THE PRICE OF WAR [Taka x Reader]

I. Moving Forward

The sun had finally came out, reflecting on the snow and warming soldiers' faces and hearts. The fog had disappeared and Mount Trydar stood like a giant in the middle of the white silent valley, marking the frontier between Eastern Kingdom and Western Kingdom as a great natural rampart. The troop advanced heavily boarding a forest as the horses' legs sank into the thick snow while carrying the soldiers and all their belongings.

The silence was broken by a sudden squawk. An eagle came out of the tree tops and flew at ground level several meters towards the troop. When it found itself at a safe distance from Yusuke-senzo, its wings began to fall apart into gilded porcelain pieces and they transformed into human arms, followed by the rest of the limbs and thus freeing you from the body of the animal. As soon as you landed on the ground, you approached Yusuke-senzo, who was riding on his reddish-skinned horse leading the troop.

"Any news?"

"I have tracked the area and I haven't found any apparent trace except for a small abandoned goblin camp in the middle of the forest. It seems to have been abandoned several weeks ago"

"Perfect" he softly smiled "We'll spend the night there then, boys!" he raised his voice towards the troop.

You nodded and headed towards Duymir. Ryota, Tomoya and Taka were located approximately at the middle of the troop, while Kyria was a little further back next to Duymir. You unconsciously made eye contact with Taka while walking past him. It had been about three weeks since your first kiss and you both didn't had any chance of any further contact with all the hustle and bustle of the trip. You looked into his eyes, waiting for an answer. An answer to all the doubts that had been assaulting you those past days. Did he still feel the same for you, now that you both vaguely remembered the sound of each other's voices? Did he really mean that kiss and all those love words and promises? But before receiving an answer, the eye contact suddenly broke and you kept walking towards your horse while Taka still searched for it. Maybe it was better like this, each one on its own and minding its own business. What's the use of loving in the middle of a war? War can be avoided, but not love. And since you became a soldier you had a much better understanding of your new power, which now needed your whole dedication.

"Have you two fucked?"

Taka turned around with his eyes wide opened.

"What? It was just a question..."

Taka gave a deep sigh.

"You've been asking that same question every single day, Ryota..."

"Well, I want to be informed! This journey is being pretty boring... Nothing new has happened since we left Hayltel and that was weeks ago!"

"Well, no, we haven't! And if we did, which I don't think so, you would never know!"

Ryota stood in silence for a couple of seconds.

"So it's true..."

"It's true, what?"

"You clearly haven't fucked. If you did so you wouldn't be so grumpy"

"Shut up"

Ryota slapped him on his shoulder as he laughed loudly as Taka tried to ignore him.

"Nice landing" Kyria murmured as you got back on Duymir.

Since you both started your journey, Kyria and you were now forced to get well with each other despite your rough past. Seeing her forcing herself to treat everybody kindly was something truly extraordinary, and sometimes you took the chance for her to swallow her pride.

"Oh, so we're friends now?" you asked.

"No, we're not" she sulked.

You laughed at her reaction.

"I've been reading this book Erymid gave me..." you told her "It says that I can fake animal sounds in order to distract the enemy"

"Fake animal sounds?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I can create any animal noise out of nowhere by snapping my fingers"

"Good for you"

"I haven't still tried it... And as always I'll need some time to learn it. Maybe we'll have some at the next stop"

"Maybe... But you must be focused for that, right?"

"Yes, why are you asking?"

"Please, don't make me laugh. Everybody knows about you two"

"Who?" you blurted.

She rolled her eyes.

"Don't you understand "everybody"?"

"But... How?"

"Look, I don't care about this topic at all so just shut up" she said with an annoyed voice.

"But we haven't spoke since then!"

"I said shut up!" she spurred on her horse and galloped some steps ahead of you, into the forest.