Death and destruction is the land that Katsu stands in. The sun is setting in the distance, casting a reddish glow over the battlefield. The sky is ablaze with shades of orange, red, and purple. The clouds are lightly scattered, as if unable to bear the weight of the destruction below. Katsu's face is bruised, his clothes tattered and torn. Blood rushes down from the left side of his forehead, his left eye glued shut from the blood. His stature is one of a warrior, matured and experienced, with a thick stubble that covers his jaw. He pants heavily as he looks around at the aftermath of the brutal battle. The ground is littered with the bodies of both Kat and Dog soldiers, massacred in the fight. The land is scorched, devoid of greenery until the hills afar. Smoke from destroyed tanks and vehicles, as well as craters from artillery explosions, rise from the earth into the sky.
As Katsu walks through the battlefield, his eyes scan the area, taking in the gruesome scene. The pain and loss are palpable, and his heart aches with the weight of it all. He stops in front of a body, a familiar one to Katsu. He grips his rifle tightly, his teeth grinding in anguish, as tears roll down his face. He mourns his fallen comrades as the reality of their deaths slowly sets in. But his mourning is cut short by a voice from his right.
"Hey Katsu! Long time no see, huh?" the voice says.
Katsu looks over his shoulder to see a fellow Dog, who has lost both legs and his left arm. His face is smiling, a stark contrast to Katsu's anguish.
Katsu clicks his tongue, his frown deepening. This man, whose life balances on a tightrope, is someone he wished not to see again.
"Oh, it's you," he says with anger, his voice deep and gruff. "I never thought you'd be the last person I'd see alive in this wretched place."
The man chuckles, "I won't be for long!" He laughs, but his laugh turns into coughs of blood.
Katsu rolls his eyes as he sighs. He lets go of his rifle and walks over to the man.
"Well then, I guess I'll make use of your remaining life before it runs out," he says while getting his leftover bandages from his satchel.
As Katsu ties the bandages on the man's missing limbs, the man squirms and yells.
"Hey! What are you trying to do?! Just let me lay here and die! It's much better than to be with you!" he says, struggling to break free.
"Hold still. You won't die yet. Don't worry, I'll be sure to make your last moments honorable. After you've endured my torture, hahaha!" Katsu says, laughing maniacally.
The man screams for help, but there is no one to hear him. Moments later, after being bandaged up and given some medicine, he is being dragged along by Katsu, over the bodies of Kat and Dog soldiers.
"Hey, you could at least carry me! Even if I don't feel any pain, it's still uncomfortable getting grabbed by the collar and dragged over the dead bodies of my enemies and comrades!" the man complains, yelling irritatingly.
Katsu, who is already tired, is unable to put up with his whining. But he still carries on, enduring the cries, even though he is at his breaking point. Katsu dragged the man through the barren wasteland, his legs heavy with exhaustion. The man whimpered as Katsu pulled him along, but Katsu was too tired to care.
"Would you just shut up already?" he snapped in anger. "I can barely muster the strength to drag you, let alone carry you!"
The man sighed in disappointment, his face contorted into a pout as Katsu continued to drag him along.
"Why are you even walking so far, where do you even want to go?" he groaned.
"To a much quieter place than here," Katsu said, his gaze fixed on the setting sun. The sky was painted with shades of crimson, growing darker with each passing minute.
"I prefer to spend my time in a peaceful place."
The man scoffed. "Are you blind? The battle raged on from hundreds of kilometers. You can see dead bodies till the farthest hills and till the edge of the horizon!"
But Katsu didn't listen to him. He pushed on further, driven by his need to find a place of respite. After a few more minutes of painfully slow walking, the sun was already setting, the sky growing darker as the stars slowly appeared. But before the sun completely set, he stopped.
"This place is good enough," he muttered.
"HUH!? This place is literally the same as the one we were at!" the man exclaimed in disbelief.
"Shut up! I'll be making a camp here," Katsu said as he cleared a small area from the dead bodies.
He laid the man next to a small mound of rubble, allowing him to lean against the sharp rocks. Katsu then carried several pieces of debris and flammable equipment, gathering them up to make a fire.
The man was able to move his one arm to brush his hair and clean off the debris, letting out a heavy sigh as he spoke.
"What do you want Katsu? Just let me die already!" he complained.
Katsu pulled out a Firestarter kit from his satchel and knelt down on the pile of flammable things he had gathered.
"I learned this from training at the north," he said as he created sparks with the fire steel. "Remember the time when I left you?"
The man's face contorted in pain as he reminisced. "Yeah... I think I remember... Wait, you're going to let me spend the rest of my life listening to your past and whatnot!?"
Katsu finished starting the fire and leaned against a large mound of debris, stretching his arms up and relaxing himself. He knew that the battle that raged on for hours had passed. He then pulled out the remaining rations from his satchel, two hard and tasteless wafers. He threw one to the man, and the man caught it easily.
"Oh? You still got it in you, huh?" Katsu praised the man's skills.
"Heh, my years of training are far longer than yours. And I don't need your food," the man replied, throwing the bar away.
Katsu opened his ration and took a bite, savoring the bland taste. "Too bad then," he said.
"KATSU! Just tell me what you want from me!" the man yelled in frustration.
Katsu paused as he stared off into the fire, the crunch of the rations in his mouth and the crackle of the flames the only sounds in the silent night.
"I guess all I want from you is an ear," he finally said.
"Heh, so I AM right... You want me to listen to all your stories, back at the good old days..."
Katsu's face fell. "Yeah, I just thought, maybe it would be nice to look back on our memories. Remember the good times, you know?"
The man started laughing maniacally, like someone not himself. He was able to put his hand on his forehead, but he could feel his energy reducing.
"You think that I would listen to you!? HAHA! There's no way in the world that I'd listen to you ramble abou-"
But as he looked into Katsu's eyes, he could see despair and sadness, he started to remembered how much Katsu was able to endure. He had suffered so much pain. His memories with him started coming back, and his sad face left him speechless.
"I… I… fine…" He conceded, "I'll listen to your story, even if I didn't want to… I guess I've got no choice… It's nice to look back at the past when your life is on the line I guess…"
Katsu grinned with joy and gave a thumbs up. "That's what I like to hear, mate! Now, where do we begin?" Katsu said while laying down and relaxing himself while looking at the stars in the sky.
"Come on Katsu, I haven't got all day."
"Hm… Alright, I got it now," Katsu said, "Remember back in the day when I got to meet you?"
"Back at training or what?" The man said while scratching his head.
Katsu sighed, "So it is true, you forgot everything after that event happened… Well, I guess I'll tell you the full story then…"
The man rolled his eyes in annoyance, "I'm all ears then."
Katsu began to recount his story, hoping to jog the man's memory.
End of chapter 3