AN: I don't know much about military tactics and stuff so pardon me, imma just write what I think lol. Anyways, that's all. Hope you like it.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
/Flashback/
\One Explanation Later\
> Time Skip look for the best route possible > prepare > and go.
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"We got ambushed." said Yuuya with dread in his voice
"TAKE COVER!" Yuuya immediately shouts at his companions just when the insurgents started to open fire
The sudden word from Yuuya makes some of the soldiers panic as they scram to take cover and some separating from the rest of the squad in the process.
Yuuya immediately takes cover as his companions do the same, but of course there will always be someone who didn't hide fast enough.
"Argh! I'm hit! I'm hit!" shout if the soldier as he takes cover
Fortunately the bullet only hit his shoulder, still it was a close call.
"Stop the bleeding, we will cover you!" said Yuuya
The soldier nods and starts removing his vest to treat the wound as a medic comes to assist him.
"HQ! HQ! This is Yuuya, my platoon is ambushed, requesting immediate air support and precision bombing!" said Yuuya over the radio
"Roger that, air support will arrive at approximately 10 minutes, hold on until the back up arrives." said the guy in the radio as the battle alarm rings in the background
Yuuya put his radio down and started to think what to do as the fire fight is too intense for Yuuya to peak in.
'Artillery support is not ideal for the current situation, the enemies are too close and the shell of the artillery isn't 100% accurate and it might hit the building we are in.' think Yuuya
Yuuya looked around their place and sees a broken piece of glass, thinking fast he picked it up and uses it to see what was happening behind the cover.
He then sees an insurgent firing from a building, he seems to be alone in the said building as the rest of the fire comes from behind.
Confirming there is only one, Yuuya waited for the insurgent to reload. When the said insurgent started reloading, Yuuya gripped his rifle, switches it from auto to semi and peeked out from his cover.
He looked through his sights and took a deep breath to stabilize his aim. And As he expected, when the insurgent finished reloading it peeked out again from its cover only to find Yuuya aiming straight at him as Yuuya's very dark brown eyes that almost seems like the abyss stares down at the insurgent soul.
Yuuya fires a single shot and the insurgent is hit right at the head killing the guy for good as Yuuya immediately hides behind his cover.
"Well, that's one less enemy." said Yuuya just as the soldier that got hit in the shoulder finishes putting his vest again
"Where are the big guns!" said Yuuya
"Give us a moment commander, we are about to finish setting it up!" said one of the soldier
Yuuya quickly looked at his squad, he then felt something was wrong, some of the members were nowhere in sight, except for the snipers of course.
"Shit, where are the others!" said Yuuya as his troops look around to realize they were indeed lacking some members.
"Sir I think they get separated when we take cover!" said one of the soldier
"And it appears to be like that!'" said Yuuya
Just then, he heard something on his radio.
"This is Thunder one and Thunder Two, do you copy over?" said the guy in the radio
"This is Yuuya over." said Yuuya
"We have arrived for precision bombing as you request. Where do we drop?" said the pilot
"Hold the bombs for now, some of my troops are scattered and I'm not sure where their current position is! Circle the air space for now and wait for a command!" said Yuuya
"Roger" as Yuuya heard the rumbling of the jet engine overhead
"Great, air support is here but our members are scattered. Talk about bad luck." said Yuuya
There were about 30 members in the mission including Yuuya. Five are medics, another four are the machine gunners, ten ordinary soldier, and the other four are snipers. In total, there are currently 24 soldiers, including Yuuya.
The other four snipers are currently hiding in their spots, and about six soldiers are missing and they don't know what their current status is.
Just then he heard not far ahead, a voice. It was faint from the sound of guns but he could hear it thanks to his strong hearing.
"Medic! Medic! I'm hit!" shout one of the soldiers
Yuuya peeks from his cover and sees one of his troops that seems to be hit in the leg and is bleeding heavily.
