... Where am I?
I find myself surrounded by grass. I look around to regain a sense of my location.
"... What happened?"
From what I can recall, I was talking with Horikita after the island exam, is this another special exam? If so, isn't this too extreme for an exam?
Though the school is unusual, I don't think that they would go as far as subduing their students for the sake of an exam.
I take a look at myself. I am still wearing my white shirt with a tie, which is what I was wearing when I was on the ship
"... isn't it kind of cold?"
That's strange, it should be warm, was I taken by the White Room enforcers? That couldn't be it, that would be too risky for them. That man wouldn't risk all his hard work for this.
He would try to get me expelled, taking me from the school will cast too much attention to him, which could compromise the White Room
"I should probably first figure out where I am, am I even in Japan?"
I sit up and stand, it doesn't seem like I was knocked out, or drugged. I take a second to take in my surroundings.
I decide to walk around a bit, searching for anything that could allow me to figure out my location.
As I walk around I notice that my surroundings has a surprisingly natural look to them, almost elegant, as if no man has ever touched the environment.
Down along the way, I spot a dirt trail.
"Am I in a park of some kind? Everything here seems natural, the vegetation here isn't native to Japan, in fact, I'm sure that they can be found in the west. Am I in North America? How did I get here?"
I follow the dirt trail, hoping to find any sign of human life.
This may be a national park, if I follow this trail I should be able to find someone.
As I follow along the trail, I immediately spot something.
"... Are those train tracks? And power lines? So is this not a national park?"
Before I can finish my deduction, I hear laughing followed by shots. I immediately hide inside some tall grass.
"YEAH, THAT FELLER SURE HAD A LOT ON 'EM, WE CAN EAT FOR DAYS WITH THIS, HAHA!"
The source of the voice is coming from a wagon that is following the dirt trail, there is a group of 5 people, all of them are holding outdated weapons.
The strangest part about this is that the wagon is being pulled by 2 horses.
"Hey! This body is starting to rot, dump it out!"
One of the men pick up the body of a man and dump it out of their wagon, then they speed away.
"What just happened? Did I witness the cover up of a murder?"
I come out of the tall grass and approach the dead body.
The poor man seems to have been brutally beaten and finished off with a shot to his chest.
Strangely enough, his clothes look weird, putting aside the cultural difference, this seems strange even for western culture, it looks outdated.
I notice that he is carrying a holster, could it be?
"... As I thought, he has a revolver."
Though I somewhat feel bad for the man, I decide to search his body.
I find canned food and gin. Along with a map and 15 revolver cartridges.
"Why is he carrying such an outdated weapon? The group from before also had revolvers like these. I know that America has a strong opinion towards their right to own guns, but don't they have better firearms than this?"
The last time that revolvers like this were used was during America's Wild West days.
"Surely I'm not..."
That should be impossible, but taking into account the beautiful scenery, outdated weapons, and old transportation, it really does seem like that.
I should probably go opposite of where that group was heading, it would be bad if I were to see them again.
I take the man's satchel and holster, then go opposite of the group's direction.
As I walk along the trail, my suspicions are becoming more true, as people would sometimes pass by on a horse or wagon.
Soon enough, I reach what looks like civilization.
"I guess there's no denying it, it seems that I was taken to the days of the Wild West."
I decide to remain calm, what should I do in this situation? I guess for now I should explore the town and secure myself a place to stay.
The town provided a multitude of services, there is a general store which I assume sells food and drinks, a drug store, and there is also a sheriff's office.
"I know that I somehow went back in time, but what year is it exactly? I guess I should assume that it may be the late 1800s, accounting for the railroad tracks and power lines."
Unfortunately, I couldn't afford anything from any of the stores, the group that killed the man took all of his valuables.
Along with the stores, there is also a saloon and a hotel. There is also a stable, which is where they sell, buy, or care for horses.
Should I sell the revolver? No, I don't know if I could be attacked, I'm gonna need this to defend myself, I can't sell my food or gin, I'm obviously gonna need them to sustain my thirst and hunger.
Since I have nothing to do, I should probably leave this town and keep searching.
As I try to leave, I accidentally bump into an adult man, who is stumbling around.
"Ey! Watch where you is goin'!"
This man seems to be under the influence, he is stumbling around and slurring his words.
"I don' like that look in yer face! I wanna punch it!"
