A/N: Hey guys, I'm not dead! I've been busy with college preparations and a bunch of other stuff. I'm working on all my other fics as well but paying close attention to my One Piece x Nisekoi crossover. This however is an experimental collab with my friend, Kitty. Make sure to check them out and follow them! If you like the fic, make sure to comment, fav, and follow so we know to keep working on it. Do enjoy!
Kitty's tumblr url: kiryuyoshiya
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. We do not claim ownership over anything but scenarios.
The fog of war had become a red mist: a combination of blood and sweat vapor from the countless soldiers fighting and dying on the battlefield. The silence that follows death is continuously broken by the sound of gunshots. A young boy wearing tattered camouflage and a dented helmet drags a person he holds dear through piles of bodies and discarded weapons. He cries profusely, getting him to the safest place he can and then trying to resuscitate him. Despite his best efforts, the person before him remains lifeless. The trenched enclosure he had dragged the body in began slowly filling with puddles of tears and a growing pool of blood. It is unclear whether or not their side will win the battle without them on the field but it does not matter. To him now, the war was already lost.
A large camouflaged army truck made its way down a scarcely trodden dirt road. The back of the truck, which was usually used to transfer supplies, was now instead used to seat a small crowd of shopkeepers, delinquents, farm workers, husbands, and sons. The back of the truck was covered by a tattered tarp which made the space inside all the more stuffy and cramped.
"There aren't as many people here as I thought there would be," someone spoke.
"I know...but, that's sort of a good thing, right?" another replied. Between the sound of the shoddy truck's engine and everyone's entanglement within their own thoughts, their conversation didn't get far. Despite everyone's shared situation, there was a developed introvertedness among all of them and nobody seemed to want anything to do with one another. Even so, all the people in this automobile were heading toward the exact same location: an army training camp.
The year was 194X and a worldwide war had been underway for quite sometime. America was late to join the fray but nevertheless, a draft had been issued calling men of all ages from every corner of the country to fight. There were two boys in particular, from a backwater town called Tazmilly, who were unfortunate enough to have been drafted and forced to take up arms. It was just that year that they had turned eighteen and already, they were going to be forced into a situation where they might die. Surely they would see many others, both on their own side and the opposing, meet a fate they would rather not see for eachother. The twin brothers knew that if they made it back alive, they would be in for one hell of a journey.
"Isn't it weird," one of them said to the other, "What were the chances of us being picked?" This twin was slim and had blue eyes with blonde hair that was clearly styled into a cowlick. He was taller than his brother, but only slightly and he love poking fun at him because of this. His name was Lucas.
"I'd say pretty high," Lucas' brother responded, "a lot of people from all over are getting drafted..." This twin meanwhile was only ever so shorter than his brother, but he loathed the occasion when the fact was brought up. His hairstyle, while slightly similar, was not a cowlick. It looked to be some unusual and unique style. In further contrast, this boy had blue-green eyes and ginger-orange hair. This twin's name was Claus.
"Right…", Lucas trailed off, still pondering how it was that boys like them were picked to fight a war amongst men. It was hard to make conversation even with one another, since both were consumed just like all the others with their own personal thoughts on the subject. Even if they were brothers, even if they were twins, they were still quite different from one another.
Even more different were the people around them. Claus looked around at all the people sitting in the truck. It was dark and nobody's face particularly stood out save for a man, aged around his late 20's who was the only one wearing a button up shirt and looked like something was wrong with his leg. His sharp facial hair and hair-style was that of a stereotypical criminal but his face seemed friendly enough. He didn't want to get caught looking too long so he turned his head quickly away to save himself from an awkward stare down.
"Hey!" Someone seated next to Claus suddenly shouted, trying to get his attention. The twins' trains of thought were broken and in surprise, they both responded in unison,
"Huh?!" Lucas and Claus looked over to see who it was and found the person laughing.
"That never gets old from you two…", he said, wiping a tear from the top of his cheeks.
Once again, the twins spoke in unison, this time offended, "Hey!" This only fueled the laughter of the outlier and he had to lean back against the waving tarp covering the haul of the truck while holding his stomach. Lucas and Claus glanced at each other, in what was only the latest occasion they had been caught in involuntary synchronization. Defeated, both twins sighed and hushed themselves impatiently until the person was done laughing and chose to actually speak with them. After a while, they both simultaneously developed an annoyed look so just when the boy was ready to talk, he looked at the twins and began giggling once more.
"Are you done yet, Fuel?", Claus droned in the bittersweet realization of who he had been sitting next to the entire truck ride. Both he and Lucas rolled their eyes and Fuel stopped.
"It's like you guys are the same person or something heheh. It's not surprising though, I guess, since you're both so close..." Fuel let out a deep breath, getting all his laughs out of his system.
"I mean..." Lucas spoke quietly. He knew that many of the townsfolk that lived with them in Tazmilly knew about himself and Claus. It was afterall, a small town and they were the only twins that had ever lived there.
