Alt Timeline XX (Ryukishi, MaruMaru, Capture Cloth, Flying Force, Mirror Devil, Yako, Last Rite, Seiryu, a bunch of NPCs)
Mournful air filled a once beautiful garden, now painted grey with grief. People gathered around a coffin, a teenager, no older than sixteen rested in it as if she was sleeping, but from this sleep, she would never wake.
She was dressed in a white kimono, as her favorite toys filled the coffin instead of flowers. Her body was motionless but with a serene face. Her hydras, once full of life, were now dead, their black eyes lost the “glimmer” they once had.
Her mother caressed her face. Once so composed, and never exposed her weakness to anyone, but now not even her could hide her sadness.
Tears fell from her eyes, as she lamented the death of her baby girl and how she couldn’t protect her. Her heart ached with grief, and self-loathing. She should’ve done more for her. She should’ve been there for Orochi, but she wasn’t.
Warm tears fell and collided with Orochi’s cold body, it smeared faint warmth, quickly to be devoured by Death’s chill grasp.
She remembered her daughter so full of life and with the brightest smile she had ever seen. When she was little and chubby, she tried to climb over places and name things with silly nicknames.
How she liked to bite stuff, even what she shouldn’t bite. Now her daughter lied there, as if she was sleeping. Nabiki wished for her daughter to wake up, for all of this to be a nightmare, but her daughter was gone.
She looked so peaceful.
It smashed Nabiki’s heart to smithereens. Her tears fell without end, her wails full of pain and despair.
Her oldest daughter supported her. Akane looked at Orochi. Her tears too fell, but dry and silently. She needed to be strong for her parents, once she had the chance, she would break down too, but she couldn’t do it now. Not while her parents needed her.
Yamamoto patted Orochi’s head. His expression was twisted by grief and hurt, an unimaginable pain no father should go through, but here he was, mourning his daughter’s death.
He failed her. He failed her the most. He was once tall and sturdy like a mountain, but now he felt small and feeble.
His daughter was dead. No one could bring her back. She was gone, but it felt hard to accept it. She was there, his girl was there, but now she wasn’t. Just her lifeless corpse.
He questioned the heavens, why it have to punish them so much? What had Orochi done to deserve all of this? She was just a girl, a teenager, she had her problems, but she was never a monster, she didn’t deserve this, to die so young.
The youngest of the Atsushi sisters stood there. Tears fell from her eyes, and snot came out of her nose, but she tried to swallow it back, choking her tears. She lost her big sister, and her family was grieving, but Kyoko didn't wish to be another burden on her family’s shoulders.
She didn’t want to hurt her mom, dad, and sister any further by grieving too much, by being too inconsolable for them to grieve. She felt like a stick against the wind’s might, barely standing, but she gave her best, even if she couldn’t hold back the tears.
She wanted to see her sister one more time, to talk to her, feel her warmth. She wished for something impossible now.
Yui looked at the coffin, at her friend, and the grieving of her parents. She felt dizzy and lost. She refused to believe Orochi was down, she waited for the moment when she would rise, and tell all of them this was the poorest joke in history, but this moment felt distant.
She remembered when they sparred in Shiketsu, the beginnings of her friendship, how Orochi dragged her to the arcade. It couldn’t have ended, no way for this to be real. Yui wanted to scream and rage against the reality of her situation, but she had no strength in her voice.
Her hands trembled, as she was confronted and forced to accept reality for what it was. Orochi was dead. The moments they shared, all those experiences they had together, and their friendship, ended abruptly and without a warning.
The curtain call had fallen, and now they were left to deal with the fallout.
Chris walked back and forth. He wanted to check on Orochi one last time, but he was terrified of what he would see. He was terrified of seeing her dead. He couldn’t forget this, even if he wanted to. His heartfelt thorn on what he should do.
He knew that giving Orochi one last visit was the right thing, but his legs, felt powerless to do it, terrified of the scene before him, and all that grief that came from her crying family. He lacked the strength to see it thoroughly.
