Connected in War

Chapter 1

Silence filled the dark mindscape that could neither be called dream nor nightmare. She knew she was in an unconscious state, that the world she lived in, survived in, was just a centimeter away. She felt as if she was floating on the very air in this subconscious world. Despite this being in a place separate from reality, the feeling made her skin crawl. Her hands twitched, her eyes struggling to open, her feet trying to find some form of ground. A form of stability. The young woman suddenly found herself aware that she couldn't breathe. Her eyes desperately attempted to open as her arms felt constricted to her body. She felt as though she was underwater, her lungs slowly filling with it. She couldn't cough, she couldn't gasp, the feeling of sinking becoming even more apparent as a pressure built in her chest. She tried to open her mouth, but it was as if her lips were sewn shut. The pressure turned into a heat, the heat to a searing agony, the darkness somehow getting thicker as everything began to fade.

"ma...to..." A voice said softly, barely reaching her ears as she struggled and suffocated. "Mako..." It rang and echoed around her head once more. She groaned and screamed as well as someone could with their mouth sewn shut. "Makoto..." The voice said again, causing her to thrash more. She wanted to be found and saved! "MAKOTO!" The voice screamed, causing her eyes to snap open as she shot upright. She was in bed... At home... "Makoto! Are you okay?" The young man beside her asked.

"I... Why wouldn't I be..?" She asked with a small smile, but her eyes gave it away. She wasn't okay at all.

"You were thrashing, bad. You were crying and gasping for air too." He said softly, tilting his head. He looked her over one more time and sighed. "If you say you're okay though..." He gave her a smile as he trailed off.

Makoto slowly relaxed herself and looked around her room. Sure enough, her brother was right. Her bedding was everywhere, her box of jewelry, family photo, and other small trinkets that had been on her bedside tables were now strewn on the floor or broken. She slowly got up to begin cleaning up the mess, though she was grateful it wasn't anything worse.

"So, uh... Saiko... Whats on the agenda for today?" Makoto asked, looking at her brother. His blue to pink color shift hair was tied up in a bun, and his bright orange eyes were striking, shining in the rising dawn. He wore baggy blue pants and a simple white shirt with a clover green robe hanging around his shoulders. She could see the forming calluses on his hands from work, yet he still looked so soft and gentle otherwise.

"Well, I need to work the fields some more today, and after I have some deliveries to make but Sekien should be able to cook and take care of you while I'm working." He smiled at her, but then noticed her frown. "What?" He questioned.

"You've been working a lot recently, but you hadn't worked a day in your life before the last lunar cycle started." She said with a slight whine in her voice. He knew though that it wasn't petty whining.

"Don't worry about it Makoto. I'm sure things will go back to normal soon. Now if you're done cleaning up, I think you should come help me make breakfast." With that, Saiko turned on his heel and left the room before Makoto could respond.

After another ten minutes of cleaning up, and then an extra fifteen for good measure on her appearance, Makoto went to the kitchen to help Saiko with breakfast. Though she was shocked that her brother hadn't yet started the meal.

"Saiko, is everything okay?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, of course, why do you ask?" He responded with a tilt of his head as he lightly kicked himself off the wall he had been previously leaning on.

"Well, you didn't start breakfast yet." Makoto said, her tone unamused as if she implied the obvious, her brow now furrowing.

"Well, you said you would help me." Saiko replied with the same tone, but a cheeky grin played on his lips as he moved to get the ingredients laid out on the counter.