Burning Bridges

Chapter Fifteen: A Hopeless Mission

Jules thought Asa was joking about storming the capital, but he was not. The morning after the funerals, they gathered in the front room and for the first time, introduced themselves properly. The green-haired kid who had helped Jules with the bodies was named Akio, and he had pronoun bracelets too, but his were blue and green and he wore both at the same time. Then there was Chiaki, who was kicked out of their house for being non-binary and also wore a green bracelet; and Hinata was the other resident who had been clipped. They were Jules remaining roommates, along with Sakura.

Some of the injured remained in the overfilled infirmary, but for the most part, they were all out front. Jules counted twelve. Asa was pacing back and forth in front of one of the sofas, tapping his fingers together in time with his steps. His wings were unfolded again—since Riku's attack, he rarely folded them—twitching with anxiety. Their leader, yet the only one not talking with other residents. Jules excused himself from his roommates and went over.

"Alright?"

He started, taking a step away from Jules.

"Sorry," Jules said. "Max and Sky are busy and you looked like you needed an intervention."

"And what are you intervening in?"

Jules shrugged, wishing he'd stayed off to the side with his roommates. "An anxiety spiral?"

Asa let out a short laugh. "Thanks, then, I guess. And for not killing me."

Blushing, Jules averted his eyes. It wasn't quite fair to keep bringing that up, considering he hadn't actually tried to kill Asa. Even if that had been the plan.

"I was being kind of prejudiced," Jules admitted. "And an asshole. And the reason Riku was even able to find this place. He killed your friends."

Your. This family wasn't his yet. Maybe he didn't deserve it in the first place, but he'd fight to keep it.

Asa shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. He would've found us eventually, and I went up again to see if I could find him first. Didn't realize he'd brought a group of fanatics with him."

Jules was fairly certain he'd helped lead Riku to the basement, but if Asa was trying to forgive him, he would take it.

"What now?" Jules asked. "I gather you asked everyone to meet so you could make an announcement. Is that why you're pacing?"

Now it was Asa's turn to shrug, though he didn't answer the question. Jules thought it best not to push. He was grieving—they all were—and now was not the time to force him to talk about what worried him.

Instead, he said, "Has there been any word from the governor?"

Asa shook his head, glad to have something else to talk about. "Nothing yet, but the Chinerans have noticed. Officers have been swarming the temple trying to keep the public away and identify the bodies. You were right, it's certainly sending a message. Some have even come out to protest the lack of government action."

Good. Jules hoped they were scared. They should be.

Asa was watching him, but at least he'd stopped pacing. "You confuse me."

Jules raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I understand why you left home. I did the same thing, but what I don't understand is why you're still here. Why you wanted to put those bodies in the temple's ruins. You could have left. Or laid low."

Of course these were the puzzle pieces Asa was missing. The only problem was that Jules wasn't entirely sure himself. Where there should have been answers, there was only anger. Everyone he had trusted back home had been manipulating him, making him feel unworthy of a power that should've been his birthright, no matter what gender he presented. Yuki's family were the only ones who accepted him in Kirama, but they didn't understand what it felt like for strangers in town to glare when he walked into a store just because he'd wrapped his chest. Yuki never had to worry that her parents would run off to the ocean, or her grandparents would call her by the wrong name. Maybe that was why in the end, Jules had stayed here. Because even if it meant damning his Line's name, it would be as himself instead of the obedient granddaughter Grandfather had wanted.

When he told this to Asa, the Cast didn't interrupt once. He had a way of watching people as they talked that was off-putting at first, but Jules was used to it now. He liked having Asa's full attention. After Grandfather barely noticed Jules leaving home, it felt good.

Though, it didn't exactly answer Asa's question as to why Jules had wanted to put the bodies in the temple.

"I guess after watching them come in here and kill people, I wanted the town to know their saviors aren't immortal." He'd said everything on one breath—or at least it certainly felt like it—and only now let himself breathe.

"Immortal they are not," Asa agreed. "Which is why I want to go to the capital and kill the Elders."

Jules balked. "I thought you were joking about storming the Cathedral."

He shrugged one shoulder as if they weren't talking high treason. "I was, but the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized that's what all this was leading up to. The temples, the government buildings. It was always going to end at the Cathedral."

No wonder he'd been pacing. How would the rest of the residents take his proposal? Would he ask them to join him? After watching their friends and family die, would they?

"I guess you meant it when you said you aren't trying to play the hero," Jules said, though not rudely. In fact, he was a bit envious of his disregard for what they'd been taught was moral.

Asa offered him a rueful smile. "I didn't choose the name Kurayami for no reason."

"Why did you, then?"

"Because the Elders named me after light and divinity," he said. "After tearing down the first temple in Yaeru, I thought a name that meant darkness was more fitting."

So many of the basements' residents had chosen their names. It was a magic of its own to have so much power over their own titles.

Finally pushing past his anxiety, Asa called for everyone's attention and told them (in more graceful terms) what he'd told Jules. The group was silent, drinking in his words. When he finished, Jules expected complaints and protests. But when the silence broke, it wasn't protest at all.

"I want to come," Sakura said. Her tiny fists were balled, long black hair tied off in two neat braids. She looked every bit a warrior, even if she was only thirteen.

After her declaration, the others voiced similar sentiments. Angry calls for the Elders to answer for the violence they perpetuated. Grief fueled demands for clippings to be outlawed and a questioning of how their society treated Casts.

"It's a suicide mission," Jules remarked to Sky as everyone dispersed from the meeting to prepare. They weren't wasting any time, leaving in two days' time. "And we're children. I mean, the oldest person here has to be like twenty-five."

Sky smiled, adjusting the strap of her sling. Max had suggested she stay behind with the others who were injured, but Sky gave him one look that said as if and he conceded.

"We're a family," she told Jules. "There's a lot of anger here for a group of teens and twenty-year-olds. To be perfectly honest, I think some of them don't care if they come back."

Jules couldn't help but watch Sakura talking with Asa. She was the youngest of them, but she'd already faced more than most. Clipped wings, dead brother. No matter how this mission went, Jules would make sure Sakura made it back. And maybe he'd find a way to make it back himself. 

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WC: 1293

Total WC: 18906