Before the Battle

Family name 11/17

"You shouldn't have said it to Tami. She just feels miserable."

We walked through the beautiful snow-covered countryside, the white plains glistening in the morning sun until the glare stung our eyes.

We were just outside the village, on the edge of the woods where I used to play as a child. The frozen snow crunched under our feet, and with every breath we took, a cloud of steam formed around our mouths.

"No, I guess I shouldn't have," Shira nodded, his shoulder brushing against the branches of a low pine, causing the snow to cascade to the ground in a white dust. "I always thought she was a nice, sweet girl. I've never seen her act like this."

"I, on the other hand, remember how she could drive me crazy when we were kids. At least one thing hasn't changed."

Shira stopped and looked around for a moment. I rubbed my frozen fingers and made a mental note not to forget gloves next time.

"There were some people in this area yesterday," he said, pointing to footprints in the snow.

"It could have been anyone," I argued, examining the stamped out footprints. I was no tracker, so all I could tell was that someone had walked this way.

"Could have been, but look." Shira crouched down and examined a group of footprints. "They passed this way at least three times, and even stayed here motionless for a while."

"They were watching my mother's house?" I understood where he was going.

He nodded.

I looked around. It really was a good place. A high point in the hills, the wooded slopes in the background, and the village below.

"They probably... Watch out!"

Shira unexpectedly pushed me aside, and in the same second he had already drawn his katana.

I watched in surprise as the blade of his sword pressed against the neck of a dirty man in a tattered Imperial uniform. He emerged like a ghost from the dense forest not far from where I had been standing only moments ago.

He was holding an assault rifle, but he wasn't aiming it at us; in fact, from the look in his frightened eyes, I would assume he was as surprised by the encounter as we were.

The branches of the low pines shook as four more figures emerged from the forest.

As if by magic, a gun appeared in Shira's left hand and he pointed it at the newcomers. I wanted to imitate him, but then I took a closer look at the four and recognised them.

"Taira?" One of them spoke, a dark-haired boy with a smile and bright green eyes. Or that was how I remembered him from before the war. Now he looked tired and haggard. Yet his face showed surprise and perhaps a hint of joy at our meeting.

"Kioshi?"

I looked at the others. One by one I could put a name to each of those tired, dirty faces.

The boys I used to play with in the streets and run with in the woods. All of them came from this village.

They wore the Imperial uniform, some also had jackets or coats. From the state of their clothes, I guessed they had been through a lot.

"It's all right, Shira. I know them."

Reluctantly, Shira lowered his gun and removed the sword from the frightened man's neck.

Kioshi seemed to want to give me a hug, but one look at my companion and he changed his mind. Still, it was he, my childhood friend, who was the only one who seemed relaxed.