Tales From Edo High - A Modern Retelling of Bakumatsu Era Japan

Chapter Six - The Edoite

The incident was reported by news outlets everywhere, though the cameras inside the school that could've captured our faces were destroyed beyond repair. 

That night. We shouldn't have even been there. I have no clue what Kusaka was thinking. We could've gotten arrested or died if we hadn't made it out in time. It was a stupid revenge plot that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

"Did you hear what happened, Ryoma?" the voice of Ryo broke me from my trance, "The British Exchange School burned down!"

I jumped, quickly scrambling to regain myself, "Sorry!" I chuckled, "I was...in another place!" 

"You do that a lot." Ryo tilted her head, "Any reason why?"

"I just... have a lot to think about." my mind trailed again, as I looked out the window as the cherry blossoms feel from the trees that surrounded our campus. It was hypnotizing in a way. 

Ryo huffed, "You're troubled."

"I'm not."

"You are." she huffed again, "Your words tell nothing, but your eyes tell a million stories." 

I smirked, "You read me like a book." I sighed, "The whole thing with Ii. It wasn't something that happened out of chance. I'm a part of a student organization that had been planning Ii's downfall for months. Now, our president is making decisions that I can't say I really agree with."

"Simple." she said comfortingly, "Leave them. It doesn't do you well to follow someone you don't align with." 

"It's not that simple." I sighed again, "I'm loyal to their cause. Many of my good friends are members too. I just don't know."

Ryo got up, slinging her bag along her shoulder, "Sometimes we have to think about ourselves before others, or we don't grow." she left the classroom shortly after. 

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"Ryoma." Kusaka addressed me, as he usually did during Choshu meetings. "We've a task for you, and you alone."

"You beat up Ii last year, which dealt a heavy blow to the student body." Katsura explained, "We figure if you pull a similar stunt, we'll gather more support."

I frowned, "You want me to jump someone."

"Yes. But not just anyone." Kusaka sat down in one of the wooden classroom chairs, "Vice President Kaishu Katsu. He should be in the student council office alone right now. 

I stood from my seat quickly, "Ii was one thing, he and a bunch of his goons jumped me, he had it coming." I clenched my fist, "What's Katsu done? From what I hear he's not nearly as corrupt as Ii was."

"It's not what he has done." Katsura interrupted, "But what he can do."

"He's as big of a threat as the President, with what power he has." Shinsaku added, "It's best if he's taken care of, so the risk is eliminated."

I sighed, "Fine. It's for the cause."

I exited the room quickly, making my way to the student council's office in haste. I opened the door to the office to find a guy wearing a scarf and fedora staring out the window. 

"I'm looking for Kaishu Katsu. I have a message for him." My tone was serious, almost demanding, as if I was robbing a gas station.

The stranger turned, a grin present on his face, "That'd be me." he took a moment, "Wait, you're the kid that beat up Ii! Sakamoto, right? I wanna say on behalf of the-"

He was cut off as I'd pinned him against the wall, readying my fist. "I'm here on behalf of the Choshu. If you don't want to get hurt, I'd submit your resignation from the student body."

"Listen." he pushed me back, "I don't know what gives you people the idea that removing the right people is going to solve the problem with our school." he sighed, "Nobody needs to get hurt. So, stop." 

I took a breath after nearly falling to the floor, letting go of my clenched fist. "What's your solution, then?"

Katsu smirked, brushing his shoulder, "The student body. It's corrupt, from the inside that's clear as day, but removing the right people in power isn't going to solve anything. It'll all go to hell if there isn't a system in play to keep the status quo."

"What are you suggesting?" I raised an eyebrow

Katsu chuckled, "Why take the time to tear down an establishment that's worked for so long, when you can take less time working to reform it, and fix what problems it has. That's what I've been working to do, but I can't do it alone." he offered me a hand, "Vandalism, arson, Are these things Shoin would have wanted?" he asked, "you seem like a competent individual, so what say you and I partner up, so we can fix what problems this school has."

I took a moment, Katsu was right. The Student Body was a system that had been in place for years before I'd arrived at Edo, and it had clearly worked before then. At this point, if it were to fall, the whole school would crumble, and I doubt the Choshu or Satsuma have any clue what the principal would do in its place. What Ryo had said earlier in the day rang through my mind: "Sometimes we have to think about ourselves before others, or we don't grow."

I moved toward Katsu, taking his hand in mine, and giving it a firm shake. "Alright. I'll do it. I'm done burning buildings and risking it all." 

Katsu chuckled, "I'd figured you'd see my point. It's a lot less barbaric than that of the Choshu."

I smiled. Katsu's way was exactly what I'd been looking for. A cause that doesn't hurt people, a cause that doesn't carry such a high risk. A cause that I could get behind. It was clear that at this school, Katsu was a visionary unlike any other. 

"Welcome, Ryoma Sakamoto, to the Student Government." Katsu chuckled.