[Inside a House]
Morning had only just begun when rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains of a small bedroom.
The room was quiet and comfortable, disturbed only by the soft hum of a fan lazily spinning in the corner. Pale light spread across the walls, illuminating a few anime posters and a shelf packed with manga volumes arranged with almost obsessive care.
Sitting on the edge of the bed was a boy who looked completely unmotivated to face the day.
He was sixteen years old.
His black hair was slightly messy, with a few strands falling over his dark eyes. Not messy enough to seem rebellious—just enough to make it obvious he didn't bother fixing it. He wore an oversized T-shirt with a faded print and loose pants better suited for sleeping than leaving the house.
At first glance, he looked ordinary.
But there was something about him that made people look twice.
Beside him, a phone vibrated softly.
Bzzzt… Bzzzt…
The boy glanced at it briefly before turning his gaze toward the window instead.
The sky was slowly changing color.
He sighed deeply.
"Man… I don't want to go to school."
Only then did he realize the vibrating phone was his alarm.
He picked it up, turned it off, and immediately flopped back onto the bed.
Puf.
Wrapping himself in the blanket again, he closed his eyes.
"I think I'll skip today," he muttered. "It's Monday. Nothing important ever happens on Mondays anyway."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Footsteps approached from outside his room.
Knock. Knock.
"Kaito, are you awake already?" a woman's voice asked gently from the other side of the door.
Kaito froze beneath the blanket.
Maybe if I stay quiet, she'll leave…
"I see… you're still asleep," the woman said softly. "You must be tired."
Kaito's eyes widened.
Ah! It worked!?
For a brief, glorious moment, he thought victory was his.
Then—
BAM!!
The door burst open violently, slamming against the wall.
"Kaito!!"
A woman stood in the doorway with one leg still raised from the kick she had just delivered.
Kaito twitched beneath the blanket.
"Tch—!"
His mother stepped into the room with firm, confident strides.
She looked close to forty, yet carried the energy of someone far younger. Her long dark hair was tied into a loose ponytail, with a few rebellious strands framing her face. Sharp amber-brown eyes locked onto Kaito with terrifying precision.
She wore simple house clothes—a light blouse with rolled sleeves and comfortable pants—but the way she stood made her feel overwhelmingly authoritative.
Ignoring her was impossible.
Her lips curled into a smile that looked anything but kind.
"So," she said while crossing her arms, "you're 'sleeping,' huh?"
"Yes," Kaito replied from under the blanket.
A vein pulsed on her forehead.
"I see."
She walked toward the bed.
"Then let's wake you up."
Without hesitation, she grabbed the blanket and pulled with all her strength.
But Kaito refused to surrender.
The blanket stretched between them as the two entered a fierce tug-of-war.
"Come on, Kaito! Let go already!"
"I'm sick," he declared stubbornly. "I can't go to school today."
"Then let me see what you have so I can give you medicine."
"My illness is sleepiness," he answered while poking his head out from beneath the blanket. "I'll recover after sleeping."
"…Sleepiness?"
Her fist slowly clenched.
Kaito's survival instincts immediately activated.
"Ah—"
"GET UP, YOU BRAT!!"
DON!!
A devastating punch full of "motherly love" landed directly on top of his head.
The impact was so loud that birds outside the house flew away in panic.
A few minutes later, Kaito staggered out of his room while rubbing the top of his head.
"Seriously… what kind of mother does that first thing in the morning…?" he grumbled.
He slowly descended the stairs, dragging his feet with absolutely no motivation.
"She could've just let me sleep…"
From downstairs came the sound of dishes clattering alongside the smell of breakfast.
Kaito sighed in defeat.
"And now she's acting all normal like she didn't just try to murder me…"
Reaching the first floor, he headed straight toward the bathroom with half-open eyes.
He pushed the door open—
—and immediately stopped.
"…Huh?"
The floor beneath his feet was wet.
"Why is the floor—"
Then he realized.
