It has been a few weeks since the port incident, Katsu has somewhat recovered from his injuries.

Katsu stands on the balcony of the field hospital, nestled among the majestic mountains.

The view from this high elevation is truly breathtaking, with a panoramic vista that stretches out before him in all directions.

The fog that often hugs the valleys below is scattered on this particular morning, and the newly risen sun is just starting to peek over the horizon.

Its golden rays pierce through the mist, casting a warm, ethereal glow on the small houses that dot the landscape.

Katsu takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of the scene before him, leaning against the glass railings as he admires the grandeur of the mountains and reminisces the past.

He sighs with foggy breath.

"I am very far away from Landon now, far away from Vin, from Bon's store... I wonder what Vin is doing now?" He wondered to himself.

Little did he know that Vin is drinking his life away trying not to get too depressed.

Katsu yawns and stretches as the sun gets higher and higher.

Then, the sliding door opens and closes behind him.

Sho walks up to the rails and sighs.

"So many things to do just because of one attack." He complains.

Although he's tired and annoyed he still maintains his straight and proud composure.

"Not to mention your and May's injuries which had set back our travel time weeks late!"

"Cheer up Sho, at least we've fully recovered!"

"Yeah, would've been a disaster if we lost not only a couple of dozen garrison guards but three fresh recruits for the battlefield. Now the problem here is May..."

He puts his hands together and stares dead straight with a serious look.

"May is currently still recovering mentally, she says she's okay, but if you see her, you can clearly see, she's not." He disclosed with a deep voice.

Kats sighs and looks down.

To see such a cheerful be so drastically by a bullet saddens him.

"I can't let her join the army if she's like that, traumatic experiences should be experienced at a later time when you've trained for such things to happen..."

Katsu grips the rails tightly at the thought of it.

"I truly wished I could join the army with her, but now I wish that I will see her smile naturally again," Katsu said softly.

"Hm, me too..." Sho agreed.

"Then what should we do General?"

"We'll confront her later, before and then after we've left, we will hear her decision for herself if she can still go on."

Sho looks at the scenery and sighs again.

"I've talked to June and he's already helping me out on talking to her, I've already talked to her if she wanted to continue... Her eyes weren't as lively as I remember... I told her that if she wants to join the army and go onto the battlefield, she'll have to endure more pain worst than that... All she did was tremble, she has lost all of her dedication, all her reasoning to continue, I could see in her eyes that the fire that fuelled her was gone..."

"I see then-"

"But if you think I'm giving up on her then you are wrong. I will try my best to fix her up... And I expect that you'll help me." He declared as he walked away.

"Y-yes, sir..."

Sho leaves the balcony while Katsu stays and admired the scenery some more.

But after losing himself in his thoughts, it was already time to go.

"Katsu! It's time to leave!" A muffled yell from downstairs.

Katsu flinches and sighs.

"It's time to leave already? Time sure goes fast when you're far from home." He whispered not wanting his sightseeing to come to an end.

But he eventually went down the small hospital to the gravel field in front of it.

Sho is talking to a tall person when he notices Katsu.

"You sure took your time didn't ya mate?"

"I'm... Very sorry, the view was just spectacular."

"It's alright, you've got a point. I've got someone I forgot to introduce to you."

The guy he was talking to walks forward.

Katsu notices something very familiar about him, after he had waked up a few days after the incident, he always sees him hanging around and about.

"You might've seen him before, but I forgot to introduce him, I was so busy that I completely forgot.

"It's ok Sho."

The person's eyebrows twitch, and he frowns at his comment.

"Ehh... so who's this?"

"This is my younger brother, John, He'll be joining the army, I think you two will be seeing each other a lot."

John reaches his hand out and they shake hands.

"John Sho, nice to meet you." He said in a deep serious tone.

"Katsuro Arius Everest, you can just call me Katsu."

"Noted."

As they let go, Katsu's hand starts to ache.

"A strong grip." He thought.

Using his deductive skills, he lists all of John's appearance traits in his mind.

"He's around my height and age, he has long hair which looks like he ties it all the time, he has brown razer sharp eyes, looks like he never smiles, laughs, nor enjoys life, WHAT KIND OF PERSON IS THIS!? His eyes can literally kill someone! What kind of younger brother is this!? They're nothing alike! But he has the same soothing voice Sho has." He thought.

"You might've met him back at the boat. I think it was..."

