by Isamu Fukui
Satisfied, Zen turned away from the battle and made for one of the adjacent blocks, firing three quick shots across the street at an Enforcer that had turned his way. The Enforcer fell backwards, but Zen’s gun clicked empty, prompting him to toss it away. Meanwhile, Noni had quietly sidled up beside him while he was surveying the scene, and she now fired fiercely at any Enforcer that so much as glanced at Zen. Her knives hadn’t gotten much use, but Zen noticed that her marksmanship had markedly improved.
As Zen reached the block he was aiming for, he passed by the newspaper stand that Gabriel was now crouched behind. Gabriel saw him coming, and Zen waved back with uncharacteristic cheer.
“Never thought we’d be back here again, did you?” Zen greeted, gesturing back at their old school with his crowbar. “It’s almost nostalgic!”
Gabriel, however, was all business.
“If Alex blows the building now, most of them will be buried anyway!” he shouted over the din of battle, pointing at the Enforcer positions around the school.
“I’m not taking any chances,” Zen replied, his face and tone abruptly serious. “I want them to trap themselves first. If we’re patient, not one will escape.”
Gabriel nodded, then fired suddenly. Far behind Zen, an Enforcer was sent toppling backwards by the shot. Leaving Gabriel to continue the fight, Zen and Noni quickly rounded the block, out of the line of fire. There, as had been arranged, Zen saw Alex and Aaron examining some equipment as several other Truants stood guard. They all saluted Zen as he approached, and the Truancy leader couldn’t quite place the emotion he felt as Alex presented him with a simple button trigger.
“I think you ought to do it, Zyid,” Alex said. “Me . . . I don’t think I—”
“I understand,” Zen cut him off. “Does it work? Are you sure?”
“Positive.” It was Aaron who answered this time. “I tested the signal myself.”
“You’ve done well.” Zen held out his hand. “I’ll take it from here, Alex.”
The boy looked even paler than usual as he handed Zen the trigger, but his voice was steady as he replied.
“Is everything going okay?”
“Yes. We’ve suffered some losses, but we have all the progress to show for it. The Enforcers can’t hold their position for long. They’ll make a break for the school at any moment now.”
“And then it collapses on top of them.”
“Indeed.”
Alex turned, if possible, even paler, but again gave no other sign of his discomfort.
“Alex,” Zen said sharply.
“Yes?”
“The City is no longer safe for you. You’re past the point of no return. I think you know this.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“If there were another option I’d offer it to you, but you’re one of us now.” Zen offered his hand. “It’s that, or wait for the Enforcers to figure out which student planted the explosives.”
After only a moment’s hesitation, Alex shook the proffered hand.
“I choose life, a life of my own,” he said. “I chose it a long time ago.”
“If that is your decision, then I’m going to have to ask you to leave all your reservations here,” Zen warned. “After what you’ve done here today the Truancy may have a position of leadership for you, but you cannot have any doubts about who you are and what you need to do.”
“I don’t,” Alex said, firmly this time. “I am a Truant.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Just then a messenger ran up to Zen, excitement etched on his face. “Zyid, the Enforcers are pulling back into the school. Should we cease fire?”
“No, they’d suspect a trap. Allow most of them to reach the school, but don’t make it easy for them.”
“Gotcha.” The messenger turned and ran off to spread the orders.
“Looks like the battle’s almost over then,” Aaron observed, watching the messenger’s receding back. “Finally.”
“I hope we’re all done before they get any reinforcements over here,” Alex muttered.
“It looks like they brought in all the Enforcers from a half-dozen districts. Any reinforcements would have to come from quite a ways away.”
“But it’s still only a half-hour distance, tops. What do you think, Zyid?”
Suddenly the Truancy leader no longer seemed to be listening. Zen was looking around intently, as though searching for something that no one else could see. Realizing that he’d been addressed, Zen raised his hand for silence.
“You all know your orders and may proceed as planned,” Zen said. “Leave me now.”
