The man screamed as he woke up. Where the hell was he? He tried to catch his breath as he looked out of the window to get his bearings. He seemed to be lying in a bed in some sort of cabin, and could see a lush green field outside. He was wearing his usual attire. Red coat. Blue shirt. Yellow tie. Light blue jeans.
His memory was still fuzzy. “This is…”
He could hear footsteps approaching. He did not look to see who it was, and continued gazing out of the window. He imagined his afro may need some fluffing up if he had just awoken. “I’m so glad you’re awake,” a woman said. “I’m just a mountain girl. My name is Kumikumi. Here’s some warm soup.”
He paid no attention to her words. He had not even bothered to look over at her yet. His expression became somewhat glazed as he struggled to remember what had happened to him. “’Continue’, is it?” he said to himself. He was unsure why he would say that, but it seemed to have some importance, as if in his confused state his mind was open to things he should not yet understand.
Then he remembered. He had gone to rescue her, and had failed her. He had failed her in every possible way. He would never again look into her deep eyes, or caress her long golden hair, or hear her sweet, manly voice. She had died in his arms.
“Tetsuko…” he whispered.
The mountain girl was still standing there. “Come now, your soup will get cold,” she said.
He began to turn around.
“Yeah, thank…”
He saw her and what she was holding.
With a sudden, horrified, sharp intake of breath, he was off like a flash, screaming and running into the mountains. She was hot on his tail, still holding the bowl, yelling, “Wait! The soup!”
And so Nabeshin ran from Kumikumi, the woman who would someday be his bride. The woman whom he would raise a daughter with, and share something of a happy life with, until he and his wife would meet their early and tragic demise.
His memory was still fuzzy. “This is…”
He could hear footsteps approaching. He did not look to see who it was, and continued gazing out of the window. He imagined his afro may need some fluffing up if he had just awoken. “I’m so glad you’re awake,” a woman said. “I’m just a mountain girl. My name is Kumikumi. Here’s some warm soup.”
He paid no attention to her words. He had not even bothered to look over at her yet. His expression became somewhat glazed as he struggled to remember what had happened to him. “’Continue’, is it?” he said to himself. He was unsure why he would say that, but it seemed to have some importance, as if in his confused state his mind was open to things he should not yet understand.
Then he remembered. He had gone to rescue her, and had failed her. He had failed her in every possible way. He would never again look into her deep eyes, or caress her long golden hair, or hear her sweet, manly voice. She had died in his arms.
“Tetsuko…” he whispered.
The mountain girl was still standing there. “Come now, your soup will get cold,” she said.
He began to turn around.
“Yeah, thank…”
He saw her and what she was holding.
With a sudden, horrified, sharp intake of breath, he was off like a flash, screaming and running into the mountains. She was hot on his tail, still holding the bowl, yelling, “Wait! The soup!”
And so Nabeshin ran from Kumikumi, the woman who would someday be his bride. The woman whom he would raise a daughter with, and share something of a happy life with, until he and his wife would meet their early and tragic demise.
EPILOGUE
by Matthew Atanian
©2006 by Matthew Atanian
by Matthew Atanian
©2006 by Matthew Atanian
Matthew Atanian lay peacefully in his bed. Now, he could rest.
The great work was done. The story was told. The last sentence was written. The last disclaimer followed it. The website had had its final update.
Boy Scouts ½ was complete.
It had taken him nine long years. He had had the help of many people. There had been many successes and failures along the way. There had been long stretches between stories, when the characters would run around his head and scream at him, telling him, “You’re not done with us yet! When are you going to finish our story!” Fans, too, had demanded more. (Fans! Never thought he would have those!)
There were personal losses along the way, too.
Mike… he still missed working with Mike. He had been a great writing partner. He hadn’t spoken much to Mike, lately. Hopefully someday they would talk on a semi-regular basis, again. There was nothing really stopping them.
