Click.
Click.
Click.
Hikari's eyes flickered open, squinting against the bright rays of sunlight that leaked through the dense foliage of the treetops above. The rustle of the dry and brittle leaves underneath him echoing out all around the forest as he struggled to sit up.
Where am I?
He craned his neck upwards, staring at the gnarled branches that seemed to extend toward the sky forever, reminiscent of the tree that Right claimed as their clubhouse back at their hometown.
Where is everyone? He then thought worriedly, the leaves swishing loudly as he abruptly stood up.
"Right?" he called out.
No response.
"Tokatti?" he shouted as he began to venture further into the forest "Mio? Kagura?"
Still no response.
Where could they be?
He had to think. He had to remember what happened just before he ended up here. Where had he been? What was he doing? What were the others doing? The gears slowly turned inside his brain, a feeling of adrenaline and excitement pulsing as he imagined himself once again as the Kendama Detective solving another mysterious case, piecing together another puzzle.
That's right!
The Rainbow Line. Akira. The forest. The stone circle. Arya. The white door. The blinding flash of light. It all made sense!
"I'm in an alternate dimension!"
Click.
Click.
Click.
"Who's there?" Hikari demanded, whirling around to the direction of the sound, ToQ-Changer prepared for any potential threat.
The noise halted immediately, plunging him back into silence.
"Hello?" he called out cautiously, eyes darting back and forth as he began to back up quietly "Is anyone th-"
The ground gave out beneath him, autumn leaves fluttering upwards as he watched in horror himself sinking further and further away from the trees. His eyes widened in fear as he reached out desperately to grab a hold of something, anything, besides the air and loose soil within his grasp. He wanted to scream. He wanted to yell for help. But his mind and voice seemed to betray him as he could do nothing but imagine the horrible fate that awaited for him at the bottom.
Please, no.
This couldn't be happening. There had to be some way to make it back to safety. This had to be a dream.
I can't die like this! The others need me!
He thrashed his arms widely in the air as if a miracle would appear in which he could grab onto a vine or the hand of someone. He desperately wanted to believe that any of this could be possible.
How pathetic. Taken down by a stupid ledge that you could've easily avoided. And you call yourself a ToQger.
There. That word. Something clicked inside his mind that gave him hope. Hope in maybe surviving this fall just barely.
With trembling hands clutching the green ressha, he spoke what could possibly be his last words, "TOQ-CHANGE!"
OOO
He coughed, icy cold water dripping out of the corner of his mouth as he rolled onto his side, the smooth stones underneath scraping against his ribs as he dragged himself out of the river's strong current. His clothes were soaked, weighing him down like anchors. His hands and face stung from cuts and still continued to bleed. Even if he survived the fall he would surely die from hypothermia if he didn't get to some place warm fast.
At least I'm alive now. At least I have strength to keep moving...
His head throbbed and swirled with fragments of random memories, their sounds dull and their images blurry, hardly even recognizable.
I need to get back to the others...
He forced his body to keep moving, despite the pain that accompanied it.
I need to...
His world went dark.
OOO
Hikari woke to the sound of crackling fire. The warmth of flames enveloping him as it continued to dry his still damp clothing. The colors red, orange, and yellow dancing before his eyes as they consumed the scrawny twigs within them.
I must be dead. He thought, staring at his hand, free from all its previous wounds.
He felt numb. Weak and tired, but not in pain.
I have to be dead. Who could've saved me?
Just then he heard it. He heard the soft clicking return, now louder and clearer.
Hikari glanced up, his vision slowly clearing to reveal a boy sitting beside him, perched on a small boulder, kendama in hand.
Click.
Click.
Click.
"Are you... me?" he asked in surprise, straining to sit up "Was it you in the forest that I heard?"
The clicking stopped abruptly, the ball hanging by the thread as it swung dangerously close by the flames.
The boy turned and faced him, eyes filled with worry as he nodded.
"Something wrong?"
"Are you... alright?"
"I don't understand."
"When you were sleeping, you kept saying that you were weak and didn't deserve to be a ToQger."
"I-I did?" stuttered Hikari sheepishly.
"You don't mean that, right?"
"Of course not!"
"Good. Then take these." the boy commanded, ToQ-Changer and green ressha in hand "The others need you. They can't bring back our hometown without you."