The Rising Dawn

Chapter Twenty-One - Running

“What’s going on today?” Aono asked, sitting in his once-customary position on a step near Nika’s chair.

She shrugged. “Everybody is out doing their jobs. Earning, begging, stealing, surviving. We’ve been so caught up in all this future business that the present has quite left us behind.”

Aono nodded his agreement and for a moment they just sat in silence, both privately horrified at how nostalgic they were for a few weeks ago when all of this was only a half-baked idea. They had no business being nostalgic. Those weren’t the good old days.

“People with ideas,” Nika sighed. “Why I am so out of ideas? I mean, I know what I want. Most of all, really, right now? I want to break into the palace. I want one day in which everything goes down. You know?”

“Showtime,” Aono grinned.

“Yes!” Nika almost laughed at herself. “One day when we call in all the favours and send everything up in flames! We take out the factories! We take out the politicians! We take out the Underneath and the ruler’s palace and everything! All in one day!”

Aono laughed as he shook his head. “Nika, I was wondering what had happened to all of that.”

“Can’t go spouting wild ideas with our precious council around,” Nika grimaced. “Maybe that wasn’t such a smart idea. But I really do need them.”

“Course you do,” Aono said, easily. “We’d never have made it this far without Luo to boss us around.”

Nika rubbed her eyes. “I’m so tired, Aono. We’ve scarcely done anything and already I’m so tired.”

He sighed and looked up at her. “Nika, what were you really expecting?”

She shrugged. “Guess I wasn’t expecting anything.”

“What were you hoping for, then?”

She winced. “I suppose part of me hoped for…a miracle. You know. A glorious victory. A new brotherhood. Everyone united. A perfect moment. I didn’t expect it but…well…”

“You,” Aono said, severely, “have a weakness for playing the hero.”

Nika opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off.

“No, really. You do. You want to save lives and sacrifice things and shake things up a bit. That’s fine. But the thing about unsung heroes, Nika, really unsung heroes, is that nobody ever hears about them.”

“That’s not the point…”

“It is completely the point. If nobody remembers, it never happened. Don’t you see?”

Nika groaned softly. “Of course I see! I just don’t want to admit it! You know that!”

Aono stood up and patted her on the shoulder.

“Nika,” he said, “we’re going to make it happen. We’re going to bring him down. Just give us a little time.”

“I never thought there was so much hanging around in war,” she grumbled.

Aono cracked a smile. “You thought they fought twenty-four-seven?”

Nika laughed at herself. “No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I just expected…I don’t know what I expected. I’m just tired.”

“Moody.”

“Same thing, isn’t it?”

“I need to go out,” Aono said. “I’m running scouting missions with Luo. We want to take a look at the damage we’ve done, see what new threats have been pinned…”