beneathmoonlight | Inbox: Atsushi Nakajima

[There's a body halfway in the fountain. It's okay. Nobody needs to mind.]

[Except the body is very clearly Howard, with his long curling hair winding in the water. He lies there, absolutely still. Not even his chest is moving with breath.]

[Maybe he's just sleeping. Maybe...]

[But the fact that he hasn't moved in a while is...concerning, to say the least.]

[Atsushi should’ve been home by now, having visited Kei’s ramen (mapo?) shop earlier, but he’s so restless that staying home until it was time to return to the fishing village simply wasn’t going to calm his nerves.

So here he is, walking along with only the light of the moon, stars, and street lamps to guide his path.

What he doesn’t expect to see is a body in the nearby fountain...

WAIT, WHAT??? Oh no, oh no, are they dead??? They aren’t moving!!! But how could someone drown in a fountain?? How??? Unless this was some kind of murder with a terrible method of disposing of the body...

Either way, Atsushi rushes over to help, grabbing the back of the person’s shirt and pulling them out of the water, and...]

Howard-san???? What happened??

...

[There's still no movement. Water starts dripping out of Howard's mouth onto his own shirt - his face is a bit puckered, like its been in the water for a while.]

[But that's not the concerning thing.]

[The concerning thing is that, currently, his eyes are gone. Just two black empty holes are now where his eyes used to be.]

Ughhhh....

[He suddenly turns his head in Atsushi's direction, water still dripping out of his mouth and holes for eyes.]

[He looks like a waterlogged corpse brought to life.]

[Atsushi is sure that Howard is dead for a minute there, and he’s relieved when he turns his head, until...

What??? WHAT??? Is this some kind of Halloween prank?? It’s only February though, and oh god, Howard looks terrifying like that, like a creepypasta come to life...

Don’t scream Atsushi, this is your friend, this is-]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

[He scrambles backwards from Howard when he sees the water pouring out of his eyeholes and mouth.]

H-Howard-san!!!!! W-w-what...what happened to you???

Edited 2018-02-24 04:58 (UTC)

Mm...

[His head lolls on his shoulders as he attempts to come to. This is going to be the worst hangover of his life, even he's conscious enough to know that.]

Mmmmm'drunk.

[He furrows his eyebrows, but his holes still remain the same, unmoving. He raises a hand slowly, slides it down his cheek with a grimace.]

Why am I...wet?

Drunk...?

[Is it even possible to get drunk enough to stumble into a fountain and fall asleep...? But then how did he breathe???

Atsushi’s heart is still pounding in his chest from that fright, but he inches closer towards Howard once again anyway, because friends.]

You...I found you in the fountain...I don’t know how you didn’t drown...your whole head was underwater.

Oh. Yeah, I remember that. I felt sleepy, so I just...

[He makes a half-hearted gesture, miming his body flopping into the fountain. When he's drunk, it seems that he just moves like he's in a slow motion movie.]

Atsushi. What...time is it?

[He mumbles as he raises his wrist with his watch right in front of his face. Right in front of his literal holes which should not be able to see anything.]

I left Kei's at...11. It's midnight now. It's been...over an hour since I've been in this fountain, I guess...

[He doesn't even seem remotely alarmed by that fact. Thanks, alcohol.]

Edited 2018-02-24 05:21 (UTC)

Oh...

[That’s...

Who falls asleep in a fountain??? Even when they’re drunk...

Atsushi is about to answer his question, but then Howard looks at his watch...somehow...without pupils...and figures it out for himself.

And honestly, the fountain thing takes a backseat to those hollow eyes.]

Um. Howard-san...I hate to alarm you, but your eyes...have changed...

What? What d'you mean, my...eyes...

[His upper body is wet - he's only just starting to realize this. He brushes away wet strands of hair clinging to his neck and face, starting to feel very uncomfortable.]

[He grimaces at Atsushi's observation.]

What color are they now...? Please don't tell me they're something damned like...red...or yellow...

Um...no...it’s not the color that’s changed...

[Oh boy, how does he break this to Howard?

Maybe showing him would be better. He reaches out to poke a finger in one of the holes; if Howard had normal eyes it would be painful because an eyeball would be there.]

They’re...gone.

Hey, what are you...doing?

[He raises his hand to push Atsushi's finger away, but pauses when he realizes that Atsushi's hand isn't pressing on anything.]

[What is he doing, just holding his finger right above them? It's weird, before the tip of Atsushi's finger...he can't really see it.]

That'sa...good joke. Ha. I can still see just fine.

Howard-san...I’m not joking...

[Sigh...

Atsushi fishes his phone out of his pocket, snaps a picture of Howard, and turns the screen to show it to him.]

They’re just...gone. I have no idea how you can still see.

