Trigger Warning: Graphic Contents; Major Character Death
Every night that makes day there will be a new sunset
For everything I have, over time it goes away
I stay awake in the night with emptiness around
Thoughts in the head, origami at dawn even alone
[Day-Date-Time Redacted] – Lake Okutama
In the serene wintery atmosphere of Lake Okutama near Tokyo, snowflakes gently cascade from the sky, creating a picturesque scene. Standing on the edge of a wooden pier, Hinano, a radiant smile adorning her face, gazes into the distance. Her eyes sparkle with a mixture of anticipation and warmth as she awaits someone's arrival.
As the snowflakes settle on her red hair, she can't help but feel a surge of excitement. The soft sound of footsteps crunching through the snow catches her attention, and her smile widens. The figure draws closer, their presence palpable in the frosty air.
Finally, the person steps into view, their silhouette becoming clearer amidst the falling snow. Hinano's smile reaches its zenith as she recognizes the familiar face. With her heart aflutter, she opens her arms, welcoming the figure into an embrace that speaks volumes of their bond. Then, in an instant, a blinding flash illuminates the sky and the sound of gunshot was heard.
Early morning of the 13th of March 2016 - Island Forest
Nagisa patiently awaited his enemy with an evil smirk on his face.
"I'm here, monster!" Hinano said, coming out of the branches of a tree.
The boy turned around and laughed.
"Oh, very well! And I see that you are alone, as instructed" Nagisa's eyes went from dark brown to bright red with black pupils.
"Where's Haruka?!" Hinano demanded.
"Always talking about that sniper eh? ahahah" Nagisa laughed badly and cracked his knuckles, "Don't worry, you'll see him soon...if you can beat me!"
"I don't get it! You could have killed me on the beach, if you wanted..." Hinano said, puzzled "...why did you put on this show?"
"Oh, it's because I don't take pleasure in doing something when that something is being served at me, redhead" Nagisa explained, "And then, someone like you deserves to die in an important contest, don't you think?"
"Oh yes? And why would I be deserving it?" Hinano asked.
"Can't you get it? I'll explain right away" Nagisa pulled out the tentacles, ready to attack "You made me fall in love with you! Making me unbind from my path"
"The Nagisa I met wouldn't deserve to share this fate" Hinano understood that under that deranged monster there was the Nagisa with whom she had shared beautiful weeks on the island.
"Now it's too late, the real Nagisa is dead!" Nagisa fixed his hair and swept the first hit "Now you'll share the same fate!"
"We'll see about that!" Hinano quickly defended herself, then shot an arrow at the boy but Nagisa managed to deflect it, sacrificing some tentacles.
"Don't be arrogant!" Nagisa taunted and hit again "Die! Hahaha"
Hinano again, managed to dodge the hit and hide in the forest.
"She dodged it again... Is she hiding between trees?" Nagisa thought as he scoped the area.
The sound of footsteps became bulky in the branches of the trees, but then suddenly disappeared like a scent in the wind.
"Where the hell are you, redhead!? Come out!" Nagisa yelled trying to intercept the girl.
Then, in a flash, the clang of a grenade safety echoed in the air, followed by the shot of an arrow.
"Boom!" Hinano stood from a tree branch.
"What do you mean with bo..." before Nagisa could finish the sentence, an arrow carrying three MK3 grenades, exploded right into his face taking off his arms and filling him with shards.
"Aaaaaaaaargh!" he yelled in pain.
Early morning of the 13th of March 2016 - Island Main Beach
Back at the beach, the teens were worried for their classmate and Haruka.
"What if she dies?" Maehara was worried about her.
"I said shut up!" Sumire shushed him.
The air of concern was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
"In a while it will be morning" Yada said.
"In the meantime, why don't we try to free ourselves?" Jiu suggested.
"I think there won't be any need for Jiu-san" Nobuharu pointed his head to the pier "Look over there, towards the pier"
A boat was about to dock at the pier.
"The boat for the finalists! And someone is coming..." Yada saw the silhouette of a person getting off the boat and approaching.
