Acceptance

"I trusted you! We all trusted..." What was that like, the five stages of grief? The first was denial, of course. Survival instinct was urging him to turn around and get the hell out of here, but first he had to deny it.

Desperately. With all his might.

He had to deny it first, hold on to it, even if it was futile.

He couldn't finish the sentence.

But not because he had been attacked, not because he was speechless, his mind too clouded by fear and pain. The leader, that man, interrupted him.

"A mistake. You can't even trust the people who put up the contracts, much less the competition. Adventurers? Please, we are mercenaries under a nicer name. Heroic."

It didn't take long for the anger phase to set in.

"Bastard!" Shuji was very conscious of the saliva that flew from his mouth as his teeth gnashed, as he spat out a tiny bit of what was inside him, of what made him tremble.

That ended the conversation.

From both sides.

He sent the monster after them. Maybe others had spoken too, before that happened, if so, he did not remember and it did not matter.

Finally he heard the voice of reason and started to run. But not out of the room, he was not ready to give up yet. He hid behind one of the pillars of the room, which the monster reduced to a pile of rubble as it passed; in any case, it provided some cover.

In any case, he wasn't the target, despite being the closest to the creature.

Shuji's heart froze when he heard the screams.

He didn't even have to move his head to witness the horror, either. The creature, or perhaps that man, had chosen the mage as its first target. Another one falling to the poison. The poison burned, spread quickly.

But it wasn't a painless or quick death, at least.

He wished with all his might that she could at least die quickly, but he knew she wouldn't even be granted that mercy. She had been doomed... Since she'd wandered into this cave? Like everyone else?

He refused to accept it. There would be no negotiation or acceptance for this shit.

No negotiation, indeed, if that man was controlling the snake monster, then maybe this would end if he killed it. Maybe then everyone would be safe.

Shuji took a deep breath, steeling himself, and stood up.

He had to get ready and act. One good blow and it would all be over. Slicing his neck open, splitting him with the ax. One good blow was all it took. If he did things right.

He ran for it. Not for the creature, for him.

There was an explosion behind him.

Very close. The same move he had used against the monster in the first fight, at least. But Shuji managed to avoid it, if only barely, and the shockwave only served to propel him faster towards the enemy, standing there, vaguely surprised.

Perhaps because he had escaped the explosion by the skin of his teeth.

Maybe because he had dared to challenge him in the first place.

All Shuji needed was one good blow. A single good blow.

——

"Shuji... I'm just trying to help you." Yes, he knew. Didn't she understand that it only made him angrier? Irrational as it was, since that would be the reaction of any normal person, what he had expected before he even opened his mouth. Only then he hadn't cared. "Tokyo. That Tokyo I've never heard of. You're saying it's in that other world?

"That's right. It's the capital of my country, Japan. It's the most populated city in the world. On Earth."

"Yeah?"

"More than forty million people." He wasn't sure of the exact number, it didn't matter either.

Luna seemed more worried with every word that came out of his mouth. But now the worry, the fear, was momentarily gone. Surely she was trying to imagine what that would be like. What it would be like to live in a city like that.

"In one city? It sounds like your..." Story? Hallucination? Something like that. "It's very consistent, but..."

But what?

Wasn't possible? In general, people's minds were very closed. They only believed in what suited them. But you'd think Luna would have a more open mind, living in a literally magical world, where practically anything was possible.

Even bringing people from other worlds, even if she didn't know it.

But of course, all those other impossible miracles were just part of the common sense of this world to her. Anything outside of that became hard to believe, magic or not. It was that simple.

Shuji understood that.

He understood it, but...

Maybe he'd always wanted to share his story with someone. Maybe then he would feel less alone in the world.

In this world.

"I'm not asking you to believe me. If you want to leave, get the hell out, I told you."

But he had said and done enough foolish things. He wasn't going to give in, no matter what.

"No... I'm not leaving."

"Even though I'm crazy?" Shuji asked, his voice dripping with bitter irony. His smile, he could feel it, was so crooked it barely resembled a smile.

"I... I can give you a chance, let's say."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Do you have any proof?"

The million-dollar question. It would be convenient, but of course he didn't. Otherwise this would be much simpler.

Shuji sat back down, feeling as if he was deflating. Himself, not his anger.

"Not really, but you can ask me anything you want."

Luna sat down next to her. At least she was willing to give him a chance, as she had said. After the question and answer session, she'd still write him off as crazy and walk away without looking back. He wasn't going to say he didn't care in the least.... But if she did that, screw her. Sooner or later the truth would have come out anyway. This situation was inevitable, it had just happened now by chance.

"All right," Luna said. "Let's get started."

——

The question and answer session naturally had no time limit. It ended when Luna fell silent. At first he thought she was just trying to think of the next question, it's not as if the long pauses were anything unusual, but it went on too long. Then he realized it was the end, one way or another.

After answering so many questions, Shuji had one himself.

Maybe the most important one of all.

"Do you still think I'm crazy?"

Just maybe, he had said, even though the point of all this was to convince her otherwise. Right? He didn't even know anymore. He shook his head slightly, chiding himself.

"It's hard to believe, of course." Yes, of course "But.... No."

No?

Wow, he thought the vaguely conciliatory excuses would come now. But she had been straightforward. Because she had nothing to hide? Was it possible that she was telling the truth, that she believed him?

He knew that all he had to do to receive answers to those questions was to shut his mouth and observe her tone, her reaction. But still he couldn't stop his mind from racing, even if only in circles.

As usual.

"It's too... consistent. It's one thing to have an imagination and another thing what you've told me. I haven't caught you in a contradiction once. Maybe it's just that I lack experience with crazy people," she laughed weakly, perhaps trying to lighten the mood, but it only made it more uncomfortable, "but I believe you."

It was the answer he had been waiting for.

He had been angry with her for having reacted like a normal person and not believing such madness at the drop of a hat. So now he should at least feel satisfied with himself. But not even that.

It was a mysterious feeling.

Shuji returned her gaze, not looking away even a little, but that was all.

He just stared at her like a complete idiot, silent.

She had been the one striving to make things right from the beginning. He had just let himself be dragged along.

"But if that's true, then... my efforts these past few days have been for nothing. I can't save you, I don't even know where to start looking for a way to bring you back home."

Shuji opened his mouth.

He wanted to say "it's true, I told you so". Or something like that. But he wasn't able to. Suddenly he wasn't even able to utter the slightest sound. Swallowing saliva, on the verge of tears, he was silently thankful that he could conceal it since his eyes were already red and full of tears after vomiting violently.

He didn't want to say that.

Let alone hear Luna talk like that, who had been desperate to save him almost from the beginning. Giving up so easily, because the problem was that big, because it was that obvious that there was no hope. Except that...

He hadn't given up!

Of course he hadn't. Otherwise, he would have cut the crap and pulled the trigger. He wanted to believe...

Shuji wanted to depend on someone, after all. He supposed some things would never change.