Fic: Alone, Sayuki gen
Dec. 30th, 2011 01:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lady_ganeshMy last h/c bingo post of 2011! There's at least one story left once I get it in shape for amnesty. Thanks to lindentreeisle for betaing. Spoilers for Gojyo's backstory; angsty and kind of dark. It's the free choice square and I chose "Abandonment."
Jien's face was whiter than Gojyo had ever seen it, even that summer he got so sick and they'd had to feed him soup in bed. "I gotta go," he said. "I can't stay here, the clan--"
"Yeah," Gojyo said. His cheek stung. Mom was still bleeding. Weird how you kept bleeding when you were dead.
"I'm sorry," Jien said, and the sword hit the floor. "Take care of yourself, huh, kid?"
"Yeah," Gojyo said. "Wait--" You can't leave me, he wanted to say, but he knew this was all his fault, and how could he make Jien do anything, now?
So instead he got up from the floor and washed his hands. Then he went out into the backyard and dug. The more time he could give Jien, the safer he'd be. It was the least he could do.
He got tired before it got too deep, but he figured it would keep the animals away for a couple of days. People would come check on them eventually. Probably. (Maybe they'd be relieved, he didn't know. A madwoman and her half-breed son, Jien was the only one of the three of them worth anything.)
He wrapped Mom up in the cleanest sheet he could find and buried her back there as well as he could. She was heavier than he'd expected, and the whole job was kind of half-assed, but hell, she'd tried to kill him, right?
He washed his hands again and then got on his hands and knees to scrub the floor. It was dark by the time he was finished; Jien would be a ways out by now, past the village, anyway. That was good.
He was exhausted, but he didn't want to sleep in the house.
Jien probably had his wallet on him when he left, but Gojyo checked his things just in case (if he'd left it, would he have come back? Would he change his mind, and come looking for Gojyo? It'd be safer for both of them if they split up, right? That was why he'd done it, right?). He found a few bills by the mattress, and a handful of coins once he'd raided the couch. There was some food he could take with him in the kitchen, not much, but enough to keep him alive for a day or two.
He was old enough to work. He could lie and say he was sixteen, a lot of kids were still small at sixteen. He'd be fine.
Which way had Jien gone? If he went that way, they could meet up later. He'd done some trading in the markets up north; no way he'd go that way, people would know his face. That left south, east, and west, though.
It was getting cold. He got his jacket out, and a sweater, and put all the clean underwear he had in his schoolbag. It wasn't great to travel with, but it'd do. He put the food (a couple of energy bars, half a loaf of bread, a couple of slices of that cheap wrapped cheese) in the front pocket.
He scribbled a note and left it on the counter, just in case. Jien, I'm going East. I'm sorry. Good luck. Then he turned off the lights and locked the door behind him.
He put his hand up to his cheek as he walked away; he'd forgotten all about the scratches on his face until the cold air hit them. They'd probably be fine in the morning. He shrugged, and headed east.
lindentreeisle for betaing. Spoilers for Gojyo's backstory; angsty and kind of dark. It's the free choice square and I chose "Abandonment."Jien's face was whiter than Gojyo had ever seen it, even that summer he got so sick and they'd had to feed him soup in bed. "I gotta go," he said. "I can't stay here, the clan--"
"Yeah," Gojyo said. His cheek stung. Mom was still bleeding. Weird how you kept bleeding when you were dead.
"I'm sorry," Jien said, and the sword hit the floor. "Take care of yourself, huh, kid?"
"Yeah," Gojyo said. "Wait--" You can't leave me, he wanted to say, but he knew this was all his fault, and how could he make Jien do anything, now?
So instead he got up from the floor and washed his hands. Then he went out into the backyard and dug. The more time he could give Jien, the safer he'd be. It was the least he could do.
He got tired before it got too deep, but he figured it would keep the animals away for a couple of days. People would come check on them eventually. Probably. (Maybe they'd be relieved, he didn't know. A madwoman and her half-breed son, Jien was the only one of the three of them worth anything.)
He wrapped Mom up in the cleanest sheet he could find and buried her back there as well as he could. She was heavier than he'd expected, and the whole job was kind of half-assed, but hell, she'd tried to kill him, right?
He washed his hands again and then got on his hands and knees to scrub the floor. It was dark by the time he was finished; Jien would be a ways out by now, past the village, anyway. That was good.
He was exhausted, but he didn't want to sleep in the house.
Jien probably had his wallet on him when he left, but Gojyo checked his things just in case (if he'd left it, would he have come back? Would he change his mind, and come looking for Gojyo? It'd be safer for both of them if they split up, right? That was why he'd done it, right?). He found a few bills by the mattress, and a handful of coins once he'd raided the couch. There was some food he could take with him in the kitchen, not much, but enough to keep him alive for a day or two.
He was old enough to work. He could lie and say he was sixteen, a lot of kids were still small at sixteen. He'd be fine.
Which way had Jien gone? If he went that way, they could meet up later. He'd done some trading in the markets up north; no way he'd go that way, people would know his face. That left south, east, and west, though.
It was getting cold. He got his jacket out, and a sweater, and put all the clean underwear he had in his schoolbag. It wasn't great to travel with, but it'd do. He put the food (a couple of energy bars, half a loaf of bread, a couple of slices of that cheap wrapped cheese) in the front pocket.
He scribbled a note and left it on the counter, just in case. Jien, I'm going East. I'm sorry. Good luck. Then he turned off the lights and locked the door behind him.
He put his hand up to his cheek as he walked away; he'd forgotten all about the scratches on his face until the cold air hit them. They'd probably be fine in the morning. He shrugged, and headed east.
