It was called the mid-century war. And it broke out for a silly reason. A rumor.
That the Chinese were employing rapid desalination processes along the coastlines of most of south east asia.
That involved the countries of Philippines, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and their respective coastal areas.
Rakshasas had been an international menace by then already but the vast amounts of salt content in the water bodies of oceans and seas weakened them due to the highly absorbent nature of their skins.
Clumping large packets of salt under their skin to weigh them down that had fatal consequences for the otherworldly pests.
So by the time they came ashore from emergences in the oceans they were easily defeated on the surface with minimal casualties.
That all changed one week when hordes upon hordes overran the cities in these countries catching everyone offguard. Even the native inborns.
The world only took greater notice when reports of Chinese incursions in the guise of providing aid came in.
The shaky alliance of the Western Nations stationed themselves on all sides of China which catapulted the world into a war that lasted for nearly two years. Shaping the entire present world's functioning.
On the Indian side after being driven out initially, the British occupied territories along the borders of various north western states namely Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kashmir, Jammu.
What was once supposed to have housed a divided land, for a divided and broken people, had overnight become a source of cannon fodder for a war the aging colonial empire couldn't possibly wage but which it still did nonetheless.
As expected of Her Royal Majesty.
Thus forming what is currently known as East Britain.
To it's north is the remnants of the shaky alliance that is at odds with both Russia and China. The lands of Afghanistan divided between American, African and Russian interests.
To it's south lie the separatists controlled Balochistan.
East Britain remains a permanent fixture to what was wrong with the previous century and how once a stopgap has turned into something else entirely. A remote controlled civilization. That thrives on the ignorance of the people it lords over without an ounce of desire to learn about them.
India remained neutral in the war which Russia did also try to emulate at first, but eventually succumbed to the fear of seeing a rapidly advancing western presence too close to home territory.
Now while Piya had explained the gist of it all to Sanit yesterday he had barely paid much attention to it as he was busy ogling her at which point she had stopped talking.
After leaving Dipan's residence in the posh parts of the city, Sanit had gone back to his hostel without much incidence promising he would start attending lectures to Piya and adopt a more subdued lifestyle.
Today he was lying face down on the desk of the college classroom, tired from the endlessly ongoing lectures.
He felt a poke at his side and stirred sleepily, "mmm—what?"
Piya was stacking books as she sat beside him, her hair in a tight bun on her head, giving him the most devious side eye.
"You're drooling."
Sanit wiped his mouth and sat up, squinting at the filtering sunlight, "oh is it always so dreary? The lectures? I should've just taken that job."
Piya raised an eyebrow and said,
"That's actually so in character for you. I'm surprised you didn't."
"I felt insulted." He said bluntly.
"Didn't picture you as this sensitive of a person." She pushed her bag away and smiled as she rested her chin on her palm and looked at him.
"Trying to be."
He looked on as she loosened her hair and bit her hair clip as she reached behind her neck to knot her hair in her fingers.
When she caught him staring neither of them flinched. "What's so special about me? Why do you keep looking like that?" Her voice faltered a little.
"I don't know. Infatuation perhaps." He said calmly his gaze unwavering.
"It's unnerving," she finally looked away, "you shouldn't look at girls like that."
"I agree. Most of the others didn't share your patience when I did the same to them. But then again you aren't like most girls are you Piya?"
She stilled for a moment at those words. But didn't respond to it.
"You don't flinch when I stare at you. You tolerate me at my worst sometimes. You don't push me away while most others would do worse. Am I still the strange one?"
She glanced at him, his gaze intense yet not alarming enough like before.
"You're reading too much into nothing Sanit. I'm just a simple girl. Nothing more."
She got up from where she was and arranged her desk properly to distract herself.
"Keep saying that and you might even believe it someday. I still find everything about you lustful." He casually said it which made her turn.
"I think its because I smelled you. Your scent is uniquely human in its feminine form. Raw in nature. I get this idea that you hide a lot from the world. And your kindness to me of all people is supremely ravishing in the mixture of emotions. You're the first memory I keep recalling from my time back here."
"And its not just one but my many senses that get triggered when I'm with you. I've been enhanced in so many violent ways I just can't hold myself back sometimes. Does that scare you?"
She always had mixed feelings conversing with him. He spoke like he had never learnt to hold back. Just like the way he fought. The way he probably did everything else.
'Even makes love like that I guess,' her thoughts ran wild.
"It should," she replied softly, "but its also very weirdly pleasing to hear. What you feel is just lust though. Powerful yes, but fleeting after the moment."
"I doubt it." He stood up and pressed himself closer to her body, "I doubt I'll be fleeting in any way if I completely give in to my base senses, Piya."
She had her hands by her sides that she was slowly bringing to her front as he squeezed her chest with his own, without really meaning to.
Like it was his way of showing he could do so much more yet held himself back.
"What do you see happening if you do?" she felt her voice grow a little weak but he didn't seem to have noticed. He was busy thinking about other stuff after all.
That much was obvious from the way he looked down on her from above, his body hardening with the closeness of her essence.
"Red," Sanit's pupils trained in on her eyes as well as the rest of her face. "All over. And not always in a good way."
Her lips trembled as she nudged him away from her, "then don't give in. Yet."
He smirked before pulling back, "there's a 'yet'?"
"Just staying curious." She defended herself.
He stepped back and turned away from her to leave.
"You do scare me Sanit." He heard her confess.
"In all the best ways."
He grinned at that and left the empty classroom.