We parted ways around dawn. We realized pretty quickly that it wasn't a good idea for us to literally enter town together, given the conspiracy. Hudson headed out first, and I left later, down another path. I was pretty sure we weren't being watched, but it was still smart to be careful.
I had decided that I liked Hudson. I mean, yes, he was kind of out of his mind, but it was hard to find it anything but endearing after considering the situation he had been in. Since coming to this world I had developed a much stronger work ethic than I had before, but the idea of dedicating myself to something so dangerous for so long...I didn't think I could do it. Hudson had literally been playing a character for months on a stage where a wrong line could get him killed, and he was ready to do it even longer.
That was the part of the conversation we had that I couldn't really get my head around. After all this was over, Hudson said he was going to stay the head of the pirates.
"Why?" I asked. "You clearly don't like being there, and it's not like there's no way out. I mean, sure, you have a bounty...but in theory, we could use this duel to fake your death! Then I could beat Lilac, chase off the pirates, and you could build a new identity! You've been playing a role this long, this would be like that except you wouldn't have to pretend to murder people."
"Kuina, think about what you're asking," he responded, puffing out his chest in pride. "If I did what you're describing, I'd never be able to be Roy Hudson again! A fate worse than death, I'm sure you realize."
"Seriously, I don't get it." I said.
"Look, it's just...let's say for a moment that we did that," he said, sitting back down. "Getting Lilac away from them would help, but they're still a band of violent pirates! Ever since I became captain, they've been stable, they've been committing crimes without hurting people. If I was gone...it would be like I just turned them loose on the world! I would be at least partially responsible for whoever they hurt along the way."
"That is not how responsibility works," I said, shaking my head. "You aren't responsible for what people do just because you aren't there, and thinking you are is a recipe for a guilt ridden disaster. Besides, how long are you willing to do that?"
"As long as I need to," he said, stoking the fire. "I'm not a bounty hunter, or a super powered marine. I'm not even a great fighter. But I am very good at pretending...and if pretending can save lives, then that's what I'm going to do. I have a real chance to make a difference, and I'm not giving that up."
It sounded ridiculous to me. Unfortunately, it sounded like the kind of ridiculous that made me think about my own issues.
It wasn't that I agreed with him, but he definitely made me wonder about myself. His willingness to just make his life a long con...it made me feel kind of directionless. I mean, I wasn't just following a script, like I had been before my training, but I still felt like I didn't really have much of anything resembling a plan. Yes, I was going to become the world's greatest swordsman. Yes, I was going to find Zoro, again and for the first time. But what was I going to do while I was doing that?
I needed to get into the Grand Line, but as far as I could tell, there weren't exactly passenger ships going there. I would need to find someone making that voyage, and I would need to convince them to take me. I was pretty sure that I could, but whoever I talked to would want me to work for or with them...and I wasn't sure what that would entail.
If you had asked me before coming here what I would have done if I ended up in the One Piece world, I would have answered, without hesitation, that I wanted to be a pirate. I mean, who wouldn't? In the manga, it looked like the most exciting thing in the world. But now that I was actually here, the idea seemed a lot less appealing. Not a lot of pirates were idealistic dreamers, after all, and as for the One Piece...I honestly wasn't sure that I cared. Past me would be smacking myself for that, but I guess my priorities shifted along the way.
In terms of my other options, there was no way I was joining the Navy. Beyond the abuses that I knew existed, I didn't want to join the military in my first life and I didn't want to join it now. But all in all, what did that leave me? Were there merchant ships that crossed the Grand Line? I had no idea, and I was pretty sure if there were, most of them wouldn't be eager to hire someone who's goal could literally be summarized as 'sail around the world and get into fights.'
Dammit! I had been hoping my anxiety about the future would have been left in my last life!
I shook my head as the town came into view. I couldn't let myself get distracted, I needed to focus. Granted, I wasn't focusing on what I thought would be a difficult fight anymore, but attacking someone with a sword and demolishing them without killing them was a challenge all of its own. I tried to consider my options. I couldn't just knock him down, they might not believe that. I definitely needed to draw blood, and I needed to do it in a way that was obvious to the pirates. I could always disarm him, that was usually a pretty good indicator that someone was done...but the whole crew thought Hudson could just kill people with his bare hands. So no, I had to actually subdue him, which also meant that taking out Lilac was no longer a possibility, but a necessity. From how Hudson had described him, he would have no problem taking his life while he recovered. So I just had to hope that Hudson was right, and that Lilac would attack me when he was taken out. If he didn't...I'd have to hunt him down later. That, or I'd have to contrive some reason to jump him as soon as the fight was done.
