Post by LadyEvatrice on Mar 13, 2017 6:56:28 GMT
Are you tired of fluffy and silly fics of this one-sided ship? Then here's an angst-ridden Ryouhan fic that really dials up the Umineko idea of magic. I encourage you to listen to Lost Time Memory towards the end and Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac as you read this. What's meant by his tendency with names is that for only people he respects, Rohan uses honorifics for their names, but he addresses people he has little to no respect for with none at all, which is seen as rude.
A young man clutched his drawing tools, a notebook, and a white flower as he headed towards a bench next to a stone plaque. It was part of his weekly routine he'd developed recently to head out here and wait until the girl he was waiting for to show up. He'd been here enough times that he could easily draw the red spider lilies around the plaque without looking up for reference.
In contrast to his mood, the day was sunny with a chilly breeze. He took a seat on the bench and glared at the spider lilies out of habit, and then proceeded to sketch them out. After he had done a rough sketch of the flowers, he looked up to answer to his name being called. "You're back, Rohan-kun!"
The manga artist set his sketchbook down to size up the red-haired girl in front of him. "Ryouko-san, you could at least let me finish the shading before interrupting me," he remarked with a sigh. "But it's so like you to interrupt my work."
Ryouko sat herself on the bench next to Rohan. "That's for me, right? You sure are kind to me as of late." She touched the petals on the flower. "You got me a white carnation. I think they mean friendship in flower language?"
Rohan rested his head on his hand. "But of course. As much as I hate to admit it, you're my... friend. Who has no concept of my personal space. And I intend to keep meeting you like this, so a Higanbana isn't exactly appropriate. Now, I ask of you, tell me of what you saw on Ayashima," he said calmly as he flipped through a notebook he'd brought in addition to his art tools and the flower. "Even if you're foolish, you still have an eye for detail that nothing can rival."
Ryouko rested her head on his arm, prompting him to roll his eyes. "The portrait of the girl that your ancestor painted was in the main mansion, just as you thought it was. It was a large painting, too, and it gave off a feeling like she was haunting the room. There was a smaller copy of the painting in the guest house, and I got a room near the other detectives. I, naturally, used that duct tape method beforehand to make sure all the rooms stayed sealed by the time I checked them." She giggled before adding, "You know my observations not related to you in that notebook are Red Truth level, right? Why'd you never tell me about your magic?"
"You never asked, Ryouko-san," Rohan bemused, smiling for once. The notebook Ryouko was reading from levitated above his hands. "Your observations that don't pertain to me are extremely detailed and unbiased, save for your opinions, so any smart witch would know to elevate your notebook to Red Truth." Her hand brushed against his, and though his initial reaction was to jerk away, he begrudgingly let her hold his hand. "Tell me about your stand against the witch."
Ryouko gazed over at her notebook, and continued her narration. "So, after most of the people got killed in a ritualistic way, there were only a few of us left, naturally. The other detectives were kinda appalled at how callous I was about people getting murdered in a ritualistic manner, but you know me, Rohan-kun. Dead bodies like me. I carried around a scorpion pendant that the purple-haired chair gave me. That pendant seemed to repel the wannabe witch, and eventually, the blonde bimbo finally decided to show her face in front of me." She paused upon seeing Rohan laughing at her word choice. "I didn't write the maid's name down since I don't care about her enough to remember, and I don't have enough respect for Eli to properly address her."
"You've picked up on my tendency with names of people I don't like or care about, it seems," he quipped, eyes scanning over the journal. "You called the furniture a chair-damn, Ryouko-san, I need a moment to catch my breath." After a second, he looked at Ryouko with a grateful smile. "It's been a while since I felt that elated. Continue."
Ryouko twirled a piece of her hair on her finger. "So, this witch shows up, and she's not even wearing the dress in her portrait, oh no. She's wearing some sorta school girl uniform. Full 'here to cater to some sorta fetish' ensemble. And she's just like 'So it seems my ways of dealing with ordinary humans don't work on pieces chosen by the Voyagers.' And I introduce myself with a curtsy and go 'It's a please to meet you! My name is Ryouko Otonashi, and I'm a detective! Please welcome me to your little Hell!' And we began a really intense word battle in Meta. Which I'm sure you've written down and know how it went."
"Indeed." He stared into her eyes. "Well, you were right. I did miss you... when the new reports came on about Ayashima, a part of me wanted to hope that you were okay, even if I had said I wouldn't miss you. They recovered your notebook, so I figured you probably did survive. Because death may be interesting to write about, it's nothing you want to recover from."
