"Hiroshi... wake up, buddy."
The voice broke through the fog in his mind like an annoying alarm clock. Hiroshi grunted and pressed his face deeper into the sticky wooden table in front of him.
"Huh? What now…" he mumbled, his voice rough from tiredness and the warm feeling of alcohol still in his system.
"We're all done here," another coworker said, half-laughing and half-slurring his words. "Some of the guys are really drunk. You look like you are too."
Hiroshi groaned and rubbed his face with his hand. His head felt heavy, and the room spun when he sat up. Still, at 188 centimeters tall and strong, he didn't think a few beers should knock him out—at least, that's what he liked to believe.
"Okay, okay," he said gruffly as he pushed himself up from his seat. The chair creaked under his weight, making the drunk people around him wince.
"Whoa, big guy," someone said, stepping back as Hiroshi stood over the group. His coworkers weren't short, but next to Hiroshi, they looked small.
"You break another chair, and we won't cover for you," another joked, making everyone laugh. Hiroshi rolled his eyes but couldn't hide a small smile.
The dim light in the pub didn't help his headache, which was starting to throb. Great, he thought. Another night of taking care of drunk people and pretending I'm not about to fall over.
He reached for his coat and threw it over his broad shoulders easily. As they walked out, Hiroshi sighed, wondering how many more times he would have to be the responsible one.
Hiroshi stepped out of the bar and spotted a taxi nearby. He opened the back door and slumped into the backseat of the taxi, his large body barely fitting in the small space. The driver looked at him in the rearview mirror, raising his eyebrows at the sight of the big man swaying slightly, his head resting against the window.
"Address?" the driver asked carefully.
Hiroshi grumbled as he searched for his wallet and mumbled his destination. His voice was low and slurred, but the driver understood. The car moved forward, and Hiroshi leaned back, staring blankly at the city lights flashing by the window. The alcohol buzzed in his system, making the world look blurry like a painting left out in the rain.
When the taxi stopped outside his house, Hiroshi was on the verge of passing out. He fumbled for his wallet and finally slapped a few crumpled bills into the driver's hand.
"Keep the change," he mumbled, his words hard to understand.
The driver gave him a doubtful look but shrugged. "Thanks, big guy. Try not to fall over on your way in."
Hiroshi grunted in reply, stumbling out of the car like a baby deer learning to walk. The cold night air hit him, but it didn't help clear his head. He swayed as he staggered toward his front door.
Just a few more steps. Just a few more—
Thud.
Hiroshi didn't make it. His legs gave out, and he fell in front of his door, his coat spread out like a cape beneath him.
"Hmm…" he murmured, already drifting off to sleep as the cool concrete pressed against his cheek.
The world went dark, quiet, and strangely comfortable. It wasn't a dignified place to pass out, but Hiroshi didn't care.
Hiroshi stirred, the remnants of his drunken haze slowly fading as an annoying prodding sensation poked at his side.
"Hmm…?" he groaned inwardly, barely clinging to sleep. Who the hell is poking me this early? He still thought he was lying in front of his door in Japan, maybe an early-morning neighbor curious about the lump of muscle passed out on the concrete.
The poking got harder. His curiosity—or maybe irritation—finally won out. Slowly, Hiroshi opened his eyes, his vision blurry and head pounding.
The first thing he saw was a small, delicate figure crouched beside him. Through his hazy sight, he made out a pretty girl holding a stick and using it to poke him like he was some kind of stray animal.
"Ughhh…" Hiroshi groaned, rubbing his face. His head throbbed like a drum, the alcohol from the night before still making him feel sluggish.
A kid? Hiroshi thought vaguely, his mind too foggy to think clearly. Groaning, he forced himself to sit up a bit, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Ne~ne… you alright, Big Hyuman?" the voice chimed in, soft and curious.
Hiroshi blinked, squinting at the figure as his vision sharpened. "Oh… hello, little girl," he mumbled groggily, managing a weak smile. Wait… what's a kid doing poking me at this hour?
But then something snapped him out of his haze. He noticed the girl's head—sharp, twitching ears perched on top—and lower, where a long tail swished behind her.
Hiroshi froze. "Huh?" His voice cracked slightly. "You… you doing cosplay or something?"
"Coz~platz?" the figure repeated, tilting her head in confusion. Her golden eyes blinked at him, wide and innocent.
