One particularly gaunt man licked his dry lips before speaking with an eager grin that didn't reach his eyes.
"Those clothes don't look half bad."
Another man nodded in agreement while tightening his grip on the sack hanging from his shoulder.
"Yeah. Give them to us."
I blinked in confusion.
"...What?"
"Your clothes," the first man repeated impatiently, taking a step closer. "And whatever money you're carrying."
For a second I genuinely thought I had misheard him. They... wanted my clothes? My hands instinctively grabbed the hem of my pajama shirt as my heartbeat began climbing once again.
"I-I don't have any money," I stammered honestly. "I checked my pockets earlier. There's nothing there."
The group exchanged glances before one of the women folded her arms.
"Then just hand over the clothes."
My eyes widened.
"W-What? No!"
The word escaped far louder than I intended.
"These... these are the only clothes I have!"
It sounded ridiculous even to my own ears, but it was the truth. I hadn't exactly packed luggage before waking up in another world. If I gave them away, I'd have absolutely nothing left to wear.
Unfortunately, my explanation earned nothing more than cold, uncaring stares.
"And?" the gaunt man asked with a shrug. "That's your problem."
"We can sell them."
"They're worth more than the rags around here."
"You don't need all of them."
Each sentence chipped away at the tiny hope I still had that these people would help me. They weren't joking. They truly intended to strip me of everything I had without the slightest bit of remorse. My pulse thundered inside my ears as several of them began spreading out ever so slightly, unconsciously surrounding me.
"N-No..." I whispered, backing away another step. "Please... I just got here. I don't know where I am."
Nobody cared. The gaunt man suddenly lunged forward, his dirty hand reaching straight for my shirt.
"Grab him!"
Pure instinct took over. I spun around and bolted. Behind me came a chorus of angry shouts.
"Don't let him get away!"
"Catch him!"
"Those clothes are worth something!"
I didn't dare look back. My legs pumped as fast as they possibly could while I sprinted across the uneven landscape of Gray Terminal. Piles of garbage shifted beneath every step, causing me to stumble repeatedly. Rotten wood cracked under my feet while rusted scraps of metal scraped against my ankles.
I haven't run like this since High School. Wait, how come I look so young? Holy shit, I am young. But that could be looked upon later. I need to run if I want to preserve whatever left of me from the place I am from. Every desperate leap sent another jolt of pain through my body, but fear drowned out everything else.
Ahead of me, beyond the endless sea of refuse, I spotted what looked like dense trees stretching toward the base of distant mountains. Without thinking twice, I changed direction and ran straight for them. If I could just reach the forest, maybe I could lose them.
The garbage eventually gave way to rough ground littered with loose stones, thorny bushes, and exposed roots. I had no shoes, only bare feet striking unforgiving earth over and over again. Sharp rocks sliced into my soles almost immediately, forcing a cry of pain from my lips. Branches whipped across my arms and face while hidden thorns tore at my pajama pants. Before long, small cuts covered my legs, and warm blood began trailing down to stain the ground behind me.
Still, I refused to stop.
Every ragged breath burned my lungs while tears blurred my vision from the pain, fear, and utter confusion. I didn't know where I was going.
All I knew was that the people chasing me wanted to take the only things I still possessed, and that was enough to keep my trembling legs moving despite every cut, bruise, and drop of blood I left behind.
When I looked back, I finally saw no signs of men chasing me and could finally check myself.
I collapsed against the enormous trunk of the nearest tree, my chest rising and falling violently as I struggled to catch my breath. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest after the frantic sprint, while my pounding heartbeat echoed loudly inside my ears.
Once I was certain nobody had followed me into the forest, I finally allowed myself to look down at my own body.
"...What the hell?"
The first thing I noticed wasn't the blood or the torn pajamas. It was me. My hands looked noticeably smaller, my arms thinner, and my entire frame lacked the build I remembered having yesterday.
Running trembling fingers through my hair before touching my face, I could already tell my features had become much younger. If I had to guess, I looked somewhere around my mid-teens, though I couldn't be certain without a mirror. Somehow, impossibly, I hadn't just been transported into another world—I had become younger as well.
Only then did the pain fully register. Thin cuts crisscrossed my feet, legs, and forearms where rocks, thorns, and broken branches had torn through my skin. Fresh blood continued to seep from several of the deeper wounds, while bruises had already begun forming across my knees and elbows from the countless times I had stumbled during my desperate escape. I couldn't help but wince as I gingerly wiped away some of the blood, hissing through clenched teeth.
But I couldn't just tend to my wounds, not sure if I even can, it's not like I have some kind of medical degree. I have a degree on law, and I had just started working on a firm. And though I was a nerd out and about, it didn't mean I had some fantasy to live in some kind of anime world.
If it was Pokémon, I would understand, but One Piece? Was this even real?
But right now he could still hear some faint shouts and screams from the men he was running from. He had so much adrenaline rush while running away that he even hardly registered their shouts before, but now he had a bit calmed down since he had hidden himself under a huge tree which had a massive outgrowth and bushes around. He could feel small insects crawling around and some even getting on to his skin on the legs and arms, while he hid.
I bit down on my lower lip and remained absolutely still, not even daring to brush the insects away as they crawled across my skin. The distant voices gradually became fainter with every passing second until they eventually disappeared altogether, swallowed by the immense forest surrounding me.
The silence was unbearable.
Without the fear of being caught occupying every corner of my mind, more of reality rushed back all at once. First had been the pain and now it was the past. I wasn't hiding from some random group of thieves in a forest near home. Home... was gone. My chest tightened painfully as images of my family surfaced without warning. Mom was probably wondering why I hadn't come downstairs for breakfast.
A few warm tears escaped before I could stop them, rolling slowly down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand, only for another pair to replace them moments later. My thoughts drifted toward my little brother, and that hurt even more. The cheerful kid always barged into my room without knocking, asking me to play games with him or watch Pokémon battles together.
I couldn't even imagine how confused or scared he would be if I never came back. The thought of him waiting for me at home, completely unaware that I was trapped in another world, made my throat tighten until it became difficult to breathe.
"I... I'm sorry..." I whispered hoarsely, though there was nobody there to hear me.
For several long moments, I simply sat there with my head lowered, letting the tears fall in silence. Then I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. Crying wouldn't change anything.
I needed to get a grip on this reality. At first survive and then, maybe just maybe, get back home. I knew how the story goes and though I have no idea at which year I am, it didn't mean I couldn't set out to get some answers.
At least I should try to get some.
But the fact remained that I need to survive first. But how? Does this new body which I don't even know how it looks can get stronger like those monsters? Is that even possible?
As I was thinking those random thoughts and trying to see how much bruises and cuts were in my feet and under, a sudden sensation ran through my body.
A chill crept up my spine without warning.
Every hair on my body stood on end as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over my head. My instincts screamed that something was standing behind me. Slowly—very, very slowly—I turned my head toward the massive tree trunk.