I got isekaied but not the way I wanted (wished to be a girl♀ but I’m a guy♂ again)

Its the afternoon by the time we reach the old school. It sits cold and abandoned. A thing of dirty concrete, frosted glass, and rusted steel. Its a wonder that the city hasn't torn it down already, but that may be due to its current tenant. We skirt the building, passing by the open front door. Instead I follow the power lines, which lead to the back of the building, Katsumi and Hotaru at my back.

"Why aren't we going in?" Katsumi asks.

I answer by way of slapping one of the electrical boxes on this side of the building. Reaching into my bag, I pull out my small toolbox and explain while I open the thing.

"Abandoned buildings should still have power. Especially those managed by the city. But I wouldn't put it past the demon to have turned the power off to up the scary ambiance."

"Oh. That's… smart."

I break the rusted lock—a tiny thing—and study the inside.

"Yep. Okay, main power is fine, lets go."

I lead them to the front door. I pause at the threshold and summon my weapon of choice, a pistol that shines in that telltale faint glow. I then activate my mana reader, which projects my mana in a simple holographic bar in my glasses. It's how I count the 'ammunition' of my weapon. Ranged weapons drain mana with every shot, and I was never as good at maintaining mine as Mayumi.

I look back to the others with a raised brow. "Ready?"

Hotaru nods, and Katsumi stares back at me with a resolute expression.

Good.

I step inside, right up to the nearest light switch, and flick it.

Nothing.

Great.

I pull flashlights from my bag and pass them out, expecting this. I always come prepared after all. The main hallway is dark and cavernous, stretching long into the dark. Faded posters hang loose from the walls, while trash and leaves that flew in from outside are scattered about.

"This place feels wrong," Hotaru whispers. "Do you feel it?"

"Yeah, its like there's something crawling over my skin," Katsumi says.

I don't answer but I do feel it. When I was a kid I found a large beetle. Harmless, but its legs tickled as it crawled over my hand. This feels like that, only over my whole body.

I scan the walls first, looking for a map of the building. It was city code that a fire map be displayed listing exits, and I could use it to plot our way, but I don't find one. Shit.

I raise my pistol to the ready.

"Keep an eye out for maps," I say, moving down the hallway with slow, measured steps. Doors are on either side of us and I try one. Locked. I'm motioning to the others to check the doors on the other side when I hear… something.

I tilt my head, trying to catch it. Its like…

My extremities go numb.

Screaming.

"What is that!?" Katsumi says. Her voice echos down the hallway.

I hold a finger to my lips with a narrow glance at her. The sound is distant, not really there, but if it's our girls then we can follow it. Only the sound is too distant. It comes from…

I tilt my head.

Everywhere.

I plug my ears, I still hear it.

"It's the demon," I say. "Its in our heads. Has some effect on us."

I'm unsettled now—against my best judgment. If it already has this effect on us… it must have fed well. It doesn't help that all I know of fear-eaters is secondhand. I've never faced one myself. But…

I raise my flashlight and weapon.

A little bit of false confidence can take you far.

I lead our little team down the hallway, checking each door. Knock and call for our friends, then listen at each for any sign of life. Its slow, methodical. Just like anything I ever do. No rushing into things, no half-measures. Just like my father drilled into me many times over.

We travel deeper.

When we come to a fork in a hallway, we find one direction suspiciously barricaded. From floor to ceiling I see nothing but a wall of desks and boxes and lockers. The immediate question I ask is: Why?

Hotaru approaches the barricade, tries to see past it. Then she touches it.

A desk launches down the hallway.

It crashes to the floor in an explosion of noise. Someone screams. My heart is leaping as I aim down the hall.

Nothing.

I draw heavy breaths, try to steady myself. My fear feeds it. Need to remember that. In through the nose, out through the mouth. One, two, three.

Katsumi holds her sword shakily out in front of her, like she can ward off whatever evil lurks here.

I force myself to crack a joke, smirking at Hotaru. "Looks like this is the wrong way."

She picks up on my attempt at humor, and her smile is much less forced than my sorry attempt. "Our host is quite rude. Didn't even great us at the door."

I chuckle. "Couldn't even turn the lights on either. Disgraceful."

The girl doesn't jump in with a quip of her own, but she isn't running. So, good enough.

