Kabanata 3: Chapter 3-Oops Peels Strikes gain
Sunlight stabbed through Issac's eyelids—hot, rude, and way too motivated for this early in whatever-afterlife he'd landed in.
Warm grass cushioned his back, but it wasn't Earth grass. It had a faint spring to it, like each blade was filled with tiny air pockets. A breeze drifted over him, carrying a scent that reminded him of citrus peels and freshly cracked stone—bright, sharp, strangely clean. In the distance, something chirped in a rhythm too precise to be natural music.
Issac drifted in and out of consciousness, stuck somewhere between humiliation and the unmistakable ache of having been flattened by his own personal curse.
He groaned. "If this is heaven, why do I feel like I've been eating shit?"
A sharp tap landed on his forehead.
"Ow—!"
His eyes shot open.
A girl sat cross-legged beside him, calm and unhurried, arms resting on her knees. Her gaze simply followed his movements as he flinched and groaned, silent and unbothered.
She held a small carving knife and a half-shaped piece of wood, curls of shavings scattered across her lap.
She tapped his forehead again with the unfinished stick. "Good. You're alive. You sounded like you were dying badly. Or snoring. Hard to tell."
Issac squinted. "Were you… poking me this whole time?"
"Only for the last fifteen minutes." She set the carving aside. "You were out for hours. And drooling."
Fantastic. A new world and already embarrassing himself.
He tried sitting up—immediate mistake. His spine protested with a sizzling ache.
"Don't move too fast," she warned, brushing shavings off her legs as she stood. "You slipped."
"Yeah," Issac muttered. "Story of my life. Literally."
She pointed behind him.
He didn't want to look, but he did.
Glowing banana peel. Same smug aura.
Issac dropped his head back into the grass. "I swear the universe is running a prank channel."
"Oh, you generated it," she said, more observation than accusation.
His breath caught. "You… saw everything?"
"Mm-hm." She crouched, elbows on her knees. "You made a Mana Rabbit perform an impressive aerial routine. Then you incinerated it. Efficient, if chaotic."
Issac buried his face with both hands. "…Look, I can explain—"
"No explanation needed." She shrugged. "I've seen worse. Once watched a rookie mage accidentally summon a chair with teeth."
"That feels like a threat."
"Only if you sit on it."
Issac exhaled slowly, grounding himself.
She tilted her head. "So. What was that slipping thing? Some kind of kinetic redirection? Deviation magic? A gravitational modifier?"
Issac stared at the sky.
Then at the peel.
Then at her.
"…Banana peels," he said hollowly. "It's my Trait."
Silence.
Then another silence.
Then the kind of silence where you could hear her soul blinking.
"…I beg your pardon?"
"I conjure banana peels. It… happens."
A third silence. This one somehow worse.
Finally, she inhaled sharply, all composure dissolving. "Okay—either you're cursed, or the gods have a very specific sense of humor."
"I've suspected both."
Unexpectedly, she laughed. A warm, unpolished sound, like she wasn't used to laughing around strangers. "A combat utility fruit trait. That's actually amazing."
"It's humiliating."
"It's still amazing."
He frowned. "Why are you being nice about it?"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she picked up her half-carved stick and tucked it into a small side pouch, expression settling into something more thoughtful.
"Because," she said at last, "people with strange traits tend to die early. Or get used badly. Or both. Someone should make sure you don't trip into a grave before dinner."
Issac blinked. That wasn't a joke. It barely even sounded sarcastic.
"…So you're helping me because you… feel bad?"
"No," Lyra said, and her tone sharpened—not unkind, but edged. "Because I'm an apprentice tracker. We deal with anomalies. Unpredictable magic. People who fall through cracks." She nodded at the peel. "You qualify."
Oh.
That… was actually a decent reason.
She extended a hand.
"Come on. The village isn't far. And you look like you might collapse if the wind sneezes."
He took her hand and let her pull him up. His palms crackled with faint fire sparks—unsteady, instinctive, raw.
Lyra noticed but didn't comment. "We'll also need to talk about your fire control. Preferably before you burn off your own eyebrows."
Issac managed a weak smile. "Yeah. I'd like to keep those."
They started walking.
The sky above them shifted slowly from gold to deep violet, stars glimmering like tiny fractures in a glass dome. The air felt cooler, carrying hints of unfamiliar herbs.
For a few minutes, they walked in comfortable silence.
Then—
SQUISH.
Issac froze.
Lyra froze.
They both looked down.
Another glowing banana peel.
Issac whispered, "I want a refund."
Lyra grabbed him by the back of his collar before gravity betrayed him again. "No refunds. Only training."
He sighed. "Can we also find someone who can stop me from humiliating myself every five minutes?"
"…Seriously?"
"No," she said. "But watching your 'graceful' landings might be entertaining."
Despite the ache in his spine and the mortifying trait sabotaging his every step, Issac found himself smiling as they continued toward the village.
Maybe—just maybe—this world wouldn't be entirely awful.
He just needed to survive his own bananas first.
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Kundan_Khatri
Kundan_Khatri What do you think of the chapter ?[thinking emoji] Should I continue with this pace?
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