Tokuda woke up and found himself staring at a ceiling of a tent. He realized that he was wrapped in chains and strapped down to a table. He couldn't move his arms or legs freely, despite struggling with the chains for a bit. After realizing that he wouldn't be able to escape, he sighed and took a look around. He noticed that he really was inside of a tent, and on his right was a table that had various tools. The table was splattered with what Tokuda assumed was blood, and some of the tools were also covered in it. Some of the blood seemed fresh, while some of it had dried up already.
As Tokuda was looking around, he saw two demi-humans come inside of the tent. One of them was a rather large demi-human resembling a dog, and the other was a lizard demi-human of sorts. The dog demi-human said, "Rise and shine human scum! I've got orders to get some information out of you however I see fit." The dog demi-human grabbed a stool and took a seat next to Tokuda and said, "Here's what I'm gonna do. I'll give you one chance to tell me what I want to know. If you do, then I'll let you go with no harm done." The dog demi-human then got close to Tokuda's face and asked with a sly smile, "You wanna know what happens when you don't answer me right the first time?" Tokuda sighed, saying, "It doesn't take a genius to know what's going on here, doggy. You're just gonna kill me when I tell you what you want to know. Go fetch a stick or something, you damn mutt. You're wasting your time here since I'm not telling you a fucking thing." The dog demi-human laughed, then said, "A hard-spirited soldier! I like you!" The dog demi-human shrugged, saying, "If that's how you want it to be, then so be it." The dog demi-human motioned to the lizard demi-human, who grabbed a dull, rusted knife from off the bloody table.
The lizard demi-human then went over to Tokuda and placed the knife on Tokuda's thumb. The dog demi-human then said, "Well, you asked for it. Do it." The lizard demi-human then began slowly cutting off Tokuda's thumb, and Tokuda bit down on his lower lip, not wanting to scream and give his torturers satisfaction. After what felt like an eternity, Tokuda heard a small plop noise, and the dog demi-human laughed and said, "Well, there's one down! If you don't feel like saying anything, we can do the same to your other fingers!" Tokuda, who was dizzy from the pain, said nothing. The dog demi-human waited for a little bit, then said, "Get a healing potion on his thumb to close the wound and stop the bleeding. I don't want him dying on us due to blood loss. Once you've done that, get his other fingers."
And so the process repeated itself over and over. Tokuda, still not wanting to give up information, had all of his fingers chopped off. With the pain sometimes being too much, Tokuda almost passed out a few times due to how intense the pain was. However, the dog demi-human wouldn't let him, as the dog demi-human would usually smack Tokuda's face a bit to keep him conscious. Tokuda's mind was a blur at this point, but the clear image of his comrades in the Spearhead squad was what kept him going and what kept his mouth shut. There's no way in hell I'm selling them out, thought Tokuda. The dog demi-human noticed this in Tokuda's eyes, as they now gave off something that resembled determination and a steeled resolve. The dog demi-human then said, "This is quite the spectacle if I say so myself! By now, I'd be spilling the beans personally! You're a tough nut to crack!" Tokuda managed to say, "I'll never tell you a damn thing." The dog demi-human then said, "Well, I suppose not. However, you may change your mind once I tell you what I'm gonna be chopping off next! Get the rusty axe!" The lizard demi-human silently put down the dull and rusty knife and picked up a dull axe off the bloody table.
The dog demi-human then traced an imaginary line across Tokuda's arm, where the shoulder blade met the chest. The dog demi-human then said, "I wonder what it's like to lose an arm. Well, if you survive this, maybe you can tell me what it's like!" Tokuda's mind was still a bit foggy from the pain, so he wasn't sure what exactly was happening. However, Tokuda didn't have much time to process anything, as he suddenly felt excruciating pain coming from the right side of his body. He looked over to see that an axe was lodged into the right side of his body, but it didn't cut his right arm off fully. The lizard demi-human took out the axe that was lodged into Tokuda's right arm, then swung it back down again, cleanly cutting off his right arm. Tokuda, this time, let out a painful scream, as the pain of having his arm cut off was much, much worse than having his fingers cut off. Tokuda then started to pass out from the pain, and the dog demi-human smiled, saying, "You finally screamed! Excellent!"