Aaron… Well, Aaron’s departure hurt when it happened, but if one was to be honest, Matt didn’t dwell much on it these days. These days, he felt much closer to the character of Aaron then he did to his memories of the actual person. Not that he wished Aaron ill, or would turn him away if he ever showed up out of the blue wanting to chat. But it wasn’t as if he felt the void he still sometimes felt at the thought of Mike.
And Nikki… He had never met her in person, but he had loved her. And for a time, he had thought she loved him. Perhaps she did. He didn’t like to think otherwise, couldn’t think it possible of her. They had met because of Boy Scouts ½. They had shared some fun times (albeit online or on the phone.) She had even helped in the writing of a story. But it would seem it had not been meant to last. He still thought of her now and then. Mind you, not in an, “I wish we were still together, my life is incomplete with out her!” kind of way. Far from it. More a kind of, “I wonder how she’s doing,” kind of way. He had tried talking to her once or twice since they split up, but alas it always seemed awkward as such things tend to be. Still, he did wish her well.
But for the losses, there were also great gains.
He did have the fans. Never thought he would have those. Still kind of shocked him any time he thought of that. He was sure he didn’t have as many as he once had. (The effects of a two year gap between stories!) But he did have a few loyal hangers-on, and a few new ones seemed to pop up every once in a while. But the fans were not his greatest gains, to be sure.
Hughes had come in and helped fill the void created by Mike’s loss to the writing team. It had been hell sometimes to get him to finish, but such things were old hat to Matt. (Well, maybe not really hell... But Matt supposed he could be a tad impatient sometimes with contributing writers.) He had been a welcome addition to the team.
Probably his greatest gain that could be directly attributable to Boy Scouts ½ was the friendship he shared with Jason Bertovich. Jason was a good man, and had helped introduce Matt to the wonderful world of Anime conventions. He also helped expand the Boy Scouts ½ universe with his own additions – some prosperous (such as the Perspectives series) and some… well… less so (such as the ill-fated Outlast.) Matt hadn’t really talked to Jason as much in recent years, which he regretted. They still shared the occasional IM. He would definitely have to IM the ol’ smeghead one of these days. He’d always regard Jason as a friend.
Although not directly attributable to Boy Scouts ½, his greatest gain in these past nine years had been shown his website before they had met. And, his meeting her, while not really attributable to BS½, was indirectly attributable to his being in the Boy Scouts. He was friends, of course, with the son of the camp ranger, Jim “The one with the red hair?” Anderson. Through Jim he had met Jen. Matt had once bet Jen dinner that he’d probably be single for the rest of his life. That was one bet he was glad to loose when Jen had introduced him to Jessi.
And… well… in her own way, Jessi had become a part of Boy Scouts ½. She had done some artwork inspired by the series. And she even wrote a story. Well… wrote it after much procrastination to the point where she put Mike’s deadline-defying exploits to shame, and finely after a rather expensive bribe (something she had wanted very much, and he had been wanting to buy for her anyway, but adding the condition of, “Finish the story and you get it!” certainly helped to expedite things) she presented the story to him with the exclamation of, “Never again!”
Never again… These words drifted through his mind as he lost consciousness. Boy Scouts ½ was complete. A great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was at peace at last. Never again…
Matthew K. Atanian was dreaming.
At least, he was pretty sure he was. His mind was muddled. It was like his thoughts were swimming upstream, against the currents of his consciousness. He found it slightly hard to concentrate. Still, he could think clearly enough to fixate on two aspects of his environment that pointed towards the conclusion that he was dreaming.
The first was his present environment itself. It was completely featureless. Matt looked around, taking in everything, and all he saw was inky blackness. Everywhere, just... nothing. He could feel stable ground beneath his feet, but when he looked down, he looked down into emptiness.
The second strange aspect of this experience was the figure walking toward him out of the darkness. Well, perhaps walking wasn't the right word. Matt couldn't see any clear figure, only a shimmering outline that grew a little bigger and a little more distinct over time, as if it were travelling towards him.
