Hajime and Hikari: A War-Filled Love Tale

"Are you ready?"

Hajime stood in the center of the clearing, her body hidden behind a thick wall of pines. She was waiting for the signal.

"Yes." she replied. The voice on the other end of the radio was gruff and unshakable. He knew what he was doing, but that didn't stop Hajime from asking him anyway.

"How's the weather up there?"

A brief pause followed before an answer came. "Windy." he replied.

"Windy? Where are you?" Hajime leaned out from her hiding spot as she asked. Her eyes scanned the valley below. A group of men wearing heavy armor were trudging through the mud at the bottom of the hill. They walked with their backs straight and heads held high, as if they were marching into battle instead of walking across a field to a massacre.

"About a hundred yards northeast of you." The man on the other end replied calmly. Hajime looked down at her wristwatch and waited for twenty seconds to pass before answering him again. "What are you doing? It's time."

"Yeah, I know it's time. Now get ready." The man paused again before adding, "It won't be long now."

The line went dead and Hajime sighed as she put her radio back inside her pocket and turned around to face her comrades behind her. She wasn't sure how many women she had under her command; perhaps one thousand? She wasn't even sure how many women she had met personally in her life so far, but certainly not one thousand, she thought while looking at them all standing side by side with their rifles in hand and their faces full of determination. Women who were stronger than those beneath them, stronger than their fathers and brothers, stronger than their husbands and sons - women who refused to bow down to anyone or anything except for themselves stood in front of her now, waiting for her orders. She smiled at them all lightly despite herself, proud of every single one of them and more than happy to call each one of these women a friend.

Hajime turned around again and looked out into the distance where thousands upon thousands of people like these women under her command were waiting for word from her - thousands upon thousands who had lost everything because someone deemed them unworthy to live in this world - thousands upon thousands who would willingly give up their lives for a chance at freedom - thousands upon thousands who deserved better than this world had given them so far, so much better than what they had been given here today too... These people were waiting for word from Hajime that it was time to fight back against those who thought they owned this world - they were waiting for Hajime to say that it was time to seize power from those who thought they owned this world - they were waiting for word from Hajime that it was time to take back what was rightfully theirs...