ROUGHLY EIGHTEEN MONTHS HAD PASSED SINCE THAT DAY. Yukan had been taking the strategic head of the army since Kadaina's death, essentially moving into the strategy room. He started by using Kadaina's strategies as a basis and tweaking these plans from there. For example, the false flag mission evolved into one where many of the female soldiers would try to woo Aotoshi troops before leading them directly into enemy range. After a few months and Yukan was cleared to return to the battlefield, his strategies improved drastically, with new ideas on how to perform certain actions sprouting up spontaneously during the battles themselves.

He'd also begun working on another orchestral work. Having just completed Der Landerkrieg, he needed something else to occupy his musical time. Once these eighteen months had passed, he'd finished another one of his great works. This one was a requiem mass in the key of A minor, which he had written for Kadaina.

There was also something else he'd been working on during the last one-and-a-half years. Yukan was also pouring all of his mental faculties that weren't taken up by any of his other tasks into his masterpiece. This was not a conventional work of art. Rather, it was a work of art in the sense that this plan was to be his greatest. This plan was meant to be the one that would end the war, made specifically for an attack on Central Aotoshi. More specifically, it was directed toward Kunshu's palace.

As he took a sip from his coffee mug, a now seventeen-year-old Yukan added the finishing touches to the requiem. He set the mug down next to Kadaina's pawn, which had been sitting in the same position on that table since he'd first placed it there.

"Hey, Kadaina," he reported to the pawn, using it as a placeholder for his late friend. "I've been planning for quite a bit now. Your jaw would have dropped if you had seen some of my ideas. Everybody's doing pretty well. Shisuta and Ani have grown quite a bit and Oba is still hanging on. You can rest peacefully. I promise Kunshu will be in a grave soon. I hope you're alright, wherever you are."

He then got up and went to the main hall, leaving the coffee on the table. Once he got there, he saw Zenpan pacing with a clipboard. Although Yukan was a good strategist, they'd only managed to get perhaps thirty-four miles further in each direction in terms of claimed land in much more time than Kadaina had done. Many other important locations had also been lost to Aotoshi, such as Fort Seiiki in Beijuken. This, being the closest fortress to Central Akuni, made attacks on the capital easier for the enemy. Regardless, Yukan had managed to keep enough in place to ensure that they would not fall too easily.

"Hey, Yukan," Zenpan greeted his visitor. "How's it going?"

"Good," Yukan replied. "Ite keeps complaining about the cold weather and this has resulted in her stealing my clothing."

"I see," the general remarked. "Well, you guys can warm up at home. I'm sending everybody home for the holidays this year. The men are growing tired and need a break."

"Five days until Christmas," the strategist said to himself as he remembered the date. "Where are you going to go, Zero?"

"Not sure yet," Zenpan answered as he sat down in a chair. "I'm probably going to stick around here and make sure things run as usual."

"Don't work yourself too hard," Yukan told his general. "I'm going to go find Ite to get her to pack up."

"Stay safe," Zenpan called out to Yukan as he headed for the door. "I expect both of you back in the new year."

"Yes, sir."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Yukan then went to the barracks to find Ite. When he eventually found her, he decided to stay quiet for a while. He didn't want to disturb her as she hummed a beautiful tune as she sharpened the tips of her arrows. Her voice was truly a sound to behold, with many who would behold it declaring her sweet and sonorous mezzo-soprano voice to be one of the most harmonious sounds to have graced the earth.

"Your voice is a gift as always," Yukan remarked after she finished humming the melody, making his presence known.

"YUKAN!" she yelled out in response. "There's a thing called knocking. It wouldn't hurt to try sometime! What if I was naked?!"

"Then we would be receiving gifts," he smugly answered before being cut off as Ite's pillow hurdled itself toward his head. As he caught the pillow, the two of them began to chuckle as Ite took a seat upon her mattress.

"So," Ite began, "why'd you swing by?"

"'Tis the season, of course!" Yukan told her. "The holidays are approaching and I was thinking we could use some downtime. I talked with Oba and she said they would happily take us in for a few days."

"That sounds wonderful!" Ite rejoiced upon receiving the news. "I'll pack up right away."

The two of them then exchanged a hug and a kiss before going to pack all of the necessary items for their stay at Oba's house.

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Christmas at Oba's house was eventful. Their dinner was incredible, featuring food from a different culture from what they were used to. The reason, as Oba stated, was an attempt at getting her niece and nephew to try new foods, which they usually weren't open to. Shisuta, being a somewhat picky eater, did not eat most of the food. Ani, on the other hand, had a rather voracious appetite and, as a result, finished off his plate faster than the rest of his family.

Another hallmark was the kids' reactions when they received their Christmas gifts. They were rather overjoyed with what they'd gotten, usually a type of toy, some variety of candy, or perhaps a few dollars of cash. Yukan had received a notebook of blank manuscript paper from Oba, while Ite got a journal to keep for a memoir.

When December 26th rolled along, Ite and Yukan had to leave to go to Central Akuni, since it was the established meeting spot for the army when their breaks would end.

"Thank you for allowing us to spend the holidays with you," Ite said to the family as they prepared to leave. "It was a nice break."

"Anytime," Oba replied. "You are always welcome here. You will always have somewhere to come back to."

"Exactly!" Shisuta chimed in. "That's how big brother Kadaina would have wanted it!" The smiles on everybody's faces slightly faltered at that statement.

"Of course that's how he would've wanted it," Ani remarked. "Besides, maybe he managed to find a potato to date him up there."

"I'm afraid that's wishful thinking," Shisuta joked. Even after his death, the siblings still teased Kadaina. "Will you guys come back soon? To visit?"

"We will try our best!" Ite said to the young girl.

"Yeah," Yukan added. "Your home-cooked meals are the best, Oba."

"I'm glad you appreciate my cooking," she said to him before directing her attention, "unlike some potato-obsessed children."

"Hey!" the twins shouted in near-unison.

"We'd better get going," Yukan remarked as he looked at the watch. If they didn't get into his car soon, then they would likely be late. "Thank you for everything."

The two of them waved goodbye as they got onto their horses. On the way, Yukan hoped to stop at his house where he could find his car once again and use it. Unfortunately, the tires had been slashed since the incident and the battery was too cold to even start the engine. With that in mind, they got back on their horses and sped to Central Akuni. If they did not take any breaks, then they could reach the kingdom in two days and make it in the nick of time.

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Two days had passed and the two of them had finally made it to Central Akuni. As the two of them got off of their horses, they were laughing and giggling among themselves. This quickly ceased as they laid eyes on the town. Another soldier approached the town, confused as to why the two of them stopped.

"Hey!" she yelled out. "Ite! Yukan! Why are you just waiting outside..." her voice trailed off as she realized the reason for this halt.

As the rest of the troops began to approach the meeting spot, they too were all greeted with the same sight: dead bodies littering the streets of Central Akuni.