One by one, pairs of eyes began to flutter open.
Ryan had already shoved both hands into his pockets, fingers brushing against the sleek canisters of Aegis Mist he always carried. A precaution. A habit. A relic from MydenTech's old days in weaponry supply. Aegis Mist was, at its core, just an advanced form of pepper spray—if pepper spray used nanites to disable hostiles by targeting vulnerable spots like the eyes.
Too much? Maybe. But it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Good enough that even after Ryan shut down the weapons division in favor of robotics, MydenTech kept it in production. The profits spoke for themselves.
Still, these guys didn't give off a sense of dread or danger. Not yet. So, while he didn't immediately blast them in the face with nano-tech, he kept his hand ready. One could never be too careful these days.
The boy in orange stirred first. His fingers clutched his head as he sat up with a groggy grunt, blinking rapidly as he took in his surroundings. Then, without warning, he shot to his feet.
「お前は誰だ!俺をどこに連れてきたんだ!」("Who the hell are you, and where the hell did you take me?!")
Ryan blinked at the accusatory finger pointed his way. A hostage scenario? No, that wasn't right. These guys were just as lost as he was.
"你不知道我是谁?" ("You don't know who I am?") Ryan asked, more curious than offended. "我很难相信..." ("I find that hard to believ—")
"BWAAAAAAAH!!! WHERE THE HELL IS THIS?!"
Both Ryan and the blonde turned to the other ash-blonde now yelling his lungs out.
"He's not even out of breath," Ryan noted absently. "Do normal people even shout that loud?"
As if on cue, another boy groaned awake, dark brown hair shifting as he pushed himself up. His gaze darted around, his voice a low mutter. „Was zur... Das ist nicht der Trost-Distrikt." ("What the... This isn't Trost District.")
Ryan froze.
Trost?
That didn't make sense. He had spent years studying history, technology, theoretical physics—everything that should ground him in reality. Trost wasn't real. At least, it shouldn't be. It was fiction. A name pulled straight from...
No. It had to be a coincidence.
More rustling. The green-haired kid stirred, soon followed by the redhead. Confusion spread through them as the questions started flying.
「ここはどこだ?」("Where am I?")
"誰だお前?" ("Who are you?")
Ryan took it all in, fingers drumming against the metal casing of his canister. He analyzed their faces, the way they moved, the way they spoke. His mind flipped through the database of his memory, searching for a logical conclusion, but the pieces weren't clicking together. They were... too familiar. But not in the way he wanted them to be.
The thought gnawed at him, to the point where he almost missed it when someone called out to him. Then, all at once, it clicked. He looked at the brunette closest to him and pointed a finger at him.
"Eren Yeager."
Eren stiffened. „Er kennt meinen Namen?" ("He knows my name?")
Ryan didn't stop there. He shifted his gaze, pointing at the others in turn.
「竈門 炭治郎」("Tanjiro Kamado.")
「緑谷 出久」("Izuku Midoriya.")
「うずまきナルト」("Naruto Uzumaki.")
"Asta."
Silence fell like a hammer.
They stared at him, suspicion creeping into their eyes. They'd woken up in an unfamiliar place, and now a total stranger knew their names. That was never a good sign.
Ryan, however, was still stuck in his own head. This wasn't just familiarity. He knew them. Not personally, but in a way that shouldn't be possible. These were names that belonged to works of fiction, to stories that had been retold and analyzed a thousand times over.
It didn't add up.
His logical mind warred with his instincts. There had to be another explanation. Yet, standing here, looking at them in real time, hearing them breathe, watching the way their eyes moved—he couldn't deny it. They were real.
How interesting.
Ryan met their wary gazes with a smirk, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets to keep them from trembling. "I believe a proper introduction is in order, don't you agree?"
Eren's fists clenched. His mind raced, analyzing every possible scenario. „Wo sind Mikasa und Armin...?" ("Where are Mikasa and Armin...?") His voice was low, wary.
Tanjiro took a step forward, his sharp eyes scanning Ryan with caution. 「俺たちはどうやってここに来たんだ?」("How did we get here?")
Izuku's analytical mind was already in overdrive, his eyes darting around the unfamiliar room. 「これは...雄英の施設じゃない.」("This isn't a U.A. facility.")
Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. 「おい,何が起きてんだ?」("Oi, what the hell is going on?")
Asta, meanwhile, just looked between them all, processing everything before blurting, "Did we all get kidnapped or something?!"
Ryan exhaled slowly. He had a million questions, but so did they. He needed to keep his head on straight.
"Well, aren't you all lively?" he muttered. "But let's get one thing straight—I didn't bring you here."
Eren's glare intensified. „Dann wer?" ("Then who?")
Ryan exhaled, motioning toward the couches. „Hört zu, ich würde es vorziehen, wenn wir reden, sobald ihr alle richtig wach seid. Setzt euch. Atmet durch. Ihr seid nicht in Gefahr – zumindest nicht durch mich." ("Look, I'd rather we talk when you're all fully awake. Sit down. Breathe. You're not in danger—at least, not from me." )
Tanjiro hesitated before nodding. 「座って話を聞こう.」("Let's sit and listen.")
Izuku glanced at the others before following suit, muttering to himself. 「異世界転生...? ありえない.」("Isekai reincarnation...? Impossible.")
Naruto flopped onto a chair, arms still crossed. 「お前が怪しいことに変わりねぇけどな.」("Doesn't change the fact that you're suspicious.")
Asta plopped down with a sigh. "If this is some kind of test, I'd rather get it over with already."
Ryan took a seat himself, watching them carefully. His mind still struggled to make sense of it, but one thing was certain.
Things were about to get a lot more complicated.