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It's a rather quaint town when you get down to it. At least, that's what the Sheriff would argue. Warm and dry in the mornings and afternoons with a brisk coolness in the evenings. The perfect type of weather to just sit out on your rocking chair and observe the comings and goings.
... Of course, there's not much in the way of comings and goings when there aren't any actual people here to watch. Nevertheless, don't let that get you down! The town is your oyster and those roosters won't stop crowing until everyone's out of bed. Up and at 'em, rise and shine, it's time to make the day yours!
After all, there's nothing wrong with the town today and you might just want to savor it while it lasts.
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robowest2017-02-13 12:00 pm
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He hears Sei say something, but then it's just... noise. A whirlwind of sounds he can't quite make out. It's only when he hears someone (Xion?) approach the scene and call out Sei's name that he deems it safe, at which point he jumps down from the roof.
Quickly, he walks over to where he thinks Xion is (liquid under his feet—blood?). Ah... and this is how it ends, huh?
He stops at a distance: close enough to hear, far enough that Xion might not notice him if she's focused on Sei right now.]
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In a way, this place was safer for her. If she kept her head down, if she didn't do anything to arouse suspicion, she could live out most of her days without ever having to draw her sword. It's been peaceful, except for when it wasn't.
It's left her restless.
She hears Xion call her name, but she can't muster up the strength she needs to turn fully towards her. She can't even really grip her hand, though her fingers do twitch at the touch.]
Miss— [She coughs, and flecks of blood stain her lips. Is this what death feels like? It's so much more painful than she imagined.] Miss Xion...
[I'd welcome death, if it were for Sensei.
She never imagined it would come like this.]
I'm... so sorry...
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She has become jaded enough to not even have hope. Even she can tell Seizaburo is too badly hurt to save this time.
What can she do? There's so much blood. Somehow this is even more horrible than finding Riku's head. That had been like something out of a nightmare, but at least he'd been dead. It wasn't like he could talk to her with his dying breaths. She's going to stay here, right here, and watch Seizaburo die right before her eyes, and she's never going to forget it for as long as she manages to survive. ]
Idiot!
[ The proclamation is a whisper, carried on a heartbroken wet laugh as she leans over, pressing her forehead to her friend's. One last connection. Her tears fall on Seizaburo's face, and she doesn't even try to stop them. ]
What made you think ... you'd survive?
[ Unless Seizaburo hadn't imagined surviving at all. She can picture it, and it makes her laugh again, the sound more of a sob. ]
I told you to be careful. Why didn't you listen?
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[She's never been the strongest, or the sturdiest. She has been the fastest, and somehow, even when she's been grievously injured, she'd always managed to come out of it alive.
This time, she's not going to. She can feel the strength slipping out of her bones.
...she's never going to see Okita again. She can make her peace with that, as long as she's sure he's alive and well. What she can't make her peace with is forcing Xion to witness this.]
...forgot... I'm slower now.
[An idiot to the very end.]
The dog... is he-?
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Stupid... how do you forget you're missing a leg?
[ Her thumb strokes Seizaburo's cheek, slow, soothing. She actually... doesn't know about the dog. She frankly didn't check. Xion will glance up long enough to glance around, trying to find--
... and when she does, she lowers her head again. ]
He'll be okay. [ If they win the game, if they fix everything - their pets should be okay too, right? It's not technically a lie. ]
Seizaburo...
[ She'll lean in even closer, enough to whisper something in her ear. Then she'll sit back again and hiccup as her sobs start to hit her harder. ]
Okay?
1/2
...the truth hurts sometimes. She should just accept the truth, whatever it is, but she can't muster up the energy for it.
Her eyes are out of focus, but she does her best to watch Xion's face, to listen to her voice, and her breath catches when she leans in and whispers to her.]
...promise.
[I promise.]
So don't... give...
[Her features contort in a grimace, and her body goes stiff, seizing up. Her heartbeat is slowing. She can feel it slowing.]
...up...
[There are tears rolling down her cheeks, and she realizes that they're not all Xion's. Some of them are her own.]
2/2
She goes limp in Xion's arms a moment later.
Sei is dead.]
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Then all at once she animates with an incredible fury, sitting up straight and snarling in the direction of the Sheriff Station. She heard you, Hal. She saw you. ]
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
[ this she shrieks at the top of her lungs, just to be sure he'll hear her.
Xion isn't built for hate. She's been angry many times, more than she could probably count. But hate, real hate, has always seemed like something someone else would feel.
Until right now. ]
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God, what a funny day this is. ]
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[ She's grabbing her crutch and struggling to her feet, filled to the brim with murderous intent. She ... clearly is going to try going over there, and even tries to start. ]
If you think murder is so funny, maybe we really should kill you! I'm sure you'd think it was really funny then you--!
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How pathetic. (The both of them, really.)