I advance down the hall with a much more casual gait. Both as a 'fuck you' to the demon and to reassure Katsumi. There's an idea forming in my head but I'm not sure what. Its more of a feeling really, the barricade at its heart, but the more locked doors we encounter the more my idea solidifies. It isn't until we reach another barricade that my suspicion becomes fact.

We are being directed.

The realization stops me in my tracks. I'm used to a much more open battlefield. Room to maneuver—place my pieces. We have been walking into a funnel. A funnel right into the trap that was obvious even at the entrance. The same trap Mayumi and Haruki must have walked straight into.

"Shit."

"What is it?" Hotaru asks me.

I push up my glasses with the ass-end of my pistol.

Trap.

Where would a trap lead?

Every room in this building had a window—again, fire code—easy ways to escape; the demon would need to spring the trap in a place where there was no easy escape, thus not on the ground floor; this school was also rural, small, so no second floor but it might have a basement; a place with only one way in and one way out but even then there wouldn't be a place in a basement to hold people; it only had equipment—boilers, pipes, electricity—unless…

Unless there was a room that locked.

A room that locked from the outside.

A memory comes to me. One from my first job at a local restaurant. Every place that sold food had a freezer, an industrial-sized freezer that locked from the outside; a freezer that wouldn't be working because the power was off.

"I know where they are."

Hotaru gasps. "What? Where?"

I turn on my heel, marching down to the second barricade. I've been picturing the building in a mental map in my head ever since we entered. Its rough, but good enough.

"Can you blast this over?" I ask her.

We both jump from the cacophony that bursts through the hall. Locker doors blow open as if torn on their hinges, a cresting wave that approaches us from the long dark.

"Oh shut up!" I shout, fear sending my anger spiking, I fire a bolt straight down the center of the hall. Instead of a gunshot, the sound is that of clamoring bells, wind chimes in the breeze.

For a single moment, the hall is awash with rainbow light.

Silence follows the returning dark.

Then, a low growl carries through through the darkness, followed by the unmistakable plap of heavy footsteps.

"Do it!" I tell Hotaru. "Katsumi! Guard her back!"

The girls rush into action. I stay rooted to the spot, shining my flashlight this way and that. I don't see it, I don't see anything!

'Three little morsels step into my den, smelling of trembling dread.'

Its voice comes from everywhere and nowhere. I feel myself freezing.

'Consternation, trepidation, apprehension, and direful infelicity. What meals of delicious variety.'

Hotaru is whispering, chanting—I can't let her concentration break.

"Shut up and fight me!" I yell, trying to goad the thing. Keep it's attention on me.

'Fight?' A chuckle right besides me makes me jump. I spin, twisting, but I see nothing. All I hear is footsteps. 'You cannot fight me little hunter. You will die here, on the outskirts of a nondescript town, in the decay of a place long forgotten. Never to be heard, never to be remembered. The capstone of a pointless life.'

An explosion rocks behind me. Hotaru. I don't move. I'm rooted to the spot. How does it know?

"Chie!"

A hand grabs my arm, pulling me back. something flies past me, barely missing me by inches.

Fuck.

Katsumi stares at me, wide-eyed. I mutter my thanks and move, broken from my spell. I run down the uncovered hall, trying to find what should be here.

Growls and thrown objects chase us the entire way. I hear it as I search, mocking us.

'Little outworlder boy playing as a girl. When I suck out your marrow, what shall be your next incarnation? Will you be tall and broad and handsome? A paragon of all you despise? Or will you be a thing of disgust? Just another balding, corporate drone covered in sweat and greasy hair?'

Joy leaps in my chest. I see it! Near two double doors down the way. I try the door, its locked of course. I aim my pistol.

The darkness lights up in rainbow light.

I kick in the door, the doorknob a smoking hole.

A kitchen lies before me. Dark as the rest of this cursed place.

Hotaru's cry pulls me around, fast enough to watch a huge steel locker break against her shield. It falls to the floor in a mangled heap.

I run inside the kitchen, calling, "Katsumi! Look for a big heavy door!"

She calls the affirmative and splits down the way. This place looks to have been abandoned quickly. There are still pots and pans, baking sheets, cutlery, everywhere. It all rattles as I move through the dark space.

