The 300th squad had left the ruins of battle behind. Their new mission, at least on paper, was simpler: evacuate civilians from recently secured territories of the Communist Federation.
They moved from town to town, helping people carry what little they had left. Medical trucks waited on muddy roads. Children cried from hunger and fear. Mothers clung to their babies. Some dropped to their knees, thanking the soldiers through tears.
—"Thank you! Thank you! Bless you!" —cried one woman as she hugged her child.
Others wept as they touched the soldiers' sleeves or hands, clinging to them like lifelines.
Through it all… Itsumi walked like a shadow. Cold. Distant. Unchanged.
Civilians glanced at him with unease.
—"Is he... with them?" —murmured an old man.
—"He looks like a ghost..." —said another.
Captain Harada watched from afar, arms crossed. His teeth clenched with frustration. At last, he approached and grabbed Itsumi's shoulder.
—"With me. Now."
He led him behind a collapsed house, far from the civilians' eyes. For a moment, they stood in silence, the wind cutting through the cold air. Harada stared at him.
—"What the hell is wrong with you, Itsumi?"
The boy said nothing.
—"I know life hasn't been kind to you. I get that. We've all got scars. But you—" Harada stepped closer— "You're like a machine. No sympathy. No compassion. Not even a flicker of emotion. Nothing."
Itsumi looked down.
—"You didn't react when those mothers thanked us like we were their salvation. You didn't even blink when we pulled those kids out of hell. What the hell happened to you? How broken do you have to be to feel nothing at all?"
Inside, Itsumi screamed.
I was bullied. I was abandoned. No one ever cared. I was nothing. And now I'm in another world—another battlefield. Even here, I'm just a tool. A pawn. A weapon. There's no light. No hope. Just orders. Just silence.
He tried to speak. His lips trembled. Nothing came out.
—"Talk to me, damn it!" —Harada snapped.
Itsumi turned his eyes away. Couldn't meet his gaze.
Harada exhaled sharply, overwhelmed.
—"What do I have to do, Itsumi? Tell me. What the hell do I have to do to make you human again? What will it take to bring even a spark of light into that empty heart?"
A long pause.
Then, softly, barely above a whisper:
—"There's no way… at least not from you."
Harada froze. His expression shifted from anger… to pity.
—"…I pity you," he said at last.
Then he walked away, back to the refugees. Back to the mission.
Itsumi stood still, the wind tugging at his helmet and hair. Then, quietly, he returned to work, helping civilians in silence. Not a word. Not a smile. Not a tear.
He held everything in.
And inside… he kept breaking.