Interlude – From whence we came.

Watanabe held the musket in his hands. “This feels wrong.” It was loaded, he had loaded it, and if he had pointed it at someone and pulled the trigger…

Rabanowicz tapped Watanabe’s shoulder. “Is there something wrong with the musket, monsieur?”

“No, no. I think it’s perfectly fine.” There was nobody around in the empty field, except for him, her, and a few people training with this new weapon. Watanabe took a deep breath. His entire body was shaking. “It’s… well, what I can say, I have never handled a firearm before.”

“Really? I’m sure I’ve heard you talk about firearms from your realm. You were boasting about guns going ‘ra-ta-ta-ta’ and ‘boom-kapow’.” Rabanowicz imitated the shaking motion that Watanabe had done to show how a machine gun would fire, which caused him great embarrassment.

“I’ve only seen them in movies – in fiction. I never saw a gun, or a sword, or anything else in front of me let alone handle one.” Watanabe rested the butt of his musket on the ground, making sure to keep the nuzzle as far away from his general direction as possible.

“That’s… how sheltered were you? A man should carry a sword at least, to protect himself. I myself always carry my dagger and pistol with me.” Rabanowicz patted the pockets of her gambeson.

“Back where I was, carrying a pistol around like that would’ve gotten you arrested.” Watanabe instinctively took a few steps back from the armed-and-dangerous woman. “The otherworld is scary…”

“Come now. Be a man and shoot that musket!” Rabanowicz took out her wheellock pistol, gave it a crank, and shot it at a nearby target. “See? I am more man than you!”

“I surrender my manhood if it means that I don’t have to shoot this thing-” Watanabe cowered as Rabanowicz rushed towards him.

“Just shoot the thing!” Rabanowicz pushed the musket back into Watanabe’s hands. She was way too strong for a woman who spent most of her time sitting at a desk, or was it that Watanabe was way too weak?

“Alright, alright- let me go already!” Watanabe managed to regain his freedom from the doctor. “Okay. Here it goes. One, two-”

BOOM!

Watanabe fell to the ground, not from the recoil, but because he felt dizzy after pulling the trigger. “Oh… Oh, I can see the light…” He only stood back up thanks to the freezing snow underneath him giving him a jolt.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? For a noble, pampered man like you to participate in warfare for once.” Rabanowicz gave her assistant a reassuring pat on the back and a rare smile.

“I’m neither noble and pampered, I’m afraid. I just come from more peaceful times.” It was amusing to Watanabe that he had suddenly become this out-of-touch nobleman. Perhaps a 21st century white collar job did afford living that could be compared to the noblemen of old… though it certainly did not feel like it when he was back home.

“Lucky you, monsieur.” Rabanowicz handed Watanabe another bunch of lead balls. “Now, stop worrying and start shooting.”