So Much In Common - A Songs of War FanFiction

Chapter One - Awakening

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Three Days Later...

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Kiyoshi awoke in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. His body ached, particularly the area of his back where he'd been stabbed. He wore different clothes now, cleaner ones. A white shirt and brown trousers. Unfamiliar colors to his eyes. His old uniform must have been stained, anyway. One thing he noticed was that his stab wound felt significantly smaller and had been bandaged tightly beneath the cloth. It no longer seemed fatal, even if it still hurt like the Nether.

"Captain Kiyoshi, sir. You're finally awake," a voice Kiyoshi recognized immediately called out to him. Kiyoshi's deputy soldier, Alec, ran up to the bed. "You've been out for a few days. We managed to heal your wound."

Kiyoshi coughed, slightly glad that the unfamiliar feeling of warm blood in his mouth was gone. "It's good to see you, Alec, but... who's 'we'?" He winced at the dryness of his voice.

"Well, I was escorting the Chronicler—Nitsuke—out of Felora to get her to safety when we found you." Alec claimed. Ah, yes, the Chronicler. Now he remembered. "We did our best to help and got you to Nitsuke's place safely. Well, it's not her actual house. It's a small cottage her family owns, apparently."

"Why isn't my wound as bad as I remember it to be?" Kiyoshi asked.

"The two of us concocted a healing potion. Mostly Nitsuke, she knows more about that sort of thing. But we gave it to you and now you're a lot better, sir."

"Where is she now?" Kiyoshi questioned. "Is she... is she here?"

"I will go tell her you woke up, sir! I'll be right back." Alec told him. He walked off into another area of the cottage, as Kiyoshi rolled over, trying to numb the pain he still felt. The wound was still there, minimized or not. It would likely take weeks to heal fully.

Finally, he heard two pairs of footsteps approach and he turned back to face them. Alec had returned with Nitsuke the Chronicler.

"Kiyoshi!" the Felina exclaimed. She was incredibly relieved to see that he had woken after so long. She had worried day and night about whether or not he would ever wake. "I-" She stopped, clearing her throat. "How are you feeling, Captain?"

"Honestly? Pretty awful." Kiyoshi replied. "Physically I'm a lot better now. But emotionally... not so much."

"Sir-" Alec began, but Kiyoshi cut him off by raising his clawed hand.

"No need for the regular formalities, Alec. Just call me by my name," Kiyoshi requested. "Besides... the Felden Guard and its command structure are gone. As is this entire kingdom. As far as I know, that is. The Necrolord said it himself."

Kiyoshi turned to Nitsuke, his eyes narrowing. "Do you know anything more about what's happened to Felden?"

She sighed, looking down. "The officials have been executed and the people captured. There are hundreds of Netheran soldiers on the streets. It was hard enough gathering the ingredients for the healing potion-"

"Hold it," Kiyoshi stopped her. "Netheran soldiers?"

"Yes, Netheran soldiers," Alec confirmed.

"Does that mean the Necromancers were working with the Nether the entire time?" Kiyoshi questioned. He clenched his fist, his claws dangerously protruding from his knuckles. "This has gone too far. When I recover, I will end the Necrolord myself, like I said I would on my way to Mt. Tempus."

"With all due respect, Captain, you are in no condition to do that right now. We almost lost you, and that wound may never fully heal." Nitsuke delivered that last sentence with a tone of sobriety.

"And also, the Necrolord is already dead," Alec claimed.

"Did Lucan kill him?" Kiyoshi piped up. "No wait, I doubt he could."

"Actually, he was killed by the Netherans," Alec corrected again. "You were wrong about them working together. The Netherans simply intervened on a third side not long after you were defeated. The Necromancers lost control of their armies and it seems they've all either died or fled."

Kiyoshi let out a few heavy breaths. Well, this complicated things. What he hated to hear the most was that he wasn't going to get the chance to avenge his fallen comrades and his kingdom by killing the Necrolord himself. Not that he'd run out of enemies, now he'd have to deal with the Nether at some point. But also, he had to admit, Nitsuke was right. He was in no condition to fight any time soon. So he just tried to calm himself and eased up.

Alec had left for another area of the cottage, saying something to Nitsuke about keeping watch, and now it was just the two Felinas left in the room.

"Well, thank you for healing me," Kiyoshi said to Nitsuke. "I might not have made it."

Nitsuke pushed a loose strand of her hair back with a finger, smiling sheepishly. "It was really nothing. I'd do it all over again if I'd have to. Good people don't deserve a brutal death."

Kiyoshi felt his cheeks turn red. He didn't really understand this, but it was just something about Nitsuke and being around her that made him feel so much better. But that was really low on his list of concerns. For now, at least.

He leaned his head back against the pillow beneath him, taking to staring solemnly at the ceiling. "I tried as hard as I could to stop him and it still wasn't enough," Kiyoshi said. "I overestimated myself. I thought I could stand up to him. By all rights, I should've."

"You are right in believing that, Kiyoshi," Nitsuke said, but then she inhaled and boldly met his eyes. "But you are also wrong. With the confidence you showed, it also blinded you to anything you couldn't control. That in itself, Captain, is failure: trying to change something that can't be changed."

"You speak wise words... maybe you're not half bad as a Chronicler after all," Kiyoshi acknowledged.

She laughed, a light sound. "You should hear me when I can't sleep after drinking three cups of honeydew tea." Nitsuke caught herself, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "Not that I do that a lot, but chronicling is some midnight-oil type of work."

"Heh. Well, I think what I need right now is more rest," Kiyoshi said. "Thanks for everything."

"Oh, of course. I don't want to keep you, you do need rest, I should-" She stopped herself again, scolding herself in her mind for being so obnoxious.

"Don't worry about it. You've done nothing but help," Kiyoshi reassured her. He didn't want to see her this worked up. It disheartened him a little.

She stammered a little. "A-alright." She backed away, smiling some more. "I should... leave you to-" She knocked over a chair in a corner in her hurry, and she stooped to replace it. "Yeah," she finished.

Kiyoshi smiled without knowing it. There was a voice at the back of his head. Isn't she just so cute when she's awkward? He decided to laugh at that thought, shaking his head slightly, then rolled over again, closing his eyes. Luckily fate would have it that he drifted off fairly soon, after hearing Nitsuke walk away.

Meanwhile, Nitsuke closed the door but stood in front of it for a while, picking at her claws rather fruitlessly. She didn't know how or what she felt in this moment. Perhaps she could write it down when she had some of her books back. She wondered if that was the only way she could figure things out.

"I will be on lookout duty, we can never be too careful out here with the Netherans patrolling our rightful lands," Alec claimed. She nodded in response. Well, that was that, apparently.