The Extra’s Detour

It took an hour to finish cleaning up the apartment. During which he had tossed aside three different trash bags full of used bandages, found too many empty boxes of band aids to count in the kitchen drawers, and finally found makeup hidden in the small cabinet behind the broken mirror.

"Lucky me," he chuckled as he took out some concealer that looked like it matched his skin tone. He then reached into the bag he'd used to pick up the broken glass all over the bathroom, and used it as a handheld mirror. Keeping it in view as he used the concealer to hide the bruises on his face.

"Slow and steady," he muttered as he slowly but surely hid the last of his visible injuries. Only poking himself twice before he was done, and it looked like he just had really dry skin. If someone took a good look they'd probably notice something was up, but from far away he'd be good. Especially if he wore a hat or something. Assuming he even had a hat.

"Maybe he kept one in his backpack," Jay muttered as he walked over, the pain in his feet was numb by now, although he'd taken to walking on his top toes, to avoid getting the cuts beneath his feet dirty. He'd probably have to wash them in a little bit, but not now. Checking the rest of the backpack came first.

"Come on," he murmured as he opened the man pack, finding a few hand me down books on mana, magic, spear combat, and one on 'dungeon raiding for beginners.' At the very least it looked like the dude hadn't been lazy, but still it wasn't a hat.

"The hell is this?"

And the broken bits of a wooden spear, splintered and crammed into the bottom of the backpack, with a the chipped spearhead next to it, were even less useful. He picked up the wooden pieces and tossed them into the trash bags. Weighing the spear head, a metal tip atop a broken wood shaft, making it similar in grip to a dagger, he decided to pocket it. Slipping it beneath the back waistband of his jeans.

When he checked the cabinets earlier he couldn't find a knife that wasn't meant for butter, so this would have to do. He couldn't really cut chicken without it. And he was craving chicken. That pickle ham sandwich barely filled his stomach.

Finding a way to get groceries was a priority.

And sadly this dude's wallet wasn't helping.

"Should I just sell my ID." Jay scratched his head as he flipped open the wallet. He didn't remember how much the currency in this world had was worth, or how to translated to USD, it was never really a big deal in the light novel, but Jay sure as shit didn't have any of it. His wallet was empty, save for his ID and a note from someone named David.

Hey, Gayze, it read, and Jay laughed a little. He saw what they did there. Jay —> Gay + Haze = Gayze. Not the most creative insult but Jay'd heard worse.

Don't forget to get what I asked for if you ever want your shitty little phone back. It read, and Jay nearly face palmed. He forgot to check if he had a phone. That should've been the first thing he did. Idiot.

"Well not like it would've mattered." Jay hummed as he read the rest of the note. Saying to 'bring our shit' to Red Boulder, the D rank guild on the corner of Sinha street and West Point. Both places Jay had no fucking clue how to get to, or what to bring.

"It'd be nice to get my phone back though." He sighed, looking at the date and time they were supposed to meet. It said Wednesday at 4, and if he went off the date on the TV in his room that was...

Today actually.

In an hour.

Huh, what a coincidence.

"Guess he didn't have what they wanted either." Jay murmured as he pocketed the note and sighed. Glancing at the trash bags full of used medical supplies as he started connecting the dots.

"What an idiot..." Jay sighed, before he walked over to the bathroom and started up the tub. Washing his feet and wrapping them so they wouldn't stick to the bottom of his socks. He'd have to take out on the way, but afterwards he'd meet this David guy. Better than waiting in an apartment with a laptop he couldn't open and a wallet he couldn't use.

"Still," Jay winced as he finished tightening the bandages around his feet, "I guess just this once I'll do you a favor. Make sure they know you didn't run away and off yourself. You better be grateful."

Jay tested his feet, adjusting to the pain before grabbing the dude's boots and heading to the door. His empty wallet in his jean pockets, and his shirt free of any blood stains. He glanced at the track suit and slipped on the jacket. It was pretty comfy.

"I guess I'll see this thing through for you."

He just wished it had a hood.

...

When Jay first walked out of his apartment, he started having doubts he was in Regalia. It wasn't the size of the place mind you. The center of the stronghold, where skyscrapers, powerhouse guilds and conglomerates were located, was miles and miles away. So far he could see their blurry grey outlines on the horizon. It was grand as could be.

And populated as all hell.

Hundreds of thousands, no, millions of people milling about. Their voices drowned out by the roar of traffic and wind blowing through the streets. It was cold, and Jay's track jacket was doing nothing against the thin layer of snow on the ground.

But for a moment he really couldn't care.

He was too busy admiring the scope of the city in all its entirety.

For as depressing as the book was when it came to how little survived the first and second invasion, humanity seemed to have recovered as much as they could. If Jay closed his eyes he could think that this was a city back in his old world. Maybe not as big as a super city, only a couple million instead of tens of millions, but it was designed like what he imagined a Hong Kong or Seoul would be like. With sleek white architecture, towering buildings, and skylights galore.

But when Jay looked away from the towers at the center of town, he could see the distant giant walls surrounding their stronghold. Sleek and white, pristine as pearly gates reserved for royalty, but they were still walls. This was still Regalia, a safe haven against the coming storm, and it wasn't meant to be a metropolis.

It was meant to be a fortress.

And right now he had no idea where to go. He was about halfway between the walls and the stronghold's center, and the guild he was looking for could be anywhere. He had no idea where to go.

But he guessed he had to start somewhere.

"Do you know where Red boulder is?" He asked the first person that crossed him on the sidewalk, a man in a suit that looked like he had places to be.

