This is me avoiding my homework. And getting rid of a plot bunny that's been stuck in my head for ages now. I actually cried writing this. Mostly with the research into Sae's poem but shush. ; Title taken from a song by Anastacia. Main inspiration for the fic was the movie 12 Days of Terror where a shark turns up at a beach. At one point the main characters best friend gets killed by a shark while he's saving a kid.
Title: How Come the World Won't Stop?
Characters/Pairing: Rokkaku regulars / Bronze
Word Count: +/- 1660
Rating: PG-13 (deals with character death)
It was heartbreaking.
That was the only word that Saeki could think of.
The summer sun was high in the sky and there was no school to worry about, but the children were not celebrating; the beach was deserted; the boys who were often seen shirtless this time of year were snugly fit into black suits.
Ken-chan wasn't checking out all the skirts.
Itchan wasn't asking any questions.
Shudou wasn't making any bragging remarks.
The twins weren't huddled together and plotting a new prank.
Davide wasn't even making any puns. Then again, Davide wasn't saying anything at all.
Saeki gave a small frown in worry and reached out to slip his hand into the junior's. He gave it a small squeeze. His frown only deepened when there was no reaction, the red-head's face staying deathly serious and his green eyes hard and focused on the hearse. It was odd, he would admit, this western style funeral, but then again, the Saeki household was fully Buddhist, while his friend's was Christian – not a fact many knew unless they were close, but it was still true.
The senior held onto the red-head's hand until everyone was asked to head into the church, save the casket-bearers. Saeki patted Davide's shoulder before he turned to lead the rest of the team inside to find a seat.
"Sae-kun~!" The voice of a woman caught Saeki's attention and he gave a smile and led the other regulars towards here. "I saved you boys some seats."
"Thank you very much, Oba-chan," Saeki said, voice lacking it's usually confidence as he sat down beside his friend's mother. All the parents of their tight-knit group insisted on being called aunt and uncle. It made the whole community seem like a single family.
Slowly, the church filled to a point there was people standing along the walls and children sitting on the ground at the front. A few minutes later they were all asked to stand. There was silence, broken only by the sound of slow footsteps of the large men carrying the casket on their shoulders – and Saeki knew that it would take the strength of all of them; the guy inside was not light by any means, even if only half of him was there. The coffin was placed on an altar and the bearers took their place among the guests – Davide slotting in between Saeki and their friend's mother. They were seated and the service began.
"We are gathered here today to remember Kurobane Harukaze, a son, a brother, a cousin, but most of all, a friend."
The service was given a time slot of two hours, and Saeki wondered if that would be enough. When he glanced around the church, it seemed as if the entire high school, middle school and elementary had showed up with their families. It was unsurprising. Bane had always had a place in the hearts of kids of all ages in the community. They all sat and listened as the family gave speeches, talking of growing up with Bane or watching him grow up, then the floor was opened and more stories followed. Every story brought a smile to everyone's face. That was just the kind of guy Bane had always been.
When the time began to run out, however, the priest stopped the impromptu speeches and attention was turned to the parents. Kurobane-kaa-san just smiled and looked to her right at the boys seated there. Saeki smiled back and stood, the first of the regulars to move while the others followed behind.
Saeki approached the casket and placed a hand on it, murmuring softly before moving onto the podium. Itchan copied behind him, then Ken-chan, Ryou, Atsushi, Shudou and, finally, Davide. The red-head paused longer at the casket than any of the others, leaning forward to softly kiss the wood. A hand lifted and carefully placed a pair of wooden rackets on top of it, side by side, one significantly longer than the other. No one made any attempt to point out the gestures. Even if they had never announced it, it was clear that Bane and Davide were closer than friends should be, even for the sort of affectionate people they were.
"I have a feeling we don't really need to introduce ourselves, but I'm Sae, this is Itchan, Ken-chan, Ryou, Atsushi, Shudou and Davide and we're the Rokkaku high tennis regulars. I'd say we were Bane's closest friends as well, but… Well, everyone was pretty close to the big guy," Saeki smiled as he leaned against the podium, one of his hands hanging down and holding onto Itchan's where his friend had started to sniffle. "There's not really much more that any of us can add to what's already been said, but I wanna thank everyone for coming. To be able to see just how many people this guy affected… It's amazing." He paused for a moment to just smile at everyone before looking along at the rest of the team that was standing with him – Davide was still standing by the casket – before continuing. "I've… got a poem I want to share. My dad read it at my grandfather's funeral and I can't help but think it's more than appropriate for Bane:
I'll lend you for a little while, a child of mine, God said
For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or forty-two or three
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you and should his stay be brief
You'll always have his memories as a solace in your grief.
I cannot promise he will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught below I want this child to learn.
I've looked this whole world over in my search for teachers true
And from the folk that crowd Life's lane I have chosen you.
Now will you give him all your love and not think the labour vain,
Nor hate me when I come to take this lent child back again?
I fancy that I heard them say 'Dear God, thy will be done.
For all the joys this child will bring the risk of grief we'll run.
We will shelter him with tenderness, we'll love him while we may
And for all the happiness we've ever known, we'll ever grateful stay.
But should the angels call him much sooner than we'd planned
We will brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.'"
There was a moment's pause as Saeki stepped forward from the podium, Itchan and Ken-chan following, and the trio put their hands on the casket, murmuring a soft good-bye before they moved to take their seats again.
"Sae was right."
"That was quite appropriate."
"Kinda outdoes whatever we were gonna say."
"But there really is only one thing left to say," The twins, having been swapping sentence to sentence, glanced at each other with a small smile, before saying in unison, ""Death never takes the wise man by surprise; He is always ready to go."" Ryou and Atsushi, with Shudou close behind, copied the rest of their teammates, saying a final good-bye to their friend before returning to their seats, leaving Davide standing by the casket alone.
Saeki watched him carefully, but no one moved. Davide had been silent since the accident and anxiety had set in in his friends as to whether he would ever speak again. But the senior was feeling hopeful, and even gave a little smile when Davide took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"…Idiot," the red-head murmured, one hand resting spread-eagle on the top of the casket. There was a long pause before he continued in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Idiot died doing what he did best: being a hero." An empty chuckle. "The twins are right… you really were ready to go, weren't you? You were smiling… You were always smiling. Even after that thing got your legs, all you cared about was the little girl and whether or not the shark got her. You knew you were gonna leave, you just wanted to know she was okay… She is okay. And she's here right now. She came to see you. Everyone came to see you…" His voice was gradually getting weaker and weaker as he spoke. Slowly, his knees gave way beneath him and he knelt beside the altar. Saeki stood from his seat and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "… I love you, Haru. Wait for me, okay? Wherever you are, wait for me… and look after my racket… I'll need it to make a racket when I find you."
Saeki gave the shoulder a squeeze at the half-hearted attempt at a pun and crouched down so he could pull Davide into a hug as the junior finally succumbed to his emotions began to cry. They stayed there a moment, before Saeki led him back to his set and the service was drawn to a close.
It was the team who were to carry the casket out again, and Davide and Sae lead the way out. The rackets were held tightly in Davide's free hand as he walked. The tears had stopped, but his eyes were red and threatening to well up again. There were people murmuring condolences as they passed, hands reaching out to squeeze his shoulder, but it all went unnoticed. The red-head's mind could only concentrate on what it had been listening to since the shark attack; to the last words his beloved senpai had said.
Your hair looks good without gel, Hikaru. You should wear it like that more often.
The next day, Saeki stopped past the Amane household just in time to see Davide dumping a plastic bag full of hair product into the bin.