1 Chapter 1 Dried Grass in the Summer

Sluggish, feverish, and can't differentiate between dreams and reality. That is what Yamamoto Sora feels when he wakes up at 9 o'clock in the morning. Walking slowly to the table to take his cold medicine, he gazes throughout the empty living room. His eyes see what they see but, his mind skeptical to all of it. As if he is still dreaming. It's been like this since two days ago when he arrived at his parents' house in Yamaguchi and immediately caught a cold. In his restless sleep, Sora dreams something strange. Only fractions of the dreams he can remember. The clearest are the vision, vast blue sky, grassy plains and singing of a woman. Since then, he has not been in the right place. It feels like it's jumping back and forward from dreams and reality. But Sora mostly ignores all of that. Now, he just wants to get better so he can do something else besides sleeping.

Sora takes his cold medicine and sighs. He starts to regret coming to his parents' house. Not just because he'd been in complicated terms with his family but also, the southern Japan climate hasn't been kind to his body. His initial purpose to go there is to finish a few things for college entrance. Instead, he catches a cold and gets a massive headache as soon as he arrives. The past 2 years Sora had been living in Ueda to attend prep school. Compared to Yamaguchi, mountainous Ueda has a colder climate. So, when he comes to Yamaguchi which has a warmer climate, his body gets a big shock. At least, that logical explanation Sora told to himself.

Sora decided to go back to sleep. Even though his fever has been down, he still has a lingering headache. As he goes back to the bedroom, he smells something familiar, something nostalgic. He ignores that, and throws himself to the bed. His mind starts drifting to the dreamland. In that moment, Sora smells it again, but the scent feels stronger now. Smell of dried grass in the summer, that is the words he uses to describe the scent he smells right now. Sora opened his eyes and gazed into the sky through the open window. The wind blows and in it, Sora can smell the scent of dried grass. His mind jumbles. But, not because to remember which memory that scent comes from. Instead, his mind tries to forget what memory that might trigger. Sora also feels another sensation. He felt as if his body was light as a feather, and the wind would blow his body away. Carrying to the distant land.

Sora closes his eyes. Trying to not think of anything, trying to sleep. Finally, his mind shutting in. Fast asleep, his mind darkened. Nothing came out, not dreams nor distorted memories. Sora gets the sleep he sorely needed. But, he is not just the only one who gets what he wants. As the wind blew again, someone took something out of it. A person named Yamamoto Sora.

Sora again smells the scent of dried grass but, this time it's sharper. As if the grass actually presented in front of his nose. Now that he mentions it, he also feels a ticklish sensation all over his body. Sora slowly opens his eyes and sees blades of grass. Surprised, he immediately stood up. Sora found himself not in his bedroom anymore but under a large tree which sits on top of a small hill. He panicked. All he can see is vast grassy plains. He looks up, a bright blue sky presented on his sight.

Sora confused and full of disbelieve

"Where-… Urrg." Before he can't finish the question, a dreadfully painful sensation strikes his head. As if he'd been hit by a warhammer. Disoriented by the pain, Sora leaned to the tree. He looked up, peering to the sun through the gap of leaves and branches. His eyes move wildly, a surge of memories entering his brain. Memories that he never had before. His mind tries to sort those memories out. Differentiates between those he can believe and those he does not even consider. Soon, his mind gets overwhelmed and simply gives up.

The pain is gone. Relieved, Sora seated on the ground. Still looking up, he gasped for air, his heart racing. After calming down, he stands up. Now, his mind had been cleared up. In fact, it's clearer than before. Again, Sora gazed at his surrounding area. Instead of panic, confusion or disbelief, he feels that can only be described by "meh" emoji and is a bit annoyed.

Instinctively, Sora takes a wooden stick that is the same size of his arm from the ground.

"Blue, bloody, Continent!" Sora cursed while walking down the hill toward the plains. He doesn't know where to go but, his feet move like they know where to head next.