Kanjo Umura.
That's the name that everyone seemed to keep calling him so that's the name he eventually decided to stick with. Though still having almost no clue as to what was happening around him or just how he had gotten to where he was, Kanjo was more then willing to play along with the current events. The more he listened and observed, the more he would be able to learn.
At least, that's how it SHOULD have been.
The opposite result happened.
The more he absorbed, the greater Kanjo's confusion became and the more overwhelmed he felt. Loads of information was thrown at him in seemingly random intervals, a smattering of details and knowledge hurled at him like unorganized puzzle pieces. He already felt exhausted, both physically and mentally, so trying to solve the mystery of his present existence was like trying to solve a complex equation without the proper formula.
From the time he was tackled by the fully grown man, a lot of things were set into movement.
The two men dressed in black proceeded to run a quick checkup over Kanjo's body, touching his arms, chest, and torso, examining his neck, checking his heartbeat. There was even talk about taking him to something they called a hospital, though the male and female from earlier quickly objected to it despite how hard the black clothed males pushed for it. They had even gotten into a heated argument with them for a solid minute before the other two backed down, apologizing before promptly leaving after a few more questions towards Kanjo such as why did he attempt to do such a thing and if he was hurting anywhere.
Naturally, Kanjo played dumb, answering only questions that he knew to be safe.
Once the black garbed duo had departed, the other two went back in for another hug before one of them left the room while the other one stayed, striking up a conversation with him.
That's when he began learning everything and when everything began to seem more and more like something out of a mere story.
"Hey Kanji. How do you feel?" The woman asked, sitting down beside him at the edge of the bed. She seemed nervous and tense, and the slow pace at which she spoke made it very clear that she was choosing her next words every so carefully.
"I'm.....fine." Kanjo muttered, barely managing to get the words out without somehow snapping his own vocal chords. "Just.....'ired."
"Oh. Okay." The woman looked slightly relieved, her blue eyes fixated to the spot on his neck where it was no doubt bruised. "I'll let you sleep in a bit. Though, maybe we can try and get the swelling down for you first? Maybe?"
For whatever reason, the older female looked to be rather hesitant to ask him the question and even looked as if she wanted to lean away from him. However, she stayed where she was.
"Oh...Kay." The black haired youth said after a half minute of contemplation. He had no desire to fight these people in his current condition. Unless his life was in immediate danger, he decided to resign himself to their care until more information was revealed.
For the briefest of moments, the look of shock was visible on the woman's visage, though it was quickly replaced with kindness as she stood up from the side of the bed. Without uttering another word, she walked briskly to the door and exited the room. A full minute passed before she came back, this time with a rag, a clear bottle of liquid, gauze, a transparent yellow cylinder, and a small bag of ice. Following close behind was the older gentleman from before, though this time he looked much more composed.
"Kanji." The man said, a smile spreading across his face. "I managed to get into contact with your highschool. They've allowed you to take a month off so there's no need to fret about that."
(("High school? Month off?")) Kanjo was immensely confused about what the man had said but he didn't break character as he nodded his head. (("Still don't know what I'm doing here but let's keep it going."))
"Thank.....you," Kanjo squeezed out, giving a half assed attempt at a smile. "Means...a lt."
The man said nothing else as he inside, leaning up against the dresser, his elbow brushing against the large rectangular contraption from before. On the other hand, the woman had already seated herself and began working on Kanjo's neck, dabbing at his neck with the liquid obtained from clear bottle.
No one said anything for a while. The woman simply worked in silence as she hurriedly cleaned the area in and around the swelling with the strong smelling liquid before quickly wrapping some gauze around it. It wasn't until she finally began pulling the cap off of the yellow bottle that the man finally spoke.
"I....uh...got your letter," the man said, breaking the silence. "The one you left for us. I didn't read it yet."
(("Letter? I've never even met you in my entire life.")) Kanjo merely stared as thousands of thoughts ran through his head, and had his vocal cords been in good condition, he probably would've already asked more than half of them. (("I honestly have no clue who the two of you even are. Though I don't think that now's the time to say it."))
"Oh." It was all Kanjo could think to say as he watched the man pulled out a white envelope out of his pocket and offered it over to him
There was something scribbled on the front of the envelope, though Kanjo had absolutely no idea what it said. Instead of asking though, he merely pretended to glance over it before gracefully accepting it, giving the man a nod as he set it to the side of him.
"I'm gonna leave you some Ibuprofen on the nightstand," the woman said as she showed the black haired teen two white things in her hand. "Please take them, okay?"
"Okay." Kanjo already decided that he wasn't gonna usee whatever it was that she was laying down on the table. Instead there's was one question that was eating away at him and one that he actually wanted answered at that very moment.
"Why didn't you just heal.....with magic?" Kanjo muttered, pointing at his own neck.
The two grown adults looked back at him, then at each other.
"What do you mean?" The woman asked, clearly confused. "Magic?"
