Ren Amaki was an average child. It was what his peers said. It was what his teachers had said. It was what even his parents had said. So who was he to doubt them? He didn't have much going on in his life after all.

He never put much effort into his school work, Never went above and beyond with it, simply content with having average grades. None of his teachers or anyone in his classes spoke ill of him, but no one spoke words of praise to him either. Maybe if they had, then he would have excelled more, tried harder, but no. He was perfectly fine with his life as it was.

Of course, some others felt different. His parents were some of those who had felt different. Ren considered his parents great people, as most children do, but even he had to admit they didnt truly try that hard with him, simply leaving him to his own devices.

They had encouraged him to do Kendo, if only for a short time. He had enjoyed it, truly, he had! But when his family came upon hard times, Kendo lessons had been the first to disappear from the budget.

Even when they had gotten back into a stable, if not better position, his parents made no mention of Kendo being a possibility once again, so he simply put that dream to rest, content to simply have the memory be with him.

At school, other people had tried to befriend Ren. He usually ignored most of them, which ended up with them eventually giving up on him and going back to their groups, leaving him alone. Of course, Ren didn't truly mind. After all, if he was truly average, no one would really have anything to discuss with him, would they?

But one person didn't leave him alone, and as much as he didnt want to admit it, they grew on him. The person who did this wasn't anyone popular in the class, but she did get along well with everyone. He heard in passing that most people had told her to not focus on him, that he would simply push her away, like he had done to others before her. And privately, he couldn't help but agree. There was no reason to speak to him. He offered nothing to anyone, and expected nothing in return.

Yet, she still kept trying to speak to him, to get him to respond. Every day at school, she spoke to him, even if he didn't respond. It wasn't until a week in that Ren realised she wouldn't stop doing this, so he decided to learn her name. At the very least, it was the polite thing to do…Right?

He quickly found out her name was Shiawase with only a minimal amount of digging. That mainly being looking at the paper she had put in front of him…

Ren found himself thinking about the meaning of her name.

Happiness, for a person who always seemed happy, regardless of the circumstance. Ren found himself thinking about it a lot more than he cared to admit. He thought it suited her well.

The next time she came to speak to him, after complaining about the work they had to complete, Ren spoke up.

"It was a bit difficult. I could always help if you want, Shiawase?"

The smile that lit up her face when he spoke to her didn't leave his mind for years to come.

A couple of years seemed to pass in this pattern, With Shiawase sitting beside him every opportunity she could. Before lessons began, during lunch and even walking home with him.

At first, he had initially found it annoying, but as time went by, he started enjoying it. She simply needed someone to speak to, someone who didn't offer their condolences or ask for anything in return, just someone she could air her frustrations out to. And Ren was happy to be that person.

He never spoke about how much Shiawase meant to him, how much he appreciated her company, but he felt that she already knew, if the small smile on their lips whenever they spoke was anything to go by.

Before he had met her, he had never really had much to focus on in his life. For him, he had a strict schedule: wake up, go to school, complete his work and come home. He never had much to do, and he was perfectly happy like that. Even if the days blurred together, months came and went, he was content.

But when he told her that he didn't do anything, she was shocked. And so, Shiawase dragged him back to her house, handing him a headset with a small smile.

"Try this Ren! Even if you don't like it, you will try it for me atleast, right?"

Hearing those words, Ren couldn't help but sigh, taking the headset without giving her another chance to speak.

"So… how do I turn it on? Is it something that just happens when I put it on or…" he asked nervously.

Shiawase could only giggle at his nervousness.

"Just put it on, I'll sort the rest out from there, ok? Just try to have fun playing it, alright?"

With that said, Ren put on the headset, with Shiawase helping to adjust it for him. After a short moment, the screen lit up, and Ren let out a small gasp, even as several options popped up. They were all filtered through quickly, taking him to one game he had heard about vaguely in passing, a game that was spoken about in class quite a bit.

Brave Star Online

Ren found himself enthralled in the game. Shiawase had already made a character for him, and he was already enjoying it! Going around defeating enemies was great, but when he entered the arena for the first time, he knew that this was going to be where he spent most of his time, if he ever got the game.

Fighting against other plays was a thrill, skill against skill. He could easily pick apart how their builds worked after a few clashes, picking out the weakness in them and easily exploiting them.

He couldn't go against the higher level players, due to the equipment and level difference, but it still gave him a goal to aim towards, to beat the ones above him.

