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WHO: Eichi & Anyone
WHAT: Time for some old nasty tea
WHEN: Some time in July
WHERE: In front of a weird claire's-like store he has been sleeping in
WARNINGS: None!

Would you like to try some tea?

[No matter who happens to be passing by the overly-pink and purple store, Eichi calls out to them with a calm soft voice, smiling as he gestures to a counter he's transformed into a makeshift tea bar. It appears to be a central area that certainly used to be where the cashiers stood, but now Eichi is sitting at one of the old, hardly kept together stools, an assortment of chipped and peeled and faded mugs or cups lining the counter. There's a stand of what probably used to hold random pens and accessories that's now holding a handful of packets and tins of... tea? Their markings are difficult to comprehend, not just from the passing of time and whatever happened here, but from how much of a knockoff this tea place really was. Whatever Eichi has managed to heat up with a pile of debris and an actual tea pot smells like something faintly herbal... though it's difficult to place how.]

I managed to find some in the back of a store, but I couldn't make sense of any of the labels, so I'm afraid the exact blend is a mystery to me.

[The store around him looks even more chaotic. There's a mattress shoved surprisingly neatly into one side of the store towards the back, lined to one side with raggedy stuffed animals. There's a life-sized doll of a certain Wataru Hibiki that some might have met in person on top of the mattress and tucked into the scrounged up ripped sheets and blankets making the "bed," surprisingly clean compared to the rest of the items. The shelves are lined with folded scrounged up clothing (one or two outfits worth), and a few items. To the opposite side of the store is a coffin, neatly pushed up against the wall and left closed.

On top of the weird scenery, this tea is so old and such a knock off that it's going to taste bland and disgusting, though, and Eichi seems aware of it enough to have not taken a sip at all of his own cup.]

Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of extra stools or chairs here. I hope you don't mind.

---

(ooc: I just have this open prompt, but I'll probably use this as a catch-all as well! I'll put my hauntings threads in the comments. Hit me up if you want something personalized.)

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The resistance of your skin was a horrible sensation.

[ He’d never stabbed something like that before. He knows it had to have been deeper, longer... His fingers brush under it again, and then he urges Wataru to turn back to him once more. This time, he initiates a hug. ]

I’m sorry. But I’m also relieved... that you were able to tear me away from that.

[ There is the tiniest shiver under his fingers. See? Human. ]

Oh, that... was it so bad? I've always wondered what it would be like to be stabbed, but I cannot say that I could have predicted the feeling. Still, perhaps I am just fragile there.

[ He sighs, dramaticized more than not, and is more than happy to just wrap his arms back around him. His own heartbeat has calmed considerably, but there's still the slightest skip to the pace that betrays him. ]

I'm not sure you'll want to hear it, but I wouldn't have been able to leave you in there. Especially not after saying such familial things to you.

[ Familial... he leans his head against his, and since he’s too afraid to move bloody fingers to that lovely hair, he grips at Wataru’s shirt where it’s not torn instead. ]

I wonder if it’s difficult for you to belief, but I’m no longer someone who would purposefully hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone like that.

Especially... family, I suppose, though the sound of it is still odd.

[ Because his family sucks...? But. ]

We should wash the wounds, even if they do seem to be healing quickly.

...Eichi—

[ He wants to say that he didn't really think he wanted to, but when you are presented with a scenario unfolding before your eyes, you still react to it. But he's not sure how to, and he's already moving on, so maybe... he shouldn't.

...no. ] Let me put it simply. It's not difficult to believe at all. Something unexpected happened, and it cracked my mind wide open... ideas and thoughts rushed to fill in those new crevices, throwing anything that seemed like it could make sense at the edges to make it stick together.

But nothing really could stick, as none of it made sense. Every idea or reason simply flowed on through, incapable of becoming the truth.

[ IS THIS REALLY SIMPLE?

