[Bokurano] fic: Those Left Behind: Slightly Out of Character
Super late today! After not knowing what to write (this theme was actually going to be dedicated to Machi instead of yesterday's theme), this actually ended up as the longest piece so far. How did that happen?
Title: Those Left Behind: Slightly Out of Character
Day/Theme: Aug 27 Slightly out of character
Series: Bokurano
Character/Pairing: the Honda family
Rating: PG
Notes: for 31_days. Manga canon. Spoilers up to chapter 56.
Archive: LJ | ffnet
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"Why is all of my family so retarded?"
-----
At work, Honda Senichi discovered he couldn't concentrate. He couldn't stop thinking about his daughter and the destruction she had caused. He kept wondering when Chizu had stopped voicing her opinions like she used to. Whenever he tried to recall his daughter's image, he could only remember her somber and dismissive attitude that she had recently adopted. That feisty and outgoing girl he had known had disappeared somewhere along the way. She had always thought he was way too optimistic for his own good, but with recent happenings, even he had a hard time retaining his optimism.
"Honda-san?"
Senichi almost fell flat on his face with the sudden voice. He turned around hastily.
"Yes?" he asked his coworker.
"Honda-san, it's not like you to be so absentminded in the middle of work. There's a call for you from China."
He hurriedly apologized, but his coworker brushed his apology off with a small smile. While he took the call, Senichi's eyes wandered around the oddly empty office. Cubicles here and there were all unoccupied, but he hadn't noticed in his absentmindedness. Now however, the emptiness was alarming. After he hung up, he waved one of his other coworkers over.
"Where's your team?" he asked while gesturing at the empty cubicles.
The other man sighed. "At a funeral. A mutual friend of theirs was killed in that attack."
Senichi felt his blood run cold. He slammed his fist on his desk. Papers scattered around him.
"H-Honda?"
He covered his face with one hand and raised his other to pacify his worried coworker. He knew the destruction was bad. He hadn't been ignoring it. But this, this made everything all the more urgent. Thinking about all the precious lives that had been cut short by his daughter made him feel nauseous.
He couldn't stay here. He needed to do something to help.
-----
At home, Honda Ichiko discovered she couldn't concentrate. She couldn't stop thinking about her sister and how she had mentioned that she bore Hatagai's child inside her womb. Her sister was so young, yet she already carried such a burden. Chizu hadn't given any signs of her pregnancy at home, but then, Chizu had long since stopped coming to her for advice. Whenever Ichiko tried to recall her sister's image, she could only remember Chizu's impassive face as she declared her intent to kill Hatagai. That spoiled and playful sister of hers she had known had become a stranger to her somewhere along the way. Chizu had always thought that Ichiko was too kind for her own good, but Chizu's distressed expression right before she disappeared made Ichiko think perhaps her kindness was mere hypocrisy.
"Ouch..."
Ichiko hastily retracted her hand. The soup she had been cooking now smelled burnt.
She turned the stove off as quickly as she could and gave the soup a few more stirs in hopes that it could be salvaged, but her hand probably needed more attention than the soup. She was spacing out far too much to be cooking in the kitchen. She walked over to the sink and let the cool water run over her burn.
While Ichiko stood in front of the sink, her thoughts wandered to her sister once again. A baby. Hatagai. Murder. None of these should have been associated with Chizu, but the truth dictated otherwise. She had stopped Chizu from killing Hatagai, and while she knew that was the right thing to do, a small part of her had wondered if she had the right to take the high ground and deny her sister the easy way out. In that moment when anguish had overtaken Chizu's face, scream bursting to tear out of her throat, Ichiko wavered in her beliefs.
Now, thinking of Hatagai simply made Ichiko feel sick, both because he had led Chizu down the path of becoming a murderer and because she still loved him despite all that had happened. But no matter how much blame she put on Hatagai--it simply wasn't like her to blame others--or how much blame she put on herself, she couldn't deny the fact that Chizu was a murderer. That made her feel even worse.
There must be something she could do to alleviate the damage her sister had caused.
-----
At the supermarket, the last Honda discovered that she couldn't concentrate either. She couldn't stop thinking about how her daughter had vanished without a word, leaving behind a trail of destruction as her parting gift. She kept wondering if Chizu had shown any signs of violence. Whenever she tried to recall her daughter's image, she could only remember Chizu's small, withdrawn figure. Chizu had once seemed larger than life, bearing enough vivacity for the three of them, but as she grew older, she had lost that somewhere along the way. She didn't understand, however, how someone so small could wreak so much havoc. Chizu had always thought that her mother was too forgiving for her own good, but now that Chizu was the one behind all the deaths in the neighborhood, she didn't know if she could bring herself to forgive her daughter for such an ugly deed without breaking down.
Even so, she dearly wanted to forgive her daughter.
When all three of them gathered together that evening, Senichi announced that he had quit his job. He was going to start a non-profit organization for all the victims of the attacks. While doing such a thing wouldn't erase what Chizu had done, each of them had their own reasons for supporting his decision.
