There are several author's notes that I'd like to mention before I begin this story. Please read them before you leave any nasty reviews.
First of all, the most obvious: there is no way I could be so brilliant as to create Paranoia Agent. Second of all, I realize that several of the characters may seem OC. Shonen Bat in particular will seem like a completely different character in some ways. This in and of itself will piss some people off. However, this story is a continuation, and it is my interpretation of what would have happened after the events of the last episode. That being said, I will welcome any other reviews that are not outright flames.
And now, on with the show…
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Goodbye: Tsukigo and Maromi
Tokyo lay in ruins. Countless unconscious people lay in the streets, lost in strange dreams. All that had been order had been made into chaos. It was just like the war.
The giant, glutinous mass of black and pink had finally come to a halt. The ooze covered everything in sight, and had enveloped every living thing into its bosom.
A little girl holding a dead puppy stood there with wide brown eyes, tears running down her face. She finally knew the truth…
Maromi's death was her fault. Shonen Bat was her creation. He had been a nightmare come true. For ten years, she had kept the memories in some dark closet somewhere in her mind. But the closet had burst open at last, and there was no way she could ever lose it again.
All of this…Maromi and Shonen Bat….was her fault.
From somewhere within the slimy ooze, a boy crawled out of the mass, gasping for air. He wore a grey pullover that was too big for him, and dark green khaki shorts which came to his knees. The brim of an old red baseball cap covered his eyes.
On his feet was a pair of shiny golden rollerblades. In his right hand, he carried a golden bat.
When Tsukigo saw the boy, she was frightened. He was going to get her, going to punish her for what she'd done to him. She was about to run away when looked again.
The golden bat was straight again. That angry malicious bend in it was nowhere to be seen. She recognized the bat as the same one she had seen in her father's garage. Looking up, she saw the boy's face. It, too, was no longer twisted into an evil looking grin. The expression his face was strangely calm. With hardly a sound, he slowly skated down the blob he had been entombed in, finally stopping a few yards from where Tsukigo stood.
For what seemed an eternity, they stood there, looking at each other. The wind blew a crumpled newspaper across the street. At last, he spoke.
"Thank you…"
Tsukigo stared. It made no sense. Thank her? She, who had created the monster? She, who had lied to her own father? She, who had kept this terrible secret inside until it was too late?
"I am the one who did all this," she mumbled under her breath, tears still rolling down her face. "Why on earth would you thank me?"
Smile. Not an evil, malicious grin, but a genuine smile.
"You set me free…"
A light snow was falling. A few of the flakes landed in her hair. When she looked to see if it was cold, she found it was not snow, but dust, still leftover from all the building which had been destroyed. The boy brushed the tiny flakes away with a strangely gentle hand.
"I'm sorry about your puppy," he stroked the corpse's furry head before continuing. "I know you loved her."
Tsukigo let out a strangled whimper at those words. She flung herself into the boy's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He held her tightly, stroking her hair and shushing her.
"It was an accident," he whispered, "it was an accident, Tsukigo..."
"It's all my fault!" she sobbed, the boy's pullover growing damp from her tears. "How can I ever tell him? How?"
Wave after wave of tears fell, and still he held her close. He held her until she was empty. When at last the tears slowed, there was a moment of silence.
And for a moment, only they existed.
One small, hesitant hand found the brim of his cap. She met no resistant as she pulled it back, finally revealing his eyes.
There was a time when she had imagined those small dark eyes to be full of hatred and insane mirth. They probably had been, once. But now, they looked down at her with something akin to pity and kindness. That once twisted mouth broke into a true smile.
"Go home, Tsukigo," he told her in an almost fatherly way as the dust continued to settle in his hair. "Go home and tell your father the truth. He wants you to."
Hesitantly, she pulled back out of his arms, clutching the puppy to her chest. The blood stained her white blouse, but she didn't seem to notice.
"I can't," she whimpered, her eyes facing down. "He'll be so angry…" fresh streams of tears blessed her face.
The same newspaper was caught by the wind again, and flapped noisily away. The light from the half moon cat the boy's profile, but he left no shadow on the ground.
"Yes you can," he whispered, gazing up at the moon. "You always can…" He turned to her with serious eyes.
"Goodbye…Tsukigo," he gave her one last backward look as he skated away through the ruined streets, bat in hand. He was out of sight before she could really register that he was gone.
She was alone; alone in a city she had destroyed. It would take a long time to rebuild it. But, if what the boy had said was true, it could be done. For if she could do the impossible, so could the people of this city.
Without a word, Tsukigo Sago walked away from her silent vigil, her puppy clutched tightly in her arms. It would take a long time to walk all the way home, all the way back to her father's house.
But she could do it. She always could.
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A/N: One last thing. I wanted to make this a series for Paranoia Agent. My idea is that Shonen Bat will tie up the loose ends that is left with many of the characters, just as he did here with Tsukigo and Maromi. I have already started writing another chapter. I want to know if you guys like this, though, and if you think I should continue. If I don't get a review in, let's say, about a week, I'm going to remove the story….
Fair enough? I hope so.
