WEEK TWO: REMOVAL

[retellers]

WEEK TWO: REMOVAL (35 remain) Time to wake up, participants of the Realm. At 8am, everyone will receive a message on their PHS. Howling Rose at 9 AM. Even if the participants ignore the message (or are sleeping in, shame on them), as 9am approaches they will fall victim to a compulsion to head to the specified location. Three Leaders, Wolf, Fox, and Rabbit, are already present, Shima with them. Fox speaks. "... You know what's coming. I'm sorry." Once they finish speaking, an alert goes off from a PHS in the crowd—specifically, Izumo's. Her PHS displays a simple message. You hav̨e been se̴l͏e͢ct̀e͠d͞ ̶t͘o̢ re͏mo̡ve Renzou Shima. Regardless of her will, she will feel compelled to walk towards the scene. No other participant will be able to interfere; should they try, a barrier blocks their way, though it won't harm them.

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Comments

[sacredchants]

[ she never even bothered to resist the phs once her name was called or is really surprised this happened. it's just her luck, you know? her first week here, the last week, and now? funny. it's hilarious. the sword in her hand is a joke and she doesn't even bother to move her hand to gauge it—it's just dead weight on her hand. she has an idea of how this will end and it's all unnecessary.

shima may be smiling, but there's not a single whisper of any kind of smile on her face. "izumo, you look so much cuter when you smile!" right. her body feels drained and she feels sick. though, what's truly disgusting is what's standing before her right now: a reflection that she hates. her voice is flat, cold as she speaks. ]

Is that really what you want your last words to be?

[yamantaka]

Hmm, does it really matter what my last words are?

[ his eyes glance downwards at the sword in her hands. she could do so much worse, if she wanted to. but it stays in her hand at her side. it's... something. he doesn't really know what. shima won't ask her to smile, not right now, even when she's definitely so much cuter when she does.

he turns around, facing away from izumo and takes his first step onto the plank. the board wobbles with his weight and he pauses, waiting for it to steady. ]

Ahhh, I suppose if I wanted to, I could say something about my family! About any messages I wanted to send them, but I don't think what I say will matter in the end.

[ another step ]

[sacredchants]

[ what is it about shima that just pisses her off so readily? it's not like he said anything offensive, but she's set off. her frozen exterior melts into a low simmering rage. the board wobbles, he takes his next forward, and izumo still find herself rooted in place with the most useless sword in her hand. why did they even give her this?

this was only ever going to end one way. ]

Even someone like you deserves some final words.

[ which is precisely why she hates what comes out of his mouth. this person standing in front of her is everything she hates and then some. is this really how he wants to behave at the end? ]

And this is how you're going to be? [ sharpness in her voice as she seethes, her feet not moving as her shoulders tense. ] You're going to keep on lying? You were so proud of yourself yesterday.

[yamantaka]

It was a pretty good job, all things considered! I probably could have changed things up more, but what more could I do?

[ they're alike and different, in the end. in izumo, shima can see so much of himself and yet, this scene also shows just how different they are. oh, if things were different-- if they had their familiars, they could really put on a spectacle for everyone to see.but sadly that's not the case for them now. it's just izumo with a sword and shima walking across a wooden board over the edge of the ship.

is she really removing him? ]

But I suppose I could think of some final words, if that would make you happy, Izumo-chan!

[ he takes a couple more steps, reaching almost midway across the plank. ]

[sacredchants]

[ happy? there he goes again, pissing her off. ]

None of this makes me happy! [ her voice climbing in volumes the further he goes out on the plank. her body starting to tremble. ] I hate you but I would never want this for you.

[ and with that she finally lifts her hand with the sword up in the air with her hand shaking. for a moment it looks like she might throw it at him and maybe, briefly, she considers it too, but instead she turns away and only to throw it into the ocean. a splash can be heard as it hits the water.

no, absolutely not. she's not going to be responsible for this even though there's no other option for her. rather, he's taking that option from her. she hates him. she hates how he keeps doing this for her. ]

[yamantaka]

[ he turns his head back and watches as that sword flies out of her hand, head following the path before the blade eventually lands into the water, sinking below the waves. he's quiet, eyes still locked on the spot where the water swallowed the pirate blade.

shima turns back to izumo and looks at her for a longer moment. he never really gives her choices, does he? he just decides and she has to live with what he does. ]

I thought, because of everything, you would never want to see me again. But again, I guess this is all too much, isn't it?

