Chapter III - The strings were pulled by…
I woke up from a dream about butterflies.
They hadn't done anything very spectacular, but it had felt like there was some deeper meaning behind what they were doing. One pure blue butterfly and the other a malevolent black, they twirled and flitted around the Earth in a sort weird dance. With everything that had happened to me, I could just feel in my gut that there was something there that I was missing. Just another thing to go on the list of things I needed to figure out.
That list seemed to increase more and more the longer I stayed here. The thought was still baffling that somehow I'd landed in another world, but the signs were too prominent for me to just ignore it all. Not only did Iwatodai not exist here, apparently he had been born in the U.S. of this world. The first few months here was difficult, I remembered the times that I forgot to speak in English. However the more important difference was that this was a world filled with people that had superpowers, it seemed like one of those video games that Junpei used to play.
However, it wasn't a case in which the superheroes always won and the bad guys lost, and peace and justice prevailed. No, that would be too easy, this was world was plagued with a case of competent heroes but even more competent villains. It seemed that every win the heroes tended to be hard fought, and that wasn't even getting into these creatures known as Endbringers. All the deaths they caused...I didn't even want to think about it.
Getting out my bed, I checked the time on the small digital clock that I had. It was already 6 pm, I guess I had been more tired than I thought. My stomach growled making known that I hadn't eaten anything since I had gotten home, that needed to be fixed. Checking my fridge revealed that I was sorely lacking in supplies to cook dinner, it seems I'd have to make a food run then. Slipping on my blazer, some jeans, and sneakers I left out of my apartment making sure to lock the door behind me.
There was small grocery store about 5 or so minutes away from my place that I frequented. Since I lived on the edge point on what some people would consider the good and bad parts of town, it was convenient to not have to go very far away from home. There was still some light outside so I wasn't very worried, people tended to not try and do unsavory things during broad daylight. Well, as far as I knew anyways. I'd probably end up eating my words sooner or later, but for now I was more worried about getting food in my stomach.
As I made it to the store I checked my wallet and saw that I had a little less than $80, that would be more than enough to get the things I wanted. Stepping into the store I quickly moved aisle through aisle, picking up a few basic things like bread and milk whilst also making sure to pick up the things I needed for dinner. As focused as I was on getting what I needed, I was able to keep myself from flinching when a finger tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hmm?" I turned around to see an elderly woman with a polite smile on her face.
"Young man, could you help me grab that." She pointed to one of the higher shelves where a bundle of paper towels were.
It was just a bit out of my own reach admittedly, but I could still reach it if I stretched a bit. Positioning myself below it, I got onto the tips of my toes and stretched and grabbed the plastic portion of the bag. Slowly allowing it to drop down, I kept a tight grip on it as it came down to my height and then proceeded to place the bag on the ground when I was sure the plastic wouldn't tear.
"There you go mam." I said looking as the woman's face lit up in joy.
"Thank you so much, young man. But, if it isn't too much to ask, could I please get you to help me take my belongings out to my car? I've got quite a lot of things I need to carry, you see?" She gave a pointed look at the rather significant amount of belongings she had in the basket she was carrying.
"Sure, let me get my things rung up and I'll help you miss." I replied.
It took a few minutes, but after getting my items rung up along with the old lady's I helped her carry her stuff to her car. It looked pretty old, with a few chips in the paint, but overall seemed to be in decent condition. Piling the stuff into her backseat was only slightly problematic because of the space available, but I somehow managed to fit it all with some patience.
"Thank you so much for the assistance young man, not many people nowadays would go out of their way to help an old woman in need."
"I suppose…" I replied back as I closed her car door.
"I believe you deserve a reward for your charity."
"That won't be necessary."
"Well, a message then…," Turning around to face the old woman, in her place was someone completely different. It was a much younger woman who seemed a bit taller than me and was in a black mourner's garb. Who..was she? "This world is soon to face a great calamity, but one it has chance of surviving. A being destined to follow the words of others will be led to bring this world to destruction, however that is only one of the many threats that you may have to deal with. You will play an integral part of the fate of this world, but also many others. How does one choose the way they live?"
Before I could say anything in response the woman disappeared as if she had never existed in the first place, the car doing much the same. Standing there as the sun started to set, I was left feeling as if I had just gotten dragged into something that I wanted no part of. And then I heard the sound of gunfire.
Turning to the sound I saw that the gunfire was coming from around where my house was, that certainly wasn't a good sign. Letting out a sigh, I started the run back to my apartment, groceries still in hand. This was certainly turning out to be quite a day, for better or worse.
