Riyuu sat at his computer, chair leaned back slightly, one foot hooked around the base of the desk. The glow of the monitor filled his small, quiet room, reflecting off shelves stacked with manga volumes and a few scattered figures he'd bought over the years.
His headset rested loosely around his neck, forgotten for the moment, while his fingers moved lazily over the keyboard.
Character AI was open.
On the screen was Shizuku from Hunter x Hunter, her expression neutral as ever in the chat window. Riyuu had been talking to her for nearly an hour now, the conversation drifting from mundane topics to light jokes. It wasn't anything special, just something to pass the time the way he usually did after school.
He leaned back and stretched, rolling his shoulders. His room was quiet, the kind of silence you only noticed when nothing demanded your attention. No music, no voices, no interruptions. Just the soft hum of his PC and the faint buzz of the ceiling fan.
Riyuu blinked.
The room vanished.
Sound crashed into him all at once. Deafening explosions tore through the air, accompanied by shouting, metal clashing, and the deep thunder of cannons firing. His vision swam as his balance disappeared beneath him, and he stumbled forward with a sharp gasp.
"What the fu—?!"
His foot slid out from under him.
Riyuu barely managed to keep himself upright, arms flailing as he skidded across something hard and slick. His slippers scraped loudly against the surface, the sound unnaturally sharp.
Cold crept up through the soles of his feet.
He looked down and saw Ice.
Not a thin layer or frost. Solid, endless ice stretching as far as he could see.
His breathing quickened as he lifted his head.
The world around him was massive. Towering stone walls surrounded an enormous battlefield. Warships loomed in the distance. Marines in white coats surged forward in disciplined lines, clashing violently with pirates roaring as they charged back. Explosions erupted across the ice, sending shards and smoke into the air.
Riyuu's heart hammered in his chest.
"No… no way…"
He turned slowly, taking it all in, his mind scrambling to make sense of what he was seeing. The cold air burned his lungs with every breath, carrying the smell of smoke, salt, and destruction.
Then he saw him.
A figure shot forward through the chaos, body moving with reckless momentum, stretching impossibly as he launched himself toward the execution platform. A straw hat clung tightly to his back.
Riyuu felt his stomach drop.
"Luffy."
This wasn't confusion anymore. It wasn't denial.
He knew exactly where he was.
The ice beneath his feet, the massive battlefield, the Marines, the pirates, it all matched something burned permanently into his memory. His chest tightened as the realization settled in fully.
This was Marineford.
He stood there, frozen, watching history unfold in front of him. Luffy charged forward with everything he had, only to be stopped by a familiar figure stepping into his path.
A towering man with broad shoulders and clenched fists.
Vice Admiral Garp.
Riyuu didn't breathe as Luffy struck him.
The punch landed. The moment passed. The war continued to rage as if nothing had changed, as if this wasn't one of the most important scenes he'd ever watched in his life, except now it wasn't a screen.
And that's when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
Riyuu reacted on instinct, spinning around with a sharp inhale.
"AH!"
He stopped.
Standing in front of him was someone he recognized immediately.
"…Izumi?"
His older brother stared back at him, eyes wide, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and relief. Izumi looked the same as always, a little taller, a little broader, wearing the same clothes he'd had on earlier that day.
"…Riyuu?" Izumi said. "That's really you?"
Riyuu's thoughts collapsed in on themselves.
"You're here," he said quietly.
Izumi stepped closer and grabbed his shoulders, hugging him tightly. "I thought I was losing my mind. I was in my room, then suddenly. This." He glanced around at the battlefield, his face pale. "What the hell is going on?"
Riyuu let out a shaky breath. "We're not on Earth anymore."
Izumi frowned. "For real?"
"We got transported," Riyuu said, forcing himself to stay calm. "Another world. An anime world."
Izumi looked unconvinced until Riyuu pointed past him.
Izumi turned and followed his gaze, eyes locking onto the figure fighting through the Marines.
"Oh." His voice trailed off. "That's the guy from that long ass pirate anime, ain't it?"
"One Piece," Riyuu said. "That's Luffy."
Izumi swallowed. "You're serious."
"We're in the Marineford War," Riyuu continued. "The one I told you about."
Izumi's face drained of color as the implication clicked. "…The war where Ace dies."
Riyuu nodded.
Riyuu was about to say something else, but before he could, something flickered into existence in front of his vision.
A translucent blue screen.
He froze.
[System Initializing…]
[Loading Complete.]
[Gift Granted: Devil Fruit – Swap Swap Fruit]