“You know,” Matt said to himself as he watched the figure approach, “This seems an awful lot like something Mike would have written.” He looked at the figure a moment more. “If that is Jimmy Carter again, I’m going to kill him for encouraging G.W. to run.”
But it wasn’t Jimmy Carter. Or Jimmy Stewart. Or Guy Makihashi and Toro Watanabe.
It was a different Watanabe, though.
Matt stared open-mouthed and agog as he recognized the red sport coat over the blue shirt and the yellow tie. And, of course, the afro. ‘Tis not often you see a Japanese man with a huge afro.
“Nabeshin?” he asked.
“How’s it going?” came the reply.
“What are you doing here?” Matt asked.
“I’m here to give you a message as the Patron Saint of Self-Insertion. (And I don’t mean anything naughty by that.)”
Matt blinked. “The what?”
“After I died, I was installed as a saint,” Nabeshin said.
“You’re not dead,” Matt insisted. “I’m sure I’d have herd on AnimeOnDVD.com if you were!”
“Oh, the real me isn’t dead,” Nabeshin said. “I’m the character me. You know, like how you are the real you, and in Boy Scouts ½ there is the character you.”
Matt nodded, doing his best to follow along. “When you died in episode one of Puni Puni Poemy?” he asked.
Nabeshin nodded.
“My condolences on your death. I was sad when I heard about it. Still have to see Puni Puni Poemy, though.”
“Hope you enjoy it. I poured my heart and soul into it.”
“If half of what I heard about it making Excel Saga look tame is true, then I am sure it will.” Matt paused. “So, what is this message?”
“You’re very important to us up there,” Nabeshin said. “Your soul shines out across the heavens and burns brightly in the night.”
“Important? Why?”
“For god’s sake, man, I am the Patron Saint of Self-Insertion.”
“Makes sense, I suppose. I mean, here I am, I just wrote some stupid stories with myself as a main character. Buy you… you directed a major anime and fragrantly inserted yourself into the storyline. In fact, it could be argued that you totally usurped the main story since it was you and Pedro who defeated the main villain in the anime version.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, my friend. You are the true King on Earth of Self-Insertion. No one else comes close, except perhaps your pal Jason. But aside from his work with you, he tends to shy away from too much of the ol’ S. I. You rule, man! You write nothing but Self-Insertion.”
“There must be others who do that.”
“Yes, there are! But you… you make it good! And you also try to make it accessible to the masses, rather then some inside joke that only you and a few friends would get.”
“Oh, I’ve told a few of those, I’m sure,” Matt’s modesty forced him to say.
“True, but you never let them overshadow the story too much. You are, indeed, the S. I. King.”
“So… what do you want?”
“A long time ago, I received a message. I don’t know from where it came, and at the time I knew not what it meant. But now… now I know what it meant. And I know for who it is intended.”
Nabeshin grabbed Matt by the shoulders and looked him squarely in the eyes. “It was intended for you,” he said.
“M… me?”
“And the message was… ‘Continue.’”
“Continue?”
“Yes!” Nabeshin bellowed powerfully. “Continue!”
Nabeshin flew up into the air. He extended his arms towards Matt, and yellow electricity shot forth from his fingertips. The electricity enveloped Matt. “I will give you the power!” Nabeshin continued. “The power to continue!”
Matt screamed as he woke up. Where the hell was he? He tried to catch his breath as he looked up at the poster on the ceiling.
It was morning. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. Ah, yes. He was in his bedroom.
That was some dream! Well, to hell with it. Boy Scouts ½ was done. Now he could rest.
He got up, carefully so as not to wake Jessi, and walked out to the bathroom to get a glass of water from the sink. He looked up at the mirror and gazed at his reflection. It took him a minute or two to comprehend what he was seeing, and when he did he dropped the little paper cup he was holding and spilled the water on himself.
