1. Restaurant and Grass

The afternoon came, the workers started going home. It was already rush hour as such there was a big wave of workers going home The streets were covered by the massive influx of civilians. All of whom were a mixture of tourists and workers trying to go by their day. He wore pink polo and a biege shorts that day. 

Seti was a tourist who came from Japan. He strolled the beaches of Florida, enjoying the hot sunny day. Although it became too hot for him to admire the scenery. He sat on a bench, covered by a tree.

He wiped off his sweat and drank the water on his backpack. However, he still felt the burning heat. He glanced to his back and saw a restaurant with air conditioning. When a customer opened the door he felt the cool air. Oh my… That was refreshing!

He immediately stood up and entered the restaurant. Once he opened the glass door he felt the stream of cool air gushing out of the room. He could only breathe in satisfaction. Damn, the aroma… makes me feel hungry.

Seti quickly settled in one of the chairs by the table. The opposite chair on his table was vacant. He took a peek at the menu and witnessed the many delicacies. He grinned as he saw the variety of foods he could eat. Signaling the waiter, he ordered Conch Fritters and Cuban Sandwich sliced in two.

While waiting he observed the room and found it to be diverse. By the right, there is a blonde woman who acts creepy and constantly glances at the customers. She wore a military uniform and looked dangerous.

By the back, a Filipino priest was reciting a verse from the bible. It was so loud and clear he could hear it concisely even with all the loud chatter of the customers. The Priest radiated a charismatic atmosphere even though he wasn't conversing with him.

By the front, there was a man that looked like a woodsman from the Northwest. He always kept his hand on a long wooden box whilst eating with one hand.

On his right, was an angry businesswoman yelling at her phone. She aggressively spoke in Ukrainian. Almost smashing the table that would lead to a ruckus. Luckily she had her temper controlled.

One seat in front of her were two handsome Asian boys conversing with each other. They were having a fun time opposing the woman's atmosphere on the back.

Lastly, a black man stood in the middle. He looked stressed and uneasily looked at every corner of the room. He was sweaty and his clothes were drenched. Breathing heavily as if running from a criminal.

Unknowingly a woman sat on the opposite seat. She was a Japanese woman and asked Seti."Umm, is this seat taken?"

"Oh, yes yes! I'm just a solo traveler!" He replied.

"Ah, I'm sorry for the inconvenience…" She apologized. Seti nodded in response and continued waiting for his meal. The woman put down a fishing rod on the floor and went straight to her phone.

Soon there was a constant stream of customers. It had been approximately 19 minutes after he had ordered his food. The entire room was packed with customers. Every seat was used and the majority had to stand outside. Finally, he was able to eat this order. He ate the sandwich and was enamored with the taste. This was food he had never tasted before. By the time he finished eating he felt disappointed.

He grabbed the tissues and wiped the crumbs on his hands and lips. He once again looked around and felt a peculiar breeze. He looked at the sides and saw a blue light slowly glowing. The Japanese woman in front of him caught on. She took a peek at Seti only to see the glowing light.

Still, everyone was focused on getting their afternoon meal. The light also took the attention of some others.

Eventually, the crowd took notice of the light. One woman shouted. "Hey! You see this light!"

Many were confused and they stepped away from the light. Various people hurriedly fled the restaurant. The staff retreated to their kitchens while Seti and a few others stayed in the glowing light.

Once the room was clear the image of a circle can be seen. Unfamiliar patterns lit the area. The black man and the two Asian boys stood in the center of the circle. Seti and the Japanese woman stayed in their seats. Both of them were stunned by the situation. They knew they had to move but their bodies froze. What the hell?! What is that!

The two of them were confused and wanted to know the gist of the situation. Some others had never fled. The priest, the woodsman, the businesswoman, the deranged soldier, the two Asian boys, the black man, the Japanese woman, and finally Seti were still under the scope of the circle.

Finally, Seti decided to get out of the circle. He quickly stood up but it was already too late. The circle quickly sent out a blinding light to the restaurant. Seti was pushed back and bumped into the Japanese woman. Not long after, their eyes went pitch black.

Unknowingly enough, they were sent into another world.

….

It was a windy day on the fields. The grass rustled and the strong winds blew off the tall grass. Two people lying down on the grass could be seen from the air. They were unconscious of their surroundings and vulnerable to the elements. The sun was already setting and soon darkness will overtake the field.

Seti, who was one of them, slowly woke up. The grass constantly touching and irritating his face was the reason why. His eyes opened and the first thing he did was scratch his face.

He looked at the sky seemingly calm until he remembered the memories he had a few seconds ago. He instantly lifted his upper body and quickly observed the environment. Confused about what had happened he stood up and cleaned his pink polo from the grass.

