We've become vagrants

I graduated high school.

I smiled through it, all the right places I hope, so that people wouldn't worry, but inside I was so lost. What was I doing?

In the end, I ended up applying to a major that my grades allowed me to take with a scholarship.

I was accepted.

I applied for dorms, went to college.

I met a lot of people.

Some of them had a very clear vision about what they wanted. Some of them were like me.

Not really sure, but they came to college anyway.

Classes were difficult. I didn't really see the point in what we were learning.

I went to some student parties, hangouts, things like that.

"So, Akichi, what made you come here?", someone asked.

I opened my mouth, but closed it and ended up just laughing the question off, "Just wanted the college experience, I guess."

I said, like a liar.

"I see, I see. Want a shot?"

I looked at the cup, hesitating.

"Sure," I ended up saying.

Cheers sounded around me.

It was strange. Is this really all it takes to fit in?

I didn't feel like I found my place, though.

Will I ever?

I downed the shot. It burned the back of my throat. Tasted strange. Foul. I didn't like it.

I closed my eyes at some point because of the taste, so I opened them, about to say, "That was new." or something equally inane to maybe get some nods or yeah's - don't judge, they make me feel less lonely! - but I wasn't in the same room anymore.

I wasn't even in a building. There was a wide open grassy land as far as my eyes could see.

I was awed, and terrified.

Where was I?

This looked similar to some pictures I've seen of the Plains, but pictures could never give this kind of sight justice.

There were baby clouds swimming in the sky, the stalks of grass below bending slightly from the wind. The entire field looked like a green ocean.

I reached up to my forehead, to check if I was sick, or if my head was still there, I don't know, but when my fingers touched my hair, it felt different to how it should. It was kind of - sticking out? - unlike my straight locks. It was much shorter too. I had to pluck one out to see what color it was.

It was auburn.

...It should be a very dark brown.

My hands were much smaller than they should be, as well. Did I shrink?

A sense of unreality washed over me. I must be dreaming.

That made a lot of sense, actually.

"Ow..." I heard from behind me, the sound of rustling clothes and grass accompanying the voice.

I looked around, and saw... Rei?

"...Aki?? Why are you so small... did you paint your hair?" Rei asked, befuddled.

"I didn't... did you? It didn't use to be blue before..." I asked. Rei raised his hand slowly and took a look at his own hair.

"What's going on? Where are we?" Rei asked, looking around as well.

"I thought I was just dreaming..." I said, now unsure, uneasily looking at the gently swaying grass.

"Pinch my face." Rei asked. I pinched his cheek.

"It hurts. This is definitely real. How old do I look?"

"About fifteen, sixteen? How old do I? I feel really small."

"Definitely before you got your growth spurt. twelve, thirteen at most."

I felt incredibly off hearing that. I was in a body six years younger than I was in just minutes ago. Or was it my own body, just slightly different, regressed?

Rei seemed to be fighting a similar unease to a lesser degree.

"We shouldn't stay here, in any case. What if this isn't just some hallucination, and night comes? We can't sleep here. We don't even have food or water."

Rei was right. We needed to find shelter and, if this was real, ask people for information.

I nodded.

"Any ideas which way to go?" I asked, because I knew absolutely nothing about survival.

"None, sorry. There aren't any landmarks, no trees, no rocks, no stars. We should just pick a direction and try not to steer off the way." Rei said.

"Alright." I said, "That way good?" I pointed in a random direction.

"Sure." Rei nodded.

We started on a long trek. We rested often, since my body got fatigued easily.

I tried not to feel upset about that. I've been exercising and working out regularly since Rei started teaching me the martial arts he knew, at around when we were fifteen. I could handle so much more than this.

But I can't right now. Rei seemed fine though.

"Say, when did you start learning martial arts?" I asked, curious since he never mentioned it.

"When I was about four," he said. I gaped. "Don't look so surprised. This is normal in that world, you know. If my parents didn't pass when I was fifteen, I might be going on competitions now. Or would've, I guess." Rei said, thoughtful look on his face.