What he did enjoy the most was the set matches where each player had the same gear. Simple skill and resource management. He loved it!

Eventually, Ren had to sign out. He didn't want to keep Shiawase waiting, it was her headset after all, and he did want to hang out with her. He shouldn't have been in there for that long right?

When Ren finally took the headset off, he found it was almost 7pm. Had he really been in the game for three hours? It felt like he had just put the headset on!

Even as he turned his head to look around the room, he found her staring at him with a small smile, sitting on a chair in the corner of her room.

"Have fun in there? You were playing for quite a bit." Shiawase spoke with a small smile.

Ren simply nodded his head, looking at the headset in his hands.

"It… It was great. I didn't realise that games like that could be so fun!" He said with excitement clear in his voice.

She giggled at that before reaching into her draw.

"Well… I bought this in advance in case you liked it, so I guess it was the right decision…"

Ren looked at her with surprise, even as Shiawase held the wrapped present in front of herself, offering it to Ren, who took it, still looking at her in surprise.

"Well, you said before that you were going to get a headset for your birthday, and well… I thought that I'd get you a game for it. Go ahead, open it."

Ren opened it slowly, being careful to not damage whatever it was that was inside the packaging. He deposited the packaging in his lap, looking at the gift she had gotten him.

It was Brave Star Online, which he had just been playing.

He looked up to her in surprise. He hadn't expected any gift from her, let alone this. He knew games cost a lot these days, especially VRMMOs, at least if his dad's complaining was anything to go by.

"I…You…" Ren was at a loss for words. What had he done to deserve this? Why had she decided that he was worthy of spending her money on? Surely she had lots of other friends to spend her money on, people who were closer to her, people who actually responded to everything she said, right?

Shiawase simply smiled at him. "It's an early birthday gift Ren. I just thought, well… that you would enjoy it you know? And think of it this way! We can play it together once you finally get your headset!" She said with a smile.

Ren looked at them with a smile. He felt happy, happy that he hadn't pushed her away, that she had kept pushing into his life, even when he didn't want it. He was grateful to her for staying with him.

And so, in a sudden display of feelings, Ren moved closer, hugging her tightly. He spoke quietly, tears pricking at his eyes.

"Thank you…" Ren spoke simply.

Shiawase said nothing, simply hugging him back, pretending not to notice him crying.

"It's alright Ren. I'm glad that I'm your friend."

A year seemed to pass in the blink of an eye for many people, and Ren was not an exception to that.

Ren had found himself trying harder in school, trying his best with encouragement from Shiawase, who often helped him study. Ren had even joined the school kendo team. He hadn't even known there had been one!

He had felt happy to be practicing kendo once again. Sure, he had mostly forgotten everything he had learned before, but it let him refresh his memory, with Shiawase cheering him on throughout it, much to his embarrassment and everyone else's enjoyment.

It was on one of those days they left the school, with Shiawase leaning against Ren, he thought back on the last year.

Meeting Shiawase had been a blessing in disguise, and he had been happy she didn't give up on him. Even if he still didn't respond to absolutely everything, he still listened to her when she spoke. Sometimes, she just needed to vent, and that was fine with him. Nothing bad really changed from the first days, he supposed.

He had changed quite a bit. Whilst he was still seen as just the average person to others in their class, he had become a bit more outgoing, even if it was only on Shiawases insistence that he couldn't only speak to her.

When he had said that he'd be happy to only speak to her for as long as he could, he had gotten a small smack, with Shiawase refusing to look at him. He didn't know why, and honestly? The smack kind of hurt. Who knew she was really that strong?

Even so, on her insistence, he had gotten to know a few more people, and they talked about games, mainly Brave Star Online quite a bit. They all enjoyed the game, but they already had a full squad of six, so they never really played together. That was fine, considering Ren was happy partnering up with only Shiawase. And its not like they couldn't trade materials to each other, it was simply a matter of affecting the experience gains, which was understandable.

When he had gotten his own headset, both him and Shiawase had started taking Brave Star Online seriously. They were an inseparable pair in the game, with Yugo acting as a tank whilst Ren was the DPS.

Sure, the game was more DPS oriented, but Shiawase had certainly made it work out. She wasn't one of the top tanks in Brave Star online for no reason after all!