[He...doesn't understand what he's seeing. That isn't him, right? This has to be some kind of weird filter from Instagram or Snapchat or whatever program the kids these days are using. His eyebrows knit together, and, for the first time, he realizes that he hasn't blinked once since he came to.]

[Howard reaches up a hand, fingers sliding over his cheekbone before hitting the edge of his new eye. He keeps it moving over the edge before he slides it all the way in. As far as he can tell, yes, it's just...a hole. He doesn't even know how deep it goes.]

[After a long pause, he turns back to the fountain, bending over and letting his hands slide through the water, feeling along the bottom.]

Can you...help me find my eyes? Maybe they just...dropped out...

Edited 2018-02-24 16:09 (UTC)

[Atsushi is so behind on social media that Instagram and Snapchat are complete mysteries to him, so even if he wanted to play a prank on Howard, he wouldn’t do it that way. He also doesn’t play pranks on people, like ever, so.

Atsushi cringes a bit when Howard sticks his finger deeper into that empty socket, but the discomfort is quickly replaced with sympathy when he sees Howard...trying to find his eyeballs...in the fountain...

What even is Atsushi’s life?]

Ah...sure...

[Atsushi copies Howard, skimming the bottom of the fountain all the way around, but finding nothing except change and the occasional cigarette butt.]

Howard-san...maybe they didn’t fall out? Maybe this is just...temporary...

How did they not fall out if I have holes in my face? C'mon. It's just...logic.

[He's waaaay too drunk for any of this. Howard lets out a sigh, head dipping down to the water again. So his eyes are gone. Great. Just great.]

Ugh...I just want to sleep. [His voice devolves into a mumble.] Maybe somebody took them...I suppose purple eyes are really rare...

Howard-san...

[Atsushi sighs, but it’s more out of frustration that he’s unable to help more.]

You’re not sober, and I’d be worried if I left you here, so can I walk you home at least? I want to make sure that you’re safe. You can sleep there.

[That doesn’t solve the eyeball issue...]

Maybe...we can do some research about this later...

I guess you can.

[Home sounds pretty good right now. He lifts his head to stare over at Atsushi. His hole eyes seem as dark as the void.]

I don't want to be wet anymore. I don't like it...

Okay. Let’s get you home so you can change, then.

[Oh boy...those eyes are so unsettling, but Howard is his friend. He can’t just flake out because he’s not currently himself. In a sense.

He helps Howard to his feet, offering a shoulder to lean on.]

Just...tell me the way. I don’t mind walking.

It's about a block from here, I think. Not too...far away...

[It seems silly, the way his gangly body has to be supported by this young man. It almost looks like Atsushi is propping up a dark pool noodle.]

Thanks for helping me. I'm...really grateful.

[He thinks...? Wow, how drunk is Howard right now...]

Of course, Howard-san.

[It’s the least he can do, really, after all that drama.

Once they arrive at Howard’s apartment Atsushi will help him inside and to his room so that he can change clothes if he wishes.]

I still have no idea how you didn’t drown...

I don't...know. An entire hour.

[He sits back on his bed, groaning. He's already feeling less buzzed and more miserable. He starts to pull off his coat, followed by unbuttoning his wet shirt.]

An entire hour in that fountain. [His hands move up to his eye sockets again, fingers tracing along their edges.] I mean...I'm still alive, right? This isn't like...heaven, or something.

You’re still alive, Howard-san. Somehow.

[Atsushi glances away to give Howard some privacy as he changes. They’re both guys, but Atsushi still thinks it’s the polite thing to do.]

You know how some people have gotten special abilities back? Do you think it could be that?

[He rummages in his cabinet, finally pulling out an old sweatshirt to put on. His pants are fine. He's not going to waste effort in changing those.]

I know about that. I can hear things most people can't, you know...things from far away. And now...this.

[He sighs, finally flopping back onto the bed, long hair strewn around him. This has...certainly been a night.]

Do you think I should try it out? [He suddenly gets back up to his feet less than a few seconds after he got on the bed, stumbling towards the direction of the bathroom.] Let me...try it out.

Oh...I had no idea.

[At least he hasn’t been shit-talking Howard or anything, because Atsushi isn’t that kind of guy.

Howard’s hair certainly is long. Atsushi wonders how he even keeps up with it...]

W-what??? N-no!! What if you end up drowning after all?

[Atsushi frantically catches up with Howard, tugging on his sleeve.]

I don’t want you to get pneumonia or something.

I have to try it out. I mean...this is something I need to know.

[Just how far are his changes going? What is he becoming? He would feel more anxiety over this if his mind wasn't clouded with alcohol.]

Let me try. [He shakes Atsushi off, already moving into the bathroom to switch on the faucet in the bath.] I have to find out if it's true...

Inbox: Atsushi Nakajima

sometime on 2/15

HOWARD PLS

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