Anyway, he's moving back now, because Eichi wants to see his back or something. ]

...because the truth was contradicting itself before me. I knew you would not hurt me, and yet that's what I was seeing. Eventually, one of those two truths triumphed over the other, did it not?

[ A very, very brief pause. Okay, continuing with the Hamlet theme: ]

Something is rotten in that store.

...Yes.

[Something is rotten in that store, is what he's responding to, his fingers moving up to the backs of Wataru's shoulders and plucking at the cloth there. Take this off, he wants it gone, is what he's saying, only becoming more insistent if Wataru doesn't act right away. There are tears, but it will be easier to see them across his back, won't they?

Even if, even in this short time, do they seem a bit smaller? Is it his imagination?]

However, the rot was found in every mirror, in the very eyes looking back at me... Perhaps that's what troubled me the most. I compared it to the past.

[He's turning to find something relatively clean that he thinks he could use. They might have to wander to the employee restroom here, too, but...]

And I saw that you did, as well. It's unavoidable, isn't it?

[ ... he's not sure how to say that he only could compare them because he knew what was happening was so wrong any more than he has, so for now... he just obeys, pulling his ridiculous mall shirt up and over his head.

It sticks in places where blood had started to cake to his skin. It's more like he has to peel it away, especially the parts closest to his neck. The skin underneath is bloodied and red, even though some of the cuts inflicted have already closed entirely.

By the time his shirt is off, it might even look like the bigger ones have healed more. ]

...so, what have you found? Is it as you expected?

[Let Eichi have his pity party, he throws it regardless of what everyone else thinks, from time to time. Nightmares and all... Well. It has gotten a bit better. At least he isn't absorbed by it, right now.

Currently, he's more concerned with seeing Wataru's back. Er, seeing the injuries on it, that is. Definitely not anything else.]

Some of these smaller cuts have closed completely... [One he remembers distinctly, in a view in the mirror. The feel of the scrape, how he was glad it hadn't gotten deeper. His fingers run over skin now, quiet.]

Even the large ones are improving by the second. This can't be natural, can it?

[ Look how smooth his skin looks and how soft it feels and suffer, Eichi. ]

Hmmm... I do recover from things quite easily, and it's quite hard to damage this body, but I am a normal human, after all.

[ And it still hurts, in a strange way. Not just the pain of infliction and injuries existing, but it's almost a burning sensation. But... somehow, Eichi's fingers tracing over his back feels refreshing. Calming. A little bit involuntarily, he releases a breath.

Gingerly, he tries turning his head to look over his shoulder. Not to look at his back, since he can't exactly see much of it, but because he wants to look at Eichi. ]

Let us see your hand, Eichi... ♪

I should have known that you'd notice that.

[That Eichi was hurt too, in the middle of it all. He can't believe Wataru is such a selfless person. But quietly, after some hesitation because he wants to keep touching his back, he lifts his left hand and offers it around Wataru's side, so he doesn't have to crane for it.

His hand is terribly bloody. Caked in more of Wataru's blood than his own, dried and crusting, there's a visible line where the injury was. Uneven, jagged but deep and short, like the end point of a shard stabbed in...

But it's nearly completely sealed over. It's so small that it doesn't make sense that it could have bled at all.]

That's right, you can't keep anything from your Wataru.

[ Don't mind him as he takes his hand, without any care for the blood itself. As he inspects it, he lightly brushes over the top of the remaining mark with the side of his thumbnail. ]

So that's it... whatever it is that is inflicting me has settled within you as well. I wonder if this is a gift, a boon from above, or some sort of maniacal curse?

[ Cool how he manages to sound intrigued by either of those options. ]

[h...hand touch]

You're saying that rather casually, aren't you.

[He'd rather not invite curses, thanks. He looks down at his palm, as well, frowning curiously.]

It's not that it's a hallucination how much we were injured, is it? After all, we both viewed the same thing. My hand bled much more than this.

