time. She didn’t turn to face him; instead, she stayed facing the door with her hand on its surface. She didn’t know how to approach him with all she’d heard from Robin, but she hoped that there was no truth in her friend’s words.

Finally turning around, she forced herself to look at Lucci in the eye.

“We’re friends, right?” She took another deep breath. “Or am I simply a means to an end?”

He couldn’t deny that he was taken aback by her sudden outburst, especially since it wasn’t like her to ask him direct questions like these.

‘Well, if you call it friendship, then yes.’ he said, trying to hide his surprise. ‘I don’t know who got you to think that you’re being used by me, but I do know that it's pretty pathetic. I’m not that low.’

Naoto hesitated for just a moment, lowering her gaze to the floor, then said, “I know. At least, I think I know. I…”

She slumped against the door. “I’m not from your world, so I don’t know you as well as someone who is. She said… She said I should be careful, that I should stay away from you. And I tried to defend you but she—”

Naoto buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what to think! I don’t know which friend to believe, you or her.”

Lucci certainly wasn't used to situations like these--seeing Naoto like this made him uncomfortable. Still, he kept the facade up and remained passive.

'Before I can give you an answer, you could start out by telling who this friend is.' he sighed, while crossing his arms and looking at her expectantly.

“Her name is Robin. Nico Robin.”

Naoto looked up from her hands, afraid of what expression she might see on his face. “She said you want to kill her. She wants to kill you too—for revenge. I…” The woman’s face contorted into one of rage. “I won’t let her! But… I can’t let you kill her either!”

Upon hearing that dreadful woman's name, Lucci's eyes widened. She was here? Why hadn’t he noticed her? All that time…right under his nose.

Now I can finally finish what I started by simply killing her, he thought with a rising satisfaction. He had to suppress a slight grin; he knew that if he’d express his feelings, he’d lose Naoto. And he didn’t want that. Not yet.

‘Ah, her,’ he said apathetically. ‘Why would you believe a woman who has been lying all her life to get what she wants? She would do anything to achieve that pitiful dream of hers, which includes betraying friends.’

“She… has been lying to me?” Naoto found that hard to believe. Robin seemed like such a nice person, an honest person. And Luffy held her in great respect, too. They were nakama, he’d said. Was she to believe that Luffy was lying, too? But no… The boy was simple-minded, but truthful.

“I don’t understand. A dream…to avenge the deaths of those she lost? …But she and I, we’re the same. I would do what it took to kill my parents’ murderer.” Naoto lowered her eyes to the floor again. “I don’t know what to do. I like Robin-san. She’s been very good to me. But she called you dispassionate, and I know you’re not like that…”

But the words died on Naoto’s lips. Lucci was often cold and unfeeling, but those times… Was it only those times? Was it only because she gladly offered him affection and solace? He wouldn’t even acknowledge their friendship.

“Right? Or are you lying to me too?”

She sure knows how to figure things out, Lucci thought while gazing thoughtfully at Naoto. This might turn into a problem if I don’t convince her.

He could always kill Nico Robin, so the problem would immediately be solved. But then Naoto would know that he had been lying all the time, and she’d probably ditch him just when it started to get fun.

The other option was just telling her the truth, but that’d have the same consequences as killing Nico Robin.

Fucking dilemma.

The silence stretched on, and Naoto finally couldn’t bear it. She pushed past Lucci and stormed into her living room, curling on the couch with her back to the man.

His silence meant she was right, and it hurt to think she hadn’t believed Robin. She should’ve put more faith in her friend; she was determined now to go to Robin the next day and apologize for her harsh words.

Robin was right: Lucci had broken Naoto’s heart.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said curtly to the man standing in her doorway. “You can leave now.”

Lucci turned around and followed her into the living room with a determined look on his face; normally reserved for battles and other special occasions.

He sat down next to her and crossed his legs, but refrained from looking at her.

‘No. I first want to know why this is bothering you so much. It’s ridiculous and I don’t think that our…friendship should be destroyed because of this.’

“Because now I know I can’t trust you.”

Naoto sat up to face him, her brow furrowed in irritation. “How can I consider you a friend when I can’t trust you? Especially after… baring myself to you? Don’t think I’m a common whore.” A tinge of disgust touched her face. “If that’s the way you think, I might as well burn your roses now.”

Lucci looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

‘If I would’ve thought of you as a common whore, I wouldn’t have looked at you twice.’ he coldly said while rising to his feet; he glanced back at her with slight distaste.

‘It’s too bad though that you think of me that way, I thought you were smarter than that. Apparently not.’

Naoto stood up suddenly and gripped his arm as tightly as possible, keeping him to where he stood. Though she was always with a measure of calm to her expressions, her face now was one of utter rage.

“I told you what I thought of you, yesterday when you’d forgotten me!” she snarled. “You’re important to me! What higher opinion could I have?” A single tear fell down her cheek. “Why else would I be bothered this much?!”

She let go of him and turned away, trembling. “But if you’re going to go, then go!”

Lucci looked at her in surprise; this certainly was something new. He didn’t understand her being so upset about the whole situation, but it somewhat bothered him that he couldn’t do anything about it.

He closed his eyes and let out a soft chuckle while resting his hand on her shoulder. ‘How heart-warming. Thank you, I guess.’ He couldn’t resist being slightly sarcastic, even though he knew it’d only make everything worse.

He pulled his hand away as abruptly as it came there. ‘Still, I’m afraid I’m not the person you want me to be and that’s your problem, not mine.’

Naoto flinched when his hand found her shoulder, but she couldn’t stop from feeling disappointed when he quickly took it away.

“I don’t care what you are. I don’t care if you turn into a leopard or if you have great scars down your back or if you kill for a living. I just want you to be who you’ve always been, to me, since we’ve met… even if it means I’m a naïve fool. I guess…”

She smiled sadly, and her next words were quiet, fearful.

“I guess even naïve fools fall in love.”

Lucci couldn’t do anything else than stare at Naoto for a few seconds after her confession; he felt like laughing really hard, despite the seriousness of it all.

‘That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,’ he smirked. ‘Though…’ He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the almost familiar smell.

‘It’s kind of cute, really.’ he murmured absently, while he lowered his head to her ear, whispering: ‘I lie, I murder and I hurt people’s feelings. Will you able to live with that?’

Keeping her meant playing along. Oh well.

When she felt his arms around her, Naoto didn’t know whether to cry out of happiness for getting her wish or out of pity for whatever doom she’d chosen; tears came anyway. He was so close to her, something she should be comfortable with, but in that situation it was almost painful.

“I…”

Lucci was basically asking her which was stronger, her sense of justice or her love for him. She cared for her friends, deeply, but whatever it was that had her fall for the man at her back was far stronger. But that would mean possibly betraying and hurting her friends.

Was she really that selfish?

“…Yes.”

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Log; Completed

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