"I guess so..." Claus finished off Lucas' sentence. Every time it was mentioned by someone other than their family however, it felt surprising that their bond was that strong. It wasn't as though there were any other examples of twins for comparison. Because of this, it was generalized by the people of Tazmily that the actions and behaviors between Claus and Lucas were the same for all other twins elsewhere.
"I swear, sometimes it's like you guys read each other's minds!", Fuel exclaimed.
Lucas and Claus only looked at each other with a serious expression for an extended moment, then laughed, this time leaving Fuel to wait for them to settle down.
"That was close" Lucas thought.
"Yeah" Claus responded, even though none of this correspondence was actually aloud.
Early on in their lives, the twins had discovered that, especially in new or uncomfortable situations, they could indeed read each other's minds. Both assumed it was nothing out of the ordinary, as they had never met or heard about any other twins before in their town. Afraid that they would be thought of as weird, or worse, socially outcast from Tazmily, Lucas and Claus agreed never to tell anyone of this ability. It was their hometown, where they had been born, raised, and loved in and they didn't want to fuck that up. Even so, neither of them were sure if they really wanted to stay in Tazmily for the rest of their lives, as many from there did. In any case, the twins were sure that they wanted to be remembered as people and not as freaks.
As both Lucas and Claus seemed to be lost in their own personal thoughts, Fuel kept speaking. "Hey, you guys, I think there're other twins on this truck!"
"What?" Both brothers spoke aloud in unison.
"Yeah yeah, check out those guys over there." He pointed subtly at two other boys, around their age.
They didn't look like either Lucas or Claus at all, but did look strikingly similar, perhaps even identical. Though with all twins, there were some slight differences. Both were wearing similar rugby shirts, one yellow and blue while the other red, white, and blue.
"How patriotic," Claus thought with an internal sneer.
Both boys had black hair, though one had hair that looked longer and straighter than the other's. They also both wore red caps, which covered their hair in opposite directions.. There may have even been a bit of a height difference but it was difficult to tell, since both were seated. The two also seemed to know each other quite well, given how naturally conversation between them seemed to happen.
"Maybe you should talk to them later?", Fuel suggested
"Yeah...maybe." Lucas agreed with a spark of optimism. He thought it would be a new and exciting experience to meet another pair of twins. However, the look on Claus' face revealed a contrary reluctance to actually talk with any of them.
With a screeching halt, the truck stopped. Lucas peered out from a crack under the tarp and saw the railroad beside where the vehicle had park and heard a train passing by. The wagons rolling across the tracks were circus-themed and had the faces of many common and famous attractions. One of the wagons had the a picture of a giant man on it followed by a picture of a clown, then by a fire-eater, a lion tamer and so on. Finally, a wagon crossed with an image of twin brothers on it. The thought of people actually paying money to see people like him and Claus as circus attractions made him agitated so he sat back down and tried to forget about it.
"Alright, time to haul off now", someone spoke, as they lifted the tarp from the outside of the vehicle, removing it completely. Everyone sitting winced at the sudden exposure to light and found it hard to readjust after the long ride.
"Aw already? But we were having such a great conversa-"
"Move. It." They spoke very roughly and with such a grave tone, that it made Fuel shudder and obey without question. He, Lucas, and Claus along with the many others jumped out of the truck, their feet making thuds on the pavement.
The air was dry and the surrounding landscape was, for the most part, barren and void of life. They found themselves in the middle of nowhere with nothing but the train tracks behind them and the imposing fences in front of them. Within them, many buildings such as mess halls and bunkers were enclosed along with many fields that would be used as training grounds. There was a sign next to one of the entrances, where many people were lined up, reading: FORT OSOHE.
"This is it", Lucas thought, slinging a small bag of belongings across his back, "Our new home."
"This won't be like home at all Luke… it'll be our new hell", Claus responded into the telepathic aether they used to talk with one another.
"But, we'll still have each other, right?", Lucas watched as his brother got his bag.
"One way or another; yeah, of course. I won't leave your side."
Lucas gave a weak but genuine smile. "And I'll be there for you too."
"We'll get through it alive. I promise", Claus reassured, his words echoing in Lucas' head, as it did every time he succeeded in reassuring his blonde haired brother.
"SO THIS HERE'S THE BEST LOT OF FRESH RECRUITS THEY COULD SEND ME? WELL AREN'T WE A SORRY BUNCH OF FUCKING MAGGOTS! I RECKON NONE OF YA' WILL EVER MAKE IT OUT ALIVE FROM HERE AT FORT OSOHE!" A voice boomed from behind Lucas directed toward him and the rest of the crowd. The color drained from his face and his stomach instantly knotted up in anticipation. His brother's face however, took on an entirely different expression. Lucas watched as Claus balled his fist up and began walking towards where the voice was coming from.
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