Chapter Text
Noriaki Kakyoin hummed quietly to himself, pushing one of the library’s many carts in front of him through the near silent hall. There weren’t many people in the main branch-the location he worked at-today, so it was the perfect opportunity to do some reshelving work. As he pushed the grey metal cart, his shoes sinking softly into the light brown carpeting with every step, he glanced around the building. It was barely after noon on a Friday, so most adults were at their 9 to 5s, and most children and teenagers were still at school. The few who did come during this time were mostly the self-employed, the unemployed, or the Polnareff.
Turning a corner and entering one of the library’s work spaces, Kakyoin caught sight of the familiar silver tower of hair that belonged to Jean-Pierre Polnareff. Polnareff was a 22 year old aspiring author, originally from France. He was always in the back areas of the library, working on his latest novel concept and wearing his questionable shirts. Not questionable as in there was a design on them that could be considered graphic or obscene, but questionable in the sense that you could question whether it truly counted as a shirt or not. To Kakyoin, it always looked more like he’d wrapped his torso in black ribbons. At least these days he wore a jacket overtop them.
“Good afternoon, Polnareff.” Kakyoin said quietly, always having found it more comfortable to use the man’s last name. Polnareff immediately spun around in his chair, and smiled widely at Kakyoin as his earring smacked him in the face from the momentum, though he completely ignored it.
“Hey, Noriaki! How are you?” Polnareff exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loud for a library voice. Kakyoin smiled warmly at him, but raised a finger to his lips.
“Ohh, right! Sorry.” Polnareff replied, turning to the nearest other person in the library, who happened to be a quiet looking blonde woman. “I’m sorry for disturbing your work, Ma’am.” The woman simply stared at Polnareff for a moment, before ignoring him again and going back to her reading. Kakyoin laughed quietly to himself and gently shook his head for a moment, before turning back to his cart and beginning to shelf some of the books.
“So, what’s the novel of the day? Historical Fiction? Action? Fantasy?” He mused, already knowing full well what genre the novel would be. Polnareff had been on a real romance novel kick recently, and had started and stagnated on about eight different drafts in the past month alone. Sometimes Kakyoin honestly wondered if Polnareff would ever even finish a complete first draft of a novel, though of course he knew better than to voice those concerns.
“Well, actually Noriaki,” Polnareff started, a glint in his eyes as if he was about to tell the world’s best joke. “I’m starting a short story collection! It’s all going to be horror and/or mystery stories, all written by me!” Kakyoin felt his eyebrows shoot up on his forehead automatically, as he set down the book he was holding and turned to face his silver-haired friend.
“Really? Horror and mystery short stories? From the Polnareff I know? I must say I’m surprised. I didn’t think you were interested in that sort of thing in the slightest.”
“Well, I’m not really, to be honest.” Polnareff replied, sticking his lips out a little bit in a pseudo-pouting expression. “But Sherry said it would probably be good for me to broaden my horizons when it comes to genres. That and she’s my proofreader for my romance novels and she’s gone for two weeks on a vacation, and I want to let her have fun without any interruptions, so…” he trailed off, eyes sliding up to the ceiling. Kakyoin smiled again, the surprise melting from his face. Of course Sherry had something to do with it. She was his younger sister, and he absolutely doted on her. If she were to ask him to buy her an amusement park, Polnareff would most likely come back weeks later with the deed in hand. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, of course. It was refreshing to see siblings get along so well. It was just funny sometimes just how deep his admiration went for her.
“Well, that’s very good advice, all things considered.” He finally stated, flipping a book open to ensure it hadn’t been written in, before putting it on the shelf. “You’ll never know what genre you enjoy writing for the most until you try them. Who knows? Maybe mystery or horror are secretly your strongest genres.” Polnareff gave a small huff in response and turned back in his chair, slumping down until only his hair was visible over the oak backing.