Her tail flicked once, and that's when it hit Hiroshi: those ears and that tail weren't fake. They moved too naturally.
"Oi, hold up," he muttered, panic creeping in. He scrambled back slightly, his hands digging into the soft, cool grass beneath him. Grass? His house didn't have a lawn. He touched it again, just to be sure.
His pulse quickened as he realized what he was sitting on. "What… the hell?"
The girl—or rather, the person in front of him—watched him curiously, her head tilting further. Her ears twitched, her tail curling and uncurling, as if she was trying to figure him out.
"Big Hyuman?" she repeated, taking a step closer.
Hiroshi's head whipped around, and for the first time, he noticed his surroundings. There were no streets, no buildings, no familiar landmarks. Just endless green fields, a bright, cloudless sky, and a few strange figures in the distance dressed in odd, medieval-style clothing, watching him with wary curiosity.
This… isn't Japan.
Hiroshi opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. The realization began to sink in: wherever he was, it definitely wasn't Japan anymore.
"Uhh… girl… where am I?" Hiroshi asked, his voice still sleepy as he tried to understand everything.
The figure in front of him—ears twitching and tail swaying—laughed softly, the sound light and teasing. "Hyuman~ I'm not a girl. I'm a guy."
Hiroshi blinked. Once. Twice. His brain stalled for a full three seconds.
"Uhh… really?"
"Yes~" the catfolk replied cheerfully, his warm smile making it even harder for Hiroshi to believe.
"...Oh." Hiroshi rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say next.
Shaking off his confusion, he focused on the important question. "So… where am I? How did I even get here?"
The catfolk tilted his head, his ears twitching as if he were thinking about Hiroshi's question. "Hmm~? I don't know. When I was walking here, I saw you lying down. I thought you were attacked by a monster and dead."
Hiroshi raised an eyebrow. "Oh… well, thanks, I guess?"
The catfolk grinned, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Ne~ne, Big Hyuman."
"What now?" Hiroshi groaned, trying to push himself up to his feet. His head still throbbed, but he thought standing might help him think better.
"Wow~ you're really big, Hyuman!" the catfolk exclaimed, looking up at Hiroshi with wide eyes.
Hiroshi stood tall, towering over the catfolk. He noticed how much shorter the guy was—the top of his head barely reached below Hiroshi's chest, close to his stomach.
The catfolk stepped closer, his gaze moving up and down Hiroshi's large frame. "So tall~ So wide~ I've never seen a Hyuman this big before!"
"Yeah, yeah, I hear that a lot," Hiroshi muttered, brushing grass off his clothes. His size wasn't surprising, but talking to someone who looked like he came out of a fantasy manga in the middle of a strange field was definitely throwing him off.
The catfolk's tail swayed as he tilted his head again, his curious expression unchanged. "Ne~ Hyuman, are you from the Empire? You don't look like a villager."
"Empire? What Empire?" Hiroshi frowned, his confusion growing. "Look, uh… cat… guy… whatever—you still haven't told me where I am."
"You don't know?" The catfolk's ears drooped slightly. "This is the Outer Wilds! The frontier! The Empire is waaay over there." He pointed toward the horizon.
Hiroshi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Outer Wilds? Frontier? What kind of messed-up dream is this?
"Alright," he muttered. "First things first—what's your name, uh… cat… dude?"
"Oh~! My name's Riku!" the catfolk said with a cheerful grin, his tail wagging. "What's yours, Big Hyuman?"
"…Hiroshi. Hiroshi Takeda."
"Hir… Hii-ro… Hirororo…" Riku tilted his head, trying to say it. "Hi-roh… Hiren..hen..ri..…?" After a moment, he threw his hands up and smiled brightly. "Henry!"
Hiroshi blinked, his jaw dropping slightly. "Wait, no—that's not…"
"Henry!" Riku beamed, looking far too proud of himself.
"...Fine. Whatever." Hiroshi groaned again, deciding he didn't have the energy to argue with a guy who had a tail.
Riku's tail flicked, his curiosity clearly not satisfied. "Hmm~ well, Henry, it looks like you're stuck here for now. What are you going to do?"
Hiroshi's shoulders slumped as he stared out at the unfamiliar horizon. "Hell if I know..."
( End Of Chapter )