week two: execution

[getawaymods]

WEEK TWO: EXECUTION

Morning dawns bright and early the day after the trial, but there's no time to wait. As it rises and settles in the sky, the low, deep thrumming sound echoes throughout the entire island, which turns into ringing, a drawn-out signal that grows louder and louder until it seems as though all other sounds on the island fall to a hush.

It is then that the lighthouse beacon becomes illuminated, drawing them all to the southern beach. That same voice as before rings, audible throughout the entire island.

"The time has come to dispatch your sacrifice. All are welcome to witness this choice. Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, you have been selected to bear this responsibility. And C-3PO...no running away, now."

The voice grows quiet, and Dimitri and C-3PO will feel themselves drawn toward the lighthouse. While the rest of the group may resist its call, they may find themselves curious or unable to stop themselves from following the pair to the southern beach.

Nothing can be done to stop these proceedings. Even for those who try to jump in, they will find themselves weighed down as if falling into quicksand. This burden is Dimitri's to bear and Dimitri's alone.

It's time to say goodbye.

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[overruns]

[ Sorry, C-3PO, but he's not turning his attention away from what he has to do. Something more honest crosses his expression, pained, smile breaking as his jaw sets. ]

I thought of you as my friend. Genuinely and truly.

[ He had steeled himself for this for hours, turned their conversations over and over in his head obessively—it had all felt like it was leading to this. Deliberate, in its own strange way, as though Giyuu had wanted the truth to emerge.

Maybe Dimitri's just been naive, wanting to find some truth to their friendship, some point to all this madness. But either way, he had wanted to hear it for himself. Some confirmation of Giyuu's motives... some sort of closure. His mania calms in the face of regret, but he raises his dagger all the same.

A quick death it is. ]

Very well then. There is nothing left to do but carry out our responsibilities.

[ And so, his arm lashes out. ]

[machinetranslation]

Master Dimitri, wait!

[From behind Dimitri, Threepio grabs at the raised arm, but his arms are slow, his movements clunky—nothing about him is meant for anything like this.

He just

doesn't want anyone else to be hurt.]

[overruns]

[ It's enough, at least, to restrain him. But no matter how soft his sentiments, Dimitri's been picked as executioner, and he's going to do his job.

He tosses C-3PO off with a flurry of sand, eyes sharp and blazing. ]

Stay back—

[wisterin]

[ One moment, Shinobu is holding Mitsuri's hand, and the next, she isn't. Her movements are slowed, weighed down, and she can't travel far, but it's enough. For close she is or isn't to Giyuu, for how close she is or isn't to Mitsuri, it's enough. That strange mania that she can sense from Dimitri—

Her mind races, and for all her reason, for all her intelligence, for all her wisdom, it's her heart that propels and drives her forward to do any great thing she does.

There has always been one thing she's wanted more than anything else, but didn't she make a promise? Isn't there something she stands for and believes in? Isn't there something that can be done?

Her lovely voice rings out, clear as a bell on a quiet day. ]

Flayn-san is dead because of me!

[overruns]

[ For a moment, the thin thread of his self-control—the constant battle of trying to be a better person than he actually is—feels like it might hold out, just barely. He would kill Giyuu in one stroke, then C-3PO, and then, maybe. Maybe... it would be over. He could rest—they all could.

But instead, he goes stock still. His brow crinkles, anger fresh in his eyes again. ]

Explain yourself.

[ Is this some last-ditch ploy? ]

[baori]

[ what?

even after he hear's shinobu's (alleged) confession, he doesn't believe it. after everything that they've spoken about and the promise that they've made. she was there at trial as well when dimitri made his claim... he thinks, again, to what he and dimitri spoke of.

the stoicism that existed before starts to fall to pieces as the weight of her words and what he can only suspect will happen next grows inside of him. giyuu has his moments where he is woefully ignorant about what is going on and misreads the situation but this?

it's a lie. she's lying again. images and faces flashback in his mind and giyuu struggles to move—just because he was prepared..... just because he accepted it.... ]

[wisterin]

[ She sees Giyuu's movements in her peripheral vision but doesn't acknowledge him. Her eyes are dark and steady as they lock on Dimitri. She knows anger more than anyone. ]

Who on this island do you think knows poisons more than I do? I was born into a pharmacist's family.

