Prologue
"Kasuka, sweetie, we need to talk."
Kasuka looked up from his cereal at the breakfast table, his little feet swinging a few inches above the ground. "Yes, mama?"
His mother sighed and glanced at his father for support. His father put his hand on his mama's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.
"It's about Shizuo."
The child absently stirred his Rice Krispies, the snaps and crackles as the flakes got wet the only sound in the suffocating silence. "What about niichan?" Truthfully, Kasuka hadn't seen his brother since the night before, but he just thought Shizuo was staying with their mean auntie again. That tended to happen whenever his parents were fighting- they sent Shizuo away so they wouldn't anger him and provoke his strength.
His mother bit her lip, opened her mouth to say something, closed it again. She tried again, nothing. His father cut in, saying it for her.
"Shizuo is dead."
Kasuka put his spoon down in his cereal, not registering what the words meant for a minute.
Shizuo was… dead?
Kasuka was young, but he wasn't so young that he didn't understand what those words meant. His niichan was gone.
Years went by. Wounds healed, the mind meticulously buried the pain of loss. The boy who had been hit by a truck got a few news stories and headlines, but Shizuo was almost forgotten by everyone. Life went on- the world spun on indifferently, apathetic to Shizuo's fate.
One year after Shizuo died, Kasuka's parents divorced.
Two years after Shizuo died, Kasuka had drawn more into himself, becoming more and more introverted.
Three years after Shizuo died, Kasuka wouldn't speak unless he was addressed.
Four years after Shizuo died, Kasuka stopped visiting the grave every day.
Five years after Shizuo died, the flowers that had been planted over his grave wilted and were quickly devoured by aphids.
Six years after Shizuo died, moss grew unchecked on the headstone.
Seven years after Shizuo died, Kasuka just stopped visiting his grave altogether.
Eight years after Shizuo died, Kasuka's mother was able to pay for her son to go to acting college. Nobody knew where she had gotten the money from.
Nine years after Shizuo died, his headstone was kicked over by some kids playing in the graveyard. There it remained, slowly sinking down, down, down into the earth.
Life went on. Life didn't stop.
And ten years after Shizuo died, nobody remembered him at all.
(Hello everyone, it's been a while. This is a kink meme fill. It's very AU and pretty OOC, so bear with me. These chapters are edited and will be longer than those on the meme, so updates will be slower. I'll try and update as much as I can, though. First chapter almost complete. Huzzah! *throws confetti*
Reviews are love o(^^)o~)