The guild was nice enough to put Kenji and Misumi up for the night—and for the next week, assuming they wanted to stay there—and after walking back to the guildhall in total silence behind Floris, they retired to a dorm room with two bunks. They remained there all evening and long into the night, never saying a word to each other as the reality began to hit home. They died that afternoon. Now, they were in another world, one impossibly far away from Japan, and from the looks of things, they’d never see home again.

Why them of all people? They didn’t deserve it. Not after everything they’d been through. And while being alive was a whole lot better than lying six feet under, words couldn’t express the feeling of being lost in a place completely foreign to them. They had no family and no place to call home. No one to rely on.

Their room was simple enough, with the two beds, a desk and chair, a wardrobe, an empty bookcase, and a window through which the city could be seen. They were on the fourth level of the dormitory building, above all the nearby rooftops. Kenji stood there quietly, gazing out as scattered lights flickered all over Duncaster, bringing the city’s nightlife out of hibernation as all daywalkers retired to their cozy homes. Could it all just be a bad dream?

Misumi was on the bottom bunk, sitting with her back against the wall, hugging her knees tight. As he lit a candle provided by the guild, she started sniffling softly, crying like many times in the past.

“Hey, don’t cry…” he said. “We can’t start crying now.”

She wiped her eyes, but didn’t stop. “And why not? We’re dead, Kenji. Our parents are probably crying their eyes out right now, and they have no idea we’re actually in some other world with a bunch of fairytale knights and wizards. I just wanna go home.”

Having pondered it for hours, he already reconciled with the situation and made a choice. He sat on the edge of the bed. “That’s not an option anymore, and you know that. Besides, do you really want to go back? We were miserable there. Everyone pushed us around and treated us like punching bags, and if you ask me, I don’t think this place is all that bad.”

“How could you say that?” she shrieked. “I’ll never see my mom and dad again! I know your family is a screwed-up mess, but there’s a chance mine could still be normal!”

Suddenly, Misumi’s tears and anger subsided as she realized she crossed a line. Yeah, his family was a train wreck, but that didn’t mean he needed to be reminded of it.

She sniffled, then shivered through a long breath, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s fine.”

Something in Kenji wanted to embrace the fresh start they had been offered. Life in Tokyo only brought them suffering, so why miss it? Sure, he wanted to say goodbye to his mother, and he’d never choose to leave her alone, but getting butt-hurt over something they couldn’t change would only make them feel worse. Therefore, he rejoined the conversation with an idea of his own.

“Let’s join the guild,” he told her.

“What? For real?”

“Hell yeah. We’re here and we’re alive. If going back to our old lives is impossible, then we have to build a new place for ourselves here. And these are good people. I’m sure they’ll help us get started.”

Misumi continued crying. “Can’t we just go home somehow?”

“No,” he said. “It doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen.”

As she didn’t calm down or even try to quell her tears, Kenji listened and waited. But after several moments passed, he addressed her in a sterner voice:

“Stop crying, Misumi.”

“But it’s not like I can help it…”

“Sure you can,” he responded. “Stop looking back and start looking forward. Do you really want the shitty life you had before? Do you really want it? Because I don’t. I love my mother and I’ll always think of her, but you better believe I’m sick of the crap I had to put up with at home and at school.” A pause ensued. “You’re the only constant in my life, and that’s fine with me. I don’t need what you can’t offer.”

She wiped the haze out of her eyes and gazed at him, touched by those words.

Kenji persisted: “Every time you came home crying, whenever you needed someone to hold on to, when you lay awake at night texting me because you were too scared of being alone—I was there. And guess what? I’m here now, and I’ll still be here tomorrow. So come on. Stop crying and push back for once. Fight. You may not be in Kansas anymore, but you’re sure as hell not alone.”

The look on her face was pure dumbfounded awe, as if she couldn’t believe her ears. If nothing else, he wanted to light a fire under her. A reason to punch back and start living. Neither of them had experienced that before, but with each other, they stood a fighting chance even if the whole world mounted against them. And it was that idea that spurred Kenji to stand up, remove his school jacket, roll up his sleeves, and extend a hand toward her.

“Whattaya say?” he asked. “Let’s go to the guildhall and make some friends for once.”

Though she hesitated at first, Misumi blinked the remaining tears away and stared at his hand. Then, she somehow managed to work up a grin. Finally, as she reached out and accepted his terms, that grin melted upwards into a full smile, and like never before, she was certain that her fear wouldn’t last forever. They may have been in a different world than before and their old lives may have whirlpooled out of existence, but that wouldn’t stop them from swimming their way to genuine, satisfying freedom.

 

******

 

Though it was rowdy in the daytime, the guildhall was twice as explosive at night. People of all shapes and sizes were there, winding down for the evening and having a few drinks, or in some cases, many drinks. They’d spill ale on themselves while carousing with friends, a group of musicians had set up in the corner and were playing lively music, and though Floris and her most of her party were nowhere in sight, one of them—Sapphire—sat at the bar drinking far too much alcohol for a girl her size. Somehow, she managed to down three tankards without a single hiccup or sign of tipsiness, but she did cast Kenji and Misumi a snarky look as they sat down on two stools next to her. They didn’t bother talking to her, because they knew she’d just blow them off and keep drinking.

However, Flanigan, the bartender, was a far more hospitable personality, and he paid quick attention to his two newest patrons.