They cleared through most of the content with ease, such as the Spirit Tortoise raid. That one had been difficult to figure out, but they had done it eventually, with some meddling with their builds, as well as a few exploits, much to the cheer of the whole community. It had proven that the raid could be done with only two players, with the only barriers being the skill level and time investment.

Ren smiled as he snapped out of his thoughts, with Shiawase speaking to him.

" –out the murders around here?" She said, looking up to him.

Ren coughed, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke, embarrassed that he hadn't truly been paying attention to what Shiawase had been saying to him.

"Can you say that again?"

She punched his arm softly before repeating it.

"I said, have you heard about the murders around here recently?"

Ren would nod at that, looking around. They were in a pretty crowded place, so it wasn't like the murderer was going to kill someone in public, would they? That would just be stupid, like asking to be caught.

"Yeah, I have heard, but we should be fine, right? I mean, we both live close to each other, so there's no reason for us to leave each other's sights."

Shiawase would nod at that, leaning against Rens shoulder again. It wasn't until that point that Ren looked up, noticing the crowd in front of them parting.

A man holding a knife ran past the parting crowd, not bothering to look at those who had stepped out of the way, instead seemingly focused on the pair in front of him, his eyes flicking between the two panickedly. Police were running behind the man, shouting words that Ren could not hear.

Ren caught a glimpse of a knife moving up slightly, aimed towards Shiawase, and his mind went blank. His legs moved on their own as the man got closer to Shiawase, and Ren pushed her out of the way. He heard the small gasp from Shiawase, the man's heavy breathing getting closer…

and the cold feeling of the knife stabbing into his side.

Ren didn't feel anything for a moment, his mind simply trying to comprehend what had happened in that short time frame. Before long, a small, pained gasp escaped him as his body fought to recognise the foreign object entering his side.

A moment later, pain seemed to blossom out of it, with Ren holding a hand to his side, even as the man yanked the knife out, running past him. The police tackled the man just behind him, but he wasn't focused on that.

Sometime during his fall to the ground, the blood spilling out over his hands, Shiawase had come close to him, a look of horror on her face as she witnessed the injury. She'd quickly move her hand to it, trying desperately to cover up the bleeding.

"R-Ren! Hold on! Please, hold on! There's… There's got to be an ambulance on the way!" She shouted, tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. Even as she finished speaking, she turned around, shouting quickly.

"Someone, please! Phone an ambulance!"

Ren let out another pained cough, pain racking his body. He moved his free hand up, waiting as she turned to face him again before holding her cheek gently with a small smile, even as the blood began to pour through her fingers.

"H-hey…" He spoke weakly, prompting another bout of coughing from Ren. He began to stroke her cheek gently, with a small smile on his face.

"It will… be fine, Shiawase. Trust me…"

Rens vision began to darken, only seeming to focus on Shiawase, even as tears began to fall from her eyes. She nodded her head weakly, and Ren spoke again.

"Hey… Shiawase… Can you smile… for me again?"

Shiawase seemed to be barely holding herself together at this point, her body trembling at the sight of Ren bleeding out, but she gave him his last wish. She gave him a shaky smile, tears flowing even faster.

The last sight Ren saw of Shiawase was her smiling face, her watery eyes, and the last thought was a simple one.

"Ah… Why didn't I tell her how much she meant to me?"

With that last thought, Ren Amaki shut his eyes for the final time, and drifted off into nothingness.

Ren let out a gasp as he felt solid ground beneath his feet. His mind was blank, if only for a moment before his memories seemed to come back to him. The cold feeling of the knife, the pain spreading through his body, and the crying face of Shiawase… Just where was he?

Even as Ren thought that, he saw a man step forward, covered in robes that reminded him of the beginning of Brave Star Online. Just what was going on? Even as he pondered that, pain seemed to erupt from his side, with Ren putting a hand to it, ignoring the stares he was getting

The pain in his side seemed to disappear as quickly as it came when the person beside him spoke, with Ren not having heard the first portion of whatever had been said, most likely by the robed man.

Even as he was debating whether or not to ask the man to repeat what he said, a voice spoke from beside the spear holder. A boy, smaller than him, with blonde hair and a bow in his hands. He seemed to touch the bow string cautiously, but had a knowing smile on his face, as if he could barely keep his excitement within.

"That is nice, but… If we save you from these waves of catastrophe…"

Ren nodded his head at that. It was starting to sound a lot more like Brave Star Online. He was starting to get a gist of what they were saying, if it was anything like the game he had played.