'You wish to join my larder? So be it.'

Something crashes against my leg and I cry out, tumbling to the floor in a heap. Pain lances through my shins and I curl into myself, protecting my head as more items fly at me.

Hotaru screams, and everything erupts.

A stream of kitchen implements scatter off a shimmering barrier, flying in every direction to clang and crash against every surface imaginable—walls, ceiling, ovens—when I raise my head, my dearest friend stands over me protectively.

"Fuck off!" she shouts, "You can't have her!"

The demon laughs deeply.

'I already do, witch. I have you all. I'm only playing with my food.'

She pulls me to my feet.

'I enjoy this game. Perhaps I will keep you alive the longest. You can watch them all die, knowing that you, their protector couldn't save them. That they will die because of your ineptitude, just like your dear grandparents will when they lose their caretaker.'

She's pale, I can see it. I hold her from behind to remind her of my presence—to offer comfort, aiming my pistol beyond the barrier. By now I've figured the thing is invisible. It has to be. Which means we are at the disadvantage.

"You know," I tell her, "I prefer the demons who don't talk."

She grunts but says nothing, too focused on concentrating.

A shout rings through the kitchen. Striking me cold.

Katsumi.

Arm around Hotaru I walk us back towards the direction I last saw the girl. Its a narrow hallway, a flashlight bouncing around erratically within it.

Relief washes over me, a cool breeze. Katsumi is fine. I go to her, tapping her on the back to let her know I'm there.

"I can't get it open!" she cries, pulling at the long handle with all her strength.

I push her aside, examining the lock. Hotaru has backed herself into the hallway, absorbing barrages of objects catapulted by the demon. She can hold out for a while, but not forever, we need to act fast.

Thankfully I still remember how these doors work.

I stick the barrel of my gun into the locking mechanism and fire upwards, to not hit anyone inside. The door gives. We wrench it open.

Two forms lay on the floor.

My heart leaps to my throat. I drop my flashlight just as I drop to my knees at the closest body. I touch her, Mayumi, franticly. Shaking her. I only hear a moan in response.

"Katsumi! Light!"

She shines her flashlight on me, and my breath hitches. She's covered in bruises. Haruki too.

Panic flushes through me.

"Hotaru!" I scream out the door, "Heal!"

I rush to the door as Hotaru ducks inside. Her gasp is audible when she sees our friends.

"Get them up! I'll cover us!"

I aim out the door and fire three shots in a wide arc down the hall, filling the space with the resounding clash of chimes.

I receive a snarl from the demon. Which only confirms my suspicion. It's throwing things by hand, not magic. It'll want to shut us in here, but it can't approach through this hallway as long as I keep it up.

I check my mana.

Roughly 75%. It's not as accurate as I would like. The margin of error is between 5 and 10%, depending on the day, but its good enough.

I lean out and fire another round of bolts. I lessen the power I put in them, and they're really barely harmless, but the demon doesn't know that. I just need to keep it away for now, give Hotaru all the time she needs.

I'm not familiar with magical healing and how it works—not my house, not my mess—but I know it's complex. While she does her thing, I push up the glasses that are slipping off my nose, and think about how we get out of here.

There's only two ways out that I can see: back the way we came or into the cafeteria. I immediately nix the hallway. Enclosed space? No real exits? No. The cafeteria though, it's a wide open space. And, most important: it has windows. Maybe even a door outside. Emergency exit. It'll have to do.

'Try as you might, there is no way out, little hunter.'

I fire more bolts and shout, "Fuck, I'm going to enjoy killing you!"

I hear a giggle by my side, and I spare a glance. The rookie. She covers her mouth with a hand when she notices me. I smirk.

"Having fun yet, new girl?"

In my vision, my mana bar goes staticky, and leaps up to a 100% before dropping down to 60%. I huff and tap my glasses. Not the time to go out, but that's the golden law of technology. It breaks at the worst time.

"Not really," Katsumi answers, "But you're funny."

I fire another shot around the corner without looking. 59%.

"Thanks," I laugh. "Say, what do you think this thing looks like? I bet something stupid, like one of those cheesy costumes in an old movie."

The girl appeared to give it some thought around my wild shots.

"Hmm, you ever see Jaakuna Piero?"

"Nope." Blast.