Leaning over the bar, arms out and supporting himself, his bearded lips formed a grin. “Well, look at this…the two outlanders finally decided to show up. What can I get for you? It’s on the house tonight.”

The tavern’s light reflected faintly off his bald head, but as if to compete with it, his friendly demeanor shown even brighter.

“One of your finest ales, please,” Kenji stated.

“Coming right up.” He glanced at Misumi. “What about Chestnut over here?”

“O-Oh, well—I’ll take whatever he’s having.”

“You got it. You two just sit back and stay a while, alright? Oh, and let me know if you need anything else.”

Flanigan got straight to work on pouring their ales, then brought large tankards to each of them which contained far more liquid than they could possibly drink. Then, he went back to serving and chatting with the other patrons. It felt nice to legally be served alcohol, like a rite of passage was completed at last.

“So where should we start?” Misumi asked him without touching her drink.

But Kenji was focused on tasting the delicious brew before him. He eyed it with ravenous, beastlike thirst, and before giving her an answer, snagged the tankard and pressed it to his lips. Sitting directly next to Sapphire, he had to at least try to compete with the three tankards she had already drank, so he did his best to down the whole drink in one go.

In spite of his fierce willpower, he started coughing halfway through. “Holy crap that’s some strong stuff.” He winced and smacked his lips sourly. “And so bitter…”

Misumi pattered his back. “Don’t go dying a second time, okay?”

He coughed again. “Thanks for the advice.”

Despite how horribly his throat burned now, the ruckus coughing fit was good for one thing: catching attention. And it just so happened the first to notice was the blue-haired cleric with a back-off-you-swine attitude sitting right next to him.

Sapphire sighed and rolled her eyes. “Kids. Climbing too fast just to fall back down.” She scoffed, “Typical.”

“Hey, I was just trying to be as good a drinker as you are.”

“Yeah, flattery will get you nowhere with me, kid. So cut it out.”

Unexpectedly, another person came and sat down at the bar next to Misumi—a young and thoroughly drunk man close to her age. Like teetering seesaw, he wobbled back and forth, scarcely able to maintain balance or a rational state of mind as he began flirting. Misumi scrunched her face at his foul stench and ignored pretty much every word out of his mouth.

“So,” Kenji pressed, trying his hardest to break through to Sapphire. “Where is everybody?”

“Everybody who?”

“Your party. I thought they’d be here at the guildhall with you. Did they go out on a job or something?”

Sapphire flipped her hair over her shoulders with her left hand. “Hardly. They’re out shopping on the town, but I’m not into the kind of stuff, so yeah—quit talking to me.”

“Right…” Kenji snailed, letting the word out slowly. “Will do.”

He glanced back at Misumi, who was valiantly fending off the odorous drunk guy who asked the same questions over and over again, not realizing he’d already been given the answers. Then, he cast an eye over the other patrons.

Everyone was so happy. So at ease. At home. It was hard to believe they were all Adventurers at a guild and not just townspeople searching for their next opportunity to get plastered. The last time he met a drunk person was when his dad was still around, but there was a lot less laughing back then and more punching instead.

“There’s got to be someone around here we can talk to…”

Suddenly, a group of familiar faces walked through the guildhall’s front door, and immediately they spotted Kenji and waved.

“Hey, it’s the jumpy kid!” Desmond smiled, a massive hulk among the others. “And the quiet girl even came too! I knew they’d wind up here again!”

“They’ll do just fine,” Kenji muttered to himself.

After tearing Misumi free of the excessively drunk guy, Kenji moved to a table with the others, sitting next to Grant, who patted his shoulder as a greeting. From there, a real conversation began, and while he conversed with Desmond, Grant, and Sinopa about the possibility of joining the guild, Misumi talked to Floris, who told her all about the Thief class.

“Actually,” Desmond said, sitting across the table from Kenji. “That’s why went out tonight. Floris told us what happened to you two. It’s a real shame, dyin’ like that. But since you’re here, we decided to buy a few things for you to try out—weapons, actually. If you plan on joining the guild, you have to become an Adventurer, and that means choosing a class.” He held up a finger. “But be careful—once you pick a class, you can’t change it. That’ll be you forever, so make sure you get something that suits you.”

Kenji had played RPGs before, so he knew how it worked. Still, it was surprising how similar that world was to a videogame from his world. “Okay, so what do we do then? How do we find a class we like?”

“Well that’s simple,” answered Desmond. “You just try them all.”

“Makes sense. But how do we do that if we can only pick one?”

Unpredictably, it was Grant who answered, using his kind, helpful, and unassuming voice: “With a few test runs, my friend. Try out the weapons and get a feel for their weight, length, or range. We know a spot outside Duncaster you can practice, so if you’re up for it, we’ll head out with you tomorrow morning and let you two try a few things.”

“Oh!” Floris piped up, interrupting. “They need knew clothes, too! The stuff they’ve got on looks so flashy and garish.”

“That too,” added Grant. “Sorry, but you guys aren’t dressed like adventurers.”

“Fair enough,” said Kenji.

Just like he had hoped, making friends came easy in the guildhall. The people were kind, easygoing, and not just ready, but eager to help. If people like that existed back at school, he and Misumi may not have died getting hit by a truck. Thus, with little delay, Kenji glance to her and saw her smile again, a subtle demonstration of her own excitement.

“Alright,” he nodded. “You guys got a deal. We’ll follow your lead and let you show us the ropes around here.”