"...what do we exactly get from it? It doesn't sound fair if you think about it." The bow wielder finished, unaware of Ren's thought process.

"Yeah, it seems unfair for us to fight and risk our lives just for us to be sent away once our task is complete, you know?" Spoke the blonde haired man.

When Ren looked at him a bit more, he noticed a spear in his hands, with an easy going smile on his face. He looked handsome in general, the type of guy who was great at parties, an incredibly social person. The opposite of himself. The spear wielder also seemed to have a knowing smirk, much like the bow wielder.

Ren could figure it out easily. Surely they had played Brave Star Online, and they knew that it was a game! It was the one explanation that seemed to make sense to him. Then again, why was his side aching? Sure, VRMMOS were advanced, but they weren't enough to simulate pain this accurately, right?

Even as he ignored the robed man's panicked speaking, he looked at the person on the opposite side of the room to him. A man with a shield on his arm, with dark hair, simply looking around confused.

Ren ignored him for now. They'd probably all get a chance to speak later, so it wouldn't be an issue. For now, he simply focused his eyes on the dots in his corner, bringing up his stats easily.

Looking through his stats, they were like he expected, mirroring the main stats he focused on in Brave Star Online. Agility being his highest stat, with Attack being a close second. It was something he could easily work with.

Even as he thought it over, already planning what sort of optimizations he could make, the shield wielder tapped his shoulder, taking Ren out of his thoughts.

"Hey, they're now taking us to meet the king. and well, I didn't think you would want to be left behind." He spoke with a small smile.

Ren looked around the room, realising that most people seemed to have left already. Had he truly been thinking just that hard about everything? Ren focused back on the shielder.

Ren nodded at him, not having expected anyone to realise he wasn't moving with the rest. Wasn't that supposed to be the robed guy's job? Either way, Ren spoke up.

"Thanks." He spoke simply.

Ren mentally sighed. Of course. The second he left Shiawase, he returned to one word answers. Was he really going to distance himself from others again?

Even with that response, the shielder kept his smile.

"No problem, let's get going. We don't want to disappoint the king, do we?"

Ren looked as the door in front of them opened. He didn't remember the throne room being this grand in Brave Star online, but he wasn't going to complain. He just wanted to get to the bottom of everything.

Looking towards the back of the room, Ren noticed the man sitting on the throne. He had a greying beard. His eyes scanned each of the summoned heroes, trying to take in any information he could. His hands tightened on the throne as he looked at the shield, but he made no other moves that were noticeable by Ren.

He filed that little bit of information away for later. What exactly caused the king to grip the throne?

From what Ren had seen, which was admittedly, very little, the Shielder seemed like a kind, helpful person. But again, that was only based on their little, one sided conversation. He'd make a better judgement later.

"So, These are the four cardinal heroes?" The man spoke. He seemed to have a tone of authority in his voice, as the nobles in the stands that had been speaking were silenced. Many looked at them curiously, making Ren nervous. He wasn't good in public settings like this, and being eyed up like this made him feel like he was an animal in a zoo. Simply here for their entertainment.

"Please relax, heroes. My name is King Aultrcray Melromarc XXXII." He spoke calmly. Ren kept his eyes focused on the king, watching as he stayed focused on him, the spear and the bow holders. He didn't miss how he seemed to refuse to look at the shield. Another piece of information to file away.

"Heroes, as you have no doubt been told, we have summoned you here to fight against the Waves of Calamity. I presume the priests have explained what the waves of calamity are?" Aultcray spoke. The group, excluding Ren, seemed to nod hesitantly at that, and the king nodded back in approval.

"That is good. Well then heroes. Would you mind giving me your names?"

The spear wielder stepped forward first, a smile on his face.

"Sure, Ill give you my name, but there's some stuff I want to ask before that, if that's alright your majesty?" He spoke.

The bow wielder stepped forwards as well, looking towards the king.

"Yes, that is fine. If you introduce yourself, I'll try my best to answer any questions you may have." He spoke, looking towards them.

"Alright then." The spear wielder planted the bottom of his spear into the floor, smiling as he spoke. "Motoyasu Kitamura, 21 years old and a college student. What I wanted to ask about these waves. Will we be supplied throughout them?"

"Of course. The kingdom will help supply you with cash and any resources you may need throughout this. We will also be gathering adventurers for you to go out with tomorrow."

