Suzuki Tadashi

“You’re the hero of the prophecy, Tadashi.”

“The hero…”

***

Isekai’d

Written by Dhruv Pabreja

***

I had my eyes wide open and my gaze fixed at the front of me as I sat on the ground in front of a tree with my knees in front of my neck, my right hand lying dead on the ground, and my left hand upon the right shoulder from where the blood was coming out.

Suzuki-san, who wore his usual white suit, crouched down in front of me and looked directly into my eyes. “The hero is supposed to save us all from all this misery we’re facing.”

“B-But… I still don’t know w-what prophecy y-you’re talking about… o-or what this misery i-is…” I replied in my childlike voice.

Suzuki-san continued looking at my confused eyes with his sharp serious gaze for a second. He then soon opened his lips between his large mustache and beard, and said, “You’ll know it soon, kid. For now, you need to get to New Dansamia City. You’ll know it all as you spend some time there.”

“B-But… I can’t get it…” I tilted my head a little down in trying to explain. “W-What’s this prophecy? How can s-someone predict all this? Why is this kingdom supposed to end? And how? What’s all this misery you’re talking about? What’s happening in this New Dansamia City? And what am I supposed to do?”

I turned my head up and looked at him. He had his serious gaze fixed at me as he stood there silently for a while, accessing. Then, after a second, he replied, “So you have questions, eh? Very well…” He stood up on his legs. “I guess we should reach home quickly and treat your wounds first.” I turned my eyeballs to my right and looked at the shoulder dripping blood. He added, “And your questions… I don’t think I should answer them right now.” He turned to the back and started to walk towards the stuffed brown jute bag big enough of his size. He bent in front of the bag, held its one end with his right hand, and then started to pull it up. He suddenly moved his left hand in that same position too and started to pull it up from all his might. As he pulled it up and up, the bag was just some angle tilted to the left as it stood in the ground. He at the instant quickly wrapped his arms around the bag, moved his head to the left of the bag, and quickly pushed it up. The end of the bag touching the ground slowly moved up. Sasaki-san moved it up and loaded the big gunny bag upon his right shoulder. “Get up. Let’s head back, kid. We got a dinner to make too.”

***

Takemura Itsuki

“T-T-T-The heck…?” My eyes were widened. I stood with the broken sword in my trembling hands down my left knee, like it was just swung. My legs were wide open too in attack position. I panted in and out heavily as I stood still. Haruto, who lay on the ground, had his eyes and mouth wide open too as he looked at the front up of himself. His right hand moved a little to the back of his body, his back tilted a little back, and his legs spread out. He moved his left knee back towards himself.

“K-Keep sitting,” Airi said confusedly as she stood up, her eyes a little open in shock. “You’re injured. L-Lemme see what’s going up there…”

Ichika gulped in as she lay on the ground, her legs spread out and her hands behind her back. Airi walked by from her right towards the three still figures which stood some dozen of steps away from them. The pink boots of Airi pattered on the ground and broke the silence of the ground. The crowd stood silent all around her, looking at the center at what had happened. In the midst of the silence, the patter of her boots echoed as she walked towards us.

My hands on my broken sword started to loosen little by little. As they opened a little wide, the sword started to point to the down, and then ran down from my hands. I dragged my left leg to my right one, and straightened my back as I gulped in and stepped back, my right hand in front of my chest, my palm facing towards him.

Beneath Katsuki’s left eye, which was wide open in shock, blood was dripping out, running through the cheek to the chin, and then falling down. He tilted his head down, exhaled in breath, and moved his feet closer to each other. He then moved his sharp eyes towards me again, and then turned to the left at Haruto, who stood up from the ground and moved his left foot back, the sword in his right trembling hand in front, pointed at Katsuki. He angrily thought, “Tch! How I wish all this crowd would have never been here.” His eyes narrowed a little as he turned to his left towards me and thought, “These immature asses…” He then turned his eyes down and exhaled out his anger. He then moved his head up at me again. He opened his right hand, and let go of his broken sword. The broken sword fell upon the other piece of the sword. He then stepped towards me and stood just in front of my face. He looked into my confused and shocked eyes directly for a second, and then said, “… I guess I can still fight you without my sword and defeat you kids, but…” He then turned to his right at Airi. “… but I think you kids breaking my sword is a big achievement already.”

Those words echoed in my ears as I looked at his lips opening and speaking those, “… You win.”