Chapter 11

“We couldn’t find anything useful.” I told Diran with a shrug as we exited the room.

“What does this mean? Why couldn’t you see anything?” Diran asked, confused.

“That's beside the point, we need to try again with someone else.” Replied Toshi.

Toshi suddenly froze, his normally dark brown eyes glowed bright blue for a split second.

“They’re coming.” He urgently said.

“What? Who are?” Useless said, looking up from her burger for a second, before going right back to eating.

“H-How do you know?” Shai asked.

“That's improper grammar.” I corrected Useless.

“How long do we have? What's the plan?” Roku asked.

Everybody had asked questions at once. Their confusion made sense, they were unaware of Toshi’s

abilities.

“We have about five minutes until they get here.” Toshi replied.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

Toshi paused for a minute as he thought. If it was just one or two enemies, we could just send out Diran and Roku to take care of them, if they were weak Mack could pick them off with his rifle. Clearly this was something bigger.

“As you all have probably guessed, that guy you’re after, uh, Koun, he's the head of some organization. My ability is the key to figuring out where he is and how to defeat him. Right now, he has sent a pretty hefty force to thwart us. I'd say there are around 100 “foot soldier” level opponents, and three “general” level opponents.” Toshi said.

“What do you mean by foot soldiers and generals, how do they compare to us?” Roku asked.

“Hmm, how do I put it in terms you’ll understand? Generals are about on the same level as you three.” Toshi said while pointing at Diran, Roku, and I.

“While foot soldiers are about on the level of your friend over there, she may be able to beat some of them, but most would give her trouble.” He said while motioning toward Useless, who was now carelessly laying on the couch after finishing her burger.

“Ok, so we don’t really need to worry about the foot soldiers.” I laughed at the suggestion that there were some people that were worse than Useless.

“Of course not, if they’re on her level, a sneeze from me would probably make them keel over.” Roku said with a chuckle before we exchanged a fist bump. If we only had one thing in common, it’d be our mutual love of mocking Useless.

As the name suggested, foot soldiers wouldn’t be trouble for us, they’d simply be fodder. Generals would be the ones to worry about. Except for seeing me die in the future, Toshi hadn’t seen Diran and I in a while, so he wasn't aware of the vast difference that had grown in our strength.

“Now's not the time for monkeying around. We have to make a plan.” Toshi interjected.

I was in surprisingly good spirits about the whole thing, maybe it was because I had been expecting to get killed off for Diran’s character development for a while. Maybe it was because I was tired of being a side character. Either way, my death was inevitable, could be now, could be later, it might even be today. I could get absolutely destroyed in this upcoming battle, who knows. All I know is it happens before we find Koun. Besides, I have a trump card, so I don’t think I’ll be dying tonight.

“So, do each of us just take a general and leave the foot soldiers to Mack and Useless?” Roku asked.

“That would normally be a pretty good plan, but I'm still pretty injured from the last battle, I don’t think I can fight.” That was it, my trump card. My unbeatable strategy. Even an idiot wouldn’t send an injured man into battle. I secured my spot on the sidelines like usual. Didn’t think I’d have to work for it this time.

If I was to go against someone on Roku’s level, I’d die before you could say Bonzu Pippinpaddle Oppsokopolis, so my only option is to stay out of the fight completely.

My self-healing had stopped the pain and healed me a great deal, but it was still incomplete. My broken bones were still not completely healed, my muscles were still torn. I wasn’t even close to fighting shape, so unless I magically get healed, I’m out of this fight. I’m not even a pawn on the chess board.

“I-I can help with that.” Shai said as she stood up from the stool she was sitting on.

“Huh?” Roku questioned.

“I’m a... I’m a healer.” She turned her face down in embarrassment.

“What?” I gasped in confusion. Since when have we had a healer?

“Oh...um, yeah...I guess I’ll be good then.” I responded in shock.

I laid on the couch as Shai put her palms toward me. She took a deep, slow breath in, and a deep, even slower breath out. A soft green glow began to emit from her hands. I could feel the remaining pain dissipate; she was actually a healer.

“She’s actually doing it. She's actually a healer! Since when?” I whispered to Roku.

“I have no idea; I’ve been saying we needed a healer for years!” He whispered back.

“I know, right? This is so weird.” I whispered back.

“Have we just been paying that little attention?” Roku asked.

No, that’s not it, I just can’t escape the plot, can I? If I was going to die for character development, there was nothing I could do about it. If the plot demanded I die in this battle to awaken Diran’s hidden powers, then that is what I’d have to do. Dammit.

We were then interrupted by Toshi.

“That may sound like a good plan, but there are flaws with it. If you each all take a general that leaves Mack to take care of 100 foot soldiers, he may be very efficient at long range, but if any of them get in close he's as good as dead. I’m not fit for battle anymore either, I may be able to take a few foot soldiers, but even that’s a gamble. If they get me, you guys are screwed. Useless, as you so lovingly call her, needs to stay and guard our healer. Your plan seems good on paper but there's too many holes and risks.” Toshi said.

