世界大戦第三

World War III

Chapter 2.

December 5th, 20xx

A letter from the government came in for me yesterday. I was actually shocked at how fast things were progressing along. At this rate, the war might actually hit during Christmas, and before you know it, many people probably would have been killed before the New Year. Mother and father were shocked that they actually expected women to fight in the war. It's not like the previous wars; women were expected to fight alongside men. Mother desperately pleaded with me that we should flee to Canada. She told me it wasn't safe to stay in Japan anymore, since we were so close to North Korea. I really don't know how to handle this situation. I talked to Takeshi earlier today, and he didn't really say anything, but I could tell it was troubling him as well. With all this commotion, my future might actually slip away from me. I'm not sure what the future has in store for me, but I need to appreciate my life while I'm here.

"Hikari Nakamura! This is the third and final time I'm going to tell you to pay attention! Now, please read the second passage on page 32 in your English textbook!" Sensei yelled once again.

"Sorry…" I mumbled. I stood up to read aloud to the class. My English was really lousy, and some of my classmates were giggling and whispering. Well sorry for having a thick Japanese accent. I'm pretty sure the rest of you have it as well, so I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Sensei corrected my pronunciation five times. English was not my strongest subject. In fact, I don't really have any really strong subjects.

Takeshi found me at my locker after second period.

"Hey, we need to talk." Takeshi said in a serious voice. His dark brown eyes looked right at me and I was kind of scared.

"Okay then, shoot." I replied carelessly.

"You received the letter right? What's your final decision? I know the war isn't official yet, but the government apparently needs to prepare in case of emergency." Takeshi whispered.

"I… actually don't know… My parents don't want me training to eventually join the army… they were actually thinking of selling the house, moving the business, and leaving for…Canada." I replied softly.

"Canada? Are you insane? You can't just leave me Hikari; we have been best friends since… forever!" Takeshi reasoned.

"Well…I didn't respond to my parents yet, I don't think I want to go to Canada anyways, I hear it's freezing over there, and that you have to wear a light jacket during the summer. I won't be able to survive the cold…" I explained.

"Well, would you rather learn to survive the cold or try desperately to survive in the war?" Takeshi threw at me all of a sudden.

"Takeshi, I seriously don't know. Why don't we just drop the subject and not worry about it until later on? I highly doubt that the war will actually begin." I argued.

"Hikari, the government expects the letter to be returned by the end of this week. We need a response. I can't do this without you. I need you, you are my best friend for life." Takeshi pleaded again.

"Fine, I'll come to your house after work or something and we'll discuss this, okay?" I asked.

"Sounds good to me, and stay for dinner. I'm learning how to cook." Takeshi said turning red.

"You're learning how to cook? I'll be shocked if you don't burn the house down first!" I joked.

"Hey, shut up. My mom says I need to learn how to cook before I go off to University. She says that she won't be delivering food to my doorstep every day." Takeshi said as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, you better learn soon! Before you know it you'll be married, and asking me to babysit your kids." I joked.

"Pfft, no need to ask you to babysit my kids. You'll have to do it free of charge since I'll be marrying you of course." Takeshi joked while laughing his head off.

"Oh god, who in the world would marry you with your lack of maturity?"I complained.

"Oh, I don't know… YOU?" Takeshi laughed again.

"No way in hell Takeshi, until you decide to become more mature, I won't even think about it." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"So you will think about it if I did become more mature?" Takeshi joked.

"Oh god, just… never mind. Let's go, the Cafeteria is probably full already." I said as I shook my head and walked away.

Later.

After work, I walked to Takeshi's house with him. His mom was a lawyer and a workaholic, and his dad died when he was young, so his house was pretty much empty most of the time. I kind of felt sorry for Takeshi since he didn't have a father, he didn't have any siblings, or really anyone to talk to. The girls at school followed him around though; his little girly fan club was obsessed with him. I mean, Takeshi isn't bad looking, but I don't classify him as "hot" either. Maybe it's because I've known him since forever, and I just don't see anything happening between us. Takeshi used to be such a cry baby back in grade 2. He cried about the stupidest things in life. Every time I reminded him, he would slap me and tell me to shut up.

"So, what are you so quiet about?" Takeshi asked.

"Ugh, I'm stressed out. The news of the possible war is driving me insane! So is that damn letter!" I yelled in exasperation.

"Well, why don't you just not think about it, and we'll talk about it when we get to my house, okay?" He asked as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't see why there's any reason to be stressed out about, it's kind of lame if you ask me." He continued.

"Whatever, you're a guy; you wouldn't understand what I'm thinking about." I argued.

"OH! I get it, you like someone?" Takeshi said while bursting out laughing.

"You've got serious problems Takeshi, I don't like anyone. I told you, other than you, every other guy at this school has major issues. But, you're my best friend, so I guess I don't classify you as a douche bag." O explained while rolling my eyes.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that I'm not a douche bag, because I most certainly am not." Takeshi said proudly.

"You can be a douche sometimes…but only when you actually try to hit on your female teachers. That's just gross…" I complained.

"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari. I only 'hit' on them because I want a higher grade. And asking for assistance does not mean that I'm 'hitting on them'." Takeshi laughed.

Once we got to his house, I dumped my bag on the floor and flopped on the couch. Takeshi rolled his eyes at me and threw a pillow at me. I chucked the remote control at him and he tackled me until we were both on the floor laughing our heads off.

"MOLESTER!" I yelled.

Takeshi reached for a pillow and shoved it in my face.

"Am not! A molester is someone who attacks out of sexual desire, who'd feel desire for you?" Takeshi joked.

"Hey, that's insulting! Go make your food in the kitchen, I'm hungry." I complained.

