The Applause at the End of the Stage (WWI AU Oneshot)

The Applause at the End of the Stage

Year XX17. The Last Battle of the Last War.

"The General has no heart."

Her closest adjutant said.

She had condemned them to die.

She heard a gunshot fire, and she bolted out of her bed, scrambling to grab the firearm that she left always within arms reach. Glancing around, heart racing, she looked at her room apprehensively, seeing the peaceful light of early day filtering in through the window.

Then she realized that the sound was the impact of a trinket that had fallen to the ground unluckily during her sleep. Feeling cold, the sensation of a lingering nightmare that she could not remember, she picked up that now-unlucky trinket and set it back onto the table.

War ended with the armistice a winter ago that was quickly followed by a proper treaty, or as some called it, a farce of a treaty.

She walked to her bathroom. As she removed her sleepwear, she saw the white scar running down her arm from a field injury. That had occurred early on in the war, but that wasn't the thing that haunted her the most from that loss of five years. Quickly going through her morning routine, she finished and went to the closet, putting on her dark uniform and the medals that she was expected to wear.

Then, she looked in the mirror, and the person looking back was General Moriya Akane, the victorious military leader who had won the country the war. The eyes looking back at her seemed so cold and venomous, too caught up in winning to think about the human costs—that was how some of the soldiers viewed her, and sometimes she wondered if she was like that as well.

Of course, those soldiers were a minority. Yet, those soldiers were also some closest to her throughout the war, the people who served under her and the people she let die.

Akane shook her head.

Leaving the room, she headed toward the building where the war criminals were held. In the treaty, not only was her country given land and reparations, punishing the loser, the country had also taken the leaders of the enemy so that justice could be doled out. Justice meaning a comedic series of executions on a basis of bias.

She passed a security officer who quickly saluted her and welcomed her in without any troubles. "General Moriya, what would you like to do today?" He walked forward with a straight back, escorting her.

Akane replied, "Take me to the criminal Sugai."

"At your order."

Walking through the halls of the high level prison, Akane glanced at the cells. There were few prisoners, all high level officers of the other country, and she could recognize them. Some glared at her; some were unconscious from torture. She saw that some of them had their throats half-torn out, rendering them unable to talk in their upcoming trials, ones that they would lose anyhow.

Then, she reached the prisoner she had come for, her counterpart in the war.

"Leave me." Akane gestured for the officer to leave.

He widened his eyes in surprise, unsure how to refuse the General, "The protocols..."

Her lips curved up while her eyes held no mirth, "What do you think I plan to do?"

"General, I see." He stopped his rejection. He smiled as well, interpreting Akane's expression as planning to punish the criminal. He looked at the General's outfit, the medals of honor and blood, the gun, the knife, and the whip at her belt. "Then, I will leave you to your business." He saluted her, slipping her a key, and left the area.