Planning a fake fight was stunningly more complicated than planning a real one.
As I entered the town, I took a deep breath, centering myself. There was no point in worrying about possibilities right now. I needed to calm down, and I needed to play this as it came. Hudson and I had run through a few ways this fight could go, and any one of them could work. He had taught me a series of stage fighting signals so we would be on the same page when I struck. If everything worked, we would make it look like I had defeated him without revealing to the others how abysmal he was at actually fighting. We were ready.
I walked over to the inn I had stayed at before, and sat down on a chair outside. I had just camped out under the stars, and as nice as that was, there was no way I was going to stand in the middle of the street waiting for Hudson again. A few people noticed me, but I was too focused to answer questions right now.
As the morning stretched on, I heard a bell ringing, and recognized it as an alarm. The same sound had heralded the pirates a day ago, so I was ready for what was coming. I stood up, and walked into the center of town. Behind me, I noticed the Marines forming up, and I noticed something odd. Genghisis was not with them. I was pretty sure he had led from the front last time, so his absence was pretty confusing. Then again, there were plenty of reasons for him to be absent. Maybe yesterday convinced him he would be wasting his time.
The marines barely had any time to get in position before the pirates came. Hudson wasn't with them, which wasn't a big surprise, as he had said before that he was going to come down separately. Lilac stood at the front. He flicked his fan sword open and closed as he walked, a casual smirk on his face. The rest of the crew looked somewhat grim. The cold, determined expressions on their faces gave me a moment's pause. Their boisterous, bragging attitude from yesterday was gone, and in its place was something...angry. I rested my hand on my sword, resolving to do something if it looked like they were going to jump the gun.
We stood there across from each other for a while. I did not like the look on Lilac's face. It was filled with anticipation, and he looked right at me, his eyes smiling like he was moments away from bursting out laughing. Finally, he spoke.
"So, swordsman!" he yelled out, waving his free arm. "Gotta say, I'm real sorry about yesterday! Believe me, if I were your opponent, I would not be wasting your time like that."
"Um, you're welcome?" I said back, raising my eyebrow.
"I thought in light of that, we should do something more traditional," he called over, and motioned behind him. And as I saw the crowd part, my grip on my sword tightened.
I had thought the crowd looked bigger when they arrived, and now I knew why. Ten people were brought to the front, and each of them had their wrists tied, and big black bags over their heads. As they reached the front, they were forced to their knees. Rifles, pistols, and cutlasses were pressed to the backs of their heads.
"Yeah, we were pretty bored yesterday too!" he said gleefully. "So after we found out Hudson didn't give us the right location for the duel, we decided to sneak into the town under cover of darkness, and grab a few assurances! You know, to make sure we could actually get something done today!"
My first instinct was to call him a liar. After all, I couldn't see the faces of the prisoners. For all I knew, these were all pirates, and this was all a trick. But as I looked them over, I realized something about one of them. To the left of them sat a burly man, his arms covered in familiar tattoos. And apparently, the marines had noticed the same thing. I could immediately tell that there was no way that they were going to open fire while their acting commander was being held hostage and used as a shield.
Dammit, had Hudson tricked me? Had he just kept me talking up there during the night so his men could get away with this? I gritted my teeth, and started looking up and down the line of prisoners, looking for a weak spot. The good news is that there were several. The bad news was that if I saved any of them, no matter how fast I was moving, some of them would fall. And as I considered the situation, I realized that I was not willing to make that sacrifice.
"What do you want?" I yelled back. The longer Lilac was talking, the less likely he was to just start killing.
"Oh, we don't need to talk about that yet." Lilac laughed. "After all, this is just act one! The real fun is going to begin in act two, and I predict it's going to get started in just...a...moment…"
I almost responded, but then stopped when I realized what he said. I did not like the sound of what Lilac had said. I hoped he was just grandstanding, and that this was a coincidence. Because if it wasn't...
