A scarlet flame flared behind the TVs.
I could not turn my body or my head to look at my surroundings.
What I could see was the stacked TVs over the gray floor. It looked like cement. Broken or maybe burned away by the wall of flame raging behind the screens.
Looking from side to side, all my eyes could see was the wall of flames surrounding me, or more like the platform. The edge of the cement-looking ground under my feet was bent in the shape of a crescent moon behind the TVs.
As far as I could see, the flames had formed a circle under me. forming a huge plateau or the remains of a home that was hit by a hurricane, leaving mostly only the floor in the basement.
I would be freaking out due to being unable to move and a wll of flames that should look llike it was getting closer if I had claustrophobia, but something was keepiing me calm. For how close and big the flames were, I would expect raging heat waves burning me to cinders; however, only a pleasant warmth like being warmed up by the sun after getting out of a pool filled with cool water.
I gave in to the warmth, seeing that I had nothing else to figure out of the place I was in. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the flame.
---
Sunlight alerted me to it being morning, and I stretched my back before cracking open my eyes.
I froze.
The roof was not the one in my room in my home in Tsige. The futon under me and the. The sheets covering my body felt extremely soft and comfortable.
I could not hear the clacking sound of the sōzu my mother had outside her garden, making me believe I had gone deaf. Memories of the fight I was in and the explosion as I fainted flashed in my mind.
The faint sound of wood hitting another piece of wood soon came to relieve me of my concerns.
Slowly got out of the bedding and removed the sheet covering me. I noticed the futon rested on top of a wooden base frame just like the one back home. The futon was only a few inches thick, and yet it felt like sitting on a cloud.
Checking my body to see if there were any bruises left from the fight, and patted myself just in case, anywhere hidden. I did not find any, so I finally paid attention to what I was wearing. Was it a fundoshi or an old-school Japanese jogstap?
Quite the site.
None of my old clothes were in the room; however, a stand holding up clothes was by the door. It had a fire-printed haori paired with a black undershirt, gray hakama, black tabi, and a pair of zori. I need clothes to wear before going outside to find out where I am. These will do, I guess.
The halls of the building were ordered like a maze. The rooms I walked by were unoccupied, almost making me doubt if I was even alive and inside a ghost house. The smell of the wood being cut and set recently, which gave me a feeling of a new house, added to the feeling.
The floor along the halls was made of beautifully polished wood, the room I woke up in, and every room I saw, due to the shoji being wide open, had tatami mats decorated it.
The light of the sun coming in through the paper windows was soft, making me think it was morning.
The sound I heard was quite faint, which made me wonder why it was so quiet outside. Usually at this time, there would be at least the sounds of wheels of caravans rolling by in front of my home, but here, it was too quiet.
Am I in the middle of nowhere?
When I reached an exit, or more like a hall leading to the garden outside, I saw green grass, trees, and some beautiful sakura trees.
I took a moment to take in the view before looking to my left. A bit further than half a kilometer, there was a town or village. The distance made the inhabitants I could see very small, almost dots moving around.
Wanting more information to confirm the guess, the Sakura tree had sprouted in me.
For some reason, the walk soothed any sense of danger, anxiety, or alertness. The singing of the birds, the noises of bugs, and small critters in the forest relaxed me and almost made me fall asleep while walking. My stroll along the woods was so relaxing that when my zen got disturbed by the sounds of talking, grunting, and sounds of civilization, I got annoyed.
The buildings I saw now, clearer and closer than before, were mixed between the eastern-style small homes and the western ones from Earth.
The inhabitants, however, were nothing like the people back there, looks-wise at least. The women spoke of what I assumed was gossip, carrying baskets full of fruit or clothes to and from one side of the village or town.
The children even looked like they belonged to a different species. Some looked like walking pigs with small tusks and very short hair, some looked like lizards with blue scales, both walked on two legs nd the final species of children where spider halfling things I think they where called aracnid or something similar, their top half looked like children with pure black eyes and 4 extra on their forheads. Some were playing a game that looked like tag, others were playing hide and seek, and others were enchanted. The side I entered the town must have been the children's playing area, with many children occupying the place..
The men carried wooden logs for building or were walking out towards the woods with weapons in their hands. Some of these Mamonos were in groups while others walked out alone; they were either too strong or were going to an area that was not too dangerous in their eyes.
When I saw a highland Orc with a huge scar running down the right side of his face.