What? Why is this man already resorting to violence?
The man throws a punch at me, which I easily evade, not to mention his already drunken state, I'm sure that I could've dodged it even if he was sober.
"Sir, I didn't mean to bump into you, could you please stop?"
"Ey! Stand still for a sec!"
He keeps swinging at me, though it was a pointless effort.
"I'm tired of this! Just die already!"
Suddenly, he pulls out his revolver from his holster.
I react to this and swiftly strike his neck with my hand. He collapses.
"Man, does everyone here get violent like that so easily? Luckily, I'm in the outskirts of the town, so I'm pretty sure nobody sa-"
"Hey! Did you just kill that man? I'm telling the sheriff!"
It seems that I spoke too soon.
"Wait, no. That man swung at me first, I was trying to defuse the situation. He pulled his gun on me, I was just defending myself."
It seems that the witness doesn't want to listen, they run into town.
"Shit, I can't stop them now, I should get out of here."
I start running in a random direction. Hoping that the law won't be able to find me.
I arrive at some abandoned shack, which I take shelter in.
I can hear the galloping of horses outside.
"The witness says that the troublemaker is a young man with yellow eyes, brown hair, and white shirt with a tie! Find him, and arrest him! If he resists, just shoot him!"
It seems that the delivery of justice is a lot more straightforward in this time.
After 30 minutes, I can no longer hear any commotion, I take a peek outside and clear my surroundings.
"I already have the law on me huh? I should probably change my clothes when I get the chance to."
I leave the shack and start walking opposite of the town, I should stay away for a while.
As I'm walking, I pass by multiple people, with an occasional greeting exchange.
As I walk, I come across a bridge, which is covered on all four sides with wood, only the exit is visible.
I decide to walk through and reach the end.
"Alright partner, hand over all you got!"
I am immediately surrounded by 2 men on horseback, both are pointing at me with long-range weapons, which I can guess are repeaters, another outdated weapon used during the Wild West era.
I hold my hands up, I shouldn't risk getting shot.
"I'm sorry sir, but I have nothing on me right now."
The man closest to me smirks. "Yeah yeah, all a bunch of shit! Come here and let me search you! Don't try anything funny now!"
The other man keeps his gun pointed at me, and the first man approaches me and starts searching me.
"... Well I'll be damned, you having nothing on you! Hell, we should be giving you our money instead!"
The man starts laughing. While the other remains strangely silent.
"Hey, I think I've heard of him, there was a bounty poster that fits his description."
The man near me looks at the other. "Really? How much does he got on him?"
"He has a bounty for $20, dead or alive they say."
"Oh really?"
This is bad, I can't let them turn me in, I'm not sure what could happen if I'm turned in to the sheriff.
I'm left with no choice.
As the man near me is conversing with the other. I bring out my revolver and shoot the other man, he falls out of his horse.
"Wha-? You bastard!"
I follow up with a smack to the man near me, hitting his skull with my revolver, I smack his skull 4 more times until he is dead.
He collapses onto the dirt path, while the other man's horse rears and sprints away.
The other horse was irritated, rearing a bit.
"Hey, calm down there.. uh?"
I check and see that the horse is a girl.
"Easy girl, you'll be fine."
I slowly approach the horse, it's ears show it's stress, though it seems to have calm down a bit. I get right next to the horse and push my fingers through its mane.
The horse seems to have calm down. I can definitely use this.
I grab the horses reins and hitch it to a post. Then I approach the dead bodies.
"Well, I guess you won't be needing these anymore."
Before I can loot the corpses, I feel something poke my head.
"Don't make any sudden moves if you know what's best for you."
I stay still, any wrong moves and I may as well kiss my life goodbye.
"Drop your gun slowly."
My gun is in my right hand, I let go of it, it drops onto the floor.
"Good, now turn around."
The object that was touching my head is no longer there, I assume that they backed away from me.
Slowly I turn around.
"... Horikita?"
A/N:
I DECIDED TO SEND AYANOKOUJI BACK TO THE WILD WEST, WHO DOESNT LOVE SILLY COWBOYS RIDING ON SILLY HORSES SHOOTING RANDOM PEOPLE? I FEEL MOTIVATED TO UPDATE THIS BOOK, I ACTUALLY HAVE IDEAS FOR IT.
Character Count: 9632