Takemura Itsuki

Oga was correcting his blonde hair as he had half of his body popped out of the front door of the restaurant. His eyes searched both right and left, looking at the dark empty streets filled with closed cafes and shops on both sides. The light inside the restaurant was still on. Oga soon moved his left hand down from his head, moved back inside, and pulled the door from his right hand. TAP! The door closed and locked. The lights—visible from the glass wall on the right side of the door—soon faded. The Bar too stood closed in between the silent streets of the city.

BANP. BANP. BANP. BANP.

Inside, Oga walked in the narrow wooden corridor inside the building. He passed the staircase which led to the upper floors on his right and continued walking. Just followed by the stairway was another door on the right of Oga. Oga soon stopped, turned to his right at the door, and pushed it open, and then stepped in, closed the door behind him. Inside, on the three-seater sofa at the center sat Kurayami, his legs spread dominantly in front of him, his arms on his thighs, and his head tilted down. On the right adjacent sof sat Ichika and Airi, while on the left adjacent sofa seat sat Irimi, Koma, and Yumiko. Oga turned to his right, looked at me standing at the wall behind Yumiko, and walked to me. I had my back on my wall, my arms folded in front of my chest, my right leg on top, and my head tilted down. Oga stood on my left, folding his own arms too as he turned to Kurayami. In the front of Kurayami, between the table and the door from where Oga entered, stood Tadashi, his hands in his pockets.

“The street is completely silent,” Oga reported. “I guess we’re all right to go.”

I commented angrily, “Now, do you wanna explain what the heck is going on in here?”

“Yeah.” Kurayami tilted his head up, smiling a little. “At last, that’s what I called you about.”

Yumiko then commented, “We’ve been trying to know what you’re on for some weeks, Yamazaki-san.”

“Yeah, I know very well,” Kurayami replied, his head turned at her. He then turned his head at Tadashi, and said, “Listen to me everyone, warriors. Tadashi… is just another warrior who is isekai’d here.”

I turned my head up, looking at Kurayami with my narrowed eyes. “The heck?!”

“What?” Airi commented. “Are you serious?”

“I’m shit serious, kiddos,” Kurayami announced with his smiling lips. He then turned to Itsuki, and said, “The two of you reached the city around the same time, and I’ve been looking after him since then.”

“Looking… after…” I silently murmured on my lips.

Kurayami then turned to Yumiko, Irimi, and Koma. “I’ve taught him how to use a sword from scratch. That’s why I was away for hours on end. Now, I guess your questions are answered, Yumiko.”

“Y-Yeah…” Yumiko nodded hesitantly.

“But why didn’t you tell us about it sooner?” Oga asked in his serious voice.

“Because I knew that the two of them were gonna face off in this competition, and I didn’t want any one of the two to back off.”

“Convincing,” Oga nodded.

“And now that it’s over, I want you two to patch up now, being good competitors.”

“Never,” I commented.

“He’s a part of The Bar too,” Kurayami turned at me. “And mind ya, kiddo, we all gotta be together if we wanna beat Keisuke.”

I tilted my head up, looking at Kurayami with my narrowed angry eyes. I then turned to Tadashi, who was looking at me innocently. Moving my eyes down again, I replied, “Okay.”

“Good.” Kurayami then turned to Tadashi. “So you’re gonna live with us from now.” He then turned to his left at Koma, Irimi, and Yumiko, and then said, “And now that we’re done with it, I wanna get to the more important part of the meeting tonight.”

“What is it?” Ichika asked.

Kurayami turned to his right at her and said, “That the second phase of the prophecy is about to be over. And, what’s left is the very last part, where we finally fight against Keisuke.”

“And when exactly will that last part begin?” I asked.

Kurayami turned his head to his left at me, smiling brightly. “It’ll begin in… FIVE… FOUR…”

“THREE…”

“TWO…”

“ONE…”

KABOOM!

The wood and stones and bricks were torn into small pieces which ran up in the air and fell down, pattering in the noise of destruction.

Katsuki stood on the street with a smirk on his face as he commanded, “GET THE TWO MOTHERFUCKERS, GODDAMMIT!”

“Aye aye!” The five men in green robes, two men and three women, who stood wearing green robes and black pairs of pants ran inside into the fire.

“A-Are you sure about this?” Hideyoshi, who stood behind Katsuki, whispered quietly.

“Yeah…” Daisuke replied, smiling and frowning devilishly, as he stood beside him behind Katsuki.

Kurayami turned to his right, from where the sound of the explosion had come from, his eyes narrowed. Everyone in the room rose up, turning their heads here and there confusedly, with their hands just on top of their scabbards. “W-What the heck has happened?” Itsuki asked as he stood cautiously, his legs bent a little. He turned at Kurayami, who was looking on the other side. “Yamazaki-san, what’s up this time?”

“It’s begun, kiddo,” Kurayami replied with a smile. “The last phase of the story… has officially begun.”

***

“That night… was just like the repetition of the Surfurine Town massacre. Truly. And I’ve never imagined… even in my worst nightmares… that I’d be living the same night once again.”

***

Isekai’d

Written by Dhruv Pabreja

To be continued in Isekai’d Season-3.