Charlotte: After the Plunder

Initiative

Chitanda POV

"Chitanda speaking," I answered, my voice even, despite the bitterness gnawing at my mind.

"In 6 months, we intend to move onto phase two. As things are now, there's only so much we can get from daily reports. Without your ability, your data is no longer reliable or sufficient. Surface-level observations are not the same."

Am I...getting terminated? Surely that can't be the case.

"With all due respect, Sir, I've provided my services for years, and my reports were satisfactory before my ability awakened. I–"

"Ms. Chitanda, we're not dismissing you, may this only serve as a warning."

A...warning?

"Have...my guardians been informed of my..."

I haven't contacted them since then...perhaps they don't know. What would become of me if they did? Would I no longer be useful to the organization in their eyes? I...I know I can fulfill my duties even without my ability...but do they? What will they say? Would...they stop caring? Am I free?

Executing tasks. Following orders. Writing reports.

That's my job, my role, my purpose in this system. It's what I know how to do, know how to do well. It's what I've been trained for, what my guardians decided was "best for me" before I was even self-aware.

I found this particular case so interesting. Yuu had done something I'd never considered, never thought was possible–broke free of the system, utterly dismantled it, took initiative. I wondered, could I do that too? Could I take my own initiative? What do I think is best for me, not for my guardians, not for the country, not for the world, damn the world! What do I want to do? And then, like some tragedy in a play, he lost all his initiative. He's a bird in a cage with the door wide open–only hesitant to leave. He didn't hesitate when he plundered. Why now? He is a bringer of change, he shouldn't surrender himself to this shitty system. And...neither should I. What does he want to do? Why am I so curious? For the report? To inform my superiors? To satisfy my guardians? To pay back their war debt?

No. I want to know. I want to know how someone gathered the courage, spite, and dedication necessary to take this planet's ability wielder's by storm. I want to wrap my head around his thoughts, choices and actions–dissect his thought process. I want to get into his head. Perhaps that'll only be possible if I let him into mine. And, I want to thank him. For removing my own ability. Like a bird with excellent wings that never wanted to fly. A bird who wanted to remain grounded. A bird that would rather have no wings than one's she couldn't use for her own reasons. That plunder was a revolution, a protest, our cries and pleas to be seen as more than "someone affected by charlotte" had been heard. And it wasn't over yet. It never would be over.

Yuu might be compliant and obedient for now. He might be willing to surrender to this system. He might think he's done. But he's not. There's so much more to do.

I disabled the cameras temporarily, setting it up to loop recorded footage from the past few hours. It was time to talk, for real.