"He was already out cold when I saw him." John clarified.

"Ah, right."

"Wait he was also at the port incident!?"

"Yeah, remember when you were surrounded?"

"Yeah?"

"He's the one who got you out of that situation."

Katsu gasps quietly.

He remembers the brutal way the revolutionists died.

All within a split second, in a blink of an eye, he killed them.

He's a killer, a murderer, he has killed his own kind.

Katsu's eyes widen, and the look plastered all over his face is shock and fear.

His vision darkens as the lingering thought circles around his mind.

John sighs disappointingly, "I told you this would happen."

Sho puts his hand on Katsu's shoulder.

"Katsu, calm down, if you don't want to be near him, just tell me and I'll tell him to stray away from you."

Suddenly, Katsu snaps back into good thinking.

Realizing his reaction might have hurt John's feelings, he apologized a ton.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He repeated.

"Katsu think straight! Put yourself in his shoes, you just this person now he's scared of you, that's just rude!" He thinks to himself.

"It's nothing to worry about, if you find my morality a bit wrong, then I can sta-"

"No! I am very thankful that you saved me... Thank you!"

"Uhhh... I don't think that's necessary, if you really don't think I-''

"No! I really want to be your friend! You're one of the first people I get to meet that I will get to see often, I want to befriend you and get to know you better!"

John is left speechless.

Sho nudges him.

"See John? This guy is something else!"

John sighs, "True that a normal person would prefer to stay away from me, but his reasoning is just naive."

"Don't listen to him Katsu! He's actually really nice once you've gotten to know him better, right John?"

"Whatever you say Sho."

"You two will have a great friendship!" Sho proclaimed.

"General! We're all set and ready to go!" A soldier yelled out.

"Oh, right, we're supposed to leave Coming! Let's get going now."

"You should really get some rest." John reasons.

"No need!"

They start walking towards the first supply truck at the front.

Parked outside the hospital was a small convoy of supply trucks.

While walking, Sho whispers to Katsu.

"try talking to May, try comforting and loosening her up a bit and I'll go and confront her after you."

"What!? You want me to lead!?"

"You can do it, June is also on support if you'd like." He whispered.

As they got nearer to the truck, they saw May awkwardly and uncomfortably standing while just leaning on the truck.

"Oh no," Sho silently exclaimed, "I forgot to introduce John to them..."

"Really?? I thought you already did when I was still up at the hospital?"

"You don't have much time to introduce me, you should do so later, the Garrison Guards won't like that-"

"I'll introduce you very quickly and then we'll get going."

They arrive at the jeep and Sho greets them very warmly.

"May! June! How are you? Looks like you all recovered!"

"Yes General he-he, we're fine now," May said with a tensed smile.

"I forgot to introduce you to-" Sho continues to introduce John.

Katsu observes May's reactions.

"She's very tensed, light trembling, puffed eyelids, probably not getting enough sleep, she doesn't look as joyful or as smiley as when I first met her." He thought.

John leans in and whispered.

"Don't observe her too much, staring at her too much will make her even more uncomfortable," John whispered calmly.

"Ah, right sorry..."

June walks up behind May.

"May, I think you should-"

"EEEEKKKK!!!" May screams out startled.

June backs up and puts his hands up.

"Calm down, it's just me."

"Whew, sorry, you just startled me hehe..."

Katsu continues to observe his reactions.

"Her guard is up, cautious and vigilant, something IS wrong with her."

Katsu's observation skills have improved after getting taught by Vin and even Sho himself.

John and May shake hands and greet each other.

Sho goes in for a confrontation.

"May, is something troubling you?" Sho asked gently.

"Ah, no General... I'm fine." She responded with a fragile voice.

"Just tell me and I will gladly escort you back to Landon."

"Yes General, I will keep that in mind..."

Sho slightly frowns in disappointment.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Normally, such a suggestion would be outrageous to her.

But she accepted it.

"She has lost the reason that propelled her here... She had such all reason to stay... She was so excited to join when she was younger. Such is the power of a bullet..." Sho solemnly lamented in his thoughts.

He snaps his fingers and yells out.

"Alright! I can feel the heat of the Garrison Guards' annoyance from here, let's get going before I melt from the heat."

Sho, Katsu, and June laugh at the joke, May awkwardly chuckle while John is completely unfazed.

"Ha-ha, just for not laughing, John you drive."

