lifenet | (no subject)

[His attempts at signing his name in English as "Eichi T" result in something both fancy and illegible. It's perfect. That kiddie pool, by the way, is still completely deflated, which Eichi never mentioned. It was a landmark, not the destination of their cleaning.

There's some rough coughing from inside the shack, but once there's a knock, Eichi is quick to answer it. He's surprised to see a... mostly familiar face. It has so much more living, healthy skin this time.]

Ah, it's that one I met on the island... Fufu, you look as if you're feeling much better. [He coughs into his hand as he turns, leaving the door ajar without actually inviting Ichimatsu in. This tiny little shack should only be fitting two people, but there's stuff for three...

So, he grabs his knapsack, wiggling it as he steps outside.]

For a shirt like that, ocean water won't damage it. Come this way, and I'll show you, okay?

[His eyebrows are already lifting when he hears the muffled coughs from within the shack -- is someone sick in there? -- but it isn't until Eichi opens the door that Ichimatsu's eyes widen in unconcealed surprise. No way... out of everyone who could have answered his call, it's this guy again?]

[Ugh. Well, that's fine. It's embarrassing to run into him a second time, but in another sense, at least it saves him any awkward questions about how...]

[Then Ichimatsu pales a shade or two.]

[He drops his hoodie on the ground like it's a lump of garbage and steps forward urgently, his face darkening.]

Hey, y-you... don't tell me... this better not be what I had, you idiot.

[This was the one risk of talking to someone he'd met on that island. He'd been so proud, so happy, that he'd gone all over spinning and telling people how healthy he was. He had bragged, and then it was taken from him. It wasn't just that he had his illness again, but that specifically all the strain that he'd put on his body while healthy was catching up to him now. He'd been dealing with it alone, ignoring his schoolmates.

He looks past Ichimatsu and to the hoodie on the ground, instead, so he won't have to make eye contact.]

You dropped it, Ichimatsu-kun. [Haha... Speaking of pale, Eichi looks considerably so himself. He's freezing cold, even if the weather isn't as bad as it might have been in earlier months, and his cough is persistent. At least now, he can move around. That had taken a while, too.]

You know, "miracles" are only something that exist in stories. A solution like this wasn't meant to last, so it's not so surprising, is it? It's so predictable I could laugh~. [But he coughs instead.]

[That's not what he asked.]

[Honestly, he barely knows the guy. He's got absolutely no business getting this ticked at someone he just met a few days ago, even if Eichi did pull Ichimatsu's ass out his self-made deathbed. Maybe that's the exact reason Ichimatsu feels responsible for him, in some way.]

[Whatever it is, it has him stepping forward again, trying his best to grab Eichi by the collar.]

Drop the bullshit. What the hell's wrong with you?

[Eichi doesn't move to avoid it. It's not the first time he's been grabbed like this, not by far, and he doesn't stop with that distant smile of his.]

Oh, I should have answered your question directly, right? Don't worry. It wasn't anything I "caught," and certainly not from you.

[Speaking slowly, a little breathy, he can avoid coughing as much, and so he tries to do that now. It's been days since he's been able to get out and do anything, and he doesn't want that ruined.]

I was born with this illness. Though the islands cured it, it was temporary, and as soon as I can back here, all of my active running around caught up with me. My body is weak and fragile, so I'll have to ask you not to shove me or hit me from this position, okay?

[...]

[That's right. His memory is patchwork at best, only leaflets of sound and thought in the jumble of that day, but he remembers Eichi saying something like that. How he was "cured" or something. No surprise, must have been a big load. Welcome to the island, Eichi Tenshouin. Everyone seems to be sick here.]

[Scoffing through his nose, Ichimatsu releases his collar and turns away to pick up his hoodie. Guess he overreacted a little, huh?]

Go sit down before you fall on your ass, Tyrant.

[His tone is apologetic.]

