THE PRICE OF WAR [Taka x Reader]

VIII. Ice Meets Water

Taka and you spent the whole morning together in the woods, riding between the trees, telling hundreds of anecdotes and hunting a few rabbits. Taka stood up from the trunk you two were sitting on and had a drink from his water-bottle. You noticed his tattoos when he rolled up his sleeves, this time much better than while the training. His arms were full of little symbols, from the shoulders to the elbows. Some of them were bigger than others, but all of them had been tattooed with black ink. Geometric figures, religious symbols, letters... None of them could be interpreted with at first glance. But surely all of them had a story behind.

"What do all those symbols in your arms mean?" you asked him.

"Well..." he sighed "Each one is special... It's a way to represent my values, my beliefs and so... They basically explain who I am without needing to open my mouth".

"Do you have any favorite?"

He doubted for some seconds as he rolled up his sleeves, looking for the answer.

"This one might not be the most beautiful one, but it means a lot to me"

He pointed at three letters located under a big triangle in his left arm. They were pointed and little, as tiny lightings.

"What is it?"

"It says "TTR" he spelled.

"And what does it mean?"

"You guess" he smiled.

"I don't know, it could mean anything!" you frowned.

He kneeled down and pointed at each letter.

"Toru, Tomoya, Ryota" he read.

"Oh, really?" you said open-mouthed "You really must love your friends a lot then!"

"Each one of us has the initials of the other three tattooed... Except Toru"

"Why?"

"Because he's such a baby when it comes to needles"

You laughed, but his face looked nostalgic.

"You have known each other for a long time, right?" you asked.

"We practically grew up together, yes..."

He quickly unrolled his sleeves back. He seemed to be uncomfortable talking about that topic.

"I think we should come back. I'm sure they miss us at the camp and it's nearly lunchtime" he said.

You agreed and took the way back to the camp. When you arrived, you left the horses back in the stable and Taka looked for his friends, who were eating in front of the ashes of a bonfire.

"Where were you? We were about to eat your part!" Tomoya shouted.

"I think I know the answer..." Ryota implied as he took you a look while you caressed Duymir at the stable's entrance.

Taka turned around to look at you and turned back again. His friends' expressions spoke for themselves.

"When is the wedding, buddy?" Toru asked giving him a nudge.

"Oh, so now you switched from the "rude, hates-everyone-guy" mood to the "jerk friend" one. Nice, Toru."

"Your cheeks are blushed, Taka!" Tomoya laughed.

"You two have been giving little kisses to each other in the forest...?" asked Ryota with an excessive childish tone "Or maybe something more than just kisses...?"

The rest burst into a laugh as Taka tried to silence them by kicking them.

"Shut up! What's wrong with you all? It now turns out that I can't walk with her to the forest just because she has been taking care of me and I screwed it up so I just want to thank her back?"