Chapter 20 - The Fallen West
Day 221 - 371 students remaining.
After the morning came, spirits were still high in the eastern side of the city. Shuji was treated like a hero for defeating Kenro. He was now known as a hero in both the east and the west. However, everything in this underground city would change soon. It all began when the morning announcement came.
“The time is 7am. This is day 221. The system has decided that Shinobu Hasegawa is the saddest person in the city.”
Silence occurred all over the city. For the first time since Mikuni erected the wall, somebody from the western side of the city was chosen. Some people in the east began to cry tears of joy. However, the west was frozen. There was no movement in the city. Soon, panic began in the west. Mikuni’s soldiers rallied to calm the west as Mikuni prepares his plan to deal with the situation.
Inside of his office, Mikuni sits behind his desk, almost paralyzed by the events that have occurred. Mikuni crunches up a piece of paper in his hands.
“Shuji. You’ve destroyed my Eden. My paradise will never be the same.”
One of Mikuni’s crew come up the elevator and prepare to take Mikuni’s orders. Mikuni begins to announce them.
“The western side of the city has fallen. Unless we go to war with the east, we can’t guarantee that we won’t be chosen. It’s obvious that they would crush us if they came into the western part of the city. I need to do ‘it’. Activate the last resort plan.”
Mikuni pulls a mask from his desk draw. The mask has a fake smile drawn onto it. The mask is scary and could easily intimidate any foe.
“Operation Smile High Club.”
Mikuni puts the mask onto his face as he bears a chilling smile covered by the fake one present on the mask. At this point, it is clear that being in this underground city for so long has caused Mikuni to begin to lose his sanity.
Back in the eastern side of the city, the food parcel is being distributed evenly by the rebels. Shuji sits down and eats alongside Kanna. Kanna begins to talk about the situation.
“So, you saved Ichika?”
Shuji nods his head.
“I did. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Kanna blushes.
“Huh? I didn’t do anything, really.”
Kanna looks to Shuji as she inquires about what to do now.
“When are we heading back west?”
Shuji looks around at the people smiling in the streets. It’s a massive contrast from when he had first arrived. Shuji responds to Kanna.
“We’ll go back later today. How do you think Maro Taro is holding up?”
Kanna thinks to herself for a moment.
“I’m sure he’s doing fine. Maro Taro always pulls through. I have another question?”
Shuji is curious about what Kanna wants to ask.
“Ask away.”
Kanna looks uneasy as she prepares to ask the question.
“You’ve heard, right? About somebody from the west being chosen and executed. How do you think Mikuni will react?”
Shuji tenses up for a moment before responding.
“I don’t think he’ll be very happy. However, I’m sure he’ll take it on the chin. With Kenro gone, I would guess that his emotions would balance themselves out.”
Kanna reluctantly agrees. At this point, they’ve finished their meal and begin to walk around the city. However, as they pass by the area near the city gate, they notice a commotion. They both rush over to the city gate. As, they head over to the city gate, they notice Maro Taro is sitting on the eastern side of the gate and arguing with the guards.
“This is insane! You can’t do this!”
Kanna rushes over to Maro Taro.
“Maro Taro!”
Maro Taro turns to face Shuji and Kanna as they look incredibly happy to see him. However, the mood quickly shifts. Shuji wonders about the situation and begins to question Maro Taro.
“What’s going on here?”
Shuji looks up at the guards and notices they are wearing masks that display terrifying smiles.
“What’s with the masks?”
The guards respond to Shuji with a cold and emotionless response.
“Mikuni has decided that the role of ‘detective’ is no longer needed in our part of the city.”
Shuji is both annoyed and confused by this statement.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The guards give Shuji a final response.
“You are all forbidden from returning to the western part of the city.”
After stating this, the guards turn their back to the east and look into the west. A gentle and subtle symbol of the times that are changing within this underground city. The wall is no longer there to keep people out. It now serves the purpose of keeping people in.
Shuji tries to shout at the guards but they pay no attention to him. However, someone from the western side of the city hears Shuji’s voice and recognises it. They begin to shout over the wall.