“Nah… I’m pretty sure romance is my forte. But Sherry’d be disappointed if I didn’t try, so I have to at least a little, right?” He rubbed his eyes a bit, yawning and snapping his laptop shut. His laptop was adorned with stickers showcasing his multiple interests. Everything from food to patriotism, music, movies, and even a game that he and Kakyoin had a shared interest in. The largest sticker though, was a custom-made one of his hyperactive Boston Terrier Iggy, with the words “Little Shit” underneath him. Kakyoin smiled at the sight, remembering the day his coworker Avdol had given the dog to him. Despite the disconnect they’d had at the time, and despite what an independent spirit Iggy was, the two had a mutual respect for each other, and Polnareff was actually quite fond of his “little shit” dog. The phrase had become a bit of an endearing term for him, which often confused passerby when Polnareff would refer to him in public.
“Taking a nap now, are we? Did you properly eat breakfast? You know how I feel about you skipping meals to go out and work on your books.” Kakyoin chided, watching Polnareff rub his eyes again, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. “If you really must start working on them so early, at least work in a cafe where you can have breakfast.”
“Nah nah, it’s different today.” Polnareff muttered, leaning on his hand and turning to face his red-headed friend once more. “Since Sherry’s out there’s no one to watch Iggy at home, so I had to drag his stubborn ass off to stay at my friend’s house while I worked. That little shit is a fighter, really drains my energy. Plus, you know how I feel about cafes. Too many noisy people, not enough room on the table for my laptop, food,
and
my reference books, and if I need anything else I gotta leave anyway. Not worth it. Plus the library is free.” Shifting back around in his seat, the frenchman put his head down on his laptop, nudging the stack of books piled high next to him ever so slightly. Kakyoin watched for a moment, making sure the stack wouldn’t topple, before turning back to his book cart, remembering his job.
“This friend wouldn’t happen to be ‘dolphin man’, would it?” He asked, sticking a series onto the shelf carefully. “I thought you said he was a bit of a rough person. I’m surprised you’d trust someone like that with your dog.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s dolphin man.” Polnareff muttered, his face squished up against the cold metal of his laptop. “And he only
seems
like a rough person. Well, and he is if you get on his bad side, but it’s not really that hard not to do that. Most of the time... anyway, he’s not really the one watching Iggy, his Grandfather’s visiting and they get along. Has his treats n’ stuff.” Kakyoin nodded quietly along with his friend’s words, only half listening. Polnareff talked often about his “outwardly gruff friend, dolphin man.” The only thing Kakyoin knew about him was that he was grumpy, but not really, but also yes really, and he was studying to be a marine biologist. An interesting choice, really. Kakyoin couldn’t recall anyone else he’d ever met who was so interested in marine life that they would write several entire essays about dolphins. Then again, he figured, if it was someone’s passion in life, they probably wouldn’t mind writing such an essay.
“I see. Well, just try not to drool on your laptop, Polnareff.” Kakyoin added, giving his tired friend a soft poke on the shoulder, before beginning to push the cart away. He heard a small grunt behind him as he left.
“M’not gonna drool, that’s gross, Noriaki.”
About half an hour later, Kakyoin wheeled his now-empty cart back to the front desk, where his coworker was waiting for him. His name was Muhammed Avdol, but, just like his french friend, Kakyoin felt more comfortable referring to him as his last name. It just seemed more respectful, somehow.
“Good afternoon, Avdol.” He said, wheeling the cart into place before stepping behind the desk. “It’s been a bit of a quiet day so far, hasn’t it?” Avdol simply nodded, putting barcode stickers on a stack of freshly donated books. Avdol wasn’t exactly a man of few words, but he often didn’t speak unless he had something meaningful to say, which was alright with Kakyoin. He had a hard time keeping up with particularly chatty people sometimes.
“Would you mind watching the desk while I go and put these away?” He asked, gently placing the new books on the cart Kakyoin had just returned. “I doubt anyone will come in or need something before I get back, but it’s better to be prepared.” Kakyoin nodded silently, moving slightly out of the way so Avdol could get out. Avdol was a bit more familiar with the organization system in the library than Kakyoin was, so he often stayed at the desk, instructing lost patrons on where they could find what they needed. It wasn’t like Kakyoin couldn’t make his way around a library, Avdol just seemed to know with frightening detail where almost any book could be found-right down to its location on the shelf. As he moved around Kakyoin to begin wheeling the cart away, he stopped for a moment.
“I saw you talking to Jean-Pierre earlier. How is he? And Iggy?”