"Wait, we aren't all going together?" Spoke the shielder. The king turned to look at him coldly, and Ren could see him visibly gulp.

"Ah, sorry. My name is Naofumi Iwatani, a college student and 20 years old. But, well, what were you talking about, gathering adventurers for us? Can't we all go out together?" He spoke nervously.

Ren thought that was a good point. Why couldn't they all work together with their legendary weapons? It would certainly help them learn more about each other, and make cooperation easier, even if he didnt like teams. Even as he thought that, a pop up appeared before him.

Warning! Legendary weapons will hinder the progress of their wielders if used in close proximity to each other. To counteract this, The legendary weapons must be a distance away from each other for the hero to gain Experience!

"Ah, something just popped up on the screen." The bow wielder spoke. "It says we cannot work together, or it will hinder our experience growth…"

Aultcray nodded at that again. "That is correct heroes. It is unknown why the weapons cannot gain experience with each other around, but it has been a constant rule throughout all of the summonings. If there was a way to strip the weapons of it, I'm sure plenty would have done it by now."

Motoyasu shrugged. "It's fine. I'm sure we are all going to put as much effort in as possible!" He raised his spear into the sky, and Ren couldn't stop a smirk from forming on his face. Looking around, it looked like Naofumi couldn't either, with him cheerfully raising his shield up as well. The only one who didn't seem affected was the Bow wielder.

He bowed before Aultcray, speaking. "My name is Itsuki Kawasumi. I am 17 years old." Itsuki straightened up as he stared at the king, and Ren focused on Itsuki fully.

"When these waves are done, what will happen to us? I understand that you may be helping us out now, whilst the waves are going on, but what's to stop you turning your back on us once we have outlived our use?"

Aultcray seemed to stare at him for a moment, tilting his head before laughing slightly.

"Oh my, Sir Itsuki. We would not turn on the heroes we summoned. When you manage to end these waves…" He began

Ren noticed how Aultcray spoke. How he had already determined they would stop the waves. Was it confidence in them, the Heroes they had just summoned? Did they expect them all to be prodigies with their weapons? Because if they were, they were going to be sorely mistaken. Whilst he couldn't speak for the other three heroes, he barely knew the basics of using a sword, and that was because he had done some basic kendo over the last year. And even then, this sword was certainly not as light as a kendo sword.

"...It would be incredibly rude of us to leave you. It would affect us just as much as it would affect you. I can't imagine everyone in the kingdom being too happy that the kingdom of Melromarc decided to abandon their heroes after they helped to save them. We would most likely have rebellions on our hands."

Itsuki seemed to nod at that, stepping back. Ren took this chance to speak up finally, one thought on his mind as he began to introduce himself.

"Ren Amaki, 16 years old. What about going back to my world?" He spoke simply, earning a surprised look from the other three heroes. He kept pushing forwards.

"When these waves are done, is there any way I can go back to my world? I… I have got someone waiting there for me. I don't want to leave them alone any longer than I have to."

Aultcray seemed to look at Ren for a moment longer. "I understand, Sir Ren. If you are that desperate to go back home, I will promise the kingdom shall assist you in that endeavour once the waves have been dealt with. There have been tales of previous heroes having disappeared once their task was complete, whether that was through them simply leaving to live the rest of their lives in peace, or having found a way back to their homes. Regardless of if they did or not, I will help you find a way back, if that is what you so desire. I understand not wanting to leave those dear to you…" Aultcray seemed to look into the distance for a moment before shaking his head.

"Motoyasu, Itsuki, Ren…" Ren didnt ignore the fact that Naofumis name had been ignored, but he would focus on it later. "You will all make fine heroes. I trust that you will all grow stronger within due time. Now go, It has been a long day, and I am sure you all desire to relax. As I said before, the adventurers will be here tomorrow to help you form your parties."

With that said, The king motioned for them to leave, and a group of servants moved forwards, ushering the group out of the throne room, even as the nobles began to speak in hushed tones again.

Once Ren heard the door shut, he let out a small sigh, even as the other three walked over to the chairs around the table, each taking a seat. Ren didn't, simply standing up as the heroes began to speak.

"So… Lots of good looking girls back there, huh?" Motoyasu spoke, a wide smile on his face.

Naofumi looked away at that as he spoke. "I … I mean, I guess so? He spoke nervously.