[ There's no hint of any hesitation in her voice, no wavering, no trembling, only light and airy confidence. Her posture may be a little more stiff than usual, but she appears as composed as she usually does, as much of a smile in her voice as on her lips.

What is she so convinced of? What is she trying to do?

Is this the answer they're looking for? ]

[overruns]

[ Flayn was such a force of good—possibly the gentlest and kindest of all of them who were left. And Shinobu—hadn't she said she would fight this? When Flayn had died, she offered him sympathy. A like soul who he had trusted all this time.

It's unbelievable, but his shock gives way quickly. ]

Is that so.

[ Some terrible swell of emotion rises in his chest, cloying. His voice goes hoarse, wretched and grieving. ]

I've only two things to ask, then. Why did you do it?

[ Whatever the others do, he changes track, feet treading against the sand. It shouldn't be a surprise that he'd make good on his threat. Maybe this is some trick to try and save themselves, but he's confident he can kill whoever he needs to. However many are guilty. ] And how would you prefer to die?

[wisterin]

[ Something twists in her heart, a pang, a stab that she can see Dimitri wouldn't mind as much to do anymore. There is something broken, but she can't go back. She made a choice.

A sound escapes from her lips, something that's not quite laughter, something as loud and fragile as the flapping of a one-winged butterfly.

That doesn't detract from the determination set in her face. ]

There are some things I don't wish to see.

[ There is no semblance of guilt to be found in her. ]

Please make it quick.

[ Shinobu doesn't know what is correct, but she knows what is right. What's she doing is not a kindness, conversations she's had coming to the forefront of her mind, but she's doing what she hopes will work.

If there's one thing, she doesn't want this to draw out too long. She knows loss and grief. ]

[overruns]

[ This entire time, he had believed in them all, burying his doubts, believing that they could truly escape this place together. The problem is, now: not all of them deserve to. The betrayal stings like a wound. Shinobu had claimed to want to end this ritual, to save them, to grieve as so many of them died—only to do this? Either she is working with the orchestrator of these crimes, or a killer herself, and neither would do.

She had asked him a question, once: does someone who would take lives for their own survival and satisfaction deserve to live and leave with the innocent?

And his answer is quick, relatively. The flash and sting of a blade, whipped straight into her chest, the force of it so much that it knocks her back. When he retracts the dagger and stabs a second time, blood catches on his hands, against his cape, on his chin.

The third stab is just for good measure. For Flayn. For what he swore to do at trial. For every sad ghost he's had to see trapped in this horrible place. ]

[wisterin]

[ Of everything, it's only Mitsuri's cry that creates a crack in the iron fortress of her smile. The sadness and grief that mixes with all her anger and rage flickers to the surface for the briefest moment before she faces Dimitri with what dignity and integrity she has, whatever of either she has left.

It is relatively quick. She can't move, the power of the island or whatever's at work keeping her slow when she's usually so agile. Her eyes widen as the blade strikes true, but she makes no sound for the unbearable pain it causes, as she stumbles back. The second stab makes her eyes flash with tenacity, trying not to hit the ground so soon, but the sudden impact make her hair loosen from its confines. Blood from each knife plunge splatters across her uniform and haori, marring the beautiful colors of someone long gone.

The third and final blow makes her fall to the ground, the sand cushioning some of her fall as much as it knocks the air out of her. As the blood collects in her lungs, she breathes with a raw and rattling sound that's not so unfamiliar to her. She can't speak, but her lips tremble before they curve into a smile, so gentle and heartachingly soft.

What do any of them know for certainty? Dimitri or someone else by another name?

All she knows is she moves to save lives, whether it's simply one or more, and it's what kept her heart moving, what kept her living strong and true.

