Epilogue
As the airplane successfully took off and the cabin lights were coming back on, as the thundering drone of the airplane became a dull constant noise in his head, Bossun opened his eyes. He glanced out of his little window to see the Narita airport slowly becoming smaller and smaller. It would be some time before he would see it again.
Bossun slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out the white envelope that Switch had given him when he was at his friend's apartment earlier. His fingers gingerly pulled open the flap of the envelope. Inside were several photographs, mostly of himself, Himeko and Switch taken when they were in Kaimei.
Bossun ran the tip of his finger along the edges of the envelope, his mind not really present with the rest of him in the plane.
After what had unfolded at the Crystalline Chill, Bossun had wondered about a lot of things. He had some time to reflect for the past few rainy days, especially about Himeko's words regarding his lack of communication with his friends, like he was forgetting them. He was horrified to know that Himeko had felt that way about him. Even Switch said the same. He didn't realize that his action, or more precisely, inaction, was making them feel that way.
As he contemplated about this throughout the days, Bossun had a sudden urge to look at pictures of when he and his friends were having fun during their high school days, when they used to hang out as the Sket Dan, only to realize that he didn't really have any in his phone or physical ones slipped in those last-page pocket of his many travel notebooks. Instead of pictures of his friends, his phone was full of snapshots of the places he had travelled to and the people he had helped.
He wanted to change that.
Those places he visited mattered as well as the people he had helped, but his friends mattered more.
So he had called Switch up asking if he had any pictures of them, the Sket Dan, together.
Bossun took out the first picture from the envelope.
It was a picture of him, Himeko and Switch during the Kaimei Rock Festival, rocking out on stage performing as The Sketchbook. Bossun couldn't help but grin at how so damn cool all three of them looked on that stage. He remembered the feeling, the adrenaline. It was a great day. He still remembered how exhilarating it was performing in front of the whole school, the crowd cheering them on like they were real rock stars. He felt like a rock star. He stared at the picture, wishing he could feel that way again.
The next one he pulled out was a group picture taken at the Shin-Osaka Station where the trio (with Bossun and Switch visibly beaten up, what with patches of bandages on their faces) were joined by Captain, Shinzou, Dante and Yabasawa.
Even if he tried, Bossun could never forget that Osaka trip he took with Himeko and Switch that year. Too many unexpected things happened within twenty-four hours of their arrival in Himeko's hometown; a kidnapping, the anxiety and anguish taking over him as he worried about Himeko's safety, that pure rage he felt burning from within him as he punched Himeko's kidnapper hard in the face; he could never ever forget any of that.
The third picture was taken during their graduation day. Himeko was crying tears of happiness in this one while Bossun, Switch and the rest of the graduating class were smiling, laughing. Everyone was happy and jubilant as they tossed their school blazers into the air to commemorate the end of another chapter in their young lives and the beginning of a new journey.
Looking at this picture really made Bossun miss his school days, doing crazy things with his friends, bickering with the student council, helping out whoever that came to seek aid from the Sket Dan.
A picture of him at a summer festival with Switch, Himeko and Saaya came out easily from the envelope as Bossun put away the first three. He liked this picture a lot because of how everyone in it looked so happy and festive; Himeko and Saaya in their pretty floral yukatas, Switch in his dark-colored, manly one. Bossun was the only one in his usual t-shirt and cargo shorts. Seeing the picture now, he wished he had worn a yukata that night. It would have made the picture even better. Perfect, even.
He ran his fingers over the picture and sighed. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that he would never have the chance to take pictures like this again with his friends.
He made a mental note to thank Switch again for the pictures. They were all great ones. Nostalgic.
They made his heart ache somewhat.
Bossun pulled out the last remaining picture from the envelope.
It was a candid picture of himself, Himeko, Sasuke and Katou in a snow-covered school courtyard. Switch must have taken it when no one was looking.
Bossun remembered this day. The Sket Dan had volunteered to help the school janitor shovel the snow in the courtyard, and somehow they ended up fooling around and building a snowman instead, before finally having a snowball fight with Sasuke and Katou when the student council president showed up along with his staunchest supporter and thought they would do a much better job at shoveling the snow than the Sket Dan.
Bossun stared at the picture.
In it, he was bickering with Sasuke, a snowball packed in his hand ready to be thrown at his twin who in turn was holding up his arms to shield himself from Bossun's attack. Behind Bossun, Himeko was apparently having a nice chat with Katou who was standing at her side, a huge smile on her face as she looked up at him.
Bossun couldn't tear his eyes away from the picture. It was like it had foretold the future.
He couldn't help recalling the feeling that had taken over him that day when he saw Himeko being so friendly with Katou. It was a mix of disbelief and betrayal, and maybe… a little bit of jealousy.
Truthfully, when he saw them in each other's embrace that day in the rain, he had felt the same mix of feelings rising inside of him, only maybe not as strong as it had felt years ago. Maybe.
He let out a sigh, gathering the pictures and replacing them into the envelope. He stared at the whiteness of the paper.
There was an unsettling feeling in his chest, a small lump of unidentified mess that he didn't want to think about. It was only a speck, and he wanted it to stay that way. He didn't want to feed it, didn't want to let it grow, didn't want to know what it actually was even, because he knew he'd eventually lose control over it if he fed it and it would only make his life miserable.
It was better to leave it alone.
Bossun gazed out of his window at the blue sky, clear and bright in the afternoon sun.
His feelings didn't matter.
'As long as Himeko's happy, I'm happy,' he said softly to himself.
Yes. It didn't matter.
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***End***
Author's Note
11 December 2020
Hi everyone! How are you guys doing?
So, with this epilogue, The Broken Trifecta has come to its end.
I want to say thank you so much to all of you who have read, reviewed, favourited and/or followed this story. They mean so much to me!
This story has been sitting in my drafts folder for four years and all that while I've somehow always ignored it, but now I'm so relieved I've finally finished writing it. Honestly, I struggled a little while writing this because I knew from the start that Himeko will not end up with Bossun. Like, it feels wrong for them not to be together, you know?
But I wanted to write something that is the opposite of my other Sket Dan fic, Catching Up with Love, where not everyone ends up having what they want. That's why Himeko and Bossun go their separate ways, and Switch and Momoka are on the rocks . I don't know why I write heartbreaking stuff like this T_T
At least Kiri gets what he wants. I like him as a character and I've always thought he'd be a good partner for Himeko besides Bossun. So that's why this story ends with Himeko being together with him. I hope I didn't disappoint a lot of people.
So, I'll see you guys in other stories :)
Take care!