V 1.1 Chapter 1: That Girl with a Scarlet Hair.

What does it mean to be human? Aristotle once said that the ability to speak and reason separates us from other living beings such as animals and plants. It's what constitutes our humanity. It's what makes us human. However, what if there exists another being capable of rational thought? What, then, is the difference between that and a human?

***

Listening through the silence of the night, I was standing in the rooftop of our school. We had just finished our student council work so I was taking a break.

"Haruka..."

It's already been 3 years yet I still can't forget you.

"Every day without you is like never-ending torture."

I miss you so much.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you at that time."

I'm sorry, I'm so weak.

Looking up, I saw an object burning while flying. I had mistaken it as a wishing star.

"PLEASE, LET ME SEE HER AGAIN!!!"

Suddenly, a loud sound exploded almost deafening my ear. It came from the burning object which also produced a blinding light. As my vision slowly returned, I saw...

A freaking airplane falling towards me.

***

"Aaahhh!"

Waking up, I was suddenly in a different place.

It was dark, as trees nearly covered all the rays coming from the sun. A foul smell, like that of a dead creature, filled the air, irritating my nose to no end. Eerie sounds of wild animals nearby drowned the area with a spine-chilling ambiance.

"Where the hell am I? Where is the plane? Agh..." The surroundings looked oddly familiar. It felt like deja vu. Yet, my head twinged each time I tried to remember it.

"What is this place? This is so creepy."

Shit. Is this the afterlife?

Standing up, I got a glimpse of my right hand touching the earth. It was cold. But, I noticed... something.

"AHHHHHHHHH---"

There was no flesh.

"Fuck!!" I repeatedly shouted. "What is this? What the fuck is happening?! What the hell is this?!"

Somehow I could, feel my heart beating faster like always. However, as my fleshless hand made contact with my chest, I felt something was wrong. My fingers slid through the intervals of my ribs; even my heart is gone.

"H-hya!"

My screams filled the area, frightening the birds nested on top of the trees.

Suddenly, I felt a slight touch on my right shoulder. "Uhm..."

My body froze. I slowly moved my gaze and saw a hand wrapped in white bandages. "Ahhh!" Immediately, I smacked the hand and moved away.

"S-sorry," an apology repeatedly came from a mysterious, bowing person.

"Haru...ka??? No, it can't be you. Who the hell are you!?"

Standing in front was a girl with long, unkempt hair with a scarlet color, with a lengthy fringe lightly covering her eyes. She was wearing a black robe enveloping her entire body from shoulder to below her knee. Her fairly pale skinned body was trembling while looking at me hesitantly with her eyes, blue as the sky. Slowly, she walked towards me, her right arm holding a staff with a crystal on top, while the other hand clasped her right wrist.

"Uhm..." She uttered while raising her left hand.

"D-don't come any closer," I shouted, startling her. "I'm warning you. Answer my questions. Where am I?! What did you do to me?!"

The girl's eyes became teary. Tightening the grip on her staff, she replied softly while quivering, "Uhm... M-my name is Emily Scarlet. I-I'm a necromancer, and I reanimated you from the dead."

This voice...

"Stop this nonsense, what do you mean reanimated!? What did you do to me!? Bring me back to normal!"

The girl's eyes were close to crying. "S-sorry. I don't know how to-"

"What do you mean you don't know? Return me back this-"

I stopped mid-sentence because past behind her, I saw a monster, about to pounce on her, its unsuspecting victim. My body acted on impulse and ran towards her. The last thing I remember was its right paw hitting me with full force and a loud crash echoing all over the place. When I quickly came back to my senses, I found my body smashed into pieces. My bones were all over the place.

"Ahhhh," even without lungs, I screamed out in horror. "M-my body... My body is..."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you..." the girl spoke in an apologetic tone while writing something in the air. Afterward, she raised her scepter and looked at the monster.

"W-what are you doing? Get away before that thing kills you!"

"Phantom Bullet," pointing her scepter, she shouted at the monster, and some sort of a green ball of light appeared from her staff and proceeded to pierce its head.

That scene made my jaw literally drop from my skull. It was like watching a 3D fantasy movie, totally unbelievable, yet it all happened in front of me. After that, she wrote another peculiar symbol in the air and whispered a chant. This time, my bony parts were all magically glued back into place.

"W-what's happening? Who are you? What did you do to that monster?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized further with small teardrops falling from her eye.

"I'm sorry," My bony hands clapped. "I didn't mean to scare you before." And with that, she somehow calmed down. Looking at her, I became considerate as I asked her with a soother voice, "Umm... Could you please properly explain everything?"

