Here is another story many of you have heard of, but never seen…until now. I bring you…The Death Counter. Enjoy.
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"This is…horrible."
I hate my job. With a passion. And the fact that I have this job at all pretty much tells people there's a war going on.
An auburn-haired male with brown eyes slowly stepped past bodies, trying to determine Japanese corpse from English corpse. In his shaking hands, he held a black notebook and pencil. He paused by a body and looked at the dog-tags before he sighed. "Ayusumi Akito." He wrote that name in his notebook next to the number "56". Then he stood up and walked on.
Not just any war, but what is slowly becoming World War III. It started with just Japan and America, but now England is giving America a hand, and we're talking about enlisting Germany's help.
"Light." A soldier walked over to him. "Uhm…I'm sorry, I tried to help him…" He held out dog-tags, and the auburn-haired male took them, frowning. "…Father…" He looked down and then wrote "Yagami Soichirou" in his book. "…Thank you, Matsuda. I know you tried…"
"Light…" Matsuda pulled him close. "It's okay to cry, y'know?"
Light nodded. "Well…on the bright side, England is running out of troops. They're going to need to start a draft, now."
"Yagami! Matsuda!" A man called to them. "Come over here, there's news on England!"
"That should be them pulling out." Matsuda smiled and led Light along.
"But, I still need to count…" Light sighed. "You can let me know later, okay?"
"Alright. Keep up the good work, okay? And keep your spirits up!" Matsuda smiled. "We'll hold a funeral for your father when we get back to the city."
"Yeah…" Light nodded and then walked on.
If only we'd known ahead of time…Maybe then, we would have been prepared for England's ultimate weapon.
A little while later, Light finished his count and came back to the main tent. "Alright…by my count, we have…100 casualties." He sighed. "My father among them."
"Shame." One of the soldiers in there said with a sigh.
"Hey, guys! Check this out!" A man said from outside. "Look, look, look!"
Light sighed and came out with Matsuda. "What is it, Takahito?"
Off in the distance, dressed in ordinary clothing, were one man and several children. They seemed to be walking calmly, as if they were going on a picnic – a very large one.
"I'd estimate…around 400 kids there, sir." A soldier said, lowering his binoculars. "There are no baskets, though, so it can't be a picnic…and who would hold a picnic in a battlefield, anyway?"
"Hold on…" Light frowned and took the binoculars. "Look on the patch on their coats' sleeves. Isn't that England's insignia?"
"Really?!" The General took the binoculars and focused on the children. "Yes…yes, it is! Very observant, Yagami!"
"W-Why would kids have that?" Matsuda stammered.
"Maybe they're midgets?" Takahito suggested.
Light frowned. "No…those were definitely kids."
Those were kids…but, they were also NOT kids…it's hard to explain…England must have been hiding them for a long time, because they were ranging from eight to sixteen years old. And the leader looked like a hobo; dressed in baggy clothes and scuffed-up shoes.
"Should we send someone to go talk to them?" Matsuda asked. "And find out what they want?"
"Alright…" The General looked thoughtful, and then called for two men to go and investigate the strangers, who had now stopped and were watching the camp.
"Sir, permission to go along?" Light looked at him.
"Very well, but keep your distance." The General nodded.
Light smiled and followed the men at a bit of a distance. The man seemed to be speaking to the children, and then two of the children stepped forward from the group.
"Well, well!" One of them, a haughty-looking blonde dressed entirely in black, grinned as they came over. "And who might you gentlemen be?"
"Actually, we were wondering that." One of the men said with a smile. "Are you lost? This place isn't safe you know."
"No, we're not lost." The man said calmly, stepping forward. He had a very thick accent, but his Japanese was good. "Greetings, I am L." He smiled and then nodded to the blonde.
The next moment, Light would remember for the rest of his life. The blonde-haired child pulled out two knives from his belt and slashed through the man, while his partner, a red-head in stripes, pulled out a gun and fired at the other man.
Light paled and dashed back, not wanting to see it anymore. 'Hayase Kaoru and Kaito Kei.' He thought as he dashed over to the camp, memorizing the names for his next notebook.
"Light!" Matsuda caught Light as he practically flew in. "Light, what's wrong? Where are the other two?"
"They're here to attack us!" Light gasped out. "They killed them, without any remorse! Their leader is named 'L'!" He slumped into his friend. "Just kids…just kids, and they…they just…"
"Shh. It's okay, Light. Just lie down in here, and we'll try to chase them away without killing them." Matsuda smiled and led him to his bed. "It's alright."
Light nodded and then buried his face in the pillows. 'They're just kids!' He thought. 'What is England thinking?!'
How were we to know that they weren't ordinary children? But still…that terrible image will haunt me forever. And it was the start of a massacre.
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Review to see the rest. :3