FIC: Bloom and Scatter: Chapter 3: Masks
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Bloom and Scatter
Chapter 3: Masks
Length: 3,805
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Zombies
Genre: Zombies
Characters, Pairings: Tachibana Makoto, Matsuoka Rin
Summary: Rin returns to Japan to look for his mother and sister. What he finds, instead, is Makoto.
Notes: Originally posted on AO3.
Chapters:
[ 1: Homecoming ]
[ 2: The Fog ]
[ 3: Masks ]
[ 4: They Live ]
[ 5: The Truth ]
[ 6: Making Plans ]
[ 7: Lost & Found ]
[ 8: The Payoff ]
[ 9: Hopeless ]
[ 10: The Waiting Game ]
Rin knew better than to binge, but he hadn’t eaten peaches in a long time, and Tachibana had been kind enough to turn a blind eye to it. He still didn’t fully trust the guy, but he had to admit that Tachibana had indeed saved his life. And after a long overdue sleep, all Rin’s things were still accounted for on his person, even though the guy was already awake and bustling about the house, gas mask still attached securely on his face. Rin didn’t know what Tachibana’s aims were, but he wasn’t going to waste time getting friendly with the guy; as far as he was concerned, he was only using Tachibana for supplies and information. His only goal was to survive long enough to make it to the Iwatobi Coast, and then things would pan out from there. As for Tachibana himself, well, as long as he didn’t get in Rin’s way, Rin wouldn’t put a bullet in him. He felt it was a fair compromise.
Part of him did wonder what Tachibana looked like. It was hard not to, considering that this was the guy he’d chosen to ally with for the time being, and being able to see his face was generally something that made it easier to trust him.
The gas mask seemed like an older design. It was black and synthetic and covered the entire face, with two filters alongside the chin and some sort of circular fixtures where his ears were. There was a pair of straps at the temple and jaw on each side that reached around the back of his head, where they were buckled securely against his mussed brown hair. The only visible part of him otherwise were his eyes - although the eyeholes were covered in a darkened glass, he could generally make them out. He supposed that if light shone in at just the right angle, he could probably see them clearly. The mask wasn’t attached to any tanks as far as Rin could tell, and Tachibana had helpfully explained that it was an air purification model, hence the double heavy duty filters.
Other than that, Tachibana was tall and gangly. That was pretty much all he’d filed away about the guy.
“Kitajima,” Tachibana said, “You should cover up completely.”
“Are you insane, or has the heat gotten to you?”
“I live here,” Tachibana said patiently, and gestured to his own person; unlike Rin, he was indeed covered from head to toe, “Direct exposure to the fog and the sun will get you burned and possibly heat stroke. What you need to do is wear light and thin clothing that completely covers up your arms and legs. I suggest you take off the tank top and wear only your hoodie, zipped all the way up. Then pull the hood over your cap.”
“That sounds like bullshit.”
“It’s what works.”
“This hoodie is made of wool.”
Tachibana fell silent for a moment, “Then wear only your button up shirt. It’s cotton, isn’t it?”
Rin grumbled but began to change. He could feel Tachibana watching him and snapped his head up.
“What.”
“Oh, sorry,” he was always quick to apologise and it irritated Rin for some reason, “It’s just… it’s been a while. That’s all.”
“If you’re ogling me like a goddamned pervert, I’ll have you know that I will cut your balls up faster than a sushi chef if you so much as-”
“Oh! No! Did it seem like that? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to give off that impression at all!”
Rin glared at him, hand still on the grip of his machete.
“I promise, it really isn’t like that. I’ve just, um, it’s been a while since I could last talk to another human. Or… well, be around another one without having to worry about getting attacked.”
After holding his gaze for another moment, Rin released his machete with a grunt. He pulled his tank top off and paused at the silence.
“Turn around.”
“Oh! Right! Sorry!” Tachibana turned. Rin rolled his eyes.
Rin liked to think that he was just the right amount of intimidating, so Tachibana must have been a grade A weirdo to not be cowed at all as he continued to jabber, “I think the best place to go to would be further into the next district, where the shopping mall is. Although it’s been looted to the ground, we might be lucky enough to find a gas mask.”
“Fine,” Rin replied curtly, buttoning up his shirt all the way.
“Otherwise, from what I’d heard, there was another fight there last night, so the odds are that there might be a good place. There is one other place we could go to…”
“Okay.”
“Right, well, let’s save that for last then. I mean, we might be lucky enough with just the mall, right?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, good. Just in case, we should pack some food away-”
“You can turn around now,” Rin interjected irately, “Geez, is talking all you do? No wonder there’s no one in this dump; probably chased them all away with your yammering.”
