edelweiss - &team

epilogue

Milling about on the roof of an abandoned, five story building, the immortals were preparing for something grand. Well, more like most of the immortals. Fuma and Yuma paced the ends of the rooftop, murmuring and gesturing, before selecting a spot. Jo, on the other hand, cradled a glass bottle which he handed to Yudai cheerfully.

Yudai lazily walked up to the edge of the roof, carelessly grasping the bottle in his right hand, other hand gently wrapping around the rusty railing, gaze cast out into the distance, as though he was sightseeing. He waited, his expression utterly pensieve, doing his utmost best not to let his eyes drop down to the slowly gathering crowd as people gradually recognised him.

Maki stood guard at the roof door, just in case any brave soul attempted to get up here to save Yudai.

"He's really acting his ass off," Harua chuckled as the others watched from a side. "His specialty," Yixiang replied, shaking his head.

"Hush, Jo needs to focus," Euijoo chided, but a ghost of a smile lingered on his lips.

Yudai's eyes flicked to Jo who was standing a couple metres behind him, who nodded stiffly.

As Yudai raised the bottle to his head, what the audience on the ground floor witnessed was the incredible actor Koga Yudai pressing a gun to the side of his head, despair written across his face.

"The grand finale," Fuma mused softly, as with a snap of Jo's wrist, there was a resounding bang. With a spray of dark red and a mild beam of relief, Yudai's body fell to the floor in slow motion.

"Good grief, you're dramatic," Yixiang rolled his eyes as Yudai scrambled up, careful to ensure he was out of sight of the shrieking crowd below.

In the meantime, Jo selected a random cardboard box lying on the roof top and worked on it quickly, until the perfect replica of Yudai lay on the ground, finished off with a lovely bullet hole in his head and dark blood dotting the ground. "Will it last?" Fuma asked curiously.

Jo shrugged, "By the time he's six feet under, yeah."

The others were busy with the faked suicide scene. "Riki, this amount of tomato sauce is unnecessary," Harua commented, wrinkling his nose. To mimic blood, brilliant Riki suggested spraying tomato sauce of all things into the air. When gravity took hold, the sauce was all over the place, looking like a kitchen had exploded. His argument had been that "it is edible and biodegradable".

"Now we have to clean it," Maki complained, "Or else it'll look suspicious."

"You all shut it," Jo shook his head, "I did all the hard work here. Pull yourself together and get a mop. The police will be here soon." Yuma laughed lightly, before waving his hand and the mess was sucked off the ground and carefully transferred into its original container.

"Alright, team!" Yudai clapped his hands, all too happy and relieved to be considered dead, shifting his features to be unrecognisable for the time being, "Let's move."

As the immortals slipped off the rooftop and disappeared into the bustling crowd of horrified people, the news that the beloved actor Koga Yudai took his own life on the top of a dilapidated building spread like wildfire. The same day, respected professor Murata Fuma stepped down from his prestigious role and the famed street racer Nakakita Yuma vanished from the racing scene. A familiar, humble pet shop never reopened after a startling fire, a seemingly crafty scammer that promised fantastic graphic design erased all traces of himself on the internet. A social worker remembered for his kindness resigned and a talented dancer suddenly left a small dance troupe. And a mischievous student abruptly announced his departure from his high school, merely a week to final exams.

Where did they all go? Well, I guess we'll never live to know.

thank you for reading.