“Oh, they’re both fine.” Kakyoin responded, turning to him. “Polnareff is tired, as usual, but his sister’s away on a vacation so he brought Iggy to stay at his friend’s house, apparently. Dolphin man’s grandfather is watching him.” Avdol stared for a moment, before shaking his head slightly.
“Dolphin man. Right. Him. I always forget. Such a stupid nickname to give someone...” He murmured to himself as he pushed the cart off. Kakyoin was left alone behind the desk, unsure of what exactly he should do first. The serene silence of the library echoed in his head as he glanced around the lobby area of the large building. Seeing as how it was the main branch, it was a rather large and impressive building with two floors to it. On the second floor they had such things as a 3D printer and a handful of copyers, as well as most of the children’s books and other such things. This section in particular was nearly always in a state of disarray. However, he finally decided, it would probably be a good idea to do some work with the book drop returns. Walking over to the internal door to the book drop, Kakyoin carefully unlocked it with his key, and was both surprised and pleased to find no more than ten books laying in the chute. Picking them up carefully and stacking them, ensuring they wouldn't fall, he made his way back to the front desk to process the returns. He was just about to begin on the stack, when he felt a presence nearby. It was the sort of thing where someone is staring at you, and even though you haven't seen them yet, your subconscious knows. He lifted his head up to see a rather tall and muscular looking man with a long white coat and a strange hat. He had a strange purple vest on underneath with an odd pattern. No, wait. Forget the vest. His hat. It almost looked like it fused to his hair in the back…? What in the world? Kakyoin blinked, trying not to stare since it was rude, and set the book he was holding down.
"Hello sir! Is there something I can help you with today?" He asked, hoping the man would at least be pleasant to deal with. "Do you want to check out the book in your hand?" The tall man glanced down at the book he held-an encyclopedia of starfish facts-as if he'd forgotten he was even holding it. Finally, after what felt like forever, he responded.
"No. I need your books on murder."
"Oh, I see." Kakyoin responded, making a silent note at the slightly rude response. "Well, that would probably be-" He stopped short, hand frozen in the air from where he had begun to point. Slowly, he turned back to face the man, who simply stood there with a completely sober expression, starfish encyclopedia still in hand.
"I'm sorry, you want…. what exactly…?" Kakyoin asked, sure he had misheard him. Who walks into a public library asking for books on how to kill people? The man sighed a bit, seemingly annoyed at the question.
"Murder. You know, dead people and things. I'm not going to kill anyone." He added, seemingly reading some sort of alarm from Kakyoin's expression. Kakyoin forced a smile onto his face, still alarmed and confused.
"Well…. ummmm, I don't think we have any of those." He finally said, glancing off to one side and nervously brushing his bangs away from his face while muttering "Do books on murder even exist?" There was a silent pause for a moment before he turned back to the man.
"The closest recommendation I can give you is our medical section and perhaps our anatomy books, which would both be over that way." Kakyoin pointed off to the side, watching the man's gaze follow his finger silently. "Those could probably give you some ideas on… ummm… weaknesses in the human body? Perhaps?" The tall man's gaze lingered on the area for another moment, before snapping back to Kakyoin.
"Mm. Thanks." He replied simply, tugging the brim of his hat down a bit and walking off towards the section in question. As he nodded and watched him go, Kakyoin realized a few things about the strange man. Firstly, that his previous rudeness was probably due to some sort of emotional awkwardness on his part, as he seemed a bit inexperienced at expressing himself. Fair enough. Secondly, the back of his hat seemed to be textured in a strange way that matched his hair. Kakyoin briefly wondered if it was custom order or something of the sort. And third, there was a very good chance that this man was simply some form of author, similar to Polnareff, and not in fact a serial killer in the making. But that still begged one question.
Starfish and murder? How do the two of those connect in the slightest?
As he turned to his unstarted work of processing the book drop returns, Kakyoin's mind wandered from possibility to possibility. So many different things crossed his mind. Eventually, he settled on an interesting one. What if he was writing about a murderer who somehow used starfish as his calling card? That would make sense, in a strange sort of way. He didn't know much about starfish, but he did know that in fiction in the past, people had used some strange things as calling cards. A starfish probably wasn't that out of place, right?
The idea appealed to him in a curious way. So much so that he quickly felt his mind drifting away to the land of fiction.
A starfish as a calling card… interesting.
