War on Heiwa Book 1: The Wrath of the Demons

The Wrath of the Demons Chapter 6: My First Battle

I woke up to my alarm clock that Fukuro had given me to wake me up. I looked over. It was 3:00am. I had to set my alarm early since I was still at the hospital and I needed time to get over to the castle. I felt much better than I did yesterday. I took off the bandages off and felt around my throat. There was still a slight bruise, but I doubt it was noticeable. I opened the drawer where my clothes are, and I took my street clothes out since my uniform was still at my room in the barracks. But , as I was taking my slacks out, I felt something soft in the pocket of it. I reached in and pulled out the white rose Hanako had given me. Hanako. I didn’t go after her. I placed the rose on the bed as I changed into my street clothes. As I was finishing buttoning my shirt, the door opened to Daisuke.

“Hey, sorry, I guess I should have knocked, but I was thinking you might’ve needed help here.” He walked in and shut the door behind him. “It was weird what you said yesterday. About you growing stronger and chasing after your dreams. That was some weird philosophy you learned.” He smiled at me. He was probably impressed, but I’m not sure where it came from. I don’t remember my foster parents saying anything like that, but maybe it was my biological parents that did. They were important philosophers on Earth.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized. “I don’t know where that came from or why I said it. But, on another note, why were you fighting with Mao yesterday?” Since my throat was nearly crushed trying to protect him, I think I deserved a little explanation.

“He said he needed a hostage.” Daisuke’s face drooped. I could still see the scars from his beating. “He didn’t say why. I was walking down that alley when he walked up to me and said he needed a hostage, then he just pinned me to the wall and started beating me. I was screaming for help but nobody came, until you did.” Daisuke’s gazed stared straight at my eyes, like he really appreciated that I helped him.

“But you… Where did that come from?” My mind flashed back to Daisuke holding the stick in his hand, jumping into the air like a kangaroo and then smacking Mao on the neck so hard that he slammed to the ground. “You must be strong to slam 400 pounds of pure meat down.”

“Well, my big brother taught me how to defend myself a little bit, as much as he could before he passed away with a strange disease that people from Earth called Gangliogliomas. But, I was too scared to fight back until your spirit inspired me to repel.” He smiled at me. “So, thank you. You saved my life and I’ll try to do as much as I can to save yours.” His smiled widened, like he already had. At this strange light of night, Daisuke’s color had brightened. I could finally see his eyes were a deep green and his hair was a mix of brown and gray. It made me wonder what his parents looked like. It totally beat my faded purple eyes and carmine hair. “Oh, that’s right,” He continued, holding up a sack. “I brought some breakfast. It’s just some bread I picked up along the way, since a lot of shops are closed at this hour.”

“Fine, we’ll eat on the way.” I picked up the white rose and placed it in my pocket and led the way out of the hospital. We stayed mostly silent along the way, but Daisuke did tell me since he was moving into our squad now that he’ll be moving into our room as well. It turns out he had to share a room with Mao, and I did not want to ask about that. It’ll be nice to have a new face in our room, and have that extra bed filled up, and Karasu and Yohei get a bit boring sometimes. They do the same thing every day, Karasu aiming to beat up Yohei as I pull Karasu back, then Yohei starts crying so I have to comfort him, and lastly, I scold Karasu for being a jerk, and then we go our separate ways until the same sequence repeats tomorrow. But, now with Daisuke, maybe things will be different. I informed Daisuke of our warm-ups and drills, and they weren’t much different than what Daisuke’s old squad did.

As we grew closer to the barracks, the more nervous I became. Tomorrow could be my last day alive. That thought scared me so much. I realized how much I didn’t want to die. I had nothing to live for, but somehow I still value my own life. Am I being selfish? No, I’m sure other people feel the way I do. I’m sure Daisuke, Karasu, and Yohei are scared too. Tomorrow could be their last day alive too. No, I couldn’t lose them. I had to protect them. As long as I will protect them tomorrow, they’ll be alright. Yes, they will. Everything will be fine.