Ch-2 Gate to Another World

Well, it's after nine.

To all the students across the country studying for exams, take a break and relax with some music on the radio. Today's special is western music from the 80s.

I'm studying for exams myself, so I try to get as much time in at night as possible. This DJ is my favorite, and this hour is always my break.

Akari lives right next door, but it's not like in those romantic comedies where you can open the window and look directly into her room. Since I can't see what she's up to, I decide to send her a message on Line.

*What are you doing now?*

*I'm going to take a bath! Do you want to join me?*

*Idiot. I accidentally hit send, so it's get send.*

Suddenly, I felt a shock as if the whole house had been lifted one meter off the ground and dropped.

An earthquake! Just as this thought crossed my mind, the room began to shake violently in all directions, forward, backward, left, right, up, and down.

I couldn't stay in my chair. I was thrown to the floor and my bookcase fell over. From the living room I heard the loud crash of our china cabinet falling.

The shaking continued for about a minute before it stopped, but the power was out. Using the light on my smartphone, I went downstairs to the living room.

"Dad, Mom, are you okay?"

"Oh, Yuta. We're fine. Everything just fell over. It was a big earthquake. I wonder where the epicenter was?"

"I had the radio on; I'll get it."

I went back upstairs to get the radio. It was still on, since it's rechargeable, but there was no mention of an earthquake - it was just playing a Queen song.

"Huh? Maybe I need to check NHK or something," I thought, fiddling with the channels, but none of them mentioned anything about an earthquake.

"Dad, something's weird. There's nothing on the radio about the earthquake."

"What? Was the tremor that localized? Maybe we'll get more information when the TV comes back on. I'll check the breaker."

Just then we heard a loud scream from next door.

"Aaaahhhhhh..."

"That was Sakura's house. I hope no one is hurt."

"I'll go check on her," I said to my worried mother and hurried out, grabbing the wooden sword we keep at the entrance for emergencies.

Akari's house was pitch black. The front door was locked and of course the doorbell didn't work with the power outage. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Maybe someone was hurt and could not answer.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"Right, she said she was taking a bath."

Remembering that, I went back to the bathroom window.

I've known the layout of Akari's house since we were kids. I gently knocked on the bathroom window.

"Akari, are you okay? It's me, Yuuta!"

There was no answer but I could see movement inside. I hesitated for a moment.

"I'm going to break the window. Watch out for the glass!"

I swung the wooden sword with all my strength and shattered the window. I couldn't see clearly in the darkness, but I could make out a human-sized shadow moving inside.

The bathroom window was a bit small, but I cleared the remaining glass, climbed inside, and turned on the light on my smartphone.

W-What is this?! In the dimly lit bathroom of Akari's house, a disturbing scene unfolded before my eyes.

Akari was being held in a headlock from behind by another person. Her legs were spread in an "M" shape and she was struggling against her attacker. However, the person holding her in the headlock was not human; they were pigs? No, they were wearing some sort of armor, so I assumed they were human, though perhaps cosplaying as some sort of character.

Then I heard a strange popping sound, and my rationality snapped. The next thing I knew, I was swinging the wooden sword hard, slashing at the pig-like humans until one of them finally collapsed, apparently unconscious.

"Ah, are you okay? What the hell is this..."

"Yu-chan! Ah, thank you. But I don't know what happened... I was taking a bath, and suddenly there was a big earthquake, then the power went out, and out of the darkness came that pig man and tried to bite me."

"Still, you're way too ugly and well equipped to be an opportunistic thief," I muttered, trying to remove the mask only to find it wouldn't come off.

"Is this one of those orcs that appear in light novels and anime?"

Akari seemed doubtful as well, but that wasn't the main concern right now. Where was her mother, Hoshi-san?

"Akari, where is your mother?"

I looked at her and suddenly noticed that she was completely naked.

"Um, Akari, maybe you should get dressed first. Then I'll call the police. I'll look for your mother."

"Okay. Mom should be in the kitchen..."

For the moment, there didn't seem to be any other intruders, so I let Akari get dressed and went to the kitchen to check on Hoshi-san. However, something felt wrong.

I've been practicing kendo since elementary school - not a master, but good enough to be confident in my skills. I've always thought I was more attuned to sensing the presence of people than most.

On the other side of the refrigerator in the kitchen is a back door that leads to the backyard. I could sense something moving in that direction. I had my wooden sword, but if there were multiple intruders or hostages, I'd be at a disadvantage. Maybe it was best to wait for the police.

I checked my phone, only to see that it was out of range. Perhaps the earthquake had damaged the communication lines. With no immediate help from the police, I cautiously approached the house and peeked out the back door.

...As expected, there were several pig-like creatures in the backyard, and among them was an mature woman. Akari's mother, who was gagged but looked conscious.

And what is that? Despite the blackout that had plunged everything into darkness, a glowing ring about two meters in diameter hovered in the air about thirty centimeters above the ground.

There were too many of them for me to handle alone. Just as I was about to call for reinforcements, a figure stepped through the glowing ring-a tall man in extravagant clothing. Judging by the reaction of the pig creatures, he appeared to be their leader. Though I couldn't see clearly, his long, pointed ears caught my attention. Could he be... an elf?

This situation was beyond comprehension. Could the earthquake really have connected us to another world?

Wait! He noticed me! This elf has keen senses!

The next thing I knew, several pig creatures had surrounded me, their spears aimed directly at my chest. Damn, I was trapped.

"Hmm, a human male from this world. Don't resist and we won't hurt you unnecessarily."

The message came directly into my mind - telepathically, it seemed - instead of being spoken aloud.

"Who are you? What are you doing here, attacking the Sakura family?"

Another wave of thoughts returned.

"There is no need for you to know. Soon, everyone in this world will kneel before us."

What were these creatures? Were they really invaders from another world?

In the end, I was bound and gagged next to Hoshi, Akari's mother.

Minutes later, Akari was bound, gagged and dragged out into the backyard.

"It seems there are only these three in this house. They will be enough for today. Activate the barrier to hide the gate and retreat. Take them all."

Her thoughts kept running through my mind.

Damn it. We're just prisoners on their reconnaissance mission... While I was thinking about our situation, a metal chain was placed around Akari's neck and she was dragged towards the gate.

Is there anything I can do? I racked my brain, but nothing helpful came to mind.

Just as Akari was about to be taken through the gate, Aunt Hoshi desperately threw herself at the pig creature holding Akari's chain, dragging me with her.

With strength that must have come from pure adrenaline, Aunt Hoshi managed to knock both Akari and the pig creature aside. But in the struggle, Aunt Hoshi and I stumbled forward and fell through the ring of light.

Whoa... What is this feeling? It's disgusting, like my sense of balance has been completely destroyed. My head was spinning, and then I heard the elf's thoughts again.

"What fools! Jumping into the gate without the proper markings... there's no chance they'll survive. We'll adjust the gate quickly." After that, I either couldn't hear anything or I lost consciousness completely.

As my mind began to fade, I could still feel Aunt Hoshi's grip on my left wrist, holding on with what strength she had left.