"LILAC!" a voice bellowed across the rooftops. I turned to see Hudson standing on one of them, looking down at both of us while posing, one foot resting on the side of the railing. His sword was drawn, dramatically pointing it between the two of us.
"Heya, boss!" Lilac said, that huge smile still plastered on his face. "How are you doing? Hope you don't mind that I interrupted your grand finale, but I thought I'd spice it up a little bit!"
"The people of this town are not to be touched until our duel is complete!" Hudson declared, jumping off the roof and landing in a burst of dust. "Their fate is the prize of the victor, as we agreed!"
"To be fair," Lilac replied, "I'm only following your advice. What is it you like to say? We need to play things smarter? Well, I can't think of much smarter than taking the navy commander and a bunch of yokels hostage to get what we want!"
"There is an order to these things!" Hudson yelled back, pointing his sword at Lilac. "Your insubordination will not be tolerated anymore!"
"Um, Hudson?" I mumbled to him. "I think you don't know what-"
"Silence, adversary!" Hudson yelled to me, brandishing his sword in the air. "I'll deal with you when I've reminded my first mate of his place." I saw Lilac bristle, though his smile didn't fade.
"You know very well that you're no match for me," Hudson continued. "After all, you never managed to defeat your last captain, and I finished him off with ease. So if you want to keep your head, you'll return those ten villagers before my rage spells your doom!"
"Now see, there's a problem with that," Lilac explained, still smiling but speaking through gritted teeth. "I mean, I think it's important to be accurate when you're giving demands. From where I'm sitting, there are only nine villagers."
"What are you talking about?" Hudson demanded. "Can you count? There are clearly…"
He trailed off, and I felt a pit in my stomach. In a single motion, Lilac grabbed one of the prisoners, and pulled the bag on his head off, revealing Pavel. He had a black eye, and his face and neck were covered in bruises. His lip was fat and bleeding, and he was staring out at both of us with a combination of anger and desperation.
"See?" Lilac said. "If you really think about it, I really only have nine living hostages here. You know, since Pavel here is definitely dead. Gotta say, though, I'm a little curious about why he's still walking around. You're smart, though. I'm sure you can think of an answer."
Hudson didn't say a word.
"Oh, what's the matter…" Lilac hissed. "Forget your lines?"
I scanned the line of pirates, considering my options. I could probably take the guys holding the people hostage out, but I didn't think I could do it all at once. They were lined up in front of me, so any strike I made would alert the others to what I was doing, and people would die. Of course, one could make the argument that people would die either way, but for right now, Lilac was talking, and that seemed to be stalling whatever execution was being planned.
"A Swordsman is not led by rage or impulsive decisions. Respond to pressure with serenity, and wait for your enemy to offer you victory."
Other people's lives were at stake, I had to play this smart.
"See, when I found him last night, something occurred to me." Lilac continued. "Do you know, I've never actually seen you fight? I mean, there's always a reason, and your plans made the crew enough money that they didn't question it, but it still ate away at me. I kept thinking, what if the marines try to hunt us down? What if another crew tries to start something? What if we sail too close to whatever the hell is going on in the Conomi Islands? Questions, questions..."
"I...we...you agreed to this!" Hudson stammered. "You didn't have a problem with my methods while you were getting paid!"
"OH YES I DID!" Lilac suddenly screamed. "How dare you…I am an artist with my blade, Hudson. I am a god of slaughter, and you turned me into a performing animal! You got us paid, yes, but in the process you robbed us of what it meant to be pirates! We are creatures of violence and blood, and you turned us into a performing protection racket!"
"And I went along with it, yes, but not because I thought it was a good idea." he continued. "If nothing else, you killed Snakestache, and I could respect the decisions of a skilled warrior. But you...you've made fools of us all! I knew you were a show pony, and this piece of garbage proves it!" He shook Pavel as he spoke.
"C-captain!" Pavel gasped. "Don't worry. I didn't tell him anything!" Hudson wore an expression that made it look like he wished Pavel had.
"Oh yes," Lilac said. "This kid is DURABLE when it comes to interrogation. I might just forgive his failure when I'm captain. Because a weak willed fool like you should never have led us, and today I'll prove it! To start with, I think I'll show you how a real pirate threatens people."
"You!" he yelled at me. "Draw your sword and every one of these people dies! You aren't involved in this, and I won't have you interfering."