"Sorry, I don't have any cash on me." The man said while still looking at his phone, walking away as Jay's eye twitched and yelled at his fading back.

"No, it's fine!" He flipped the bird for good measure, "I didn't need your help anyway asshole!"

Jay clicked his tongue as the man faded into the crowd and he started looking around. Well great, now people were looking at him weird.

"Hey," he tried asking a lady, "Can you-"

"Sorry, I don't have anything either."

"No, I-" Jay growled as the lady walked away with a quicker pace on her step. Jay groaned in anger and frustration as he turned to try to talk to someone else. A girl with white hair and purple eyes.

"Hey, do you-"

Only to get completely ignored again.

"Oh, come on!" He snapped, reaching out to stop her before she could leave. Grabbing her arm, he didn't even get a chance to think before the air became too thick to breathe. He blinked, hearing people panicking nearby as a sense of crushing pain began falling on his shoulders. Like the air was turning against him. He watched the girl turn.

"Let go of me."

And realized he was about to die.

"Now." She threatened, her eyes flashing bright violet as his hand started to tremble so bad his arm started to hurt. Damn. This was really awkward.

"Shit!"

He probably looked like a fucking creep now that he was thinking about it.

"Sorry, I didn't- shit," He released the girl, rubbing his wrist, it felt like it was going to break. He cursed silently as her eyes widened slightly. "You-"

"Celia!" Another girl's voice called up ahead, and Jay took that as his cue to leave. Pushing past the crowd that had gotten a lot thinner and heading towards the walls. He didn't know where Red Boulder was, but a D rank guild probably wasn't near the center of town. And the further away he got from this mess the better. He was so glad he left his old life.

"Fuck that was so embarrassing."

His sisters would have had his head for doing something so fucking stupid.

....

Watching a boy disappear into the crowd, slowly but surely moving past her... her very slight outburst, a girl with white hair and violet eyes turned back to her friend. A toned, taller girl with light chocolate brown skin, short brown hair and emerald green eyes.

"Jeez, Celia!" The girl ran up without a looking the least bit winded, "I felt your magic from a block away! What happened? Did you finally snap?" Celia frowned as her friend sighed and shook her head, "I knew it would happen one day. It's always the quiet ones."

Celia responded with a blank expression. Walking past her friend as she followed with a small laugh, "Oh come on, Cel, don't be like that. I was just playing. So come on, spill. What happened?"

"..."

"Wow, the silent treatment huh. Well fine, two can play at that game."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Cel! I don't want to play this game!" Her friend, Jade, cried, and Celia caved. Shaking her head as she have up on the cold shoulder and murmured, "Nothing happened."

"Uh, huh." Jade said unconvinced, "And I didn't but a bag of chips on the way here." She said as she took out a bag of barbecue chips. "So what happened?"

"Nothing, I," Celia tried to say before Jade took a loud bite. Celia's eyes narrowing as she flicked her finger and Jade's bag flew out of her hands. A sad, heartbroken look flashing across Jade's face like a kicked puppy, before she sighed, "Ok, I probably deserved that. But still, what happened?"

"Nothing."

"Celia."

"..."

"Alright, alright," Jade held up her hands in defeat, shaking her head as she sighed and followed along. Her hands behind her head as she whistled, "But I'm free to take guesses, right?"

"No."

"Problem. Now watch." Jade puckered her lips and smiled, "Did you see Lock again? Did he try to ask you out again? Ah, I hope you weren't too hard on him, Cel. I thought it was cute how he confessed-"

"No." Celia said flatly, because confessions weren't new and her rejecting them wasn't enough to mess with her head. She'd been doing it out of necessity since she realized her last name was worth more than her first. No, this had to do with a different boy. One she hadn't even met before. Celia thought back to the boy that had grabbed her.

And eventually sighed.

"You're a better at fighting with your body than I am." She said quietly, ignoring the sunrises and slightly bashful hiccup in her Jade's step. "I- uh, I mean yeah." Jade laughed, "Course I am. Look who you're talking to."

"Has there been a time where your body's trembled."

"Like when it's in pain?"

"No…" Celia frowned, "Maybe. I'm unsure. Would there be any other time?"

"When I'm scared." Jade shrugged, "Why?" Jade narrowed her eyes and her tone sharpened, "Is this about what that bastard did at midterms. Don't worry about him Cel, that asshole was just trying to act big because he's holding onto the top spot. Next time-"

"It's not that." Celia said, clenching her fists slightly. She would be lying if the memory of the midterm didn't sting slightly. But no, she wasn't talking about that. She had felt humiliated, it was the first time she'd been beaten so thoroughly, but she was never scared. Ryu's genius was grand but not scary.

Nothing really scared her anymore.

And that boy hadn't scared her a bit. It was just his reaction to her... outburst… it was... just weird.

"Has there ever been a time your body's been afraid," Celia asked, "But your mind hasn't."

"My mind? I… uh no, I- I don't think so." Jade scratched her head. "I can't really think of anything. Why, did that happen to you? It sounds interesting. What was it like?"

"It wasn't me..." Celia murmured as she shook her head and continued towards the center of town. Where her and Jade's internship was waiting.

"Wait, Cel," Jade caught up, "Who was it then? Someone from school. Ooh, did you have a grudge against someone in our class?Who? Is that why you flipped out?"

"No I don't, and I'm not sure." Celia frowned. She wasn't getting anywhere think on it, so she sighed. "Forget it, Jade."

She had more important things to worry about.

"I guess it doesn't matter." She murmured, and Jade shrugged. The two moving on as Celia quickly forgot about the encounter.

"It was just some rude boy."

She had probably just imagined it, anyways.