"That's insane to me, actually. I don't even remember anything from when I was four." I said.

"Skill issue."

"Hey!"

Rei laughed it off, and so did I, after a moment.

We were stuck in an unknown place, and we were acting like this was just another day.

Nothing was fine, but this felt right.

I was glad I wasn't here alone.

We walked on, eventually seeing above the grassy horizon. We quieckened our pace as we got near, seeing it as a town.

When we finally got there, we noticed a couple things.

The houses were in a medieval style, but made of much sturdier materials than in the actual Middle Ages. The town was bustling with people, despite being stranded on some grassland. It shouldn't be able to house this many people, yet they didn't look unhappy in the least. The general mood seemed to be high, cheerful.

The more I looked, the stranger things were. I saw a girl whisper something to a flower bouquet, which flew to the customer's hands on its own. There was a dog running around that was jerked by an invisible leash when it got too excited about someone or something. Did that person just disappear into thin air?

"Hey, Aki? Can you understand what people are saying?" Rei asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, sure, why?" I asked, puzzled, but then I realised it, too.

They were definitely not speaking Japanese, yet for some reason I understood it perfectly. When I focused on what I just said, I realised it wasn't Japanese, either.

A shiver ran down my spine. This felt strangely invasive, even more so than my body changing. Who did this to us? Were we just someone's playthings?

"This is so creepy." I whispered, then someone ran into me while I wasn't paying attention.

It was girl of about fourteen or fifteen.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking, and-" she started apologizing, looking incredibly ashamed.

"It's okay, don't worry. We're both fine." I said, to stop her from apologizing further. It was completely unnecessary, just for running into someone accidentally.

"Oh, phew, thank Selena." She let out a relieved breath, putting a hand above her heart as if it was jumping out of its place until now. She took a better look at us. "Oh, are you two new here?"

"A bit, yeah." Rei said, smiling sheepishly, putting a hand behind his head. "Can you tell us a bit about this town?"

"Oh, sure! Um, so this is Moonflower Town. We may be small, but we're connected to many other hotspots over the Demi, such as Valie, the merchant hotspot, Trexia, the biggest adventurer hotspot this side of the Plains, and also Deciame, the only magic academy around here. We have plenty of inns, teleports, and restaurants for travelers! Did I answer what you wanted to know?"

"Yeah, thank you very much." Rei said gently.

"Anytime! If you see me around, feel free to ask me about anything if you're confused! I've gotta go now, though, bye!" she said, waving.

"Bye." I said, but she couldn't have heard it with how far away she was already.

I turned to Rei, raising an eyebrow. That's not how he acts normally.

"What? We had to get information somehow!" he said, raising his arms. I roll my eyes, moving on.

"So? We should find an inn, right?"

"Yeah. Don't have money though."

"True."

Hm. Should've asked that girl if there's any odd-jobs around here.

"Maybe they'll let us wash dishes for them as payment?" Rei said.

"Worth a try."

They, in fact, did not. Inns were not places that served food here, as we learned. You always had to go to a café or restaurant, or brought your own food.

We ended up sitting on some bench, watching as the sun set.

It was hilariously wholesome for two newly homeless vagrants.

"Hey! It's you two!" a girl said.

We looked up, refocusing on the girl right in front of the setting sun, silhouette darker from all the red light shining around her.

"Oh, hey. Hi again." I said. It was the same girl who ran into us earlier.

"What are you two doing out at this time?! It could be dangerous!" she exclaimed.

Rei and I exchanged puzzled glances.

"Don't tell me you don't know! This is common knowledge!" she said in a no-nonsense tone. But when recognition didn't light in our eyes, she recoiled in incredulity.

"You... you really don't know? Just where are you from...?" she asked, voice turning into a mutter. "Night is when weres and black wizards and all kinds of dangerous people come out to do their business! You can't be out at night unless you Want to meet them!"

