It had been a over month since Yuuri had been travelling with the other soldiers and they have only gotten to Belarus. They all knew that it was good progress, but it was so far from Italy and that just dampened their spirits. On the bright side, Emil had laid out a travel plan already and their destination was confirmed to be Riva del Garda. It was a northern city and since Michele was from there, it was likely to be friendly.
Yuuri had been so busy and so exhausted that thoughts about Viktor were becoming sparse. It didn't mean he didn't have the beautiful man's image burned into his mind, but he just had so much on his place. There were shelters to build, supplies to gather, rations to pass out. It was a never-ending list of chores. Almost all of the supplies they previously had had been destroyed in the air strike, but it had left them with more room and food to share. That meant everyone in the group got at least a slice of bread for dinner. Meat, if they were in forest and got lucky. They would have it a lot more if they had ammo to spare. They had to always go in with only knives, rocks if they were truly desperate and knew they couldn't take a hit with the hooves of a deer.
As much as Yuuri hated it and as much as he had begun to consider the soldiers that died his friends, he was happy that there were fewer mouths to feed. They were all grown men, which meant that they tended to eat more. They were weak as is, so the extra food was nice, no matter how stale.
Sometimes, though, Yuuri does think about Viktor. He doesn't cry anymore. He simply feels empty, like there's nothing there holding him together; like he's a shell of who he used to be. He had been changing non-stop, learning that shooting at any sort of incoming danger could be the difference between life and death and that stabbing someone may be his only chance of coming out of something alive. Yuuri figured it had something to do with being more active in the war, especially considering how long he had been sheltered. Either way, it was hard and he didn't like it. However, he sucked it up and kept moving. He couldn't stop, not now, not ever. He would have to be like this until the war ended, or he died. Whichever one came first.
He sometimes wondered what Viktor would think of him if he knew how he had changed. He sometimes doubted if Viktor would love him anymore if he did. What would he say?, Yuuri wondered. 'Yuuri, how could you hurt those people? They probably have family, someone waiting for them once this war ended, and you hurt them. How could you?'
Thinking about such things always brought a lump up Yuuri's throat. Not like he was about to cry, but more like he was about to vomit.
"Yuuri, hand me that bag over there. It has food I was able to get from the locals." Emil called, pointing to a blue sack on the ground. Yuuri picked it up, handing it to the commander. He hoped it was enough to last them longer than the last bag of food had. That barely lasted them three days.
"What do we have this time?" Leo asked, walking over to the pair. He was still adverse to Yuuri, preferring to stand farther away from him, but Yuuri had given up on trying to change it. He wasn't too fond of Leo either. At least they weren't calling each other slurs anymore. And, to be far, Yuuri had gotten the last slur in, calling him a 'war-mongering dog', to which Leo held back a retort and stormed out.
"Just some bread, a few vegetables and dried meat. We should have enough for a week or two if we ration it properly." Emil replied. He pulled out the parchment-wrapped food and set it out on his jacket. "It's almost sunset, so let's go ahead and set up the first round. Michele, come over here!"
"Got it," Michele said, walking over to the group and sitting down beside them.
"We're doing rations. Here's yours." A strip of meat, a carrot and a chunk of bread from the loaf. Everyone else was given the same and they ate silently. They were too hungry for chatter. The amount they had gotten was like heaven even if it was all they were allowed to have for the night. Yuuri tried to eat it slowly, but it was gone within two minutes. He couldn't help it. Living with his mother who always cooked too much and being fed well while staying at the Nikiforov's home had made him used to food. He knew he'd have to fix that.
After that, Yuuri was put on guard duty so everyone else could get some sleep. He hadn't done it for a few days, so now it was his turn. He picked up his rifle and went to sit against a tree. Soon, everyone feel silent and he wa left in his own thoughts and the sound of nature, crickets chirping and wind blowing. He expected to end up thinking of Viktor, but instead his thoughts strayed to his family. His short and chubby mother with the biggest heart known to man, his father who was silly and teased him about looking exactly like his mother and his sister, who was tall and smoked, but was wise and would listen when you needed it.
He missed them dearly, just as much as he missed Viktor. He hadn't seen them in almost two years. They were probably worried sick about him, wondering if he was alive or not. His mother probably cried more than Yuuri had ever seen, his father probably lost some of his silliness and his sister had to sit out by the hot spring by herself, with no one to talk to.
