Title // Blossom
Author // Feros
Warning // Light shounen-ai.
Disclaimer // Sadly, I own nothing. In fact, I owe Sherwood Anderson and the
different anime creators for these.
Rating // PG-13
Series // March of the Grotesques (#1)
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Blossom
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Pink sakura blossoms among the white. Ethereal beauty.
Very much like the young man Sai sees. He's about as untouchable as those tinted flowers, too. The first time she ever attempted to talk to him he snubbed her. And they were hardly even acquaintances now after meeting several times. She doubted he even knew the name Sai Winesburg. In fact, she had the destinct impression that his jade eyes looked through her each time he glanced in her direction. She wondered, briefly, if it was only her or if he looked *through* everyone he looked at.
Still, he came to the park often and whenever she saw him she made it a point to talk to him. She then would spend the conversation being as friendly as possible and trying, gently, at the bars he'd caged himself in.
She noted that with enough patience and skill one could even coax him into speaking. He would only part with information painfully, every word guarded. The third time she spoke with him she managed to draw his name from him.
Subaru Sumeragi.
It really galls her that she can't manage to extract more information than that from him. Weren't reporters supposed to be good at gathering information? His quietness unsettled her at times. She would talk to him blithely, only to find one cold look into his icy-green eyes that all thoughts were scattered from her head. Sai really didn't know why he was so quiet. One would think a youth with the stark black hair and handsomely thin frame would have girls draped over him all the time. There is just an aura about him that is as efficient as any "KEEP OUT" sign.
With a woman's intuition, she knew better than ask anything more personal than his name and profession.
She only learned his name.
Each time she found him here it was near that same blossom tree--the sakura. She thought there was a bond between him and it. She was correct, but she never learned of the story behind the silent Sumeragi and the sakura blossoms. She never saw the sixteen year old falling in love with the older man. Or the tragic events and obsessions after. She never learned of the older man, Seishirou Sakurazuka, who made the silent man into what he was as he gazed at those blossoms in the park. Seishirou Sakurazuka, who took and then smashed the Sumeragi's heart.
Sai decides to call it a day. This evening Subaru Sumeragi is less welcoming than usual. She, despite her brashness, knew when it was best to allow people their space. With a bright smile and friendly farewell she continues on her way, leaving Subaru with the sakura.
Subaru goes to the park regularly, searching his mind and heart for the answers that only confuse him more. He's been doing so ever since the year 1999. Now, in 2003, he looks older--but young all the same. Faithfully, he visits his lover's damned tree. His own tree, now, but his lover's in his mind.
The blossoms...
The blossoms always bring back to mind the scent of Seishirou's blood as he died. Then the spell of the blossoms would be broken as that young reporter always came up to him just as he emersed himself into the memories. Well, perhaps, 'always' was incorrect, but she'd appeared at least ten times now. Sai something-or-other. An American, probably, with a name and complexion like that. And always talking and asking--as reporters were wont to do.
He didn't *dislike* her, exactly. But she did bother him at times. Other times her attempts at befriending him kept him from joining his beloved enemy again.
Slowly he slides his gaze from the blossoms dancing happily above him to the ground. Several blossoms are scattered at his feet. Most have been trampled by the ignorant, uncaring shoes of passers-by. One, alone, remainds untouched and utterly perfect.
His pale fingers close around the perfect blossom that lies upon the ground. Gently he brings it to his nose. He still smells only Seishirou's blood. Four years later the scent hung on him like a mark. Seishirou had been found of those. Subaru has not moved on, but Seishiou--when alive--had been no better.
Thoughts--manifested in delusions, wants, hopes, pains, and sensations--haunt him. Seishirou is still his obsession, his love, the reason for life. The reason for death.
As he thinks of all this he plays the whisper-soft petals about his long fingers. Each caress of the blossom reminds of another caress, another touch. Abruptly he stops the movements of his hand.
With great care he crushes the pale blossom in his fist and allows the crumpled and broken petals to fall to the ground. It joins the other blossoms on the ground. He looks at the broken blossom only a moment longer before leaving for his apartment.
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Author's Note: I've been taken with the idea of grotesques since I've been reading Sherwood Anderson. It was his idea that these people, seemingly so normal, could have an obsession that makes them into something less than alive--a grotesque. So I decided to borrow the idea and write about the grotesques found in anime. I think it will be 20 separate stories covering characters from X (Tokyo Babylon), Blue Sub #6, Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, Saiyuki, Trigun, Weiss Kreuz, Yami no Matsuei, Angel Sanctuary, Argento Soma, Ai no Kusabi, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. So far I've 20 planned and a few pre-written. I'll wait until each receives a feedback count of three or so, then post the next. Which means there's a good chance this series will die on the third--Blue Sub #6. I'll list the order of stories a bit later.
There are two things you need to know about "The March of the Grotesques". The first is that everyone of them will be exceptionally short to medium-sized. Don't expect drawn out bits. Secondly, you'll find in Sherwood's Winesburg, Ohio that there is but one thing tying all these grotesques together--George Williard. The George Williard of this story is a character of my own creation and her part will be very small--this is probably the story where she plays the largest part. She transcends from being confined to a single series of anime and holds this group together. She also shares the profession of her original male counterpart. She is a journalist.
Here's the layout so far:
01 - X - concerning Seishirou Sakurazuka and Subaru Sumeragi
02 - WK - concerning Bradley Crawford
03 - Blue Sub #6 - concerning Tetsu Hayami
04 - X - concerning Satsuki Yatoji
05 - WK - concerning Farfello
06 - Hellsing - concerning Alexander Anderson
07 - Evangelion - concerning Asuka
08 - Saiyuki - concerning Sha Gohjo
09 - X - concerning Kakyou Kazuki
10 - WK - concerning Shuldich
11 - Trigun - concerning Nick D. Wolfwood
12 - Angel Sanctuary - concerning Setsuna Mudou
13 - Yami no Matsuei - concerning Muraki
14 - X - concerning Kamui Shirou
15 - WK - concerning Ran "Aya" Fujimiya
16 - Hellsing - concerning Integral von Hellsing
17 - Saiyuki - concerning Cho Hakkai
18 - Argento Soma - concerning Ryo Soma
19 - Ai no Kusabi - concerning Iason
20 - Cowboy Bebop - concerning Spike Spiegal