Inbox: Atsushi Nakajima

[beneathmoonlight]

Atsushi Nakajima

Atsushi Nakajima here! Sorry I missed you! Please leave a message or voicemail and I’ll get back to you ASAP! ^_^

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[beneathmoonlight]

I...I suppose.

[It’s baffling to Atsushi that John doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will towards him anymore, even if he knows that the Bosuma incident wasn’t his fault. There’s still the whole Dazai thing, but Atsushi isn’t going to bring up old wounds right now.

He finally meets John’s gaze again, brows furrowing and lips curving into a frown.]

Was Akutagawa part of the same organization as Steinbeck? That was the person who tore my leg off with some kind of strange ability in my memories. Maybe they were both after me for whatever reason.

[vitis]

[ ... well, holy shit, atsushi sure does remember his leg being torn off. that's initially met with, likewise, a furrowing of his brows. truth be told, if they're from the same past life, it's almost expected his memories would have some layer of awful to them.

john refocuses, ]

Akutagawa?

[ the way john says it, it's apparent it's a name he's yet to have heard. so, after thinking through the names and face he does know, atsushi's question is met with a minute shake of his head. ]

Doubt it. If he's from Yokohama, then chances are he's either part of the Mafia or the Detective Agency. Other than Steinbeck's organization, those are the only two that I remember.

[beneathmoonlight]

I see.

[Well, his past life being awful is just kind of a thing that he’s come to accept these days, so he doesn’t think much about mentioning getting a limb torn off.]

The bounty on my head that Steinbeck was after...do you know who put it on me? I mean I guess it doesn’t matter who it was, but I’m just...curious, I guess. Steinbeck didn’t seem to like whoever it was very much.

[vitis]

... You're not wrong, there.

[ that steinbeck "doesn't seem to like whoever it was very much." that's polite. john would use the words "hates with every fibre of his being.". ]

I don't remember his name, but he was my boss, yeah.

[ and john knows he could go into that man's flaws in grotesque detail, too. ]

[ he lifts his shoulders in a light shrug, gaze turning from his coffee back to atsushi's face. ]

But that's the thing. Maybe you've figured it out already, but if you're curious about that Akutagawa's and his strange ability, then I'd bet he's named for an author, right? [ yes, he bets he could search on his phone "akutagawa" and get some ping for a famous author. he's otherwise not familiar with the japanese names, as atsushi could be, but "atsushi," "chuuya," "dazai"-- it's all checked out. alas, for john, ignorance is bliss; the less he knows of that man, the better. ] And the abilities are named for their works. If you wanna go down that route, wouldn't be surprised if you could find out more information that way.

[beneathmoonlight]

Authors?

[Atsushi thinks back on what Shuji had told him, about Akutagawa Ryuunosuke and his book Rashomon. It didn’t make much sense back then, but now it seems like the pieces are slowly falling into place.]

I could try doing more research. I wonder just how many people in the city are from the same world.

[He’s definitely going to investigate now. Maybe he can find out more about his own ability as well.]

Can I ask you one more thing, John-san?

[He takes a deep breath.]

What kind of person was I? If you don’t know that’s fine, but...I guess I’m just curious.

[vitis]

Too many.

[ if he's going to be frank. ]

[ as for that second question, john has to reflect on that memory he received ages ago. it'd been brief, but with a number of faces to make note of-- atsushi's being one of them. so , accompanied with a shrug, it's likely a disappointing answer, ]

Dunno. Just saw you from afar along with a couple other people. You look similar, but that's all I could say.

[beneathmoonlight]

I see.

[Atsushi didn’t really expect to get an in-depth answer, but he at least had to try.]

Thank you for telling me all this, John-san. It can’t be nice to remember all of that.

[It’s not pleasant for him, either.]

But I don’t blame you for any of what happened, and...

[He gives John a warm, genuine smile this time.]

I’d still like to be your friend.

[vitis]

[ he'd still like to be his friend. atsushi's just like that, isn't he? wanting to be friends where he can manage it. of course, there's that dark, intrusive, thought of why? why would you? john feels like he can pinpoint a dozen or so reasons why they shouldn't, or why it wouldn't be worth effort, but much of that goes against his mantra of being different from steinbeck. ]

[ so, his smile widening, he quells that. ]

[ "i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t a little afraid of you." ]

Okay. [ it's a chance at something. there's gratitude. ] We can try.