Not Guilty - Part three
In which the ending sucks - but it sucks less than the original.
“Would you stop it? He’s not a doll.”
“But he’s so cute when he sleeps! And besides, if he’s not awake he can’t get me back.”
“Stop it, both of you.” That was his mother. “I’ll tell him, if you don’t leave him alone.”
The resultant clamor sounded so familiar, and he was afraid to wake up to that horrid silence that had never quite left his ear. “Hey, hey! I think he’s waking up.”
“No,” he moaned softly. “Don’t want to.”
Something poked his cheek. “Aiba! Stop that!”
“But he…”
“Yes, I know. He’s cute. But he’s going to get you if you keep poking him like that!”
“No. I mean, I know that, but he doesn’t want to wake up. I think we should make him.”
“I think you should let him sleep.” His mother again, voice of sanity. Only she was talking to the voices in his head, too, and that meant not sanity. Or it meant something else.
“He can sleep later.”
“Don’t say that!”
“I agree with Aiba, Sho-kun. He can sleep later.”
And someone grabbed his shoulder and shook. “Wake up, Jun. You can get your beauty sleep later.”
None of this was real, right? No one had told him differently, and they would have, wouldn’t they?
Still, he couldn’t deny it any longer, and he cracked his eyes open. “What?”
Nothing but blurs. “The lawyer saved your glasses,” Ohno said cheerfully - a far cry from the ‘beauty sleep’ comment - and then he could see as his friend plopped them on his face. “You almost broke them.”
“We didn’t know you fainted, MatsuJun,” Aiba said with a grin. “It really scared some people.”
“Us,” Sho interjected. “Mostly.”
“Him,” Nino said, slapping Sho on the shoulder. “The rest of us laughed.”
“But,” Jun protested softly. “But they never said…. I didn’t think….”
Ohno snorted softly. “Don’t admit to that. Mom said that when they found us, she’d already put you to sleep, and then they wouldn’t let us near you, because they thought you’d done it. She’s explaining the problem with that, in detail, to the man in charge right now.”
He stared up at them, four faces that belonged to his best friends that he knew someone had killed… and smiled. “Wow, am I glad to see you guys!” He lunged up, grabbing everyone he could, and pulled them all into a hug, clinging desperately.
“Sh,” Sho said after a while, when the first desperation had passed. “It’s okay.”
That was his first clue that he’d started to cry. “I thought… I didn’t….”
“Sh,” Sho repeated, and someone - from the feel of it, Riida - combed gently through his hair. Aiba held his hand, stroking it gently, and Sho was at his back, rubbing circles into his shoulder, and the handkerchief someone had given him smelled of Nino and the laundry soap he used.
“Feel better?” Sho asked when his sobs had finally tapered off.
“Mm,” Jun said, and sat up - with help from the others. “What happened?”
“What… happened?” Nino repeated.
“Well, the bomb went off,” Jun said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad, but… how are you here?”
“Because Riida suddenly started shouting for everyone to get out,” Aiba explained.
“Even pushed the wardrobe lady out,” Nino said with something like awe in his voice.
“The door had barely closed behind him when the bomb went off,” Sho finished.
“How did you know?”
Ohno shifted his shoulders, looking uncomfortable. “Ghosts. Hanging around my bag,” he said shortly. “I went to check.”
Jun nodded. “And… this Joshuya-chan. Did they catch her?”
“Who?” Nino interrupted.
“Or do they still think I did this?” Jun went on.
“We’ll set them straight,” Sho promised. “Who?”
“This girl. A fan.” He put all the scorn he could into the word. “She said she’d… She thought I shouldn’t waste my time with the group, that I should be solo….” He swallowed hard, trying to keep his stomach contents in his stomach.
“Are you okay?” Ohno asked softly.
Jun nodded, breathing deeply, hunched over at the thought… no. Think on something else. “So… What took them so long to find you?”
Aiba chuckled darkly, a sound so foreign to him that Jun had to look up. “They didn’t think of looking outside until they realized they didn’t find any bodies back stage. The blast had… knocked us all flat, and then we got covered with half the Dome -“
“Don’t exaggerate,” Sho said, almost automatically.
“And those costumes are impossible to move in, when there’s boards and stuff on them,” Aiba finished with a glare at Sho.
“And then wet,” Nino added. “But they found us, eventually, and then no one would tell us what was going on, and they didn’t even tell our parents for a while…” He trailed off at a knock at the door.
Sho went to open it, and Jun glanced around. His mother had been there earlier, right? “I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that,” he heard, and twisted around to watch his mother walk in. He didn’t ask when she’d left - he already had a ton of questions, and that was way down on the list.
It got shoved further when he recognized the man with her. The inspector smiled - actually smiled - and bowed. “I thought you’d like to know we dropped all charges against you,” he said. “The girl confessed to planting the bomb.”
Jun nodded. “Thank you,” he said, and with another bow, the man let himself out.
“Well, that’s good,” Nino said.