---
The kids ran around the open space behind the orphanage. Since we didn't have a ball to play sports like soccer or a game that included a ball. We chose a person to be 'it' until he touched someone else, a never-ending game with the limit being inside the grounds of the orphanage.
"Hey Reigner," I called him, hoping to distract him and give someone the chance to tag him. "Give us a chance to tag you!"
"Heh." He had one of those high and mighty condescending looks." Catch me if you can!" The person who was currently it either tried to corner him or jump at him in a dolphin jump, hoping to close the distance.... But failed over and over.
Seeing the fire in his eyes going dim along with his hopes of tagging him, I called out, "Everybody run!" We were all standing in place and watching until we all saw the obvious signs of the boy giving up, and we all ran or got ready to run from Rei, who was currently it.
Running behind a tree, hoping Rei got a target that was not me. I almost crashed into a girl who was not playing or chatting with the rest. She was reclining on the side of the tree that faced the orphanage. Her fingers touched the stem of a small flower with white petals, her white dress had square patches of different colors sewn onto it, and her brown shoes had a very thin layer of sole on the bottom, making them look like just a pair of thin leather socks.
Poking my head out again from behind the tree to make sure Rei did not see me. I took a seat beside her.
"Why are you over here? Don't you girls usually play over by the laundry baskets? Why are you alone here?"
She looked up at me, seeing my clothes in much better condition than hers and my face mostly clean—a bit sweaty but clean. She turned back to look at the flower.
"We are not playing there," she replied with a decisive bite to her tone. "We do everyone's laundry and learn to sew clothes. And I am here because it's my turn to take a day off, but there is nothing to do and I do not know what to do for fun."
"Join our game," I said, getting up and offering her my hand. "If what we play is not fun for you, we will think of something."
"Okay."
"By the way, what is your name?"
"My name is Leyla." She smiled as if proud of her name and also glad I had asked her.
---
Strength and mana flooded my body. Next thing I knew, I was already in the air, shooting straight at the orc, my fist ready to deliver a punch straight at his face.
Just remembering her head being crushed made my blood boil. I had locked it away in my mind, but the sight of this orc broke it free from its chains and obscurity from the back of my mind. Bringing it to replay before my eyes, along with the first time I met her.
He saw me coming, but did not make a move, didn't get ready to dodge or counter my punch.
The moment my fist made contact and the speed of my travel through the air fueled it hit. I knew I was no match for him. My punch did not even make him take a step back. His eyes remained locked on mine even after I started hammering at him, making a pseudo gomu-gomu no gatling gun.
Seeing no effect and feeling the mana hurting my body, I jumped back for a breather and thought of a way to crush him.
--
Misumi Makoto studied common with Mio and Emma, who were his teachers. Tomoe, on the other hand, was lying down on her side in the middle of the room, watching historical dramas on a 'screen'.
Chibi-Tomoe burst into the room at that moment, "There is a fight! Waka-sama's guest started punching the highlands orc chief's brother near the entrance to the forest!"
"Hmm, I want to see that fight... no wait, it is not a fight. Waka-sama forbade them from fighting hyumans." She paused what she was watching and stood up. "Still, I want to see if Nouzen passes out from being exhausted or the little brother gets pummeled."
"Huh? Why are they fighting? Last time I invited him into Asora, he did not seem opposed to being close to Mamonos." Misumi turned to chibi-Tomoe.
"Should I get rid of him?" Mio leaned her head to the side, and her pal rested on cheek in a wondering manner.
"No!! Mio do not get 'rid' of no one!" Misumi shot her idea down fast. "Let's go see what is happening."
"Makoto-sama," Emma chimed in. "Some years ago, the daughter of my uncle -Trish- got kidnapped by hyumans. He said he had chased after them, but other hyumans blocked his way. He managed to kill 2 of them, but was driven back by a horde of them who came soon after."
"Huh, well, it might be related, but let's go see and confirm it."
They got up and stretched before walking out of the big house -compared to the rest- and they smiled as the budding town greeted them.
-----
Word count 1936
If there are any grammatical errors, let me know by commenting on the paragraph.
Thank you guys. I appreciate your reading so far.
Gonna take a break.
Broke half of my toe nail right before my birthday.
That pain added on top of my already difficulty to move around almost made me not post this chapter.
Hope you guys don't forget about this fic while I take a break. See you all next time!