Early morning of the 13th of March 2016 - Island Forest
Nagisa was on the ground, the tentacles splattered all over the trees, his head and stumps where once there were his arms dripping with blood and shards of grenade stuck everywhere in his body.
"You could have dodged that with those tentacles if you weren't too slow" Hinano said victoriously "You've lost, Nagisa-kun"
Nagisa, however, was not angry at having lost, on the contrary, he smiled maliciously.
"Now, before you bleed to death, tell me where's Haruka" Hinano demanded.
Nagisa smirked and barely stood up.
"Eheheheh..." he laughed with the last bit of voice he had left "...I didn't put him anywhere" Nagisa smugged.
Hinano began realizing something bad.
"Don't you get it? Maybe you should go back to the beach, but I don't think you can make it back there in time" Nagisa pointed at the speakers, meaning that an announce was about to be made.
"Attentions competitors! Heiji Homura speaking, I have a very importante announce to make!" the speakers went silent for a moment "Now the explosive charges will be set off, creating holes all over the ground! The island you're on is doomed to sink within 10 minutes!"
"W-What!? Is this a joke?" Hinano gasped.
"In all the previous seasons of "The Assassination Show" the chosen island is set to be destroyed before the final!" Nagisa explained.
Hinano realized this was all a setup to lure her in the forest.
"I tricked you!" Nagisa laughed "You'll never make it to the beach in 10 minutes! You'll sink with the island!"
"Oh don't worry, I'll survive" Hinano left the boy bleeding to death and began running towards the beach, hoping to reach it before the sinking.
Early morning of the 13th of March 2016 - Island Main Beach
"So you're the ferryman" Nobuharu supposed.
"Hey little bitches!" the ferryman greeted "My name is Kotaro Ryuzaki, Homura's personal intern"
Jiu's face said it all, Kotaro was actually a colleague who infiltrated before him and entered into the graces of Yanagisawa. The two exchanged a nod before rejoining the part.
"You're here to take us away, right?" Yada asked Kotaro.
"That's correct, I'm here to bring the 30 contestants to the location for the final" Kotaro explained.
Jiu looked around and counted 28 people on the beach with two missing.
"But we're 28!" he protested.
"Wrong!" Kotaro pulled Haruka out from under the pier "Near the pier was hidden this guy"
The teens gasped in shock, as the boy stood there in anger.
"Haruka-kun?! But then, Nagisa didn't kidnap you!" Jiu realized.
"No shit geniuses! That bastard explained to me his evil plan while he was tying me up!" Haruka thought "Ah, I don't have time to be angry with them, Hinano is in fucking danger!"
"Well kids, all aboa..." Kotaro was interrupted by Haruka.
"Stop! The 30th contestant is missing, we have to wait for the redhead, she's still in the forest!" Haruka tried to delay the departure.
"Sorry boy, new rule! Yanagisawa said that if there weren't a total of 30 competitors when they announced the sinking of the island, it doesn't matter, the game will go on, regardless of how many of 'em are standing here on this pier. In this particular scenario, we're talking 29 competitors" Kotaro explained, looking at the astonished faces of teenagers. "So, your friend is doomed. Soon the island will sink into the ocean"
"No, it can't be!" Hara mumbled as tears began rolling down her face.
"Hinano-chan! Please, get out of this forest quickly!" Hayami yelled.
"No!No!No! That can't be true!" Okajima punched the ground as bitter tears fell from his eyes.
"Please bro,wait five minutes!" Haruka plead "FIVE FUCKING MINUTES!"
"Ok, but only five minutes! Then we're out of here" Kotaro said while getting onboard the boat.
"Haruka-kun..." Yada looked at the boy who impatiently waited for the girl to appear from the bushes, weary from the long run and tired from the battle.
"C'mon!C'mon!C'mon! Move it! I know that skinny psycho didn't beat you! He can't!" Haruka yelled in his head "Hurry up and come back! It can't end like this!"
"Hey! In the meantime, why don't you untie us huh?!" Sumire asked.