(Of course, this being the real Matt, no transformation took place.)
He gazed at the mirror for a long time. “’Continue’, is it?” he said at last.
And continue he would. But first… first he would have to go and get a haircut.
The great work was done. The story was told. The last sentence was written. The last disclaimer followed it. The website had had its final update.
Boy Scouts ½ was complete.
It had taken him nine long years. He had had the help of many people. There had been many successes and failures along the way. There had been long stretches between stories, when the characters would run around his head and scream at him, telling him, “You’re not done with us yet! When are you going to finish our story!” Fans, too, had demanded more. (Fans! Never thought he would have those!)
There were personal losses along the way, too.
Mike… he still missed working with Mike. He had been a great writing partner. He hadn’t spoken much to Mike, lately. Hopefully someday they would talk on a semi-regular basis, again. There was nothing really stopping them.
Aaron… Well, Aaron’s departure hurt when it happened, but if one was to be honest, Matt didn’t dwell much on it these days. These days, he felt much closer to the character of Aaron then he did to his memories of the actual person. Not that he wished Aaron ill, or would turn him away if he ever showed up out of the blue wanting to chat. But it wasn’t as if he felt the void he still sometimes felt at the thought of Mike.
And Nikki… He had never met her in person, but he had loved her. And for a time, he had thought she loved him. Perhaps she did. He didn’t like to think otherwise, couldn’t think it possible of her. They had met because of Boy Scouts ½. They had shared some fun times (albeit online or on the phone.) She had even helped in the writing of a story. But it would seem it had not been meant to last. He still thought of her now and then. Mind you, not in an, “I wish we were still together, my life is incomplete with out her!” kind of way. Far from it. More a kind of, “I wonder how she’s doing,” kind of way. He had tried talking to her once or twice since they split up, but alas it always seemed awkward as such things tend to be. Still, he did wish her well.
But for the losses, there were also great gains.
He did have the fans. Never thought he would have those. Still kind of shocked him any time he thought of that. He was sure he didn’t have as many as he once had. (The effects of a two year gap between stories!) But he did have a few loyal hangers-on, and a few new ones seemed to pop up every once in a while. But the fans were not his greatest gains, to be sure.
Hughes had come in and helped fill the void created by Mike’s loss to the writing team. It had been hell sometimes to get him to finish, but such things were old hat to Matt. (Well, maybe not really hell... But Matt supposed he could be a tad impatient sometimes with contributing writers.) He had been a welcome addition to the team.
Probably his greatest gain that could be directly attributable to Boy Scouts ½ was the friendship he shared with Jason Bertovich. Jason was a good man, and had helped introduce Matt to the wonderful world of Anime conventions. He also helped expand the Boy Scouts ½ universe with his own additions – some prosperous (such as the Perspectives series) and some… well… less so (such as the ill-fated Outlast.) Matt hadn’t really talked to Jason as much in recent years, which he regretted. They still shared the occasional IM. He would definitely have to IM the ol’ smeghead one of these days. He’d always regard Jason as a friend.
Although not directly attributable to Boy Scouts ½, his greatest gain in these past nine years had been shown his website before they had met. And, his meeting her, while not really attributable to BS½, was indirectly attributable to his being in the Boy Scouts. He was friends, of course, with the son of the camp ranger, Jim “The one with the red hair?” Anderson. Through Jim he had met Jen. Matt had once bet Jen dinner that he’d probably be single for the rest of his life. That was one bet he was glad to loose when Jen had introduced him to Jessi.
And… well… in her own way, Jessi had become a part of Boy Scouts ½. She had done some artwork inspired by the series. And she even wrote a story. Well… wrote it after much procrastination to the point where she put Mike’s deadline-defying exploits to shame, and finely after a rather expensive bribe (something she had wanted very much, and he had been wanting to buy for her anyway, but adding the condition of, “Finish the story and you get it!” certainly helped to expedite things) she presented the story to him with the exclamation of, “Never again!”