'Shit, what do I do now? If I didn't bring him back immediately he would die from bleeding. The insurgents are all around us." thought Yuuya
"Wait... Where are the snipers?" said Yuuya
Then as if answering his questions, enemy fire seems to be wearing bit by bit. Yuuya peeked to see an insurgent suddenly getting hit by something immediately killing it.
Yuuya grins.
"We got sniper cover boys! Now get your asses set up and cover me! I'll retrieve our brothers!" said Yuuya bringing hope to the platoon
"Sir Yes Sir!" said the group
Yuuya once again peeked at the place where the wounded soldier is. After planning his route he prepared himself for the run of his life.
"Are the guns ready?" said Yuuya
"Yes commander!" said the soldier as the sound of two heavy machine guns setting up can be heard.
You might ask, there are four of them right? Why are there only two operating a machine gun? Well the answer is the other two assist the main gunner instead. They provide information and reload the gun.
"Alright here's the plan, when I bring my arm up, start firing and don't stop until I get into a cover. I will give you guys a 10 second interval to reload. That should be long enough. Got it?" Yuuya said
"Sir yes sir!" said all of his most trusted soldiers as he nodded in response.
"Very well. I'll leave my fate to you guys." said Yuuya as he got up from his cover.
Yuuya gathers his courage one more time and, runs. Runs to the battlefield as he brings his arm up signaling for his troop to open fire.
In just a split second, the building he was previously in lights up as a barrage of bullets overwhelms the enemy giving them no choice but to stop firing and cover themselves.
With the adrenaline running through his veins, Yuuya runs faster than an average human can ever hope to achieve. Well his body is very fit, almost a world class athlete type of body even before he enters the military, so it is kinda sensible.
Anyways, he finally get into the injured soldier of his. The said troop is already unconscious due to lack of blood. Yuuya immediately put pressure into the wound. It's the only thing he could do for the time being.
"Don't give in yet!" Yuuya said
As the ten second interval finishes, Yuuya carried the injured soldier to his back as he once again signals for cover.
As he arrives at their safe haven, the medic is already waiting for his arrival as they immediately perform the necessary action to stop the bleeding in the soldier's leg.
Yuuya's strategy is to locate > look for the best route possible > prepare > and go.
This strategy of his continues. It seems it's working very well as he is on the last soldier. All he needs to do now is return.
As the barrage of bullets start once again, Yuuya runs like he do.
"Just a little bit more. I'm halfway there! Come on body, push through!" said Yuuya to himself
but then...
*BANG*
Yuuya knows this sound. It's not the sound of a ordinary gun. It's the sound of a sniper shot. And it didn't come from one of their sniper rifles which he knows the sound of very well. With that, it only means one thing.
"huh?" is all Yuuya can say as to himself as he found himself losing balance and falling to the ground along with the soldier he has in his back.
"COMMANDER!!!" shout one of his troop dread and disbelief. It can only be describe as that as Yuuya's soldier watch him fall to the ground.
It's not the fact that he suddenly falls that scares them. It's the fact that even though it's night time, they can see it very well. Their commander is shot through the chest.
"Damn it! Keep firing!" one of the guy said.
It might not seem obvious, but the shock of suddenly losing their commander, the person they see as a brother, infront of their very eyes makes them feel overwhelmed and panicked.
and slowly, they are losing hope.
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In Yuuya's point of view, everything happens so fast. He didn't even feel the bullet piercing through his body. All that he knew was the moment he heard the enemy snipers gun go off due to his strong sense of hearing, he was falling face first to the cold hard ground of the battlefield.
'So this is what it feels like to be shot huh...' thought Yuuya as he sense a strong taste of something metallic in his mouth.
'ah... I'm bleeding... It feels weird how I can feel my own blood leaking through my wound...'
'I thought being shot would be painful but it isn't too bad... It just feels... Like someone punching me very hard on my back... But the burning sensation is quite uncomfortable...'
'ah... What am I doing... I need to get up or else... or else my team will be killed...'
He wants to get up but he can't. His body feels so heavy as if a boulder is weighing down on him.
