COSPLAY ROYALE
Based on the novel Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Akira Maruyama
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DISCLAIMER
-I am very sorry but I do not own Battle Royale's plot or any of the third-party characters referenced in this, exceptAxis Mundi.
OVERVIEW
It was just a typical anime convention for Keiichi Amakura, when he suddenly realizes that he and fifty other attendees are trapped in a program codenamed "Cosplay Royale". There can only one winner in this sadistic plan to decimate the otaku population,... and that means only one can survive.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
-This is not a script format story. The only part that is in such format is the Introduction.
-The only thing that makes this a fanfiction is the fact that it has the same plot as Battle Royale. All characters are original.
-This is meant to be somewhat corny in the beginning. This also contains possibly disturbing, comedic, dramatic, etc scenes.
-It is a long story, so please bear with me, ha-ha.
-I am very sorry but I am a horrible writer.
-The #'s indicate footnotes. So, if there is a word you do not understand and it has a # after it, please check the footnote section at the bottom. Thank you!
-Please read and review. This is my first fanfiction of this kind so I am very terrible at it.
Let's begin, shall we?
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"Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out...and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel. ..And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for "the universal brotherhood of man"--with his mouth."
-Mark Twain, What is Man?
INTRODUCTION
Date: 7 June 2008
Time: 21:46 - 21:55
Location: SECT 8, RM 102
Subject: Operation CR-1; Recording
The following transcript is confidential. Public viewing of it is strictly prohibited. Failure to comply with this will result in immediate persecution from the government. (CODE:CC2604)
-Start of Recording-
WATANABE: "So, you're the new kid, right?"
SATO: "Ah, yeah."
WATANABE: "Ha-ha, okay. Just sit yourself down right over there. Sorry for the mess. All of the papers scattered here are, well, the information of all of people enrolled in this program."
SATO: "Thanks."
-brief pause-
WATANABE: "So you know what to do, right?"
SATO: "Eh… Well, I'm not that clear of it myself."
WATANABE: "Figures. The people here recruiting workers are so confidential here, sometimes they even forget to tell them what to do! But since you decided to participate in managing this program, you know what it's about, huh?"
SATO: "An event that deals with the annihilation of otaku#..., called 'Cosplay# Royale'? I'm sorry, none of this information is publicized, so it was a burden to even find out that a program was going to occur in the first place."
WATANABE: "Meh, you got the basics though, good job. But yeah, its codename is 'Cosplay Royale'. Hardcore otaku are carefully picked to be invited to a typical anime convention, called 'AMG International'. Then we'll lockdown the place and force them to kill each other until only one survives, ha-ha!"
SATO: "And we're doing this because-"
WATANABE: "The world is a disgusting place, new guy. Filthy with all of these geeks who waste their time obsessing over fictional characters. I mean, look at the Akihabara# district. Perfect little place… full of beautiful electronics. Then those damned otaku came and all of the sudden it's not an "Electric Town", but a "Geek Town"! If we just get rid of them little by little, then maybe the society won't be as screwed up! Simple as that!"
-brief pause-
SATO: "I see…"
WATANABE: "What, you don't like it? Regretting your job already? You have this weird look on your face."
SATO: "No, it seems interesting. How do I contribute to this program… To my occupation?"
WATANABE: "Aha… Nothing much. The hardest thing you have to do here has already been dealt with: getting this job. How'd you find about this anyway? Hacking the system?"
SATO: "How'd you know?"
WATANABE: "Eh, it's what everyone does nowadays. Not like you got caught or anything, heh… Oh, so anyways, about your job. We're just setting up the event, and then watching the show. We'll have cameras installed and stuff, so once the program starts, we can sit back and relax in this office, and watch the otaku kill each other. And you better appreciate it, since the government doesn't publicize this kind of stuff. Hard to find on the Internet too, even on those sites like YouTube# and LiveLeak#, ha. In fact, why don't you help me a bit now? I'm just looking over some of the profiles and approving them. I'll just read them out for you. More convenient that way, if you know what I mean."
SATO: "Sure."
WATANABE: "Let's see… Uh… 'Yuki Hasegawa'. Pretty name. Age is 16. Her profile says she's cursed with some kind of illness. Also a 'death god'. Huh. Seems like a good little otaku to add to the program roster. Whaddya think, new guy?"
SATO: "Illness? Wouldn't that make her a weaker opponent? She might have a disadvantage."
WATANABE: "Hey, that just means she'll get killed easier, right? Less otaku in the world, the better. This game wasn't made to be fair, you know."
SATO: "All right."
WATANABE: "So, approved! This gets fun after awhile, trust me. Next one, next one,… 'Miku Hara'. Age 17. There are so many girl profiles in this pile, it's pretty funny. Didn't know there were so many female geeks out there. Hm? This paper feels so thick… Oh, no wonder, there's another profile attached to this. Whose is it? 'Midori Hara'? So these two girls are twins? Ha, that makes this program even more exciting, right?"
SATO: "Hm? Why?"
WATANABE: "'Why'? Do you even need to ask? Like I said before, Cosplay Royale means that all otaku fight to the death until only one survives. Say for example, uh… these Hara twins are the only otaku left in the event. Eventually, they're gonna have to face off against each other until one dies. If not, the Program won't end. That's part of the entertainment, you see? Friends and family can become enemies, enemies might join with their rivals,… In the end, these otaku won't know who to trust, ha-ha!"
SATO: "Ah, yeah. That's true. Then we'll approve Miku and Midori Hara?"
WATANABE: "I'm already one step ahead of you, kid. Approved! Now let me get the other paper… Ah, here it is… 'Natsuki Kriemhilde'. Age 11. Another cursed one? Oh wait, this time the curse involves sadistic behavior. [laughs So I guess she's just going to go psycho on everyone[laughs Approve or not?"
SATO: "I think she should be approved. I never knew yangire existed."
WATANABE: "Yan-gee-what?"
SATO: " 'Er… 'yangire'. A girl who seems nice but usually turns berserk or exhibits what you called 'sadistic behavior.' It's a term used by otaku…"
WATANABE: "Jeez, new guy, are youan otaku or something?"
SATO: "N-no… I used to have friends who were otaku in high school. Since I was around them, I learned a bit of their jargon."
WATANABE: "If your friends were otaku, then how come you joined this 'Anti-otaku' thing? You knew that we're selecting those kinds of people to kill each other, so why'd you want this job?"
SATO: "Well… Truthfully, I joined this… Eh… I just wanted to have fun."
WATANABE: "Yeah, typical response. You're just like the rest of them. I came here to do the same thing, new guy. 'To have fun.'"
-brief pause-
WATANABE: "So, how about we look at the next one? 'Keiichi Amakura'… Age 17... Seems very ordinary. But you never know, he might have some secret powers or something. I don't know about these kids nowadays. When I was their age, I-"
-End of Recording-
No suspicious content was detected in this selected transmission.
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Footnotes
# cosplay - "costume play"; the Japanese art of dressing up, esp. anime, manga, and game characters
# otaku – an over-obsessive fanatic, usually fantasizing over anime, manga, or games
# Akihabara - popular district in Japan; known as "Akihabara Electric Town"; due to its supply of electronics
#YouTube - a popular web site that allows people to post their own videos on the Internet
#LiveLeak - a web site that also contains videos of explicit content, such as suicides and violence