[ would that it were an exaggeration, too, but unfortunately hua cheng's retelling is an accurate one: such things are powerful in his world, and one's fortune and fate is often decided well before birth. and anyway, this was centuries ago—to hua cheng, there's no point in being upset about it any longer, not when there's nothing he or anyone else could do about it now. ]
I did, [ he says. ] And I do. I'll sing you one someday.
[ not now, though. although it's a moment of reminiscence, the lullabies are too quiet, too thoughtful for the dinner table.
the question makes him laugh aloud. has anyone ever asked him that before? hua cheng doesn't recall. ]
Hong'er, [ is his answer. ] Something like... "little red," I think. My right eye was red, when I still had it.
[ For her, it feels impossible to imagine how long he's lived, and how removed from the things he shares with her now he is, separated by more centuries than she can fathom. Instead, that slight pang of sadness pierces her chest gently, as, not for the first time, she considers his death, and all the painful things he must have endured before it.
That sadness hangs on the edge of her smile very slightly, because she can't keep it back all the way, nor can she suppress the fondness in her eyes as she leans in to get a better look at his face, seemingly trying to imagine him with two eyes. ]
So you've always been cute. [ It's safer to go for playful than say anything that might make her dwell on heavier thoughts, even flashing him a brief wink before she goes back to her food, her eyes on her plate as she adds– ] Not surprising.
[ in looking at nami's face, hua cheng can of course see that sadness—he knows her well enough by now to know nearly all of her expressions. it's sweet of her to mourn for who hua cheng once was, for the life that he lived when he was still human. hua cheng reaches a hand out to link his pinky finger briefly with nami's, then squeezes lightly. ]
I was very cute, [ he says, shameless. ] Small for my age, if you can believe it, but feisty enough for a child twice my size.
[ hua cheng is forced to relinquish nami's hand in order for them to keep eating, but after a few minutes he tilts his head thoughtfully and asks, ]
I wonder what you were like as a child. Would we have gotten along?
[ For such a slight gesture, it's ridiculously endearing, enough so that the sad look in her eyes disperses quickly, replaced by the kind of fond smile that only seems to come easily around those she's had the chance to really get to know.
Trying to picture him as a runty little kid certainly didn't hurt.
Once her hand is freed, she reaches for her wine, amused while she considers the question. ]
Maybe, but I might have been a bad influence back then. When I wasn't chasing after Nojiko I was terrorizing my village. Genzo was always bringing me back to my mom because I'd stolen a book or something.
[ now that's something hua cheng can picture easily: nami as a little hellion, running around her village sowing seeds of chaos wherever she went. not so different from how she is now, hua cheng imagines, although he understands that the fire in her as an adult is fueled more by fury than by mischief. ]
Nojiko. [ hua cheng repeats the name, recalling something nami had said some time ago. ] Your sister? The one who runs the orchard.
[ although nami hadn't mentioned her sister's name, it seems like a good enough guess given the context. talking about their families, how they were as children. ]
Books, though. Did you enjoy them as a child? [ hua cheng tilts his head. ] I didn't learn to read until well after I'd died.
[ There's something about hearing Hua Cheng say her sister's name, that makes the corners of her mouth twitch and curve upward in a tiny smile. This kind of sharing is new. Nobody outside her crew and her island knew her like that. But, Hua Cheng has always been anomalous in the quick, easy way she learned to trust him. ]
Still lives in the shack we grew up in and everything. [ Although, given the almost hundred million berry she left behind when setting sail with Luffy and his crew, Nami hopes Nokjiko has at least spent a little on sprucing up the old place.
When he asks about books, she nods eagerly, before his words make her blink in surprise. So close on the heels of the last time those thoughts began to circle, Nami manages to push aside the innate human urge to acknowledge her mourning. ]
Was reading not common where you were from? We grew up really poor but still learned that, and basic math from the village, but I've heard there are places even in my world, where that's not always the case with people who don't have a lot.
[ nami's sister and nami's home, rendered in nami's hand—hua cheng can't think of anything more wonderful than that. nor more intimate, really, but he hopes that by this point they're close enough friends that she understands her vulnerability is safe with him.
again, that flicker of sadness in nami's gaze. he reaches across the table to take her hand, lacing their fingers together as he answers. ]
Books and literature were only for the upper classes, [ he explains. ] There was only a need for education for those who might go on to work in the palace or for the government. I was an urchin who became a soldier—I had no need for reading.