Never again… These words drifted through his mind as he lost consciousness. Boy Scouts ½ was complete. A great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was at peace at last. Never again…
Matthew K. Atanian was dreaming.
At least, he was pretty sure he was. His mind was muddled. It was like his thoughts were swimming upstream, against the currents of his consciousness. He found it slightly hard to concentrate. Still, he could think clearly enough to fixate on two aspects of his environment that pointed towards the conclusion that he was dreaming.
The first was his present environment itself. It was completely featureless. Matt looked around, taking in everything, and all he saw was inky blackness. Everywhere, just... nothing. He could feel stable ground beneath his feet, but when he looked down, he looked down into emptiness.
The second strange aspect of this experience was the figure walking toward him out of the darkness. Well, perhaps walking wasn't the right word. Matt couldn't see any clear figure, only a shimmering outline that grew a little bigger and a little more distinct over time, as if it were travelling towards him.
“You know,” Matt said to himself as he watched the figure approach, “This seems an awful lot like something Mike would have written.” He looked at the figure a moment more. “If that is Jimmy Carter again, I’m going to kill him for encouraging G.W. to run.”
But it wasn’t Jimmy Carter. Or Jimmy Stewart. Or Guy Makihashi and Toro Watanabe.
It was a different Watanabe, though.
Matt stared open-mouthed and agog as he recognized the red sport coat over the blue shirt and the yellow tie. And, of course, the afro. ‘Tis not often you see a Japanese man with a huge afro.
“Nabeshin?” he asked.
“How’s it going?” came the reply.
“What are you doing here?” Matt asked.
“I’m here to give you a message as the Patron Saint of Self-Insertion. (And I don’t mean anything naughty by that.)”
Matt blinked. “The what?”
“After I died, I was installed as a saint,” Nabeshin said.
“You’re not dead,” Matt insisted. “I’m sure I’d have herd on AnimeOnDVD.com if you were!”
“Oh, the real me isn’t dead,” Nabeshin said. “I’m the character me. You know, like how you are the real you, and in Boy Scouts ½ there is the character you.”
Matt nodded, doing his best to follow along. “When you died in episode one of Puni Puni Poemy?” he asked.
Nabeshin nodded.
“My condolences on your death. I was sad when I heard about it. Still have to see Puni Puni Poemy, though.”
“Hope you enjoy it. I poured my heart and soul into it.”
“If half of what I heard about it making Excel Saga look tame is true, then I am sure it will.” Matt paused. “So, what is this message?”
“You’re very important to us up there,” Nabeshin said. “Your soul shines out across the heavens and burns brightly in the night.”
“Important? Why?”
“For god’s sake, man, I am the Patron Saint of Self-Insertion.”
“Makes sense, I suppose. I mean, here I am, I just wrote some stupid stories with myself as a main character. Buy you… you directed a major anime and fragrantly inserted yourself into the storyline. In fact, it could be argued that you totally usurped the main story since it was you and Pedro who defeated the main villain in the anime version.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, my friend. You are the true King on Earth of Self-Insertion. No one else comes close, except perhaps your pal Jason. But aside from his work with you, he tends to shy away from too much of the ol’ S. I. You rule, man! You write nothing but Self-Insertion.”
“There must be others who do that.”
“Yes, there are! But you… you make it good! And you also try to make it accessible to the masses, rather then some inside joke that only you and a few friends would get.”
“Oh, I’ve told a few of those, I’m sure,” Matt’s modesty forced him to say.
“True, but you never let them overshadow the story too much. You are, indeed, the S. I. King.”
“So… what do you want?”
“A long time ago, I received a message. I don’t know from where it came, and at the time I knew not what it meant. But now… now I know what it meant. And I know for who it is intended.”
Nabeshin grabbed Matt by the shoulders and looked him squarely in the eyes. “It was intended for you,” he said.