Considering what I saw in there, I'd begin to wonder if I was facing some sort of... ailment myself, but since you weren't controlled and still manage to heal so quickly, I'm not sure that I understand the connection? Is this place so odd in general?

Ah, I don't know what to do with this information.

[ Humming, with a hint of melody in his voice, Wataru faintly squeezes Eichi's hand once before letting go. He lifts his own arms above his head and experimentally stretches; it all still hurts, but nothing stretches or tears in a way that makes him think that moving around will worsen anything. ]

Our circumstances are already outlandish, no? I suppose this is just one more chapter in this exquisite fantasy.

However, testing the waters with this can wait patiently. That was quite an ordeal, hm? Let's allow the scars to fade and lighten before we delve back into it.

[ In other words, that was a lot and maybe even Wataru needs a breather. Maybe. ]

[Hmm. Wataru is tired... That situation was both physically and mentally exhausting, after all. They should rest, and maybe if their wounds are closing this quickly, cleaning them urgently doesn't matter. He glances down, and the way his bloody hand smooths over the mattress doesn't leave anything behind other than a few flakes of dried blood.

So, he shifts then and touches Wataru's shoulder, tugging at it to force him to lean back, to lie down. That's the intention, anyway, but he also wouldn't be surprised if Wataru resisted it after everything else.

Still:]

The both of us should rest.

[ There's no real resistance but he does move slowly because—he expected to just go back to his own sleeping area and yet... he's glad for it. Did Eichi just stab at every imaginable part of his backside for some reason they have yet to figure out? Yes. Is he worried about that again? Apparently not.

Mid-fall he places a hand back to hold himself up and looks at the bloodied mess of a shirt in his hand. ]

Oh, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I were to make a mess in your bed.

[ His back is still a bit gross, but not nearly as bad as it would be if he got dressed again. ]

[Eichi keeps his hand on Wataru stubbornly, but he doesn't keep tugging, or push, or anything. He just looks at him.]

Since it's you, Wataru, I wouldn't mind. [Honestly, he wouldn't mind staring at blood stains and remembering his sins, since apparently their bodies could heal so completely that nothing lasts... He's one of those types that wants to be reminded of his sins.]

Selfishly, I'd prefer if you didn't move away, right now. I wonder why that is...

[ Well, he's going to get his way, because Wataru just flips his ponytail out of the way and continues laying down.

What a sight. Two idols, decked out in varying amounts of dried blood, laying together on a mattress placed inside of a Cl*ire's store in a distraught mall. One happens to be shirtless. ]

You really don't know? Fufu, well... that's alright. There's time for that later. Your clown will settle down here for the time being quite happily!

[ Wataru thinks that there could be a myriad of reasons for it; namely, it's comforting to be near someone you care about. Not that he's ever shared a bed with someone aside from maybe his parents when he was young, but even then it'd be similar, right?

He's adapted as well as he could, but even he feels it sometimes. Unease, wariness, the unknown—they've spent a little bit of time here by now, and he's no closer to understanding what has happened and what has not.

As unsettled as he might be most of the time, as much as he really isn't a fan of being found asleep by anyone—he understands the urge for it. It's there in himself, as well. Still, it would be better if they both had fluffy pajamas, some hot chocolate, and three times as many pillows... how unfortunate. ]

[Once Wataru is lying down, Eichi moves to lay more properly next to him. He's not shy about how close he is, even if he's very aware that Wataru's shirt is off. It's fine...]

It reminds me a bit of when I would spend the night at Keito's place.

[Ruining Keito even when he's not here by talking about this... But he rolls on his side to face Wataru, and it feels as similar as it feels different? Yeah, he really doesn't know.]

There are times I'd grow frightened over something small and I thought that he could protect me. Fufu... it was quite cute, how he'd act so confident, even if he also was startled by something in the end.