"M-my name is Emily Scarlet," she stammered, softly while holding her scepter with her two hands placed on her chest. "I-I'm a necromancer... and uhh, umm... I have the ability to revive a dead person using magic. It's called reanimation. Uhm... I've been trying to practice this for weeks, and I happen to find your corpse here in this forest so I tried to reanimate you."

Emily Scarlet... Wait a minute? Reanimation? Magic?

Looking at her, I asked, "But, how did I get here? Is still earth? And more importantly, how did I die?"

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know," she spoke with a low voice while looking at her feet. "I just found your corpse while I was looking for food. And I-I don't know where is Earth."

Is it the truth? Or is she just deceiving me? I know I can't trust her just yet.

"Uhm," the girl interrupted as she took a peek at me from the fringe of her hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Hiiro... Hiiro Akira," I replied offering a handshake.

Emily, slowly while shivering, shook my fragile hand. "Uhm, t-thank you for saving me."

"No problem. When I saw that thing earlier, my body just moved on its own. Come to think of it, what is that thing?"

After shaking my hands, she went back to holding her scepter with her two hands. "I-it's a bear," she replied in a low voice while looking down.

"Huh!? That is definitely not a bear!"

"I'm sorry," she apologized while tightening her grip on her scepter.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to yell at you. But, is that really a bear?"

"Y-yes, it's one of the larger ones," she answered, softly.

Larger ones? The way she's saying it means like it's normal to see that huge thing. What's happening? And I still don't know where this place is.

"H-Hiiro..." she murmured. "W-would it be alright if you could become my friend?"

A friend? Is she planning something?

"U-uhm. I-is it a no?" she asked while looking down.

"Ahm, sure, why not?"

I don't know what's she planning but my guts are telling me to agree.

"Thank you," she replied softly while smiling. A bit of silence filled the place since we both didn't know what to say next.

"I, uhh... I think we should go somewhere safe before something else appears again."

"I-I see. Y-you're right," she responded while looking down, hiding her blushing face. "We should go to my house."

For now, I'll follow her. I still don't trust her yet, but in situations like this, I think it's better to be with someone than go solo, especially in a dangerous place like this.

We then walked away from the forest. Emily tried to keep her distance from me while traveling.

***

It was already nightfall when we have arrived at a small and worn-out house that looked similar to a witch's hut. Amazing, for I always thought necromancers lived in cemeteries. A tall tree stood in between the river and the building, with its leaves withering from its branches. The nauseating smell of dead animals engulfs the whole area.

How can I be irritated by this smell when I don't even have a nose?

These thoughts quickly traveled through my mind. A non-existent yet beating 'heart', an imaginary nose that could smell. Everything seemed impossible, yet this is real.

In the first place, how can I even move? Without muscles and tendons, this should be impossible.

After opening the door, Emily spoke with a soft, slow voice while bowing, "W-welcome to my home."

The interior of the house looked like it was made of wood which has seen better days. There was a table in the middle with two chairs on adjacent sides. On the left side of the house, there was a fireplace. On the right side, there seemed to be a collection of books. On the remaining side at the back, there was a door. Not far from that backdoor, there was a ladder going up.

"So this is a necromancer's house. By the layout of the first floor, perhaps that's her bedroom," I whispered while examining the place. "Where am I? I doubt there's a place like this in the Philippines."

"U-uhm," Emily softly interjected after she put down her scepter beside the chair. "W-what do you want to eat?"

"Uhm... I'm a skeleton though. Can I eat?" I asked after switching my gaze unto her.

"I see. Y-you're right." She looked down and walked towards into the kitchen door.

Moments later, she came back and brought a plate with food, but it looked like those were leftovers from a previous meal.

Somehow it looks delicious; I want to taste it. But, I guess it's impossible since I don't even have a tongue. Or maybe I can since I could smell without a nose? Then again, I don't have a stomach.

"U-uhm?" she interrupted my thinking.

"I'm sorry. Please, don't mind me. Go on and eat. I know you've been tired from that walk."

And with that, Emily started to chow it down.

"I'm sorry if I made you sad," I apologized while looking at her.

Emily chewed, swallowed down whatever was in her mouth and then talked. "I-it's okay. I'm also sorry since I forgot you're still a skeleton."

"Still? Wait, does that mean I can have my normal body back?"

"I-I don't know," she replied, softly while looking down. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact. "T-the book said you're supposed to come back the way you were before you died. W-were you born as a skeleton?"

"No, I'm 100% human."

"Y-you came from the country of humans?" She looked at me with a terrified look while tightly gripping her left wrist.