"Ah." I responded, despite not really processing it at the moment, "But we don't actually have anywhere to sleep, and have no money."

She gasped, hand flying to her mouth, eyes suddenly teary. Was- was that too much? I didn't mean to make her cry!

"You poor things. All right, fine! I'll let you stay with us, but only for tonight, and I want an explanation by the morning. Like, a proper one." she said sternly.

We nodded.

"Good. Now, come on! It'll be too late by the time the sun sets."

We followed her, trying to step quietly like how she was, ending up at a nice house with a small garden.

She walked confidently to the door and opened it with a key she took out from under the doormat. I doubt we should've seen that, I thought, feeling awkward.

"Adele! How many times have I told you to come back earlier than the very last minute- oh? Who are these two?" she asked, (rightfully) suspicious.

"Good evening! I'm Rei, and this is Akichi, my-"

"-little brother!" Adele interrupted Rei. What the hell. "They arrived in town today, but don't have anywhere to sleep. I told them they could sleep here just for tonight."

"Oh, did you, now?" her mother looked at us, taking in our sight. "And how do I know you two aren't here with bad intentions yourselves?"

"Mom!"

"Shh, Adele. Let them talk for themselves."

She crossed her arms, waiting.

"I'm sorry." Rei started, "We haven't been completely honest before. We woke up with nothing but grass around us today, away from home, with no memory of how we got there. We don't actually know where we are, at all."

Rei, why are you deciding now to be blunt of all times?!

"We didn't know it was dangerous out at night, because it isn't where we live. We didn't have any money on us, and couldn't find a way to pay for an inn, that's why we were just sitting there." He bent low at the waist, "Please, just for tonight, will you let me and my brother sleep in your house?"

I bent quickly as well when I realised what we were doing.

There was a pregnant pause, before we heard a huff.

"Alright then. Just for one night, you hear? We'll help you find some way to earn money tomorrow, and you'll be out of our hair."

"But mom!"

"No buts. They said so themselves, and I doubt they'd want to rely on someone's pity just to live for longer than they need to." She said, looking at us appraisingly.

I nodded in thanks.

"Thank you." Rei said. Adele's mother nodded.

"I'm Belle, and my husband is Gus. Come inside." she said, opening the door.

We entered the house. I went toward the couch I saw in a room, but Belle shook her head, waving us to the kitchen.

"Sit. Is there anything you two can't eat?" she asked. My stomach rumbled from being reminded of food.

"I'm lactose-intolerant." Rei said. Belle's expression was blank. "I get stomach cramps from dairy." Rei rephrased.

I could practically see the lightbulb above Belle's head.

"Oh, I see. Akichi?" she turned to me.

"I'm fine with anything."

"Alright."

She opened their fridge, which didn't seem to let out any cold into the air, taking out two boxes.

"These are just leftovers from tonight's dinner, but it should be enough for you two."

"Thank you." We both said.

The cutlery was european-style, but we were both familiar enough to work them, thankfully.

The food smelled delicious, but I couldn't tell you what it was. It was delicious though. Gone in a minute. I felt embarrassed right after for eating so fast, but Belle just smiled good-naturedly.

She then led us to the bathroom, lending us towels and toothbrushes, allowing us a quick wash. Despite what she said earlier, she was extremely generous now.

"My husband seems to have retired for the night, so you'll only meet him in the morning. I've opened the couch for you while you were washing. It should be large enough for you two. Blanket, pillows are set on it. Don't touch anything but the light if you need to, in the room. You already know where the bathroom is. Don't wander either." We nodded. "Good. May your dreams be free of evil."

Then she walked off, turning the light off on her way out.

It was just us alone in the dark, now, but I had no doubt she'd be keeping an ear open throughout the night.

Rei let out a relieved sigh nonetheless.

"I feel you." I said. It shocked a laugh out of Rei.

"For real though, yeah?" he said. I was smiling now, too.

"For real." I answered.

We ended up falling asleep quickly after that, tired after the day we had.