Chapter Text
It was another day in Kivotos.
A good enough day for a coup.
It was a bridge I had never wanted to cross. But necessity and pride had beaten back all the objections in my head. And some of it was, admittedly, very selfish. Very vain and human. I would probably be looking back on it with no small amounts of shame, tempered with the cold rebuttal that this shit really needed to be done.
I walked into the carriage office, and saluted the OPFOR, she who was the tyrant much reviled. In all my days, in both my lives, I would have never thought that any student council president could ever become some sort of tinpot dictator. But this was a strange world, and one which made tyrants of young girls with bright, if ill-thought, ambitions.
"Ah, Deguchi-kun, come in, I'd like to hear your opinion on this new proposal of mine." The tyrant's hair was long and sleek, with streaks of red throughout. She bore the unnatural feature of horns on her head. I have heard it an uncommon feature for one enrolling in Highlander, the expectation was she'd be enrolled in distant Gehenna.
"Understood ma'am," I said, marching the last few steps over the carpet towards the precipice. Towards destiny, perhaps. "However, may I have permission to say something first?"
"Go on," the tyrant said, leaning back, expression open and pleasant. She never would expect me to say what I was about to say, nor less conceive of it in my head. I had her trust, and I would be breaking it, for my own sake. But really, one girl against a whole school, what was my alternative?
I let anger guide me, to focus my thoughts as I'd done once, flying over the skies of a wartorn continent. Deflect the misgivings of betrayal; and remember the indignities, the injustices, the repeated failures to appeal to either sentiment or cold calculus. And of course, there were the craven whispers, which had no desire to stand between the foolishness of a Napoleon who thought herself smarter than she was; and the rest of Kivotos' mighty schools.
Well, scratch that: Napoleon had at least the love and loyalty of France; this girl only had one railway and train to her name. And her people: oh, how she'd squandered our devotion and goodwill.
I instantly pulled out my gun, and pointed it at her. A small pistol, a sidearm I seldom used, but I knew it would prove the point. "Greatest apologies, president, but the Kanon Union no longer has need of your leadership."
I gave credit to her; she didn't sputter in outrage nor wallow in confusion. She quickly pressed the button on her table, summoning her guards to the office. "… What a disappointment, Deguchi-kun. This is too mad, too rash, especially for you. I'd like to know more about it, after the interrogation's done."
Three students came, led by short Sizuru, twin-tail blonde hair, eyes clear and blue. "Ma'am," she said, adjusting the peak of her cap.
"Take Deguchi-kun away." I saw that her eyes had narrowed slightly, upon seeing that the guards weren't rushing to grab me.
Sizuru snapped a salute. "Apologies, ma'am, but that will not be possible. This is a coup, you see."
There was a whole second's pause, before the tyrant bolted from her seat. In one motion she'd grabbed her own side-arm, and crossed her arms before her to barrel out the window of the carriage.
WHUMP!
"Urk!"
Unfortunately for her, she slammed right into the window as she'd hit a wall. We didn't give her the time to be shocked by the sudden reversal before we'd ganged up on her, our bodies pinning her down as we fastened handcuffs to her wrists.
"Traitors!" she howled. "I'll make sure your deeds are known in all of Kivotos! I—"
"Don't worry, leader," Sizuru drawled. "You're free to do that, after we've also published how horrible a girl you are. Then no one will care; it's just a poor leader who got her just deserts. Up you go~"
We frog-marched her into the next carriage, where our co-conspirators were waiting, after I'd given the signal a few minutes back. Our soon-to-be ex-leader continued struggling, spitting insults for all to hear.
My comrades all looked relieved when they saw us bringing the tyrant in chains. I nodded towards the chief of the engineering division, Utsumi Aoba, who asked nervously, "Did it work?"
"It worked very well," I replied, gesturing towards our prize. Without the engineers' cooperation, we would never have been able to capture her considering her prodigious strength. A little reinforcement of the windows during a prior maintenance shift had made it impossible for anyone to just leap out of them.
The tyrant looked about with wonder at the ones gathered there, blinking rapidly as if she was seeing something she could not understand.
"Atami? Mariya? Aoba? Even you, Hisoka?" she cried. "You wretches. Cowardly rats! Do you think the rest of the Union will tolerate this… this coup?"
"Our students have, one and all, placed their hopes in us… leader," Atami declared.