Country of humans? What does she mean? Also, what happened to her? She seems scared when I told her I was a human.

"Don't worry, I'm not affiliated with the country of humans. I was a traveling merchant when I was alive."

"I-I see. I'm sorry," she replied still looking down.

"It's okay."

This is weird.

"Anyway, can I ask you a question? Where are we exactly?"

"W-we're currently inside a forest in the boundary of Khina, the country of humans and Razzia, the country of demons," she replied, softly.

"Country of demons?" I whispered.

There's something weird with me.

We continued our conversation. It was filled with random topics and some jokes. As more and more words came from our mouths, I finally understood the strangeness that I felt. The strangeness as to why I felt comfortable talking to a stranger, talking to a person in an unfamiliar world.

Somehow... talking to her... I am reminded of Haruka. It's like I'm talking to Haruka.

After that, Emily continued talking about herself. I've found out that her mother was killed by humans less than a year ago and she's been living here in solitude since then.

Judging from her story, I doubt I'm still on Earth. And this doesn't seem to be a dream. This is reality. But why did she tell me about her past? Are you even supposed to say these things to a person you just met? She's too trusting...

Anyway, the talk turned serious all of a sudden. I need to think of a new topic somehow.

"By the way, are you not having a hard time with your long hair?"

"I'm sorry," she shrieked while hurriedly grabbing her hair to cover her face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything bad. I just thought that maybe you find it hard seeing since your hair is long and it mostly covers your eyes"

"My mom... When my mother was alive, she usually took care of my hair," she replied while looking down. "But now I'm alone I haven't had a chance to cut it."

Crap, I made her sad. I have to fix this somehow.

"Uhm, you know... If it's ok with you. I can cut your hair for you."

"B-but..." she responded.

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I'm actually pretty skilled. When I was still in my hometown, my mother owned a beauty parlor and sometimes I helped her on her job, especially at days where there were a lot of customers."

"N-no," Emily stuttered. "I-I'm not doubting your skills. I just don't want to bother you with this."

"Oh, don't worry. You're not bothering me at all."

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't..." she answered, softly.

"Just think of it like a gift for reincarnating me."

"B-but you already saved me before," she replied, softly.

"Okay then. Just talk to me if you want me to cut it."

Well, I don't really want to force her into doing it. I don't want her hating me after all.

"O-okay, thank you very much," she responded, bowing.

"Well. Anyway, since it's already late, I think we should get some sleep."

"O-okay. But there's only one bed," Emily replied, softly while looking below.

"Let's sleep together then," I said, as a joke.

"O-okay. I-I think that's only normal since the bed is for two people," she stuttered while blushing.

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm just joking you know. Even though I'm just all bones, I'm still a man. You can't just let me sleep beside you."

"I-I see." Emily looked down in disappointment.

Please, don't do that. Why are you even shy when someone wants to cut your hair but you're okay when someone says they want to sleep together with you? Isn't that supposed to be the opposite?

"Ahhh... Okay, okay, okay. Just this once, okay? After this, no more sleeping together."

"O-okay." She smiled.

I hope nothing happens.

***

Time passed, and I still couldn't sleep. A sudden thought flashed in my mind.

"Come to think of it, do I even need sleep?"

"Mother... where are you? Mother..." Curious, I looked at Emily; she seems to be having a nightmare.

"Mother..." With her tears falling, I held her hands.

I see. She was longing for her mother. I wonder if that's the reason why she wanted to sleep with me...

"This girl... Did she reanimate me because she's just lonely? Because she really just wants a friend?"

Curious, I moved her hair that was covering her face to the side so I could take a good look at it.

"This... This can't be... Ha... Ha..."

Immediately, I ran down the stairs, tripping as I went straight outside the house.

"That face," I said while kneeling and having my hands touching my forehead. "There's no way I'll mistake that face. That's definitely Haruka."

"Ha... Ha... Ha... Hahaha." I cried while laughing continuously. "Haru---"

However, I was suddenly interrupted by the image of my parents in my mind which made me paused a bit.

"No. She can't be Haruka..."

That's right. Haruka... is already dead. It's already been three years since she died.

"And she doesn't seem to know me when I said my name to her."

That's right. She's just a girl who looks like her.

Slapping my cheeks, I refreshed my mind.

"I need to return to my world. My parents are probably worried sick right now."

But how? How can I return?

Thinking for a bit, I thought of an idea.

...Wait, a minute. That's it. If this theory is right, then it was magic that transported me to this world. Then that means that there should be magic that would turn me human again and transport me back to my world.

"That's right, I just have to learn magic."