“M… me?”
“And the message was… ‘Continue.’”
“Continue?”
“Yes!” Nabeshin bellowed powerfully. “Continue!”
Nabeshin flew up into the air. He extended his arms towards Matt, and yellow electricity shot forth from his fingertips. The electricity enveloped Matt. “I will give you the power!” Nabeshin continued. “The power to continue!”
Matt screamed as he woke up. Where the hell was he? He tried to catch his breath as he looked up at the poster on the ceiling.
It was morning. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. Ah, yes. He was in his bedroom.
That was some dream! Well, to hell with it. Boy Scouts ½ was done. Now he could rest.
He got up, carefully so as not to wake Jessi, and walked out to the bathroom to get a glass of water from the sink. He looked up at the mirror and gazed at his reflection. It took him a minute or two to comprehend what he was seeing, and when he did he dropped the little paper cup he was holding and spilled the water on himself.
(Of course, this being the real Matt, no transformation took place.)
He gazed at the mirror for a long time. “’Continue’, is it?” he said at last.
And continue he would. But first… first he would have to go and get a haircut.
Author's Notes & Disclaimers
I have been sitting on this story for about two and a half years. Yup. First wrote this epilogue in 2003! It held up pretty well. Had to make a few minor changes. Added a paragraph about Hughes’s involvement, removed a reference to Jessi being at college with Jim Anderson, added a bit about not waking Jessi, changed reference of Boy Scouts ½ having taken seven years to nine years. Little things like that.
Not much to disclaim here, other then Nabishin. The opening bit (complete with a random, “’Continue,’ is it?” is taken directly from an episode of Excel Saga. This is an anime series that was directed by Watanabe Shinichi based on a manga by Koshi Rikudo.
There was no character of Nabeshin in the manga, but director Watanabe Shinichi inserted him most prominently into the anime version, voicing the character himself.
And you know, after all this time, I still need to watch Puni Puni Poemy. Jessi begged me to get it so we could watch it. I didn’t want to have to re-write that bit of the story. She said I could leave the story as it is, and that none of the readers would know the difference. But I have my integrity! I suppose I should get it now.
Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed Boy Scouts ½ over the years. For those who have stuck through it even over the occasional long hiatus, thanks for your patience. For those who are newer to Boy Scouts ½, welcome aboard and I hope you enjoyed it. I did write this thing (or have others write bits for me) mainly for my own enjoyment, but I will admit that it always felt good when others enjoyed it.
And so now we have come to the end. But it is only the end of the beginning. For although I shall probably take a bit of time off (and by a bit, I assure you I do not mean a few years!), I shall continue!
So soon I shall return to you all with the first episode of…
Not much to disclaim here, other then Nabishin. The opening bit (complete with a random, “’Continue,’ is it?” is taken directly from an episode of Excel Saga. This is an anime series that was directed by Watanabe Shinichi based on a manga by Koshi Rikudo.
There was no character of Nabeshin in the manga, but director Watanabe Shinichi inserted him most prominently into the anime version, voicing the character himself.
And you know, after all this time, I still need to watch Puni Puni Poemy. Jessi begged me to get it so we could watch it. I didn’t want to have to re-write that bit of the story. She said I could leave the story as it is, and that none of the readers would know the difference. But I have my integrity! I suppose I should get it now.
Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed Boy Scouts ½ over the years. For those who have stuck through it even over the occasional long hiatus, thanks for your patience. For those who are newer to Boy Scouts ½, welcome aboard and I hope you enjoyed it. I did write this thing (or have others write bits for me) mainly for my own enjoyment, but I will admit that it always felt good when others enjoyed it.
And so now we have come to the end. But it is only the end of the beginning. For although I shall probably take a bit of time off (and by a bit, I assure you I do not mean a few years!), I shall continue!
So soon I shall return to you all with the first episode of…
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