With her last strength, she extends her pinky out towards someone, and as her head hits the sand for the final time, her butterfly hair piece flies free to land at Giyuu's feet.

Shinobu is dead. ]

/2

[baori]

[ seeing death and people die is part of his job. demon slayers, pillars, are not people who are unfamiliar with death—they are some of the people who have lost the most and wish nothing but to protect everyone else around them so that they do not lose anyone else. no sentiment was truer than for the two of them even if they never discussed it so plainly between them. the haoris they wore told the stories that they (he) kept silent about.

the sound of the dagger plunging into shinobu and the sickening sound of it... before it could be easily said that they were never particularly close, but they worked closely together enough. it should have been the same after arriving on the island however, things changed. the time on this island had been so confusing. his heart is wavering. his actions are near automatic as he reaches for shinobu's hand with his own—struggling to get close enough to take hold of her hair piece at the very least. ]

Kocho...

[ eventually his struggling pays it forward that he's able to pick up the butterfly hair clip in hands that would be as steady and as calm as a frozen lake, however there's a slight tremble in them. he already accepted and prepared himself but not like this. he keeps moving until he can manage at least half of her into her arms. (pinkies linked, maybe. hard to say as he holds her.)

again.

again, he is protected by someone and his life spared...even if for a moment. when the tears begin to fall from his face, he doesn't even notice it. he only notices the fading warmth and the awful smell of blood. ]

[baori]

[ he's familiar with this painful sorrow—it's a pain he knows all too well. it's a pain that had consumed him. something that made living unbearable, and while in the past he shut himself off from the pain, this time he transforms it into something else. his heart continues to waver. the ice thawing...breaking off into chunks.

there are still tears in his eyes as holds onto what he can of shinobu (she was already so small) while protecting her hair piece all the same, but the sorrow and pain are gradually replaced with a boiling fury. he wants to have a fair exchange of blood on his hands as dimitri does. someone wanted to push him this far, right? dimitri wanted some reaction out of him for his actions? it's why he came at him with those accusations. he had it in his mind that giyuu was the one who was responsible for this but he no longer cares about any of that.

the only thing he wanted was a fool's hope: to be able to spare her. he really is stupid. ]

You should hope that you do not miss when you come for me, Dimitri, that for a moment your heart does not hesitate in what you've decided on doing.

[ his voice low and every part of his body screaming with murderous intent. the heart that was unmoved has been cracked and his face shows every emotion he had been so careful of hiding. if he were closer to a beast, he would snarl. he would go for dimitri's neck without hesitation. instead he kneels before dimitri a man with questioned sins. ]

Show me that resolve.

[ for if there's bit a moment of hesitation, giyuu will show no mercy. ]

[overruns]

[ Between the death of a woman he respected, and the tear tracks down Giyuu's cheeks, some part of him aches. Revenge does nothing to sate him, personally—it is an empty satisfaction, one he's obliged to run after like a hound, charging and chasing until he dies.

In reality, he grieves, heart clenched tight in his chest like a fist. But he does not look away, eyes still bright and wild. For all that he hurts in doing this, and all that this savagery makes him, there are so many dead. So many who deserve retribution, and even more that need to be free of this game. ]

I promised you I would not falter.

[ It's the only oath he's been able to follow through on: that if he found the person behind Flayn's death and a way to end this, he would cut a path through them both. Even if this isn't right—even if it's hopeless and makes him the worst of them all, there is no hesitating now. No asking for forgiveness. ]

Carry a grudge to hell, if you want. [ Resent him, if he needs to. ] I will suffer your deaths until we meet again.

[ It's hard to kill someone in one swipe with just a dagger, Shinobu had proved it, but he doesn't have much choice this time, and his target is bigger. He flips his grip on the hilt, and buries it over Giyuu's heart, quick as a flash. No hesitation. ]

[getawaymods]

[Giyuu's blood drips down the blade of the dagger, all the way down to the hilt. It pools there, gathering, and then droplets of his blood splatter on the sand.

Wild, raucous laughter erupts as if from nowhere.]