Greenwood Passage Chapter 2: A Less Bitter Ending, a here is greenwood fanfic

Writing is never an exact science, you are never really sure in the beginning just where the process will take your ideas. When I finished the first draft of Greenwood Passage, I was a little shocked by how tragic the ending had become. It was much more intense than I had originally conceived it. As is my wont, I set the story aside for a few days so I could come back and read it with fresh eyes.

During that time I had an idea for a different sort of ending, one that softened the blow and yet still taught a lesson about life and the pursuit of diversity. However when I went back and reread the draft again, I realized that the two endings had different lessons to teach. In the end I chose the original ending, but I thought that this might be the perfect place to present the other ending as well. I hope that you will find it interesting and will take with you it's own lesson. Consider this an alternative universe ending, if you will.

Greenwood Passage: A Less Bitter End

By Juliet Carnell

based on 'Koko wa Greenwood' by Yukie Nasu

"It will be another two hours before your train leaves young man," said the ticket agent, "There's a fast food place across the street if you don't want to wait around here."

"Thank you," Kioshi said taking the ticket and bowing slightly to the man behind the counter, "but I think I'll wait up on the platform. It's such a nice evening out."

"That it is. Have a nice trip and thank you for traveling with us."

Kioshi walked away looking at the ticket in his hand. He passed a trash bin and considered throwing the useless thing away, but then he realized that it needed to be found near him. He took out his wallet and slipped the ticket behind his school ID card. Seeing the name Ryokuto Academy printed across the top sent a wave of mixed emotions through him.

He hated having been forced to go to an all boys school. It was torture and he felt that his father had known that it would be torture for him all along. Living at Greenwood was more uncomfortable than he could bear sometimes, but he had also made a friend that he would miss terribly.

He stood staring at the train schedule board. He didn't actually need to check it because he had already reproduced it in his diary, but he had to do something to fill up the time he had left. The train for home wouldn't arrive on track one for another two hours, but the one that held his destiny tonight was due to arrive on track three in just twenty minutes.

He had planed it out a week ago. The final chapter of his story had come together when Mitsuru-sempai had told him that a ghost had cursed Shun into looking like a girl. Kioshi had seen through the joke immediately, but the idea had sparked his imagination and given him the perfect ending for his own tragic tale.

He climbed the stairs slowly. It was funny to think that he would never walk back down them again. He stepped out onto platform number three and saw a short boy standing between him and the platform's edge. He froze when he recognized Shun's roommate!

"Hasukawa-sempai? What are you…"

Kioshi saw movement to both his left and right. From one end of the platform the student council president was walking towards him while the president's roommate was approaching from the other end.

"Tezuka-sempai… Ikeda-sempai..."

"What are you doing here Kioshi-kun?" Kazuya asked, "Don't you know it's after curfew."

"I'm going home. My parents came back from Europe this week."

"Only local trains use this platform," Shinobu said, "you're a smart kid, you should know that."

"I…I must have made a mistake."

"Your mistake," said Mitsuru, "was thinking you could keep a secret while living in a dormitory."

"W…what are you talking about? Why are you all here?"

"Shun-chan asked us to look after you until he got back," Mitsuru said with a grin.

"And that's exactly what they have been doing for me." Kioshi whipped his head around at the sound of a feminine voice coming from behind him. Standing at the top of the staircase was his friend Shun. "Kio-chan why didn't you just tell me what you were feeling? Why did you have to put it all in this thing instead?"

Kioshi stared in dismay as Shun reached into his jacket and pulled out a familiar black cloth covered notebook with a red binding. "How did you get that?"

"You left it in my room for me, didn't you?"

"B...but you're not supposed to be back until next week."

Kazuya coughed, "I may have mentioned that you'd added a few more pages this week when Shun called to check up on you."

Mitsuru chimed in, "You see we've been faxing pages of your manga to Shun-chan all summer long."

"As well as distributing copies to just about everybody at Greenwood," added a smiling Shinobu, "for a price, of course."

"You didn't! You couldn't! That's my private diary, you don't have the right!"

"That's funny, I seem to remember that the author's name is Kioko," Mitsuru said as he closed the distance with Kioshi. Stepping in really close he looked the tall boy directly in the eyes and asked, "Unless of course, you are Sakamoto Kioko?"

As he touched Kioshi's arm Shun said softly, "I can't say I fully understand what you are going through Kio-chan, but I want to help you. We all do, that's what friends are for."

"And we are not letting you step in front of any trains tonight," Kazuya said sternly.

"Instead I'm afraid we are going to insist that you get on that train for Nagoya," Mitsuru added.

"Kio-chan, the people that really need to read this book are your parents," said Shun, "not us."

"But they won't listen," cried Kioshi nearly in tears, "They never listen to me. All they care about is having a son to take over the business."

"And you think that I don't understand that," said Shun, "Let me tell you about my summer vacation. Being paraded around one business meeting after another by my mother dressed in matching yukatas with orchids in my hair."

Kazuya grinned, he couldn't quite imagine Shun being all that upset over wearing a summer yukata and having flowers in his hair.