[ Wataru bends his head to look at Eichi, then softly laughs. The imagery of his brave little rival, defending little Eichi... it's adorable, wonderful, amazing. Wataru loves it, so it's definitely ruining poor Keito. ]

Ahh, is it terrible of me to wish to hear his scolding voice right now? It's been far too long already. I want him to protect me, too... ♪

[ Ahems, and then, in classic Keito(?): ]

'You expect me to believe that you need protecting? You're the most dangerous thing here, Hibiki.'

Fufu, I haven't role-played him in awhile, so my impression might be a little off.

[ Don't go into his HMD and crit him, Eichi. ]

[How could he crit perfection?? Eichi laughs at that, more than his usual soft chuckles. It's genuinely nice to hear Keito's voice even if it's not really him— and Wataru's imitations are always incredible.

It's also a little sad to think about. He misses him. He knows Wataru does, too. And many others, like the rest of fine... But if they were here, it would be a horrible thing.]

You sound just like him. Ahh, if he were here, he'd constantly be scolding us about our actions and would say that we should never have gone into such a suspicious store in the first place.

However, I wonder how he'd act without any of his spare glasses in such a dangerous place.

[Pretending and talking about it like they're just roleplaying is kind of fun, though...]

Ah, maybe we'd be fishing them out of the water for him? Ufufu, there would be so many hiding places here.

[ Wataru would go swimming through hell water for Keito's precious glasses... ]

Wouldn't it be fun to see him wearing some of the amusing shirts we've found, too? [ This is evil. This is pure evil. Keito is sneezing somewhere, in safety. Wataru is turning over now, onto his stomach so that he can lean up on his elbows. ] Before making any decisions in the future, I'll try to remember to consult my destined rival's appearance in my dreams first.

[ Not that he will even behave with dream Keito, but... ]

[Laughing at the idea of that too, Eichi lets his eyes drift closed. It's all fine in the end, isn't it? They're surviving, despite what's been thrown at them so far. Keito is probably terribly worried at home, so he'll make sure to look for him. Probably...

This feels comfortable, compared to his days alone in this bed, though, so he breathes deeply and allows himself to get sleepy as they chatter. It's not hard, when he's exhausted.]

Let's reserve a shirt or two for him, in case he comes to rescue the two of us. A souvenir.

[ It's... nice, talking like this. Normal. As if they are still just happy idols celebrating the spring, even though the atmosphere outside is blistering and apparently just walking into an otherwise innocuous store can result in multiple stabbings.

There's a couple seconds where Wataru is just fondly smiling down at Eichi before laying his chin down onto his arms, feet idly kicking in the air behind him. His voice is a touch softer, quieter. Partially from actual exhaustion (don't know if you've noticed, but a lot has happened in the past few hours), and part is wistfulness. Or nostalgia. Maybe both. It's something emotional, at least. ]

Perhaps it's finally the time for matching trio shirts. I'm sure we could find one appropriate for him.

[ One that indicates a right hand and is also embarrassing, he means. ]

[Eichi's arm shifts and his fingers curl, brushing against something soft that he can only assume is Wataru's arm. He doesn't open his eyes to check, or move his hand away, either. It's warm in a comforting way, unlike the burning acid water or the scorching heat outside.]

Fufu... He would fight it, but of course, there's not much choice here. Anything that you pick out for the three of us would be perfect, Wataru.

[He can picture it now... Ahh, how nostalgic. It feels like he's hardly had time to tease Keito with how busy he's been. His thoughts jump ahead, imagining the scenario, and he doesn't even realize that he's mostly fallen asleep. Humming in response to whatever Wataru says next is probably the most he'll manage before a soft snore interrupts.]

[ Ah... he's cute. Wataru thinks Eichi is cute most of the time, but seeing his soft face like this... it's calming.

Wataru says something truly thrilling, like how he's found a burger and fries set so maybe there's a third one for Keito, but eventually he too trails off and just languidly watches over him. Eventually he too falls asleep, smiling faintly.

Eichi probably gets to wake up with a leg over him I'm sorry. ]

[ As if Eichi would ever have a problem with that. ]

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