"Oh! Right you… wouldn't… but anyway! The monster in it was this really ugly clown. And not scary either, ugly in a stupid way. Like it had this green hair sticking up like this and… ooo!" She nearly leaps up and down. "There was that old foreign movie that had these henchmen that were giant sentient thumbs! That!"

An incredulous laugh bursts from me. "Seriously? Thumbs?!"

"Yeah!"

I lean around the corner. "Hey, fuckface! You hear that? We think you look like a big-ass-fucking-dumb—" A soup ladle launches at my face. I duck, and it ricochets off the wall. "Oh, hear that? It doesn't like that. What else you got, new girl?"

My mana bar goes haywire again. I growl and tap it.

"My vote is on the clown," Mayumi groans.

I whip around, overjoyed. She's standing—looking like shit, but standing. I wrap her in a quick hug.

"Oww!" she exclaims, "Still tender."

"Sorry," I grimace.

Beside her, Hotaru is getting Haruki to her feet.

"Can you fight?" I ask them.

Haruki grimaces, holding her head. "If I have to."

"Mayumi?" I ask.

She tries to summon her bow, but it flickers in her hands.

I move on. "Hotaru?"

"Enough to get out," she says, breathing noticeably labored. Healing takes a lot out of her. I can't count on her to be effective.

Heaviness settles in me.

I give Katsumi a pained grin. She's all I got.

"Looks like its just you and me," I ready my pistol, "You good for it?"

The look she gives me is resolute."Of course!"

"Good girl," I say with a grin. More static from my HUD. I opt to ignore the thing. Demon interference, most likely. "Hotaru, keep Mayumi and Haruki safe. Katsumi… Lets kick ass."

I spin around the corner, firing wild shots. I charge down the hallway to draw the creatures attention, hand out to see if I can feel the thing.

Katsumi follows my lead, catching on to my plan. She charges sword first around the prep tables in the center of the room, skirt billowing behind her.

I hear them behind me. I point left. "Cafeteria!"

They run out and I follow, walking backwards. Katsumi in front. I cross into the cafeteria, beautiful light reaches my eyes.

My feet leave the ground.

My stomach is lurching—the first thing I recognize—right before I slam through a table.

Wood spits and cracks, the breath is driven from me and pain lances through me in every angle.

I blink into the ceiling, ribs throbbing, head swimming. It's a painful, agonizing few moments before it comes to me.

That thing just threw me.

I hear Hotaru scream my name. It spurs me to move, roll over onto my stomach despite the pain. Show her that I'm still with her.

I lock eyes with her across the room.

"Go!" I groan. "I'm okay, get them out!"

More noise, the sounds of something being thrown. Big somethings. A table hits the wall and shatters beside me. I pull myself up with another groan, grasping and clawing for purchase. Ohhh, my back hurts.

Before me, in the center of the cafeteria, Katsumi is leaping, dancing, dodging the flying objects that come in a steady stream. All the while she taunts the demon with silly insults. It boggles me, until I recognize what she's doing.

She's augmenting her movement with mana.

Fucking rookie!

Her mana is going to be gone in a minute! That is so inefficient—I…

Need to act fast.

Disregarding the dancing miko, I cast my eyes about, looking for something, anything that I can use to our advantage. Only this is a cafeteria—an abandoned one at that! There's nothing in here but tables and chairs and…

Paint.

A cluster of paint cans lay in the corner. Right next to a ladder.

I grin.

I leap to my feet, Ignoring the pain, and skirt the edge of the wall. I have to dodge and duck the projectiles of the battle to cross the room but I make it, kneel down and rummage wildly in my bag. I grab the first thing that feels close enough and jam it into the lid, hoping that the paint isn't too old. It pries open easily under the screwdriver and I toss it with all my might towards the battle. It clatters with a clang but goes unnoticed by Katsumi.

The demon however…

'Are you throwing things at me now? How juvenile.'

I toss another can.

'But I will let you have your fun. I so love it when they struggle.'

Last one.

'Your fear will taste exquisite. I will suck it from your marrow, your soul. All the while you will beg for death.'

I scan the floor, the paint scattered throughout.

There.

Its footsteps.

I raise my pistol, and put every gram of mana into it.

"You talk too much."

Bang.