Reflections & Missteps

Morning came quickly after their exhaustion, the sun rising into the sky to greet them. After waking, it'd been a simple affair: a meal of fish, flatbread, and rice—surprisingly familiar food for an entirely different world—a swift change into their original outfits, and now, they were on their way to the designated meeting point, Sayaka leading the way with a map.

The sounds of the waking day drifted around them as they walked the streets: birdsong, rumblings from early wakers, and the rustling of trees from beyond the town's walls.

Despite the pleasantness of nature though, their surroundings were anything but. Even with the repairs, widespread damage was still everywhere as debris, bodies, and more were carted away in the streets.

Itsuki and Sayaka bowed their heads at a passing group, carrying a few draped casualties toward the town's edge.

Still, as morbid as things were, progress was being made. Several of the more damaged parts of town had already been decently patched up. It likely helped that a few of the people he saw were using magic of some sort, even if the exact nature of it continued to evade him.

He looked down at his hand, briefly entertaining the idea of doing similar things.

Could he use magic too outside of his strange 'grip' power?

Itsuki sighed as he continued to contemplate, opening and closing his hand to his chest to test things out.

"You alright?" Sayaka asked as she eyed him. "You've been fidgeting a lot since we've left the inn."

"Hmm? Oh, I was just experimenting a little and trying to figure things out. Not sure what is and isn't possible with this power yet."

He gripped his hand against his chest as if demonstrating.

"Pft." A breath left her as she held in a laugh.

"Huh? Is something funny?"

"N-nothing. I just… remembered your one-liner from yesterday. Yeah, that's it." She coughed awkwardly before looking away. "Is that a common thing for you, actually? Saying things like, 'It's not my style'?"

"If I were to be honest, not really. I used to be a more serious guy until I started lightening up a few years ago. Was convinced by someone dear to me and… uh, some circumstances afterward."

Itsuki sighed, trying not to let Kaede pop up in his head again.

"What about you, Usami? Have you always been this stubborn? Giving up on important things?"

Any glint from her eyes immediately faded at his jest, a heavy expression sweeping in instead.

Ah, crap.

"Sorry, that was badly worded. I was referring to last night with the sleeping arrangements; I still can't believe you slept in the room's chair."

She folded the map back up. "I'm used to sleeping in them, and it's fine. I asked you something. It makes sense you ask one in return."

"But I realized how that last part could be taken—"

"Hush." Sayaka swatted the paper at him like a fan. "You gave your life trying to save mine. If anything, I should be the one more sensitive."

She took a sharp turn to lead them toward another district.

"I'm still trying to get over that fact by the way—you dying over a horrible person like me. You should've just let me go and saved your life for someone actually worth it. Especially given your age and those looks."

Itsuki was about to protest her self-derision but paused.

"Age? Looks…?" He tilted his head. "Uh, what are you on about?"

"Don't play coy. I'm like 90% sure you're younger than me. Plus, have you not seen yourself in a mirror? You could've told me you were an actor and I'd believed you."

"…Okay, addressing the actor bit first. I'm flattered, but the only actor I'd be fit for would be a background character."

"Says someone with that cute of a face."

He flushed internally at the comment. "R-right. Um, moving onto the age part next, I'm thirty-two. I hardly think I'm younger than you."

Sayaka stopped in her tracks, boots scuffing against the ground.

"Thirty-what?"

He nodded, gesturing to himself casually. "Yeah, thirty-two. I just practice a bit of self-care, nothing special."

She stepped closer, staring hard at him. "There's no way. Twenty-two? Sure. Thirty-two? Just start calling me Miss Gullible if you want to tease me that much."

"Huh? Wait, is that so hard to believe?" Itsuki glanced around, finding an intact window nearby to view his reflection.

His typical appearance greeted him: medium-length brown hair, brown eyes, a slight—emphasis on slight—youthful glow, and a confused but otherwise warm expression. Sure, he looked a little different than just a few years ago before he started trying to look more approachable, but it wasn't that much of a difference.

"Is it?" he asked.

"Um." Sayaka blinked from the sincerity in his tone, suddenly unsure of what to do.

The town continued its business for a moment as she thought, the two of them staring at his reflection.

"…You're being serious?"

"…"

Itsuki turned to resume walking, his gaze glossing over in silence.

"K-Kisaragi? Wait, you're actually—I am so sorry. This entire time I thought—"

She bit her lip, frantically looking from side to side as she hurried up next to him, nudging him in the arm.

"Uh, well, on the bright side, if you still look this young, that probably means you'll age gracefully."

He didn't respond; he just continued walking forward in the feeling that he'd lost something.

Did he look that different from when he'd met Kaede all those years ago? He still remembered how she used to comment on his gruffness or how his stoicism gave him a mature aura.

He swallowed uncomfortably as the encounter they had with the strange figure yesterday flashed in his head, specifically what they had called him in the heat of battle.

"…twink…"

Sayaka started to panic, hands hovering over him as if trying to work out something to bring him out of his current state.

"Kisaragi, please! Even if that might be true, it's not like that's a bad thing." She gestured at him as if pointing out something obvious. "You're quite the looker, so I'm sure you'll find someone amazing to get married to one day. I can just picture you now with a hot fiancée… or if that's not your style, maybe a fiancé~?"

A couple limped by the two of them as she said that, one leaning on the other as they made their way toward a clinic of sorts.

Itsuki squeezed his eyes shut until they passed, a different type of pain radiating through him now.

"Apologies, was that too much?" Her expression dropped as she observed him, voice low as she muttered to herself.

"…you did it again, Sayaka. Stupid, obnoxious, impulsive…"

He took a deep breath and met her gaze again, even as misplaced familiarity fluttered in the expression.

