Minutes after the flash, Hokori and his family could do nothing. In fact, they felt nothing but swimming in a breathable sea. It was like their eyes had closed forever. Luckily, it did not last.

Haruto was the first to awaken. He slowly opened his eyes and heard seagulls in the sky—even waves. He could smell the salty air. Beneath him, he felt grass. So, he sat confused. He pictured a ship at first, not a moving resort. However, he was right all along.

He looked up and saw a massive mast. “A jolly roger?” his eyes squinted. “Wait… Is that—” He heard a loud, childish cackle in front. His body jerked in surprise. Said surprise became worse upon realizing who had laughed. It was all too unique.

“Shishishishishi. You alright, pal? We found ya floating in the sea. Z*ro and S**ji thought you were food.” He laughed again with a toothy grin.

Haruto could not believe his eyes. The boy before him had worn probably the most iconic hat in Japan. He found no mistake with the barley straw and red band. At that moment, he recalled his undying love for an earthly franchise. Yet, he sweated bullets. “This isn’t happening. It’s not happening.” He muttered with his head covered downward.

“What ‘isn’t happening,’ brat?” a green-haired man walked toward him. He smirked and prepared to draw a katana. “Hmmm… you look pretty strong.”

“Hey, hey!” one stepped in with deep concern. “Are you always gonna point those at anyone you meet?”

Haruto now wished he merely dreamt everything before him. The man who threatened him had called his friend “Long Nose.” The said friend complained to no end. Then, he heard a door creak from afar. He knew what it was—a kitchen.

“That’s enough, you two. Lunch is ready.” The blonde man twirled cartoonishly to a woman in a deck chair. “Here you go, R*b*n-chwan! A parfait with thick cream and the best sandwich there is.” He kneeled with closed eyes.

She closed her book, “Thank you, Mr. Cook,” and giggled.

He twirled cartoonishly again far away. “Mellorine! Mellorine! Mellorine!” His eyes turned heart-shaped.

“I hope you fall overboard, Twirly Brow,” demanded the green-haired man. Within seconds, they eyed each other with killing intent. Name-calling became endless.

The blue-short boy laughed once more. He turned to Haruto again. “Lively as ever, aren’t they? And don’t worry yourself. We’re here to take you home. Your family misses you.”

He sweated bullets further. All of this had to be a dreamscape. He never meant to meet his teenage heroes in a literal sense. However, he mustered some way to speak.

“Umm… Who are you? I-I’d like to know….” He tried his best not to recognize the boy. His heart now matched a rabbit’s. His inner child badly wanted to come out.

“Shishishishishi. I’m M*n**y D. L***y! I’m going to be the Pirate King!” It was a grin for the ages.

Just like that, Haruto’s blood rushed to his feet. He fell face-first, unconscious. The boy poked him three times. From afar, a short furry doctor freaked out.

“What have you done! You killed him!” He took out his stethoscope and sighed in relief.

“He’s far from dead, C**pp*r,” another woman stepped in. “People pass out when stressed out too much. Take him to your clinic.” She went inside her room to do cartography.

A tall skeleton looked down at the passed-out Haruto. “Oh… I see that he’s far more youthful than what meets the eye. Though, I myself don’t have eyes. Yohohohohoho!”

The straw hat laughed with him and stood up. “J**b*i! Full speed ahead!” With that, the fish-like man nodded and informed his crew downstairs.

“Yeah!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got cola for days.” He revved up a massive piston that needed barrels of the beverage to work. It went faster by the second. Outside, the other crew lowered the sails.

“Coup de Burst!!!”

In a village, Hokori and the rest stood just as confused. The place was rural in every way—leather huts everywhere. Everyone had green skin and pointy ears. None literally knew the word “electricity.” All the while, they told them about a “demon lord” high in the mountains.

They hailed Kakunō as their hero, slaying all evil. He chuckled faintly and asked to come out of the chief’s tent. Outside, he turned to Hokori.

“This is an acid trip and then some, man.” He sighed and looked around. “We gotta get outta here.”

“What do you mean, Big Bro?” Yukino looked up. “These people need our help.”

He sighed again and turned around. “Listen, Yuki. Elves don’t exist in our world. We have no such records, even in other nations. Sorry to disappoint. And the only ‘demon lord’ in Parallaxis is Naraka’s Yama. Even then, that’s merely a title. And he’s far from evil. I met him long ago.”

She pouted with clenched fists down. “Are you saying we shouldn’t save them? They’re here now. Why not?” She went on to say how uncool he was. No matter how he denied it, she would say it constantly with her head turned. Suddenly, she heard her uncle chuckle from afar.

“Listen to him, kiddo.” Hokori walked toward them. “What he was gettin’ at was that ain’t none of this is normal. My guy Harald didn’t send us a mission.” He opened The Every Hub. Zero notifications proved his point further.

Yukino’s eyes and lips frowned. She was so ready to fight evil back to its pits. Her mother kneeled and held her shoulders.

“Don’t be sad, honey.” She stroked her crown. “We’re here because a ship offered to return your father to us. He must be worried sick.”

Her gloom disappeared—now a smile. She hugged her with closed eyes. Every day, she never got tired of declaring love for her parents. Luckily, the devil spoke that day. The elf villagers noted them of a brig sloop landing ashore.

Hokori and his family moved down a sandy hill. Yukino ran the fastest with a smile. “Papa!” She jumped and hugged Haruto tightly. They shared smiles and giggles. Eventually, her mother joined in.

