Once Upon a Wartime (ARCHIVED, NEW VERSION COMING)

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THIS VERSION IS OLD AND KEPT FOR POSTERITY'S SAKE

Yuuko sighed in frustration as she failed, yet again, to fall asleep. “Two nights in a row”, she whispered to herself. As she laid in her bed, she replayed the dream in her mind, so far away and yet so vivid.

It had been a sunny day in the park nearby Yamaku. She was enjoying the beautiful weather with her then-boyfriend, a bedraggled looking young man named Kenji. They had talked together, told jokes and laughed and shared their hopes for the weeks, months, maybe even years to come. Then, just like that, he had vanished.

She thought back to that time; a time when she was actually happy. No worries, not a care in the world. The time before Kenji so abruptly cast her aside, for reasons only he could comprehend. She sighed loudly once again, failing miserably to get any kind of sleep. That dream kept her up night after night, tossing and turning. 'Why the hell am I thinking about him so much? He's done with me; he made that much painfully obvious after our first time...'

Their first time. She still couldn't decide if it was a good or bad memory. On one hand, she gave herself to him, and he simply took her heart and ran away with it, bolting as soon as he could for, as far as she knew, no good reason. And yet, it was their last happy time together, before he left her. She could still remember them lying in bed, holding each other tightly as... Well, the thought of the matter made her blush bright red, remembering fondly how good it all felt, how good and how right it was.

As she remembered, she finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming once again of that man and  what had become of him.

-----

“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.

“Kenji, hang on. I gotta go check out a new book.”

“... Wait, where exactly are we?” I responded: “The library.”

The look on Kenji's face was nothing short of priceless. I could practically feel how pissed he is. “Dude, we've gotta get the fuck outta here. Now. You know that librarian chick's a feminist spy, right?” I chuckled. “Kenji, I promise you, Yuuko is about as far from a feminist spy as it gets.” I immediately regret saying that.

“That's the point, man! She's the James Bond of feminist spies! She's so damn good she's even got you fooled! Wait, are you one of them, man?! Don't lie to me!”

At this point, I was honestly concerned that Kenji was going to piss off the entire library, so I go to drag him off as the doors opened, Yuuko peeking out of them.

Everything went completely quiet for a good minute.

I'd never seen Kenji so terrified until that exact moment. Worse still, I'd never seen Yuuko so... hell, I'd never seen Yuuko mad before now.

“Kenji Setou, you get back here right now! You've got some explaining to do!” She charged down to him and grabbed his scarf, whirling him around to face her completely. She gave him the business.

“W-where do you get off, running off like that when I haven't seen nor heard from you in months! You just run off like that after we-... AFTER WE...” She stumbled over something she just can't say, but kept going regardless. “You don't even bother to explain to me why you're l-leaving me, just never pop up again! Did you think I'd forget you?!”

I sit there dumbfounded for a second, until it clicked.

“Wait, hang on a second. Kenji, you said you had a girlfriend before this, right?”

Kenji couldn't reply; simply nodding to me, completely unable to speak as Yuuko stared daggers at him.

“Of course he did! He was my b-boyfriend!” Yuuko sputtered out, almost in tears. It was sad and kinda adorable at the same time.

“Yeah? Well, you didn't exactly make it easy on me, did you? Luring me in with your feminine wiles and taking advantage of me at my weakest!” Yuuko sighed. “What are you even talking about, Kenji? We had something great, and you just tossed it away like it was nothing!”

I took my good friend aside, asking Yuuko to hold off for a second. “Dude, so you're telling me you thought Yuuko was a feminist spy? And you dumped her for it? What made you think that?” He replied, “Honestly, I'll tell you later. I promise it's a good reason, but the walls have ears here...”

I sighed. I didn't like taking advantage of Kenji's condition, but it would be for the best, wouldn't it? I whispered. “Okay, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but Yuuko is a spy. She's a double agent, working against the feminist empire. She told me in secret.”

“Wait, how'd they manage to get a female to agree to spy for us? And more importantly, how did you find out about it? Did you have to torture her for the information?” I sighed, yet again.

“Kenji, just trust me on this one, man. We're bros, right? When have I steered you wrong?” This time, Kenji sighed. “I guess you're right, man. I would've never believed it. That doesn't explain... Oh well, we'll work it out later, right?”

I nodded, doubtful he could even see the gesture. “Right. Now, you need to go patch things up with her, man. Hell hath no fury, y'know?”

We returned to the waiting librarian, her rage subsiding a bit. “Okay, Yuuko. I'm sorry. I had you pegged wrong, and I guess I kinda screwed up.”

“Damn right you did!” she shouted at him, trying to keep her temper in check. “I want to try again, Kenji. I can't stop thinking about what a good time we had, and I think it's a shame for us to throw that away.” She was almost sobbing. “Can we try one more time, just one more date and see where it takes us?” Kenji nodded tersely.

I shook my head, heading into the library to grab my book. As I turned, I glanced back at Kenji. I could've sworn I saw the slightest smile on his face.

'I wash my hands of this madness', I thought, pushing the doors aside and trying to dodge the ugly stares of the patrons.