doublecrows | [Week 6, Thursday: Eichi]

Hm? You look rather serious all of a sudden.

[But with a smile, as usual, Eichi enters and shuts the door behind him, moving to sit on the bed next to him.]

You can, of course.

Well, I suppose I do have a rather serious question. . .

[oh boy???]

. . . Natsuo said someone asked you to protect a particular person this week.

Who was it?

[He's so caught off guard, it's written all over his face. He's not surprised that Natsuo opened his big mouth, exactly, but Akechi's direct and serious approach... That does get him.]

Ah, well, you see—

[He raises a hand to scratch lightly at the side of his cheek.]

I was actually asked by two different people to protect each other. Why is it that you'd like to know, precisely...? You don't intend to confront them, do you?

No. Of course not.

[surprisingly, that's a sincere answer]

I simply didn't know that other people knew you were the Shield.

Oh.

[His hand slips back down to his lap.]

It was... a lonely thing, you see... And though I tried to get close to you at first, I wasn't sure that you cared for me at all. I told Sanji first. And... it seems that he told Zelos-kun on his own.

Sanji approached me asking me to use him as a sacrifice in order to protect Zelos-kun, thinking that Zelos-kun would have no idea.

Zelos-kun approached me, assuming that Sanji would do such a thing, and apparently knowing the basics of my role without any detail, and asked me to protect Sanji no matter what he said.

After all of that, I ended up telling Natsuo about it to see if he'd tell me more about his own role, but he didn't, so I left rather disappointed... That's all. Unless they've all told others, those should be the only ones who know.

[. . . Akechi reaches out, slipping his fingers into Eichi's, grasping them tightly. not quite painfully, but. close]

Did you do as they requested? You didn't offer yourself up, did you?

...

[Eichi grips that hand tight himself, nervous, eyes flicking away.]

While I promised both of them in one way or another that I'd do what they said... [...] I chose to protect Sanji with my life, should anything happen. And, of course, with my wish in place, I'll also be protecting you.

[and Akechi's grip tightens]

Don't just-- [irritation. a bit of the same anger Eichi observed the other night, when he told Akechi about his wish]

Don't just throw your life away for other people so haphazardly. You could have protected him by offering up someone else as a sacrifice.

No...

[Eichi frowns just a little at the grip. He's sensitive, it hurts a bit, but it also just hurts his heart to be worrying Akechi.]

To offer up a "sacrifice" doesn't offer any certainty. The Blotters could choose to ignore a suggestion like that, whereas using the true Shield role with my own life means they have no choice.

For all I know, they may not even realize they've killed me instead until the investigation, if that were to occur. I'm not sure.

[growls, the sound low in the back of his throat]

And how would they not realize they were targeting you instead?

[more hallucinations. . .?]

I'm not sure. The wording is something like... "Should the person who was chosen to be protected be selected by the Blotters, then the Shield's name will be provided as the victim, and they will die in that week to protect the victim."

[He doesn't know if that means he just appears in the halls himself instead of their chosen victim, or what!! But either way, his name won't be the one they've chosen, in that case.]

. . . [MMMMMMM]

Do you truly think Sanji-san is in danger this week?

[he asks, like he's trying to weigh how likely it is Eichi will die tonight]

...I'm not so sure, to be honest. Sanji is well liked, but when I had assumed that would shield Natsuo, and I shielded you instead, he was killed. So, not wanting to feel that pain of "I could have stopped this," I chose to protect two people at once by giving his name to be protected.

If I hadn't made that wish to protect you... I wouldn't have done the same. It's Goro who I want to protect most of all.

[And who he's afraid will be targeted at any given point.]

But Sanji... Though I understood his points on Zelos-kun's importance, and I'll do my best to protect him in other ways, it's Sanji's presence that I selfishly believe will do more good here. He has a role. He won't tell me what it is, in order to keep it on his own shoulders.

. . . Vizier or Editor.

[he says easily. two Editors, one Vizier. the only roles he doesn't have names for]

[he shifts, pulling Eichi's hand onto his lap]

I'll be cross with you if you're dead tomorrow morning. You understand that, right?

[He looks at Akechi at those words, and then down at his hand in his lap, frowning. His shoulders shake a small bit.]

You're always so far ahead, you know? It seems that each time, no matter how much we share, you end up knowing more the next time we speak seriously. I suppose I really wasn't meant for something like this.

[He doesn't want to die!! Okay!!]

But if I could be useful in some way... If I could die like a "hero"... isn't that something?

[wow]

[there's. . . something about that that seems to punch Akechi in the gut and knock the wind right out of him, for reasons he can't explain. he's left blinking at Eichi, expression slack]

. . .

[he looks away, suddenly uncertain]

I thought you didn't like heroes.

...I never understood the love of childish things like superheroes because I was never introduced to such stories myself. I envied them... I criticized how unrealistic they were.

[He explains that again, gripping back at Akechi's hand, desperate for him not to just stay turned away like that.]

But it's all I've ever wanted to be. A main character in a story... a hero. Someone who could make things better for everyone else and become admired for it. Someone who achieved their goals, no matter what... That sort of thing.

[He already feels dumb about it.]

[. . .]

[being a hero. . . might be kind of nice, he has to admit. he's spent so long twisting himself into the villain to achieve goals he perceives as heroic, that being a real hero might be. . . a good change]

[. . .]

You can do that without dying for someone else.

...I agree with that, of course, but it's that sort of noble personality that makes a hero, too, isn't it? Fufu, at least, I'd like to be seen in that way.

[Team wanted to hero so hard they villained it up, considering the idea of being good guys. Hmmm. It feels like a distant dream, an impossibility. ...But now, Eichi wants to keep trying.]

I've always wanted to become someone who was able to be recorded in history books. My weak body got in my way, and so I played dirty, sabotaging Lives and drawing out the weaknesses of my enemies, creating distractions and scooping up what I could while they were gone. That was how it had to be, since they were born with such impossible talent. It's incredibly unfair. If there really is a God, then he must hate me, to make me like this.

I wanted to defy that more than anything. I still do. [He's clarifying more. The more he talks, the more he wants to be told he's right, actually.] However, regardless of the ending, no matter if I fail and fall short, I've learned to appreciate those around me and my time here. Perhaps I can make a lasting impression even like this.

Perhaps I can make a difference, even if I don't move mountains through manipulation and cheap tricks.

[Week 6, Thursday: Eichi]

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