"I'm feeling pretty involved." I muttered under my breath. Only four of the hostages were being held at swordpoint. The others were being menaced with guns. I could, in theory, take out the gunmen by jumping over the crowd, landing in the middle of the hostages, and cutting the gunmen down before the swordsmen knew what was happening. Of course, if I did that, I would immediately have to handle a bunch of pissed off pirates who were standing behind me, so I'd have to choose between freeing the other four and guarding my flank.
I could also just free Genghisis. That would likely push the marines to help...but then again, it was very possible that their help would be opening fire the moment their leader was out of the way. I wanted to believe that they wouldn't do that, but it was a risk I had to consider.
"You can't be captain," Hudson suddenly said.
"Oh come on!" Lilac groaned. "Who the hell is going to stop me?"
"You can't be captain," Hudson repeated, "until you defeat the current captain in battle." He raised his sword again, pointing it at Lilac.
Lilac started to laugh.
"Are you sure that's how you wanna play this?" Lilac cackled. "I mean, I was gonna just let you go, as a thanks for all the money you got us. But if this is what you want… I won't complain."
"I thought you said you couldn't beat him?" I asked nervously, walking up to him.
"Doesn't matter," he responded quietly. "Lilac hates me, though I never guessed how much. If there's one thing I know will stall these people from getting killed, it's Lilac's desire to beat me. You can use the time to figure out a way to save them."
"He's going to kill you!" I retorted.
Hudson gave me a weary look. He didn't look angry or scared as much as he just looked tired. In his eyes I saw the strain of the act he was putting on, the character he had been playing this whole time. And I also saw what I can only describe as some kind of morbid satisfaction.
"Kuina, it's like I said," he explained. "It's like I said. If I have a real chance to make a difference, I'm not giving that up." Without waiting for me to respond, he walked towards Lilac.
If I take even one step back…
Why did all the men in my life have to be like this?
"All right!" Lilac said, throwing Pavel to the ground. "If you want to throw your life away, I'm happy to oblige!" With a flick of his wrist, he closed his fan blade, and lowered himself to the ground in a crouched battle stance. I could tell it was something of an assassin's stance, and that he was going to go for a lot of direct strikes. Hudson, in contrast, simply pointed his blade forward, and rested his other hand on his hip, in a stance I could see dozens of weaknesses in. I could see how this was going to go immediately, but Hudson was right: any help I gave him would be a death sentence to the other hostages.
So I circled the scene as the fight began. Hudson attacked first. With a deafening battlecry, he charged toward Lilac, who easily stepped out of the way of his sword. Lilac didn't even bother to attack as Hudson swung again, just as clumsy as the first time. As Hudson attacked again and again, I saw Lilac's grin begin to fade, and turn to a mask or rage. While they battled, I began to form a plan. The problem, at the moment, was that the hostages were held in a horizontal line in front of me. But a vertical line...I might be able to cut through them one by one in a single strike. None of these men were armored, and resistance was a lie...I just needed to get into the right position.
As I slowly circled the group, I saw Hudson's blade come down on Lilac...and be caught, as Lilac split his sword into two, snatching the blade like a pair of scissors. And in a single, terrible moment, he sent the sword sailing into the air.
"Tiger Bloom!" Lilac yelled, putting the tip of his blade to Hudson's chest, before opening the blade fan while striking forward. A nightmarish spray of blood erupted from Hudson's chest, and he fell to his knees. His sword impaled in the ground behind him, far out of his reach.
"Is this it?" Lilac demanded, all of his playful cruelty gone. "Is this really all there is? What, did Snakestache slip and fall or something?" He kicked Hudson in the face, and a grunt of pain escaped his lips.
"I knew I was stronger than you, but I never thought...I took your orders for months. MONTHS! You HUMILIATED me!" he kicked him again, harder this time, and in the chest.
"Do you have any idea *KICK* what I'm gonna have to do *KICK* to make up for this?!" he screamed, spittle flying from his lips. "I might just have to murder this whole town to restore my reputation!"
With another kick, Hudson fell to the ground. Lilac turned away from him, and I got ready to attack to try to stop what I was sure was going to be a kill order...when Hudson reached out and grabbed Lilac's leg.
"You're...you're not the captain yet…" Hudson gasped. "You haven't won yet…and even if you do, you'll never be captain. You d-don't know how to lead...only how to kill."
