Febuary 4th, 2028, 6:32pm Tokyo Imastu Metropolitan Police Station.
A blue suited man enters an office, with another similarly suited man sitting down at the desk.
"New file arrived" said the entering man, holding a file
"S'it about?" said the man at the desk
"Assault and battery of a guest. Cameras show the guest, Yuro Jito, was allowed onto the property, but wasn't allowed to leave. After, the couple fled the scene." said first man, pulling out a chair and sitting on it
"Who did it?"
"**** and ***** Narago, ** and ** years old respectively, family, two children. A sister and a brother, both aged 4. Both sister and brother were found in the house asleep"
"Damned criminals"
…
…
…
Rain patters on the window, laying down in the bed, a boy is seen, eyes closed. Still as a brick.
Damned criminals.
The muffled sound of a door opening beyond his room. Whats outside? Who knows.
Damned criminals.
A scream could be heard. The boy is yet to wake up.
Damned criminals.
Smashing glass, unhinged cupboards, maybe even a gunshot. Who knows? The boy sure doesn't.
Damned criminals.
The thunder outside can't even compare to the stuff going on beyond that door.
Damned criminals.
After some time, the door shuts again. The boy wakes up. Grabbing the door handle, as hes always done before, he opens the door. "Mom? Dad?"
Damned criminals.
To the excitement of the boy, Mom and Dad are nowhere to be found. Time to raid to candy drawer.
Damned criminal.
What should the boy eat? He thinks. Its almost pitch black, with some moonlight blessing him through the window above the kitchen sink. He cannot tell the candy apart.
Damned criminal.
Picking a candy at random, he shoves it in his mouth, closing the drawer and relieving all trace that he was there.
Damned criminal.
Satisfied, he starts to head back to bed. But what's that? In the corner?
…
…
…
"Itaru!"
Dammit, can't I get a wink of sleep these days?
"Itaru!"
Since when did I set the alarm clock to yell my name? I swear one of these days I'm seriously going to smash it.
"Itaru!"
I jolt out of sleep, instinctively smashing the thing on my right. Usually, it is my alarm clock. Currently, it is dirt.
A few people were surrounding me, namely, my sister, Bean, Skela, Renho, and Pony-tail, the heroic hero of the bowmen. There were a few other bystanders, but that's the jist of it.
"Itaru! My god, are you okay?" asked my sister, with a concerned face
"Yup, better than ever."
For the first time in a while, Renho took some interest in me, extending her hand to help pick me up.
I graciously accepted with a "thanks"
"So, what did I miss?"
"We almost mistook you for a corpse. Your sister kept watch of you till you woke up, making sure nobody hauled you off" said Skela. She'd be the kinda of person to mistake that
"Hauled off where?"
"The area where we put the other corpses. We just kinda left them near the town so it's their problem now."
The leader pushed through the crowd and extended a hand, inviting a handshake
"Welcome back mate, how's ya head?" Dikyu asked
"Couldn't be better," I said, accepting his handshake. In all honesty, my hand wasn't the only thing being shaken. I was still thinking about all the people I killed, the mental recoil of it made me want to vomit.
"Ya okay? I'd offer you a sip of water but looks like there's none to be had" he laughed
"Yup, I'm fine. How many people are… know… gone?"
The leader's face turned grim. "Five people. Three archers, a sword, and a mace. We haven't been able to bury them yet."
I looked away. If I had been stronger, those five people wouldn't be dead. If I had been faster, I could have saved them. If I had been smarter, I-
A jolt of pain flashed through my face, rotating my face to the left.
Calculated damage: 1% head blunt damage/no permanent injuries
Shut up, machine.
"I know my brother well enough to know when he's blaming himself." I heard my sister's voice say, raising her hand and threatening to smack me again. She knows me too well. "Stop it, would you?" her face brimmed with sadness "You'll make me cry."
I took a deep breath, scratch that, I took multiple deep breaths
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Ihale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale Inhale
Exhale Inhale Exhale
Inhale Inhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Exhale Inhale Exhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale ExhaleExhale
Exhale Inhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale Inhale
Inhale Exhale
I sat there on the floor breathing like an idiot for who knows how long, my sister sat down beside me and laid her head on my shoulder a while ago. I don't know where everyone else went. I think my sister ordered them to go away. Or maybe they got put off by my heavy breathing. Whatever the case, I didn't care. Honestly, I didn't even care that her uniform was stained with blood. I was way too tired.
"Status window," I said, swiping three fingers to the right
Itaru Nagaro
Level: 1
EXP: 37%
Health status- 99.6%
Stats-
Critical!: 35% stamina
Skills- LOCKED
Magic- LOCKED
Family- LOCKED
Criminal record: None
Low stamina huh? That must be why I'm feeling like shit. By now, it was sundown. I laid my head on top of my sister's head and for the second time this day, I drifted asleep.
Waking up, it was already daytime again. A message appeared again, reading
Injuries healed while sleeping: head: 1% left arm: 2%
Stamina change: 89%
I tried getting up, but something heavy was clinging to my right. No, hang on, clinging isn't the right word. I was being used like a big pillow. The culprit? My sister.
"Oi, Hana, wake up"
"Two more minutes~," she said lazily
I looked around me, two guards were standing beside us facing the forest, a black-haired boy with a bow and a red-haired girl with a spear. After hearing me speak, they turned around and seemed ecstatic to see me awake
"Finally, my shift ended early for once" the boy groans. I, sadly, can relate. In Japan, I had a part-time job working in retail. Had a trash boss that made me work overtime. Sure I got extra money, but in return, my sleep schedule was in poverty. Then again, when is it not?