“Shuji! You have to help us! Mikuni has gone crazy! His crew have abandoned all order. They call themselves the Smile High Club! They’re only concern is staying alive through this death game! Anyone who isn’t part of his crew has no rights! They can do ANYTHING to us and we can’t stop them!”
Shuji freezes when he hears this. The voice in the west shouts again.
“Help us Shuji!”
Shuji clenches his fist in anger and shouts over the wall.
“I’ll save you all! I promise!”
There is no response from the western side of the wall. Everything goes quiet and all that can be heard is the quiet echo of screams coming from the distant west. Shuji begins to march away. Kanna notices this.
“Shuji, where are you going?”
Kanna begins to follow Shuji. Maro Taro follows just behind.
“Hey, is anybody going to fill me in on what’s happened?”
Kanna begins to tell Maro Taro about the events that took place in the east as they follow the incredibly focused Shuji.
Shuji heads over to the building that is now occupied by the rebels. Shuji marches into the building, followed by Kanna and Maro Taro. The door to the rebel leader’s office slams open. Some of the rebels and their leader look at Shuji. Shuji begins to speak.
“I need your help.”
Shuji then explains the situation to the rebels. The rebels seem to be horrified by the situation. However, one of the rebels has a different opinion.
“We were kicked out of the west, remember. Why would we help them after they fed us to the wolves?”
The rebel leader raises his hand and the rebel immediately stops talking.
“I’m sorry. We cannot help right now.”
Shuji begins to get annoyed.
“Why the hell not! I helped you with Kenro. You owe me this!”
The rebel leader takes a note out of his pocket and begins to explain.
“Mikuni brought us this. An offer of peace and a threat.”
The rebel leader shows a note to Shuji. Shuji takes the note from the rebel leader’s hand. Shuji then begins to read the letter.
“I understand that you now control the east. I am happy to continue supplying you with food for equal distribution. However, if you attempt to meddle in the actions of the west, then I will not hesitate to cut off the food supply to the east.”
Shuji stops. The rebel leader continues to speak.
“I cannot risk letting everybody die because of this.”
Shuji begins to think about possible solutions.
“We beat Kenro didn’t we? We can beat Mikuni too.”
The rebel leader shuts Shuji’s argument down.
“We are all still recovering from that fight. We’re weak right now. Besides, you should know better than anyone that this would be a different kind of fight. Kenro likes to fight head on but Mikuni is sneaky and won’t hesitate to use underhanded tactics.”
Shuji looks to the ground as he thinks about Mikuni. He concedes.
“Mikuni will always be one step ahead of us.”
Everybody in the room looks down, but one person glints a hidden smile.
Shuji leaves the building with Kanna and Maro Taro. They head to Shuji’s old base. After opening the door, Shuji begins to speak.
“This is where I stayed when I first came to the east.”
Shuji then shouts something.
“Tsubaki? Are you in here?”
Kanna is confused.
“Who’s that?”
Shuji smiles.
“Just a friend I made. It looks like she isn’t staying here anymore.”
They stayed until night came, then there was a knock on the door. Shuji hesitantly opened the door to see the rebel leader.
“What are you doing here?”
The rebel leader ignores Shuji’s inquiry.
“Can I come in?”
Shuji opens the door and lets the rebel leader enter the premises. They all sit around a table. The rebel leader begins to speak.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I will help you fight against Mikuni. However, you can’t tell a single soul about this.”
Shuji is confused.
“What do you mean?”
The rebel leader begins to elaborate.
“There is a spy amongst my rebels.”
Shuji, Kanna and Maro Taro look shocked. Shuji begins to question this.
“Are you sure?”
The rebel leader nods his head.
“Yes. I will help you fight Mikuni but I need you to figure out who the spy is. However, if you raise any suspicion, I have no doubt that the spy will flee. Can I trust you to find and capture the spy?”
Shuji nods his head. The rebel leader sighs with relief before speaking again.
“If Mikuni knew we were planning to take him on then he would have the advantage and crush us before we could even begin to fight. Everything rests in your hands Shuji.”
The rebel leader leaves Shuji’s home. Shuji begins to think about possible suspects and knows that he will have to be more cautious than he has ever been before.
