The Court's Yard (David)

[Trizen Takano]

It had been a bit and while since the attack on the school, as led by Gabriel Seran and his Black Knights. Now they had a face to the name, but more importantly, the school seemed to change a bit. Students were on opposite ends of things. They were either rowdy and up in arms, or they were quiet and trying to get by. The attack on the school seemed to change the way a lot of the ones sitting on the fence thought about their survival in a place like this.

'This is the beginning of change...' Trizen thought to himself as he was sitting on one of the benches. He was watching the students during lunch hour play games, or terrorize each other in passing. For both cases, Trizen felt helpless. Call it laziness in activity or the thought of authority in security.

After what Trizen saw earlier that week in conversation with Gabriel and David, things were clearly going to take a spin in another direction.

[David Blaze]

"We should probably get this over with now, right?"

Davids voice was calm, coming from behind the bench the young Takano sat at. He leaned against the tree, staring with a gentle toughness at the child he had trained and admired. He disdained that he was going to say what he had to say, but it needed to be done. Needed to be made known. Matrim, the school Captain, seemed to go on a rampage every day, and the other pillars were nowhere in sight. This place had nobody to protect it, and David would not let it fall to ruin. He would wait for Trizen to stand and walk around the bench to speak, taking a deep breath before doing so.

"Lets get one thing clear Trizen. I respect you, and care about you as a friend. That is the only reason i am here, to truly explain my actions and intentions to you."

He turned so his back would be leaning against the tree.

"The other day, you called me a vigilante. I'm here to let you know this- you are right." He looked over at the boy. "I will take the law, the rules, the ethical code of honor and justice upon myself to tear down anyone who wishes harm upon this school and its students." He faced forward again. "I have been down the road i helped set your feet on- the road of diplomacy, of effort of words and logic. And all i have ever gotten for it is regret, guilt and the pain of those i care for." His fists clenched. "I wont stand and watch it happen any longer. I know what your thinking- there is always an alternative. And your probably right. But i have wasted too much of my life trying to find it."

He stood, placing his hands in his pockets after relaxing them.

"I'm tired Trizen. Tired of constantly feeling helpless and a fool. I am a senior, and i have nearly nothing to show for it- everyone does as they wish regardless of the consequences. I failed to try and change the student body with peaceful actions- now i wont try to change them at all. I will simply hand out justice as i see fit. I will work according to the law of Corporal punishment and become a freelance Pillar- one without official tutelage. I'll fight, i'll teach and i'll make people realize that here, we will not stand for injustice or watch and talk while people continually destroy and inflict pain."

He smiled.

"I hope that you can do what i could not, and settle this without turning to violence. That part of my journey is done, as far as i can see."

He brought out a hand and held it in invitation.

"Your welcome to ask questions- i'll gladly answer any you may have."

[Trizen Takano]

There was that voice from behind. The boy turned to see that it was David. As much as there was a surge of happiness to see him, things were a little different now. He made sure of that.

"Lets get one thing clear Trizen. I respect you, and care about you as a friend. That is the only reason i am here, to truly explain my actions and intentions to you."

Perhaps this was what David and Emily spoke of what felt to be so long ago. They knew things would be different after this bout with Gabriel. It involved a lot of politics within the school. Maybe... just maybe this was the result they were talking about.

"The other day, you called me a vigilante. I'm here to let you know this- you are right."

Trizen held his breath. He hoped it wasn't true. That maybe David was just angry. But, the young man was angry. Not the kind of anger that could cool off in a while or whiles; this was different.

"I'm tired Trizen. Tired of constantly feeling helpless and a fool. I am a senior, and i have nearly nothing to show for it- everyone does as they wish regardless of the consequences. I failed to try and change the student body with peaceful actions- now i wont try to change them at all. I will simply hand out justice as i see fit. I will work according to the law of Corporal punishment and become a freelance Pillar- one without official tutelage. I'll fight, i'll teach and i'll make people realize that here, we will not stand for injustice or watch and talk while people continually destroy and inflict pain."

He smiled.

"I hope that you can do what i could not, and settle this without turning to violence. That part of my journey is done, as far as i can see."

Then David opened the floor.

Trizen listened well and thought for a moment about what to say. "You taught me a lot. You and Emily taught me much about this school. The people that are involved and the common good shared between everyone on respecting this place and each other. When there's a threat against the school, we all stand together. Yes, some might have different agendas, but it's always within the system. We work within the school's limits, and together we stand stronger."

The young boy by this time was facing David, and in a way pleading with him. "Don't step out just to take justice in your own hands. Who appointed you? Who elected you? If you want to be a Pillar, talk to Matrim. Work alongside them. You don't have to claim responsibility for the action of others. Don't do it through your own means... do you even know where those limits are? Do you have any? It wouldn't be long before you and Gabriel would stand too close together to look any different from one another. Students won't make the conscious decision to stop their fighting or corruption for the sake of justice and peace. They'll do it out of fear. The fear you've decided to become."

