Powder Keg | Nozomi

Chem and Coder sat on a rooftop facing the sunset. The light poured across the sky in a graceful embrace as the world became wrapped in a light orange hue. The city was quiet as people had retreated into their new homes. They could see the lights flicker on across the many buildings. Only three square blocks of the city had electricity, so they could see everything in their gaze. Even still, everything looked smaller and more intimate.

“It’s very peaceful, isn’t it?” Chem asked.

“Do you always look at the sunset like this?” Coder asked.

“I do now.” Chem said, “You know how I feel about how the world ended. But things here could have gone a lot worse. I was afraid at first that we’d be in a post-apocalypse, where there would be constant chaos and war.”

“I thought so too.” Coder said with a serious gaze, “I’m glad we have some time to prepare.”

“What do you mean by ‘prepare’?” Chem asked.

“I just mean that we can build up a society, and create some order. That way, in case something challenges that … we’ll be ready.”

“Yeah” Chem said, “I suppose you’re right.”

There was a pause in the air as Coder remained silent.

“What do you think Takahashi would have thought of this?” Chem asked.

“What?” Coder asked, “Oh I don’t know. Why?”

“Because he spent years” Chem started, eyes narrowed towards the sunset, “collecting us, and hoarding us into electric prisons. Now that we’re out, would he be proud, horrified? How would he feel about his life’s work?”

“I know you still feel shame,” Coder said, “and I get that. And I - didn’t know him personally, but I don’t think he had one ounce of shame in his body. You don’t get to own the world if you know when to stop.”

“Yeah” Chem said, “You’re probably right.”

In the tattered building, the members of the Nozomi gang gathered. The walls were still haggard and dirty. The muscular man sat uncomfortably by the window with a cape draped across his shoulders, while Superior stood silently beside him. Fear and Witch sat quietly in the corners of the room.

The door opened and Gang emerged through it. The muscular man stood up.

“Alright.” Gang said, “Everyone knows by now that we’re in charge, and we’re controlling the non-perishable and frozen foods. If they want the feeding tubes in the facility, they’re welcome to it, but the good stuff is under our control!”

The muscular man took a step forward, “Can we talk privately?”.

“Fine.” Gang said, looking around, “Let’s talk outside.” Both Gang and the muscular man walked outside the door and into the adjoining hallway.

“First,” Gang asked, “What’s with the cape?”

“I need to know where Chaos is.” the man said.

“He’s on guard duty.” Gang countered, “He’s making sure no one steals any food. Now answer my question.”

The man shook his head, “I joined this group because I wanted to do the right thing. The fact that we call ourselves a ‘gang’ is tough enough, but I want to be a hero, and this cape is part of that. And when I met Chaos … I mean, how can we call ourselves the good guys when we’re aligned with someone like him?”

Gang paused and looked down at the ground. After he gathered his thoughts for a minute, he answered, “I’ve known Chaos for most of my life. He’s not my friend, and I would be much happier if he wasn’t around. We have a very bad history.” he looked at the man, “But we don’t get to choose who our allies are. We don’t always get to do the things that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. Because if we want to be in control, then we have to make the hard choices - and we do want to be in control.” Gang looked towards the door, “because without us, there’s a power vacuum, and the whole world could turn to … well … something worse than it already is. Understand ‘hero’?”

“Yeah” the muscular hero said, “I think so.”

Kasumi opened the door and walked into the diner. It smelled like fresh pancakes and she could hear music from the nineteen-fifties playing from a jukebox in the corner. The diner itself was painted in red and gray with checkered floors. The waitress smiled at her and tilted her head to the side. Everything in the place was very nostalgic and familiar, except for the glowing orange circle behind the counter. Kasumi walked towards it and proceeded towards the back room of the diner.

In the back room, she found Kitsune , Birdcage , Vine, sitting around a table, with another man sitting beside them. In the center of the table were square orange tiles with glowing white circles in the centers. Kitsune turned her head gracefully towards Kasumi and smiled.

“I’m glad you made it.” Kitsune said, “Were you followed?”

“No, and thank you. I’m happy I’m here.” Kasumi said. “I couldn’t go back to the farm with everything going on.” she paused, “What are those orange tiles?”