His durability was kind of impressive. Though, it wasn't nearly as impressive to Lilac.
"Oh, shut up!" he yelled, kicking him again. "You dare question my leadership!? After you lead us into ridicule and humiliation! You make us the laughingstock of the East Blue, you don't get to question a damn thing I say or do!"
"He didn't make us a laughingstock!"
I actually took a second to find where the new voice was coming from. Then I suddenly remembered that Pavel wasn't restrained anymore. The bruised pirate had staggered up, and although I could tell he was a little unsteady on his feet, he seemed to be less injured than I had originally thought.
"Hudson didn't diminish us!" He yelled out at the crew, turning his back on Lilac. "Think about it! Since he started leading us, we've made so much more money, and not a single person has died! Wherever we go, we can shake down anyone we see with intimidation, and people pay us to not have the trouble of fighting us!"
I was almost in position, but I didn't strike. Some of the crew seemed to be whispering amongst themselves. They weren't shouting Pavel down, no one was attacking him...my plan was a bit of a gamble. If this could work instead…
"Ignore him!" Lilac yelled. "So what if it's easier now!? This weakling has made us forget what it means to be pirates!"
"Being a pirate means living free and taking what you deserve!" Pavel yelled back. "I'm not just saying that Hudson was a worthy captain. I'm saying that we all did better with his methods. We're still feared! We're still dangerous! But more than that, we have a reputation for trust! If a town pays up, they know that'll be the end of it! As long as we can outrun the navy we'll live like kings!"
"I'm not saying we shouldn't be willing to fight!" Pavel finished. "I'm saying that Lilac is a bloodthirst idiot who cares more about killing people than getting rich! This isn't the damn Grand Line! Is being feared more important than succeeding?"
The entire crowd was silent for a moment. So were the villagers and marines. So, interestingly was Lilac. His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to intimidate all of the pirates at once. Finally, a voice broke the silence.
"Well, hell, I'll fight for that."
The speaker was one of the pirates I had seen yesterday - I think his name was Leek? Lilac turned to glare at him.
"Yeah, why should we raid if we can just collect tribute?" Another said, this time coming from another direction.
"Screw Lilac!"
"Easy way, best way!"
"Captain Snakestache couldn't get us a fraction of what Hudson got us!"
"This is the smart way to pirate!"
The voices started to ring out from all directions now, as the crew voiced their confidence in their fallen captain. Lilac grit his teeth, his eyes going bloodshot with rage.
"You fools! You idiots!" he yelled, stomping his foot on the ground. "What the hell is this? Didn't you see? I won! I freaking won! That means I'm right and he's wrong!"
"Pavel, you damn traitor!" he screamed, fanning out his sword again. "You'll pay for this! You'll die! Tiger Bloom!" He lept into the air, swinging all five blades toward Pavel...and then he stopped.
I was taking a risk, I knew that. The tide seemed to have turned, but that didn't necessarily mean the hostages were safe. That being said, I was pretty sure that Pavel getting cut down would put them in a much truer danger. So when Lilac descended on him, there I was, my sword stopping all five of his blades at once.
"You!" he screamed. "I told you not to interfere!"
"A true swordsman should prepare for interference." I said calmly. "And a pirate whining about cheating is just pathetic."
Lilac roared at me. He landed on the ground, and snapped all his blades back into one. I guessed he was thinking he needed all his power focused in one place to break through my defenses.
But it didn't matter. At the end of the day, he had a ridiculous, gimmicky toy. And I had Sorahime.
"Water Blade Style…" I began, preparing to strike. As he advanced, I watched him closely….and time slowed to a crawl.
One of the most important things I had learned was that focus was the mightiest weapon in a swordsman's arsenal. It wasn't about how hard you struck, in the end. It was about when you struck, and when your enemy showed you the most of his weakness. For this, I had to clear the world away, to live in a single moment. The past and the future were lies and dreams, and there was nothing in the universe except for me, my opponent, and my sword. I took in everything about him, every strength and weakness in his stance...until I found what I was looking for.
"Time to die!" he yelled.
"Ghost Cut."
For a moment, it felt like I had hit nothing, my sword went through the air so smoothly. But I knew I had. Because at the end of the day, for one who was prepared and could see their enemy clearly, resistance was a lie.