Tachibana seemed to pause at that, and after a little longer than what would have been a comfortable silence, he let out a weak chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“All right, I’m ready,” Rin said, making sure his sleeves were rolled all the way down and snapping the cuffs together. He made sure the bandana was tight over his nose and pulled his swimming goggles over his eyes for protection. He snapped the back out of habit, and the sound made Tachibana turn and regard him curiously.
“Well?” Rin demanded, “You waiting for a carriage or something?”
“Ah, sorry,” Tachibana shook his head slightly and picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder, “Let’s get a move on, then.”
He had to hand it to Tachibana; the guy moved like a goddamned monkey when he actually wanted to. Those long legs probably helped some, but Rin had to wonder just how much running he’d done to be able to basically parkour his way around. They’d had to stop a handful of times to give Rin the time to clamber over a fence, or to walk around a wall instead of leaping over it like he was Son-fucking-Goku. So Tachibana could pull his weight and do the cardio. Fine. Rin was fine with that. That meant he was also more likely to kick it and leave him in the lurch when the going got tough, but Rin was the one with the weapons. The idiot hadn’t even packed a bat or a crowbar or anything sensible - all he had was a sack and some food and drink packets squandered away on him. It set alarm bells ringing, because that basically screamed suspicious and trap, but Rin was going against his better judgement for the time being to see how things would unfold. Once again, worse comes to worst, he’d just make Tachibana eat lead.
Regardless, the goggles had been a good idea because the intensity of the fog seemed to worsen the further into town they ventured. He wondered just how well he could have seen if he’d gone without, because even with the extra precautions, his head was still aching something fierce.
“Kitajima,” Tachibana hissed, grabbing Rin by the front of his shirt and yanking him into an alley. He was pressed up against the wall with a slight thump, and although he really did want to kick Tachibana in the balls for the rough handling, both of them peeked out the side to check out what had warranted hiding.
On the other side of the street was a man, hunched over a prone figure, rummaging desperately through their - shirt? Bag? Through something at the very least. He was bleeding from his head and it was staining his shirt, and Rin could only assume he had been in a fight. He could see the tell tale signs of mask straps from the way the man’s hair stuck out and a second look at the person on the ground revealed a teenager, a girl from the frills on her skirt and blouse, whose mask had been half-ripped from her face.
“Oh no,” Tachibana breathed, “It can’t be.”
“He’s got a mask,” Rin replied brusquely, tightening his grip on his machete, “Distract him and I’ll come at him from behind.”
“Kitajima, you can’t-!”
Rin didn’t give him a chance to say anything more, darting behind a nearby dumpster and speeding down the path in a half-crouch, his machete unsheathed and at the ready. He ducked behind a crashed lorry and pressed up against the cargo hold, inching his way closer. He was a few feet away from the target and angled so that Tachibana could see him. He jerked his head towards the masked man, looking pointedly in Tachibana’s direction, but Tachibana merely shook his head and raised his hands up in what Rin assumed was a placating manner.
Angry, Rin quickly surveyed his environment and grabbed a nearby construction helmet. He gripped it, aimed carefully, and tossed it clear across the clearing, on the opposite side of where he was standing. If it was a little close to where Tachibana was standing, well, he only had himself to blame.
The distraction worked.
The noise sent the man upright, looking around wildly, twitching all the while. When he finally focused on the helmet that was skittering to a halt, Tachibana stood up, and his attention was completely diverted. Rin lunged forward with a ready swing-
-But Tachibana had also sprung forward, grabbing the man by the armpits and jumping out of the way. Rin swore under his breath, recovering and adjusting his grip as he looked for the pair. Tachibana was getting the brunt of the man’s thrashing - and Rin could see him being elbowed repeatedly in the stomach - as he attempted to get to his feet, and when he saw Rin readying another blow, he yelled for him to stop. The man caught sight of Rin, machete held high above his head, and began to quiver. Taking advantage of the moment, Tachibana quickly pulled the man to his feet and shoved him away. He ran until he was out of sight, letting out a string of animalistic shrieks.
Rin grabbed Tachibana by the front of his shirt and shook him.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?!”
“I could say the same for you,” Tachibana jerked Rin’s hands off him, “You were about to kill a human being!”
“Did that thing look human to you? You said it yourself, enough of the gas and they become feral!”
Tachibana clenched his fists by his sides, “That was my uncle.”
Rin was at a loss for words momentarily, then he pointed at the girl on the ground, “What was your uncle doing to this girl, then?”
“Oh my god,” Tachibana said, as if he’d just remembered. He quickly dropped to his knees, hands running all over the girls face and body, pulling back her hair and inspecting her eyes. He turned the mechanism over his right ear and pulled the fixture off, pressing his ear against her chest to listen for a heartbeat. Rin watched with uncomfortable detachment as he looked at the girl’s one visible eye, not completely rolled back into her head, staring glassily at the air. Finally, Tachibana sat on his haunches and fixed his earpiece again.
