ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ sᴏɴɢs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ᴏʟᴅ ʀʜʏᴍᴇs

[lotusbloom]

[ The four months since the castes were reversed have been... strange, mostly because of how strange it isn't. It was easy to adjust to walking around Tanagura freely, since he'd done it in Midas all the time. It was easy to adjust to the way he and Eichi's responsibilities and schedules had changed. It was easy to adjust to being actually in charge of Eichi now, instead of just managing his life for him.

Truthfully, it's actually kind of nice to be an Elite instead of a Mongrel, and that's what makes it so strange. Because Eichi is miserable, because Eichi can't adjust, because he's never felt quite so helpless about actually fixing a problem that Eichi is facing. Giving him the majority of his monthly wage hadn't helped. Letting him keep his bedroom hadn't helped. Leaving the apartment exactly the way it was (except for his) bedroom hadn't helped. Making it easy for Eichi to keep in touch with his other Elite (well, Mongrel now) friends hadn't helped - if anything, Tori's miserable sobbing coupled with Yuzuru's thinly veiled mania in the face of the swap probably made things worse. It's frustrating and he hates it and that's why he's shopping.

Not because shopping make him feels better, mind, but because Eichi's birthday is soon and maybe a gift with more meaning to it beyond 'please feel less depressed soon' will be helpful. Thus, Keito has tracked down and traveled the one pottery shop in the whole city that still makes their wears by hand. A cute new tea set will definitely make him happy, and if it doesn't then Keito will just throw him off the balcony and--

Why is Eichi here?

It takes Keito a second to realize that it is Eichi standing across the street from the shop (it's been so long since he's seen Eichi fully if a bit sloppily dressed), and once he does recognize him Keito is staring at him with a mix of confusion, horror, frustration, and somehow also relief. Because Eichi is up and moving around and not full starfish on the floor, but of course he decided to celebrate his return to normal function by immediately putting himself in an incredibly dangerous situation. Of course.

Keito charges across the street in a flash, heart racing just from anxiety. He grabs Eichi by the wrist, gentle enough to not hurt him but firm enough that he won't be wiggling away any time soon. ]

What are you doing here?!

Comments

[hospitalies]

You'll still be "Eichi", to us. [ Eichi says it carefully, without even the common -kun attachment; his name is important to him, after all, when he was rendered without much else but his name, so he can only imagine it has similar sentimentality to his alternate. ]

Are you out of place? [ Eichi offers it gently, casually, like it's a completely normal question; like the other Eichi didn't show up in an alternate reality with none of the knowledge that would help him in a situation like this. ]

We don't know why you're here, of course, but it could just as easily be that you're here for a reason -- such as helping us... [ Eichi doesn't actually say "overthrow the regime", because he doesn't want to get in too much trouble, but, well. ] ...which means that you're not someone who doesn't belong, you're a capable asset in your own right.

[ A pause, and then: ] Arguably, having a fresh mind to come at the problems we face might be exactly what we need!

[ Eichi peptalks 101: when in doubt, talk about how you can team up to destroy your enemies. ]

[lotusbloom]

It's not cute.

[ He's not cute! He's manly and tired, okay? And speaking of tired, that's the sort of look he gives 'his' Eichi when he skirts too close to bringing up their loose 'plans' once again. ]

Whatever the 'reason' for him being here, we should wait until we're home before we discuss anything else.

[ It's not exactly calculated, but including 'Tenshi' in 'we' while discussing their home is entirely deliberate. More pointedly, he adds: ]

You may have had lunch, but I didn't make it with an outing in mind.

[ He expects one or both of them to collapse without warning. ]

[finethanks]

[Eichi looks... surprised, at both of those gentle answers. The different approaches are expected, but they're still so touching in their own ways, and he's smiling a little more genuinely because of it.

He'll have to ask Eichi what he was hinting at in specifics later.

But for right now, Keito is right. Eichi feels horrible. He'd come from another universe, which was already rough on his body. Medication and assistance had helped a little, but then he'd taken that sudden and small increase in energy and used it to... come all the way out here, only to be disappointed and troubled. His chest hurts. His legs hurt. Breathing feels like he's got something tight around his neck trying to stop him from it. And he feels a little faint, a little shaky.

If he had tried to continue forward on his own, he most certainly would have collapsed, right in front of that horrible Yumenosaki. It would have been a 'bad end' for sure.

But here, at least he was able to sit and recover some stamina. They certainly should head back... but at least he thinks he can probably walk on his own, for it.]

Thank you... both of you. I'm in your care.

[His fingers find Eichi's hand rather easily, squeezing it in a hold, and then he holds his other hand out across the table for Keito, smiling a little brighter, since he's more excited about Keito's tsun reaction than anything else.]

You're saying that you don't want us to stay and have another cup of tea here, is that it? [He laughs, lightly.] I've seen what I was curious about, and I wouldn't want to cause any additional trouble for either of you. So, I'm not against heading home.

[Home... He's not sure he's ever had a home to begin with (though the school sometimes felt like it), let alone one here, in this place where he clearly doesn't belong. But they're both so sweet.]

Whatever I can help with, by the way, I'd be glad to. ♪ [Even he can't wait until they're home to express his encouragement of plotting, after all...]

[hospitalies]

[ Is it weird to hold the hand of your clone and reassure him that things will be (relatively) okay? Hmm, probably, but on the grand scale of things, Eichi thinks it might be one of the less weird parts of this entire story. At any rate, he holds onto his other self's hand with an ease that seems natural.

A part of Eichi worries that if this Eichi has breezed into their lives so unexpectedly and so easily, they'll have to eventually deal with the fact that he will leave -- he has a home to go to, far different than this one, and surely he'll miss it, surely that should be their end. Ah, it might be the way of things, but Eichi already thinks he's going to miss him.

If nothing else, he's grateful to this Eichi; almost indebted, given that he's left the house more now than he had since the castes switched. ]

We have better tea at home, of course. It's one of the indulgences that Keito would never think of denying me. [ Even if Keito might question exactly why Eichi wants to spend several thousand dollars on exclusive tea... ]

I enjoyed being out, but I confess that I am more prone to enjoying the privacy of home. [ Also, man, Eichi really is not back to 100% health and he can tell that the other Eichi isn't doing a whole lot better. ]