[Week 6, Thursday: Eichi]

[doublecrows]

[sometime Thursday afternoon, Akechi waits for Eichi in their shared room. he sits on the edge of the bed, fingers drumming against the mattress. and when Eichi returns--]

May I speak with you for a moment?

[his demeanor is businesslike]

Comments

[finethanks]

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.]

[doublecrows]

. . . [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]

[finethanks]

...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.

[doublecrows]

. . . 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?

[finethanks]

[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?

[doublecrows]

[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.

[finethanks]

...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.]

[doublecrows]

[. . .]

[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.

[finethanks]

...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.