Tokuda was then slapped awake before he could fully pass out. The dog demi-human said, "Don't go passing out on me yet! The fun isn't over!" Tokuda looked over at the right side of his body, except he realized that there was no arm where there normally would be. Tokuda didn't really process this at the time and didn't question where his arm had gone. However, he noticed that the wound was closed with a healing potion, but the pain still lingered. The dog demi-human then said, "Well, time for your left arm now." Immediately, the lizard demi-human brought the axe down on Tokuda's left arm, but again, it didn't cut all the way through. The lizard demi-human then brought the axe down one more time, and Tokuda's left arm was cut off, and once again the pain was excruciating.
The pain overwhelmed Tokuda, and he screamed out once again. He tried to fight off the pain, but it was a struggle to overcome it. The lizard demi-human was about to put a healing potion on the fresh cut when the dog demi-human stopped him. The dog demi-human smiled in an evil manner, and said, "Not yet." The dog demi-human then brutally punched the open wound, and Tokuda felt as if a million needles were stabbing into him. The dog demi-human then grabbed the rusted knife and began playing with Tokuda's open wound, as if he was spreading peanut butter on a piece of bread. The dog demi-human would also occasionally lightly poke the open wound with the rusted knife, and Tokuda's pain was only intensified. The dog demi-human laughed in a mad, hysterical manner, getting pleasure from watching Tokuda suffer.
Eventually, the dog demi-human was done having fun with the open wound, and the pain settled down a bit as a healing potion was applied to his left side, closing up the wound where his arm had originally been. Tokuda was reaching his breaking point, as he felt he could no longer stand the pain. However, he wouldn't sell out his comrades, so he simply whispered, "Just kill me." The dog demi-human noticed Tokuda was trying to say something, so he leaned in closer and said, "What did you say?" Tokuda them quietly muttered, "Just kill me." The dog demi-human laughed and said, "What do you mean? You asked for this, did you not? If only you had told me what I wanted to know, we wouldn't even be here in the first-"
Suddenly, a huge figure came right through the tent door. Tokuda's senses were out of commission due to the large amounts of pain he had received, but from what he could make out, it was a large figure dressed in all red. He couldn't see the figure's face clearly, and Tokuda's hearing was messed up a bit as well, but the figure seemed to say, "What did I tell you about torturing him?!" The dog demi-human then quickly replied, "I-I'm sorry, General! It was too tempting, plus he didn't want to say anything to us!" The red figure then took a look at Tokuda and said, "Get him healed, clean him up, and let him get some sleep. Once he's done all of that, have him come see me. And if I see you even try anything with him again, I'll-" Tokuda's vision suddenly went black, and the voices he heard slowly faded out, as he passed out from the pain.
Tokuda then suddenly woke up. He found himself staring at the ceiling of the roof of a tent, but something felt... off. Tokuda realized he felt lighter than usual, and he tried to get up off of the makeshift sleeping bag using his arms. However, he couldn't feel his arms at all and quickly looked down at his body. His eyes widened, realizing that his arms were gone. Tokuda then remembered the events of the torture session he had somehow endured. Shaking the painful event from his head, he tried a couple of times to get up, but his body was still aching from the torture. Eventually, he was finally able to get up, but he then felt something tug at his leg once he tried to leave the tent. He looked down to see that a chain was keeping him from moving about freely. The chain was connected to a metal stake in the ground by a lock that needed a key to unlock it, and from the looks of it, the metal stake seemed to be pretty deep into the ground. Tokuda, knowing that he would never be able to unlock the chain, tried to loosen the stake by moving his entire body around, but the stake was so far into the ground, it was almost as if the ground was pushing back and keeping the stake from moving. Tired from struggling to free himself, he collapsed back onto his makeshift sleeping bag.
Then, one of the snake brothers entered his tent and said, "You're awake? Good. The bossssss wantssss to sssssee you. Can't believe it cosssst you both armssss though." Tokuda murderously glared at the snake brother but said nothing. The snake brother then said, "Follow me, and don't do anything sssstupid." The snake brother then unlocked the chain from the stake and had a tight grip on it. The snake brother then tugged the chain forward, sending Tokuda stumbling a bit forward. "Let'sssss go," said the snake brother, and the two of them left the tent.
