Walking along the street was a young girl with shoulder-length white hair, a face most people would probably call above average (no delusions here), and eyes that seemed to shift from a soft silver to a light pink
Who's that dazzling girl, you ask? Me. It's me. That beauty is yours truly. (when you're so lonely and delusional that you gotta do this)
Currently, I am on a short vacation funded entirely by me, me, and, surprise, me. Tokyo seemed like the perfect pick: somewhere I'd never been, close enough to be affordable for a broke artist, and far enough to feel like a break. Mostly, though, it was an excuse to get my foster parents to stop bugging me. And so far? It was going decently.
Buuuut, as with all things in my life, there was a problem.
"Goddamn it. My battery died," I groaned, glaring at my phone as it flickered and shut itself down like it was personally offended by my existence. "Ugh," I moaned a little louder than necessary, earning a few stares from passersby. "At least I brought my solar bank. I'd have passed out if I left it in the hotel."
Fishing it out of my bag, I plugged my phone into the charger. "Seriously, I need a new phone. This thing's battery life is more tragic than my love life… Though, to be fair, still better than Apple's. Those things die if you even look at 'em wrong." I shoved both the phone and the charger into my pocket.
Now I needed a distraction while it charged.
Scanning my surroundings, my eyes landed on a convenience store at the corner. Perfect. "Should have something to eat," I muttered, scratching an itch on my stomach through my shirt.
Ding-dong.
The little bell above the door chimed as I stepped inside. A middle-aged cashier woman greeted me with the kind of polite, practised smile that all service workers are forced to master, or else they go homeless. I gave her a lazy nod and made a beeline for the fridges at the back.
I grabbed a rice ball… then put it back. "Not the good brand," I murmured.A tuna sandwich? "Not in the mood." Back it goes
After a minute of indecisive browsing, I spotted a pre-made chicken wrap meal on sale. Now that I wouldn't say no to.
With that in hand, I detoured to the chips aisle, debating my relationship with junk food. "Hmm… am I fat?... Weeeell, whatever. cheat week." Stomach: 1, willpower: -1.
I grabbed a slightly stale-looking bag.
Last stop, the drink section. And there it was. A bottle of Coke. Nectar of the gods. I snatched it up immediately. "I'm hella craving this now."
My little shopping spree complete, I headed to the counter, dumping everything onto the counter. The cashier rang it up, still wearing that borderline robotic smile. "670 yen, please."
I dug through my wallet, trying to scrape together the exact change, a futile mission. With an annoyed huff, I surrendered and handed over a 1,000 yen note. "Here."
"330 change. Thank you, and please come again," she chirped, the customer service smile still trapped on her face.
Snagging my bag of goodies, I headed back outside. The door chimed behind me as I stepped onto the sidewalk.
I immediately unscrewed the Coke's cap, enjoying the satisfying fizz-pop. I took a swig and let out an exaggerated moan. "Aah~. Hell yeah."
Time to find somewhere to eat. I scanned the street, eyes landing on a lonely little bench across the road. Perfect.
I glanced left, then right. Coast clear. Except… the sun hit me directly in the eyes when I turned left. Squinting, I raised a hand to shield them, rubbing at them for good measure.
When I opened my eyes again, everything had changed.
The quiet evening street had been replaced by a bustling market square, swarming with people. The air was filled with the chatter of merchants, clinking coins, and the clatter of wagon wheels.
Wait… what?
I spun in a slow circle. My gaze landed on a weird-looking, raptor-like creature pulling a cart past me. My brain stuttered. No. No no no."A… ground dragon?" I mumbled, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Panic prickled up my spine.
I scanned the crowd. Animal-eared people. Beastfolk. Demi-humans.
Fuuuuuuuck.
I made a beeline for a nearby fruit stand, nearly crashing into the seller. A middle-aged man, who looked like he belonged in an RPG, raised an eyebrow at me. "Hey there, missy. Lookin' to buy some fresh potatoes?"
(Fuck tatoes.)
"Where am I?" I blurted, breath catching. "What country is this?"
He squinted at me like I'd just asked what year it was. "Did ya hit your head or somethin'? This is Lugunica, the capital city. Now," He pointed at an apple. "You want one or not?"
I stared at him. Brain empty. Reality crumbling.
I turned away and started fast-walking. A full-on panic alarm blaring in my head.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Out of all the places I could have ended up, it just had to be Re:Zero. Of fucking course.
I shoved past the crowd, trying to think, trying to breathe.
Please let this be a dream. Please let me wake up.
Spoiler alert: it wasn't.
Arc 1 begin: the unexpected first day
re-visited and edited