[ squeezing nami's hand lightly, hua cheng adds, ] It makes you sad to think that I died, doesn't it, xiaojie?
[ Hua Cheng sees more of Nami than most people do. The carnality of their friendship aside, he's safe and comfortable in other ways as well, making it easy for her to nod in agreement when he mentions her drawing her sister for him. It would take a lot, but for him, she's already thinking over which of the sketchbooks she's filled during her time at the casino has the best drawings of home already in them.
For someone to mean so much, it makes sense that she can't escape that quiet pang of loss that lingers in her chest each time the topic of his death is broached, but she doesn't expect to be called out for it in the gentlest way imaginable. Caught off guard, Nami laughs quietly and looks down at her plate, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she mulls over how to answer. ]
Probably no reason to, is there? [ He's here, isn't he? No longer an urchin or a soldier, and likely better off for it. ] I like Hua Cheng, I guess it makes me sad I missed the chance to care about Hong'er too.
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no subject
I did, [ he says. ] And I do. I'll sing you one someday.
[ not now, though. although it's a moment of reminiscence, the lullabies are too quiet, too thoughtful for the dinner table.
the question makes him laugh aloud. has anyone ever asked him that before? hua cheng doesn't recall. ]
Hong'er, [ is his answer. ] Something like... "little red," I think. My right eye was red, when I still had it.
no subject
That sadness hangs on the edge of her smile very slightly, because she can't keep it back all the way, nor can she suppress the fondness in her eyes as she leans in to get a better look at his face, seemingly trying to imagine him with two eyes. ]
So you've always been cute. [ It's safer to go for playful than say anything that might make her dwell on heavier thoughts, even flashing him a brief wink before she goes back to her food, her eyes on her plate as she adds– ] Not surprising.
no subject
I was very cute, [ he says, shameless. ] Small for my age, if you can believe it, but feisty enough for a child twice my size.
[ hua cheng is forced to relinquish nami's hand in order for them to keep eating, but after a few minutes he tilts his head thoughtfully and asks, ]
I wonder what you were like as a child. Would we have gotten along?
no subject
Trying to picture him as a runty little kid certainly didn't hurt.
Once her hand is freed, she reaches for her wine, amused while she considers the question. ]
Maybe, but I might have been a bad influence back then. When I wasn't chasing after Nojiko I was terrorizing my village. Genzo was always bringing me back to my mom because I'd stolen a book or something.
no subject
Nojiko. [ hua cheng repeats the name, recalling something nami had said some time ago. ] Your sister? The one who runs the orchard.
[ although nami hadn't mentioned her sister's name, it seems like a good enough guess given the context. talking about their families, how they were as children. ]
Books, though. Did you enjoy them as a child? [ hua cheng tilts his head. ] I didn't learn to read until well after I'd died.
no subject
Still lives in the shack we grew up in and everything. [ Although, given the almost hundred million berry she left behind when setting sail with Luffy and his crew, Nami hopes Nokjiko has at least spent a little on sprucing up the old place.
When he asks about books, she nods eagerly, before his words make her blink in surprise. So close on the heels of the last time those thoughts began to circle, Nami manages to push aside the innate human urge to acknowledge her mourning. ]
Was reading not common where you were from? We grew up really poor but still learned that, and basic math from the village, but I've heard there are places even in my world, where that's not always the case with people who don't have a lot.
no subject
[ nami's sister and nami's home, rendered in nami's hand—hua cheng can't think of anything more wonderful than that. nor more intimate, really, but he hopes that by this point they're close enough friends that she understands her vulnerability is safe with him.
again, that flicker of sadness in nami's gaze. he reaches across the table to take her hand, lacing their fingers together as he answers. ]
Books and literature were only for the upper classes, [ he explains. ] There was only a need for education for those who might go on to work in the palace or for the government. I was an urchin who became a soldier—I had no need for reading.
[ squeezing nami's hand lightly, hua cheng adds, ] It makes you sad to think that I died, doesn't it, xiaojie?
no subject
For someone to mean so much, it makes sense that she can't escape that quiet pang of loss that lingers in her chest each time the topic of his death is broached, but she doesn't expect to be called out for it in the gentlest way imaginable. Caught off guard, Nami laughs quietly and looks down at her plate, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she mulls over how to answer. ]
Probably no reason to, is there? [ He's here, isn't he? No longer an urchin or a soldier, and likely better off for it. ] I like Hua Cheng, I guess it makes me sad I missed the chance to care about Hong'er too.