It was with a kind of cold horror that Sai realized there was something wrong with Seto.
Not that he was sick, not that he was broken. She knew that growing up in the world she and Shin had created would damage him—it would damage anyone—but for a boy so trusting, so open, so kind to be as…well, mad as he was…
It left a bitter taste in her mouth, in her heart.
Seto, quite simply, did not understand death.
It was beautiful, the way he treated ghosts and people alike, how he treated them like…well, people. But his blindness to their state of existence was...Sai didn't believe the trade-off was…well, worth it.
Not in what it did to him. Not when he lost them, like he lost them all.
They had been making their way through the mall, when Seto had seen the bones buried amidst a pile of rubble.
They looked, he'd said, like a person.
They were—had been, she'd said.
Why didn't they get up?, he'd asked.
Because they were dead.
But she was dead too, he'd murmured, and he'd picked up the skull before she could answer.
She watched him speak to it, say hello and ask if it would play with him. Pout when the skull remained silent, inert.
He didn't understand.
It wasn't until the dam that she truly understood, though. Not until they found Princess. Crow. Shin.
He was just as confused as the robot. And she had looked at him, and told him that when people stop breathing they don't always come back.
What do you mean?
They were special. To come back as ghosts. Most people just died. Stopped existing.
I don't understand.
Like your grandfather.
And his eyes had grown large, wide. He hadn't said a word until they found the graveyard, the room brimming with automatons and wires and rot.
And Crow.
Holding his cold body, his words ringing in the air, Sai had felt her heart break.
Are you sure? He had asked.
Yes.
Can't I do something? Can't I bring him back?
No, not any more.
I don't believe you.
I'm sorry.
You're lying.
Seto…
I'm bringing him with us. He'll be fine. He's not…he's not dead, he's just…sleeping. He'll come back! Like you did!
Seto, you can't. Just leave—
I'm bringing his bones with us.
And she had wished she could still cry, watching the small purple-eyed boy cradle the robot to his chest. Watching him carry those metal bones to the rooftop. Watching him ignore the girl he'd risked everything for.
Wake up, Crow.
xXx
Please.
xXx
Their bones lay side-by-side, a bird and a ghost. Sai knew they did. Knew they always would. Even before they had, as she rested her head on Shin's chest and watched their heart tumble end-over-end to the cement below.
Maybe death just wasn't meant for Seto.
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I KNOW IT'S 9-ISH. BUT I'M SORRY. At least I didn't put the puppets in it. BE GLAD.
To be clear, I meant the movie. Not the time.
Anyway, me nitpicking at details in FD: FRoM. And wanting to write it. And I like Sai, so why not? Lol. Hope you enjoyed reading it!
My problem is these all start with one idea, and ends with another. I HATE IT. That's why I have to start like, sitting down and writing these in one sitting. Otherwise it ends up all over the place.
Prompt #9 for my 100 theme challenge, Bones.