'Tokyo' Chapter 2

 He reaches inside the satchel and pulls out a high-quality piece of red cloth that stands out from the rest of his attire. He wraps the cloth around his ankle and pulls on it to ensure it won’t come undone. Bearing the ‘red band’ is a law that was put in place back in 2041; ‘If one possesses an ability, a red band must be visibly worn in public at all times or be arrested. Red bands can be found for free at any and all public houses or community centers in Tokyo’.

It is one of the first laws the New Monarchy implemented in its New Code, and just like every other law about ability users, it’s taken very seriously by the Peacekeepers. The Peacekeepers are led by The Military and are loved by the masses but hated by ability users. They discriminate against ability users any chance they get, and unlike the Advanced Police Force who actually wants to help, the Peacekeepers will abandon a neighborhood or district just because they don’t want to waste the time or money needed to save it from criminals.

Denori stares into the sun for a moment to adjust his eyes and looks out over the city. His uncle’s apartment building has a pretty nice view of Koto-Ku, the main port district. A large man-made island out on the peninsula, Odaiba Island, is also seen. A giant wall sits a couple of blocks away from the apartment building. The Division Wall is what the residents of Tokyo have grown to call it since it separates Old Tokyo and New Tokyo. The difference between the two districts is night and day. Denori’s apartment building sticks out like an eyesore compared to its neighbors, but the entire neighborhood itself has the same effect compared to the neighborhoods in New Tokyo with its technologically advanced and minimalistic style. Random white pillars and man-made gardens line every street of New Tokyo and only get more abundant the closer one gets to the Palace District; meanwhile, Old Tokyo looks the same as it did ten years ago, only dirtier. When the wealthy and Peacekeepers left, so did its charm and self-respect. Denori explains it as so: “For every plant in New Tokyo is a pile of trash in Old Tokyo.”

By the time he climbs to the roof of the fifteen-story apartment, he can already see over The Division Wall. Denori enjoys looking out over the city districts from Old Tokyo. It looks like a dream world to him until he rubs shoulders with the egotistical people that live there.

“The wall seems to get bigger and bigger every day,” Denori thinks to himself, “but it’s nothing compared to the Wall of Tokyo.

He pivots on his feet and turns to his left where a massive wall of concrete and metal stands over him like a castle to an ant. The nearly 300-meter behemoth towers over Denori and all of the surrounding buildings, forcing him to tilt his neck upwards to see its peak even though it stands over a mile away from him. Even the tallest skyscrapers in Tokyo located in Chuo City aren’t enough to see over it. It blows Denori’s mind that it only took six months to build, but anything is possible with a team of Metal Affinity users.

“One day,” he says, sighing deeply.

Denori descends the fire escape, landing in a long and narrow alleyway; one of the hundreds that create the dark and gray jungle that is Old Tokyo. He walks out into a busy sidewalk only to be bumped in the shoulder by a fellow teen. The teen turns his head and spits at the ground. His light blue blazer with eccentric patterns and yellow accents stands out to Denori, but that is just the cyberpunk style of Tokyo’s youth that he just cannot figure out. He has never had the money to buy clothes, but even if he did he would still be fine with his old ripped-up bomber jacket.

He opens up a small piece of paper with a map on it and a blue-highlighted route that leads from the apartment building, through The Division Wall, and to the school at the heart of New Tokyo. Multiple red routes lead to the same place, but these are much longer and farther apart.

“I’ve got some time to spare before the first bell, might as well take one of the red routes,” he says to himself, “Man, I hope Potun doesn’t get mad that I’m taking a detour to our meetup spot.”

Denori begins to walk down one of the red-marked alleyways, and it’s not long before he picks up a little jog and a slight smirk on his face. His pupils turn a bright green color, heightening his senses and activating his ‘Foresight’ ability.

Denori kicks a nearby full trash can into a wall on his left, then stands next to it and waits patiently. He hears a couple arguing about the man spending all day watching holo-tv rather than working to make money. A small box gets thrown out of the open window, falling ten stories down and landing right into the trash can.

Denori reaches inside for the box and dusts it off, revealing a brand name printed on its side and a logo that says HOLO-TV across its face.

“This holo-tv would go great in my room,” he says. He puts it under the trash can and mumbles, “I'll come back for you later,” before he begins jogging through the alley once again.

After another block or two of confusing and intersecting alleyways, Denori hears the faint shouting of a woman. Now curious, he stops in his tracks to close his eyes and focus on where the shouting is coming from.