Her tone alone had sent a cold shiver down his spine.
[I uh...]—[I uh...]
His mind scrambled for the right words,
[I'm not a civilian.]
"And neither are you a solider," Rei added, pointing to nearby gear only an army personnel would wear.
"Are you a spy?"
Hina asked inquisitively.
The words clamped his throat dry as he realized the severity of his situation,
[I'M NOT!...I'm not...]
He screamed out, dry coughing as he slowly lowered his tone.
He paused, then continued,
[I'm lost.]
He added, sighing at his choice of words.
>I'm already in a new world… might as well build a new personality.
The two girls looked to each other, then to him.
"On a battlefield?"
>Fuck!
They kept staring at him blankly, as if seeking a valid answer.
[I am a civilian, I got drafted.]
He gulped, praying to God this excuse would atleast spare his life.
"Wrong." Rei sighed.
"I can tell from your demeanor that you aren't a spy... But your origin is unclear."
She pointed to him.
"My guess is... you're a nobody who thought he could serve in a war he wasn't prepared for..."
He lowered his gaze, the words resonating with him more than he wanted...
He muttered under his breath in a shallow, depth-less tone,
[New world... Same problems.]
"Speak up. Talk like a man."
She shouted.
"Rei.."
Hina said in a calm voice, holding her shoulder.
A silent pause occurred, where neither party said anything.
Then—
Sigh...
[You're right.]
He stood up, stretching out his limbs.
[I'm just a normal civilian after all...]
> She's wrong on many levels, but one thing she got right for certain is,
— I'm just a normal guy. ]
He spoke in a monotonic voice, half happy, half sad.
He walked to the entrance of the tent, spreading it wide open.
The sunlight spilled across him, warmth seeping into his limbs as he slowly opened his arms, embracing it.
[Ahh... Good ol' vitamin D.]
He smiled as he slowly opened his eyes,
The camp was huge, multiple tents stretched across from him, a thin path that led to a giant gate, tens of people wounded.
he pinched his nose as he wandered outside,
[The smell of blood...it's sickening...]
A putrid, metallic scent hit his nose, watering his eyes slightly.
His eyes glanced into the inner sections of the tents, witnessing the horrors of what war had to offer.
He quickly averted his gaze forward as a sick feeling boiled in his stomach.
He kept walking towards the massive gate, glancing around ever so often,
> Not a single smile, Nor even a hint of happiness...
This place was clearly just a place to heal the wounded from the ongoing war...
But many things were still unclear.
> What was this war about?
> Who started it?
> Why was he sent here?
He scratched the back of his head as he thought,
> I really don't wanna participate in this shit...
Then—
Rapid footsteps approached from behind.
Then a hand grabbed him,
From the texture alone he could tell it was one of them.
"You probably shouldn't stay out here..."
Hinasaid worriedly.
[You're right.]
He nodded.
>I need to escape this place... I don't like here one bit.
Back at the tent he sat on a makeshift chair, built from a couple of boards and a bit of man power.
>They're keeping awfully close to me after having said they didn't think i was a spy ...
>Clearly they lied...
Both were still in his tent, just lazing around, but one thing was for certain,
They were clearly suspicious of him, for obvious reasons at that but still,
> I'm not telling them I'm from another world... No chance in hell.
> My previous life I had one goal in mind, just live a normal life...and even that...I couldn't do.
"Say aaaaah..."
Hina said, chucking a piece of cooked meat across the room into rei's mouth.
> This war seems to be the main event in this world...
> Saying I'm from another world is a quick ticket into the front lines,
He shook his head at the thought of him even holding a gun,
> Not doing that.
Then—
~WOOSH
A man entered into the tent, his hair was black and oddly normal looking, his expression was serious.
He wasn't muscular, but he had on the same black armour as hina.
"Yo."
He said, waving a peace sign to Hina and Rei who were now both fighting for some reason.
"Not gonna question that."
He muttered, turning and walking towards shiro.
He knelt down infront of him,
"Sooo, what's your deal? "
He asked calmly.
Shiro gulped,
[I don't really know.]
"And that settles it, let him go."
He stood up, giving a thumbs up towards Hina and Rei.
"EH?!"
They both screamed out in sync.
"He's suspicious."
Rei said, crossing her arms.
"I—I find him a bit odd."
Hina added.
The man shook his head,
"I scanned him... He's good."
Hina gasped.
Rei nodded.
"Understood."
They both said calmly.
The man turned back to the sitting shiro, grabbing his arm and hoisted him upwards,
"Name's rinji."
Shiro nodded before replying,
[Shiro.]
He sighed an audible sigh,
> So many names...
> I'm overwhelmed...
"You're a civilian right?"
Rinji asked, pointing towards him.
Shiro nodded.
"Gotcha."
He smiled, clicked his fingers twice and walked out the tent.
Shiro finally inhaled, his vision blurring.
> That guy... Was fucking scary.
A dark sensation had encompassed shiro as he stood in the presence of the man called rinji,
He clearly was a great foe...
> He's oddly normal looking though.
He thought, rubbing his chin and sitting down.
But then—
*Tap*
*Tap*
Helooked up.
Hina quickly picked his hand up, guiding him outside.
He looked back at rei who was braced to the wall, intentionally looking in a direction that avoided him.
> Where am i going?
She led him to the gate, As they approached, it opened automatically.
Then she quickly hurried him onto a long cart being pulled by a beast.
Sitting him onto one of the empty wooden seats, she walked into the carts front operation room, whispering something into the guys ear before abruptly leaving.
Within a few seconds of her departure, it began to move.
> HUH...?!
So many things had taken place is such a short amount of time... That he had no clue how to process any of it.
[I wanted to leave the gate... I got that.]
He stared at the wooden ceiling as the cart rode over rocks that jiggled his body upward.
[But now the only people i know in this world are gone...]
He stared.
Contemplation stirred.
[I guess thats just how it is.]
He sighed... Looking down, before slowly raising his head.
He looked around at the people around him.
They were human like, but they just didn't seem normal.
Longer ears, bigger eyes. Weird mouths.
And most importantly, different attire, some wore long robe's that had inner vests, other wore armor, and bore sheath's with no sword.
> All of them looked roughed up too ....
He clearly needed needed answers—
Alot of answers,
But yet, he managed to doze off, the stress had finally wearied down his brain.
> So many questions... So little answer... Its all just a headache.
BEEP.
He awoke to a horn being blown.
Before he could even process what was happening, a man bumped him, knocking him onto the ground, splaying his limbs in each and every direction.
He gently lifted himself up off of the moldy wooden floor and rubbed his eyes before slowly following the line outside of the cart.
But then, something lit his eyes up.
> What the....
It was magnificent, the view infront of him, was paradise at minimum, huge buildings, tall towers, with thriving businesses and a mood built for peace itself.
The atmosphere was blue... The cloud's were white...
It felt like home...
But instead of cars, there were carts, instead of technology, people had some type of ui hovering above their hands.
> This is beautiful...
And beautiful it was.
Stepping onto the stone slabs on the ground he managed to pass multiple businesses before looking back at the cart.
> This right here...is my stop off on the path to a great destiny.
> Im going to make this life... A paradise.
He turned, smiling at the thought of what he was given.
> This is... A second opportunity at a new chance.
A street vendor waved at him, throwing him some type of fruit and giving a thumbs up.
He waved back, catching it and delivering a small bite onto the alien product.
> This is... A second life.