Kakyoin Noriaki sat in an uncomfortable oak chair, in front of a matching thick oak desk. A large glass jar sat on his lap, holding nothing but water and a large starfish. Nervously, he glanced around the room. It was an ill-lit, sparsely decorated office, with half-closed plastic blinds attempting to block out the bright, invading colors from the neon signs that decorated the sides of the neighboring building. The whole thing, he silently mused, felt very film noir.
Across the desk from him, were two very serious looking individuals. The first one, who had introduced himself as Inspector Muhammed Avdol, sat silently in his chair, eyes closed. No doubt mulling over the information that Kakyoin had already relayed to the pair. The second man, however, had yet to introduce himself. He hadn't looked at Kakyoin once, and seemed to just be standing there, staring out through the blinds, going through his second cigarette since Kakyoin had arrived. He wondered if the man had been paying attention earlier when he had been explaining the situation to them. After another few seconds of silence, Inspector Avdol gave a small sigh and opened his eyes.
"So you're sure that this… starfish… was left behind by whoever killed your mother?" He asked, hands folded and face stern. Kakyoin nodded silently, returning his serious expression. Another moment of silence passed, as the second man took a long drag of his cigarette, before blowing the smoke silently towards the plastic potted tree in the corner.
"And, you said you have no idea who it could have been?" Avdol continued, earning another nod from Kakyoin.
"My mother and I haven't had the closest relationship recently, so I have no idea who may have been present in her life and had the motivation to do something like this." Kakyoin stated matter-of-factly. He had nothing to hide, here. He just wanted the mystery solved. Avdol closed his eyes again, with a sigh. A third silence followed, feeling longer than the rest. Finally, after another few moments, the second man spoke for the first time, his voice deep and commanding.
"You do realize that this sounds crazy, don't you? Who would leave a starfish at a murder?" He turned, cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, arms folded over his broad chest. Kakyoin felt his own frown deepen at his words. Was he really doubting him? Before he could open his mouth to contest his statement, however, the man took another drag from his cigarette before continuing.
"Of course, we believe you." He said, fully closing the blinds behind him. "This is the kind of thing you come to a private investigator for, anyway. Things the police force would never believe."
"The truth is, Mr. Kakyoin," Inspector Avdol began, leaning forward on the desk. "We've gotten multiple cases recently of mysterious murders, where the only thing connecting them-and seemingly the only piece of evidence-was a single starfish left behind at the scene of the crime. Just know that your case is not unbelievable, and we're trying our best to piece together what might be going on here. However, without any solid evidence or even a lead of some sort, it's near impossible to get anywhere right now." His words both comforted and concerned Kakyoin. It was certainly good to hear that they didn't consider him to be insane, but the case was a bit too up in the air for his liking. Frowning again, he leaned back in the still uncomfortable chair.
"If you have anything at all, any possible evidence that you can think of, that you suspect might help, we would appreciate it." Inspector Avdol continued, serious as usual. Kakyoin stared off to the left, his mind racing. Any evidence? No, I'm pretty sure I don't have any of that. Not unless her shopping lists count in some odd way. Frustrated with the lack of direction the case seemed to have, he sighed. No, there was definitely nothing he had to add. His mother didn't keep much and mostly kept to herself, and she rarely had anyone over. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second man turn back towards the window, seemingly finished with the conversation at hand. Avdol nodded silently, and began scribbling something down into his notebook. As he watched in frustration, Kakyoin noticed that Inspector Avdol's notebook looked similar to his mother's day planner, save for the color. In fact, if not for that, he almost could have mistaken it for-
"Oh." The sound escaped Kakyoin's mouth before he even realized that he'd made a connection. The second man turned his head towards him slightly, and Avdol stopped what he was writing and glanced up at Kakyoin, interest in his eyes.
"Oh? What did you remember?" He asked, not moving from his position.
"My mother… she always kept a day planner." Kakyoin explained quickly, recalling the little green notebook in which his mother would always write any and every plan she had for the day. "Perhaps she kept record of whoever she intended to see that day." The second man glanced over at Avdol, who closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"If you could find that, that may give us a starting point, at least." He finally replied, writing something else down in his notebook. "Even if it ends up being a dead end, any lead is better than what we have right now." Kakyoin nodded quietly, relieved that there was something of a lead after all.
