Chapter Text
All Gone
‘’Absolutely not!’’
Osamu shot his eyes down to the ground at his mother’s stern voice. A paper lay on the table, completely filled in except for a blank spot at the bottom of the page. It was a military call-up to all boys and men older than seventeen.
It was two weeks from his own seventeenth birthday and he had begged his mother to sign the paper so he could start his training and become a soldier in the army. His father had gone before him, only to never write letters. It feared his mother, and she had forbidden her children to ever speak about the war.
‘’I’m almost seventeen, mother!’’ Osamu protested. ‘’Suna’s going to train as well, he needs my back!’’ He folded his hands together in a begging position. ‘’Please, Mother, I promise I will write you and Atsumu. Maybe I will find out what happened to Father!’’
‘’No, not on my watch.’’ His mother grabbed the paper from the table and scrunched it up in a ball. ‘’I’ve lost your father already, I don’t want to lose you, too.’’ She threw the paper in the bin and left the living room. ‘’Please try to understand that, dear.’’
Osamu watched his mother walk away. He felt guilt gnaw at him when she brought a hand to her face. And even though he couldn’t hear her from the hallway, the shaking of her shoulders said enough.
He cast his eyes down to the ground and made his way to the backyard. He sat down at the old swing and mindlessly stared at his shoes.
‘’What are you up to?’’ Atsumu approached him and tilted her head a tad to the side as she knelt beside him. ‘’Got in an argument with Mom again?’’
‘’Yeah.’’
‘’About what?’’
Osamu didn’t make eye-contact with his sister when he answered. ‘’About the call-up.’’
‘’You’re not planning on going, are you?’’ Atsumu asked, worry and disbelief in her voice. ‘’Mother will be devastated if you leave, so soon after Father’s—‘’
Snapping his head up, Osamu looked at his sister. ‘’Father isn’t dead!’’ he insisted. ‘’I’m going to find him and I’m going to bring him home!’’ He stood up and walked to his room. He slammed the door shut behind him and sat down on the bed. He brought his knees up to chest and wrapped his arms around them.
‘’I will be back before your birthday, all right?’’
His father had sound so sure of returning. He’d even promised to bring back something from the battlefield, a bullet or a knife. But now, as he sat waiting during the sun’s descending, his hope too seemed to die like the sunlight.
But as the sun got replaced by the moon, a plan formed in his head. He stood up and made his way downstairs. He retrieved the paper from the bin and flattened it out. He then grabbed his school report and smiled when he saw his mother’s signature.
Grabbing a pen from the stand on the table, he placed the paper over the paper and began tracing the signature. As he did, the door opened and Atsumu stepped inside.
‘’How could you do this?’’ she asked. ‘’You’re breaking Mother’s heart.’’
Osamu put the pen away and shot his eyes away. He folded the paper and put it in the pocket of his trousers. He pushed past his sister and put on his shoes. ‘’I will be back before you know it.’’
‘’That’s not the issue!’’ Atsumu protested. She knelt before him and forced to make eye-contact. ‘’Don’t you understand? We need you here. I need you.’’
Osamu turned his head away again. ‘’No, you don’t. You can manage without me.’’ He tied his shoe, but looked up at the soft sound of a sniff. ‘’Tsumu, I promise you I’ll write you. I’ll find Father.’’ He stood up and grabbed his jacket from the coat rack.
‘’Just, come back, all right?’’ Atsumu said.
‘’I promise you I will be back before you know it.’’ Osamu felt the guilt beginning to return. ‘’Tell Mother that I love her and that I will return.’’ He opened the door and stepped outside. He turned around one last time. ‘’Wait for me, okay?’’
Atsumu nodded. ‘’Of course.’’
2 years later
Osamu didn’t know what being fully fed felt like. He had wounds all over his body and his ribs were showing. His hands were shaking when he reached out for the small bowl of water.
It had been two years since he had last seen his family. He could barely remember their faces through the horrible sights he had seen during the fight.
He’d lost Suna already. He had to close his eyes to try and force the picture out of his mind. But every time he did so, he got pulled back instead. Patrolling together through the forest, only for Suna to get killed with a single bullet through his head.
The clouded gaze Osamu feared most. It was the sign of death, his father had told him before he, too, was taken from him.
It wouldn’t be long now and he would join them in the afterlife. He blinked slowly and turned his head when he heard the door of his cell open. He got pulled to his feet and dragged outside. Five more of his comrades were already bounded to bloodied poles, a cloth in front of their eyes so they couldn’t see the guns aimed at them.
Osamu got slammed hard against the pole and got bounded tight. He raised his head and his eyes widened a bit when he saw Atsumu standing behind the enemy lines. She had a calm and serene look on her face as their eyes crossed.
Smiling, she disappeared like mist in the morning. Osamu felt his mouth curl up in a smile and didn’t fight as a cloth blocked his vision. He felt his heartbeat pick up when he heard the footsteps walk away from him.
There was silence for a moment before a loud male voice echoed through the camp.
Osamu held his breath and waited for the pain to come, but nothing came. He slowly opened his eyes and gasped in wonder when he saw that he lay in a flower field.
Red and white roses bloomed around him and he sat up, looking around in confusion. Where am I?
Before he could stand up to inspect the place, he got tackled from behind. Someone held him close, face buried in the crook of his neck. ‘’I’ve missed you so much!’’
Osamu recognized his sister’s voice, happiness in her voice, mixed with sadness. He felt his own eyes begin to water and he turned around to wrap his arms around her. ‘’I’m sorry, Tsumu, I didn’t make it in time.’’ He let out a sob. ‘’I heard it from the Sargeant. Osaka burned to the ground.’’
‘’It’s not your fault, Samu,’’ Atsumu softly said. ‘’I told you I would wait, and I did.’’ She pulled back and chuckled softly. ‘’Welcome home.’’