“She’s alive.”
“Not for long, looks like,” Rin snorted.
Tachibana didn’t respond to the obvious bait and gathered her in his arms, “I’m going to hide her. Give me a minute.”
“What, not going to resuscitate her? Give her some of your supplies? Play saviour?”
Tachibana regarded him briefly, “There’s no need for that.”
He disappeared for a good minute, and returned just as Rin was starting to feel antsy about being left alone. Tachibana immediately led the way again.
They didn’t talk after that.
The mall looked like something out of a disaster movie. The glass from the doors and displays were broken and the floor was covered in paper and rubble. There had been a handful of actual bodies he’d tripped over - some crushed under the rubble and some dead from other means, though the layer of dust made it hard to tell - but he made no mention of them and Tachibana, who was far ahead of him, was none the wiser. Like Tachibana had said, the mall had been looted within an inch of its life, with some leftover items strewn here and there. Rin had eyed a pair of new sneakers thoughtfully at the sports outlet, eventually shoving them in his pack as Tachibana called for him to move on. The grocery store inside smelled of rotting vegetables, but there were a few aisles still stocked with preserved food, so he and Tachibana took their pick - he noted that Tachibana was far more generous in leaving things behind, but attributed that to his lack of survival awareness - and when they were satisfied with that, they made their way towards the pharmacy.
A big old placard reading ‘Plague Preparedness’ with running ink and yellowing paper hung outside the shop. It was in the worst shape of everything in the mall; nothing wasn’t overturned or smashed in. As Tachibana sifted through the medication behind the counter, Rin took a good look around. Something caught his eye, and as he dragged a shelf up, he saw what it was. A sawed-off shotgun. It was a hell of a find and he picked it up, cocking the barrel to check if there were any rounds inside. The loud clicking made Tachibana look up, and his surprise was obvious.
“No rounds,” Rin said casually, “But it’s still worth keeping. Shove it in your sack.”
“I don’t know…”
Rin threw it at him anyway and he caught it instinctively. After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly placed it in his sack. Rin grunted in satisfaction.
“Any luck with the gas masks?”
“None,” Tachibana sighed, hopping over the counter, “I’ve got a few bottles of pain killers and some first aid, but that’s about it.”
“Better than nothing. Gimme those pills, my head’s killing me.”
He could hear the frown in Tachibana’s voice as he passed a bottle of pain killers along, “We’re very near Ground Zero, we really should step up looking for that mask or else…”
There was a loud crash that made both of them jump up. Rin downed the pills quickly and shoved the bottle into his pack.
“Sounds like trouble,” Tachibana muttered, hitching his sack over his shoulder.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Rin rolled his eyes, pulling out his machete, “Grab a pipe or something, it looks like we may have to fight our way out.”
“I don’t think it’s come to tha-”
The ceiling fell on them, and both he and Tachibana rolled away. Rin felt a weight on him, thankful for the goggles, and he peered up to see a man in a gas mask on top of him, punching at him. Rin held his arms up to defend himself and looked around wildly for something he could use, machete thrown out of his grasp during the collapse. Not too far away, he spotted a broken microscope lying on its side, near the counter. Before he could attempt anything, his arms were knocked aside and he received a brutal jab to his left cheek, and then to the chest. Rin tasted blood in his mouth and quickly placed both hands on his assailant’s shoulders, keeping him an arms length away as Rin shimmied his legs up as quickly as he could. He placed both feet against the man’s hips and took his moment of confusion to heel the man’s chin with his hand. Reeling from the blow, Rin kicked him in the stomach and in the face as hard as he could, propelling himself upwards so that he could half-crawl, half-run to the microscope. His ankle was caught and pulled just as Rin grabbed the microscope, and with as much strength as he could muster, he swung it at the man’s head. It connected with a loud crack and he fell over. Rin couldn’t tell if he was dead or not, only that he’d stopped moving, and he quickly looked up to see Tachibana cornered by two masked men, trying to dodge the blows as they came.
“Grab the pipe!” Rin yelled at him, clutching the spot on his chest where he had been hit, “It’s right there!”
“I-I can’t!” Tachibana’s voice was strangled, and before long, he’d been knocked to his feet and was starting to be on the receiving end of a rain of hits.
“Hit back!” Rin hauled up the microscope and threw it at one of the men. It crunched against his back and he went down like a sack of potatoes. He saw his machete and grabbed it, “You’re bigger than these two guys!”
