Just a little feelsy oneshot for you all.
I do not own Magi,
And I hope you gave a great day!
He really, really shouldn't be doing this.
But… He just needed to know.
Alibaba knew he shouldn't be asking Ja'far about something like this, as the General was known to be shrouded in mystery when it came to his past even if he's pretty open about his current life. As he sat there, waiting for Ja'far to sit down after serving the tea—By his own volition without being prompted of course—the blonde wondered if Ja'far would even answer his question or if maybe he was asking the wrong person. He was only asking Ja'far because he was hoping what he read wasn't a dramatization by Sinbad and that it was true.
Though, when Ja'far sat down on the seat across from him after setting the tea down in front of Alibaba, the blonde prince broke out in a cold sweat out of sheer nervousness.
"So, Alibaba, what is it you wanted to ask me?" The silverette asked with a kind smile on his freckled face. It was weird, being in this room where Ja'far would normally talk with Sinbad. When he had approached Ja'far in his office and had told him he wanted to ask him something, he had been prompted to sit down and ask it there until he had said it was a bit personal. And now they were here. It was an average sized meeting room for two, possibly three people off of Ja'far's office, and the Balbaddian Prince was sincerely impressed.
"I… I just wanted to ask you something about Al-Tharman…" The look that passed upon Ja'far's face was something like a steely sneer mixed with rage, and he muttered in response "You really should talk to Sin about them…"
"But it's about what they did to Kassim!" He exclaimed, and Ja'far seemed taken aback for a moment. Even if it was followed by Ja'far going silent with a look of solemn self judgement.
"In Mr. Sinbad's books, he said you were a dark djinn once even if it was with two other people! And you were nearly one by yourself—"
"I know that, and I would prefer not to talk about it." He interrupted, his face displaying his anger. He really didn't want to talk about his past; Not at all. He got up, and as he did he spoke with his words cold and harsh
"I will not speak of it."
Before he could walk away though, he felt Alibaba grab his sleeve and he heard him say "I just need to know if Kasim died peacefully!" And Ja'far froze with a sharp intake of breath. He knew now exactly what Alibaba was questioning. Damn Sinbad, damn those books of his. He had written about the time when Ja'far was an assassin, and now Alibaba wanted to know what the experience was like.
Yet… He was doing it because he wanted consolation that his friend wasn't in pain at the time of death, and Ja'far could give him that answer.
Because he had survived this long. Vittel and Mahad didn't.
He really couldn't fault Alibaba for that, could he? So many of his close people had died, and he would never, ever have the comfort of knowing if they had died in any semblance of peace. And if something like that happened ever happened to Sinbad and Ja'far didn't know if he died peacefully, he would have forced someone, anyone who had been through it and survived tell him if Sin had died without pain.
Alibaba wasn't making Ja'far say anything, he was asking.
"Sit down, Alibaba." The general stated, not noticing how his arm was shaking. From nerves or fear or anger, he didn't know. He felt the hand that was grabbing his sleeve let go, and he heard the blonde prince settle back into the seat, and Ja'far did so as well.
"Now, tell me, are you asking if he died without any physical pain or not?" He could answer about the physical pain, but it was questionable about mental pain.
"B.. Both…?" He asked, nervousness on his face evident. He wasn't expecting Ja'far to be this cooperative.
"I can't say much for physical, other than when it was me and my… Companions…" He dared not call them friends for lack of knowledge of the term, "our wounds were healed. Crudely and quickly done, but they were healed." The look of relief on Alibaba's face was something that was in describable, and Ja'far felt a sense of joy at that.
"As for mentally… The only thing I can say about that is that the feeling once you stop being a dark djinn and the core is shattered, it really is one of the best feelings in the world." He smiled gently towards Alibaba, his eyes soft. "It's uncertain whether or not he actually died peacefully, that's something that only you yourself can answer. If he lived for any amount of time after the core was destroyed, then I can safely say he at least felt as if there was nothing bad in the world, even for a second."
The blonde teen was silent, tears gathering in his eyes. "So… When… He died, he died with peace…?"
"I can't tell you that, Alibaba. It's something you need to answer yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." The sun was starting to set outside, the temperature dropping along with it.
And as Ja'far left the room, Alibaba smiled and said into the emptiness of the room with a small breeze passing by him…
"Nice to know he died peacefully.. Thank you, Mr. Ja'far."