He tried, again, again, again, again, and again.
But he just couldn't get up, he lost far too much blood and his body was in shock. Most of all, he is starting to feel numb.
'Damnit... Am I... really going to die... here...?' thought Yuuya as the color in his eyes started to fade
Just when he is about to step into the after life, he suddenly remembers a promise he made.
A promise he said before this mission to his friends, family, to his troops he sees as brothers, and more importantly his fiance who he oath to marry after this mission is all over.
What is that promise you may ask?
'Ah... That's right... I promise I will come back. Alive.'
In an instant, the life on Yuuya's eyes which is about to disappear a while ago was brought back.
Yuuya clenches his fist tightly, forcing himself yet again to rise up and stand.
'Now is not the time to die! I still had a promise to keep, I won't allow failure Mitsukuji Yuuya! So stand up damnit!' said Yuuya to himself.
And so, through adrenaline, sheer willpower and determination, Yuuya manages to get into his knees as he barely scapes from the grasp of death. Yuuya grabs the now unconscious soldier from earlier and drags it with him to get back to their cover.
Of course his action didn't go unnoticed as Yuuya's vice commander, Gabriel, a soldier sent from the United States as a reinforcement to Japan, noticed Yuuya and shouted his name.
"Commander! You are alive!" said Gabriel with joy and relief in his voice.
"Yes I am! I won't die easy like that! So cover me before I get shot again!"
"Yes sir! You guys heard him! Cover fire!"
With every last bit of strength within him, Yuuya manages to close enough distance for his troops to help him and bring the other wounded soldier he carry to safety.
As soon as Yuuya manages to get into cover, he immediately feels the effects of his wounds and loss of blood as he immediately feels very weak and dizzy.
"Hey, the three of you, go treat Akio (the soldier he is carrying) first, he seems to be in a more critical condition." said Yuuya while fighting through his dizziness.
And they do what just that, and the two that is left out, well they already know what they should do as they approach Yuuya to give him a first aid and stop the bleeding or else he'll truly die.
When the medic finished treating Yuuya's wound, he immediately wore his vest and armed himself with his gun and continued fighting with his platoon.
The fight would go on, bombs that are dropped at a precise location to lessen the pressure to Yuuya's platoon lays the already destroyed place into nothing but rubles.
But even so, it's clear that Yuuya's platoon is getting overwhelmed. The heavy machine guns have long since stayed silent for it has run out of ammunition.
They have drained their grenades. They can escape through the cover of the smoke grenade but the enemies will just focus their fire on the smoke.
In instance they survived that, there will still be casualties and even more insurgents waiting for them. Diversion will not work for they are surrounded from all sides. They are cornered and time is running out.
They already called for backup, but to Yuuya's dread, backup won't arrive till the next morning due to some reasons. So they are left on their own until then with only close air support from time to time.
By now, it's 10:15 P.M since the battle has started. They've been fighting for two hours straight with no rest and their ammunition is starting to deplete. They have killed so many enemies that they have stopped counting, but they just kept coming.
One more hour has passed since and they are dangerously running out of bullets. Some are down to their last magazine and some are already using their pistols. Still Yuuya stopped them to save it for later and just withdraw for now.
Yuuya has only one plan to get through this situation, and it's something his platoon won't allow. Even so, he is determined to do it.
Somehow, even though they've been fighting non stop, Yuuya finds himself uninterested to take a quick sip of water. But he put it on the side of mind for now, for survival is more important.
And so, the fighting goes on. The time now is 12:00 midnight. They manage to prolong the fight as long as they can but alas, they are down in their last mags.
Yuuya has long since decided to retreat and is just planning how to. But now that they can't prolong the fight, what must be done shall be done.
Earlier, Yuuya already told the snipers to retreat. They of course disagree at first, but then he said it's an order, and his orders are absolute. So they retreat. Now all's that is left is for Yuuya to give the command.
