(Think of each part as a scene. Also, erotica will be in later parts and I'll write it so you can skip it if you don't like that kind of thing.)
EDIT 6/26: I've proven to be terrible at actually updating when I'm supposed to, so feel free to add me on Steam and bitch at me if you see me playing something instead of writing.
Big ups to Scissorslips for helping me with the concept and proofreading.
-----Once Upon a Wartime
Parts 1-2 - Thousand Yard Stare and Appeasement
Part 3 - Shock and Awe
Part 4 - Drawing Treaties
Part 5 - On the Frontlines
Part 6 - Armistice
Epilogue - Victory Day
Art:
Touching Reunion (Thighs)
Facing your Fears (Drawbro)
Victory (Oak, colored by Thighs)
Part 1: Thousand Yard Stare
Yuuko sighed in frustration as she tossed and turned in her bed, once again failing miserably to get any quality sleep. No matter how hard she tried, she just could not get any rest, her mind either worrying about school or work or, more often than not, wondering whatever happened to her boyfriend.
Sure, it had been a few years, but the memory was still fresh in her mind. He was a sweet man, really, but had just left her for some unknown reason. She just woke up one morning and he was gone...
Yuuko closed her eyes and tried to remember. A park. A verdant, bright-green field of grass. Her and her boyfriend, walking hand in hand, talking about the future. It sounded cheesy, but it was one of the best moments of her life. Just the two of them; no worries, no concerns. All that mattered was that they were together, and the rest would work itself out in time.
She remembered that day vividly; they had gone to lunch, then decided to just walk around town, seeing the sites and talking with each other. As they walked, she stopped him, removing his glasses and looking into his deep eyes. She kissed him; the first time she had kissed anyone, and said the words she would never forget:
“I love you, Kenji Setou”.
As Yuuko remembered, tears began to roll down her face, staining the pillow under them. The memory was happy, yes, but it reminded her of what she had lost, and what she needed to find again. She sobbed as she thought back to that night: they returned to her apartment and she gave herself to him; he was her first. The next morning, he was gone.
The memory was almost too painful to think about, but it brought her some strange comfort; despite being the end of their relationship, it was a good memory: The feeling of him wrapping his arms around her, making her feel safe and warm... The feeling of his breath against her neck as they slept. Despite the outcome, that night was amazing.
She finally stopped crying, closing her eyes and drifting off into sleep, thinking only of Kenji and wondering what happened to the man she loved.
-----
Part 2: Appeasement
“Hisao, I'm telling you. Okay, listen. The Americans developed this thing called HAARP, right? It's supposed to be some interstellar microphone or some shit, but they're full of it. People who live around the thing complain of headaches and I've even heard of a few becoming sterile. I'm convinced it's a feminist plot to control the most powerful nation in the world!”
Here we go again. On another one of his tangents. Kenji Setou, the person I'm almost sad to call my best friend here, is a strange man. As we walk, he continues to explain his latest crazy conspiracy theory. I let him ramble as we approached the library.
Knowing his disdain for the hall of books, and figuring that he probably had no idea where we were, I neglected to mention our current location to him. However, his constantly increasing voice as he neared the apex of his tangent (something about the American president being a puppet for the feminist regime) had me worried that we would disturb the library's patrons.
As if reading my mind, Yuuko poked her head out of the door, looking at us with a expression that soon changed from puzzled, to shocked, to outright amazed. I wasn't aware that a human's eyes could go that big, but there she was, gawking at both of us like she was a deer in a pair of headlights.
Thankfully, Kenji continued on his rant, now so absorbed that it was doubtful anything would really stop him any time soon. Yuuko quickly motioned to me, so I informed my companion that I needed to go talk to Mutou about something and left him to his devices for the time being.
I ducked into the library, where Yuuko began to stammer and sputter, more flustered than I'd ever seen her. “WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!” she half-whispered, half-shouted to me as she closed the door. “Who, Kenji?” I replied, dumbfounded.
“Yes, Kenji! Wait, hang on. If he's here, then why hasn't he come to see me? Oh, what if he hates me?! Oh god, what am I going to do?” Yuuko continued on like this for a solid minute before I interjected.
“Yuuko, what's wrong?” She gave me a mortified look, apparently realizing her state, and pulled herself together quickly. “Nothing's wrong... I just need to figure some stuff out is all.”
“I'm not that dense, Yuuko. What's going on?” She looked at me pensively and finally decided to tell me the whole story: how she and Kenji had met and dated, how she had confessed to him, and how he had left her that night.
“That... doesn't really sound like Kenji, to be honest. He might be crazy, but he's not a jerk.” I shook my head, thinking as best I could with an almost sobbing Yuuko next to me. I patted her on the back and tried to calm her down, to no avail. “Well, it was him! Kenji Setou! I'll never know why he did it, but he did!”
Yuuko's face cleared up almost instantly as she realized something. She looked at me, almost in a panic, and said “Um... I hate asking other people to help me, but darn it I need to know! You're his friend, right? Why don't you ask him why?”
Friend might be stretching it, but alright. “I'll ask him, but I've got a better idea: would you want to ask him yourself? I could probably get him to come here or somewhere else, maybe you guys can talk it over.”
“B-but he hates me! I just know it! He can't stand the sight of me! That's why he left!” She continued on a tangent of different put-downs, falling further into a depression. “B-but... I'll never get over him if I can't face him, I guess.”
Yuuko shot up, apparently coming to some realization.
“Alright. I'll do it.”
-----
