Through Fire and Water

Chapter 3 - Time Slip

Izumi pov:

I woke up groaning to the bright light that fell on my face. My whole body was felt sore and under-rested and the slightly wet clothes that I was wearing didn't help in the least. My whole back had a numbing pain and I could barely move my right arm. In a nutshell, I felt like crap.

I opened my eyes slowly after a few moments, wincing at the sharp sunlight that fell on them and hurt them. I looked around me while remaining seated on the tree branch for a few moments, leaning back against the trunk and waiting for some energy to return to my limbs. I knew that if I wanted to, I could sit like this all day to rest my body but that wasn't an option at the moment. I needed to figure out where I was and get back to either my house or the PDST HQ so I could get some proper rest and medical treatment. A hot press was sure to work wonders on my aching back and I would really feel comfortable if the sticky blood was wiped off my arm and my wound was wrapped in some clean gauze.

With another sigh, groan and wince, I pushed away from the tree trunk and hunched forward with a hand on my chest. The blow on my back was painful enough to make me feel the strain through my entire torso and I was sure it was going to be difficult for me to move around like normal for a while.

Cursing under my breath once, I got down the tree slowly, wincing every now and then at the pain I felt from any sudden jerky movements. When I was on the ground, I adjusted my clothes and debated on which direction to head out in. It was too dark last night so I wasn't sure which way I had come from. I had no choice but to pick a random direction and hope to run into the city limits soon enough.

I suppose I walked for a good ten minutes before the density of the trees began to reduce. I could hear some hustle-bustle just beyond the layer of trees and bushes in front of me so I took a deep breath, put on my mask and activated my shades before parting the bushes to get a glimpse of the city beyond. But much to my surprise, I didn't see a city at all. There were no roads, no buildings, no people dressed in jeans and fashion-wear walking on the sidewalks. All I saw was a rundown village with small wooden huts with thatch roofs, people dressed in yukatas or poofy haoris and hakamas and large open crop fields in which men and women were tilling the land.

I frowned behind my mask and glassing, not sure what to make of what I was seeing here. I observed everything for a few moments silently while still being hidden behind the foliage – I watched the children playing, women and men talking or working on something and others simply walking around to pass the time.

"Is this some sort of filming sight? Everything looks so primeval...." I said more to myself. "Well, I suppose I should get a closer look and find out what's going on."

I stepped out from beyond the trees and walked towards what looked like a marketplace in the center of the settlement. I kept my head facing forward and merely darted my eyes around as I passed by people. They all looked at me like I was some alien – they watched me with frowns and even in slight fear while whispering amongst themselves. When I turned my head just a bit to look at one of the groups of people I passed by, they all flinched and stepped back with looks of pure terror etched onto their faces.

I was quite confused about what was happening here. Was this place a filming site or really a primeval village? I don't remember seeing any such village around the city I live in – in fact, there isn't anything even similar to a village for miles around the city. I was sure the cruise ship hadn't gone too far from the main city so there wasn't any way I would land up on some tiny village like this, right? What had actually happened?? Could this be something like a time slip of sorts?

Whatever the case, my first priority was to blend in with the appearance of these people. If I didn't, I was sure they would continue gawking at me like I was some headless chicken and definitely wouldn't talk to me and answer my questions. Besides, I too felt really awkward from the attention I was receiving from everyone because of the stark difference in our appearances.