"Oh no Sumire-san, I know that if I do that you'll kill Maehara" Nobuharu denied her.
"No shit, Sherlock!" Sumire furiosly said "Of course I'll kill him so fre..."
"You're starting to annoy me!" Nobuharu transformed into the hybrid form.
Sumire shut up to those words.
"Maehara was in the group that killed Ide and his monster girlfriend, so he has immunity and can't be touched. So you stay put and wait! You'll have the occasion to have your revenge, but this is not the moment!" Nobuharu said with his almost demoniac voice.
"O-Ok clear! But please, don't look at me with those eyes!" Sumire plead.
Haruka did not pay attention to tentacled boy and his thirsty eyes. He scratched his hands not to freak out; nervousness was driving him crazy.
"Come on redhead! Move it!" he said at a low tune.
But then, like a bottle of champagne on New Year's Eve, the charges exploded, opening holes all over the island, sending her to meet her fate.
"Shit! It started!" Jiu yelled.
"The island will sink!" Sumire freaked out.
Kotaro turned on the boat's engine and blared the horn.
"We can't stay here any longer. Quick! All aboard!" Kotaro called the finalists to hop on the boat.
"No, I'm staying here!" Hara tried to buy time, hoping that Hinano could catch on them before the sinking.
"Hara-chan, it's too dangerous!" Hayami, tears in her eyes, tried to stop her.
"But Hinano..." Hara could not finish the sentence to the thought of her friend who was not with them on that beach.
"Hayami is right! We have to go!" Chiba kicked in to try and convince her.
In the end, the three teenagers joined the others on the boat. Haruka remained on the dock, praying that at any moment, that idiot would come out of the bush, that idiot who made him always nervous, that idiot he was fond of. He remained motionless, however the earthquakes allowed him, but Jiu seized him and took him away.
Dawn of the 13th of March 2016 - Forest/Ocean
Hinano fell to the ground, exhausted by the innate run.
"Anf... enough, I can't run anymore" Hinano took a breath while a tear fell from her cheek.
Around her, animals started to run for safety, the ground started to collapse.
"I-It's really over then..." Hinano sobbed "It's unfair... I would... I would have liked to see him at least one last time"
"Hinano-chan! Can you hear me?!" a familiar voice came out of the walkie-talkie.
"The walkie-talkie... I brought it with me" Hinano thought.
"Redhead! If you can hear me answer, I beg you!" Haruka plead with a broken voice.
...
"Haruka-kun! Is that you?!" Hinano's voice rang from the little speaker on the walkie-talkie.
"Yes it's me!" Haruka tried to keep calm "Where are you?"
...
"I'm in the forest...I'm exhausted, I can't run anymore" Hinano's voice started to tremble "It's over for me...but at least...
Hinano paused for a moment, feeling really emotional.
"...at least you're safe, I'm so happy Haruka-kun..." Hinano lied.
...
Haruka felt his stomach twist, but not with physical pain.
"Fuck, why doesn't it stop?!" he said, looking at the horizon, toward that island that seemed to explode. His eyes moistened.
"I can't imagine what you're going through, redhead... I'd be in a panic if I were you, but instead you're worrying about me." Haruka thought, "I feel like shit...I've always treated you badly..."
"Haruka-kun..." The girl called him.
"Y-Yes?" Haruka answered with a broken voice.
...
"There's something I wanted to tell you... I never found the courage to tell you...but now I don't have much time" Hinano was ready to confess.
...
In those words, Haruka realized the most painful hypothesis.
"No! I don't believe it! All this time...?" His eyes (he) became more and more drenched in bitter tears "FUCK IT! IT'S NOT RIGHT!"
...
"Maybe... maybe you just considered me a business partner, but I-I..." Hinano had trouble talking "...since the first time... that I saw you...deep down... I always..."
...
"Yes, me too! Me too damnit!" Haruka sobbed.
On the boat, everyone let themselves go in a cry of emotion and pain.
...
Hinano was speechless at that statement.
"W-what?!" was the only word she could say.
...
"I love you!" Haruka declared.
...
Hinano's eyes watered again.
