"Hey! Can you hear me?”

Yowamushi's head buzzed with the sound of thousands of cicadas and his mouth was dry like sandpaper.

“Good grief, about time you're awake!”

Yowa blinked crust from his eyes and glanced around. He'd found himself laying in the grass in the middle of a field of nowhere, and a bloody mess too. His last concise memory was leaving work on his bike at the local supermarket's bakery. He hurt everywhere and winced as he sat up then hunched over, totally perplexed by the situation. Yowa took in the view for a moment then started shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Who was talking? There was no one around.

“What...the hell?” was all Yowa could mumble. He couldn't quite put his finger on the odd feeling he was having. It was certainly out of place being covered in what he assumed was his own blood and sitting stupidly in a open field. Then again, he seemed to be no where near where he worked. His living environment was a bustling city with skyscrapers and angry honks from overworked salary-men, not a grassy field. 

“Don't look confused mister, you're embarrassing yourself.” Again with this high pitched girly voice.

“Wait what? Where are yo-”

A small child appeared before him in a pink cotton-candy tinted smoke. Yowa yelled in surprise and then immediately regretted it as his whole body screamed at the pain that rapid movement created. She was cute, unnaturally cute, to the point it actually hurt his eyes to look at her directly.

“Don't give me that look, I know it's not the greatest outfit I could wear."

The girl, Yowa could only guess was around ten years old, emanated off a horrendously uncomfortable aura of piecing heat that made him feel like he was being scorched. She put her little white gloved hands on her tiny hips and leaned forward, inspecting Yowa closer. She wore an obnoxious polka dotted periwinkle tutu under a a over-sized black puffy coat. She put out her tiny hand and gripped his scruffy chin without warning. Yowa was more stunned then annoyed so naturally he stared back at the girl's bright crimson eyes.

“I, uh...um...” Yowa stroked his hair with a hand as a nervous tic. Yowa had fallen into the habit during the years spent under his parents 'care'. He looked away from the girl as if trying to ignore their very presence. She seemed to confirm something with a bob of her head up and down, and returned to her small stance as before.

“Yup. Just as I thought. You're in for a real ride there buddy.” She seemed content and folded her doll-like arms. “You've got it alright.”

“Wait! Hold on, back it up there kiddo. First, who are you? Second, where am I? And finally, what are you going on about?”

Holding up her hands she stopped him before he could pelt her with more questions.

“I know this is confusing and all that, but we don't have time to dawdle”

Yowa gave a dazed glare at her and furrowed his brow.

“You're going to die,” she said with a grin.

“Excuse me?” his tone escalated abruptly higher in pitch.

“Well...you saw my great King get involved with a battle that happened to spill out into the road you were biking through. Alas, it knocked you out clear into this world, so I'm not sure if you can grasp the concept at the moment.”

Yowa wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. 'This world' made it seem like he had been thrown into some where he didn't belong. Though it looked like an normal open plain with lush acres of wheat and prairie-like vegetation.

“Oh right. Sure. I'm in some kind of magical world?" Yowa said unpleasantly as he made to get up. "Doesn't look like there is anything different to me.” his tone was snide.

“Yes, and you're going to perish for just by being here like you are now. Only thing that's keeping you alive is the Demon King's power of course.” She then poked his head as he tried to stand and the sheer force slammed him down on his butt.

He yelped in surprise.

“Jeez, kid. Will you just calm down and explain to me-” A massive ball of energy bulged from the air in front of them and crooked lines like a cracked mirror emitted sounds of an eggshell being broken. The kid turned around promptly and didn't move a muscle as the wind savagely filled the air with a sucking sound like it was attempting to draw them into a giant carnivorous hole.

“If you don't accept your role in what is to come from here on, you'll die. So what's your answer?” The young girl said.

“I don't even know...what is happening?!”

The wind suddenly receded into the gaping maw of a black hole and strange slithering shadows made their way around the girl and Yowa. They reached him before he could even bl
ink and wrapped themselves around his limbs, yanking Yowa until he was going to be sick from the jarring motion. He never was one for extreme heights. “Make it stop!” He screamed down at her as resulting in being completely disorientated.

“Decide! Yes or no?” Was all she seemed to care about. Never mind he was more or less dangling forty feet in the air, suspended by the shadowy hands.

“Fine!” The shadows hurled him down to the ground with the power to break every bone in his body, “Yes!” he yelled, “Just help me already damn it!”

“Good to know you're not an idiot after all! Keruberosu! Go get those meanies!”

The over sized coat the girl wore effortlessly flew off of her small body and turned into a creature from hell. With a bellow, not bark, its two massive heads snarled and spewed pyre of flames from its mouths steaming acid everywhere. It sprung up at him with incredible accuracy and pushed Yowa to the side as it ripped at the shadow hands with ferocious force. 

“Holy *censored*!” Yowa screamed at the top of his lungs, he even cried a little as the shadow hands spewed black fluid and the hellhound caught him onto its broad back in mid-air with ease.

“That's a good boy Keru-keru!” She held up her little arms as the massive behemoth landed next to her with grace and dropped Yowa to the ground with a dull thump as he fell off its back in shock.

“Now go back to sleep okay? You'll get a treat later, I promise.” Just as suddenly the beast appeared, it transformed back a innocent appearing coat that slipped on to her small frame without touching it. “What's wrong? I suppose humans are sensitive to things like this, huh.”

Yowa got to his hands and knees and had the urge to vomit. He swallowed back the sick in pain, his breathing labored, and he was sweating profusely. The black shadow had left singe marks all over his clothing, yet he had felt no heat from the bizarre shadows that had manhandled him.

“What the actual flying duck is going on?!” was all he could say in a loud trembling voice.

“Oh, did I not mention those were Shinigami Claws? They were trying to bring you back into your world's cycle of death. I stopped them and here we are!” She said gaily. 

Her voice was oddly cute and very squeaky. All Yowa could comprehend was that he had been dragged into some kind of messed up dimension, and a child no older than a middle schooler had freakishly inhuman strength.

“T-thanks. Sorry I uh, was...yelling.” He coughed and specks of blood splattered the lush grass. “Could...you at least...tell me what...is going on...?”

With a wheeze he sat back down and wiped his mouth with a stained sleeve. At this point, he didn't care he was covered in his own or something else's blood.

“Well, my name is Keiken'na! Or you can call me Kei for short, like a gemstone! I'm sparkly and smart and will do whatever I can to help another fellow partner!” Kei seemed overly excited yet again and gave no second looks of disdain at his disheveled and battered appearance.

“Wonderful,” he said without a ounce of bitterness or sarcasm. “Can you just...take me home already...” he slumped over and passed out before he was able to finish.

“Ooh, he's a keeper. I like him, Keru-keru! Let's take him home and clean him up, shall we?”

Kei hefted the gangly grown man onto her petite shoulder and dragged him as she walked. “He's a keeper, he's a keeper!” as she serenaded the unconscious Yowa in her high sing-song voice to herself. Then she reached forward and opened a crack line and a door appeared in the air out of nowhere. They stepped through it back to where Yowa was before being sent flying to this mysterious world.