“Then what do you suggest?” Diran said.

“Something even riskier.” Toshi responded with a smirk.

I didn’t like the sound of that, especially knowing about my impending death. But knowing Toshi, this was my best bet, it’d have to work out. He knew my future; he’d probably do everything he can to change it. I’ll put my faith in him.

“The whole reason you came here is to use my

ability, so that will be our top priority, to use my ability.” He spoke.

“But on who? Whoever we use it on is out of the battle, and then we need another person to stay and guard you.”

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I was starting to see the way out. If I stayed and guarded Toshi, Diran would be able to take out all the threats, leaving me safe and out of harm's way. After this debacle I'll make sure to stay on the side lines. It sucks being a side character, and I hate it, I mean I really hate it, but it's better than death. I guess Toshi really is a genius to think of this way out.

“Diran. We need Diran to stay.” Toshi replied.

“What? But he's our strongest fighter, he could almost definitely take all three ‘generals’ by himself.” I take back what I said earlier, he isn’t a genius. I am so screwed.

“My second ability is called Tomorrow Today. Normally the person I use it on is unconscious while the ability is active, so all I need to do is change the requirements.” He replied.

“What do you mean? You can do that?” I said as I sat up, the healing finished.

“Of course I can, I’ve done it before. The tradeoff is they still need to stay in the room, and the process will take way longer, but Diran will be able to act as my guard while my ability is active. I call this ability Tomorrow Today: Remix.” He finished.

Now that he mentions it, I’ve done something similar. Slightly changing the properties of an ability, like what I did with Version One against Gerald, and how I can use Version Three without hitting them with my swords by sacrificing accuracy and power. I guess I never really thought too much about it.

“So, while I am doing that, Instead of Mack taking out the foot soldiers, he is going to pin down the generals to buy us enough time.” He continued.

“Shai will stand by for healing and ‘Useless’ will guard her, leaving the foot soldiers to...”

Roku smiled a huge, wicked smile, finally understanding the old man's plan. It wasn’t his normal smile; it was a rare smile he only showed in the allure of a fulfilling battle. I’m sure he’d like to fight the generals, but taking on a whole army almost single handedly sure has its allure.

“We’ve only got about two minutes until they arrive, let's all get into positions.” Toshi said.

Diran went into the room where Toshi would use his ability, Shai went to tell Useless and Mack the plan, while Roku left to get in position outside.

I was paused, frozen, unmoving. Standing in the living room as everyone was leaving to do what they needed to do. The realization had hit me.

Toshi needed Diran to see our future, to see where we go next. He’d seen my future, and he hadn’t seen the next plot point. I wasn’t at the next battle. I wasn’t present at the climax of this arc. I wasn’t going to be there. This battle is going to be my last one. I’m not going to make it through.

I am going to die. This is for real. It’s not a joke.

This isn’t like Dragon Ball; death really is the end. Nothing Diran or Roku could do can bring me back. I am going to die. This fight is gonna be my final one. My final fight, the curtain on my story, the climax of my life. I am going to die when I leave this house. My thoughts were interrupted by Toshi grabbing my arm.

“If you’re worried about me, I’m alright. Something about going into a battle where you know you’ll die is kind of freeing.” I told him with a forced smile.

“A battle is a battle, death is always an option,” he replied.

“I mean, yeah. But it’s different knowing this time you are for sure dying. How can you expect me to just go out there and die?”

“Why would it be any different now that you know failure and death is on the table, isn’t that how it’s always been? Isn’t that how battle works?” He continued.

“But why fight a fight I know I’ll lose!? I’m not gonna knowingly walk out and accept my death! I need to get out of here!” Anger began to bubble up in me, to fester. How can he just let me die?

“You’re going to run away? You’re just going to accept this? This is not the Lee I know; this is not the boy I trained.” Toshi’s voice was firm, with a twinge of disappointment.

That is what stung. Not knowing I was going to die, not the humiliation of running away. But knowing I am a disappointment. A failure. I wasn’t who he wanted me to be, and I wasn’t who I wanted to be. I was a side character. A mere spectator of my own life. I wasn’t even the protagonist of my own story.

I wasn’t like Diran. I’m not Diran. Diran would run into the jaws of death without flinching, without recoiling or even second guessing himself. He was strong, confident, and sure of himself. He was everything that I’m not, and everything I want to be.

So how, with all of that knowledge, am I supposed to go out there and fight? I can’t.

“You have so many people around you showing you what you should do. You know what you need to do. The answer is right there, right outside that door, and yet you still can’t see it?” He almost scoffed as he finished that sentence.

“What am I supposed to do then? How am I supposed to get out of this!? How am I supposed to break free from this shitty destiny I have? Outside that door is death. And I'm supposed to go to it?”