"Alright listen up. We can't keep doing this or else we will all die. We need to break through them and retreat. So suit yourselves up, Gabriel will be in the front. Assist the injured and protect them. I'll be in the back to provide cover and protect our flank."
"I also don't want to hear anyone volunteering to be left behind and to buy us some time to retreat. For fucks sake you guys have a family to return to so I'm not tolerating such bullshit at this moment!"
"One more thing. When we break through their lines, don't look back. Don't ever look back. Keep running because your life literally depends on it. Don't stop, don't ever stop until you are far away not to see this place. I will be silent in the whole thing because I need to focus."
"Do I make myself clear?"
His platoon all nods in agreement.
Deep down Yuuya knows, one must be left behind to buy them some time or else, they won't even make it out the place without being slaughtered.
Who's the person who will make the sacrifice? No other than him. Yuuya.
"Then shall we go for it?"
...
Yuuya knows that every time a smoke grenade is thrown, the insurgents fire at the smoke relentlessly. So Yuuya thought, he could bait them with it. Let them mag dump and then make a run for it. It's the best chance they have.
"Are you guys ready?" Yuuya said as they anticipate for the enemies gun to go silent for a reload.
"On my signal, run with all of your might. Don't hesitate to shit whatever appear in your field of vision."
And so, they all prepare theirselves. Their hearts and survival instincts on the max. For them, this will be the most gruelling and longest run they will have in their entire life.
In their mind, one simple mistake could mean the end of them.
Some are already tearing up, thinking about their family who's waiting for them.
" I'm really really so fucking done with being a soldier once this is over. " said one of them
As of right now, their attention is only focused to Yuuya. Silently waiting for his signal. It almost felt like an eternity for them.
And then finally...
The instant the sound of gunfire fades, Yuuya gave the command.
"Now! Run!"
With that, they run faster, faster they have ever been their entire life.
The insurgents are of course caught off guard from this sudden development.
In the initial breakthrough, those who still have some ammo left let out a few bullet to those insurgents they see. Thus killing some enemy in the process.
Yuuya with his incredible accuracy protect their tracks flawlessly. Paired with his strong hearing, he could anticipate where the enemy will appear thus finishing them off before they can even press the trigger.
Just like what Yuuya commands them to do, his platoon never looked back and just continues to retreat.
They are so focused into making it out this hell hole that they didn't even notice the gunfire behind them fading into the distance.
They are not still aware of it but Yuuya has decided to be left behind to buy them time.
Sure he could decide not to do it. But he could potentially endanger his entire platoon if he decided not to. After getting out of the city, what will meet them is a wide open space with almost no cover to hide on.
Since they are just sitting ducks at that moment, they will just be a very hard target practice or be hunted one by one.
Yuuya couldn't afford the slightest of risk. So as his last act of selfishness, he will buy them just enough time to escape.
For Yuuya, this act is beyond selfishness. After all he himself has a family waiting for him. But on the same time, he couldn't just think about himself and let his companions to fend for theirselves. No. He is not that kind of person.
And so he made up his mind, this is where he will make his last stand.
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An hour has already passed. It's already been 1:30 A.M since they make a run for it. When the platoon could no longer see the city behind them, they finally stop.
Their adrenaline has subsided and they finally feel the exhaustion. They all fall to the ground due to exhaustion. Not even a single one of them has any strength left. They have given their all to survive, and they do manage to live.
With that in mind, they finally let go and fall unconscious. Unaware of the price they pay, their commander paid, just for them to live.
...
Back to Yuuya, he is currently sitting behind cover.
He looked at his watch and sees that an hour has passed since they make a breakthrough.
He knows to himself that they already run off to a safe distance. As much as he wants to also retreat, he can't risk the chance of them following him.
After all, his enemies makes their intentions clears. They want Yuuya dead. As a response, he too makes his intentions clear.
"YOU GUYS WANT MY HEAD RIGHT?! THEN COME AND GET IT!"
After that, another hour has passed. Yuuya use every strategy he knows. Be it making a trap, confusing the enemy, or guerilla warfare. He do everything that he could think off, in hope of prolonging the fight.