Motoyasu let out a laugh at that, moving to sit in the seat beside Naofumi, putting an arm around him.

"Don't worry Naofumi! Big bro Motoyasu will help you find someone, trust me! I have got plenty of experience with that!" He spoke with a big grin. Naofumi smiled along with him, even as he looked away, slightly embarrassed.

Itsuki let out another breath as he looked at the pair, a smile on his face, but a quick shake of his head and he began to speak.

"So, does this remind you of anything guys?" He spoke innocently, looking at the three.

Ren bit his tongue to not speak as Motoyasu spoke in his place. "Huh, Yeah, of course!"

He finally let go of Naofumi as he sat up, a smile on his face. "It reminds me of Emerald Online! The story seems the exact same, it's got the same setup of weapons, you know, everything!" He spoke, waving his hands slightly.

Ren and Itsuki looked at him in shock, whilst Naofumi seemed confused as to what they were on about.

"What are you talking about? Emerald Online? Don't you mean this is like Dimension Wave?"

Now it was Motoyasu and Rens turn to look at Itsuki in confusion. Motoyasu turned to Naofumi and Ren. "Hey, you two, tell him this is just like Emerald online!"

"No! They are going to say it's like Dimension Wave!" Itsuki shouted at him.

Ren hummed. "I've never heard of either of those games. To me, this seems like Brave Star Online."

Naofumi rubbed the back of his head as he spoke. "Well, I don't really know? I didn't really play many games. I was more interested in the economy side of things when playing. Managing my guild's finances, that type of stuff, you know?"

Motoyasu and Itsuki groaned, putting their heads on the table as Naofumi spoke again.

"Why don't we compare information? Try to figure out what's going on?" He added helpfully.

As it turned out, different worlds did exist, and they all came from a different one. By Ren's thoughts, His was the most technologically advanced world, having full VRMMOs available, whilst the other three played on computer or console.

Though, Ren did find it weird that they had fully settled on the idea of different versions of Japan. Then again… they had been transported elsewhere, so maybe it wasn't as farfetched as he thought.

"Why would we all have information from different japans if this is just a game?" Naofumi had asked curiously. "I mean, it just doesnt make sense right?"

Ren agreed with him. It seemed weird that they were all from supposedly different versions of japan, especially if this was a game like they were suggesting. But Naofumi had made a good point to them, which Itsuki and Motoyasu seemed to have brushed off.

"Its fine, maybe its just the developers messing with us. We will be fine anyways. You guys don't need to take this as seriously as you are. Just try to relax, have fun, you know?" Motoyasu spoke, glancing at the shield of Naofumis arm, before once again turning to Itsuki. Ren hadnt bothered to include himself in the conversation, especially if it was about what he thought it was.

Naofumi reluctantly nodded, and Ren made his way over to him.

"So…" Naofumi began awkwardly. "Looks like im a shielder. You… You got any tips for me?" He asked Ren almost desperately.

"I can't say i have, but if this is like Brave Star Online, whilst shielders weren't the most effective, they could certainly be helpful. When special raid events popped up, It was helpful to have a shielder there. It could help sort out the situation in the beginning, control where the enemies went, all that sort of stuff. So you will have people relying on you, got it?"

Naofumi nodded, seeming to sag slightly. "Well, could they at least attack in your game? I know this isn't like it, but… my attack stat is 1."

Ren nodded at that. "It makes sense why your attack is 1. I imagine your defence is ridiculously high. As for attacking in my game… They couldn't. It was more skills that helped to control the battle and all that. Counter attacks were quite effective though."

Naofumi seemed to accept that, sighing slightly.

"I guess ill just have to rely on other people to attack for me. It still sucks that I won't be able to attack by myself…"

Ren nodded.at that. He couldnt imagine being a tank himself. He didn't understand how Shiawase had done it. He didn't like having people rely on him, and being relied on to stop the waves was already weighing on him, and he didn't even have to truly start yet!

Yet, even as he thought that, the other two walked towards the pair, obviously having finished their conversation

"So…" Itsuki began.

"How did you guys get here? I can go first if you want me to!" Motoyasu said with a grin.

Naofumi seemed to nod hesitantly at that, and Motoyasu went ahead.

"Well, you know, I was quite popular with girls back in my japan, and as it turns out, they got a bit… well, possessive over me? So they started fighting and I tried to separate them and ended up getting stabbed by them."