[He could Die Any Minute, but it's fine and he doesn't want to talk about it. Honestly, he doesn't need an apology, or anything else. Smiling after Ichimatsu, Eichi ignores that instruction and walks out the door.]

If you call me that here, Shinkai-kun may appear and think I've terrorized you. Fufu, I'm no longer a tyrant. I'm an Emperor without his throne.

[Between this shack and another, there's a fishing wire strung across, so Eichi ducks under that to head towards the water.] Come this way with that hoodie of yours. I don't clean very often, but this is something that I excel at.

You did terrorize me, dumbass.

[Apparently, Ichimatsu's idea of 'terrorizing' coincides with not leaving him to die in peace. There's no actual venom in his tone either way, and he doesn't insist on his earlier demand, instead following Eichi out towards the water. He stays at a polite distance.]

You deal with a lot of bloody clothes?

Oh? I don't remember doing anything like that, though~?

[Pleasantly, he responds to that accusation like he's used to it (ah, it's Keito-like! how fun), and moves to crouch in the shallow parts of the water. Keeping his knapsack in his lap, he pulls out a bar of soap from it and holds out a free hand for that hoodie.]

You could say that. Usually, this is something that my servants would deal with, but since I often wear white and my health tends to drop if I'm exerting myself too much, there can be times that I cough up blood onto my own uniform. It's an embarrassing thing, you know? So I don't want to tell anyone about it, and sometimes clean it myself.

[Ichimatsu makes some kind of noncommittal grunting noise. He was afraid it was something like that. He won't press further, but... servants? Did he hear that right? The guy must be loaded, like Hatabou. That makes Ichimatsu feel a bit less guilty at least. It sucks to be sick, but at least it doesn't sound as though he's treated like some sort of leper outcast.]

[Not that Ichimatsu is gonna ask.]

[He forks the hoodie over without hesitation.]

Why do you bother with all the white, then? [okay, he's kinda gonna ask.]

[As he speaks, he turns the hoodie inside out and starts scrubbing from that side. It seems like persistence is his method, in this case, but it's worked well enough in the past with limited resources.]

As an idol I must maintain a perfect appearance. Pure and unstained, like an angel who descended from heaven, colors like this are expected. Looking up on stage and seeing me with the rest of fine, you'd think you were in heaven itself. And just like that, our music reaches to your heart and lifts your spirits, helping you achieve your dreams. ☆

[Lesson: even simple questions get a paragraph for an answer.]

[Ichimatsu stands a few paces back, observing with his hands shoved into his pockets, without offering to help at all. Because he's useless. He does seem intent on watching, though, and it's only when Eichi is about halfway through his speech that Ichimatsu's eyebrows draw down in annoyance. For a sick guy, he talks a whole lot. About a lot of weird shit.]

[He just sighs... because he actually doesn't mind it. It's just more reason to think that this guy would get along well with Karamatsu.]

The way you talk is kind of painful, you know.

[Eichi can only chuckle at that, because he knows having Wataru here would be even worse. It would be "amazing" this and "amazing" that and flowers would scatter everywhere... Ah. Now he's thinking about his unit again.]

I'm not sure what you mean. [He lies, scrubbing more and then rinsing in the water as he turns it out the other way again. Persistence is the key! But hey, Emperors don't do manual labor, so why is he the one doing all of this?]

Come closer, Ichimatsu-kun. You'll never learn if you only watch from behind. Take this soap and scrub at it.

Eh?

[He frowns. What the hell? This punk is gonna make him work after all? Jeez... well, it's not like he's never done laundry before. With a sigh, he obediently moves forward, hiking up the sleeves of his current hoodie and reaching out for the soap.]

I mean you sound like my brother. Karamatsu. [his tone implies that he doesn't think this is a good thing.]

Edited 2018-03-11 19:02 (UTC)

Your brother, is it?

[Now he can fill his rightful role and supervise, passing the soap over first, and then the soapy hoodie. Progress is being made, if that's any help. His eyes light up like a child's though, and he leans in a little to watch both his actions and his expression.]

