"Kaito!"
His mother's voice echoed from inside the house.
"Breakfast is getting cold!"
Kaito smiled, standing barefoot in the soft grass behind their home. The morning felt warm. Peaceful. Safe.
"Coming!" he replied.
The wind brushed past him, carrying the scent of earth and sunlight. For a moment, the world felt endless.
Like nothing could ever change.
Then—
A distant rumble.
Kaito frowned.
It wasn't thunder.
The sky was clear.
The sound came again—louder this time. Heavy. Unnatural.
He looked up.
And froze.
Dark shapes tore across the sky.
Planes.
Dozens of them.
The first explosion shattered everything.
Fire erupted across the village. The ground shook violently as another blast followed. Houses crumbled. Smoke swallowed the sky.
Screams filled the air.
Kaito's heart stopped.
Then he ran.
"Mom!"
He pushed through the chaos, his feet slipping on dirt and debris. Flames rose around him. A house collapsed nearby, sending sparks flying into the air.
People ran in every direction.
Some didn't move at all.
"Mom!!"
His voice broke.
When he reached his home—
He stopped.
It was gone.
Reduced to burning ruins.
Only fire remained.
"…No…"
Kaito fell to his knees.
The heat burned his skin, but he didn't move.
The world around him faded.
All he could see—
Was fire.
And in that fire—
Something inside him broke.
Days later, the village no longer existed.
Only ash remained.
Black. Silent. Empty.
"They say war has begun," someone whispered.
Kaito stood among rows of covered bodies.
He didn't cry.
Not anymore.
"I'll fight," he said quietly.
No one argued.
No one tried to stop him.
Because everyone knew—
War had already taken everything from him.