After that response, Kanjo didn't say anything else, only giving them a small shake of the head. After they asked a few more questions and got no response, they hurriedly took their leave, closing the door behind them.
(("They have no idea what magic is. Act like they know me. Mention and show me things that I've never encountered or heard of. Show me some sort of writing I can't decipher.")) Kanjo tried to put everything together, but to no avail.
(("Damn. Guess I really did die.")) He thought as he struggled to his feet once again. (("Im already aware I'm not dreaming. Definitely not reincarnation seeing as how I can remember everything and I'm not a baby. Can't be the Land Of The Dead or The Temple Of Light. I can still feel pain."))
Nothing was adding up. Despite his mental capacity having returned to what it was before, the black haired youth wasn't able to fit any of the puzzle pieces together. He wasn't sure why these people acted like they knew him nor why this body and the room possessed indications of a hanging. He couldn't fathom why the two were so deeply concerned abou the wellbeing of the person they were mistaking him for while still being on guard and tense. He still had no clue as where he was and how he had gotten there nor any idea why his hair had suddenly turned black.
Making his way towards the other door, the one that hadn't been opened yet, Kanjo managed to wiggle it open after a few second of playing with the handle.
Inside the door was actually far more surprising then Kanjo had initially thought.
It was a standard closet, a large one, but still nothing special. However, the innards of the closet definitely stood out.
Rows upon rows of clothes lined the racks, all of the neatly hung up and organized by set and color. Varieties of shirts and pants lined either side of the wall, hoodies and jackets were carefully hung near the back. Caps, beanies, and other assortments of hats took up the top shelf and a number of shoes took up the other side of the same shelf. Even though there were almost no clothes or brands that Kanjo was able to recognize with the folds of fabric, the young black haired teen was still able to tell just how expensive it all was. As weird and complex as everything looked, Kanjo had no doubt that getting hands on anything remotely close to this amount of quality wear would cost ten pairs of arms and legs.
Wobbling into the closet, Kanjo carefully took everything in, dark red hues shifting over everything, fascination and astonishment written all over his face. It was such a weird surprise that he completely forgot his own situation for a full half minute
That being said, the real surprise came when he saw the mirror and when he saw just who was staring back.
"This face..... isn't mine."
Situated beneath the rows of clothes was a mirror, a full length one that extended slightly above Kanjo's own head. Upon entry, the black haired youth hadn't taken notice of it, primarily due to the amount of bizarre clothes lining the walls. However, now that he finally was aware of it's presence, he couldn't look away from it, even going as far as to move closer, inch by inch.
170cm's tall, pale skin that looked as if it hadn't seen the light of day, a skinny frame that looked almost skeletal when paired with a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts, and jet black hair with a faded grey worked into the back. All of it, paired with some nice facial features and dark red eyes, gave the impression of someone who was on the brink of death or at the very least, had completely given up on life. The numerous scars that lined the arms and poked from beneath the shirt didn't do much to help the visuals either.
Earlier, when Kanjo was just shocked and somewhat happy to be alive, he had thought that his body had seemed a little off, that the proportions were only slightly different.
Now, after careful observation, the black haired teen realized how wrong he was.
There was nothing that remained of his old body.
Gone were the muscles and strength that he had painstakingly cultivated within the dungeons, strength that had been enough to lift and throw full grown dragons by their tails. The speed with which he had been so proud of had been reduced to nothing as the youth struggled to even remain upright, wobbling in place with skinny legs as he looked himself up and down. His height had shrunk a full 10cm, his skin tone had completely changed, and his facial structure was nowhere close to how handsome he thought it to be before. He could even see his own ribcage through the shirt, the alarming lack of meat on him making itself known.
(("I've been body swapped???")) Kanjo mentally questioned, his confusion maxing out as he reached up to touch 'his' face. (("Is this some kind of magic? Some weird magic ritual?"))
Walking forward, Kanjo brushed the glass with the tips of his fingers, checking for any sort of magic stone or any rune engravings that would give it away. Normally, the teen would've been able to sense the magic right away, but ever since waking up Kanjo had been unable to sense any sort of magic, something that had never happened to him before.
After finding nothing, he pulled away, red orbs filled with utter disappointment.
He had thought that he had finally found a lead as to what had transpired during his suffering, but it had once again been naught but dead ends.
(("I just need something that'll point me in the right direction.")) Kanjo murmured, limping away from the mirror. (("Maybe I'll find somethin-"))
Right as Kanjo was about exit the closet, a strange sound filled the room, a sort of melodic beat quickly reaching the youths ears, a beat closely followed by the sounds of aggressive talking. It was hard to say what the words themselves were due to how fast the phrases were being delivered, but Kanjo couldn't help but feel drawn to them. Even when he was tripping over himself due to the sudden surprise, he believed that the audio was quite nice and felt the need to sate his own curiosity rise within his chest. Shuffling back into the room, Kanjo followed his hearing to where the sound was coming from, eventually pinpointing it's exact location. Even when the sound stopped and Kanjo lost track of it ever so briefly, the thing started again, as if it wanted him to find it. While Kanjo would've no doubt found it after some rummaging around, the melody definitely made it much easier to find as he pulled open the drawer sitting beside the nightstand.