“Huh?” Alex said. “But Zyid, what about—”
“Now,” Zen snapped.
The Truants hesitated for only a moment, but they knew from his tone that arguing wouldn’t do any good at all. Reluctantly, the Truants turned and left, sneaking furtive glances back at Zen’s motionless figure. Soon, all of them had disappeared around the block to rejoin the fray.
All except one. Zen glanced over at Noni, still standing faithfully by his side. She either didn’t know or didn’t care that Zen had meant to include her in his orders. But this time Zen would not allow her, or anyone else, to intervene on his behalf.
“Noni, I want you to go with the others.”
Noni’s head snapped around at him, and Zen felt an uncomfortable twinge as she stared at him in confusion.
“Why? What’s coming?” Noni asked, her voice soft, but clearer than ever despite the scarf.
“If I am killed, the Truancy will look to you for guidance,” Zen said, ignoring her question. “You belong with them. Not me.”
“Sir . . . you’re scaring me.”
Zen looked down in surprise at the girl he had rescued from the alley, one who possessed strength and potential to match his own. And yet she couldn’t see it, blinded as she was by her adoration of him. She had become dependent on Zen, and it was then that Zen realized that Noni could never be his successor, the future leader of the Truancy. Should he ever die, the chains that restrained her might be broken . . . or perhaps she herself would break.
It would have to be someone else, someone who was not only independent but someone that others could depend on. Zen vowed that if he survived, he would search for a suitable successor. But for now, there was nothing more he could do for Noni or for the Truancy. This was his struggle.
“Noni, go with the others,” Zen said harshly. “That’s an order.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“Nothing that you’re a part of. Now go.”
“But you don’t even have a gun, how—”
“LEAVE!” Zen bellowed. “NOW!”
Zen saw the hurt in her eyes, but had already steeled himself against it. She turned, brushing against him, then began walking away. Zen watched her go without remorse. To stand above everyone else is to stand alone. And that was what the leader of the Truancy had to do, in the end.
Stand alone.
“You needn’t have sent her away, Zyid. I wouldn’t have hurt her.”
Zen smiled at the familiar voice, and turned around to see a lone figure steadily approaching, its long white scarf fluttering in the chill wind. Zen made no motion to greet the newcomer, but gripped his crowbar tighter as his own windbreaker caught the breeze as well.
“You underestimate her,” Zen said. “Who’s to say that she mightn’t have hurt you?”
“Someday, perhaps,” Umasi conceded. “But she is not ready now—and certainly not ready for the burdens of leadership. The Truancy will end with you tonight, Zen.”
“My name is Zyid now.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Zen waited for Umasi to speak again, but he didn’t. The bright figure before him simply kept walking, maintaining a steady step as he drew closer. Zen searched for some trace of emotion on his brother’s face, but found nothing but his own reflection in dark sunglasses. Whoever it was that now stood before him, Zen knew it was not the Umasi that he had known.
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“No attempt at small talk, Umasi?”
“Is it common for enemies to exchange pleasantries?”
“Finally made up your mind then?” Zen narrowed his eyes. “That is most unlike you.”
Umasi did not answer, but shifted his head up to gaze at the building that towered behind Zen. Gunshots, sirens, and other sounds of battle could still be clearly heard from around the corner.
“What do you hope to gain by attacking the school?”
“That building,” Zen said, “that institution is already broken. I will merely make the structure reflect what’s inside. Do you really mean to tell me that you’ll fight to protect it?”
“My only purpose in coming here, Zen,” Umasi said, “is to kill you.”
The response was surprising in its bluntness.
“You’re not going to tell me how wrong I am?” Zen said. “Lecture me on how misguided my ambitions are?”
“No.”
Zen narrowed his eyes as an explosion behind him shattered one of the school’s windows. The Enforcers had finished barricading themselves inside the besieged building, and the Truants would be starting their planned withdrawal at any moment.
“So, then you have learned something,” Zen said, fingering the trigger concealed in his windbreaker.
