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Aftershock
By: Kari
*ring… ring… ri…*
*click*
“Hello?… yes… … … how?…. yes… … I’ll be right there…
okay.”
*click*
Yohji looked down at his hands. His voice was calm over the phone but his hands
were shaking. Impossible. It couldn’t be true. Backing away from the phone
until he hit the wall, Yohji slumped into a sit. Impossible. Aya walked in from
the kitchen wiping his hands dry on a dishtowel.
“Who was it?”
Yohji blinked looking up at him. Shock was plainly etched onto his face. “It’s Omi… he’s dead.”
Aya blinked at him. A moment of silence stretched into a year. “How?”
“The bus he took to school went over a cliff. I have to go identify him.”
Aya nodded and headed back into the kitchen. Yohji watched his turned back. I guess he is heartless. he thought. Pulling himself to his feet, Yohji took a deep breath and took a shaky step toward the door.
Aya heard the door click shut as Yohji left. Releasing the breath he realized he had been holding, He looked at his knuckles. They were gripping the dishtowel so tightly they were white. His knees gave way as he saw he was out of breath. Omi? it cant’ be! Any minute now he’s going to step through the door. Any minute now… any minute now… The words kept repeating themselves over and again in his mind for eternity. The sudden clicking of the door opening caused a flood of hope to flow through Aya. He pulled himself to his feet and headed toward the door.
It was Ken. He was gripping a white envelope and grinning from ear to ear. “Omi! Omi! Guess what!” IT was a voice so full of cheer Aya had never felt angrier. “Aya! Guess what came in from Omi!”
Aya blinked and placed a hand on Ken’s shoulder. His voice was as cold as steel. “Don’t… Ken…” He took a deep breath. “Omi’s dead.”
The smile faltered. “Don’t kid Aya. Look!” the envelope in his hands was thrust before his eyes. University of Tokyo was written on it.
Aya pushed away the envelope and looked into Ken’s eyes. “I don’t kid and I don’t lie. Omi’s bus went over a cliff.”
Ken’s smile vanished as his knees buckled. “But… how?”
“I don’t know. That’s all Yohji told me.”
Ken blinked and looked up at Aya from the floor. “Where’s Yohji?”
"He went to identify his body."
"Shit it’s going to be harder for him after he’s seen him” Ken nodded and fell silent to his thoughts. Aya cleared his throat and helped Ken to his feet leading the brunette to his room and went to his own room next door.
Ken curled up on his bed. Omi… could it be true? Time passed ceaselessly as he lay clutching his pillow. The sudden clicking of the door drew Ken back to reality. He forced himself downstairs to find a staggering Yohji.
He looked at Ken drawing a long drag from his cigarette.
“Shit.” One word. One word and Ken’s world came crashing down. So it’s true.
“Omi’s dead… He’s a mess. He’s such a fucking mess!” He threw his car keys onto the floor and they clattered four feet away. Ken looked from the keys to Yohji’s face. Tears were streaming. “He’s such a fucking mess…”
A rustling noise in Ken’s hand drew his attention. Inside his clenched fist was the Tokyo University envelope. He blinked. Tsukiyono Omi… Apt#201… Ken blinked back tears to no avail and raced up to his room He threw himself onto his bead and let the tears flow. He lost track of time and eventually fell asleep.
Aya sat on a chair in his room staring at a book. It’s cover was closed and it was carelessly tossed onto his table. CHEMISTRY etched onto it’s cover. He sat and stared. He heard Yohji’s return and headed down the stairs listening in onto what he said. So it’s true. He headed up to his room and a moment after his door closed, Aya heard Ken’s footsteps clamber by to his room. Omi’s last words before leaving were ‘Ja Ne!’ as he scurried out the door. Five minutes later Aya saw the textbook on the counter. He had sighed and tossed it carelessly onto his room table where it lay waiting for Omi’s return. If he had seen it earlier, he would have been able to prevent his boarding the bus. A slight smile. He realized that Omi would probably complain that he would be really late for school now. The smile vanished. What was there to smile about now that he’s dead?
Yohji stood in the hallway. Tears were streaming down his face. He didn’t care though. He didn’t care if anyone saw. Only he had seen Omi’s body lying in the cold slab in the morgue. His face was scarred and bloody. His usual smile was gone. Replaced rather… contorted with fear. He was afraid to die. For an assassin , he was afraid to die. Shit. What were his last thoughts when the bus fell… what unfinished business did he have? What did he think? He had no idea he was going to die when he left that morning. Damn! I wish it were me and not him… He’s too young to die…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ken woke up praying that the day earlier had been a dream but deep down inside, he knew it wasn’t. He had pinched himself often enough to know it wasn’t a dream. He headed downstairs to see a red and black-dyed Yohji siting at the kitchen table drinking a cold cup of coffee. Aya was sitting beside him still his serious looking self. Ken nodded at them. Yohji looked terrible but Ken himself looked no better. “You didn’t get any sleep?” Ken frowned at Yohji. Yohji shook his head and looked up at Ken and Aya. “We’re going to have to do something about… him” Ken and Aya nodded and fell silent. The three sat around the table quietly in their own thoughts. The Koneko was closed and the news had eventually spread. They never talked about Omi’s life but they did discuss what to do with him.
Two days later, he was brought back in a small silver container. The three sat around staring at it.
“So this is Omi.” The others nodded.
“Everyday I expect him to be downstairs cheerfully opening shop.” Ken murmured.
“Manx, Birman, and Persia haven’t come by since…” Yohji’s voice trailed off. “That’s good though… I suppose…”
Aya and Ken nodded. The three of them hadn’t said much to each other since Omi’s death.
“We should open the Koneko again soon.” Aya murmured. “His school called…”
Ken pulled out the envelope from Tokyo University. It was still unopened. “We got this in the mail. I guess we should see what it’s about.” Shaky fingers tore open the envelope as Ken raised the letter to his eyes. A shaky hand held out the letter to his friends. “He was granted a… scholarship…”
A mirthless chuckle from another. “He was always the one that was pulling all-nighters for ‘homework.’” They blinked and sighed as they sat staring at the small silver box.
The evening found Yohji and Aya in their rooms. Ken sat staring at the empty computer screen. He closed his eyes. I can still hear his fingers on the keys. He sighed. The phone rang. An ominous sounding noise in the empty room.
*click*
“Hello?…Yes…Why?… … Thank you…”
*click*
He went upstairs and rapped on Yohji’s door.
“The driver was drunk.” They stood in silence for a moment and Ken headed upstairs to Aya’s room.
Yohji stared at Ken’s turned back. <Omi and ten others died because of one person. One person decided to drive that very bus drunk.> He closed the door and turned to sit on his bed realizing suddenly that any tears he had to friend were already gone.
Aya sat on his floor after closing the door behind him. The driver was drunk. He looked at his hands as a drop of moisture fell onto them. Surprised to find tears in his eyes he realized that in the last three – four days he hadn’t shed an entire tear during that time. The first tear was now shed. He looked at the teardrop on his hands in awe. So I am human. He blinked. For some reason, he started feeling a little better.