[David Blaze]

"That is the point, Trizen."

David sighed. He knew he must be coming off like Gabriel- he guessed he should set those boundries.

"Here are what makes me different from the pillars and from Gabriel. The pillars all answer to one student who, as you just said, takes justice into his own hands and makes decisions on his own. The Pillar system was intended to be ruled by a higher authority, a Headmaster or principal, not by the student body themselves. If someone evil ruled as Captain, would you have me go to him as well simply because of the title he holds?" He shook his head. "No, i will not. I will not answer to a student who may not follow the laws of the schoool and state but will likely follow his own law."

He rubbed his palm with his thumb.

"As for Gabriel- he did what he did by a means totally unlike what i intend. I will not try and destroy a system, and i will not brutalize the innocent to send a message that makes no sense. I Do not intend to have a higher purpose or path- i wish to simply hurt those people who hurt others. Fear will be there, yes, but fear of a rightous person whom they know is watching. Those students, like you, emily, Ryuu- they have nothing to fear because they have done no wrong. they only wish to live and be at peace. But peope like Gabriel, Matrim and Patrick Oconnor- they have been hurting lately just for thier own petty goals and ambitions."

He looked to the school, his eyes going soft.

"I care about where i am, i care about the people whom i have befriended. If i must instill a fear of justice then i will do so, for they, those students who have not obeyed the law or done evil, have put that authority and choice into my hands. THEY have appointed me to do something, by thier actions."

"You must understand Trizen- i know that it will not fix everything. But it will fix some things, and thats all i, as a man, can do."

'Regardless of the costs to my reputation and integrity.'

[Trizen Takano]

"I care about where i am, i care about the people whom i have befriended. If i must instill a fear of justice then i will do so, for they, those students who have not obeyed the law or done evil, have put that authority and choice into my hands. THEY have appointed me to do something, by thier actions.

"You must understand Trizen- i know that it will not fix everything. But it will fix some things, and thats all i, as a man, can do."

"If you're going to fight, then fight with Emily and the rest of Militia. They have a focused goal, I'm certain. You want to stop a lot of the violence? Take down Gabriel and his Black Knights. Stop the influence from influencing others. You're just going after the small fries; leave that to--" David had struck a valid point.

'Wait... The Pillars. Why did they disappear?'

"I... I still stand strong on the fact that one shouldn't become a vigilante on these grounds. You are a great young man, David, but I fear for your safety and the trials that will come before you. Yes, I understand I'm young and there's a whole future in front of me and blah-blah-blah, but you. You're a senior. You're almost finished school. Do you know what you're gonna do when you get out of here? Playing hero in the senior year will seem like more of a fantasy by the time you look back and remember these times. You're young too, remember? Why do this and risk a lot of everything when you could work with others and help fix a system in existence?"

Trizen wanted more than anything for David to be mindful of his decision. Ironically, the boy was an avid Batman reader and for some reason he felt as though this was becoming too unreal. A vigilante? Like the Dark Knight? As much as it was an odd comparison, Trizen knew better than anyone that the potential to become one of these characters in this world was very real. The Takano boy hoped Mister Blaze would not go down the dark path simply because it was a path that had no light. Just him.

[David Blaze]

"Because the system is broken and will NOT be fixed until it has a stable figurehead." He almost shouted it- trizen was not understanding the picture. He took a deep breath, rubbing the sides of his head with his middle fingers. He licked his lips and tried to continue.

"Trizen, my whole life i have tried to make up for something i did not do. I have come so close, so very close. But i have realized that, all along, my goal was out of my reach because i was not willing to sacrifice to get it done. Not everything, anyway." He stared at Trizen, trying to think on how to best describe it. "I have worked with so many others in the past, from pillars to gang leaders to teachers, and nothing has worked. No goal or plan or any amount of diplomatic negotiation has ever worked. Violence is all anyone knows. Its a language that can be spoken despite your ethnicity."

"I will simply use that language to communicate with those who only understand it. Tell me what is wrong with it? What makes what i want to do so evil? Its the same job as the pillars but without the political hassle, and i wont hold myself higher then any law. I will abide by them as well. So tell me- what makes what i want to do wrong?" He smiled. "I'll answer it for you- fear. You, Emily, everyone is afraid. Afraid to make people feel like they are trapped, when you don't see that everyone is already trapped. Everyone is constantly caged and boxed in, with no hope or individual to turn to. You say they can turn to us- so we can do what? Talk the person who hurt them to death?" He shook his head.

"I have said it so many times, but i never tire of it. I'm done talking. If someone is brutalized, i will abuse the abuser. If someone steals, cheats, or maims, i will hurt them too. It does not matter to me on the severity of the crime- if it is a crime, they will find me."

