For just a second, the sight of cherry blossom petals dancing through the air almost masked the war. Following a singular petal, Takeo forgot about his rifle, he forgot about the Arevians, and he forgot where he was. The cherry blossom had been his favorite tree as a child, and he would sit in gardens for hours, just listening to the wind play with the leaves and the flowers. But that was only for a second, and now he was snatched back into the cold reality of warfare.
The troop carrier drove on, and Takeo's eyes followed the flowered tree as it fell away to the horizon. It never occurred to him that a cherry blossom on Laythe was odd, considering they were almost exclusive to his homeworld, but he didn't care. The sight of the flowers started a fire of memories that Takeo couldn't escape. Still aware of the gray backdrop of Laythe's marshes, he played the memories of his old school, his family, and a girl he had left behind.
Why am I here
Takeo was no soldier. He was only about 5'7" and 19 years old. His whole life up until the war had been spent reading philosophy books and studying arts, hopefully dreaming of a future full of music, school, and everything else he enjoyed. But every day that Takeo spent patrolling the Laythic marshes, his hopes for the future grew ever more gray, strikingly similar to the constant overcast sky that he had become all too familiar with.
Because of his interest with literature and his physique, all of his comrades constantly looked down on Takeo. "Why must we bring the coward with us" "we've been deployed for five months and the child hasn't fired his rifle once." Every day was a new insult, and more degradation. But worst of all was his commander, Kaede. He would beat him down in front of all the other soldiers after a firefight, blaming him for any losses that they had taken, simply because he wasn't man enough to fire at an Arevian.
On patrols like this, Takeo would keep his eyes trained on the floor of the transport, carefully avoiding the glares of the brave soldiers in his platoon. All of the sudden, the transport jerked to a stop, nearly throwing Takeo off.
A few miles up the road stood a small village, which appeared to be abandoned. The lack of people and vehicles was unsettling to Takeo and his troops, because the Laythic people were incredibly stubborn, and refused to leave their homes because of the Arevian occupation or the Thiyo liberators. The still and silent village screamed of an ambush, so the Thiyo company advanced with caution
Takeo's knuckles turned white as he gripped the barrel of his rifle. It was natural for men to be nervous when faced with battle, but it seemed to affect him the most. He would shake, and stutter, and be ultimately useless in a firefight. The simple fact was that Takeo couldn't force himself to kill, even if his enemy was doing his best to end him, he could not aim his rifle at another human.
As a child, Takeo felt great regret and sadness after stepping on an insect.
The first troop carrier rolled into the village. Then the second, and the third. No gunfire, no explosions, just the sound of the vehicle's engines echoing through the empty streets. Takeo began to reassure himself
Maybe the Arevians have killed everyone here. Maybe the village really is-
An explosion tore through the air, and time slowed. The first troop carrier had run over an anti vehicle mine, and was now engulfed in flames. Moving on instinct, Takeo and the rest of his comrades jumped down from the troop carriers, and dashed behind houses. The Arevians had opened fire now, and bullets snapped as they passed overhead.
Takeo was nearly blind from adrenaline, and fell into a roadside ditch. With shaking hands, he took the safety off his rifle and tried to see where the fire was coming from. The smoke from the burnt out troop carrier blocked any vision, so out of fear, he kept his head down to avoid getting hit. His fellow soldiers had taken cover behind houses and were shouting what they knew. Where they enemy might be, where the other soldiers were, and how many men were possibly lost.
The blind fighting continued for upwards of an hour, and no ground had been gained. Takeo's company didn't dare move when they didn't know where the Arevians were. While everyone else had seemed to have collected themselves, Takeo still lay shaking in his ditch, too afraid to move.
As if guided by a spirit, a strong wind blew through the village, and pushed the smoke pouring from the carrier aside, allowing Takeo, and all of his company, to see the Arevians in the windows of a two story building, only about 150 meters away
"SHOOT THE AREVIAN DOGS!" shouted Kaede, and everyone opened fire. Somewhere in the commotion, someone launched an incendiary grenade at the building.
The incendiary flew through one of the windows. A few seconds passed, and then the entire second floor was engulfed in flames.
"Hold your fire!!" Called out an officer. All the guns fell silent, and screams could be heard coming from the building. Takeo shuddered at the mere thought of such pain.
All eyes were trained on the building, and nobody breathed.
Suddenly, three Arevians sprinted out of the front of the building, all clad in their gray uniforms. A wall of gunfire flew towards them, but it only caught the last one, and he fell as a bullet tore through his calf. Takeo watched the young Arevian, writhing in the road, calling out for help in his guttural language. Blood was steadily floweing out of his wound.
With every second that passed, Takeo was expecting another shot to ring out, finishing the soldier. but all was quiet, and the soldier clung to life, screaming through his agony.
"The Arevian bastards don't even go back for their wounded" proclaimed Kaede, from behind cover. The commander's eyes fell on Takeo, pressed to the ground in his ditch. "Get out of the ditch and come here, coward."
Takeo jumped out of his ditch, and ran up to the commander. Before he could say anything, Kaede viciously backhanded him, and Takeo recoiled. The crazed man had drawn blood.
"You are a disgrace to our company, and to Thiyo." Before Takeo could prepare himself, Kaede hit him again with a strong punch to the stomach.
Now on the ground, Takeo gasped for air. The beatings came daily, but they never hurt any less. Out of the haze of pain, he heard Kaede speak again.
"Get up, child."
Slowly rising, Takeo stood up straight, bracing himself for another hit.
Kaede shoved his rifle into Takeo's chest. "You are going to load this rifle," growled Kaede, "and shoot the Arevian dog before he bleeds out"
Takeo felt his stomach drop. He couldn't do that. Laying in the street was a fellow human, whose wounds were definitely treatable. Instead of recovering the man and keeping him as a prisoner, he was being ordered to put him out of his misery, as if he was an animal.
For a few seconds, Takeo didn't budge. His mind was moving at a million miles a minute, but he couldn't move his body. Kaede grew impatient, and backhanded him again.
"That man laying in the street is not a man. He is a monster. You have seen what they do to the Laythic. They pillage, they destroy, they kill and rape. I will give you one more chance to finish that Arevian or I will send you home."
Although Takeo hated this war, he couldn't be sent home. That was a fate worse than death. He would be at the same level as a deserter, and be shamed publicly. His parents would disown him, no colleges would accept him, and friends would forget his name. For the rest of his life, he would be a man without honor, and a man without honor is no man at all.
Takeo walked forward and shouldered the rifle, placing the screaming Arevian in his sights. Inside himself, he felt a fire start. It was because of that man in the road that he was here. It was because of that man that he was ridiculed and beaten. It was that man that ruined his life.
Takeo pulled the trigger, and silenced the Arevian.
Lowering the rifle, he stared at the corpse laying in the street. Realizing what he had done, regret slowly tightened it's grasp on Takeo's heart.
"Good shot, Takeo." Said Kaede, taking his rifle back. "Now get ready, we have to find the rest of them."
Silently, Takeo went and grabbed his rifle out of the roadside ditch and gathered with his comrades. Later that day, they captured the other two Arevians.
Takeo had to kill them as well.
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