Tokuda was surprised at how big the camp was. The camp was full of demi-human soldiers, all training and preparing for the next battle to come. The snake brother led the way, and Tokuda could feel the glares of the demi-human soldiers as he passed by. Wanting to ignore all of that, Tokuda then remembered the events that had led up to this point. As he was following the snake brother, he asked, "How long have I been asleep?" The snake brother then said, "Three daysssss." Tokuda was quite surprised by this, but then he realized just how hungry and thirsty he was. Tokuda then asked, "What was the outcome of the battle?" The snake brother laughed, saying, "It wassss a victory for ussssss. We drove you humanssss from the battlefield, and it wassss all thankssss to our bosssss." Tokuda then said, "Impossible." The snake brother then said, "I sssspeak the truth." Tokuda was then agonized by the thought of what might've happened to his comrades. Are they okay? Please, let them be okay, thought Tokuda, as he feared the worst happened to them.
Tokuda was occupied by his thoughts and his worries, and he didn't even realize that he had reached the tent of the Red Bear until the snake brother dragged him inside of it. Tokuda looked around the inside of the tent, and it was a rather normal one for a general's tent. A desk had papers all over it, and weapons and armor were laying about inside of the tent. In the corner, a huge figure was sleeping on a bed, and the huge figure turned in his sleep, revealing the Red Bear's sleeping face. Oddly enough, the Red Bear's sleeping face had a smile on it, and it seemed that the Red Bear was muttering something in his sleep. The snake brother turned to Tokuda and said, "You will turn around and forget what you just ssssssaw. Mention thissss to anyone, and I'll kill you where you ssssstand." Tokuda simply nodded and turned around. What a first impression, thought Tokuda. The snake brother then said, "General, I've brought you the prissssoner as requesssted." The Red Bear then jolted awake, saying, "Huh?! I wasn't sleeping!" The snake brother said nothing and pretended to see nothing, and the Red Bear sighed with relief, saying, "Oh! It's just you two! That's a relief." The snake brother then said, "General, pleasssse stop taking napssss like that." The Red Bear then looked sad, saying, "How can I function as a general if I don't take a nap every now and then?!" The snake brother dismissed the question and threw Tokuda forward, saying, "Here'sss the prissssoner." The Red Bear then said, "Oh! Right! Yes, the prisoner!" The Red Bear then looked at the snake brother and said, "Could you leave us be? There are some things I'd like to discuss with him alone." The snake brother then said, "As you wish, General," then left the tent.
Tokuda, still facing away from the Red Bear, turned around. Now standing up fully, Tokuda got an eyeful of the Red Bear. The Red Bear was quite a large fellow, as even from this distance, Tokuda could tell that the Red Bear easily towered over Tokuda. The Red Bear began putting on his armor and noticed that Tokuda was looking at him. The Red Bear then said, "Oh! Sorry! Let me put on my armor and I'll be with you in a second." He's oddly polite to an enemy, for a general of savages, at least, thought Tokuda. Once he put on his armor, the Red Bear then walked over to where Tokuda was standing and said, "Sorry about that! I'm the Red Bear, head general of the Demi-Human Federation." Tokuda then said, "I know who you are." The Red Bear then said, "Really? Am I famous or something?" Tokuda replied, "No shit, dumbass. When you're the head general of a group of savages fighting in a big fucking war, of course you're gonna be famous." The Red Bear scratched his head and said, "Huh. Well then, I guess I can at least tell my wife and kid that I'm famous now, but not really in the way I'd like to be famous." Tokuda, getting impatient and irritated at how the Red Bear was talking to him, angrily said, "What do you want with me? Why am I even here?" The Red Bear then seemed to get a little bit serious as he asked, "Take a walk with me, yeah?" Without giving Tokuda time to respond, the Red Bear suddenly walked out of the tent. Tokuda had no choice but to follow.
