Yashiro Kiyoshi

“What happened next… You won’t believe me what happened next.”

“I will,” I replied with a little smile. “You’ve come so far, Shiratori-san, and I’m proud of that. Now just… complete this story. Then, I’ll begin my investigation, and everything will be fine in the end.”

“At that time, I thought that she was afraid about no one believing her unnecessarily. But, what she said next, really was a little unbelievable, and any normal human would not have really been like ‘yeah, that can be true’. It was after the story’s end that I was finally able to think from her point of perspective a little.”

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Isekai’d

Written by Dhruv Pabreja

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She turned her head to the right at me, and looked at my confident and smiling face. I nodded a little, trying to get her to trust me. She turned her head front again, and said, “After… A-After that… the beasts came in.”

“Beasts?” I thought in my mind, though I gave no change in my expressions and continued smiling silently.

“T-The next day, some big beasts started causing destruction in the town. They were fighting among themselves, breaking buildings, attacking shops. They… were big… about three to four stories high. T-They looked like… big gorillas, o-or any other ape. T-They… had white fur, an-and brown skin… which were visible through their bare hands, elbows, knees, and face which was covered with white fur from all sides.” She turned her head up, and continued, “T-They all were making a nuisance in the city. There were announcements by the district government… to evacuate the city. I was in a coffee shop, before going to the office… when… I heard the announcement. At first… everyone was calm, and some of them checked out of the shop, w-when they saw some of the beasts really fighting, some steps out the lane, and… and then they all ran out. We all walked out… a-and started running for our lives.” She turned her head front again, and then turned at me. Her eyes were wide open in shock. “When I was running… I saw Takemura-kun and Haruto running the other way… towards the beasts.” She quickly wiped some streaks of hairs on her forehead and bent a little towards me. “T-They said something like it-it was their fault, or-or they were trapped in something.” Her eyes were wide open as she turned her head to the front of her again and continued, moving both her hands in the front of her. “T-They said that they were pl-playing some game, an-and those things came to life f-from that game. T-They were trying to-to collect some sort of gem or-or something, as-as they were told to do by the person who did this all. I-It was like he’d set up that whole game j-just for them.” Minori turned her shocked face at me, and looked at my shocked expressions. “I knew you wouldn’t belie—”

“What happened after that?” I asked with my serious tone, my eyes a little frowning. “I wanna know.”

“I-I…” She turned her eyes a little down, and then turned her head front again. She moved her hands up again and started to move them as she continued. “I took them to run the other way, b-but at one end, they turned to the other lane without me knowing, b-but I soon turned my head and saw them turning the other way. Th-They didn’t want me to follow them, b-but I did, and then I saw them coming out of a coffee shop. I-I asked them what the heck was happening, and-and they didn’t really tell me everything, and then suddenly one of the beasts came from that lane, and then attacked the three of us. T-Takemura-kun told Haruto to get to the roof of that building, and-and then he himself tried to keep the beast busy b-by running here and there. I-I could only see them for some time, w-when I tried to he-help Takemura-kun, and-and I ended up getting caught, a-and then I getting up getting him caught too. B-But then, as he had us in his hands, s-suddenly, everything stopped.”

“W-What…?” I asked in a lower voice as I looked at her frowning in shock. “It… just ended?”

She then turned right at me. “A-After that, I-I just woke up that day again, and I had no memory of the two kids.”

“Then?” I suddenly asked.

“I-It was like they both had just… disappeared. It was like their existence was… never there… like they never existed. I-I had no memory of them too. I-I had these… ‘fake… memories’… of me never having a kid and being alone all life… inside me. So… I went to the office that day, worked, and then drank a bit with a colleague of mine. But… I always had this feeling that… all these memories are fake, and… like…” She moved her hand around her head, looking at the ground, trying to tell me her state. “Like… they all were implanted on top of my real memories. I…” She moved her hand down and rested it beside her body. “I… had those memories, but… not those feelings… I felt that I know what it is to raise a child, but I didn’t have the memory.” She gulped in, and turned her head at me, looking directly into my listening eyes. “I’ve been fighting within myself for a long time. Crying at nights, not being able to digest the sudden change in vibes around me, always asking myself if this all is real or not… I’ve seen a lot. Please, Yashiro-san… find me my son.”

“I still remember how I had my gaze fixed at her, looking at her expressionlessly, thinking if I should believe this out-of-the-earth story or not. At one side was my mind, which said that this all is reckless, and that Suzuki-san was right that she’s mentally mad. On the other side… was my heart… which knew that those emotions… were true. Hundred percent. What was I supposed to reply? What was I supposed to believe?”

My lips opened, and they trembled a little. They closed, and then they opened again as I asked those desperate eyes, “Who… is Takemura-kun?” Those eyes opened wide. “He can be a great lead in this case, if we find him, that is.”