John silently nods.

"Alright good."

Sho gives a thumbs up at the soldiers at the back.

They rolled their eyes and sigh in annoyance.

They went inside the jeeps and started their engines.

John and Sho entered the front while the rest went in the back.

Katsu once again sits adjacent to May.

John starts the engine.

"You know how to drive right? You practiced while I was gone?"

"We'll see..." John responded.

Sho grunts in surprise.

"EH?!? What do you mean by we'll see!?"

"Yeah John! What do you mean by that!?" June calls out from the back.

"You ordered me to drive Sho, you're the one who said it, so if we die here it's all on you." He said in a deep serious voice.

"General, I don't know if this guy is being sarcastic or not...."

"Hahaha! He is like that, you'll distinguish the difference pretty easily once you get to know him well."

John accelerates and the convoy starts moving.

After a while of driving, Katsu notices the long line of trucks following them is getting longer and longer.

"There's a lot of us traveling this time."

"Oh, yeah, they're all supply trucks as well. There are also a lot of soldiers inside those to prevent another attack like the one a few weeks ago."

May gasps silently, she starts trembling as flashbacks of pain and suffering filled her mind.

She trembles in fear, she doesn't want to experience that traumatic incident ever again, it was too painful for her.

"Well... We'll be splitting up from them soon, we need to fetch some more people." Sho continued.

May now afraid that they might get ambushed again, stood up and blurted out.

"I! I... I..."

Everyone worriedly looks at her.

"Ah... Never mind, I'm sorry..."

She quickly quiets down.

Katsu thinks about how to tackle the situation without asking her directly.

After a while, he thought of something.

"June how are you by the way?" Katsu asked him.

"Hm? Oh, I was fine from the beginning, only a few scratches and shrapnel to the head."

"That doesn't really sound fine to me but, I'm glad you're ok now. How about you may?"

"I-I am fine! Took a couple of days but I can walk again now." She said with a smile.

"Her smile isn't the same as before but why is she still so cute!?" He thought.

"More importantly," June interjected, "You had a more serious injury, how did that go?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm alright now, I'm already used to it."

"You get used to getting shot??"

June and May look at Katsu with curious faces.

Sho leans back and John breathes quieter to listen to the conversation.

"Yeah, all my life, I've been around bullets a lot. Some shot from around me, and some fired at me. A bullet, I've lost so many things to that, my entire life has been changed by such a tiny piece of metal. When a bullet killed my family, it scarred me, even now when I hear gunshots, I get reminded of that horrible scene, even now, I always see it..."

"You don't get scared? That you'll die?? That you might not be able to live normally anymore??" May asked.

"Nope, but before, yes. But I told myself not to stay in the past and move on. Instead of getting scared, I turn it into energy, It's a constant reminder for me to fight, a constant reminder of my goal, once you've lost interest, once you forget what you're fighting for, you will lose a huge part of your life. And when that happenes, you truly have nothing left."

"What I'm fighting for?" May whispered to herself.

May remembers the reason why she's fighting, why she's joining the army, why she would give up her life, why she would go down in pain...

"Story time." - Unknown.

It was early October, and the light of the dawn breaks the darkness in the countryside, May, June, her Father, her Mother, and several other siblings were at the front gate of their farm.

She was small, cute, and young at the time, she was waiting for her three siblings to depart to get conscripted.

They were her closest siblings, and seeing them go hurting her, and remembering the memories brings tears to the ground.

To stop her from missing them, all three knelt and told her to stop crying, but she never did.

Soon, they told her to make a promise to them that would make her dedicate her life to them.

She immediately stopped and listened and accepted the promise with a smile.

The promise was, when it was her time to get conscripted, she needs to find them, to find her three siblings anywhere. Whether it would be on the battlefield, infirmary, on a battleship thousands of kilometers away, or in a cemetery, she promised that she will find them. And if they're missing she will search to the ends of the earth.

The siblings went inside the truck waving at their family.

She waved goodbye and yelled out to them.

"See you someday!" In a cute voice.

And now, years later, she faced her fears. She made a choice, a choice that was never an option for her older siblings.

Against the will of her parents, she made up her heart and mind and chose to find them, over the hardship and suffering that she will face, she chose her promise.

She knew what she chose, she knew how hard it will be until death faced her.

She thought she was going to die, she thought she won't be able to walk again.

She got scared, fearing the pain of a bullet, fear made her forget.

