Remembering Home

"Earthling..." my mouth muttered. 

My mind and emotions were in a mess. So much had happened so quickly. So many ups and downs that even a roller coaster felt tame. I felt like vomiting as my head was spinning. 

The words this man had uttered made me lose any sense of calm and composure I could have had. I was slowly losing my mind and restraint was thrown out. 

I was purely running on instinct. 

"Can you take it back to earth?" I asked with a fervent look. My voice was dry and hoarse. The separation is clear. 

Going back home to our small home in Kyoto. A warm place where we all had our own rooms. A place where mom made us our favorite meals. 

 A place where dad secretly bought us the stuff that mom told him not to. 

This was the one desire that dwelled in my heart. The one desire that completely ate my emotions whole and drowned me in despair. This desire is what gave me hope and forced me to survive. 

This desire is both hell and heaven for the current me. 

"I'm sorry. That is not something I can do." the young man said with disappointment. 

Ah, it was over. The flame that had been burning in me was drowned by his words. 

My desire was poured with water and sent down to the depths of the ocean in my heart. 

My mind was cooled and my control was back. The impulsive me was pushed aside as the ration me came out. The rational side of me is what had let my siblings and me live. 

It is the side of me that I need to use to face the unknown. 

I quietly stared at the young man with a blank expression. An expression of emptiness I used whenever I had nothing to say. 

"Now that's a better expression. We earthlings can adapt quite quickly." he chuckled. 

Seeing how he was still smiling, this man must understand nothing of the pain I have been through. 

Just cause he knows Earth and wears clothes from there doesn't mean he is from there. His eyes aren't something a fellow earthling would have. 

"Ah, you're probably suspecting me right now. Thats fair. My eye color isn't normal there." 

He read my thoughts quite easily. I wasn't expecting that. 

"C'mon now. Are you really not going to respond? You can't just stare at me like that. I know my face is handsome but I'm already taken. Hahaha!" 

He laughs cheeringly but it sounds mocking to me. Now that he has pointed it out, I can't stay silent. He has the advantage here. I can't irk a possibly dangerous person by staying silent. 

"Tch, shameless!" I click my tongue and call him out. This is an expression people don't say around here. It's a native thing. 

"Nice one. A fellow earthling indeed. Let's start for real. Tell me where you're from. I would guess Japan because of your names and looks. You do speak English so American?

Or maybe Japanese-American?" he asked with curiosity in his eyes. 

"Japanese-American," I respond. 

"Second generation immigrant?"

"Third generation."

"State and city you lived in?" 

"New York." New York is both the city and the state. He should know that if he's from the US. 

"Favorite borough?"

"Uh..." He asked and I answered. I was cooperating like a proper hostage should until he asked this. How am I supposed to answer that? I haven't even been to all the boroughs. Never needed to. I have heard things about some of them. 

"That's fine. I don't have one either but I do have one I hate. i won't say which one." His eyes turn to my siblings. He gazes at them for a bit and then turns to me. 

"Did you move back to Japan?" he said lightly. My heart skipped a beat once again. I was going to go crazy again. I took a deep and calmed myself. 

"How did you know?" I asked warily. 

"You know, people only get isekaid when they're in Japan or something. The rest of the world isn't very prone to do that. Only the East Asian countries usually have incidents like this." 

Isekai? Is he really equating fictional stories like manga and anime to real life? Is he what they call a weeb?

Then again, my siblings and I ending up here is basically what happens in manga and anime. The idea of being sent over to another world, aka isekai is what happened to us.

I can't really blame him for the comparison. The logic makes sense since the main characters in those works were always sent from Japan. 

"Did you read manga and anime often?" I asked, curious about this strange. 

"I watched and read a lot of that stuff when I was in high school and college. Didn't really have much time afterward. I started working and then I started a business. That kept me more busy than I wanted to be." he sighed while looking at the ceiling. 

It looked like he was taking a trip through memory lane. I don't have time for him to reminisce. 

"How did you end up here? Why do you have purple eyes?" I asked, trying to take the initiative. 

'How did you end up here? Why do you and your little sister have red eyes?" He responded with basically the same question back. 

I furrowed my brows and said "Haven't I answered enough? Can you show some kindness towards a fellow earthling?" 

"You know what, sure. You deserve some answers too. I died on earth and was reborn here. The eyes are inherited from my current mother. " He revealed how he had ended up here and I wasn't surprised.

I somewhat guessed it too. I read mangas and watched anime too. It would be weird not to when it is my original homeland.

Not all characters just get tossed in other worlds. Some just have an accident on earth, usually by truck, and are born in another world with their memories intact. 

"So how did you end up here?" he asked again. 