"You mark my words, your time will come! People do not like the names of traitors!"
"Enough of this," I said. I pulled out the piece of paper. "Akame Kurogane, in light of your grievous crimes against the students of the Kanon Union, which demonstrates a dereliction of your sworn duty to uphold the continuing welfare and dignity of all its students, you are hereby stripped of your rank as student council president. So signed, by a tribunal consisting of the highest-ranked members of the school's officially recognized divisions, as recorded on the roster of departments."
"A tribunal?" she spat. "A conspiracy, you mean! There is no legal basis for this coup!"
"And when the matter of legality ever stopped anyone in Kivotos?" I asked. I looked into her eyes, unafraid of the brewing anger within. "When did that stop you, even?"
"When I tore us free from Highlander, we had the moral and legal right!"
"You certainly had that moral high ground at the start." I tried not to reminisce too much of those frantic early days. "Which you began to lose day after day. And as to the legal right—do we not receive emails from Highlander all the time, demanding we return our train to the consortium?"
"You will not be able to survive without me. Any of you! You've thrown your fate to uncertain winds! You need strong, proper leadership! I'd like to see any of you try it!"
"… To be fair, we must really thank you, leader," I continued. "You cobbled us into a functioning Union, and one which we were proud of belonging to. It's such a shame you squandered your time at the operator's seat." I pulled out another piece of paper, another one which we had all signed.
"Now then, there is another matter. Without a leader, the temporary powers of the president have now devolved unto the council of leaders gathered here in this room." I looked around at them all. "And so, as our first act, we henceforth expel Akame Kurogane from the rolls of the Kanon Union. She forfeits all rights to the school's resources, and is forevermore barred from re-enrolling. She shall receive no letters of recommendation from the governing council, and all the student body is furthermore encouraged to shun her from this moment forward."
"You can't do that!" she said, tears in her eyes.
I flipped the paper around, showing her the part where we'd all made our signatures. "We have all spoken in our capacities as members of the council." I paused, then nodded towards the guards. "The proclamation has been made. You've been expelled, Kurogane-san. May you find success and happiness in some other place. There is nothing personal in this; we have done this for the good of the students." I leaned forward, and with a firm tug, pulled the gun attached to her holster.
"The clothes you wear… we shall consider that your personal property. This one, though, we'll keep, as this belongs to Kanon itself."
The ex-leader's head had slumped forward, her shoulders sagged in defeat. And yet when the guards moved to take her away, she suddenly shouted, "Tae Deguchiii!"
I moved my hands to hustle the guards along, while she kept on screaming. "I'll remember this! The rest are base and opportunistic rats, but you! But youuuuu! You were an ally! A confidant! A comrade! One way or another I'll make you pay for this betrayal! Just you wait! You'll all pay!"
"Off you go now~" Atami said, as the guards pushed her out the door. I nodded towards Sizuru, who made a call on her phone. She was still screaming up at the windows, hammering at the walls of the carriage as the train began to accelerate. Frankly, I was worried she was going to keep holding on to it by her nails, but soon enough we were cruising at a nice speed, and Akame Kurogane became a mere speck in the distance.
In the silence that followed, we all looked at each other.
"Very good work, everyone," I said. I felt the tense atmosphere relax. "We've achieved part one of our plan. Now then, it's time to inform the students of our victory. Please, go to your stations and spread the word. Remind them of the vote, and feel free to make your appeals to them as you please. We all have a great decision to make."
I turned around, towards the carriage which had now been vacated of its owner.
"O-Tae-san?" Aoba asked, with tremulous voice.
"Hm?"
"Are you alright?"
I turned my head and nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, I thought…" She scratched her cheek. "Never mind."
I cleared my throat. "I have to make that speech now. Do carry on."
"My fellow students.
"Twice now we've been forced by bad luck and circumstances to overthrow the chains of oppressive authority on our shoulders. I am pleased to say to you all now, that two times has been more than enough—there need not be another time! Our great oppressor has been expelled by the will of all the students attending this school, never to return!
"I know what all you have suffered, for I was there to witness it all with you. How we were once forced, by the mandate of a tyrannical majority, to suppress our own good health and comfort, risking our very lives and dignities! How we were then manipulated by a serpent we once thought to be a guiding figure, to join her self-serving crusade and declare our independence from the leeches at Highlander. We were determined to craft our own schedules, to ensure our beloved school ran on its own times!