But unfortunately, he can't avoid sustaining injuries himself. In just an hour, he already got shot in the right shoulder and left leg by the same sniper who shot him earlier. Fortunately the bullet avoided the major blood vessel and the bone. Allowing Yuuya to still use his leg, but his right shoulder now lacks some mobility.
Another hour has passed. It's 3:00 A.M now and Yuuya finally located the pesky sniper.
He then proceed to shoot both of the insurgents arms, then Yuuya continues to obliterate the poor guys knee cap. He made his intentions clear that he ain't letting him go.
Yuuya then delivers a single powerful punch to the insurgents face dislocating it's jaw.
He then pick his last flashbang grenade, remove it's pin and then continues to shove the whole thing in the insurgents mouth.
Yuuya then get up and before he leaves he says one thing.
"You should have gone for the head."
After saying that, he left the place without looking back as he hears the flashbang grenade go off.
Another hour of fight once again passed. By now it's 4:00 A.M and reinforcement still hasn't arrived.
By now, Yuuya sustained 3 more bullet wounds to the abdomen. Still, he continues to fight on.
Another hour once again passed, but this time, it's all finish. Yuuya has already killed almost all of the insurgents and hid himself in the second floor of a building.
In that entire hour, he sustained a disturbing 15 bullet wounds all over his body. The word miracle is an understatement of how he is still breathing.
But alas, he knows very well, he is just minutes away from death.
He lost too much blood. He is getting weaker by seconds.
" ah damn it. Damn it all."
"..."
"I can't taste anything. I don't feel thirsty. My limbs and hand feels cold and my eyes feels heavy. I'm... Dying..."
"..."
"Is there where I'm gonna die? No... It feels so cold... And lonely..."
"..."
"Please no.... I don't want to die alone..."
Amidst this situation, in the corner of his eye, he sees... A snow flake has fallen through the room he was in because it has no roof and no walls except the one he is leaning on.
"A... Snow flake...?"
"Oh yeah... Christmas is just a few days away..."
"..."
"Damn it... I should be back at the camp at this point and preparing myself to go home..."
"My family is expecting my arrival today..."
"I think... I have to disappoint them this time."
" I'm sorry... Everyone. For not fulfilling my promise. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me..."
Amidst his sorrow, as if an answer to his sadness, a ray of light shone.
Yuuya looked up and is surprised to see the sun. The beautiful sunrise he has seen so many times during his life.
Then suddenly, memories came rushing into his mind. More precisely, it's his life flashing before his eyes.
He then remember a conversation with his friend and family.
"Hey Yuuya do you know?" said one of his friend
"Hm"
"They say, after death your brain lives on for 7 more minutes to replay your best memories in life."
"Really?"
"Yeah man!"
" Hmm... If that's so, then you guys will be my 7 minutes." said Yuuya with a genuine smile
Right after that, Yuuya's best memories in life came rushing in.
Then finally, his last memory plays.
It was his memory with the girl of his life.
His everything.
"I love you, Yuuya."
"I love you too, my everything."
And with that, everything goes dark.
In the real world, during all of those moments playing, Yuuya has already passed away.
Even so, in his last moments, he passed away with a smile on his face. A sentiment that even though he regret not fulfilling his promise, he is happy that he met such great friends and people in his life. He is happy and thankful that his best memories is with them.
And with that,
Yuuya Mitsukuji, age 21, passed away with a smile on his face, at 5:30 A.M
...
Trivia:
The inspiration for their mission name "Operation White Dawn" is because Yuuya will die when it starts to snow because of Christmas just few days away. Thus it signify the "White" and in Yuuya's last moment, he was accompanied by the sunrise thus the "Dawn". Combine it then you have "White Dawn". I suck at making names so I just go with that, plus it gives a deeper meaning to the story (at least for me lol).
That's all for now, hope you like it.
I'm also open to any constructive criticism and suggestion.