"Hah..." I took a deep breath. Remembering that nightmare of a day isn't fun but there is no choice here. I reach into that awful memory and pour it out to him. 

"I was sitting at the table with my parents and siblings. It was time for breakfast and we always ate that together. Mom had just served breakfast and sat down with us. 

Before we could eat, a black hole like thing appeared. It sucks us in. Not the food. the table. Just us in our clothes. 

Before we knew it, we were spat out by the black hole and it disappeared. 

Mom and Dad landed with us near the scrapyard on the far side of the slums. Before we could react, another black hole came out and sucked only mom and dad. 

It then disappeared, leaving the three of us to fend for ourselves. You probably know the rest." 

I explained as best as I could. It had all happened so fast. There was no time for me to memorize any specific details. I was so traumatized that day that I would not even be able to remember small details if I had to. 

I also didn't need to say anything else. This guy kidnapped us and called us earthlings from the get-go. Given how he had those 'mana cultivators' working for him, he had surely planned this out beforehand. He must have researched us thoroughly. 

"Hmm." He nodded. "that still doesn't explain the silver hair and red eyes that your sisters have. Did something happen to Earth after I died?"

"We found our hair and eyes like this when we arrived in this world. I don't know the reason." I explained that we don't know why we changed. 

We originally all had black hair and brown eyes like normal people. Only my little brother didn't change. 

"Strange. Very strange." He murmured while making a thoughtful look. However, he soon switched to an exasperated look and said "Oh whatever. We have plenty of time to figure this out."

He got up and walked towards the door.

"Now that your fellow earthling has found you, there is no need to suffer. You guys can live here. I'll take care of clothes and meals. I'll send some maids to get you guys a bath." 

He opened the door and left. He didn't even give me a chance to say anything. It seems like he has a hobby of shocking people and then leaving. Anyway, it's not like I can say no. I am in no position to decline. I am the hostage. 

A few minutes later a group of women in maid outfits walked in. I am starting to feel that the nightmare is evolving. 

The maids, who were all good-looking by my world's standards, untied us. 

"Sister!" my siblings, Hina and Akio ran up and hugged me. They nustled their small faces on my legs and looked at me pitifully. 

"Come with us." said one of the maids. It was more like a command as they separated the three of us. 

They didn't even need to use much strength. Not only are we somewhat malnourished but they seem to have a similar aura to that man. It probably has to do with the mana thing. It makes them all much stronger than normal humans. 

I would like to have that strength if I could. 

The maids didn't let me respond. They are as unruly as their master as they took us to separate places. 

I got taken to what seemed like a grand bathroom. There was no bathtub in sight, only what seemed like a pool filled with light green liquid. 

There was a herbal smell that assaulted my nose. 

"Hey! Stop...what are you doing! Ah!" The maids started to strip me of my shabby clothes. I tried to struggle but it was futile. 

I didn't want to be seen naked by strangers so I did my best to avail. They stripped me bare and tossed me into the pool. 

At least they didn't get a good look at me, right? The pool was very warm. I hadn't had a bath in over a year. I hadn't felt such a familiar warmth in so long. 

It reminded me of the arm baths I took back home in my own bathtub. However, this is more like the time we went to the onsen(hot springs). 

Splash! Splash!

"Hee!" I squealed. The maids jumped into the bath naked. 

They were carrying what seemed like hair brushes and back scrubbers. One had a glass bottle with some slimy thing in it. 

...

That was an experience that I had only seen in movies and shows. The royalty type of treatment in the bath was something I had only dreamed of. 

Sadly, it happened while I was in this nightmare situation. Away from home, kidnapped, in a stranger's home. So many things happened once again in one day. 

It was hard to process it all but I had done it. I understand exactly what situation I am in. Even though it's hard to trust the man who is probably from Earth as well, what other choice do I have? 

He may have kidnapped us but he hadn't harmed us at all. Even the pain in my neck was gone after a refreshing herbal bath. 

My skin and hair felt so much smoother. Those maids were quite diligent with their scrubbing and brushing. 

Even though I felt awkward and uncomfortable at first, I felt like it wasn't that bad. I might get used to it. 

"The dinner today will be kept light. The young master said that people who haven't eaten much for a long time need to start off small." a maid said. 

My siblings and I were clothed in what I considered fancy clothing. Dresses and shirts were made from some incredibly light and soft material. 

We were seated at a small table with an assortment of food. They said it's a 'small' meal but this is a 5-course set. 

Damn it, I might just refuse t leave if they treat me like this. 

OH NO! This isn't right. Why am I thinking like this? I still want to go back to my parents. I still want to go back to my home. 

Just cause I found a fellow American doesn't mean I should settle in. 

Is this what they call the Stockholm Syndrome?