The Days of Us
1. 軍人, soldiers
They've been together for a long time.
It's more of a statement and less of a sentiment because they really have been together for a long time. It has been years since he first walked into her father's house, years since she enlisted to chase his dreams, years since they were sent to the eastern deserts to kill their own countrymen, and though it seems to them as though no time has passed, they continue to count the days.
He likes to think back to the time when everything was simple, when he was just the apprentice and she was just the master's daughter, and they were just two kids trying to figure out what life was all about. But maybe they were never just kids, because they seemed to have grown up too quickly – they were adults before they left their teens and soldiers before they left the military academy. Sometimes, he wishes he could have given her a better life, the means for a better future, but he knows that she doesn't regret any of it.
"Lieutenant…" he breathes, soft as a whisper.
They are in the office, finishing up paperwork and preparing for a meeting with the higher-ups, and somehow, everyone else has gone out for lunch or for coffee or for a smoke and they're left alone in the quietness of it. But then she hears his voice, her title spoken under his breath, and she turns her gaze to him, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Sir?" It's a question, and he lifts his head to meet the hard stare of her cinnamon-colored eyes.
"Lieutenant," he begins again, "what made you decide to join the military?"
She smiles and lets out a knowing sigh. It's not the first time he has asked her this, and by now she should have an answer prepared, one that she can recite to him verbatim, because maybe then, he'd finally understand. But then, a part of her knows that he never will understand and that he'll keep asking her, just to make some sort of peace for himself.
It's a serious question and she knows it deserves a serious answer, but she likes to tease him when he gets serious about the little things. "Well, if I recall correctly, when we were young, I was always the one to make sure you were fed, bathed, and had clean clothes to wear," she quipped, and her lip quirked up in the slightest of smirks. "I just needed to make sure you had someone to take care of you."
He lets out an amused chuckle and she smiles at the sound. "Well in case I haven't told you lately, you're doing a marvelous job of it."
It takes a moment for the mood to die down and the quietness to return, and she waits through another before speaking up again, her voice soft above the silence.
"I just wanted to make sure kept your promise to change this country for the better, and I wanted to help you do it. Enlisting in the military, becoming a soldier, protecting the people…it's something I still believe in, even after all this time. Of course there are things that shouldn't have happened, things that I wish I could have prevented, but in the grander scheme of things, I don't regret any of it. After all, you were the one who told me that the work of just one soldier can make a difference."
The office is quiet again, but he knows that she can hear his inner satisfaction and the smile reaching his lips. He can hear her smile too.
And of course he knows, without a doubt, that she doesn't regret any of it, but sometimes he just likes to hear her say it.
I know that the official theme is "military personnel," but I had found the original Japanese list of these 100 themes and decided to translate them according to my own interpretation. And anyway, "military personnel," just seeeds too vague to me.
It's unbettaed, as usual, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks for reading, and as always, reviews would be much appreciated! Be sure to stay tuned for next time!