And the part of him that wants to kill the Sheriff right now, even knowing that it's pointless... that's probably disgust. Unlike Xion, though, perhaps hate is a strong word. He's seen too many people react in worse ways to feel that the Sheriff deserves an emotion that strong. The world is a despicable place, and the Sheriff is simply a—literal—creation of the cruelty of living beings.
Either way, feelings are distractions, and that's something he can't afford—especially now, when Xion evidently isn't ascribing to the same notion.
He doesn't need Acceleration switch to move to where Xion, grabbing her arm before she can take another step. Though a slight tremor runs through his body (Seizaburo's dead, he's dead), his grip is steady. Nothing good will come out of what Xion's trying to do.]
Leave it, Xion. He's a waste of your time and energy.
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Let go of me! Let go, I--
[ still struggling, still tugging, honestly using shinnosuke's grip as leverage to lean forward and yell some more ]
He clearly doesn't care! If he doesn't care then why should we? Why doesn't he just die and leave us alone?!
[ she's
honestly not sure who she's yelling at, at this point. ]
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Because he's not the disease; he's just a symptom. He's not the one behind this game.
[And unfortunately, his employers are untouchable. Not for the first time, Shinnosuke's own helplessness frustrates him.]
Even if you succeeded in killing him and it didn't screw us over... it'd only give you a moment's worth of satisfaction. But it wouldn't bring Seizaburo back, or make it any easier in the long run.
So stand down, Xion. Don't make me force you to.
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Then, all at once, she'll go slack in his grip. Not enough for him to need to support her, she just ... stops pulling. In fact she goes entirely still, letting her head hang. ]
You can't even make him pay for it. He wouldn't care.
[ Finally she lifts her head again, staring at the Sheriff, the narrow look in her eyes and the twist to her mouth betraying the depths of bitterness she feels in her heartbreak. ]
I've felt useless before, you know. [ this part is softer. ] But it was never as bad as this.
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That's how life is. You think it can't get any worse, but it finds a way to prove you wrong.
[Cheery.
But really, it should be no surprise that Shinnosuke's a cynic. If he were someone kinder, he'd have words of comfort to offer, but... he has nothing.]
We can do something about the body, at least.
[Before the Sheriff disposes of it himself, if that ends up happening. Regardless, they shouldn't just leave Sei's corpse out here.]
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[ yikes.
is it worse or better that she doesn't even sound bitter this time? just ... tired. ]
If you can pick him up, I'll direct you.
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Nodding, he reaches down to pick up Sei's mangled body. The touch of Sei's sword reminds him—he should probably do something about that, if nothing else. Even if they can't prevent the Sheriff from doing as he pleases with the corpse, they can preserve Sei's sword. It was probably important to her, after all.
But that can wait until they reach their destination.]
All right.
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Just lead the way to the graveyard, trying her best not to think of how they're both covered now in Sei's quickly cooling blood. ]
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Inside is a hollow ache, surrounded by the uncertainty of how to handle his own feelings, let alone Xion's. He's grateful that Xion says nothing, despite knowing that she's not even remotely okay; it lets him pretend that he is.
Likewise, he's silent as they walk towards the graveyard.]
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She keeps thinking about Seizaburo's smile, or what it felt like when they held hands.
I promise not to ever give up, Miss Xion, so will you promise me the same thing?
She honestly barely realizes that they've arrived at the graveyard until it practically smacks her in the face. Even then she doesn't speak, just helping to direct Shinnosuke inside and get the two of them over to Seizaburo's grave.
Once they finally make it, she'll linger, her fingers curling on Shinnosuke's arm. ]
I wonder how many of our friends we'll have to bury, before the end.
[ Assuming they both make it. You know. Anyway bye she's going to go get a shovel ]
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But he doesn't, because he honestly has no idea how Xion might react, and he'd rather not provoke a response outside of his expectations at the moment.
As Xion walks away, Shinnosuke carefully places Sei's body on the ground, to the side of her grave. Before standing back up, though, he makes sure to remove Sei's sword. Holding it in his hands, he looks up at the sky (a sky he can't see, but still).]
... Hey, idiot. [...] Well, I guess I should be nice now that you're dead. Seizaburo, if you can hear me from wherever... you're going to have to tell us sometime what you want us to do with your sword.
[And then, more quietly:]
Damn it.
[Damn you for dying on us.]
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I don't know how much I can help, [ she says softly. ] But I can tell you where to dig.
[ Xion will pass the shovel to him, and if her fingers linger against his hands for just a moment too long, it's probably because she wants to cry again and this is the most reassurance she'll allow herself. ]
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He's already made his decision.
And so he lets her, before his grip tightens around the shovel. He swallows the lump threatening to form in his throat]
Got it.
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She'll remain quiet for a while, only speaking up to murmur needed changes of direction for Shinnosuke, but finally she asks: ]
Did you hear what he said? Right before he died.
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No. I wasn't standing close enough.
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