Kenkō held her chest with a relieved heart. Meanwhile, Hokori and Kakunō stood in place. Both sweated bullets and had hearts raced to their limit. “Bruh,” said the former. “Is that deadass what I think it is?” He shakingly pointed.

“Yes, dude.” His eyes widened. “That’s the fucking Th**s*nd S**ny!” He fell on his back with eyes rolling upward. On the other hand, Hokori had panted—eyes wider than his.

Tokino bowed and thanked the ship’s captain. The straw hat boy stood atop a railing as it sailed to the seas. “Goooodbyyyye!” he waved with both arms.

She waved back alongside Yukino and Kenkō. It did not take long for their smiles to disappear. From afar, they noticed the other three sharing their disbelief.

“Jesus Christ, boy!” exclaimed Hokori to Haruto. “You’re so damn lucky. I read the manga every night before bed. Even when it ended, I didn’t stop ‘til my last birthday.”

He chuckled nervously, “Yeah…” and scratched the back of his head. “I’m more surprised than you. That was way trippy.” His eyes lit up, gathering thoughts.

Kakunō revealed a lot that day with the two. He thanked his eldest brother for giving him a taste in earthly media. “I once binged Jujutsu Kaisen till 5:30. Would you believe that!?”

As they conversed like the world’s biggest fans, Kenkō interrupted with a throat clearing. She demanded they all go home. Surprisingly, Yukino did not argue as she noted the strange occurrences.

In the airship, Hokori defeated Haruto on the Pokémon battle board again. The latter could do nothing against a Dynamaxed Heracross. In the end, they shook hands.

“That’s the thing, boy,” the former explained. “Never rely on legendaries 24/7. I only tested your wit those last times.”

They walked past each other satisfied. Just as Haruto approached his wife in the library, he turned. “Hey, umm… Weren’t we on a mission yesterday?” He raised an eyebrow.

He caressed his chin. “Yeah, you’re right.” However, he shrugged with closed eyes. “The enemy probably had memory powers or somethin’. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

After hearing his nonchalant response, he sighed and went to the library. Once again, his wife hugged him in tears after reading “The Fault in Our Stars.” Her nails dug into his back, but she apologized quickly.

A golden glow shined through their home’s windows that morning. Hokori awoke ready for another five-star meal by the Minagawa couple. However, sorrow filled the air downstairs; not a dish in sight.

Tokino bawled on the table for an hour before; Kakunō rubbed her back. Kenkō comforted Yukino on a couch—tears now harder to control. Unexpectedly for them, he could not bear such tragedy before him. He uttered not a joke once. His eyes and mouth showed nothing of pride and joy; his heart sunk.

He held her shoulder. “What’s the matter, kid? Tell me anything.” He remained soft-spoken.

She sniffled and dried her eyes. “Sorry to see me like this, brother. But my Haruto’s nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere down the city until dawn broke.” She revealed that she heard a broken window at midnight.

She stood up and hugged him. “Please find him, brother. I beg of you.” The waterworks had slowed.

He smiled faintly and patted her head. “Sure… Anythin’ for my Lil’ Sis.” He turned to his siblings and declared a full-on search. Their eyes became stern.

Down at Coelestis, they searched every last outskirt. Three hours in, no luck. Fortunately, it did not stay that way.

Citizens nearby screamed and ran from a commotion in the central park. Its forest always had tales of monsters lurking, but parents knew better. Four-winged mallards and deciduous camels thrived there. This time, said species formed a stampede away from their home.

The three treaded deep into the woods. Sunlight had now barely shone through. Moments later, it was all darkness. They heard roars. Not of an animal, but a human—perhaps wild.

Kakunō scratched his head. “So, do you think it’s him?” He looked at Hokori.

“Probably,” he shrugged with his hands inside his pockets. “This gurgly voice ain’t nothin’ like the boy. Yet, I feel hints? Does that make sense?” He turned and saw a shaking head.

Seconds later, the devil spoke. They recognized Haruto’s gold and silver broadswords. However, he was far from being usual. Not only was he half-naked, but he had his white coat tied around his waist. The most striking change was a severed boar head for a mask.

He sat on the ground and bashed his swords with a rock. He grunted in frustration. “Dammit! Why won’t it work!” Then, an idea popped into his head. He hit the blades together until they turned jagged like a saw. “Alright…” he examined them closely.

He heard voices from afar. “Hey, boy.” Hokori walked closer. “Time for ya to come—” Out of nowhere, two blades greeted his neck on both sides. He effortlessly flash-stepped away. “Geez. Chill out with that.”

Kenkō stepped in. “Come on, Haruto. Your wife and daughter are distressed. Keep up the act, and you’re my brother no longer.”

He sheathed his now jagged swords on his waist. They found it odd instantly. He learned how to store weapons inside runes weeks ago. He stood straight with crossed arms. “Hahahahahaha! No idea who you’re talking about, child.” He pointed to himself with both thumbs. “I am the King of the Mountain. Grovel before me!!”

Several nerves popped within her. “Child?” an eye twitched. Teeth clenched, she walked with heavy steps. However, Hokori held her shoulder from behind. He never expected to fight the White Swordsman again. Either way, he chuckled at the notion.

Memories from Earth came back to him. He grinned with his head cocked. “Oh, yeah… I remember that show. He was my all-time favorite.” He chuckled louder.