David put it simply, and obviously stated thus- he had no plan or goal. No true method other then to eliminate those who made that place a violent area to be in.

"I found a girl on the roof, near dead and basically crucified. What would you do to bring her agressor to justice? Tell the half-maniacal Captain? Go to Emily or militia so they can talk about it? What will you do to help now, in this moment?"

[Trizen Takano]

David had made his decision. That was clear. But Trizen was stubborn. He didn't want to believe that someone he looked up to would take a path like this. It was rogue.

"I have said it so many times, but i never tire of it. I'm done talking. If someone is brutalized, i will abuse the abuser. If someone steals, cheats, or maims, i will hurt them too. It does not matter to me on the severity of the crime- if it is a crime, they will find me."

Trizen grimaced slightly on hearing these things. The boy felt like he was playing it completely safe when he thought about it, but he knew it was the wrong way to do things. Or so, he thought. But at the same time... nothing was completely black or white. Then David asked his question. It was a hard one. It meant being absolute about something. Or at least that's what David was expecting to hear. The sophomore had to think it through for a while.

"It's not up to me to decide the fate or judgement of the aggressor. As a member of Militia, if I see him, I have the means to take him down. But I will not distribute my own brand of justice. He will be taken to the authorities and dealt with there. Justice will be served when the sentenced is passed."

[David Blaze]

David cocked an eyebrow.

"And who are the authorities? Unfettered? Emily? A teacher whom will do whatever is needed to avoid pain and retaliation? A Pillar? What gives any student the right to rule over the others, the right to judge others. I'll tell you what- the law. If they use the laws and judge rightly according to the group of individuals appointed by the public to rule then they are worthy of it. That is what i am talking about. Its exacty what i will do. I will only be handing out justice according to the law."

He sighed.

"I am glad to hear my old ideals stuck with you, but my new ideals are firm and final. I cannot consciously go to someone else who may play on prejudice, and i will not bring people to any student authority within this school. So, i've memorized the school rules, and i will judge according to them. You ask where i get the authority- from the students themselves. Nobody, in my eyes, is picking up the mantle or deserving of it. So i will. I will do it without titles, without orders, without anything but the law and my logic. Thats how things will be."

His face grew serious.

"And my justice will encompase all. I don't care if its Gabriel doing the wrong or emily. If either of them are caught, i will hand them the same justice. Its the only fair way to judge."

[Trizen Takano]

Trizen said nothing. Both sides were valid, or rather as valid as they were going to get.

"It seems we have reached an impasse." The boy could muster on looking at his friend. Yes, they were still friends. Something like this only meant the following:

"To be honest with you, your point of view is an approach that is needed. So long as you respect the law and abide by it." The boy of fifteen folded his arms and watched David with an equal fire. "But you must not cross that line. That same line Gabriel crossed weeks ago. We need that push so that this system of justice can be reorganized. Revamped. Restructured."

"But hear me, Blaze. I might have stuck with your old values, but these are the right values. There must be room for talk. There must be room for verbal communication. Oddly enough, this school is not run by fear, but politics. As much as you will have the power to manipulate those politics from the outside, there will be people like myself who will do the same from the inside." Trizen's voice was getting softer, almost as though he didn't know he could speak to David the way he did. But shook his head and left the thought to brew for itself. "There might be a time where I will become that symbol. That representation of unspoken justice. But, I'm not there yet. I... I can't do it... So, for now I will stand here. Where I am."

He said it and finished it with a strong nod. There was certainly a calm appearance of passion, but his brown eyes certainly told a different story. Not only were they full of energy and will, but the oracles of time saw the future in which the past invested and stamped their mark. The mark of future lineage and masked heroes. The Son of Shenmue and the tenth wearer of Sayurai.

[David Blaze]

"The law will apply to me, and i will abide by it, this you need not have fear of. Power and glory will not consume me- only honor and justice."

He turned, rolling his shoulder and sighing with relief at having finally made someone at least accept his side. He spoke again, softly.

"You watch out for Em, Trizen. Make sure she is always safe, and if you have need of me, i will come."

With that,David would begin to leave, his last name printed boldly on the shoulders area of his sleeveless shirt, announcing to all who read it whom he was.

'Thus, the Legacy begins.'

[Trizen Takano]

"The law will apply to me, and i will abide by it, this you need not have fear of. Power and glory will not consume me- only honor and justice."

That was his promise to Trizen.

"You watch out for Em, Trizen. Make sure she is always safe, and if you have need of me, I will come."

The boy nodded and watched as David Blaze took to doing the classic walkaway. It seemed to really suit the seen as the wind blew is gentle breeze while petals and softer leaves meshed in their way across the scene. In a momentary lull, Trizen had just excepted that the future had changed. This was one of them. The results made everyone different... he just hoped it was for the better. And as it was, Blaze's protege had one last thing to say close this chapter.

"I promise."