She really was just like her in some ways…

"Usami, it's fine. I just need a moment—suddenly a lot comments I overheard from the konbini are making sense." He smiled to punctuate the joke. "But besides that, always feel free to speak your observations. I don't mind. It'd actually make me happy."

She relaxed a little bit at the reassurance, looking like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. However, there was still the tiniest of tension as she nodded at him.

"Understood. I'll make note of it. Apologies again, senpai."

He grimaced, any tenderness immediately immolating at the honorific.

"P-please don't. Just use my name. I felt pain hearing that."

She tilted her head. "Hearing what? 'Senpai'?"

He clutched his hand to his chest, nearly shriveling up on the inside as the word drained his life force.

Or, at least until his strange power interrupted the sensation. Warmth abruptly flooded his body, jolting him back up, as if protesting against his anguish.

Ah, right. That happened now.

"Yes." He unclasped his hand to smooth out his clothing. "P-please don't use that on me if you can help it. After knowing your first impression of me the honorific feels… almost pitiful."

She looked like she was about to say something, but he shook his head first.

"That said, apologies for my little funk. Now why don't we focus on getting to the meeting place? I hope I didn't throw us off the route too much."

"I… okay." She reluctantly acquiesced, unfurling the map once again to look over it.

***

It didn't take too much longer until they'd arrived at the meeting place: a building akin to a town hall. Its brick exterior had been scorched and crumbled in places, but otherwise, it appeared intact, standing over the town proudly.

The two of them were led to a waiting room of sorts by a few guards, a modest space furnished with two couches and a low table. It was decorated sparingly yet tastefully with a few decorations and ornaments, and a large painting showcased a strange scene: a few riders atop horned creatures charging down a mechanical dragon.

He stared at it as he sat down, debating if it was a real event or something dramatized.

For their sake, he hoped it was the latter.

"So…" she asked nervously, eyeing a cat-like person's statuette. "What do you think they want to talk about? Think they might reward you or something?"

He thought about it before tilting his head. "Wait. What do you mean by 'you'? Don't you mean 'us'? "

She shrugged. "No. You're the one who jumped into saving people. All I did was tag along."

Itsuki raised a brow at her but didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned on the armrest and continued.

"Well, whether or not there is a reward, I'm looking forward to getting as much information as we can from them—things like social etiquette, the world's state, any immediately useful tips."

He gestured around them, beyond just the room.

"We still barely know up from down in this place let alone the complexities of it or how to live here. They seem like they know what they're doing though, so we can probably get answers from them."

She tore her gaze from the statuette, directing it to him instead.

"Those are good points actually… You sure you aren't an isekai junkie?"

A deadpan look. "Ah ha. No."

"But it seems like you've thought things out a fair amount."

He waved her off, trying not to think about any of the series Kaede had gotten him into. "Trust me, I haven't really. I'm just trying to figure people out and roll with things as best as I—"

The creaking of a door caught their attention as two figures—blue and blonde—stepped through and closed it behind them.

"Ah, good morning," Itsuki greeted, instinctually standing to bow to the matron and vice-captain. Sayaka followed suit behind him, offering respect as they entered.

Now that they weren't in the midst of the combat, he was able to get a better look at them. They seemed somewhere in their thirties or forties with clear experience behind their eyes. Both carried an aura about them—regality and authority in varying amounts—and purpose lined their every step as they eventually came to a stop in front of them.

However, instead of responding to their greetings, the duo remained strangely quiet. They observed them for a minute as if scrutinizing their every existence.

Itsuki began to sweat, not quite knowing what was wrong. Had they done something to earn their ire somehow? Perhaps broken a taboo of sort in the time they'd last seen one another?

The matron approached slightly, nodding to both.

A pause as the room stilled.

"Before we begin, we'd like to confirm something. May we proceed?"

He and Sayaka exchanged a glance, equally tensed by the behavior.

"Of course," he cautiously offered, curious about what they had to say. "What would you like to know?"

A storm flashed in the matron's eyes for a fraction of a second, though it was different from what he'd seen the other day. It wasn't directed at them, but something else within them.

The intensity was just as visceral though.

Both of them froze as something captivated them, neither able to pull their gazes away. An ethereal touch trailed over their surface thoughts as if searching for something, leaving a lingering chill that reminded him of water's embrace.

Then just as quickly as it'd come, it pulled back before it became uncomfortable.

The matron's lips formed a line, and her eyes widened like she'd just glimpsed something truly strange.

She placed a hand on the woman next to her.

"…Kiaki-dear, if you would."

The vice-captain—apparently Kiaki—nodded and stepped forth, close enough for Itsuki to finally note her slanted amethyst-like eyes in the room's light.

Itsuki gulped in her shadow.

What just happened? And what were they doing?

Unlike her surprisingly cute and Japanese-sounding name, the woman was rather intimidating. She was easily taller than him by half a head or so and bore a strength that one could feel just being in proximity.

Armor clinked as she addressed them.

"Ardent-like behavior but with no affiliation. Souls weighed by death but still light to float. Discerning sight but with no recognition. You fight; you struggle; you care, but not for allegiance, wealth, or nation."

Her voice punctuated each statement, not as inquiries, but as fact. Itsuki wasn't sure whether to be more on edge from the seriousness of it or to be awed by its eloquence.

What did they want?

The woman continued, tone stalwart as stone.

"Your souls are foreign to lands such as ours. That much we can grasp. However, there is something else behind those hearts, something strange, something unsettling."

No one dared move except her, sharp eyes locked to their form in discernment.

She asked one last thing. A question.

"You're worldwalkers, aren't you?"