And now that she had remembered, now that she realized that she had broken her promise, she is shaken to the core.

Her stomach aches, her body burns, chills run down her spine, her hands and feet get cold, and tears drop from her pale face.

"May? You're crying, are you ok??" Said a worried Katsu.

June immediately switches seats and sat beside her.

"May, are you ok??" June said with a soft comforting voice.

Streams of tears fall from her face as she cries aloud.

"I am not... Not going to forget them... To forget my promise to them..."

"Ah... Your promise, I see, don't worry, you still remembered it, it means you will never forget it."

June puts his arms around her, rhythmically and softly tapping her shoulder.

As May cries out, even more, June tightens his hug and comforts her with his words.

Meanwhile, Katsu is just sitting there awkwardly...

Sitting copiously, he is thinking of what he did wrong.

"What did I do??? Did I say something wrong!? Why is she crying?!" He thought.

Katsu silently panics, not knowing what to do.

"Ummmm....." Katsu said quietly.

"Katsu... Your story is really... Inspiring... Now I know... Although it hurts... Although I'm scared of what will happen to me... Although I'm afraid of dying... I will take this as a reminder, of my promise, to keep on fighting." She cried out even more.

"I... Uhhh..." He stutters as he is left speechless.

"Sho, it's a good time to intervene," John said calmly.

"Yes, I know John..."

Sho clears his voice.

"May? Are you ok? Please calm down now." Sho said gently.

May continues to cry.

"It's best that we let her calm down first."

May continues to cry at the memories, at the fact that she forgot her most valued promise.

Now that she had remembered what she had forgotten, she snapped back to reality, she went back to her proper state of reasoning.

In the past few weeks, all logic and reason left her mind, her mind was filled with fear, too scared to think.

But now, she felt the happiness she felt back then, back when she made her promise.

She calmed herself down and oriented her thinking back to a straight one.

"Are you alright now May?"June whispered.

"Yes... I remembered now." She said with joy in her voice.

"I see... That's good." June said whilst lightly brushing her hair.

June casually throws Katsu a thumbs-up.

Confusion is stapled all over Katsu's face.

Not knowing what he said for such a situation to happen, he is rebooting his deduction skills.

Sho sighs.

"John, focus on driving, I'm just going to talk with everyone at the back for a while."

''Alright, I won't listen." John complied.

Sho leans back.

"May? Are you ok now?"

"Yes General!" She said with confidence.

"Good, now, I will present to you two options, I want you to answer me truthfully, if you want more time to decide I'll give you that time, but I need you to answer me how you really feel. You have a choice, you're not being forced into the army."

Sho clears his voice once more.

"You have a choice to continue, or will you return home? Don't tell me "Oh I've made it this far" because I will gladly escort you back to Ingland. Please tell me what you feel, what you want to do.

May is silent.

She clenches her hands and takes several minutes to know what she feels and to know what her answer will be.

As much as she's scared for her life.

As much as her facing death multiple times.

She has already decided.

Not today, but years ago.

When that promise was sealed in her heart.

She speaks up with confidence.

"General... I've had the answer from the start. And I've already told you the answer before, but if you want my answer again, I WILL find them!"

"That was when you were younger, now that you've felt the pain of a bullet, you will experience greater pain physically and mentally. Even now I know that that scar left on you will bring you down from the inside, are you-"

"YES! I am sure! I have already decided, and I never will change my mind!"

She stands up and steps closer to the front.

"You may never experience happiness again.

"The happiness I will get once I get to see them again is enough happiness for a lifetime!"

"What is the reason for your resolve? For you to risk your life just for your promise?"

May tremble again, and tears fall again.

"It's because... I want to see them again... I want to talk to them again... I want to play with them again... I want to make more good memories with them... I miss the so much... I want..." May cries out.

She kneels, crying her heart out.

Katsu whispers to June.

"June! Why not help her??"

"I... I can't, as much as I want to stop Sho from continuing, Sho told me to stop myself. If I don't, She can't regain her resolve, she must recover on her own."

"I... I see..."

Sho continues to test May.

"Are you ready to feel the pain of a bullet again?? The pain of fighting for your life?? The pain of losing a life-"

"Sho, stop it already, this is already too much," John said with a steady voice.

"John... I told you not to listen."

"..."

"Sorry, my bad..."

John looks back at the road and focuses on driving.