I yelled out, almost laughed. What am I supposed to do? I don’t have the answers, I don’t even have an idea.

I wanted to cower away, to hide. I was tired of losing, of failing. Of trying my hardest, only for it to not be enough. I knew I would fail. I knew what would happen next, I knew I would fail. I knew I would die.

“You keep complaining about that, about destiny, you whine and complain about how life has screwed you over, but have you ever stopped to consider that maybe you're not the only one who has had to fight destiny!?” Toshi began to raise his voice, almost to the point of yelling.

“Fight it? I’ve tried! It’s useless, hopeless! There's nothing I can do! And now It’s even more clear cut than ever! This is the end! You’ve seen it yourself! So that’s why I ask, what's the point!?”

What does he know about me? He doesn’t know what I’ve been through, what I’ve seen. He doesn’t know the pain of seeing everything in life passing you by, as you get reduced to standing on the sidelines without a purpose.

“That's the thing, you haven’t tried! You give the slightest effort, and when that doesn’t work out, you give up! You stagnate!”

“You’ve seen my future! You see that if I try, I fail! I die! So why are you so hellbent on getting me out that door and rushing me to my death!? You said it yourself, I’m weak, I give up at the slightest failure, I’ve given up so many times before, and I give up now!”

“But how is this any different from any of the other fights you’ve been in? You’re a side character, that's what you say. You’ve lost and failed time and time again, and yet you’ve never truly given up, you always eventually get back on your feet and try again. So why was this time different? You know you’ll fail, but that never stopped you from trying before.”

What is he going on about? If I know I’m gonna fail, then why try!? Especially when I know that failure this time means death.

“You’ve waited and hoped for a chance to break free from this. To finally escape your brother’s shadow. To finally be what you want in life. Now the chance is in front of you, it’s always been. And now you wanna quit just because you might die? You’ve cursed fate and destiny, hated them, fought against them even though you failed, so why is this time any different? If you leave, and run away now nothing will change, you’ll just keep on living a poor excuse for a life wallowing in your self loathing. But if you go out that door, if you take those steps, if you choose to fight, then you’ll be free.” Toshi stared me in the eyes. I saw a fire and determination in his. A stern, unmoving resolve. The light in mine didn’t come close.

“But-”

“A failure is only truly a failure when they stop trying. When they give up. Go out there and fight against fate one last time.” He wouldn’t even let me argue.

He’s right. I have been a coward. I hated what my life had become, what I had become, and it's all because I stagnated. I thought I’d been trying to change it, but that was far from the truth. I’d make a slight effort just so I could tell myself I’d tried. I’d fail and blame it on anything but myself. I’d stagnated in life. I’d stopped living with direction.

“If I win, I live, but if I lose, I’ll die. That’s the rule for any battle, this time isn’t any different…...” Running away and cowering was not an option now. I couldn’t give a

half effort.

I wasn’t weak because I was a side character confined to the side lines, I was confined to the sidelines as a side character because I was weak.

“It’ll be better to go out in a blaze of glory than to keep living life in a way I hate.” I laughed. I’d always wished to be useful, to stop being a spectator, and now I finally had that opportunity.

“As a fool who’s lived his life in the palms of fate, I’m not going to accept death now. Not until I finally live a life I can be proud of.” I am going to be successful; I am going to be useful; I am going to achieve my goals, or I’ll die trying.

“If I’m gonna die, if I’m gonna fail. I’ll do it with a smile, knowing I’ve tried.” I’ll do it. I’ll do the best I can. I’ll perform the most important role a side character can. I won’t let anyone short of Diran stand in my way.

“That’s my boy.” Toshi flashed a huge smile at my newfound understanding. I guess he really was a genius. He’s already seen this whole conversation, hasn’t he?

We left to go to our respective positions with a fist bump. I was a flawed individual, a hypocrite who hadn’t realized my own flaws. The only way to change the future is if I change. The only way to change my fate is if I fight.

So, I’ll fight.

“You know, this fairly mediocre arc might have been all worth it if this final fight is cool.” I said with newfound enthusiasm as I joined Roku.

“Huh? I’ve enjoyed this week so far.” Roku said.

“Come on, we fought a filler villain, we both lost a fight against a couple randos, and then there's that part we don’t talk about. How was any of that enjoyable?” I retorted.

“We each got time in the spotlight away from Diran. We got good foreshadowing and buildup for the future. Do you seriously think that dude who kicked your ass isn’t going to show up again? Of course not. I think it was a pretty good base for the future to come.” Roku explained.

“Huh. I guess so, I really do need to stop being so pessimistic about everything.” I said with a sigh.

I've failed again and again, but that doesn’t mean I should give up. I need to just keep trying, keep moving forward. Even against impossible odds, because that’s what it means to truly live.

My thoughts were interrupted by the first

gunshot from Mack, which signified that this was about to begin.

“You ready?” Roku asked.

“Not really, but I don’t think they’d give us time to do warm-up stretches.”