Ryouko smiled at him. "I'm still here, though! You're able to talk with me, right?" She got to her feet. "And it's not like we're lovers, anyway, however much I desire it. Like the idea of marrying you just to be married to you and keep your admirers away."
Rohan observed her tangled red hair gently rustling in the wind as Ryouko stood with her back to him. "You're the only active person trying to court me." He added with a half sigh, "It's tough to deal with a tragedy. I try to cope with my tales, but that cat box level of uncertainty with Eli-san's massacre only makes it worse."
Ryouko turned on her heels and touched his face. "If we ever meet in Meta, I know that the me that's there will say 'I'm sorry I died. I couldn't keep our promise after all. Shall we say our goodbyes?' But it's okay to express your feelings with this me... since I'm just a projection in your mind, so you won't ever admit your feelings to the real me..."
He clenched his fists, fighting an urge to let his emotions well up in his eyes. "You dumbass, how dare you die on me...! You promised you'd come back, and I was starting to accept that we're friends! But you broke that promise...! All I have left is your notebook, your empty grave, and this delusion! Your own family doesn't visit you as often as I do!" He tried to grab the Ryouko before his eyes by her dress' collar, only to grasp at air. "You're my first friend, and I couldn't even enjoy it... Why I didn't ever make the most of our time together... Well, you won! I miss you still... Come back... Ryouko-san... You... made me feel human..."
The illusion of Ryouko kissed his forehead. "I'm always with you in my notebook, Rohan-kun... just open it up whenever you need me. I love you..." She faded away as drops began to fall. After a moment, he realized that it wasn't raining at all.
"You're really never coming home..." his voice cracked, and he turned to look at her grave. She hadn't lived to see the age of eighteen, and that realization hurt like a stab to the lung. He never left spider lilies at her grave-even being the bitter man he was, a small part of him hoped that they'd meet again, however much of a miracle it'd be. He rubbed at his eyes, gathered his items, and started back towards his home. It was a fairly uneventful walk, but upon returning, he got a call for an appointment about his Golden Witch books. "Ryouko-san, we'll have company soon. Let's put on some tea." He said to the air, pretending his friend was there with him. He held Ryouko's notebook with a dramatic flair.
He might have completely lost it by then, but Rohan swore he heard a voice say, "Right away, Rohan-kun!"
You can go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
Do I enjoy causing him (and people who read this) suffering? You bet I do.
A young man clutched his drawing tools, a notebook, and a white flower as he headed towards a bench next to a stone plaque. It was part of his weekly routine he'd developed recently to head out here and wait until the girl he was waiting for to show up. He'd been here enough times that he could easily draw the red spider lilies around the plaque without looking up for reference.
In contrast to his mood, the day was sunny with a chilly breeze. He took a seat on the bench and glared at the spider lilies out of habit, and then proceeded to sketch them out. After he had done a rough sketch of the flowers, he looked up to answer to his name being called. "You're back, Rohan-kun!"
The manga artist set his sketchbook down to size up the red-haired girl in front of him. "Ryouko-san, you could at least let me finish the shading before interrupting me," he remarked with a sigh. "But it's so like you to interrupt my work."
Ryouko sat herself on the bench next to Rohan. "That's for me, right? You sure are kind to me as of late." She touched the petals on the flower. "You got me a white carnation. I think they mean friendship in flower language?"
Rohan rested his head on his hand. "But of course. As much as I hate to admit it, you're my... friend. Who has no concept of my personal space. And I intend to keep meeting you like this, so a Higanbana isn't exactly appropriate. Now, I ask of you, tell me of what you saw on Ayashima," he said calmly as he flipped through a notebook he'd brought in addition to his art tools and the flower. "Even if you're foolish, you still have an eye for detail that nothing can rival."
Ryouko rested her head on his arm, prompting him to roll his eyes. "The portrait of the girl that your ancestor painted was in the main mansion, just as you thought it was. It was a large painting, too, and it gave off a feeling like she was haunting the room. There was a smaller copy of the painting in the guest house, and I got a room near the other detectives. I, naturally, used that duct tape method beforehand to make sure all the rooms stayed sealed by the time I checked them." She giggled before adding, "You know my observations not related to you in that notebook are Red Truth level, right? Why'd you never tell me about your magic?"