Naofumi winced at that, beginning to speak to him even as Ren held his side in sympathy. Being stabbed once was not a great experience for him, but being stabbed multiple times? Ren shook his head just thinking about it.

"Ill go next." Spoke Itsuki, sitting down.

"I was on my way home from school, crossing the road. The light was red, so no vehicles should have been crossing, but…" Itsuki smiled nervously, even as Naofumi let out a gasp. Ren let out a small sigh at that.

"I'm guessing the truck driver either didn't see it, or well, just didn't care. Got hit directly by the truck. I didn't really feel anything. I was there, then suddenly I was here, you know?"

Motoyasu grimaced at that, patting Itsuki on the shoulder. He seemed saddened at the younger boys death, more than his own even. Not that he could complain. He also felt bad for Itsuki.

"Well, mine is not as exciting as yours…" Naofumi began. "I was just in the library, when I read a book that fell. Opened it up and well, I found myself here after the room began to glow." He spoke simply.

Motoyasu and Itsuki looked at eachother, whispering just loud enough for Ren and Naofumi to hear.

"...because hes a shielder?"

"Could be… would make sense…"

Naofumi coughed, turning to Ren.

"So, how did you get here? Unless you don't want to say of course!" Naofumi added hastily.

Ren shook his head. "It's fine. There was a string of murders in my city and i was walking home with a friend. Well, the police were chasing the murderer, and he took that chance to get one more person. I just so happened to be that unlucky person.

Ren held his side again, throbbing at the mention of that person. Naofumi looked to where Ren was holding with a small nod. He didn't bother to say sorry. He probably knew it was to late for that, that saying sorry wouldn't take him back, so he simply accepted it.

Naofumi let out a yawn, standing up. "I'm going to head to my bed, i guess i'll speak to you all tomorrow, huh?"

Motoyasu and Itsuki nodded, absorbed in their conversation, taking glances at Naofumi as he stood.

"I'm going to go to bed as well. I want to be prepared for tomorrow."

Naofumi and Ren walked in silence until Naofumi put a hand on one of the door handles. Ren put a hand on his shoulder, leaning in slightly to speak.

"Naofumi. I dont know what's going on, but theres something happening. You probably noticed it when the king didn't say your name, or that look he gave you when you asked a question. There's something going on."

Naofumi shifted slightly, responding in a whisper. "I knew it wasn't just me overthinking stuff! What do you think it is?"

"Im not sure…" Ren spoke uncertainty. "You need to be careful. Keep yourself safe, ok? We cant be losing our tank this early, can we?" he spoke, a small smirk on his face.

With that, he moved back. He wanted Naofumi to have the best chance possible, and he didn't want to lose any of his fellow heroes to anything weird.

Ren let out a sigh as he laid on his bed. It all seemed so game-like. Even if Motoyasu and Itsuki thought that it was like their games, he knew for sure it was like Brave Star Online. It had the same strengthening methods everyone in the game had access to, so how couldn't it be Brave star online?

And yet, even as he thought that, the ache on his side returned. He lifted his shirt slightly, turning his head hesitantly as he finally looked upon the stab wound. That was one of the main things that held him back from thinking of it as a game.

Why give him a stab wound for his virtual avatar? If it was some sort of sick joke, then Ren didn't like it. But if it was reality, if he had actually died and been taken to another world…

His thoughts trailed off as his eyes lingered on the wound on his side. Truthfully, he thought that stab wounds would be messier, would injure a body more than it would, and yet, as he looked at it, the only way he could identify it would be the small line where he felt the pain.

He traced his finger over it absently, feeling the rough skin. Whatever had patched him up, sped up the healing process, whatever it was, it seemed to have left the skin scarred, like a reminder of something. But what was it?

Letting out another breath, he covered the scar with his shirt again. Naofumi had a valid point. That if this was a game, then surely it would have been one they all played. And if they had died, why was Naofumi here, who had only been reading a book? Even as he thought it through, he came to a decision.

He wouldn't treat this like a game. He would treat it as a second life. They wanted heroes who could save the world. They had offered to help them find a way back to their own world once their duty was done. Ren would take the chance. He would become a hero for this world, for his own selfish desire. His selfish desire to see Yugo again

Laying his head down, Ren shut his eyes. He had to hope that he got competent members for his party tomorrow. As long as they could fight, he would try his best to work with them, even if it was against what he usually did.