6/8: eichi

[randori]

[ He promised nothing would happen. He wouldn't let anything happen. Please don't let anything have happened—- ]

EICHIIIIIIIIIIII!! EICHI!! EICHI EICHI EICHI!!!

[ screams his name up and down the castle trying to find him, leaping up the stairs two or three steps at a time, flinging open bedroom doors at random without a care for privacy, frantically searching everywhere he can for Eichi, one hand cupped at the side of his mouth as he shouts.

There's something else clenched in his other hand, a tight fist that he doesn't relax throughout the entire time. ]

Comments

[randori]

[ Haha... was that a hook to get him to show his hand and it completely went over my head? He did have something in his hands, but it's something he didn't want to keep there if he was going to be touching or carrying Eichi, so he'd slipped it into his pocket. Also a bad idea, considering what it is. ]

Ah- yeah, it was a needle. I put it in my pocket 'cause I didn't want it to poke you.

[ ... ]

[finethanks]

[No, that was my slick cover up because I'm an idiot who forgot I was going to have Eichi ask in a later tag and it took 30 comments for me to remember.]

A... needle? Why a needle? Should that sort of thing be in your pocket, right now?

[randori]

It's so we can stay together. I'll show you once we get to the kitchen- we're almost there!

[ Just hang on for two, three, five more paces and they finally make it to the kitchen and Natsuo lets him down by the counter. He cannot make tea or anything, so it's all Eichi now. ]

[finethanks]

[Finally, he's set down... Thank god no one is in here right now. He was almost afraid Sanji would see. As it is, he can move to find the tea pot, the tea leaves, and go from there, slowly.

Still, he looks expectantly at Natsuo.]

[randori]

[ Right, the needle. Staying together is like this:

He takes the needle out of his pocket and pokes the tip of it halfway through his sleeve, like he's threading it through but there's... no thread... There's no need for a thread because the needle pokes through Eichi's sleeve too and with his other hand, Natsuo bends the needle in half with his bare hands. Effectively, it's a staple. They're stapled together. ]

[finethanks]

[uhhhhhhhh

He pauses from getting his tea stuff.]

What, exactly, are you doing? This makes it difficult to make tea, you know?

[randori]

It's okay, you can just drag my hand around.

[ Think of it as strength training, Eichi. ]

[finethanks]

I'm more concerned about damaging my uniform.

[He likes his school uniform? Also, he doesn't need strength training. The needle will be what snaps, for sure... That's all he can think.]

I haven't left your side, so this isn't necessary. Where did you find something like this, anyway? It's dangerous.

[randori]

It's like a button! It won't damage it!

[ But he will take a little greater care to follow Eichi's movements so that the holes in their sleeves don't tug any larger than they already are. ]

It's from the tailor's room- It's what people use to sew and embroider and stuff! I've embroidered before, you know? So I know how to use it!

[ once in his life, and no he doesn't ]

[finethanks]

If it pricks either one of us, it could be quite dangerous, you know.

[He doesn't want to know if ink or blood comes out!! He carefully tries to keep setting up his tea, but this is so distracting...]

We'll have to separate at some point.

[randori]

I could bend it the other way so both pointy ends are on my side...

[ But as long as there are no sudden motions, it shouldn't matter. As long as Eichi doesn't run away or disappear on him, he doesn't care. ]

I don't want to separate. What if it's like what happened with— with... [ "Gi-Gan," he lets the silence supply, ] and I wake up the next there and you're not there? If something happened to you and I wasn't there? How am I supposed to live like that?

[finethanks]

[I guess he's just staring up a teapot while stapled to Natsuo, this is fine.]

There are some things that you cannot help, you know, so if that happens, you should continue living no matter what. I'm already quite close to death.

[randori]

You're not!

[ He slams his fist on the counter. It's the staple arm. ]

I told you not to talk like that, right?!

[finethanks]

It's a habit... That aside, could you please be careful? That hurt a little bit, and I could have been holding tea.

[He's left-handed so it's even worse if his left arm is stapled, free him.]

[randori]

Oh. Yeah, sorry-

[ He goes through the motions of slamming his fist again, but slower, and more gently this time. ]

[finethanks]

[... Okay this is enough humoring. He reaches for their pinned sleeves to unfold the needle and yank it out.]

[randori]

[ He's really no fun sometimes. ]

I went through all that trouble, too...

[finethanks]

Sorry, sorry. I'd rather finish up my tea here and go to rest. If I'm up for too long, it could be bad for my health, after all.

[randori]

[ And we can't have that! Eichi is learning just what buttons to push to make Natsuo reconsider. ]

!! Then you go rest! I dunno if you can take the tea with you... so just hold it in your mouth until you get back to your room.

[ Just store it in there and don't trip. ]

[finethanks]

[He does that.

Also wh... he's going to ignore that advice but remember it for a while later like, wow, that sure was spoken aloud. He loves Natsuo.]

Then I'll say good night, Natsuo-kun. Take care. ♪