None of them wanted to forget the goodness of humanity despite their wavering belief.
After all, Chizu had thought them to be fools. She was right.
-----
the end
Title: Those Left Behind: Slightly Out of Character
Day/Theme: Aug 27 Slightly out of character
Series: Bokurano
Character/Pairing: the Honda family
Rating: PG
Notes: for 31_days. Manga canon. Spoilers up to chapter 56.
Archive: LJ | ffnet
-----
"Why is all of my family so retarded?"
-----
At work, Honda Senichi discovered he couldn't concentrate. He couldn't stop thinking about his daughter and the destruction she had caused. He kept wondering when Chizu had stopped voicing her opinions like she used to. Whenever he tried to recall his daughter's image, he could only remember her somber and dismissive attitude that she had recently adopted. That feisty and outgoing girl he had known had disappeared somewhere along the way. She had always thought he was way too optimistic for his own good, but with recent happenings, even he had a hard time retaining his optimism.
"Honda-san?"
Senichi almost fell flat on his face with the sudden voice. He turned around hastily.
"Yes?" he asked his coworker.
"Honda-san, it's not like you to be so absentminded in the middle of work. There's a call for you from China."
He hurriedly apologized, but his coworker brushed his apology off with a small smile. While he took the call, Senichi's eyes wandered around the oddly empty office. Cubicles here and there were all unoccupied, but he hadn't noticed in his absentmindedness. Now however, the emptiness was alarming. After he hung up, he waved one of his other coworkers over.
"Where's your team?" he asked while gesturing at the empty cubicles.
The other man sighed. "At a funeral. A mutual friend of theirs was killed in that attack."
Senichi felt his blood run cold. He slammed his fist on his desk. Papers scattered around him.
"H-Honda?"
He covered his face with one hand and raised his other to pacify his worried coworker. He knew the destruction was bad. He hadn't been ignoring it. But this, this made everything all the more urgent. Thinking about all the precious lives that had been cut short by his daughter made him feel nauseous.
He couldn't stay here. He needed to do something to help.
-----
At home, Honda Ichiko discovered she couldn't concentrate. She couldn't stop thinking about her sister and how she had mentioned that she bore Hatagai's child inside her womb. Her sister was so young, yet she already carried such a burden. Chizu hadn't given any signs of her pregnancy at home, but then, Chizu had long since stopped coming to her for advice. Whenever Ichiko tried to recall her sister's image, she could only remember Chizu's impassive face as she declared her intent to kill Hatagai. That spoiled and playful sister of hers she had known had become a stranger to her somewhere along the way. Chizu had always thought that Ichiko was too kind for her own good, but Chizu's distressed expression right before she disappeared made Ichiko think perhaps her kindness was mere hypocrisy.
"Ouch..."
Ichiko hastily retracted her hand. The soup she had been cooking now smelled burnt.
She turned the stove off as quickly as she could and gave the soup a few more stirs in hopes that it could be salvaged, but her hand probably needed more attention than the soup. She was spacing out far too much to be cooking in the kitchen. She walked over to the sink and let the cool water run over her burn.
While Ichiko stood in front of the sink, her thoughts wandered to her sister once again. A baby. Hatagai. Murder. None of these should have been associated with Chizu, but the truth dictated otherwise. She had stopped Chizu from killing Hatagai, and while she knew that was the right thing to do, a small part of her had wondered if she had the right to take the high ground and deny her sister the easy way out. In that moment when anguish had overtaken Chizu's face, scream bursting to tear out of her throat, Ichiko wavered in her beliefs.
Now, thinking of Hatagai simply made Ichiko feel sick, both because he had led Chizu down the path of becoming a murderer and because she still loved him despite all that had happened. But no matter how much blame she put on Hatagai--it simply wasn't like her to blame others--or how much blame she put on herself, she couldn't deny the fact that Chizu was a murderer. That made her feel even worse.
There must be something she could do to alleviate the damage her sister had caused.
-----
At the supermarket, the last Honda discovered that she couldn't concentrate either. She couldn't stop thinking about how her daughter had vanished without a word, leaving behind a trail of destruction as her parting gift. She kept wondering if Chizu had shown any signs of violence. Whenever she tried to recall her daughter's image, she could only remember Chizu's small, withdrawn figure. Chizu had once seemed larger than life, bearing enough vivacity for the three of them, but as she grew older, she had lost that somewhere along the way. She didn't understand, however, how someone so small could wreak so much havoc. Chizu had always thought that her mother was too forgiving for her own good, but now that Chizu was the one behind all the deaths in the neighborhood, she didn't know if she could bring herself to forgive her daughter for such an ugly deed without breaking down.
Even so, she dearly wanted to forgive her daughter.
When all three of them gathered together that evening, Senichi announced that he had quit his job. He was going to start a non-profit organization for all the victims of the attacks. While doing such a thing wouldn't erase what Chizu had done, each of them had their own reasons for supporting his decision.
None of them wanted to forget the goodness of humanity despite their wavering belief.
After all, Chizu had thought them to be fools. She was right.
-----
the end