Both of them exited the tent and walked through the camp. After a bit of walking, the Red Bear then said, "Listen, I'm very sorry about how my subordinates treated you earlier. I have a strict policy of no torturing, even in times of war. I made sure he was properly punished, although I have no idea how I could repay you." Tokuda then said, "You could repay me by surrendering and ending this war once and for all. Or better yet, end this war by you dying." The Red Bear laughed, saying, "Now, that's something I can't do. However, I'll try my best to make it up to you somehow." Tokuda grumbled, wondering why he's even here in the first place. The Red Bear then led him outside of the camp, and pointed to a few hills, saying, "There's a rather peaceful spot over there that I like to go to. Let's go." The Red Bear started jogging, and Tokuda quickly looked around, seeing that he could rather easily run away. However, something inside of him was curious to know more about the Red Bear, and maybe escape with some useful knowledge. Whatever the case, something urged him to follow, so follow he did.
The Red Bear had gotten to the hills quite quickly and was now seated on top of one of the hills overlooking a long, flat plains area. The sun was setting, so the sky was painted a dark red and orange. The sun was setting behind where the Red Bear was sitting, and Tokuda saw the huge outline of the Red Bear. Tokuda slowly made his way up the hill, eventually reaching the top of it where the Red Bear was seated. The Red Bear then patted the ground beside him, offering Tokuda to take a seat next to him. Tokuda was about to refuse when he noticed the genuine smile of the Red Bear. It was a smile that was very warm, and very similar to the ones that his comrades often showed him. Tokuda was taken back by this, unsure of what to do, but suddenly, he found himself sitting next to the Red Bear.
Both of them gazed at the vast openness of the plains, listening to the wind play in the plains, and taking in the peace that it gave. At least, that was what the Red Bear was doing. Tokuda, on the other hand, silently sat next to the Red Bear, unsure of what would happen next. Tokuda, however, got his answer, as the Red Bear then asked, "It might just be me, but I don't see an end to this war in sight. Do you see one at all?" Tokuda simply said, "I don't. If I had my arms and a sword, then I'd say that this war would end in less than 30 seconds." The Red Bear chuckled and smiled, saying, "I wouldn't let that happen. Not when I got a wife and kid to head back home to." Tokuda said nothing to that. The Red Bear, still looking at the plains, said, "This might be a strange question to ask, but why do you fight this war?" Tokuda looked at the plains, trying to figure out what his answer would be. Tokuda then said, "Because it's the will of the king. I take his orders and fight for him, no questions asked." The Red Bear then asked, "Why are you lying to me?" Tokuda was taken aback by this, and the Red Bear looked at Tokuda, saying, "That's a standard soldier reason. Even I could pull that out of my ass if I wanted to." The Red Bear then looked back at the plains, saying, "I want to know YOUR reason. Your true thoughts. I'm not gonna turn you over to your king or something if you tell me the true reason." Tokuda stayed silent, as he truly was unsure how to answer that question.
The Red Bear then sighed, saying, "Alright, I'll go first then. My reason to fight is so I can help mold the future of the world going forward." Tokuda was rather surprised upon hearing this. The Red Bear continued, saying, "About half of the demi-humans fight for revenge against the humans for thinking we poisoned that human elder. I think that half is fighting for the wrong reason. The other half of the demi-humans think they're fighting to keep equality between humans and demi-humans, and maybe go further and make the demi-humans the more superior race. I think that half is right to some extent, but I think that they're missing the bigger picture. I've got a kid that's about 14 years old right now, and I'd hate to have him, and his kids, and his kid's kids grow up in a world where demi-humans aren't accepted just because they look a tad bit different from a human. At the same time, I don't want the demi-humans overtaking the humans and causing more inequality since another war could begin due to it." The Red Bear looked over at Tokuda and said, "I want my kid to be friends with humans, not fighting with them like I am. That's exactly why I want to fight and mold the future to something more geared towards peace, towards something all of us can actually enjoy."