"Yet soon enough, our glorious leader, so-called, was quick to lay her yoke upon our shoulders, putting it under the guise of 'necessary measures'. I was there, with you, my fellow students. From the start I have had reservations about these measures. Were they even necessary at all? Let me recount.
"Mandatory overnight schoolwork, just so we could execute her dangerous night raid operations using our own small means. A 'necessary' measure. Enforced educational extensions, forcing each of us to take on extra academic work just to become 'better soldiers'! Another necessary measure. Perhaps worst of all, the institution of a 'collective pool', where we were each to contribute our hard-earned money and homework and equipment and everything else, just so she could do with it as she pleased! Yes, certainly a very necessary measure!
"Yet what did such measures bring? Many sleepless nights for us all, as we assaulted other schools, resorting to shameless banditry, like a common gang! We were forced to reschedule our lives at a moment's notice, if only to spend an extra hour on schoolwork that wasn't even suitable for us! Certainly, perhaps giving up our possessions for the collective good is a noble goal, but had we ever seen a return? I challenge you all to tell me of a time where she did allocate something from the collective pool to you—that was not just another piece of homework!
"But I am not here to speak of the past for long. We have, by our will, forced our school down to the next station, leaving all the craziness and… stupidity of our past behind. Let us leave them back there, and hope we never have to come back.
"And so, let us now move forward. For in our path there are many tracks to switch to, and it is now important more than ever to address it. I wish I could tell you all that we could take it easy after our liberation, but as we all know, life in Kivotos is never that clearcut and comfortable.
"You are all aware of the constant demands from our old friends. Highlander has always continued to demand the return of the Warpig to their authority, promising us amnesty for our 'past crimes' and a guarantee for any property we possess. The stations shall also be admitted as autonomous entities, promised enormous privileges. With such promises comes threats: that if we spurn this offer they shall never show us mercy. What drivel!
"Let us consider then, our actual options. You all are aware that our Union is a school amalgamated from four separate entities: the Warpig line and its associated railway, and the stations Otsuka, Higashiyama, and Wakamatsu. It is our former leader's handiwork that has gathered together four separate schools, but it is our own will and expertise that has in turn made it great!
"Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that the unity that our ousted leader once espoused has long been in doubt. We must acknowledge this fact, my fellow students. What had once been a vision of a true unity between our schools was squashed by ineptitude and arrogance, for which none of us hold blame. Each of the stations feel as if the others are given more importance, that they can be so easily discarded on the occasion of a sudden invasion. And the students manning our great 'pig feel in turn as if their tireless work operating the train is being taken for granted by the stations.
"Such are the facts, my fellow students. At this stage, we have no time to spare for refutations, or perhaps for reconciliations. Decisive action is required of each of us, to come to a decision that we all can live with, even if it is painful.
"First: should we continue as we have, trusting in the bonds we have forged with the other students to not fray further and sow seeds that would lead us to greater disaster down the line?
"Second, should we formally separate into two academic entities, neither subordinate to the other, each bound in firm and equal alliance: the Warpig and the united stations that serve its lines; and with this ensuring that the rift between our students be not too wide or too tight, that our voices can be heard, each of our wills respected in the manner to which we aspire?
"Or thirdly, in a most drastic decision, should we peaceably adjourn into our constituent states once more, free to pursue our own separate destinies, unburdened by the shackles of our unfortunate pasts, able to engage with the rest of Kivotos as we each see fit; while still retaining our friendly dispositions towards each other?
"I shall leave it all to you to decide, my fellow students. The poll has been set up on our school's network, ready to be answered. You all have the next hour to think on the best decision, not just for yourselves, but for the people around you—friends and comrades. I shall hope that we can all come to the solution that suits us all best, and that which leaves us all satisfied.
"That is all. Thank you for hearing me."
I sat on the chair, sucking morosely on a chocolate cigarette. The atmosphere in the room was tense, as we waited for the hour to wind down to the last minute. Everyone was anxiously looking forward to the results of the poll. Such a monumental decision would shake the very core of our existence as an independent school. Whether or not to stay united, sputtering along in fragility, or to make a clean cut and a new beginning—that was the question for every one of us.