[ another couple steps, getting closer to the edge ]

[sacredchants]

[ it is too much, but how can she put that into words? saying them simply would be too easy and far too forward for her. it'd leave her open and at the will of any kind of response... no. she could never. maybe, in a future, she could be better at saying what she wants to. maybe. for now, as he gets closer to the edge of the plank, she can feel her rage nearly down the plank as well. but her own cowardice prevents her from moving. she can't move even if she wanted to. ...not that she wants to. ...right? ]

Never seeing you again and watching you die are—!

[ she starts but her mouth snaps shut as it clicks into place and fully settles on her mind. everything just goes silent and the realization continues to wash over her. she stands up straighter and looks down at the waters below and wonder what really lies under for him when he finally takes that final step off of the plank. guess she'll find out soon, huh? ]

...go.

[ her eyes barely make over towards shima. ]

It doesn't matter what I say; you're just going to doing whatever it is you want. [ there's not much time left and how much of it will she keep wasting? ] Do you really have nothing else to say to me?

[yamantaka]

[ he smiles at her before turning back around. he takes the few remaining steps needed before he reaches the end of the plank. he stands as still as he can, feeling the wobble of the board as the wind blows. any unplanned movements and he'll go falling into the water below.

huh, a fall from this height wouldn't kill and he would probably be able to swim back to shore...

he doesn't think about that. instead he thinks about what izumo said to him. ]

Oh, I guess I do have some final words for you!

[sacredchants]

[ even if the fall couldn't kill him and even though it looks close enough to shore for him to swim back to, izumo doesn't even bother considering that he'll make it out of here alive. they aren't that lucky and she has no faith in any kind of mercy on this day.

so, fine. she'll give shima all of her attention. will she regret listening to his final words? who knows, but they deserve to be heard. ]

What is it?

[yamantaka]

[ he's extremely careful as he moves, turning himself completely around so he can look at izumo. if he has to die, no matter what might be waiting for him, he wants this to be his last sight.

shima wishes she was smiling. ]

You should remember you're not alone. And smile more, Izumo-chan.

You're really cuter, when you smile.

[ With that, Shima Renzou jumps off the edge of the plank. He has time to think about everything, as he waits for his body to hit the water. Could he have done things better? Certainly. Would he have still made the same choices he did? Perhaps.

Did he have regrets?

Did he really hate everything?

If you can hear, you might here a small noise escape Shima's mouth before he hits the water. It could have been a gasp, or it could have been a laugh. Whatever it was, it's swallowed up by the sound of the splash. It takes a second for his pink head to bob up over the water's surface. He looks surprised, that was it? Is it really that? But before he can say anything more, his body is pulled back down the water.

He bobs back up and looks around him as a crocodile rises out of the water, maw gaping wide open. He can't even get a sound out before the jaws close tightly around his chest.

Fun Fact: did you know that crocodiles have the strongest bite in the world?

Shima has first hand experience with that now as the crocodile takes advantage of the meal it was offered. It rolls, tossing and turning Shima's body in the water. His voice carries out shrieks every time his head rises above the water's surface. It doesn't take long for the shrieks to die, the water turning red.

Shima Renzou lies limp in the water as the crocodile starts to pull his body under.

Shima Renzou is dead. ]

[retellers]

[ Once Shima is dead, the barriers blocking everyone go down. An alert goes off—but it's coming from the Leaders' devices. Given that Fox seems a bit dazed, Rabbit and Wolf are the first to check, the latter swearing as they do. Rabbit turns to whisper something to Fox, who freezes. Wolf, likewise, speaks. ]

We need to head back. Now.

[ And with that cheerful message, the three Leaders rush away from the scene, back in the direction of the castle.

...

You're all free to leave now! Hurray!

Later in the day, everyone will receive an alert for the NOVA CHECK app. Looks like weekly rankings are up! Furthermore, the Leaders will be responding to requests at the Planetarium again... although they may be too busy this time to answer all of them, especially for those not on their team. ]