"…Oh. She already took a shower."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Of course she did. She wakes up early, beats me up, and still has time for a shower…"
Carefully avoiding the wetter spots, Kaito walked to the sink and splashed cold water onto his face.
"Ugh—cold!"
He shivered, then stared at his reflection in the mirror.
Droplets slid down his cheeks and fell into the sink.
"…I still look half-dead."
He sighed once more.
"This day better not get any worse."
The universe immediately took that as a challenge.
As Kaito turned to leave the bathroom—
his foot slipped.
"Ah?!"
Everything happened too fast.
His body lost balance.
He crashed backward into the bathtub.
CRACK!!
Pain exploded through the back of his head as it slammed against the edge.
Then—
darkness.
And just like that, Kaito finally got what he wanted.
Sleep.
Only this time…
forever.
Darkness
Not the kind of darkness that comes from closing your eyes.
This darkness felt endless.
Heavy.
Bottomless.
"…Huh…?"
Kaito's voice echoed strangely, as though the void itself swallowed the sound.
He couldn't feel the ground.
Couldn't feel his body.
In fact, he could barely feel anything at all.
"…What is this…?"
He felt weightless.
No—
floating.
Like his existence itself had become untethered.
"…Am I dreaming…?"
Fragments of memory surfaced.
The bathroom.
The wet floor.
The fall.
The impact.
"…Ah…"
Realization slowly settled in.
"…Did I die?"
Silence answered him.
An oppressive, suffocating silence.
"…This isn't funny…"
His voice sounded smaller now.
"…Mom's gonna kill me if this is some kind of hallucination…"
Ironically, he still hadn't fully processed his own death.
Then—
something changed.
A presence appeared.
No.
It didn't appear.
It simply existed.
And with it came a voice.
"Kaito…"
The sound resonated through the void itself.
Deep.
Ancient.
Overwhelming.
Kaito froze.
"…Who are you?"
"You have been chosen."
The voice was neither male nor female.
It sounded distant and impossibly close at the same time.
"Chosen…?"
"By the God of Reincarnation."
The words echoed endlessly through the darkness.
"…Wait, what?"
"You have reached the end of your previous existence."
A brief pause followed.
"But not the end of your journey."
Kaito stared blankly into the void.
"…Hold on! That doesn't make any sense!" he shouted. "I slipped in the bathroom! That's how I die?!"
Silence lingered for a moment.
"…Yes."
"…That's ridiculous!"
"You have been selected to be reborn."
The voice continued calmly.
"To walk a new path."
"To fulfill a purpose."
Kaito fell silent.
"…What kind of purpose?"
Another pause.
Then—
"To become an apostle."
The word carried immense weight.
Finality.
"An apostle of the God of Reincarnation."
"…You've gotta be kidding me…"
But deep down—
he instinctively knew this wasn't a joke.
Silence filled the void once again.
Then the voice spoke.
"The God of Reincarnation has observed your life."
"…Observed?"
"Yes. Your interests. Your thoughts. Your desires."
A brief pause followed.
"You possess a strong affinity for fantasy stories. Especially anime and manga."
Kaito blinked.
"…Well, yeah, but—"
"Therefore, your next life will take place in a world related to those concepts."
Kaito froze.
"…Wait."
Silence.
"…You're saying I'm getting reincarnated into an anime world?"
"Correct."
His heart raced.
"…This is actually real?"
But his excitement quickly faded into suspicion.
"…Okay, hold on."
He took a deep breath.
"If I've been chosen and reincarnated, then what exactly am I supposed to do?"
His voice became more serious.
"What does the God of Reincarnation want from me?"
"The purpose will not be revealed at this time."
Kaito frowned.
"…What does that mean?"
"You will understand when the appropriate moment arrives."
The voice remained calm and unwavering.
"For now, your role is simple."
"To live your new life."
"And gradually fulfill the objectives that will be given to you."
"…Objectives?"
"Yes."
"They will appear according to your growth and the path you choose."