Chris looked away from her grieving family, ashamed of himself.
Sally stared at the coffin. She and Orochi had a rough start, but the hydra girl tried to make a bridge to her, genuinely befriend her. She was dead now. A lump formed in her throat. It could have been anyone to died that day, she and Genma were just unlucky.
It could have been her or Noah. Once again Sally could only stare at something that happened beyond her control. She had no way to prevent it or to help them. A hollow despair dug through her heart. She wanted to help, but there was nothing that could have been done to prevent that tragedy.
This fact didn’t lessen the pain in her heart, it only weighed it. A strange sense of guilt and pain for being alive, for not being able to help in an unwinnable situation. She gave the coffin one last look before walking away.
Every time she saw Orochi, this pain got worse. She lacked the stomach to see it fa uneral to the end. She wanted to cry and curse this damned world for taking away good people.
Kaylee held her knees inside the closet she called a “home”. She was scared of coming face to face with Orochi’s parents and family. She failed to save her friend. She failed to capture or end Feral for good.
How much shame she could bring to herself? She didn’t know. All she knew was that her heart was hurting, and she was scared of being blamed for Orochi’s death.
It was an irrational fear, but Kaylee felt as if it was all her fault somehow. She rested her face on her knees, as tears fell. Tears of guilt and hurt. She failed twice in the same night. It cost two innocent lives. The weight of the guilt was crushing, even for her broad shoulders.
Inigo couldn’t make himself to the funeral. His whole body shook just by thinking of seeing Orochi dead. He couldn’t, he just couldn’t. His lips were dry. He was not crying, because his cowardice, the cowardice of not seeing her one last time, burned him from inside.
He stared at his trembling hands, he hyperventilated. This was a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. He stared at Hoge, who was beside him, sadness on her face.
She hugged him, resting his head on her shoulders. Inigo couldn’t take it anymore, and tears fell.
Orochi hated him at first, but their friendship somehow started. From the times they spent at the arcade, and that stuffed toy he won her in that rainy night.
It was so good to be with her, their friendship was great, but now, only the gaping void was left. There was no good side or thing about all of this.
The Atsushi’s families, all ten of them, came to the funeral. The elders wore regal clothes, as did the family leaders. Aoi looked at the corpse of her niece. Silent anger burned in her eyes.
Her son, Yuusei, had a void, vacant look on his face. The guilt he felt by letting Feral escape, of not dealing with her properly when he had the chance, consumed him.
He was not crying, for he had collapsed once the news of her niece’s death came. Her son looked at his cousin one last time. His eyes forced themselves, but no tear fell.
Soon it was time to lay down her coffin, and let her rest in the garden she loved and grew. Aoi looked at the cloudy sky above them. Soon rain will fall.
The Atushi sang her praises, and honored her as a true hero, despite never having finished her hero education.
It came the time to bury her, and few and fewer people were left by the end. Until it boiled down to her immediate family, and four out of the nine Atsushi leaders that came for the funeral.
The rain was heavy…
Chihiro stared the rain from the cerimony room of the dojo. She burned incense and held talismans in place. She hoped that Orochi’s passing to the other side to be peaceful. May the kamis guide her.
This rain felt colder and darker than normal. Maybe an omen for the next few months.
In the end, Chihiro wondered if Orochi would end in the same place as her father, and all of the dojo members…
The 108 stars shared beverages in their bar. Sasha drank to her heart’s content, while Umi got wasted on as much booze as she could possibly handle. Rui stared at her cup, not in the mood to drink.
Orochi would hate them if they gave in to the sadness, but despite the laughs and cheers of everyone who knew her, and remained in the gang, the sadness they felt was unbearable.
They would keep going, for the sake of Orochi’s dream, and to one day avenge her. Even if their cries were silent, even if they tried to cheer themselves up by drinking and partying, the sadness remained.
A shadow touched the bar’s window. They wanted to partake in the party of grief, but couldn’t do it. It was not their place anymore, and so, she vanished.