[Melromark, Capital city of the anarchist nation "Enginheim."]

[Slave Trade Center.]

Okay, so I'm a slave now; I'm sorry to have skipped some of the details of how I got here. It's just that they were kind of bland. Signora, the lady who broke my arm, used the same method the monster dealer used on Yumi. She drew a slave crest on the back of my neck, and that was it.

Some men tried to touch me on the way to the city, but Signora always stopped them, saying, "We don't play around with the merchandise." As far as my arm went, Signora did apply some healing magic, but my arm is still fucked along with my morale. I don't want to keep going. It feels as if I'm doomed to fail every single time I'm this close to committing suicide.

No, shake your head, Natsume. A flashback soon hit me as I spaced out while sitting quietly inside my cage like an animal. I returned to Japan and my old life as I drifted from reality, trying to escape it.

[Nara city, Japan. Nakatanidou mochi shop. May, 1992.]

"Hey! Good to see you again, Natsume; how is school going?" The owner of the shop greeted me as usual. I had become quite fond of picking up some snacks from his shop while going to school. However, I mostly went there for him; he was more like my father than my real one. I never talked with my actual dad all that much.

"I'll just take your fresh mochi and chocolate milk."

"The usual, eh? Alright. That'll be 200 yen." The price was a little high, but that was okay. I had already secured a copy of the latest Jojo manga release. "Diamond is unbreakable." Well, that was an odd name.

Once my mochi was ready, I paid the man with some one hundred yen coins and left for school. This was my last year at boarding school, so I would be fine even if I got bullied non-stop. It was just one more year before I could be free.

The old smell of Japan made me almost wake up from my dream state, but I fought my own instincts to wake up and forced myself to keep on moving forward as I approached the school.

"Hey! You fatty! Where do you think you're going?" Shit, it was Akira and his friends; they never left me alone, always asking me for their due "Lunch money" dam; I hated them.

I always wanted to fight them off, but how would I? I was a short and pathetic, mildly obese middle schooler while they were already much taller, and in high school, I couldn't fight them head-on. That would be suicidal.

"Hey, Akira, I, I wasn't trying to avoid you guys! I have your money!" I screamed as they approached me, eventually pinning me against a wall.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Alright, you better not be short today! Hand over the money!" Akira spoke as he grabbed me by my uniform tie. I did as he ordered, eventually giving him the quota to leave me alone, but I was short. I had spent some of their ransom money buying the Jojo Manga shit!

"Hey shit, head, you're five hundred yen short. Where is the rest?!"

"I don't have it today. Please just let me get to class."

"Shake him! We are going to find that money, punk." I was swiftly lifted from the ground as one of Akira's friends took my backpack from my shoulders to dump all its contents onto the floor. Eventually, they found my wrapped copy of "Diamond is Unbreakable" still in its iconic plastic wrap with a price sticker.

"Oh, sweet! How did you know I wanted this Natsume? This is a nice present, my friend. I think I'll keep it as payment."

"Oh, come on, Akira, that's mine! I wanted to read it!"

"You think I care? Shut the fuck up bitch." Akira said after making his friends flip me over and shake me over up and down to see if I didn't have money left, which I didn't. Once they were done, Akira made them hold me still while he gave me a nasty wedgie; they all laughed at me as I struggled to stand up once they let me fall onto the floor.

Then they all just left me there. I had to pick all my things up as they left, laughing with my money and now even my manga. I felt anger and incompetence but held my tears as I finished packing my backpack.

I was half an hour late for the first class, so Mrs Oka did not improve my day when I showed up. When she saw how late I had been, she punished me in her usual way. Mrs Oka made me stand up the entire class while wearing a hat with the words "Loser" on it. It was highly demoralizing as everyone watched me as if I were a failure kid.

Stop looking at me like that? Everyone! Stop looking at me like I'm a failure! STOP IT! STOP! I wanted to scream at the entire class, which went on for another hour until the bell finally dismissed us for the next one.

"Mr Natsume, you are not dismissed yet. I need a word with you." Mrs Oka said as I was about to leave her stupid classroom.

"Yes, Miss Oka."

"What's happening? Why are you always just barely on time or very late? What's going on? Tell me, please." Was she for real? She always made me feel like crap, and now she pretended like she gave a shit? Fuck her!

"Nothing's wrong, Miss Oka. I'll leave now." I left for my next class right after, which was PE. For god sake, the universe truly hated me. In the changing area, I was also molested by my other bullied who ridiculed my out-of-shape body, calling me things like "Whale, Mamut, Manatee."

Their jokes did not stop with name calling as they never forgot to mention the classic "Hey buddy, the sea is by the south. We can help you get there." At least these ones did not physically assault me all the time, so I could bear some verbal abuse.

When we got ready for the class, I saw my crush going outside the girl's locker room. My beautiful princess, "Nanami," was a beautiful twelve-year-old dark-haired girl with innocent hazel eyes and a face that would befitting a goddess like her. Her physique was almost perfect, with an excellent hourglass shape.

My dream was cut short eventually when I was about to jump in the water when I looked at my reflection. I saw my kid self first, but then that same shape began to morph into my new reality. It was a good reminder. I woke up from my dream. Looked around me, analyzing my dreadful surroundings.

I had to accept it. All this time, I have been thinking of this as a story, but this is my reality. It's not a dream, and it's not fake, even if it's a bit far-fetched fantasy land. This is my new world, my reality, not a story or video game, but what's real.