"Thank you for listening to me and taking my case." He said, standing up with the strange marine animal in his arms. Avdol nodded silently at him. “I’ll be back whenever I’ve managed to find my mother’s day planner.” He turned to leave and took a few steps and opened the door, before pausing and turning on his heel once more.
“Thank you very much Mr. Avdol, and….” He trailed off, glancing at the back of the second man’s head.
“What was your name? You never told me.” Avdol glanced over at his partner silently, who slowly turned to face Kakyoin.
“Me?” He asked, pointing to himself. Kakyoin nodded silently, not moving from his spot in the doorway. Silence filled the dimly lit room for a moment, as the man took another long drag from his cigarette. Avdol and Kakyoin both watched him in silence, waiting for him to answer. Finally he pulled it away from his lips, quietly exhaling a thin stream of smoke.
“My name is-”
“Noriaki.”
Kakyoin jumped slightly, snapping back to reality and nearly knocking over the small pile of books that sat on the front desk in front of him. Scrambling to steady the pile, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around the books, as if hugging them. He stood there, frozen in place for a moment, before letting go and slowly straightening up.
“Oops…” He muttered, tapping his fingers nervously on the counter and turning to face his coworker Avdol. “Sorry… I suppose I spaced out a bit there.”
“Are you alright, Noriaki? It’s not like you to lose concentration like that.” Avdol inquired, positioning his now empty cart next to the desk and moving around the side. “Did you drink enough water today?”
“Water…?”
“You said something to me once about dehydrating easily.” Avdol insisted, gently pulling the stack of books Kakyoin had out in front of himself so he could look through the stack.
“Oh, that. That was during the winter season.” Kakyoin replied, smiling slightly. Leave it to Avdol to remember such a small detail. “Yes, I dehydrate easily during wintertime, with the air being dry and all. But it’s late spring now, so I don’t have to worry about it as much.” There was a moment of silence between the two, as Kakyoin waited for Avdol’s response.
“So then,” he said, finally “are you sick? Were you trying to remember something? Did you just get distracted?”
“I suppose I just got distracted. My apologies.” Avdol simply nodded in response and handed about half of the pile of book returns back to Kakyoin, who immediately began working again. That’s right, he shouldn’t be getting distracted at work. Even on a slow day, the main branch could get disorganized easily. He knew that as well as anyone. Though, since he and Avdol were both working in the same area for the time being, he figured he could ask at least a few questions…
“Did you see the strange man that came up to the front desk earlier?” He asked, not looking away from his work.
“I didn’t see anything that happened at the front desk, Noriaki. I was reshelving over in the fiction section.” Of course he didn’t. The fiction section was two rooms away, Kakyoin knew that. Why did he ask?
“Ah, of course.” He replied, internally smacking himself for forgetting the library’s layout. “I was just wondering because he was wearing a really weird hat.”
“What was weird about it?”
“It was the strangest thing. It seemed to fit the shape of his hair at the back, so it almost looked like he was only wearing a half of a hat.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Avdol’s face twist in confusion as he put down the book he currently held and turned to face Kakyoin.
“Fit the shape of his hair? You’re sure this wasn’t one of those hats with mesh at the back?”
“No, I’m sure. It was the strangest thing. I wonder if he’s still here…?” Kakyoin muttered, moving a few books onto the cart that sat nearby. “I sent him over to the medical section. He claimed he wanted our ‘murder books.’ I said that I was pretty sure that ‘murder books’ didn’t exist, and pointed him over there instead. It was the strangest thing.”
“He really left an impression on you, hm?” Avdol replied. “Though I think I’d remember someone who asked for ‘murder books’ too.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, you said that ‘it was the strangest thing’ three times in the past minute. You usually don’t repeat yourself anywhere near that much.” Kakyoin was silent for a minute, before laughing a bit.
“That’s true. You know me well, Avdol.”