Kaito remained silent for several moments.
"…So basically, I just live normally until you decide to explain everything?"
"…Correct."
He let out a long sigh.
"…That sounds incredibly suspicious."
No answer came.
Only silence.
Kaito thought quietly to himself.
A new world.
A new life.
And some mysterious purpose he didn't understand.
"…Well…"
He shrugged helplessly.
"…It's not like I have a choice anyway."
"Yes."
"And now… it is time for you to go."
Suddenly, a bright white light enveloped Kaito's entire existence.
The radiance intensified—
until everything disappeared.
[Inside a Bedroom]
Ring—Ring—Ring!
An alarm clock echoed through a bedroom as the morning sun slowly rose outside.
Under the blanket, someone groaned and blindly swung an arm toward the noise.
Miss.
Another swing.
Miss again.
On the third attempt—
SMACK!
The alarm finally fell silent.
"Man, what a pain…" a sleepy voice muttered from beneath the covers. "Why is it so noisy this early in the morning?"
A hand pushed the blanket aside, revealing a fifteen-year-old boy with messy black hair.
Kaito.
He slowly sat up and glanced around the room.
"This room is almost identical to mine from my previous life…"
He stood up and walked toward the mirror beside the wardrobe.
"…This feels weird."
The reflection staring back at him looked familiar yet different.
The same black hair.
The same sharp eyes.
But his features were more refined.
More attractive.
"…I look like one of those handsome side characters."
He placed a hand on his face.
"But the real question is…"
"Who exactly am I?"
Kaito looked upward as though expecting answers to fall from the ceiling.
Nothing happened.
"…Seriously? No memories?" he complained. "Isn't that standard for reincarnation stories?"
Still nothing.
"So you're making me play on hard mode, huh?"
He crossed his arms.
"I'm not complaining, but everybody likes a starting bonus. Anyone who disagrees can throw the first stone."
Kaito instinctively raised his arms to shield himself.
Considering this was apparently an anime world, a random stone flying through the window honestly wouldn't surprise him.
After a moment, he shrugged.
"Well, since I don't have any goals right now…"
He turned toward the bed.
"…I might as well go back to sleep."
The instant he tried lying down—
an unbearable pain exploded inside his head.
"GAH?!"
Kaito grabbed his skull with both hands.
"It feels like my head's splitting apart!"
He collapsed onto the bed, writhing in agony.
The pain intensified with every second.
"AAAAAHHHH!!"
Tears streamed down his face as he twisted desperately against the sheets.
"Make it stop! Make it stop!!"
And then—
just as suddenly as it began—
the pain vanished.
Kaito remained motionless for several seconds, breathing heavily.
His hands trembled.
"…What the hell was that?" he muttered while wiping tears from his eyes. "Did someone get offended because I asked for a bonus?"
He wisely decided to keep the rest of those thoughts to himself.
Then—
memories flooded his mind.
"…These are… memories?"
He blinked several times.
"The me in this world is also named Kaito…"
"Kaito Kazama."
How convenient.
"I'm fifteen years old, and today is my first day at Sainan High…"
Kaito suddenly paused.
"…Why does that name sound familiar?"
He continued sorting through the memories.
"My parents moved overseas, but I chose to stay in Japan alone. They send me a monthly allowance…"
Another pause.
"…Which I apparently spent almost entirely on manga and games."
Kaito nodded solemnly.
"Well, obviously that's my parents' fault for trusting a fifteen-year-old with money."
Naturally, he completely ignored the fact that he had done the exact same thing in his previous life.
"Let's see… after moving here, I became friends with my neighbor…"
Kaito froze.
"…Wait."
"He lives alone with his younger sister…"
His eyes widened.
"…No way."
"And his name is…"
Silence.
Then—
"Yuki."
Kaito's expression stiffened completely.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
He slowly scratched his head in disbelief.
"I somehow became friends with the densest harem protagonist in existence…"
A deep breath.
Then he shouted:
"YUKI RITO?!"