Sho sighs puts his head back, and stares at the sky.

"Did I really go too far? But even if I did, I did it for her sake, if her resolve is not strong enough, she will fall short of the battlefield. And I don't want that to happen, she must find and strengthen he resolve, she must know what she's fighting for. If I don't remind her... Who will?" Sho thought to himself.

June couldn't resist it and helped May sit back down, and calmed her down again.

"Thanks... June... For always helping me out."

"Don't worry, I'll be by your side, that's why I joined with you."

Sho sighs some more.

"But judging by her response, It looks like she has regained the will to fight. But after that crack, there's still a chance for her to crumble. She needs support, but it looks like June already has that covered." He thought.

Sho chuckles and smiles.

"This is going to be a gamble... But I think she'll be fine." He whispered to himself.

He snaps his fingers.

"Since you already know the consequences, I won't continue with that... But is yes your final answer?"

"Hm... YES!"

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Alright then, it's settled. I will never again doubt you. Nor will I ask you to go back home ever again."

May jump and celebrates, she smiles a cheerful one being overwhelmed by joy.

June and Katsu claps and cheered.

Sho closes his eyes and smirks.

He has prevented another catastrophe, but he was not alone on this one of course.

Suddenly, the truck runs over a rock, and the jeep violently shakes.

May losses her balance and falls, but she was immediately caught by Katsu.

"Whoops, you're getting too excited haha."

Katsu pulls her up but she goes in for a hug.

"Ah....." Everyone silently gasps.

She hugs him very tightly.

This new sensation, the warmth, the tight hug, the face on his shoulder, the warm breath on his neck, the arms tightly wrapped around his body...

All of this is very new to him.

So understandably... He starts to freak out.

"Uhhh... Um... May? Are you... Ok?..."

He starts silently panicking.

May softly whisper in his ear.

"Thank you..."

"Ehh?... F-for what??"

"Your life story, it's incredible, it's inspiring, I can't thank you enough, you'r experience has inspired me, and has reminded me of what's important to me..."

"Uhh... You're welcome??"

"I cannot imagine how much pain you must've been through."

Wait a minute...

What's this feeling?

Nostalgia?

No, Deja Vu?

No... these are...

Memories?

"I can't imagine how painful it might be..." His worried mother said to a crying Katsu.

"C'mon, it's just a scratch." His father said casually.

This warmth, he's experienced it before...

It's been a long time since then.

Then, the voice of May's graceful voice again.

"Thank you for saving me from mental destruction."

Memories again?

No, it's more nostalgic...

It's Deja Vu.

"Thank you, Vin... For saving me." Katsu said to Vin while tightly hugging him.

Mays voice again...

"Thank you, for going through that pain, the pain that made me realize, the pain that inspired me."

What's this feeling?

He can't quite describe it.

He is lost in his thoughts.

Lost in this feeling of nostalgia.

Lost in this warm feeling.

He could only utter two words.

"You're... Welcome..."

Sho stares from the rearview mirror.

"Ooooohhhh? So that is what you were doing?"

Another bump violently rocks the vehicle, breaking the long hug.

"Hey John! Eyes on the road!"

"Yeah, totally didn't hear nor see anything at the back."

"Is that soooo??? But it kinda sounds like the exact opposite!"

"But does it really?"

Sho and John continue to argue.

"Wow, you got a 38-second hug with May." June clapped with a smug face.

"Ehh??? You counted?"

May stretched around.

"What's wrong with a thankful hug?" She said with a pout.

"No objections!" June teased.

"Hmpf!" May looks away.

June throws a thumbs up to a half-red, spaced-out Katsu.

Katsu doesn't notice as his mind is very busy figuring out that strange nostalgic feeling.

"Alright everyone, sit down, our driver here might drive us off the road," Sho announced.

"Hey, I warned you earlier."

They all sat back down and chat like the past few weeks never happened.

There were times of pause and awkward silence, but seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, and it was already night, but the convoy didn't stop, the convoy kept going.

Everyone eventually fell asleep except for John and May.

May gazes at the starry clear sky, unable to sleep, she immerses herself in her thoughts.

She will forever remember this day, as she will never forget her promise, she will never forget this day.

Her path to recovery will be very rough, but this is a good start.

John focuses, eyes forward vigilant, and wide awake.

Night slowly turns to day.

Another day passes, and the long journey to the fort is getting shorter.