Truancy

Wherever there is school, there will always be truancy.

Truancy is a trilogy of dystopian novels written by Isamu Fukui. Set in a totalitarian city ruled by its Mayor and Educators, the first book follows a fifteen-year-old student named Tack, and a student rebellion calling itself the Truancy. The story is dedicated "to everyone that has ever suffered in the name of education".

The third and final book, Truancy City, is still in the works.

Needs More Love.

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Tropes found in Truancy:

• Abusive Parents: Rothenberg to his son, Cross.
• And the Fandom Rejoiced: On finding that Milady would appear in the last book.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Suzie to Tack. He doesn't really mind, since she's the only family member human being he's sure he loves.
• Author Appeal: The first book was written when the author was fifteen.
• Author Avatar: Isamu Fukui states that he made Umasi's name mirror his because he was more like Zyid than Umasi.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Zyid, leader of the Truancy, has only ever lost to Umasi (who turned down a leading position in the Truancy more than once) and Tack (who was going to be the next leader anyway.)
• Badass: Zyid, Tack, Noni, Umasi, Milady and Edward, to name a few.
• Badass Pacifist: Umasi. Possibly the most skilled fighter in the series, but only actually fights once in the first book (not counting the Training from Hell).
• Battle Couple: Tack and Noni.
• Berserk Button: Don't you dare tell Zyid he doesn't care about human lives.
• Big Screwed-Up Family: The Mayor's family. On one hand we have the Mayor, who rules the city (and students) with an iron fist. On the other hand, one of his adopted sons is Zyid, the leader of the titular student rebellion. By the side is Zyid's twin Umasi, a Badass Pacifist in voluntary exile who wants nothing to do with either of them.
• Blond Guys Are Evil: Edward. Oh so much.
• Blue Eyes: Noni, Type 2.
• Bodyguard Crush: Noni towards Zyid at first. Too bad he's a self-proclaimed heartless bastard.
• Book Dumb: Many students and Truancy members are probably this.
• Cain and Abel: Zyid and Umasi.
• Children Are Innocent: Averted hard.
• Complete Monster: Edward. Arguably, Chief Truancy Officer Rothenberg.
• Cool Shades: Milady has Umasi wear a pair to limit his vision and improve his hearing.
• Cool Sword: Incredibly strong ceramic to get past metal detectors.
• Crowning Moment of Funny: Umasi and Red getting drunk on hard lemonade.
• Dead Little Sister: The reason Tack joins the Truancy.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Noni goes from loathing Tack for replacing her as Zyid's right hand to full-blown Belligerent Sexual Tension.
• Dystopia: The Education City is not a great place to live.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: To cover up assassinations, the Educators announce fake diseases with names like RAS, Crazy Pig Disease and Bird Cold.
• Embarrassing First Name: Umasi's name is constantly mispronounced by teachers, while Red complains that his parents "got real lazy... or drunk."
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Mayor.
• Evil Twin: Ironically, the Truants think Umasi is Zyid's evil twin.

Gabriel: They think something supernatural is going on, that there's an exact opposite of you floating around the City attacking Truants. Someone even suggested that it's your evil twin.

• Government Conspiracy: A lot of it in the first novel, but Isamu outdoes himself ten times over in the second novel, Truancy Origins where it's revealed that the rigid system of education and totalitarian government isn't just a way of crushing rebellion before it begins, but that the entire city is one giant government experiment, and that there are other cities out there like it, only testing different ways (AKA: styles of society and government) to "maintain order.
• Green Eyes: Edward.
• Growing Up Sucks: Oh so very much.
• Heartbroken Badass: Umasi manages to avoid this after Milady leaves him, although he's not really sure he loves her anyway.
• Heroic Albino: Milady, naturally.
• Improbable Weapon User: Milady wields a chain with a weighted end.
• Innocent Cohabitation: Umasi and Milady live together in District 19 for awhile.
• I Owe You My Life: Noni considers Zyid her saviour and would die for him. Which leads everyone to wonder how she'll react when she finds out Tack killed him.
• Kids Versus Adults: And how.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Zen and Umasi finding out that their adopted father is responsible for all their suffering.
• The Man Behind the Man: Zyid and Umasi's real father. Their half-sister Iris may also count as this.
• Meaningful Rename: Zen to Zyid, and Tack to Takan.
• The Mole: Chris learns the hard way that selling out the Truancy is synonymous with suicide.
• Moment Killer: Zyid walking in on Tack and Noni making out. To be fair, there was a huge battle about to go down.
• Murder by Mistake: Zyid does this twice. The first time, he mistakes Red for an Enforcer and promptly discovers why you don't kill Umasi's friends. Two years later Suzie is blown up in a Truancy assassination, prompting Tack to join the Truancy and kill Zyid.
• No Name Given: The albino girl, aka Milady.
• Official Couple: Tack and Noni.
• One-Letter Name: Zyid used to call himself Z.
• Parental Favoritism: It's implied that the Mayor preferred Zen to Umasi.
• The Runaway: Zen takes off to begin the Truancy after he finds out the truth about the Mayor. Umasi follows him to try and stop him. He fails.
• Scarf of Asskicking: Noni wears one to cover her scar.
• Serious Business: Don't get us started.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The only reason Umasi agrees to fight Edward.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend:

Zyid: Her name is Noni. You might call her my assistant.
Umasi: I never thought you the type to show off for a girl. Will I be invited to the wedding?
Zyid: Oh, now you're trying to make fun of me.

• Shout-Out: Truancy: Origins is told through Umasi's perspective and shows how be came to be such a Badass Pacifist. He has several more than close encounters with Tack before actually meeting him on more than one occasion, causing a lot of readers to go Squee.
• Stalker with a Crush: Noni has shades of this towards Zyid, although it was more noticeable in Truancy Origins.
• Stepford Smiler: Edward.
• Sunglasses at Night: Umasi wears them to enhance his hearing.
• Sword Fight: The final battle between Tack and Zyid.
• Take That: This whole series is a massive Take That towards schools.
• This Is Sparta: "If you want to shoulder my burden... if you can do better at leadership... then come and take it from me!"
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: How Tack beats Umasi during Umasi's test.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Noni and Milady respectively.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Umasi and Milady, the furthest they ever got being an innocent peck.
• Weapon of Choice: Zyid and Tack's swords, Noni's knives and Milady's chain.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zyid's motive for overthrowing the government is so that kids won't have to suffer anymore.
• Wham! Episode: Truancy Origins. The whole of it. It's more like a Wham Flash Back though.
• What Is This Thing You Call Love?: Partly why Milady left Umasi-in their inexperience, they decided they didn't love each other. Two years later, Tack goes to Umasi for relationship advice.
• Will They or Won't They?: Tack and Noni. They Do. Umasi and Milady, not so much.
• Would Hurt a Child: Nearly every adult.
• Wrong Guy First: Noni eventually gets over her infatuation with Zyid and she and Tack get together... just before they head out on a life-or-death mission.
• Woman in White: Milady. It helps that she's an albino.
• Xanatos Gambit: Zyid's plan to hand control of the Truancy over to Tack. If it works, than Truancy is better off, and if it doesn't, then the information gained will make the second round a success.