The rest of the day passed by, filled with various tasks, including cleaning up the dreaded children’s section once it got bad enough. In the beginning, Kakyoin kept an eye out for the strange hair hat man, hoping to be able to point him out to Avdol. But after awhile, he assumed that he’d just come by to read, research, or study, and had already put his books away and left, so he slowly slipped from his mind. Eventually, it was finally time to close up the library for the day. The others had already left, leaving Kakyoin and Avdol to close up, as per usual. Avdol was walking around, making sure everyone had left, as Kakyoin was doing some final organization so that everything wouldn't be messy when they came in the next day. He was just shutting the computers down, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Our usual straggler is still here. Do you want to chase him out today?” Avdol asked, looking a bit tired. Kakyoin just laughed and nodded.
“I’ll get the broom.”
Polnareff was quietly seated in the exact same place Kakyoin had left him hours ago, but this time he was reading as opposed to working. As Kakyoin walked over to him, he looked up from his book and smiled. Then he saw the broom.
“You’re not gonna hit me with that thing again, are you?” he asked, putting on his most innocent face. “You’re gonna hit poor little Polnareff? I haven’t done anything to you, Nori.”
“It’s closing time, Polnareff. You know we like having you here during normal operating hours, but you gotta go somewhere else now. We want to go home.” Kakyoin responded, ignoring the use of the nickname Nori. “Besides, I always hit you with the bristles. That’s the soft part. It’s not like I’m hurting you any.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re hitting a poor defenseless Polnareff.” He responded, sliding down into his hair and laying his forearm across his forehead dramatically. “What ever would the other people say if they saw you?”
“The library is empty now except for you and the two of us.” Kakyoin replied, feeling a grin spread across his face. They always played this game, and he always won. “We want to go home and relax, Polnareff. But we can’t as long as you’re here. It’s not like we can just lock up and leave you here all night. Now hold still and let me swat you.”
He carefully swiped the broom in Polnareff’s general direction, who proceeded to jump up out of his chair and start running across the library. Smiling and laughing, Kakyoin ran after him. The two ran around the open area near the front desk for a good fifteen minutes laughing and swatting at each other, as Avdol leaned against the wall, lethargically watching them like a mother watching her hyperactive toddlers play at the park. After a few minutes, the toe of Kakyoin’s shoe caught on a wrinkle in the carpet, sending him crashing to the ground, the broom flying out of his hands. Avdol stood up straight and Polnareff stopped running and turned back at the sound.
“Ouch….” Kakyoin muttered to himself, more as instinct than a reaction to any actual pain. As he slowly shifted his weight onto his elbows and forearms so he could stand up, he heard the other two making their way over to him.
“Are you okay, Nori?” Polnareff asked, reaching him first and jamming his hand into his face. Kakyoin flinched slightly, but took his hand and stood up, rubbing part of his arm that hit the floor first. Avdol silently made his way up to the two, shaking his head as he did.
“I’m fine, thank you. Just tripped and fell a bit. The worst I have is maybe some rug burn on my arm, or a small bruise.”
“This is why we don’t run inside Nori.” Polnareff chided jokingly, waving a finger in Kakyoin’s face. “Running is for the play areas and the parks, not the library.”
“As if you weren’t running too.” Avdol chimed in, raising an eyebrow and smiling slightly at the frenchman. “You just didn’t fall over.”
“Because I have grace and coordination! My movements are just naturally fluid! It’s not my fault Nori falls over more times than an infant learning to walk.”
“Just last week you tripped over your own shoes and blamed the ‘library gremlins’ for it. Said they tripped you on purpose in order to steal your ideas from your laptop.”
“Well you never know! Those sneaky library gremlins could be up to anything!”
“If the ‘library gremlins’ were really trying to steal your ideas, I think it’d be more convenient to do it during one of your many midday naps.” Avdol commented, smiling more.
“Hey, creative writing takes a lot out of you, okay? I have to rest so I can keep the old idea machine running!” Polnareff refuted, smiling back. Kakyoin simply looked between the two and started laughing.
“We’re all dumb, so let’s just lock up. I want to go home and play some games before I have to come back tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Polnareff asked, heading back over to his table to clean up his books and pack his laptop away.
“Other than another work day? Tomorrow is a Saturday, so more people will have time to come in at any point during the day.” Avdol explained, looking through his keys to find the one for the library’s front doors. “Oh, here it is. So, we have more work tomorrow and Sunday than the rest of the week.”
“Ohhhh. If you want I can try and convince the library gremlins to help you out!”
“...that’s okay Polnareff. We’ll manage."