"𝕻𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖊 𝖇𝖊 𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖔𝖓 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙. 𝕷𝖆𝖈𝖊 𝖒𝖞 𝖉𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖋𝖊𝖆𝖗 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖒 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖞 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖘, 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖍𝖎𝖒 𝖎𝖓 𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖈𝖊."

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The air was damp as I padded along the dirt paths towards the main shrine, the smell of rain hanging delicately in the air like some light perfume. My slippers shuffled quietly into the courtyard, the guards briefly nodding in my direction as I held a steaming tray in my thinly-gloved hands.

I made it to a back door, hidden slightly from view as if to offer privacy. I kicked off my slippers, coated with muck and dirt from the village nearby, and stepped into the dark hallway. The building housed VIP guests, excluding Her Excellency who had her own quarters, and all rooms were empty—except one.

I gently knocked on the simply carved door, wisps of what resembled waves cresting elevated above the wood. "General?" I called. "Her Excellency sent me to provide you with dinner." No answer. "General Gorou, are you there?" Still nothing. My lips thinned and I placed a hand on the door, unnerved by the quietness. "General, I'm coming in, okay?" The door opened inwards with barely a squeak. "Excuse me~"

The room was dark and quiet, curtains drawn and window slightly open for ventilation. The silken patterns billowed slightly in the gentle breeze, dew beading on the wooden sill. I lowered my gaze to the General's face and saw that sleep had already claimed him.

For a moment, I felt glad that he had found momentary peace from the battlefield—but what peace resulted in a tightly knotted face and eyes squeezed shut as if to block out his vision? I briefly wondered what it was he was seeing, before moving quickly to action.

I hurriedly placed the tray down on a small table beside the bed and tore off the blanket that cocooned him, frantically shaking his shoulders. "General! General Gorou!" He quivered, ears clamped around his head, and I saw his matted tail shift and snake around his legs in a panicky motion. "Gorou!"

His eyes snapped open, bloodshot red and wide with fear. Tears streamed down his face, then, dampening his flushed cheeks. I held my hands out in front of me, making sure he was calm and gesturing to him that he was safe. His breathing was still heavy as he slowly sat up, leaning his head against the wall to recuperate as he wiped at his face, slipping the blanket back over his shoulders.

"General Gorou?" I said carefully.

He sighed shakily, but he managed, "I'm here... I'm awake."

I frowned at the tone in his voice—at the fragility. I turned to the table, pouring him a small cup of herbal tea and motioning him forwards, handing it to him as he did so. He reached for it but didn't quite grab it, so I pressed the cup into his shaking hands and closed his fingers around it. He sipped quietly, and the warmth brought color back to his pale, haunted face.

He took a quiet, barely audible breath, then turned his eyes to me. "Y/n... What are you doing here?"

I cleared my throat. "Her Excellency sent me." I motioned to the tray. "She was worried about you... so she sent me."

He turned the mug in his hands, feeling restless. I could see in his eyes, in his folded ears, that he was uncomfortable.

I reached back for the door. "I can leave if you need some time—"

"No," he interjected firmly. A faint rose dusted his cheeks as he cleared his throat. "No. Your presence is most welcome."

My hands slipped off the handle and I nodded slowly. "Very well." I sat on a stool beside his bed, padded with some imported velvet material. There was a small tear in its side, an indicator of its age. The feel of it reminded me of just how caged Inazuma had become—of the future we now fought for.

He gestured to the tray I had set down. "Please—help yourself. I'm... far from hungry."

From the way he hugged his chest and the gauntness of his face, I had a hard time believing him. He didn't just look hungry—he looked starved .

I reached for a slice of bread and spread sweet jam lightly over the top—rare for the Resistance to have possession of but certainly deserved—and placed it on a small plate, setting it on his lap. "When was the last time you ate , General?"

He seemed to shrink into the blanket hugging his shoulders. Avoiding the question.

"You're here to rest from your sustained injuries," I pushed. His gaze flicked to his shoulder—bandaged and stained with spots of a horrible dark crimson. "Please—you must eat something."

Reluctantly, he set down the mug and reached for the jam-covered slice, nibbling on it, barely making a dent in the crust. I reigned in my sigh, instead pouring myself a small cup of tea. The light steam that wafted off its pristine surface was ripped away by the wind, growing stronger as the curtains flailed at its mercy.

Gorou shivered, his hands trembling as he lifted the bread back to his mouth. Placing my tea down beside him, I made my way to the window, kneeling on the bed behind him, and looked out. The sky hadn't exactly been clear earlier, but it was certainly looking more dreary, puffs of black similar to smoke blotting out the expanse.

Thunder crashed—and so did crockery behind me. I closed the windows and the curtains ceased their movement and I turned to find a shattered plate on the ground. I was about to slip off the bed, ready to clean it, when I noticed the general.

His face was fastened in pain, hands holding his ears to his head tightly. Slowly, I moved back and placed my hands on his shoulders, trying to offer what little comfort I could. He stiffened—but it seemed he recognized that it was me. I rubbed my fingers against him, the bandages rough against them as the blanket fell to the floor. His breathing was shaky, fear evident in his gasps for breath.

"Gorou..?" I asked gently.

"I can still hear them."

"What?"

I couldn't see his face now, but I knew his eyes were wide with terror as his hands moved to cover his mouth, as if to conceal the horror on his face. To prevent the shaky words from coming out and reviving the scene he had witnessed. But he continued, "Their screams as they died... I hear them."