"Uh, fine. Knowing you, you could probably eat the entire dining room table up." Takeshi said sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up. Hurry it up; I want to talk about the letter…" I said.

After dinner, which was surprisingly good, we went into the living room and flopped down on the couch.

"Okay, so now we can talk about the stupid letter." I said.

"Yea…" Takeshi replied.

"I seriously don't know whether or not I should tick the, 'I'm interested in participating and training.'" I sighed.

"Well, my mind is made up. I've already ticked that box." Takeshi replied.

"Should I? I really don't know!" I said as I threw my arms out.

"It's your choice. Remember, once you decide, there's no turning back." Takeshi explained.

"I…I…really don't know! I have a huge headache, I think I'll go home for now, and I'll call you or something when I decide." I said finally.

"If that's what you want to do, sure. I'll walk you home." Takeshi offered.

"Thanks again, buddy." I joked.

"No problem, Nakamura san." Takeshi joked and bowed in a old fashioned way.

"Oh, shut it. You and your lame jokes. Grow up." I rolled my eyes.

After I came home, I ran upstairs and dropped on my bed. I really don't know what I should do. If I do choose to say yes, then there is no turning back, but…I really don't want to leave Takeshi and move to Canada. He's been my best friend for the longest time, and I don't want to afford losing him. As a loyal friend, I should remain beside him, and fight for justice... but part of me is saying no. With my mind finally made up, I ticked the yes box, and put the letter in the return envelope. I licked it closed and called Takeshi.

"Takeshi!" I yelled into the receiver.

"Hikari!" He taunted back.

"Oh, shut up for like two seconds. I made up my mind. I will join training, but only if we stick together!" I said.

"That's great! Do you realize that training starts next week? You'll have to miss school." He reasoned.

"Whatever, I can't stand Math or English any longer. It's already been driving me insane. Anyways, I have to go now, so I'll talk to you later." I said.

"Alright, sweet dreams." He whispered in a freaky old man voice.

"Do me and favour and stop being a pedophile? Good night to you as well." I said as I hung up.

I was so not ready to join training soon. I dreaded the day that training arrived.

Dec 9th, 20xx

It was first day of training and I was up at 5am. Takeshi's mom drove us to the training camp and told us to take care. When we arrived, I saw a sea of teenagers lining up around tables. Takeshi and I ran to the N-Z section to sign in. Takeshi held my hand and squeezed it tight.

"Hey, are you alright?" He whispered in my ear.

"I'm fine, just a little cold." I replied.

"Here, take my coat for now, but you'll have to get used to it. It's just the beginning of December." He said as he took of his coat.

"Thanks. I'm kind of nervous, I don't really want to be split up, and put with a bunch of other weirdo's." I complained.

"Nah, I don't think their splitting us up based on gender, it's four people to cabin, so I think we'll be fine." He reassured me.

"Ew, I don't want to share a cabin with you!" I said sarcastically. "You might end up raping me." I joked.

"Hikari, you wish. I have better things to do than rape you. Calm down freak." Takeshi said laughing.

"Uh, fine." I said as I huddled closer to him. I was freezing my butt off standing in line waiting out in the cold. It felt like minus ten with the wind chill.

After we were signed in, we found out that we were sharing the same cabin. At least we weren't split up, but still, it's kind of awkward sharing a room with two guys. There was another girl in our cabin so I was fine with that. It wasn't that awkward because the guy and the girl were twins, and they were fine with each other. What I was really dreading was being stuck with a bunch of strangers and feeling awkward. I liked our cabin group and I enjoyed talking with them. The girl's name was Miyuki and her brother's name was Daichi. They were the same age as us, and seemed pretty cool. Miyuki had light brown hair and pale blue eyes, her brother looked exactly the same, except with short hair. Takeshi was adjusting nicely and seemed to be hitting on Miyuki. Miyuki completely ignored him and roller her eyes, she looked at me and shook her head. I caught on, and started laughing. We were all having such a good time in the cabin until we heard a message over the loud speakers. We all dragged ourselves to the gym, and changed into sweat pants and a t shirt. The commander told us to do 10 laps around the gym and 50 push ups. I was used to doing this since my parents sent me to boot camp to shape up just during the summer. Takeshi seemed to be enjoying himself while lots of other people struggled to keep up with the front of the line. The head of the army was only going to choose the best of the best. Everyone who was too slow or wasn't strong enough would be kicked out. Training was pure hell by the time it was over. We all had 10 minutes to shower and we had to be dressed and ready for dinner. Takeshi pulled me aside before I entered the cafeteria.

"How are you feeling?" Takeshi asked.

"Fine, it's not that bad actually." I replied.

"I heard that tomorrow, their trying to literally force us into hating the enemy. Their goal is to fill our brains with hate, and when we do start to fight, we are there to not feel guilty for killing people." Takeshi said his face turning a pale colour.

"What? So they expect us to kill thousands of people?" I questioned.

"Yea, that's the only way we can win this war, and if you really don't want North Korea to take over the world, it's what we must do. It's our duty to fulfill the request, either that, or we all fall into dictatorship. It's really not that difficult to understand, either you want to live, or you want to die." Takeshi finally concluded.

To be continued…

Hey guys! So heres the second chapter! I really think it's moving along too slow! People always complain how my stories are too rushed, so i'm actually confused on how fast i should go.

Once again, please don't be offended in anyway, if i do use your country of origin as the antagonist, don't be offended, they are just part of my imagination and not meant to hurt or offend you guys in anyway.

Please read and review! I wouldn't be able to continue writing without your support and criticism!

Thanks!

-Sherry Huang, Decemeber 3rd, 2010