Junpei was not really… made for these sorts of things. He wasn’t some sort of grand fantasy warrior, he was just a dude from a normal world with… well, slightly abnormal abilities, yeah, but nothing really superhuman. The morphogenetic fields couldn’t help him fight a monster or a demon or anything like that, they were just something of a pain. Honestly, he didn’t really know what to think of them. Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse… so honestly, like everything else in the world.
However, even if he wasn’t made for this… still, he couldn’t just stand by and let people get hurt. He had people he loved, people he cared for so dearly- people he wanted to protect. And for all that he’d deny his earnest nature, for all he’d try to act hard and tough, at his heart he was a good person.
And so, like the action hero he tried to deny himself being, he’d leap into danger for the ones he loved.
He had magic enough to help him fight the small guys, he figured. Even if it wasn’t much, he had that, and he still had some bullets for his gun. And honestly, between that and his dagger, that’d probably be enough.
Junpei wasn’t going to run into the thick of things, he was smart enough to know he’d only be a liability in the heat of battle. There were a lot more people who were far more suited to those sorts of things. So instead, he’d stationed himself outside of town, with the same group of locals who he’d been fighting with before. Some people were brave, and the light of hope was burning inside them all- together, they’d defend the people here while the other residents of that city took care of the big guys. He figured this way, there’d be at least one less thing to worry about, so it was still an important job.
“They’re coming!”
Junpei steeled himself for the approaching monsters, taking a moment to muse to himself about how much his life had changed for something like this to not phase him. Honestly, he’d seen some shit- it was weird how little this bothered him. But, despite that… it was amusing, too. Enjoyable, in a weird sort of way. He didn’t dislike it, at least.
Magic glowed and shot forth from his fingers, a preemptive strike against the group of monsters that stumbled forth. He and his group stood their ground, trading blow after blow with the monsters. It wasn’t easy- Junpei definitely took more hits than he’d like to admit- but they did eventually manage to defeat the group, collecting to regroup.
He was glad, in moments like these, that he had healing magic. It was fairly convenient, and a lot faster than any medical treatments in his world. It was a shame it wasn’t real there, honestly.
“Everyone doing alright?”
“We’re good. You?”
“Took a few hits, but got it healed up. We should prepare for the next wave.”
“Right!”
Junpei smiled, watching as the people worked to get themselves prepared and energized for another wave.
“These people are depending on us!” He spoke with determination, apparently filling into the leader role far better than he would’ve guessed for himself. “So let’s protect them, so the ones out there don’t have anything to worry about. We’ve got this, guys!”
His companions let out a cheer, and they turned back to their watch.
“Second wave, coming now!”
They would not falter, they would defend these people. In that, he was confident.
Junpei wasn’t entirely sure how things had gotten to this point, if he was perfectly honest with himself. He’d been relieved to hear of the peace treaty, quite relieved- however, it didn’t exactly solve things. There were still those weird mist reapers about… and despite his general lack of confidence when it came to fighting, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing about that.
He’d joined up with a group of civilians in the world to help fight them- perhaps it put him at a greater risk of assimilation himself, but he did at least have his gun with him. It’d been a real fun time trying to explain the weapon… none of the people from this world seemed to question it too deeply, but it definitely didn’t fit the whole fantasy aesthetic.
“Over there.”
“On your guards!”
He didn’t feel any sort of confidence with a sword, so instead he’d opted for a dagger- it was far more short-range, sure, but it was closer to the knives he’d occasionally had to use for self-defense in the past. Far from ideal, but it was better than using a clumsy weapon and getting himself killed… he didn’t know if this place had the same sort of respawns as that city, so he had no intent on getting himself erased. Sure, he could just jump- but that didn’t change things on this timeline, and the idea wasn’t exactly pleasant. He didn’t like thinking about those things too much…
“It’s coming!”
“Shit, it’s got friends—!!”
The group wasted no time in jumping to a fight, Junpei joining in as well. It was… sorta fucked, to think about. The concept of the mist reapers was nightmarish, they were people who would be able to just… make you forget that you were you. It was something that terrified Junpei, given his own experiences with his abilities.
His dagger met with a blade, a close call that he felt shave a little bit of the fur off his face. Too close for comfort, a little too careless- but he was used to those sorts of situations. It was hard to kill him, he was a tenacious bastard- he’d heard thugs throw that one at him before, he thought with a wry smile.
An elbow lodged into the mist reaper’s solar plexus, and Junpei followed through with a sharp stab. Kicking the reaper away, another one of the civilians continued with that one, while the second reaper was being dealt with as well. For people who’d seemed so terrified at first, they were able to band together when needed… it gave Junpei hope.
And hope was a funny thing.
It was reason enough to continue the fight until it was over, standing with the group and checking to be sure everyone was alright. He had healing magic, so he wasted no time in helping out the people who’d gotten hurt. It was strange, really… it wasn’t like this was something Junpei ever could’ve expected in his life, but it felt as though it made sense. In a strange sort of way, at least…
“Shit, another one!”
“Get down!”
Junpei hollered at them as he drew his gun- the mist reaper was running at them and the rest had set their weapons down, which meant this was the most efficient form of action. He’d been doing his best to save his bullets, but now wasn’t a time to be stingy- one clean shot through the head and the reaper dissipated, finally leaving the group alone.
“Phew…”
“Thanks… you really saved my bacon there.”
“No problem. I’m just trying to help.”
Working together like this… he knew not everyone in the group he worked with was from Airaisal, but they’d put that aside. He wanted to believe that meant the people of the city could work together, too… many of them were… to put it gently, absolute morons, but being a moron didn’t mean they were bad people.
By the time he got back to the city, the group was exhausted but in good spirits. They’d done good work, and the forests of the country were a little bit safer for the ‘outlanders’ again- that made him happy enough.
Hopefully, whatever was happening with that tree… hopefully soon, they’d be able to stop it. All he could do was hold onto hope, but at the very least, that was one thing he was good at.
Of course it would probably be a weird question to ask. They wouldn’t blame him if it freaked him out a little bit- Akane themselves had taken a while to get used to their… surreal appearance.
It was an adjustment period.
“It’s a cute tail… moving all on it’s own like that…”
“…Wait- I have a question. It’s a little strange though, but do you have any urges to sniff butts? I saw a dog do that once and always wondered why. This is my first time asking a doggy personally their feelings on the matter.”
“Wh-What?! N-No, I don’t-- I might look like a dog, but I don’t have any desire to do that!” Had he still been human, they certainly would’ve been able to see him blushing- but given it was Akane, they’d likely be able to tell just from his voice. And even if not, the look on his face probably gave it away enough.
“I-I, I think that’s like.... how dogs identify each other? Trying to get scents. I’m not a dog, though, so I don’t need to do that. I can just... look at you.”