"You would think now that I have a little sister, Mom would ease up on me. But no, she wants to retire early so that means I'm still on the hook to become the 'woman' in charge someday. The thing is, Kio-chan, I don't let it get to me. When I'm away from home I'm free to just be myself. Whether I want to act like a boy or a girl, I just do it and everyone at Greenwood accepts me for that."

"And they'll accept you for who you are as well," said Shinobu, "If you'll just start acting like yourself instead of moping around like some martyr just because your dad threw out your clothes and made you get a haircut."

"Go see your parents," Mitsuru said, "Take as long as you need to get this thing settled with them. We'll cover for you until you get back."

"Tell them what almost happened tonight," Shun said handing Kioshi the manga diary, "let them know that you have friends now who won't let it happen. Then come back and show us the real Kio-chan."

"I don't know if I can," Kioshi said with tears streaming down his cheeks, "but… but I'll try."

"Good," said Shun smiling, "and to help you get started I brought you some souvenirs from our branch in Harajuku." He held out a couple of shopping bags. When Kioshi looked inside one he saw a pair of designer jeans, a pink t-shirt and a light blue hooded sweater. When he looked in the other one he gasped, "Oh no I couldn't! My dad would kill me!"

"Then take it off before you get home. Come on, let's go to the restroom and try them on. I can't wait to see what Kioko-chan really looks like." Shun was as excited as a middle school girl on a touchy feely run.

o o o

"So is this what they call an intervention?" asked Kazuya as he, Shinobu and Mitsuru waited for Shun and Kioshi outside the restroom.

"That's what it's called when it works," said Shinobu, "when it doesn't, it's called meddling."

"Do you think he would have really jumped in front of a train?"

"Someone doesn't go to this much trouble just for art," said Mitsuru, "Besides, Kio-chan has some serious problems to work out with his parents and with himself. This isn't over yet Suka-chan."

"If we can get him on the train with the book," Shinobu said analytically, "I think he'll be all right for the time being. It was a good idea of Shun's to get him out of that uniform for a while."

"I wonder what he'll look like?" asked Kazuya, "I mean Shun looks good in girl's clothes naturally, but Kioshi's so…"

Kazuya stopped in mid-sentence and was staring slack jawed at the restroom entrance. Shinobu and Mitsuru turned to see what had captured his attention. Standing there with a bright smile was a strikingly tall woman with long black hair. Shun stood to one side with a grin running from ear to ear. Looking much older than his 14 years, Kioshi could have easily passed as Shun's older sister.

"Not bad Kio-chan," said a grinning Mitsuru, "I don't think I could have done any better myself."

"That's a compliment," Shinobu said, "he actually won an award for dressing up like a girl."

"How does it feel to have long hair again?" asked Mitsuru.

"Wonderful!" responded Kioshi. He blushed at his own enthusiasm, but everyone noticed that for once he wasn't slouching. "I've never tried on a wig before. How does it look?"

Kioshi put one hand up to his head and twisted around so that they could see it from the back. The movement was so fluid and natural that the three boys did a double take. Even Shun didn't do things that looked that feminine.

"It looks great," Kazuya said, "Was your hair that long before?"

"No, it was much longer," Kioshi said with a hint of sadness, "but this still feels good. Will it really be okay if I wear this around the dorm?"

"Sure," piped up Shun, who had just been standing there enjoying the show, "but be prepared to get noticed. Take it from me, looking the way you do now is definitely going attract some attention."

Shinobu looked at his watch, "We still have over an hour before your train leaves. I saw a snack place across the street, what do you say we try out your new look on the patrons and then get something to eat?"

"Do I really have to go home tonight?" Kioshi asked dejectedly.

"I think it's the best thing for you to do," said Mitsuru, "putting it off will only make it harder. Right now you have the advantage of being at the top of your class, so your father can't use your grades against you. Besides, after what you tried to pull tonight we're not about to let you go back to an empty dorm room."

"Come on Kio-chan," said Shun, "Let's get something to eat and we can talk about the best way to break this to your parents."

Kioshi nodded, "Okay, I am a little hungry. I didn't see much point in eating dinner."

He and Shun locked arms and walked off towards the station entrance. Mitsuru and Shinobu turned to follow, but Kazuya held back.

"What is it Suka-chan?" asked Mitsuru.

"I just don't get it," Kazuya said.

"What's that?"

"He was going to kill himself tonight. I'd be a nervous wreck if you guys had stopped me from jumping in front of a train, but he's acting like it never happened."

"That's why we can't let him out of our sight just yet," said Shinobu, "he's still prepared to do it."

"What?"

"You'd be a nervous wreck because you're afraid to die," said Mitsuru, "but Kio-chan is still afraid to live."

END

All characters in this story are a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental.

This work is copyright © 2006 by Juliet Carnell, it is not public domain and all rights are reserved. This work is not for publication. This work may not be reproduced, distributed or sold in any format or media. This work may not be included in any collection without the express written permission of the author. The reader may make one printed or electronic copy of this work for personal use.