Chapter Text
There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword
He will tear your city down
For as long as he remembers, war had been calling him. It had called him for the first time when he was not old enough to understand even the meaning of the word war. It had whispered to him, slowly and enchanting, in his tiny frame that is no taller than his father's waist. It spoke to him, loud from the deep of his heart, echoing in the back of his mind as he stood frozen behind the shade of a tree near the training ground, blinded by the swords raised by the knights high into the sky where the sunlight reflected on its surface. It had urged to him, stroking his ego and challenging his pride, to fight and pick up his own swords. To strode to the front line, to break through the enemies and protect his homeland and family and friends.
The war had asked him, come and fight, it said. And thus, Shinonome Akito answered.
He picked his sword, soon when he reached teenage and as tall as his father by then. He stepped outside his parents' house, smiling to his mother and saying goodbye to his sister. He will be stronger, he said. He will come back one day, alive and well and victorious so she did not need to worry, he stated confidently.
Once he was a bystander in the far side of the training ground, now it was his new home. Where he would stand and fall and swing his swords nonstop, striking and slicing the training dummy until he couldn't feel both of his arms anymore. Until his shirt soaked with his own sweat and too tired to go back to his room so he laid down in the grass, watching the stars lied bare in the dark sky while the gentle breezes passed through him. Until Toya, his new friend, found him and either asked him to go back to his room soon since night is getting cold or joined in lying down and sharing some silence and peace.
His first war came much sooner than he had expected. The neighboring kingdom has declared a war against us, he remembered The King had said in the podium, in front of thousands of men that had pledged their loyalty to kingdom they loved so much it worth dying for. He remembered how it felt back then, his hand could not stop shivering and he could hear his own heartbeat amidst the shouts from other knights around him. Excitement filled his veins and he yelled back, echoing what the other knights had said. That they will win this war, that they will fight even if they could not grip their sword anymore. That they will protect their dearest homeland, their kingdom and its people.
We will fight and win and come back alive, he had said to Toya who just looked back at him. He remembered Toya had said yes and asked him to make a promise, that he will come back alive. He nodded, fierce determination gleaming in both of his eyes. He asked the same thing to Toya but the later only smiled at him.
And he kept his promise. He did alive and they won and the war had ended. He came back alive and well and victorious.
But somehow, he felt strange. It felt different than he used to imagine.
He looked around, through the dirt, the ashes, and the smokes. Among the remaining knights, the remaining alive knights who still could stand, or the ones who badly injured, or the ones lying unconscious but still breathing. He stared at his sword, dirty and had lost its shine. It was covered in red, it had tasted blood and probably thirst for more. He let go of his sword and looked at both of his hands, at his palms that stained with red, alike with his sword. The heat of the war had long gone and he felt cold. He shuddered as he watched the piles of dead bodies lying around him, including Toya.
Including Toya.
For as long as he remembers, Shinonome Akito only knows one rule and that is to fight.
So he fought and fought, he drew his sword and swing it forcefully and gracefully at the same time. He would move and slice, armor and flesh alike with an ease. And no one could stop him, he would keep going until he was at the very front of his squad and would be the first one to raise his sword as the other knights followed his command. The war is still not over, he reminded himself so that he could keep going and going as if he had something to prove to someone else, be it his family, The King, or even the God or the Devil he was not so sure anymore. He would fight and take the win, until he could not see but red in his hands anymore. Even if the nightmare started to haunt him in his sleep or the guilt begun to felt heavy and weighing down his shoulders.
And when the war ended, he would wonder the same thing he did in his first war. After he realized how it felt to slice and stab human flesh for the first time. The war where Toya could not make it out alive so he had lost his best friend. The question kept ringing in his head, repeating itself and waiting to be answered. He wondered and then learned to ignore it, pretending that the question did not make him stay up late every night. Because he did not have the answer, he could not come up even with a single excuse.
Because he had forgot the reason he went to the war.
But to fight is his only rule, and he will follow it even if he dies as the consequence. Even if his body is actually tired of fighting and he dreams of faraway place of peace and silence. Even if it leads him to hell, he will still gladly pick up his sword back and fight.
Because that is the rule that Shinonome Akito had made to himself.