Lilac was almost turning around for a second attack by the time my hit registered. Then, he hit the ground. I had cut through his defenses, finding the perfect place to strike...and I had struck true. Lilac had been cut across the side, straight through, and he was down, unable to even speak as he blacked out.
I cleaned the blood from my sword, and I heard both crowds cheer.
Either because of Pavel's words, or because they were all just terrified of me, the prisoners were released. I got the sense that no one on this crew had really liked Lilac that much, as none of them tried to do anything when a very embarrassed Genghisis picked him up as he walked away from them, likely to try to salvage some level of pride. Still, the marines didn't open fire, content to get their commander back and lock up another pirate. I walked over to Hudson, lifting him off the ground, letting his arm rest on my shoulder.
"Huh," he said, laughing. "I knew I was no match for you, but you really would have destroyed me if we fought, wouldn't you?"
"Yup!" I said with a smile.
"Captain!" Pavel yelled, running up to us. "Are you alright? I thought you were a goner for a minute there!"
"Don't worry about me, Pavel." he said, smiling. "It'll take a little more than that to stop Captain Roy Hudson….ah, my ribs." He stumbled as I supported him.
However, even in victory, I noticed another problem.
"So, what do we do now?" one of the crewmen asked another.
"Dunno...Lilac's gone, but Hudson didn't win."
"How did he go down that easy? Was Lilac right? Was he faking it?"
"No way. He was just pretending to lose! See, he wanted to show us how much better his kind of piracy was, so he threw the fight so we'd all stand up against Lilac! I'm tellin' you, the boss is a genius!"
This last point was the one that seemed to be winning out. This was good news, as it meant that Hudson wasn't likely to get challenged by any of the other crew members for a while. He could keep leading this crew, trying to steer them toward the right thing. He could play this part for ages, and that was what he said he wanted.
"Pavel," he suddenly whispered to the pirate walking next to us. "You've made me so proud today. But there's one more thing I want you to do."
"Anything, Captain."
"Punch me in the face."
"WHAT?"
00000000000000000
"I can't believe you did that." I groused, lying against one side of the small skiff the two of us were in.
After his 'mighty victory' over Hudson, the newly crowned Captain Pavel had given the two of us the remaining attack boat as a parting gift. It was pretty small, but even though it had carried ten people before, the two of us could pilot it pretty easily. The town had actually left Hudson alone while he got bandaged up, even though it was probably the best possible time to collect his bounty. Maybe they were a little scared of me? Either way, Pavel had convinced his new crew to sail away, so that was something. On top of that, I actually had money now, as apparently Lilac had a bounty issued almost the day after I arrived. I was three million beli richer, and didn't have to worry as much about finding places to stay.
"I don't see why not." Hudson replied.
"What happened to all that talk about keeping the crew from hurting people?" I asked.
"Well, they seem to have gotten my message, even if it was for selfish reasons." he said. "Besides, if Pavel's leading them, they won't regress. That kid has a good head on his shoulders. With him there, they don't really need me anymore. And between you and me, I was ready to get out of there. Playing a role is fun, but playing the same role for ages is exhaustingly boring."
"Okay, but I'm not sure what other roles you're gonna get. You still have a bounty on your head, after all." I pointed out, trying to find a point on the horizon. I needed to do something about this seasickness.
"Psshh!" he said, waving his hand. "You'd be surprised by how many actors have bounties."
"Really." I said. I resolved to ask him more about that later, when I was done figuring out his motives.
"I just...I mean, I've told you what I want." I said, shaking my head. "I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman. And that means I'm going to the Grand Line. You know, full of sea monsters, nightmares, and the worst pirates in the world? I just wish you'd think a little bit about whether or not you want to follow me for that."
"Who says I do?" Hudson said, shrugging. "I just….being on that ship gave me a lot of time to think about who I was, what I wanted. And the answer is...I'm really not sure. But I figure Loguetown's a great place to find yourself, you know? And in the meantime, why not spend my time with someone as exciting and interesting as you?"
"You're making me blush." I deadpanned. "But I guess there are way more boring people to be stuck with than you."
"I thought I was happy keeping those pirates at bay," Hudson mused. "But I don't think I was. After all, living for another person isn't really living a life, is it?"
I sense nothing from your sword but obedience.
"Hudson," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You can leave whenever you want, but until you do? I think we're gonna get along great!"