 Looking at his sides, there was a young woman who was still sleeping. It was the same woman he had encountered at the restaurant.

What the hell?! Why am I here?! Why is this girl here!... Oh wait could it be! This is one of them, isn't it? Those isekai stories are currently popular in anime! Oh my god! I can't believe this is happening. He made a quick realization of what had happened. Although not big on the isekai genre, he was still familiar with its tropes.

Knowing the circumstances he swayed the body of the woman repeatedly until she woke up. When she opened her eyes, she was annoyed and slept further. Damn! This woman! Can't she know the situation we are in? Then again I understand.

He was mildly infuriated although he related. However, relatability wasn't something that could stop him from waking her up. He vigorously shook her body until she finally stood up in annoyance. She had a black jacket and jeans. Her hair was messy and looked like a shag haircut.

"What the hell! I'm trying to… What the--hell?! I can't bel..." She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing.

They were in a hill plain and saw the waves of grass move in the direction of the wind. She finally remembered what had happened to her earlier.

"Hey aren't you the guy earlier?" She glanced at Seti asking.

"Yes, I am. Quite frankly I believe we are in a different place or even worse a different world." He was speechless at first but he overcame it and accepted the reality. Even though he knew that things will be harder from now on. My first assumption was that we got isekai'd. But there might be many other factors to prove my point.

While he was thinking, the woman looked at the clear dawn skies. She noticed something different from the arrangement of the stars. They're barely visible from her eyes. But she could make out the stark differences in the sky. She opened her mouth once she saw this. "This is a different world. The stars… Well, let's say it is quite different. You may not see it but the constellations are different. I can't recognize anything."

He looked at her with surprise. Wow! This woman could make out such an observation after just waking up! Why couldn't I think of that?

She finally stood up and tried to shake hands with Seti. She exudes a different air from when the last time he had met her. When he looked at her, he saw the face of a woman that has the thirst for revenge and seriousness. Did something happen? Just earlier she looked like a polite person… Her face just gives a different vibe. As if I was looking at a person who wanted to take another chance at life

"Hi, my name is Seti Marinara. I am from Japan." He introduced himself.

"Oh, so your Seti… never heard of it before… Either way, my name is Morinaga Asumi from Japan. Just call me by my first name." She continued.

"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you Asumi." He shook her hands and repeatedly bobbed his head. They let go and looked at the fields. Seti wanted to say something about the situation.

"Sooo, what do we do? I barely even have any items in my pocket aside from my wallet and my phone. I'm not much of a survival expert either." Seti wanted to know more about the situation. He believed that Asumi could lead to the answer he needed. Asumi replied calmly." Don't worry, I'm well versed in fighting and fishing so I can say we'll survive."

She assured me the situation would be under her control. Her confidence made it easy for Seti to trust her. However, he still had some doubts. So he questioned her about her skills. "Are you sure? I'm not prying into your personal life but it wouldn't hurt to ask what was your life back on Earth?"

" I'm just a fisherman's daughter who somehow gets into trouble with the bad fish." She vaguely described herself.

There's definitely more to her than a "fisherman's daughter". The vagueness made it hard for Seti to believe her. However, he knew that he would have to rely on her for his survival.

She then asked the same question to Seti." Since I said about myself. How about yours?"

"Let's just say I'm a farmer's son who decided to leave the land and enter the big city. So far I've been enjoying it. Although it would be better If I could meet them once again. If this were a different world then it would be hard… then again I desire to live." Although sentimental he knew he had to adapt to fulfill his desire of living.

"Ah, well nice to meet your Mr.Seti. I hope we can get along in the future and not cross blades." She looked intimidating for a second. He noticed it clearly even in a casual conversation.

Wanting to know the next step he decides to ask Asumi for the future. "So umm, what do we do? I don't feel confident about my skills. I doubt yours but you have the confidence which I guess is convincing enough in this situation."

" What we're going to do is find a river of course. Then again it's already sundown, I doubt that we would even reach a river by the time we get there. Let's just take a camp here." She gave a recommendation and since Seti gave Asumi the lead, he just nodded.

Asumi took enough grass and bundled it together. Quickly she made a rope out of grass which amazed Seti. He followed her lead and he successfully made one. Though he had a hard time doing so and by the time he had finished, it was already nighttime.

They used the bundled grass together and used it as a cushion. Seti felt irritated yet at least it gave him more comfort than sleeping on the ground. They slept inside the tall grass. Wrapping and intertwining grass to their bodies hoping it would give some sort of insulation.

Once the moon came up they fell asleep once again. By tomorrow they were about to start their first move.