“I can’t!” Tachibana yelped, coughing as he was kicked in the side. He quickly tripped the man up and jumped to his feet, grabbing his sack and grabbing Rin by the wrist, breaking into a run out of the pharmacy.
They made it clear across the entire length of the ground floor before Rin shoved Tachibana away.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Rin shouted at him, “Were you just going to sit there and take it?!”
“I wasn’t!” Tachibana insisted, “I just…!”
“What, you don’t want to hurt them?”
“Exactly!” He gestured to Rin desperately, “I don’t want to hurt them, I don’t want to kill them accidentally, I don’t…”
“Oh my god,” Rin breathed, and kicked a random bottle away in a fit of anger before he turned on Tachibana again, jabbing a finger at him, “Who the fuck do you think you are? You think they recognise you? You think they give a shit who you are? You don’t want their blood on your hands, is that it? Afraid of guilt? Newsflash, asshole: WE’RE EXPERIENCING A PLAGUE!”
“I KNOW THAT!” Tachibana yelled back, “Don’t you think I know that? I know that! But they’re my-my neighbours! They’re my teachers! I can’t just…!”
Tachibana trailed off, heaving. Rin’s breathing was equally laboured, and they spent a moment just trying to collect themselves and catch their breaths.
“So that’s it?” Rin broke the silence, “You just, what, run away?”
“…yeah.”
Rin looked at him incredulously, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe it, “How’s that been working out for you?”
“I don’t,” Tachibana seemed angry, like he couldn’t put his words together, “I don’t need this from you. I just can’t, all right? I can’t just kill another person in cold blood. I can’t be like you.”
Rin felt his guts twist and harden, and he narrowed his eyes at Tachibana, “’Like you?’ You implying something?”
Tachibana opened his mouth to reply, but before he could make a sound, there was a loud screech not too far away.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Rin growled, “Get a move on.”
They ended up back where they had started, with Tachibana urging them towards the sound of desperate wheezing. All of it screamed bad news to Rin, but he held his machete out and followed behind Tachibana warily. The noises led back to the girl they had rescued earlier, whom Tachibana had carefully hidden away on a ratty old mattress in a worker’s shack at the construction site. Tachibana rushed to her side, holding her up by the head and coaxing her to relax and to breathe. He tried to make her drink something, but she kept moving her head away. She spasmed in his arms, twitching and crying and choking, and finally she went still.
Tachibana fell quiet again, holding her hand silently for a long while.
Eventually, he unbuckled the remnants of the girl’s gas mask and gently closed her eyes and mouth. He gathered her up in a carry and turned to Rin, voice solemn.
“We’re taking a detour.”
Rin uncrossed his arms, “We don’t have time for this.”
“Make time,” Tachibana snapped, which surprised Rin more than it should, and walked out of the area and down another street. Slightly less annoyed than he had anticipated being, Rin grudgingly followed after Tachibana.
“Tachibana,” Rin said uncomfortably, “Where the hell did you take me?”
Rin’s first impression had been a rubbish heap.
There were mountains of grey against the sickly yellow of the fog. It was dark and dank and smelled like death warmed over, but what Rin couldn’t overcome was the creepy tingling that ran up and down his spine and over his skin, a sensation of being watched that he couldn’t get rid of. The overwhelming smell of burnt flesh lingered. As the fog passed, enough sunlight shone through, making the hundreds of thousands of glass pieces glare and twinkle through the thick of the atmosphere. It would have been beautiful if hadn’t been revolting.
“Tachibana,” Rin repeated insistently.
Tachibana moved over to a smaller hill off the side. Rin, who had allowed a gap between them as they walked, hurried over to tail Tachibana closely, reigning in the childish desire to grab onto the corner of his shirt. When he finally stopped, Rin watched him gently put the girl down on the mound, and the fog passed again, allowing him to see clearly for the first time.
They were at a mass grave.
The grey was dust from the fog that had settled over all the bodies. The shining glass was from gas masks. One of the bodies underneath the girl’s mouth was agape, lips completed grey from dust and ash. He hadn’t wanted to notice, but the blackened bodies were charred, which meant that the smell…
Rin clapped a hand over his mouth, wanting to hurl.
“This was the last resort I mentioned,” Tachibana faced Rin again, though he was completely choked up and trembling all over, “No one here needs their masks anymore. I’d have given you Sayuri’s but it’s damaged, and…”
Rin couldn’t find the words to speak, but finally he managed, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Your mask-”
“Somewhere else. Let’s get it somewhere else.”
“Kitajima-”
Rin grabbed him by the wrist and marched from where they had come. His voice was shaking but loud, “I’m sorry, all right? I’m sorry I made you come here. Let’s get out.”
Tachibana said nothing else and followed his lead quietly.