I didn't want to get attached to you because I thought you had... and I had lost you..." Haruka paused for a secondi, in the throes of emotions "... I would have suffered! I was scared!"
Hinano laughed at Haruka's childish thought.
"You're an idiot!" she joked.
...
"I know!" Haruka blamed to himself.
"Haruka-kun, you have to promise me something..." Hinano asked him, her voice filled with urgency and a hint of desperation.
"Tell me! I'll do whatever you want!" Haruka didn't think twice about saying yes.
...
Hinano took a deep breath, her hands gripping the walkie-talkie tightly.
"Go the final...and win!" Hinano said "You can do it!"
...
Haruka remained silent, trying to process her words. On the boat now reigned an aura of pain and sadness, marked by the tears of the E-Class, that was not ready to lose another person.
...
"And when you win... go to Lake Okutama," Hinano asked him gently, "It's near my grandparents' house...it's beautiful!"
Flashback of the lake on a snowy night came through Hinano's mind.
...
"I promise you, baby! I will!" Haruka promised.
...
It was time, the trees started to fall, the ground melted and water rushed out the cracks of the earth.
"I'm sure Haruka-kun..." Hinano's voice softened, filled with affection "O-one day... we'll meet again..."
...
Silence enveloped the walkie-talkie, leaving Haruka with a heavy heart. He held onto the device tightly, feeling both the weight of his promise and the weight of the loss he was about to endure. The island uttered its last roar, before sinking completely into the ocean; Haruka left himself in a long cry of agony and sadness, before the whirlpool of a place that no longer existed.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept across the ocean, carrying with it a small bandana. It fluttered through the air, heading straight for the boat.
"Haruka-kun look!" Yada pointed at the fluttering piece of fabric.
With instincts honed by their countless adventures together, Haruka's hand shot out, catching the bandana in mid-air. He clutched it tightly to his chest, feeling the fabric pressed against his skin—a tangible reminder of Hinano's presence.
A bittersweet smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he whispered, "It's a promise, Hinano. I'll go to the final... and win. For you."
As the boat sailed away from the whirlpool, Haruka found solace in the bandana's embrace. He knew that Hinano's unwavering belief in him would serve as his guiding light, even in the darkest of times. With renewed determination, he set his sights on the final, vowing to honor Hinano's memory and fulfill the dreams they had shared.
The journey ahead would be challenging, and the ache of loss would linger, but Haruka would carry Hinano's spirit within him, cherishing their bond and drawing strength from it. The promise he made to his dear friend would fuel his every step, propelling him towards a future where her dreams would be realized.
And so, Haruka embarked on his path, the bandana serving as a symbol of their unbreakable bond, fluttering in the wind as a testament to their shared determination.
TO BE CONTINUED...
THE JOURNEY TO THE ISLE OF TERROR IS FINALLY OVER, BUT AT GREAT COST. HINANO KURAHASHI, SWEET AND PRETTY GIRL, GAVE HER LIFE TO SAVE THAT OF HIS LOVE, HARUKA KOBAYASHI, WHO WILL LIVE IN REGRET OF NOT HAVING HER IN HIS ARMS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW? WILL HARUKA KEEP HER PROMISE?
WILL SUMIRE BE ABLE TO FORGIVE MAEHARA? OR WILL THE GIRL BE ABLE TO AVENGE THE DEATH OF HER BOYFRIEND?
WILL NOBUHARU REVEAL HIMSELF FOR WHO HE REALLY IS? WILL HE BE A FRIEND OR HOSTILE TO THE FINALIST SURVIVORS?
WELL THE ONLY THING I COULD SAY IS...STAY TUNED, BECAUSE THE END OF THE DAY IS ALL HERE, WHERE THE WHITE ROSES ARE WHEN IT'S GETTING DARK!
A.n.1 Hey guys! I must admit that, while writing the final scene, I almost cried and I hope you'll find this chapter sad, as it was intended to be. I'm sorry for Hinano and Haruka, but I planned her death since the beginning of the story so, be free to rant about her death.
