prologue: a new, scary world
It was a Saturday just like any other for Natsuki Emilia. She woke up, got out of bed, and stretched to remove the sluggish feeling from her muscles. Having just woken up, she changed out of her pajamas, and went to have breakfast. That was the plan, however it was interrupted the moment she bumped into a little body the moment she opened the door.
"Ugh!" she exclaimed after the surprise collision. She looked at who it could be and her eyes landed on a little boy, aged 9 years old, his hair was black and spiky, and his eyes were just like his father.
"Takiya, what is it?" She asked the small boy. He doesn't usually enter her room unless something was up.
"Mom said that I should wake you up." he said in a soft voice. "You've been sleeping in, it's 11 now."
Emilia's eyes widened at the revelation. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" she exclaimed. She shot up to a standing position and ran over the boy still on the floor.
"Emilia? What's wrong? Don't tell me you're upset at having woken up late" her mother, Naoko, said upon seeing her run out of her room into the living room.
Late? Late? I can't be late, I made a promise, she thought. She needed to make her way to the mall on time. She looked at the food on the dinner table that was freshly made and grabbed some toast as well as anything she could fit in both her hands. After weighing what could and couldn't fit in her grasp, she grabbed her wallet and phone and rushed toward the door.
Emilia: "Thanks for the breakfast but I need to go now!"
"Emilia!" Naoko called "be home before dinner, understand?"
"Yeah! I promise!" she called back. Emilia was an honest child and always made sure to keep any and all promises she made, it wouldn't do to break other people's trust and disappointing them after all.
She ran out the door and down the stairs of the apartment complex she lived in. She sprinted as fast as she could down the road once she got out of the complex towards the meeting place.
After some time spent running, she finally got to where she planned on going, passing through the neighborhood and past a convenience store she made it just a few minutes late. Emilia straightened her clothes and went through the sliding doors.
'I hope I'm not too lateā¦' she said to herself, she didn't want to be too much of a pain to the only friend she managed to make during her time in school.
"Oh! There she is." she exclaimed. She spotted Rika, her best friend since elementary school who was standing next to a pillar. Rika noticed Emilia approaching and waved "Emilia!" she called to greet her.
Emilia: "yeah. I'm here, sorry for being late, did you wait long?" She felt sorry for forcing her friend to wait while she slept peacefully, but at least she didn't have to now that she's here.
Rika: "what took so long! Do you even realize how long I was waiting here!?" the long time friend yelled. This surprised Emilia and she meekly said a "sorry" in a low voice in response to the unexpected reprimanding.
Rika giggled at the timid response from the white haired girl. "It's fine, it's fine. There's no need to feel bad. What were you doing anyway?" she asked.
Emilia: "oh you know...sleeping." she gave a nervous chuckle.
Rika: "so, are you ready to go?" she said, then receiving a nod from Emilia. "Okay! Then let's get shopping!"
The two were an unusual pair, a brown haired girl wearing a green sweater with a white shirt underneath, a skirt, knee high socks, and sneakers she wears for running, and a white haired girl with the looks of a foreigner despite her being born in japan. Emilia suffers from a lack of melanin in her hair, hence the white hair, as well as in her eyes giving them a violet color.
Emilia and Rika were now holding six bags of things each bought from the various stores in the area. Clothes, shoes, a pair of earrings or two, snacks, and a few issues of light novels and manga were in the bags carried 3 in each arm.
Rika: "Wow, we really got quite a haul!" she said, satisfied at how much they were able to buy.
Emilia: "yeah, it was so much fun" she replied, smiling.
The two made their way towards a soft couch in an indoor grassy area where there was a small plastic slide children were playing on.
Rika: "Are you hungry for something right now? My treat" Rika said.
Emilia: "I'd love to go for a hamburger, but I have to go use the bathroom."
Rika: "Sure, I'll wait right here for you." RIka replied in her usual energetic tone.
Emilia made her way towards the closest bathroom after letting Rika know. She got in and did usual bathroom business, when she finished she made her way towards the sink. Suddenly she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her face, stumbling towards the sink she supported herself by holding onto the edge of the basin.
She turned on the sink, closed her eyes and threw water on her face in hopes to get rid of the sickness. When she opened her eyes she flinched at the blinding white light that took up her entire vision.
When her irises adapted to the light she found herself in a peculiar situation.
"Eh?" she said, dazed at what she was seeing. When she opened her eyes she was in the middle of what seemed to be a marketplace. She saw people pass by, some were humans while some looked like they were part beast. In a normal situation she would be excited at the prospect of being isekied, but right now she was frozen looking at the people, human and beast alike passing by, unable to say or react in shock.
She was in a different world, away from her parents, away from her home, away from her friend. The first emotion she felt once the shock wore off was fear.
Prologue: end.
