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If you know my work outside of Pokémon fandom, you know I'm also into Digimon, especially Adventure 02. And my favorite character from there is Oikawa. So here's a fic about him, pre-posession.
***
When I got out of the taxi, the sun beat down on me. It hadn't been this hot at the apartment, had it? Perhaps it was the surroundings, or maybe this part of town was that much hotter.
I passed a bill to the driver and told him to keep the change. "I think I'll walk home," I told him, and he looked at me strangely for a moment before deciding to drive off without a word.
I had all the manner of someone about to kill themselves, I think. I mean, I was in my work clothes and just got out at the cemetary. I was slightly erratic, as I'd been ever since I'd gotten that horrible, fateful call. And I just gave the driver about three times what he was owed.
But really, the only person who would have done anything about it was the one I was going to talk to.
On the graves, the flowers left were wilting, and the food for the cherished departed was starting to rot. I loosened my tie and rolled up my sleeves, probably giving myself a more casual appearence than I'd intended.
There were fresh flowers at your marker, probably left there just a few hours ago. They hadn't started to wither yet, and the color was just slightly faded. One of them had a tag around it, and I could see your widow's signature. She signed her name different for you, in drawn English script.
I meant her no ill will, but I moved her flowers aside just the same.
It always took me a while to start speaking to you. I was tongue-tied around you a lot in life, and things hadn't changed much in that regard. Finally I spoke your name. "Hiroki..." came out as a whisper. I hadn't meant it intentionally, but I suppose that's how someone is supposed to speak in a hallowed place like this.
"Hiroki." It was a little stronger this time, but still hushed. "I'm sorry I haven't come out here in a while. I've been busy with our project."
The sun beat down on the back of my neck, and I adjusted my collar to shield myself. "The spider creature is almost completed, Hiroki. I'm going to go ahead and use my idea about the mummy creature next. I know you said it wouldn't work, but I think it can. I've analyzed their lines and they connect in many places...Hiroki, you would have loved the discoveries I've made. At the level I'm making them, they can turn into each other! And they can combine! And at more advanced levels, they could even become the same creature!"
/The spider creature was your idea, after all, Hiroki./ Even now I couldn't voice certain things to you. /The two creatures can become one. Two hearts in sync, two bodies melding.../ The actual process was very technical and involved a simple merging of data, but my human mind couldn't rid itself of certain images.
"...I miss you, Hiroki. You know, I ran into one of the other officers the other day. He recognized me from the funeral, and said I should be honored to have been so close to you." /Not as close as I wanted.../
"Logically, I know I couldn't have stopped it from happening. I wouldn't have been fast enough...but I can't get rid of the image that I could have saved you. You had other people to think of, I just had you. And..."
That was why I was here. My dream last night was so vivid--I had gone to see you at work, and I got there just as the shots started. But they hit me instead of you, and I died in your arms. I don't know why that's such a romantic image--in the varied senses of the word; I think it suits them all--but it's always struck a chord with me.
"...and I'm sorry. I'll try to come more often."
I could never stay for long, just time for a few words and a promise to return soon.
I didn't say anything on the way back to the apartment. But the sun seemed to get hotter with each step.
***
When I got out of the taxi, the sun beat down on me. It hadn't been this hot at the apartment, had it? Perhaps it was the surroundings, or maybe this part of town was that much hotter.
I passed a bill to the driver and told him to keep the change. "I think I'll walk home," I told him, and he looked at me strangely for a moment before deciding to drive off without a word.
I had all the manner of someone about to kill themselves, I think. I mean, I was in my work clothes and just got out at the cemetary. I was slightly erratic, as I'd been ever since I'd gotten that horrible, fateful call. And I just gave the driver about three times what he was owed.
But really, the only person who would have done anything about it was the one I was going to talk to.
On the graves, the flowers left were wilting, and the food for the cherished departed was starting to rot. I loosened my tie and rolled up my sleeves, probably giving myself a more casual appearence than I'd intended.
There were fresh flowers at your marker, probably left there just a few hours ago. They hadn't started to wither yet, and the color was just slightly faded. One of them had a tag around it, and I could see your widow's signature. She signed her name different for you, in drawn English script.
I meant her no ill will, but I moved her flowers aside just the same.
It always took me a while to start speaking to you. I was tongue-tied around you a lot in life, and things hadn't changed much in that regard. Finally I spoke your name. "Hiroki..." came out as a whisper. I hadn't meant it intentionally, but I suppose that's how someone is supposed to speak in a hallowed place like this.
"Hiroki." It was a little stronger this time, but still hushed. "I'm sorry I haven't come out here in a while. I've been busy with our project."
The sun beat down on the back of my neck, and I adjusted my collar to shield myself. "The spider creature is almost completed, Hiroki. I'm going to go ahead and use my idea about the mummy creature next. I know you said it wouldn't work, but I think it can. I've analyzed their lines and they connect in many places...Hiroki, you would have loved the discoveries I've made. At the level I'm making them, they can turn into each other! And they can combine! And at more advanced levels, they could even become the same creature!"
/The spider creature was your idea, after all, Hiroki./ Even now I couldn't voice certain things to you. /The two creatures can become one. Two hearts in sync, two bodies melding.../ The actual process was very technical and involved a simple merging of data, but my human mind couldn't rid itself of certain images.
"...I miss you, Hiroki. You know, I ran into one of the other officers the other day. He recognized me from the funeral, and said I should be honored to have been so close to you." /Not as close as I wanted.../
"Logically, I know I couldn't have stopped it from happening. I wouldn't have been fast enough...but I can't get rid of the image that I could have saved you. You had other people to think of, I just had you. And..."
That was why I was here. My dream last night was so vivid--I had gone to see you at work, and I got there just as the shots started. But they hit me instead of you, and I died in your arms. I don't know why that's such a romantic image--in the varied senses of the word; I think it suits them all--but it's always struck a chord with me.
"...and I'm sorry. I'll try to come more often."
I could never stay for long, just time for a few words and a promise to return soon.
I didn't say anything on the way back to the apartment. But the sun seemed to get hotter with each step.