The last thing he had heard from any of them was that the inn was doing well, his parents loved him and the terrible news that his sister's husband had left her over a miscarriage. He wanted to comfort Mari, but he couldn't. He remembered when she had found out she was pregnant and how she started hugging everyone in sight and gave her husband a kiss. Yuuri never liked the man, but whatever made Mari happy was okay with him. As much as he disliked his sister's choice in men, he never figured one would leave her over something she couldn't control. If he had been there, Yuuri would have tracked him down and given him the hardest punch in the face he could manage.
Yuuri sat in thought until the sun rose. The light burned his eyes as he got up to rouse the others.
"Morning. Come on, time to go." Yuuri called to the mounds of sleeping men on the ground. They all got up, Michele with a groan, and began putting everything into makeshift packs. Yuuri and Michele had both been glad that their mending and sewing skills that they both had been forced to hone as children were of some use.
"How far are we going today?" Leo asked. Emil hummed, mulling over the question before answering.
"I'd say at least twenty to thirty miles if we plan to end up in Poland by the time winter hits." He muttered in reply. If Yuuri was totally honest, he was scared of staying Poland all winter. The country was controlled by Germany, who seemed to be taking anyone to their concentration, labour and death camps regardless of race or religion. They wanted total superiority, and they were willing to go to drastic measures to achieve it. Of course, Emil used to be a commander in the Nazi Air Force, but he had left the army and understandably so. He spoke German, but as long as they didn't end up at the wrong place at the wrong time, they would be fine. "Once we're there, we'll travel slowly through the country until winter is over, then we'll move faster through Czechoslovakia and Austria."
After the short discussion, they all began walking. They at least had a compass, which led them in the direction they needed to go. Without it, they would be walking aimlessly through the Soviet wilderness, being berated by cold Autumn winds in the morning and hot sun during the afternoons. They almost prayed for winter, which would have about the same temperature every day instead of the drastic temperature changes that the beginning of Autumn brought on.
The walk was quiet, just boots treading on grass and guns clinking. They didn't hear the whirring of plane engines in the distance or the sounds of shots being fired. It was a deep, yet comfortable silence that none of them wanted to break. It kept conversations from going too far or fights from breaking out. No one asked anything and no one answered. It was a win-win for everyone involved.
They trekked on for hours upon hours, their legs aching. Yuuri felt like he could fall asleep where he stood, having not slept since the afternoon before. The sun was starting to fall in the sky and the warm heat was a sign that evening was quickly approaching and they would need to stop. Eventually, they did. Emil concluded that they had gone about twenty-eight miles as they sat down, all tired and hurting.
"Michele, you're on guard duty tonight, so get some sleep. You two, make sure we didn't lose anything on the way and that the rations are still there." Emil ordered, and everyone diligently went to work, Michele happily to sleep for the next few hours. The rations were quickly accounted for, along with ammunition and any sort of blankets or other covers they had. Leo and Yuuri didn't talk the whole time, not like Leo and Emil with chatter while reloading guns or he and Michele would have rambles as they packed up. It was silent. Neither complained, as they didn't want to talk to each other in the first place. It was better than arguing with each other, which they had grown very tired of.
Once it was finished, they walked away from each other, settling down far away from each other. Leo pulled out his knife and started sharpening it on a rock while Yuuri waited for sunset, not wanting to do anything. Boring, yes, but all he really could do. His knife was plenty sharp and being out in the wilderness of one of the USSR's countries didn't really provide much entertainment.
"Here, take your rations and then we'll wake Michele and put him to work." Emil said, giving a small amount of food to both of the soldiers. Yuuri went slower with eating this time, but still craved more. The only thing keeping him from sneaking food in the night is a guard and his own twisted sense of pride. He would not be the one to crumble under hunger first. He had promised himself.
He remembered soldiers in his old Japanese squadron that would do that. They would act as if they owned the food themselves, when in reality, it was provided by the Japanese government and sent to them via air shipment. They had nothing to do with it. A few of the other soldiers had died from hunger, going to sleep and never waking up. They would burn the bodies, say a short prayer and move on. They would report the deaths next time it was necessary.
Yuuri chose to stop thinking about, instead heading to a sport where he could sleep. He found a relatively soft patch of grass and settled down on it, wrapping his thin cover over himself. The night was beginning to cool. Emil and Leo followed him shortly after. Yuuri felt his eyes get heavy and he quickly fell asleep.
Goodness, I am so sorry for how long this took! I meant to have it out a full week ago. I will work diligently for the next two days to bring you the next chapter, which will have more of a plot-relevant impact. This chapter was more of a filler than anything, and only provided a little information. I was just in the worst writer's block since I didn't know how to write a filler chapter when there's so many important things that will be coming up soon! I rewrote and rewrote this chapter, but to no avail! I finally came up with this just today.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!
-MidnightQuestant