We were all the chiefs of our respective divisions and departments, and we all took the responsibility for executing the coup which got rid of Akame Kurogane from our lives once and for all. A tyrant in the form of a young girl, masquerading as some visionary founder of a school that wished to rival something like Millennium—perhaps, if she had followers instead of subordinates, she might have succeeded in the long run.
Once more, I took a mental count, using the faces of each chief as a totem representing each demographic that was currently deciding on their votes.
First was myself, head of the Logistics department on the Warpig. We were a small department—criminally understaffed. I knew my girls disdained the mixing with the students from the station schools. An offshoot from Highlander could never mix in easily with students from other schools who did not share the same background. We liked our orderly trains, our strict regimental schedules, our minds were constantly in motion, and we rather liked our fancy hats. On the other hand, life in the station was too bureaucratic, too mercantile, too sedentary.
I did not really consider dissolution, the third option, as serious. Alone, none of us could survive long against the other schools, who would see our clear weakness and pounce on us without reserve. Such opportunism was a fact of life in this Kivotos, which I had many years to get used to.
Next, was Aoba, my fellow chief, and who'd been appointed head of the Engineering division. Hers was a vital demographic, average in size, with duties scattered among the stations and the train itself. If separation were to be chosen, it would see her people scattered among the remnants. I knew that she personally preferred the first option—a bizarre opinion I didn't try to question. But come on, she was an engineer! Couldn't she see that trying to keep an old, sputtering engine alive for as long as possible was dangerous? I predicted her demographic to be a mix of opinions, so I couldn't get a proper read on how they'd influence the vote.
Next, Sizuru, tiny and serious, head of the Security team. She had the second-highest number of subordinates, and were responsible for the school's defense, for law enforcement, for riot control, and our main offensive force when needed. A great majority were old hands of the Warpig, which meant that any dissolution would leave the other stations tremendously under-protected and understaffed. Hers was the military clique, most concerned with defending our sovereignty, so I expected they would vote for the first or the second options.
Mariya was the autocrat of the Science and Research division, which also doubled as our health care department, considering most of her subordinates were more medics than actual researchers. We were a far cry from Millennium's best, or even their worst, but we were trying our best. She was secretive to a fault, leading many to be suspicious of her, wondering if she would betray the coup to Akame. But she hadn't, in the end, whether out of loyalty to her people or of a genuine dislike for the tyrant. Hers was the tiniest faction, which was a testament to our deplorable deficiency in smart minds.
The smiling Atami was chief of General Operations. As a student from Otsuka station, she would have to go back to her original school if option three was chosen—which made me think she would never choose that. Hers was the most sizable section, which counted for about a bit under half of the entire population of the student body. Our former leader had elevated her after expelling the former chief for "gross misconduct". Admittedly, Atami was very competent for someone in charge of so large a department.
General operations was responsible for the various day-to-day work that was not under any of the previous bailiwicks, which included our mercantile arm in each of the stations and their associated sub-departments (we were involved in food, arbitrage, advertising and others) and the train crew responsible for the public face of our train operations, such as the attendants and the conductors. Though large, there were certain "factions" I labeled within her group which I saw would favor each choice: I tabulated them in my head and fortunately there were only a few that would push for the third.
Last, and definitely not least was Hisoka, who was responsible for the artillery armament that was the Warpig's trump card, which was sufficient deterrent to make sure few gangs and schools ever got the idea to assault us. Stealing this over-large railway gun from Highlander's own armory was perhaps one of the wisest and most audacious things our former leader had ever done. The department was small, almost equal to mine, and were all from Highlander. Therefore, they were greatly expected to favor the third option. They were a bunch of train purists (a strange enough concept but then again this was Kivotos) who looked down on anyone who had not originally been enrolled at Highlander.
The existence of Hisoka's department as its own independent arm was a considerable point of tension between herself and the jurisdiction of Aoba and Sizuru's. The engineers were already tasked to maintain the artillery gun, so they thought to subordinate it under their purview; and the military also naturally thought that such a valuable piece of equipment was theirs alone to control.
All in all, that was about five hundred students of the Consolidated Railway and Stations of the Kanon Line, otherwise known as the Kanon Union. Tallying the votes in my head, I saw that only one-eighth of the total wanted the third option, with the other two options being a clear toss-up.