“Many things,” Umasi corrected. “I always was a good student.”
“A good student?” Zen laughed humorlessly. “What has being a good student brought us, brought anyone, but mixed blessings at best and utter misery at worst? No pillar of justice can stand upon a foundation of disparity. School has nothing good to offer us. They only teach us the bad, by their example.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think you do, Umasi,” Zen said. “The system worked for you. You’ve never known what it’s like to live without hope.”
“Then why did you stay?” Umasi demanded. “Why would you sit back and allow yourself to suffer? I would have expected you to drop out.”
Zen hesitated, knowing that the truth would hurt.
“If I had left,” Zen said at last, “who would have protected you?”
Umasi looked as though Zen had slapped him.
“You stayed for me?”
“Who else?” Zen asked quietly. “Only for you, Brother. I was always ready to sacrifice for you.”
For a moment both brothers said nothing, and the last distant gunshot rang out and gave way to silence. The Truancy had retreated, though the Enforcers remained inside the school for fear of an ambush.
“I’m sorry,” Umasi said at last. “I appreciate everything you did for me more than you’ll ever know. But it doesn’t change my mind.”
“I didn’t expect it to,” Zen said. “But now do you understand? Do you understand my side of this story?”
“I finally think I do,” Umasi replied. “For you, this whole fight was always about school. But the thing is, Zen, for me . . . it was always about you.”
“You would damn the City over our petty differences?”
“I will save the City, which is what you wanted to and should have done,” Umasi said. “I admired you so much, Zen. For the brother I lost, and the person he was, I will save this City when you are gone.”
“Such arrogance, Umasi,” Zen whispered, his posture subtly shifting. “I have never presumed myself a savior. This City hardly needs one. No, what this City of education truly needs . . .”
Zen paused, then pressed the switch concealed in his coat. Behind him, several explosions rocked the school just as its front doors had begun to open. Glass shattered and bricks flew through the air, but for a moment the building still stood, casting its shadow over the brothers, imposing and indomitable as ever. Then it fell, as if in slow motion, collapsing in on itself like a house of cards, burying generations of misery along with the Enforcers. Dust and rubble was cast into the air like confetti, and to Umasi it seemed that one small shadow had lifted from a City shrouded in darkness.
“ . . . is Truancy!”
Momentarily awestruck, Umasi had forgotten about Zen. The crowbar cleaved the air like black lightning, yet Umasi dodged the surprise attack as though it had been rehearsed, countering with a swift jab. A wave of dust cascaded over the brothers as Zen twisted to absorb the blow with his shoulder. Suddenly they were engulfed by a storm of stinging wind and debris as what was left of the school reached out for them one last time. Hardly flinching, Zen swung his crowbar around, forcing Umasi to leap backwards out of the way, the ground rumbling beneath their feet.
“I never laid a hand on you, Umasi.” Zen coughed as the rubble, but not the dust, began to settle. “It’s something brothers are supposed to do, now and then. But you were just too pathetic, and I never did.” Zen swung again, and smiled as Umasi effortlessly evaded the attack. “Perhaps I’ve been waiting for this all my life . . . waiting for you to be strong.”
“Then I’ve kept you waiting long enough,” Umasi admitted, ducking another attack and retaliating with a solid punch to the gut. “I apologize for the delay.”
Zen grunted and staggered backwards, though his face showed no outward signs of pain. Indeed, Umasi had never seen his eyes sparkle with such excitement. Zen surged forward, the crowbar whipping through the dusty air in a whirlwind of impossibly swift attacks. Umasi, for all his agility, barely managed to keep up, and as one of the blows nicked his shoulder he realized that he might have underestimated his brother after all.
In truth, Zen had never fought so hard in his life, nor would he ever do so again. Unburdened by guilt or restraint, and unleashing years of repressed anguish, Zen felt liberated by their battle in a way that comes only once in a lifetime. For just one day, for just one fight, the full extent of his wrath was unleashed upon the City, and his brother.