Tokuda felt a strange sense of admiration for the Red Bear upon hearing this. Tokuda hadn't realized that someone like the Red Bear had such a noble cause for fighting. Deep down, Tokuda knew he shouldn't feel this way about his enemy, but for some reason, he couldn't help himself. The Red Bear looked back towards the plains and said, "It might be a far-fetched idea with how I'm going about doing it, but I believe some good may come out of this war, and maybe not in the form we expect it to be in." The Red Bear shook his head and said, "But that's my reason. What about you, now that you've heard me say mine?" Tokuda thought for a brief moment, and the image of his smiling comrades came to mind. Tokuda then said, "It's not as noble as your cause, but I'd say that I fight just to protect my comrades and keep seeing them smile every day." The Red Bear smiled, saying, "That's plenty noble. You fight for others, not because you were ordered to, but because you care for them. That's a much better answer than the first one." Tokuda, despite wanting to feel disgusted from an enemy giving him a compliment, felt a small genuine smile creep across his face when he heard the Red Bear say that.
Tokuda found himself continuing on, saying, "Every time before a battle, I always engrave the smiling faces of my friends in my head. War is unpredictable, and it might be the last time I ever see them. However, I always fight my hardest and try my best to watch their backs as they watch mine so I can see them smile at me once again. They honestly might be the reason why I've stayed sane in this war for so long." Tokuda chuckled, then said, "I've always wondered what we would do after this war was all over. We might get promoted to generals, we might leave the human army, who knows? As long as my comrades are still alive, smiling with me, I wouldn't mind where the wind takes us after all of this."
The Red Bear then said, "I know exactly what I'm doing after this war is over. I'm going straight home to my wife and kid!" Tokuda softly chuckled at that, sort of knowing that would be his answer to that. It was an odd feeling for Tokuda, having a rather normal conversation with an enemy. The Red Bear then said, "Listen, I've got a proposition for you. After this war is over, wanna get a few drinks as friends? The loser of this war has to pay for them." Tokuda wasn't sure how to answer this extremely odd question. However, he spoke on his own without really thinking about it, replying, "Sure." The Red Bear grinned, saying, "Okay! Might even have to introduce you to my family!" Tokuda shifted uncomfortably and said, "I'm not sure about that one." The Red Bear then said, "I'm just joking! You don't have to meet them if you don't want to, but my wife can cook some pretty good meals, and I think you'd die for them!" Tokuda smiled slightly to himself.
The Red Bear then said, "You know, not everyone wanted this war, myself included. I'd be perfectly fine if we were still in peacetime, bickering over stuff that didn't even really matter. The sad reality of it all is that as long as there are two people left in this world, usually one will want the other dead." The Red Bear then looked at Tokuda and said, "I also don't believe that everyone fighting in this war is inherently bad. That includes you, Tokuda. I really don't think you're a bad guy." Tokuda looked at the Red Bear with confusion, and the Red Bear elaborated by saying, "You're talking with someone who's technically your enemy in this war, and although I'm not the one who took your arms, I am the leader of the demi-human who did so, and I don't blame you if you decide to never forgive me for that. However, setting aside the war and our races, I see it as two men just talking. And surely you see it that way, too, or else you probably wouldn't even bother talking to me with the things being how they are currently." Tokuda stayed silent, as he knew that the Red Bear was probably right. The Red Bear then looked a bit solemn as he said, "As soldiers, blood is on both of our hands. We've both done things we're not proud of. From one soldier to another, I know that war can corrupt people, and I can tell that it hasn't corrupted your morality. So, in the very least, you're one of the rare soldiers that I've seen that still has some good left in him." The Red Bear grinned, saying, "So, with that being said, I'm only friends with good people, and I think you're a good person. So, what do you say? If I wanna accomplish my goal, making friends with one human is a good start to it." Tokuda thought about this for a moment, wondering if he should really become friends with the enemy like this. However, the Red Bear was right about one thing: at some point in the conversation, he found himself talking to the Red Bear not as an enemy, but just another man. On top of that, for some reason, he felt enjoyment from it as well. Tokuda then came up with his answer, saying, "Sure, why not?"
The Red Bear smiled, happy to have finally made a human friend. The Red Bear then asked, "Well, friend, I don't know why I didn't ask for it when I met you earlier, but what's your name?" Tokuda said, "Tokuda Tetsuo." The Red Bear nodded, saying, "Tokuda, huh? Interesting name. Oh! You don't have to call me the Red Bear or anything fancy like that." Tokuda then asked, "Well, what do I call you then?" The Red Bear grinned widely, saying, "Just call me Red!"125Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdyhhXIayQ
