Chapter 1: Travel by shoulder

Yuto woke up gasping for air, his body convulsing as he tried to swim to the surface. He kicked his legs and flailed his arms, fighting against the strong current that seemed determined to pull him under. He felt something hard and rough beneath his fingers, and he realized that he was clinging to the shoreline. With a burst of strength, he managed to pull himself up and out of the water, collapsing onto the cold, wet gravel and dirt that lined the riverbank. He lay there for a moment, coughing and panting as he tried to catch his breath.

As he lay on the riverbank, he realized something was wrong and then a wave of pain hit him. He clutched his head in his hands, trying to steady himself against the throbbing that seemed to be coming from inside his skull. He closed his eyes, trying to ride out the wave of agony, but his body seemed unwilling to cooperate. He felt heavy and sluggish, as if he was stuck in quick-drying cement. He took a deep breath and tried to focus, trying to clear his mind and summon the will to move. But the headache was too much, and he found himself sinking back onto the ground, unable to do anything but wait for the suffering to subside. He lay there for what felt like an eternity, time stretching out into infinity as the pain consumed him. He lost track of where he was, or what he was supposed to be doing.

All he knew was the pain, and the desperate need to escape it. Finally, after what felt like an age, the headache began to ease.

Since his pain was now bearable, Yuto attempted to move. Lowering his chin and raising his head, he could see a bare, flat chest rising up and down at a fast pace. Due to the shock he felt, the pace raced faster.

This was not his chest. Rather than the chubby lumps of extra fat, it was bone, almost skeletal. The bright pale skin tone Yuto was used to was now a dark tone of brown. A protruding rib cage lay beneath, not Yuto's either. While he moved to a seated position, wet sandy gravel slowly dropped from his back in clumps. Yuto followed along, tapping himself at his tapered waist along downwards to a drenched fluffy cloth. The cloth seemed to be the fur of an animal, drenched wet and the color of orange-brown. It was his only source of clothes and it only covered his bits. Yuto couldn’t help but try to make sense of his confusion.

‘Have I possessed a body or have I reincarnated through some kind of god? Perhaps even....’

"System." ~shisutemu~

After trying a list of words in an attempt to awaken powers and not succeeding, Yuto examined his newly found body for wounds. He noticed only a few scrapes and bruises. The wounds hurt along with a red pinch mark he self-inflicted, proving his disbelief.

After that, Yuto decided to search for familiar landmarks. As he stood up and scanned the area, Yuto filled his lungs with the refreshing misty air while birds sang loudly around him. He walked off the shoreline, further from the roaring rushing river water; taking in his surroundings and trying to make sense of the area.

'Well, I'm still on earth,' he thought, looking at the sun and moon along with the colorful sky. 'And it'll be close to winter too,' he observed, picking up a pile of crusty brown leaves near his feet. Turning to the river, he crumbled the leaves in his hand.

"That's definitely not the Kamo River. I don't even think Japan has a river that clear," he said. ~Sore wa tashika ni Kamo-gawa de wa arimasen. Nihon ni wa sonna senmei na kawa wa nai darou to omoimasu~.

Yuto examined the area, his gaze taking in the unfamiliar trees that surrounded him; not a cherry blossom in sight. From afar, he could see unfamiliar mountains. In almost any part of Japan you can usually see Mount Fuji. However, Yuto couldn't see the larger, majestic mountain from his perspective.

In hindsight, he couldn't help but feel a sense of intrigue and curiosity as he tried to piece together where he was and how he got there.

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As Yuto listened from a distance, he could hear the faint sound of splashing growing louder. His gaze was fixed on the approaching speck until it became a clear outline of a person. With this development, Yuto began to plan his next steps.

'First I'll need to keep a distance and make sure they're friendly or not, and I'll need an idea of where to run too. I'll also need some insurance.'

Thereafter, Yuto quickly assessed his surroundings, taking note of a tree with enough foliage to provide cover while he observed the approaching stranger. He also identified a clear path with fewer obstacles as his potential escape route. As a precaution, he picked up a firm but heavy looking rock and struck the air. "Just in case."~nemotameni~

Not too long after Yuto got in place, the figure emerged from the river. Yuto saw that he was twice as tall as himself, with a frown etched on his face and long, wet raven hair. The stranger's steps were slow and measured, his shoulders tense with frustration.

He wore a garment like Yuto’s and also a cloak that looked to be made out of plants.

Yuto watched as the figure crouched down, picking up stones and studying the ground.

Communication was something that came naturally to Yuto, but in this moment, it was impossible. In the comfort of his own home, he could text, email, or even call. But face to face with a stranger, he couldn't even bring himself to speak. Sometimes, he couldn't even answer the phone when his parents called. Despite knowing that this person could possibly provide him with answers about where he was and how he got there, fear overwhelmed Yuto's desire for answers.

That's when Yuto spotted the stranger through the foliage of leaves, walking towards him as if he knew where Yuto was. Yuto's heart began to race as the stranger approached. The stranger's face was obscured by the shadows, but Yuto could feel his gaze piercing through him. He tried to steady his breathing, but his heart was pounding in his chest. As the stranger got closer, Yuto's mind was filled with a million questions, but his voice failed him. All he could do was stand there, frozen with fear. That's when one step broke a branch.

Now, Yuto turned to run, dropping the weaponized rock. The stranger was intent on finding something, and Yuto wanted to put his safety first. That’s when the figure decided to finally speak. “Bird-Boy!”

The words spoken were not Yuto's native Tongue. Strangely enough, he knew exactly what the figure said.

Yuto's heart raced as he stepped off sprinting towards the escape route. Behind, he heard the figure pick up pace, pebbles flicking against each other along with the strangers crunching strides. Yuto's newly found legs didn't strain , making it easy for him to push himself to run faster.

Once at the end of the clear path he chose, it turned into a forest of trees with massive roots entangled like long nails. He stumbled over one and nearly fell, but he managed to regain his balance and keep running. The sound of the figure's footsteps behind him grew louder and louder, and he could feel the figure getting closer. Yuto hoped that the stranger would get tired like him or to trip like him, but those hopes were in vain.

Finally, the figure caught up to him. Strong arms wrapped around his chest and lifted him onto the figure's shoulder. Yuto kicked and struggled, but the figure's grip was too strong. The stranger's hot breath on the back of his neck made Yuto aware that he was being carried away.

"Where are you taking me?"-Doko ni ikimasu ka- Yuto demanded, still struggling to get free.

"Doko what?" the figure asked in a calm but firm voice. “Did you hit your head in the river?”

Yuto stopped struggling, but he didn't feel any less afraid. He could understand the figure's words despite not being familiar with the language. It was as if the comprehension of the language was ingrained in his mind, as if it was known just as intimately as his own name.

Yuto slowly swallowed as he asked his question in this language.

“Where are you taking me?” Due to the stress, the monotone question broke into a high-pitch.

Hearing this, the figure stopped. Yuto could feel his eyes looking at him; even though he couldn’t see him. The stranger lightly brushed Yutos head with his free hand.

"You really did hit your head. I told you not to go swimming during the long moon nights, especially during the first ray sun."

The stranger then moved his torso towards the Sun, Yuto's small frame following along.

"We still need to get back to our land and do our jobs, Dad will be back after he helps Rabbit-lover pay what is owed."

Neurons connected within Yuto’s brain opening a fragmented memory that wasn’t his.

Gripping a ember burning stick out of a fire he looked at a younger version of the stranger that was carrying him. The sudden burning sensation made him flinch and he threw the stick back in the fire. The stranger laughed in glee. “Only 3 breaths,” he rhetorically asked. “You’ll never get a mark with 3 breaths," he said, picking up a burning stick himself.

The stranger wasn't a stranger. It was the previous owners older brother ‘Man-boy'