Omori Oneshots and Potentially More

Cactiflower

This takes place after the neutral end so there will be angst.

Kel stared blankly down at the grave in front of him. He had so many thoughts and feelings swirling around inside of him and he wasn't sure what to do. He never knew what to do. Basil would still be here if he knew. Fresh tears began to build up. None of this was fair. The group was finally starting to reconnect and then everything was suddenly ripped away again. Kel should've done more. He should've tried harder to get Sunny out of the house sooner. He should've tried to bring the group together sooner. He should've defended Basil from Audrey more. He should've just been there for Basil more. He should've noticed something was wrong with him sooner. He should've stayed up that night. Basil would be here then. Kel tried to choke back a sob and wiped the tears from his eyes. It didn't do any good, fresh tears replaced the old ones. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." He pathetically mumbled. It was too late. Far too late for an apology. "I'm sorry Basil! I'm so sorry!" Yet that was all he could do. All he could do was apologize. Apologize to someone who was no longer able to hear it. "I'm sorry! I can't do anything right! I'm sorry I wasn't there!" He dropped to his knees in front of the grave and covered his face with his hands. He didn't bother trying to stop the tears anymore. He felt so miserable.

Kel wasn't sure how long he'd been there, crying and apologizing. But eventually he ran out of tears. There was nothing left and all he could do was sniffle and stare at the ground in front of him. He debated going back home but he couldn't. He'd have to see his parents' concerned faces. See the pained look in Hero's eyes. When Mari died, Kel faked being okay. It was hard at first but he got better at it. He had to be there for Hero. He had to be okay for his parents. He just had to be okay. Pretending this time felt much harder. Kel had a guess as to why but wanted to ignore it. Though maybe he deserved this. If he had figured out his feelings sooner than maybe Basil would still be here. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a few shaky breaths to steady himself. "I...I love you-" The tears that Kel thought had run out, came back with a vengeance and he sobbed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner! If I had been able to tell you sooner...maybe...maybe..." Kel trailed off as it became harder to stop his sobbing long enough to speak. Kel harshly wiped at his eyes. He couldn't keep crying like this. He didn't deserve to. This was his fault for not noticing anything sooner. Kel sighed and slowly stood up, he half-heartedly brushed the dirt off of his clothes. He needed to be there for the others. He had to put his emotions aside from them to avoid this from happening with anyone else. "Bye Basil...I'll take care of everyone. I'll do a good job this time, I promise." Kel stood there for a moment longer. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself before beginning to walk home.

When he got home he paused in front of the door. He took a few moments to make sure he was actually composed enough to face his family, he couldn't worry them anymore than he already had. He forced a shaky smile on his face. It wasn't perfect but it'd do the job for now. He'll just keep practicing until his fake smiles come as naturally as his real ones used to. He'd manage to do it before, he could do it again.