I was glad to see it: in my opinion the third option was a non-starter. But I still had to give them the option, or else Hisoka's faction would have complained. And while they would not have had the necessary weight to really change things, agitating a minority was not good for this post-coup environment. It was nice for my fellows to have their own opinions, but pragmatism would be valued more for now.
In my humble opinion, we were better off with the second option. That was the best compromise that I could foresee would be of great benefit, morale-wise, to our Union. The students from the stations, who had a vastly different culture from the Highlanders, would be able to act according to their own desires, and would not feel stifled by our regimented work. On the other side, Highlanders would also be satisfied that their culture would be maintained, meaning they would no longer need to jump through hoops and act differently with the other students.
The first option was too idealistic, and presented its own problems. With all due respect to Aoba, whom I consider at least a comrade, if not a friend, letting us continue on our present course with barely any change was akin to trying to stuff a bag right back into the vending machine. Even if you got the wrong thing, you'd already pressed the button, so the path of least resistance was to walk away crying and try again another time. Sooner or later, some form of conflict or resistance would rise, opening the way for even more divisions which our school could not shoulder for long.
The allotted hour wound down—we were five minutes to the end. The others were trying to make small talk. Frayed smiles, forced laughter, fulsome jokes—mostly from Atami and Hisoka.
"Everyone, I'd like to say a few words," I said, cutting the banter short. They all looked to me, their usual expressions on their faces. Aoba straightened, her face panicked as she put down her phone. The others cleared their throats and sat up straight in their seats. This much did the coup accomplish, if nothing else: our faces were free to make whatever expressions we wanted without the fear of antagonizing Akame. "Regardless of what may happen in the future, I should still like to say that it has been an honor to have spent our school life together. The battles we have fought, the struggles we went through—for all the bad things we endured, at least we are assured that it was never for nothing."
I paused, to take in their reactions. They all looked approving, nodding their heads, or grinning. Only Aoba looked serious for some reason, as if she wanted to say something. I leaned back, waiting to see if she would interject. When she said nothing, I concluded, "Well, that's all… I wished to say. Thank you for listening." They murmured their thanks.
I bit down on the choco-cigarette, as the final minute passed. Everyone's shoulders stiffened, their expressions tightening as they leaned forward to access their phones. I gave the surface of my phone a swipe, then my finger hovered above the button that would reveal the truth.
I pressed it.
The bars shot upward. The numbers showed the proof. The summary proclaimed the conclusion.
Save for twenty-one who voted for the third option, all of the students had voted for the union to continue. Kanon would remain united and proceed to the next station as they were.
I heard a bang, and I braced as a wave of noise erupted within the very room, smacking me like a wave of water. I didn't know why, but everyone had begun to erupt simultaneously into a thunderous riot. They pounded their fists on the table, they jumped repeatedly in the air, Sizuru even shot a round from her gun. I spotted the tears glimmering in the corners of their eyes.
All I could do was stare, abjectly surprised. None of them had ever really given an indication that they vastly preferred the first option. And even if they did, silently in their heads, that still didn't explain all this cheer. It was like their side in some sort of ball game championship had won, and now they were about to start a victorious riot in the streets.
"Everyone, please!" came Aoba's shout. "I—I have something to say!"
I looked at my fellow, whom I'd considered something of a confidant ever since I'd been reborn into this world. A smart and introverted lass, she was at least competent and dependable. I knew that she never really liked to speak on most times, preferring to do her duties well and on time.
Now, she had this look on her face that I had rarely seen. It was one that was filled with determination to go down on her knees in supplication to the old tyrant, begging for mercy, going against all logic, against her dignity, against her sense of self-preservation. In other words: beware the silent ones, who can leap into action that you never expect.
"I must propose, to everyone here, that… That henceforth!" She pointed right at me. "Tae Deguchi shall be acknowledged as our new President!"
"I second the proposal!" Sizuru said.
"All in favor?" Aoba asked, her voice ringing, her hand already in the air.
I looked around. I was the only one who didn't have a hand raised.
The chocolate cigarette fell from my lips.
The enormity of the sight was like someone had placed a weighted blanket on my shoulders. There was a scream in my soul, silent and unheard. I could almost feel the giant target being painted on my back, in real time.
The day had begun with a coup and had ended in my coronation.
It was just another day in Kivotos.
142 DAYS UNTIL SENSEI'S ARRIVAL
AN: Feel free to message me here or on discord (jonholdhous/RHoldhous#6771).