Resting at the bottom of the top drawer, underneath some white paper with useless scribbles over them was a small rectangular object, one that was quite similar to the giant flat one Kanjo had seen on the dresser. The difference in size wasn't the only thing however as the front of this particular contraption was glowing with some sort of strange colorful lights. These weird colors came together to form pictures and shapes that the youth couldn't decipher no matter how long he stared at them. The only thing he could properly make sense of was two circles located near the bottom of the rectangle, one green and one red. Everything else was just a mess and was simply ignored.
Scrawled near the top of the glowing rectangle was the writing, QUEEN BITCH.
After staring at the peculiar device for a while longer, Kanjo carefully picked it up, ensuring that he didn't press the shining parts, and set it down onto the nightstand. The melody from earlier stopped once again, this time to taking twice as long to start back up.
(("So...what do I do with it?")) The youth thought carefully as the screen went black for a few seconds before once again lighting up. (("Is it an item designed to send out some type of music? Does it send out alerts? A distress signal?"))
Kanjo touched his finger to his chin as he stared at the screen, his gaze flicking over the two colored circles. He didn't really know what either of them were, but the desire to press them was strong enough to dictate his next course of action as his finger pushed down over the red one.
Immediately upon contact, the melodic beat stopped and silence once again fell over the room.
(("Huh. Was that the off button?"))
The instant Kanjo had finished his thought, the contraption lit up once again, the same weird scribbles and circles appearing on its surface. Without hesitation, Kanjo pressed the green one.
"~Hello?~"
A timid female voice started emanating out from the bottom of the device a few seconds after Kanjo tapped the left circle, throwing the black haired teen for a loop.
(("A girl? But then this MUST be a magic item.")) Kanjo leaned forward to hear better as the girl began speaking once again. (("A communication device? A Talking Box? A Talka Box.....no. A TalkyBox."))
~"Hello? Is anyone there?~"
Kanjo was snapped out of his own thoughts as more words poured out from the small device near his ear. The rectangular contraption had already went back to it's dark surface but the voice was still spewing words, meaning the device was still in touch with whoever was making it work.
"Hello... I'm here."
There was a moment of pause. ~"Kanjo Umura. That's you right?"~ A slight change of tone was detectable when his name was said but the youth thought nothing of it at first.
"Yeh. That's....me."
~"Oh. So you still haven't followed my request then? What a shame. And here I was hoping we could do this without getting all dirty."~
Kanjo frowned, his thumb coming up and pressing against the top of his lip. He wasn't the smartest guy in the world, but even he could sense the sense of hostility behind the honey covered tone. It was the same track that women in his world would use before stabbing someone in the back or plotting another persons death.
"Who are... exactly?" The red eyed individual asked, his voice breaking and leaving out words again. He didn't bother to repeat himself.
~"I'll tell you what. I'm feeling lenient. Come to the convenience store at the end of Kugon Drive. We'll have ourselves a get toge-"~
Boop.
The words of the girl were cut off as Kanjo figured out how to turn the screen back on and quickly pressed the red button. He had already heard everything he wanted to hear.
The girls voice was grating and her commanding tone left much to be desired. Not only did Kanjo dislike her off the jump, he had also sensed a dangerous undertone, a sort of danger that he couldn't get involved with at the current point in time. Though he was definitely curious as to who the female was, he had no desire to speak to her until he was fully healed and able to use his magic again. Once he was up to par and back in his old body, he would decide what to do about that girl and would try to contact her again through the TalkyBox.
Slipping the contraption back into the drawer, Kanjo plopped back down onto the bed, feeling far exhausted then he had initially thought. Though his brain was still running at speeds rivaling that of light, his body was right on the brink of collapsing, indicating just how much energy had been sucked out of him walking around the rooms innards.
"Damn this abused body," Kanjo whispered quietly as he lay down on the bed, pulling the black shirt over his head. "I know not who owned this vessel previously, but I'd like to have a word with them about proper self care. And maybe some tips on good eating habits."
The lights to the room were still on and shining in Kanjo's face, but he ignored them as he slowly closed his eyes, pulling the blanket over him up to his chin. He still didn't have any clue as to where he was or how he had gotten here, but he was no longer as worried as he had been previously. The youth was certain that if the two adults had wanted him dead, they wouldn't have had any trouble doing so, especially given that they had plenty of opportune moments to act. Their familiarity with the owner of his vessel gave him a strange comfort and made him oddly safe, though it was a purely a superficial one. He still planned on using them to get information.
After countless minutes of tossing and turning, taking time to count War Horses, and even recite magical chants, Kanjo finally managed to fall asleep.