[Bokurano] fic: Those Left Behind: Bang, Bang, Blame
Title: Those Left Behind: Bang, Bang, Blame
Day/Theme: Aug 19 Bang, Bang, Blame
Series: Bokurano
Character/Pairing: Ushiro, Machi, Dung Beetle (mentions of others)
Rating: PG
Notes: for 31_days. Manga canon with spoilers up to chapter 59 or so. Is Jun OOC? Probably. =/
Archive: LJ | ffnet
-----
"Ushiro, I really like you."
-----
It happened in a flash. The park hadn't been all that welcoming in the first place, but it had held a quiet tranquility undisturbed by real life matters. Alone in the sandbox, Katari's younger brother Souji had been giving the sand several good whacks to pack it down hard while Machi had been near the bench, teasing Ushiro until his face turned red. Her smile had been carefree.
In the next moment, Machi was already sprawled in the sandbox that Souji had been playing in, a pool of blood seeping into the sand around her head. Ushiro was petrified, unable to move even when he was shot at next. Things happened too quickly. Dung Beetle yelled at him, but that was it.
He was then left behind in the empty park where Machi had been laughing with him only a moment before...but the memory of her confession would forever be dirtied just like the stained grains of sand before him.
-----
At the hospital, Dung Beetle blamed no one but himself. The moment right after had been the only time Dung Beetle yelled at Ushiro over Machi. Dung Beetle didn't hesitate. Even if he felt any anguish or frustration, it would never show on his face. He did what had to be done. His expression remained unchanged, stagnant, wide grin forever frozen on his face. But although his expression didn't show it, his fury was evident in how he had immediately vanished the culprit without a second thought.
Ushiro had been prepared to see Machi go just like those before him, just like how he would soon leave as well, but her light had been snuffed out before her time, leaving behind yet another incomplete thread. He hadn't responded to her last words, didn't know how he would have responded had she lived. They had failed to end this with just the fifteen of them. All he knew now was that he was the only one left. He and Dung Beetle, the heartless bastards. It was a laughable thought.
Out of the fifteen, Ushiro knew he was the most insensitive one, yet so many people had been stupid enough to care about him. If it weren't for him, Kana wouldn't have gotten involved. His long lost mother probably wouldn't have decided to keep such a close eye on them, only to end up dying in a foreign world. Kanji had been too deeply involved even without his influence, but Kanji had been stupid enough to worry about him when Kanji's life had been the one in jeopardy. Machi, stupid Machi for falling in love with him, had come to care too much about this world when it wasn't even hers. He knew he wasn't the entire reason, but had he chosen to turn his back on the fight, would she have made the same decision? He also knew, however, that he would have picked this path even if he knew this would be the result. He was just as deeply involved as everyone else, fettered by bonds that he could have lived without. In reality, had they not existed, he would have survived.
Those stupid people who made even him care too much were all gone now. There was only Dung Beetle left, and he was a horrible conversationalist who only knew how to fling insults and never said anything useful. But Dung Beetle, as cruel as he was, was probably thinking that he had led his own sister to her death.
In that sense, Ushiro and Dung Beetle were truly the same. Machi hadn't been far off the mark.
Afterward, when there was no more to be said between them, Dung Beetle sent Ushiro home. They were short one pilot with Machi's sudden death, but Dung Beetle claimed he would handle it. Ushiro thought that Dung Beetle was probably going to be just as stupid as him, but there was nothing more Ushiro could do.
When Ushiro set foot inside his house, his father was there to greet him. His father had never accused him of leading Kana to her death. Dung Beetle didn't blame Ushiro for Machi's death either. No one blamed him.
"Jun," his father said, as if he had been waiting for his son all this time. Perhaps that was even the truth.
Ushiro, however, said not one word to his father.
He wished someone would blame him.
-----
the end
Day/Theme: Aug 19 Bang, Bang, Blame
Series: Bokurano
Character/Pairing: Ushiro, Machi, Dung Beetle (mentions of others)
Rating: PG
Notes: for 31_days. Manga canon with spoilers up to chapter 59 or so. Is Jun OOC? Probably. =/
Archive: LJ | ffnet
-----
"Ushiro, I really like you."
-----
It happened in a flash. The park hadn't been all that welcoming in the first place, but it had held a quiet tranquility undisturbed by real life matters. Alone in the sandbox, Katari's younger brother Souji had been giving the sand several good whacks to pack it down hard while Machi had been near the bench, teasing Ushiro until his face turned red. Her smile had been carefree.
In the next moment, Machi was already sprawled in the sandbox that Souji had been playing in, a pool of blood seeping into the sand around her head. Ushiro was petrified, unable to move even when he was shot at next. Things happened too quickly. Dung Beetle yelled at him, but that was it.
He was then left behind in the empty park where Machi had been laughing with him only a moment before...but the memory of her confession would forever be dirtied just like the stained grains of sand before him.
-----
At the hospital, Dung Beetle blamed no one but himself. The moment right after had been the only time Dung Beetle yelled at Ushiro over Machi. Dung Beetle didn't hesitate. Even if he felt any anguish or frustration, it would never show on his face. He did what had to be done. His expression remained unchanged, stagnant, wide grin forever frozen on his face. But although his expression didn't show it, his fury was evident in how he had immediately vanished the culprit without a second thought.
Ushiro had been prepared to see Machi go just like those before him, just like how he would soon leave as well, but her light had been snuffed out before her time, leaving behind yet another incomplete thread. He hadn't responded to her last words, didn't know how he would have responded had she lived. They had failed to end this with just the fifteen of them. All he knew now was that he was the only one left. He and Dung Beetle, the heartless bastards. It was a laughable thought.
Out of the fifteen, Ushiro knew he was the most insensitive one, yet so many people had been stupid enough to care about him. If it weren't for him, Kana wouldn't have gotten involved. His long lost mother probably wouldn't have decided to keep such a close eye on them, only to end up dying in a foreign world. Kanji had been too deeply involved even without his influence, but Kanji had been stupid enough to worry about him when Kanji's life had been the one in jeopardy. Machi, stupid Machi for falling in love with him, had come to care too much about this world when it wasn't even hers. He knew he wasn't the entire reason, but had he chosen to turn his back on the fight, would she have made the same decision? He also knew, however, that he would have picked this path even if he knew this would be the result. He was just as deeply involved as everyone else, fettered by bonds that he could have lived without. In reality, had they not existed, he would have survived.
Those stupid people who made even him care too much were all gone now. There was only Dung Beetle left, and he was a horrible conversationalist who only knew how to fling insults and never said anything useful. But Dung Beetle, as cruel as he was, was probably thinking that he had led his own sister to her death.
In that sense, Ushiro and Dung Beetle were truly the same. Machi hadn't been far off the mark.
Afterward, when there was no more to be said between them, Dung Beetle sent Ushiro home. They were short one pilot with Machi's sudden death, but Dung Beetle claimed he would handle it. Ushiro thought that Dung Beetle was probably going to be just as stupid as him, but there was nothing more Ushiro could do.
When Ushiro set foot inside his house, his father was there to greet him. His father had never accused him of leading Kana to her death. Dung Beetle didn't blame Ushiro for Machi's death either. No one blamed him.
"Jun," his father said, as if he had been waiting for his son all this time. Perhaps that was even the truth.
Ushiro, however, said not one word to his father.
He wished someone would blame him.
-----
the end