Unable to find an opening in the blur of attacks, Umasi was forced to back up as Zen swung relentlessly. Diving aside to evade a particularly wide swipe, Umasi rolled on the ground and came up into a crouch. Without pause Zen came charging on, crowbar raised to strike. Feeling something digging into his knee, Umasi suddenly realized that the ground around him was littered with rubble from the school. Acting on impulse, Umasi seized a chunk of shattered brick and hurled it at Zen. The crowbar rent the air once and the brick shattered to pieces. Undeterred, Umasi began backing up again, bent over so that he could rapidly toss pieces of the demolished school at his attacker.
The tactic slowed Zen, but did not seem to tire him. Again and again the crowbar struck projectiles from the air so forcefully that sparks flew, and still Zen pressed forward, the madness in his eyes never dimming. The two brothers had nearly reached the end of the street now, and Umasi realized that he was being pushed towards an Enforcer barricade. Scooping up an armful of smaller rubble, Umasi hurled it all in one blurred motion.
Surprised by the sudden hail of attacks, Zen reacted as fast as could be expected, his crowbar knocking away every one of the projectiles. But just as Zen swatted the last brick with a feeling of triumph, Umasi’s fist connected with his chest. Zen let out a roar of pain and shock. Seizing the opening, Umasi attempted to land a second blow, but Zen recovered in time to duck.
“Fast,” Zen grunted as he struck with the crowbar, forcing Umasi to swing himself backwards over the low barricade. “Consider me surprised that you can fight so hard for no cause at all.”
“And just what cause are you fighting for?” Umasi demanded, kicking the barricade at Zen. “Equality? Justice? Your own gratification?”
“I fight for all that have suffered,” Zen replied, blocking the barricade with an outstretched foot, “in the name of education, because they were unable to fight for themselves.”
“And I fight for all who will suffer because of what you intend to do. Look at this City, Zen!” Umasi spread his arms to encompass it all. “You presume to fight for everyone, but by doing so you put them all at risk. If the Educators will not yield it, are you prepared to watch the whole City burn?”
“You know me bette
r than that,” Zen accused, hurling the barricade aside.
“No, I don’t,” Umasi said coldly. “Not anymore. The brother I knew was never ruled by his fantasies. But you, Zyid, you’re so caught up in your dream of a perfect world that you’ve forgotten the real one.”
“If you don’t know me,” Zen snarled, lunging forward again, his jacket billowing behind him, “don’t presume to understand me!”
The attack was so sudden and so fierce that Umasi had no time to dodge it. But a crowbar is not a sword, and has no bladed edge. As the weapon flashed towards him, Umasi raised his forearm, wincing as the two collided. Though in considerable pain, Umasi seized the opening and punched Zen hard in the face with his free fist.
“When was the last time you were out in the living districts?” Umasi demanded, clutching his forearm as Zen staggered backwards with a bloodied nose.
“We’re in one right now, aren’t we?” Zen said, wiping his face with his sleeve.
“This?” Umasi shook his head. “Thanks to your Truancy and the Mayor’s Enforcers, this has become a place of death. But life is not yet so far from here, Zen. Perhaps if you see it, you might appreciate it before you die.”
With that, Umasi turned and ran, his white scarf flowing behind him. Without hesitation Zen gave pursuit, every bit Umasi’s equal in speed. The streets and buildings seemed more blurred than usual to Umasi as the wind rushed in his ears and the sidewalk flew beneath his feet. Minutes later, he came to a halt, and the world was normal again.
Umasi now stood on the edge of a crowd of people moving to and fro on the sidewalk. The barricaded area and the demolished school had been left behind. Here, neon store signs blended with traffic lights, their luminance cutting through the dimming blue of the winter sky. Beyond the sidewalk a massive four lanes of traffic formed one of the City’s busiest streets, divided down the center by the tiniest concrete platform. Vehicles of all sizes zoomed along like a roaring metal river, and for the briefest of moments, Umasi stood there taking in the sight. Then instinct kicked in, and Umasi spun around.