Karamatsu-kun, was it? What's he like? Now I want to know. ♪

[He doesn't know what creeps him out more -- Eichi leaning in like that, or hearing absolutely anyone being that interested in his trainwreck of a brother. Ichimatsu takes both items and bends over, dutifully recreating the scrubbing motions he'd just observed.]

We're identical, so he has the bad luck of looking like me. He never shuts up about how cool and great he is... tch. His English isn't even that good. [Ichimatsu pauses to scrutinize the stains in the fabric.] ... he used to be here, but I guess he went home or whatever. Too bad you missed him. He would've loved knowing a flashy guy like you.

[A seed of fond nostalgia embedded in his tone? Perish the thought.]

Identical... how cute. You speak so fondly of him.

[Even if that tiny hint of fond were banished, Eichi would say this. The complaining is so brotherly, he envies it.] I'm sorry to hear that he left you alone, here. Perhaps there's a chance he'll return...? Ah, though I wonder if that's a good thing, in a place like this.

[He grimaces and scrubs a little harder, because that is the exact opposite of the impression he wanted to give.]

... doesn't matter to me. He can get lost at sea for all I care. [kisses, kara. he really does miss u.] Anyway, what's your story? You were talking about some people before, but you definitely don't get what I'm saying, so I'm guessing you don't have any brothers.

You guessed correctly~. You are more observant than you seem, Ichimatsu-kun.

[Is that a dig or a compliment? He can be like this, too.] I am the lone scion of the Tenshouin family, student council president of Yumenosaki Academy and leader of fine. Rather than any siblings, I grew up with a stick-in-the-mud childhood friend.

Somehow, despite everything, I've also gained some irreplaceable friends.

[With five brothers, he's more than used to backhanded compliments. He's more interested in what Eichi is saying. Curiously, he raises an eyebrow beneath his bangs. Using his Karamatsu-honed translation tool, Ichimatsu concludes that basically, the guy was one of those typical rich kids who got good grades and was super popular and stuff. Maybe it's easier to be successful like that when you're an only child. Sounds kinda lonely, though.]

[He's not rude enough to say any of that, of course; in fact, a part of him is absently surprised that someone like that would give a scruffy guy like him the light of day. Eichi seems a bit younger than him, but they're in totally different social castes.]

I don't see how a childhood friend is all that different from a sibling. You're still stuck growing up together. [though his perception is potentially skewed.] What's fine? Some kind of club?

It may be similar, but I'd argue that there are still differences. Though Keito may try to know everything I'm up to, there are still secrets that I can keep... And just like that, there are many things I don't know about him. Without that bond of blood, can't we also drop each other without a second thought?

[That's how he sees it, anyway.] Ah, but fine is the name of my idol unit, though I'm also head of the tea club. ♪

[He snorts, stopping to pull his hoodie back outside-in so he can start scrubbing at the logo on front.]

You say that like it's easy, but somehow I don't think a guy like you would be capable of that. You didn't even know me. No way you'd just ditch someone you actually grew up with.

[What he's saying is, he thinks you're soft. It doesn't sound wholly like he means it as an insult, though.]

... wait. You're an idol?

[...Fair. Eichi is quiet at that, smiling distantly at the hoodie that's being so thoroughly cleaned as if he's considering if those words are true. They probably are, but his own selfishness was especially problematic. He left quite a few people behind.]

Hm? Yes, that's right. Is it surprising?

[Ichimatsu notices him go quiet, and figures it probably has to do with what he just said, but he resumes his cleaning in silence. However this flowery guy treated his friends, it's really none of Ichimatsu's business in the end. It's only once Eichi refocuses on the second topic that Ichimatsu glances up, giving a one-shouldered shrug.]

... nah, I guess not. You're definitely the type. You just seem more down-to-earth than I would've expected.

[which, potentially, contradicts his earlier accusations, but no one ever called Ichimatsu fair.]