Jun agreed. That was very good.
“Would you stop it? He’s not a doll.”
“But he’s so cute when he sleeps! And besides, if he’s not awake he can’t get me back.”
“Stop it, both of you.” That was his mother. “I’ll tell him, if you don’t leave him alone.”
The resultant clamor sounded so familiar, and he was afraid to wake up to that horrid silence that had never quite left his ear. “Hey, hey! I think he’s waking up.”
“No,” he moaned softly. “Don’t want to.”
Something poked his cheek. “Aiba! Stop that!”
“But he…”
“Yes, I know. He’s cute. But he’s going to get you if you keep poking him like that!”
“No. I mean, I know that, but he doesn’t want to wake up. I think we should make him.”
“I think you should let him sleep.” His mother again, voice of sanity. Only she was talking to the voices in his head, too, and that meant not sanity. Or it meant something else.
“He can sleep later.”
“Don’t say that!”
“I agree with Aiba, Sho-kun. He can sleep later.”
And someone grabbed his shoulder and shook. “Wake up, Jun. You can get your beauty sleep later.”
None of this was real, right? No one had told him differently, and they would have, wouldn’t they?
Still, he couldn’t deny it any longer, and he cracked his eyes open. “What?”
Nothing but blurs. “The lawyer saved your glasses,” Ohno said cheerfully - a far cry from the ‘beauty sleep’ comment - and then he could see as his friend plopped them on his face. “You almost broke them.”
“We didn’t know you fainted, MatsuJun,” Aiba said with a grin. “It really scared some people.”
“Us,” Sho interjected. “Mostly.”
“Him,” Nino said, slapping Sho on the shoulder. “The rest of us laughed.”
“But,” Jun protested softly. “But they never said…. I didn’t think….”
Ohno snorted softly. “Don’t admit to that. Mom said that when they found us, she’d already put you to sleep, and then they wouldn’t let us near you, because they thought you’d done it. She’s explaining the problem with that, in detail, to the man in charge right now.”
He stared up at them, four faces that belonged to his best friends that he knew someone had killed… and smiled. “Wow, am I glad to see you guys!” He lunged up, grabbing everyone he could, and pulled them all into a hug, clinging desperately.
“Sh,” Sho said after a while, when the first desperation had passed. “It’s okay.”
That was his first clue that he’d started to cry. “I thought… I didn’t….”
“Sh,” Sho repeated, and someone - from the feel of it, Riida - combed gently through his hair. Aiba held his hand, stroking it gently, and Sho was at his back, rubbing circles into his shoulder, and the handkerchief someone had given him smelled of Nino and the laundry soap he used.
“Feel better?” Sho asked when his sobs had finally tapered off.
“Mm,” Jun said, and sat up - with help from the others. “What happened?”
“What… happened?” Nino repeated.
“Well, the bomb went off,” Jun said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad, but… how are you here?”
“Because Riida suddenly started shouting for everyone to get out,” Aiba explained.
“Even pushed the wardrobe lady out,” Nino said with something like awe in his voice.
“The door had barely closed behind him when the bomb went off,” Sho finished.
“How did you know?”
Ohno shifted his shoulders, looking uncomfortable. “Ghosts. Hanging around my bag,” he said shortly. “I went to check.”
Jun nodded. “And… this Joshuya-chan. Did they catch her?”
“Who?” Nino interrupted.
“Or do they still think I did this?” Jun went on.
“We’ll set them straight,” Sho promised. “Who?”
“This girl. A fan.” He put all the scorn he could into the word. “She said she’d… She thought I shouldn’t waste my time with the group, that I should be solo….” He swallowed hard, trying to keep his stomach contents in his stomach.
“Are you okay?” Ohno asked softly.
Jun nodded, breathing deeply, hunched over at the thought… no. Think on something else. “So… What took them so long to find you?”
Aiba chuckled darkly, a sound so foreign to him that Jun had to look up. “They didn’t think of looking outside until they realized they didn’t find any bodies back stage. The blast had… knocked us all flat, and then we got covered with half the Dome -“
“Don’t exaggerate,” Sho said, almost automatically.
“And those costumes are impossible to move in, when there’s boards and stuff on them,” Aiba finished with a glare at Sho.
“And then wet,” Nino added. “But they found us, eventually, and then no one would tell us what was going on, and they didn’t even tell our parents for a while…” He trailed off at a knock at the door.
Sho went to open it, and Jun glanced around. His mother had been there earlier, right? “I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that,” he heard, and twisted around to watch his mother walk in. He didn’t ask when she’d left - he already had a ton of questions, and that was way down on the list.
It got shoved further when he recognized the man with her. The inspector smiled - actually smiled - and bowed. “I thought you’d like to know we dropped all charges against you,” he said. “The girl confessed to planting the bomb.”
Jun nodded. “Thank you,” he said, and with another bow, the man let himself out.
“Well, that’s good,” Nino said.
Jun agreed. That was very good.