My hands found a better grip on his shoulders as I asked hesitantly, "Who?"

A breath shuddered out of him and I wished I never asked. ".. My friends."

He bent over himself—and I found myself falling. Falling—slipping my arms over his shoulders, my head coming to rest on his. The mighty general was now trapped—in my embrace. It happened without word or thought, but from the way his bandaged hand came to rest atop mine, it seemed it was welcome.

We remained in that position for a while, and rain began to patter outside on the glass, providing sanctuary from the noises of the outside world. Slowly, warmth returned to his body, dispelling the cold of his memories. My eyes opened. Gorou appeared asleep—and if not, then very nearly so. I carefully removed myself so as not to disturb him and his much-needed rest, kneeling on the ground to clean the broken plate.

I was halfway gathering the broken pieces when I heard a soft whisper. I looked up. His eyes remained closed as if he hadn't moved—but I was certain I had heard a voice. I stood beside the bed. "What did you say?"

It was then his eyes opened—and I knew then he hadn't expected me to hear him. He looked at me briefly, before averting his gaze. "Nothing."

Usually, I would leave it at that—perhaps probe once more but then cease my questioning—had it been anyone else. But this was General Gorou, someone who was never afraid to speak his mind. Never afraid to use his gift of speech to direct the others around him. "I need to know," I insisted.

"No... you don't."

"Yes, I do." I was firm with him, though I shouldn't have been. He was my superior—and yet I reached for his face, tilting his chin so he looked at me straight in the eyes. And I saw the plea for help, laid bare within his teal eyes reminiscent of the oceans outside. His turmoil mirrored the storm as it ravaged the waters, and I witnessed the rise of great waves breaking against the gentle, fragile curves of his mind. "Please— tell me."

His mouth hung open ever-so-slightly, lip wobbling as he tried to force out the words. Patiently, I waited—until his eyes grew cold and distant. There were no tears—only a numb, quiet voice that spoke: "I should have died with them."

Alarm flashed in my eyes and I instinctively gripped his shoulders. "Don't say that!" But he showed no reaction, believing firmly in the statement that left his mouth. "General, please, your people need you! The Resistance needs you! You can't—you can't just..."

I resigned from him suddenly as I noted the abject despair clouding his eyes—his mind. What was he feeling—he whose mind was shrouded in such paralysing pain? Could I... not help him? I was just a farmer—but how could I be so hopeless to aid someone who had risked life and limb for the likes of others like myself?

I knelt on the cold floor, yielding. Outside, the winds howled a loud desolate song, crying as the world around him fell to pieces. I continued picking up the fragments of broken china, holding them together as if it would magically be fixed.

But then I heard him speak. "I still... hear them... begging me to help them." He lifted his gaze from his hands, laying motionless in his lap, to me. "Why didn't I help them?"

I placed the gathered pieces aside, merely blinking at him, unsure what to say. "There was nothing you could have done."

He looked back at his hands, lifting them, his tools to grappling a just out-of-reach victory. And he saw only failure written in the lines of his palms. "But—there's always a way..."

"Gorou." His head snapped back up—and I saw his ears perk up. Just a little bit. I swallowed. "You couldn't help them."

Those words—that reality—seemed to awaken something in him and his eyes were doused with clarity, the waters clearing.

Only to fall once again in material form, tears sliding down rosy cheeks. The floodgates had broken open. The rivers that formed swept me away, carrying me down overwhelming currents until I came to rest in a lake at the end of its course. Though his tears still fell, he kept my gaze, and I was lost in the teal blue ponds of his eyes. So soulful—so full of depth. How long would it take me to reach the bottom? Would I surface again?

A sniffle brought me back to attention—and I found myself reaching forward to hug him. My arms encompassed his neck, and I held him against me. His arms—one bandaged and one not—slipped around my back, holding me tight, as if I were but a figment, prone to disappearing at any moment. Perhaps that's what he was afraid of.

"It's not your fault," I said softly, a hand on the back of his head.

I felt his jaw moving against my chest. "I wish I could have done more."

".. It's not your fault."

He seemed more assured at that, and he took a breath—a single great heave of air—and exhaled, dispelling all his fears and despair with it. "Thank you..."

Those words—the soft tone of his voice—compelled me to lift my head and plant a gentle kiss atop his head. His ears flittered but remained upright as they came to settle. I rubbed at the base of one. And Gorou was calm. "We need you, General... I ... need you... Gorou."

He breathed out once more, before saying in the quietest voice, "Can you... stay for a while?"

".. Huh?"

"Stay for a while... just... the way we are." In each other's embrace.

I hugged him tighter—and I begged that the night give him comfort when he laid down to rest. That the souls of the dead would not haunt him—that the scenes of battle would be replaced by visions of peace. "Whenever you need me , I'll be here."

He hummed contently at that—and the rain started to clear. And though he didn't speak, from the way he held me, I knew he'd do the same.

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A/N: It's 3am BUT HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

I am SO SO SORRY I literally posted four oneshots last year which I find astonishing compared to how many I had put out the previous year. I was working on a lot of other projects last year. Speaking of, that big one I said would be out this year—I lied, it's not. I really wanted it to be but school takes over and I guess so does growing up in general. ANYWAY I WISH YOU ALL AN AMAZING 2025 !!

To my beautiful wonderful Wattpad bestie babyyrosies ilyssm <3 Thank you for the quote, awesome!

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

Fanart credits: https://x.com/rchiwaa/status/1488685709825572868/photo/1