After the Dreams of Warriors
by LUCA
Beneath a sky glittering with stars, Sōichirō rode his horse through the night.
Regret gnawed at him—regret for having sent Takashi to the Kaiten base.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had betrayed the young man’s true duty.
Driven by that resolve, he headed toward Mount Niban, determined to bring Takashi back.
Twisting through gravel roads and rounding curve after curve, Sōichirō finally arrived at the Kaiten base.
Carved discreetly into the jagged cliffs of a ria coastline, the base was nearly invisible from the outside.
Thick underbrush framed the narrow entrance gate, where two armed sentries stood silently at attention.
At the sudden appearance of a lone rider, the guards instinctively raised their rifles.
Sōichirō didn’t flinch. He saluted crisply and declared his name.
“I’m Fujimura, commander of the Koumo outpost.”
“Turn back!” one of them barked.
“I must see one of my men—please, I beg you, let me through!”
“No one enters without clearance,” the soldier replied coldly.
There was no room for negotiation.
Orders were absolute: shoot any intruder without question.
Still, Sōichirō couldn’t retreat—not without saying what had to be said.
If nothing else, he had to speak to Takashi. Even just a single word.
Gathering every ounce of strength, he cried out:
“Takashi!”
The name echoed across the still night.
Deep inside the base, Takashi and Shōtarō were walking a dim corridor when they heard it.
“That voice…”
“Takashi! You mustn’t throw your life away!”
Takashi stood still, the voice echoing in his heart.
A part of him longed to turn back—to return to the comrades he had trained with, to the days when he and Sōichirō had shared a vision of defending the sea.
But he had chosen this path himself.
He had left behind his lover, his family, and his name—he was no longer Takashi Tsuyama, but a man bound to atone for the lives lost to the warship he helped design.
He whispered, as if to himself.
“Major… I do not go to die. I go to fulfill my duty.”
“Takashi!”
Sōichirō’s cry rang out once more, but this time it was swallowed by the sharp crack of gunfire.
A warning shot pierced the night sky, silencing him.
“Return now, Major!”
The guard’s voice quivered with restrained emotion.
He could do nothing. Orders were orders, even if the man before him was pleading to save a soldier’s life.
War had no room for compassion.
Sōichirō clenched his fists in silent fury, his heart pounding with helplessness.
He mounted his horse and rode off into the shadows of night.
As dawn approached, he walked his horse along the dim forest path.
The first cicadas began to cry, impatient for morning.
Their shrill chorus rang in his ears—like the desperate scream of Takashi himself.
“Stop it…”
He clutched his head and stood frozen on the path, overwhelmed by grief.