The girl chuckles "Don't you leave anyways, Ken?"
"S-shut up!"
"You two know each other?" I asked, making small talk as my sister very slowly awakened
"Yup! Childhood friends. Honestly, I don't think I could mentally survive without Ken here" The girl answers.
"So uh, you gonna stay lying down?" Ken asks, clearing his throat.
"Yeah, one sec."
I leaned in close to my sister, as if I was about to whisper something to her, and blew lightly on her ear
"Hya!!" My sister jolted up, banging into my head
Calculated damage: 2% head bludgeoning damage/no permanent injuries
"Ouch. Couldn't you wake up slower?" I asked. Getting bashed on the head is not on my to-do list.
"Well maybe a certain someone shouldn't blow on my ear!" My sister said, blushing
"It's the only way that wakes you up"
The redhead chuckle
"What's so funny?!" My sister accuses. What a cold heart of hers.
"Nothing, it seems like you two are close, that's all." The redhead smiles.
"You wanna let go of me now?" I said, still getting used as somebody's pillow, as she never let go of me this entire time.
I was promptly thrown onto the grass. "I was never using you as anything"
"Sure thing"
The boy lends me a hand as my sister gets up. Standing up, I realize our weapons are gone. "Where's my sword at?"
"Ah, Kisa-san says that he has them," replied the boy. "Come, we'll lead you to our base".
The two guards led us away from the clearing where we had gotten ambushed.
"So uh, where's all the bodies?" I asked. The ground was a bit squishy dyed in a redish green, turning it brown. The air smelt metallic and tangy.
"Didn't your bald friend tell you? We threw them right outside the forest. Said the redhead. E-even our own?? Feels kinda disrespectful to me
"Was there anyone else like me?"
"Like you how?"
"Uhm, my uh, breakdown?"
"Oh"
"Let's just say we saw a lot of vomit yesterday," said Ken
"Us included!" chimed the redhead, who was promptly nudged by the boy
"Hey, onii, you sure you okay?" my sister asked, still concerned for me "I've never seen you like that before"
"Yes, I'm okay," I responded
"Okay.. just… tell me if you don't feel good, kay?"
I nodded in confirmation
Soon, we arrived at what was in front of me was seemingly the base. If I hadn't been told we were going to the base before I would have thought this was the work of a goblin. There was a group of students working on this ramshackle abomination of a wall of a house made of wood strapped together with bendy sticks and it was constantly falling. Every time it started falling to the left everyone ran to the left and when it started falling to the right everyone ran to the right. It was kinda funny.
A safe distance away, around 14 people were laid down on some patterned leaves. A makeshift hospital. People with wands on their waists tended to the injured, as well as they could at least.
Another while away, some people were trying to figure out how to make makeshift tools. There were also people using swords to dig in the dirt. Graves.
There was also a pile of stone swords, axes, spears, berries, meat, leather, sticks, and some other stuff.
In the middle of it all sat five campfires, all with slabs of meat on top cooking away. Even without toppings the meaty aroma invaded my nose. How long was it since I had a proper meal?
Eventually, the falling house outsped the students and fell with a muted thump. While the Dikyu was giving out new orders he noticed us and paused mid-sentence, "YOU GUYS, OVER THERE. GO TO THE CHAIR AND I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER!" He yelled as he pointed to another area that had a single wood chair that looked hastily built and probably couldn't even support Skela. Was this really the culmination of a group of adults who *almost* have a degree?
My sister dragged me to the chair while the guards silently followed behind. "Sit," my sister commanded. "What? This thing couldn't even support a baby, no way." "Just sit. I don't want you passing out standing up!" She said as she tried to push me onto the chair. I fought back, "I'm ok now!" I said through gritted teeth. In the struggle, I had lost balance and fell onto the chair, which promptly broke and was now a pile of wood on the ground. I was about to remark something about the quality of the chair to my sister until I heard a large gasp followed by a fake sob. I looked at the source and it was Bean looking at me with the most devastated expression I have ever seen. Oops…
A boisterous laugh filled my ears as I turned to see Dikyu coming toward us. How many people saw my ass break the chair??? Actually no, my sister MADE me break the chair. Yeah. He was still chuckling a bit when he approached us. "Heya! Glad to see you're better Itoya!"
"Actually its Itaru-"
"Bah! Potato potato, tomato tomato"
Getting back up, I dusted myself off and asked where my weapons are
"Ah, right. Here ya go" he handed me my blade and buckler. "Washed it off at the river, used some of the fat from some deer to oil it." Uhh, I don't think that's how that- " And here's for Miss Maiden" he hands my sister her sword and buckler with a cringy little bow. I didnt even notice it was missing. "you should go wash down, we can't do much about the clothes, but atleast wash ya self" he points in the direction of the river "it's clear ta drink from, and nobody's peakin'"
…
"Promise" Dikyu said, walking off
"Well," I said, making audible sniffs at my sister "you do smell"
"Oh shut up, onii"
Trudging to the river, I feel a tap on my back. It was Renho
"Hey Itaru, you okay?"
"Sorry, who are you?" I knew who she was, but I figured it'd be funny.
"Seriously?" Renho asked
"Onii, no way you got brain damage" chimed my sister
"Relax, only Bean and Skela could give my brain damage." I said "Now shoo, shoo, go take your bath.
"Hmph" Hana said, storming off to wash.