THE PRICE OF WAR [Taka x Reader]

V. Down The Hill

"Guldyn?"

Major Guldyn opened up his eyes.

"They are close to Mount Trydar. It seems like they're about to enter Eastern Kingdom"

"And her? How are they?" Erymid asked holding you and Kyria's braid against her chest.

"She looks..."

"What?"

"Sad"

Major Guldyn wasn't far from the truth. He put your hair strands away while Erymid caressed Yusuke-senzo's necklace softly. Meanwhile, at the other side of the kingdom, he contemplated the immensity of the forest with his thoughts lost among Erymid's memories.

"Senzo"

Toru sat on his side, awaking him from his slumber.

"Yamashita..."

"Am I interrupting you?"

"No, I was just... Thinking" he smiled.

"We are luckily having enough time for that lately"

"Yes, it was about time"

They both stood in silence for some seconds, until Yusuke-senzo laughed.

"Senzo?"

"You're just like your father..." he kept laughing.

"My father? Why?" he blushed.

"You even make the same pauses as he did everytime he talked"

Toru looked away while Yusuke-senzo took a sip of beer from his cup.

"Senzo..."

"Tell me, son"

"How was my dad?"

He left his cup on his side and sighed.

"He was a good man... I introduced him to your mother. He was too shy back them to do it himself. Yes, he was a good man... But when you were born, he became better" he smiled "He was a much better soldier than anybody of us"

"You're a good soldier, senzo"

"But I'm not a Yamashita. And if there's something I know for sure, is that Yamashitas are born for the battlefield, son" he laughed.

"Do you think one day I could become better than him?"

Yusuke-senzo stared at him and smiled.

"That's also something he would've asked" he laughed and raised his cup "To the Yamashitas! May their names be remembered" and drank again.

The climb up Mount Trydar began a few days later. There was a narrow mountain pass which linked the two kingdoms and you decided to take that way in order to avoid the enemy. It used to be dangerous but the route depended a lot on the weather, so you picked up the camp as soon as the day cleared. You didn't want to see Taka and it was well known that Kyria wasn't a woman of many words, so the trip became eternal to you. But finally, after many hours, you all crossed the mountain and before you all had noticed, the Eastern Kingdom was spreading before your eyes.

"Gentlemen! We're back home!" Yusuke-senzo exclaimed, followed by his soldier's cheers and claps. You noticed how happy Taka looked while he hugged his friends.

A great plain full of rice fields lied before you, crossed by a winding wide river. The difference with the snowy valley you had left behind was more than obvious. Despite being winter the weather was warmer than in your kingdom and the sun shone brightly. You all managed to cross the mountain range without too much trouble and so your journey in the kingdom of your companions began. After several hours of travel between rice paddies and wheat fields, you reached a small hill.

"Senzo!" a soldier called.

There was a thin black smoke column showing up from the other side of the hill. Yusuke-senzo gave you a look and ordered you with a gesture to investigate the area, just as you had done before on your arrival in the forest. You descended from your horse and some seconds later you turned into a little hare. You quickly climbed the hill and hid behind the tall grass.

A row of straw huts stretched before your little eyes, surrounding a large bonfire from which the smoke came. There was a rumor of people talking but there was no one at sight. They didn't speak goblin, so you guessed they weren't enemies. You moved a little closer until you saw a soldier resting inside his tent. Your heart skipped a beat when you noticed two other soldiers who were talking a few steps further. One of them wore his armor, with the shield of the Eastern Kingdom on his chest. After not being able to react for several seconds, you fled as quickly as possible back to the other side of the hill. You told everything you had seen to the soldiers, who couldn't contain their joy and went forward to greet their army companions as they went down the hill on horseback.

That scene would be recorded in your memory for the rest of your life. The soldiers of the camp and your companions looked perplexed at each other. Many of them came from the same town and had probably grown together, or at least that's what anyone could guess by their tears of joy. Due to the noise, other soldiers left their tents, among which you recognized several Hayltelians who once left the village to join the army. And there he was, standing by the bonfire. He wore a light shirt and high leather boots. He had the same face as in your memories, but your tears didn't let you confirm it. His eyes met yours, and when he recognized you he dropped the branches he carried. Then he ran to you while you shouted his name inconsolably. And the instant he hugged you, all the pain disappeared, and all the prayers, cries and sleepless nights were suddenly worth it. He was alive. The tears kept falling and your bodies could not separate from the tremendous joy you two were feeling.

"Yrion ..." you whispered, trying to make sure it wasn't a dream.

"It's you..." he finally said.

He pulled away to take a better look at you. He looked older, despite that was more than obvious. He wasn't a teenager anymore, with his messy hair, crooked smile and thin arms. He had become a man. And you were a woman now. War had clearly changed you both and made you grow up too fast. And maybe it was due to this reason that Yrion didn't think twice and kissed you on your lips. In that moment, you confirmed what you never wanted to admit. He was the love of your life, and you had always been in love with him. Since he left for the army. Since you went to school together and sat on the same desk. Since you were little kids playing in the woods. Since the very beginning, it was always him. But that feeling ended when you opened your eyes. It lasted for a second, but it was enough to notice Taka's eyes brimming with an unspeakable grief. He then turned around and left while Yrion dried your tears carefully.