"You never asked, Ryouko-san," Rohan bemused, smiling for once. The notebook Ryouko was reading from levitated above his hands. "Your observations that don't pertain to me are extremely detailed and unbiased, save for your opinions, so any smart witch would know to elevate your notebook to Red Truth." Her hand brushed against his, and though his initial reaction was to jerk away, he begrudgingly let her hold his hand. "Tell me about your stand against the witch."
Ryouko gazed over at her notebook, and continued her narration. "So, after most of the people got killed in a ritualistic way, there were only a few of us left, naturally. The other detectives were kinda appalled at how callous I was about people getting murdered in a ritualistic manner, but you know me, Rohan-kun. Dead bodies like me. I carried around a scorpion pendant that the purple-haired chair gave me. That pendant seemed to repel the wannabe witch, and eventually, the blonde bimbo finally decided to show her face in front of me." She paused upon seeing Rohan laughing at her word choice. "I didn't write the maid's name down since I don't care about her enough to remember, and I don't have enough respect for Eli to properly address her."
"You've picked up on my tendency with names of people I don't like or care about, it seems," he quipped, eyes scanning over the journal. "You called the furniture a chair-damn, Ryouko-san, I need a moment to catch my breath." After a second, he looked at Ryouko with a grateful smile. "It's been a while since I felt that elated. Continue."
Ryouko twirled a piece of her hair on her finger. "So, this witch shows up, and she's not even wearing the dress in her portrait, oh no. She's wearing some sorta school girl uniform. Full 'here to cater to some sorta fetish' ensemble. And she's just like 'So it seems my ways of dealing with ordinary humans don't work on pieces chosen by the Voyagers.' And I introduce myself with a curtsy and go 'It's a please to meet you! My name is Ryouko Otonashi, and I'm a detective! Please welcome me to your little Hell!' And we began a really intense word battle in Meta. Which I'm sure you've written down and know how it went."
"Indeed." He stared into her eyes. "Well, you were right. I did miss you... when the new reports came on about Ayashima, a part of me wanted to hope that you were okay, even if I had said I wouldn't miss you. They recovered your notebook, so I figured you probably did survive. Because death may be interesting to write about, it's nothing you want to recover from."
Ryouko smiled at him. "I'm still here, though! You're able to talk with me, right?" She got to her feet. "And it's not like we're lovers, anyway, however much I desire it. Like the idea of marrying you just to be married to you and keep your admirers away."
Rohan observed her tangled red hair gently rustling in the wind as Ryouko stood with her back to him. "You're the only active person trying to court me." He added with a half sigh, "It's tough to deal with a tragedy. I try to cope with my tales, but that cat box level of uncertainty with Eli-san's massacre only makes it worse."
Ryouko turned on her heels and touched his face. "If we ever meet in Meta, I know that the me that's there will say 'I'm sorry I died. I couldn't keep our promise after all. Shall we say our goodbyes?' But it's okay to express your feelings with this me... since I'm just a projection in your mind, so you won't ever admit your feelings to the real me..."
He clenched his fists, fighting an urge to let his emotions well up in his eyes. "You dumbass, how dare you die on me...! You promised you'd come back, and I was starting to accept that we're friends! But you broke that promise...! All I have left is your notebook, your empty grave, and this delusion! Your own family doesn't visit you as often as I do!" He tried to grab the Ryouko before his eyes by her dress' collar, only to grasp at air. "You're my first friend, and I couldn't even enjoy it... Why I didn't ever make the most of our time together... Well, you won! I miss you still... Come back... Ryouko-san... You... made me feel human..."
The illusion of Ryouko kissed his forehead. "I'm always with you in my notebook, Rohan-kun... just open it up whenever you need me. I love you..." She faded away as drops began to fall. After a moment, he realized that it wasn't raining at all.
"You're really never coming home..." his voice cracked, and he turned to look at her grave. She hadn't lived to see the age of eighteen, and that realization hurt like a stab to the lung. He never left spider lilies at her grave-even being the bitter man he was, a small part of him hoped that they'd meet again, however much of a miracle it'd be. He rubbed at his eyes, gathered his items, and started back towards his home. It was a fairly uneventful walk, but upon returning, he got a call for an appointment about his Golden Witch books. "Ryouko-san, we'll have company soon. Let's put on some tea." He said to the air, pretending his friend was there with him. He held Ryouko's notebook with a dramatic flair.
He might have completely lost it by then, but Rohan swore he heard a voice say, "Right away, Rohan-kun!"
You can go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
Do I enjoy causing him (and people who read this) suffering? You bet I do.