《Reincarnation》


 1. Voicemails

    "Hey. Are you well? Are you properly eating the food I le--Beep."


    I hung up on voicemail.


    Meaningless. Why even ask a question you already know the answer to?


    "If that''s all you''re saying, you might as well have not sent this message."


    Is this all I am to you, Mother? Someone you tentatively send messages to every once in awhile so as to appear worried?


    How shallow.


    This is why I hate connecting my phone to yours, Mother. It''s useless. You don''t care about me after all.


    "Oh right, there are other messages..."


    To begin with, I only wanted to listen to a specific message. I just got surprised by Mother''s voicemail, and ended up hanging up in agitation rather than move on to my message.


    I sighed and then quickly dialed voicemail again.


    Really, this is the only reason why I have a phone. I mean, as a shut-in, what use is a phone to me? Especially when it seems like all sorts of unpleasant people would try and contact me.


    I lifted up the phone to my ear, just in time to hear the other side''s familiar yet pleasant voice, "Sir, you have," before switching to an unpleasant yet also familiar mechanical voice, "Two," and then it quickly returned to the previous voice to make a rather uncanny sentence, "Messages. Please enter 1 to listen to the first voice message. Press 2 to listen to the second voice message. Press 3 to delete all messages. Press 0 to return."


    I have already listened to the first message, so of course I''d be clicking number 2 as opposed to number 1.


    "..."


    There was nothing but silence.


    However, I didn''t really feel concerned. After all, all of her voicemails start like this. It''s a characteristic of hers.


    The silence persisted for about a second a half, before it was sharply cut by a tender, high pitched voice: "Ohayou, Onii-chan!"


    As soon as I heard the voice, my heart warmed. This. This is it. This is the reason why I still own a phone. This is the only reason why I am able to raise up from sleep, and continue to this day.


    This is the super popular seiyuu(voice actress) that voiced three of the most iconic heroines in the last decade, Natsume Yuki!


    For the last two years, she''s been leaving me voicemails everyday asking about me. Truly, the only one who cares about me is Yuki.


    Now that I''m feeling better, I couldn''t help but smile.


    "How are you today, Onii-chan? I hope you''re properly eating."


    I couldn''t help but nod in acknowledgment and respond out loud, "Of course I''m eating well. I wouldn''t want to worry you, after all."


    After a slight pause, Yuki continued with a dejected tone, unlike her previous one: "Yuki on the other hand isn''t doing all that well..."


    When I heard that, my heart tightened. What could it be? How come Yuki isn''t doing well?


    I took a deep breath to calm myself. Thankfully, there was a pause after her sentence. Otherwise if I couldn''t calm down in time, I would''ve missed what she would say next.


    ...Calm down, there''s no way it''s serious. Alright. No matter what happens, I''ll do my best to help Yuki out. No matter what. She''s been there for me since day 1.


    "They aren''t willing to have Yuki talk to Onii-chan...A-a-at this rate, Yuki won''t be able to talk to Onii-chan anymore. Y-yuki doesn''t want that! Yuki..."


    And then silence.


    The silence persisted for about three seconds before it was abruptly interrupted by the operator.


    "Would you like to listen again?"


    However. However...I-I couldn''t think. Not being able to talk to me anymore? Someone is trying to take Yuki away from me? If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    This can''t be. But why. Why? WHY!?


    "Beep beep beep."


    "Eh?"


    I was brought back to reality by the beeps. I didn''t click anything...So I''ve been forcibly terminated.


    "I-I have to find out w-why Yuki can''t talk to me anymore!"


    I immediately dialed voicemail back and pressed 2.


    It was really hard to hear, because I felt my heart beating in my ears. However, I listened again. And again. And again.


    Until I finally noticed that she mentioned "They".


    "They...? They...can it be, her agency?"


    I made my first contact with Yuki through her agency to begin with, so really, most likely, she meant them.


    If it''s her agency...then I only have to contact them, right?


    I tried to comfort myself to no avail.


    Immediately, I opened my computer and accessed my email.


    I''ll send them an email to get to the bottom of this.


    "...I guess they beat me to it."


    As soon as I opened my email, I noticed a new email in my inbox.


    It was her agency.


    I took a deep breath and opened the email. After doing a quick read, I found out why they took Yuki away from me.


    "They want me to pay them more to have Yuki talk to me...?"


    Under the guise of Yuki ''working'' for me, we''re able to talk. However, it seems like if this got public it could hurt Yuki''s image. That''s why, they''re asking for a higher paycheck.


    "If it''s just money...I have a ton of it!"


    If there''s one thing I''m not lacking, then it''s money! You can practically say that I''m made of money!!


    With that being said, I sighed in relief and decided to immediately wire them the money.


    Who cares about stupid pocket change, if that''s all it takes to have Yuki talk to me again?


    "Eh? I can''t access my bank account to make a transfer?"


    This can''t be.


    Let me try again.


    "..."


    Why isn''t it working? There''s no way that''s possible!


    For the first time in forever, I dialed up a number to talk to a real person.


    I need to have the bank sort this out as soon as possible so I can rest at ease!


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "...Y-yes, y-yes, thank you v-very much."


    I then hung up.


    "God dammit!"


    I threw a punch toward the wall.


    "Oww!!!!"


    Shit, that hurts!!


    My eyes started sweating.


    "How come they...How come they froze my account!?"


    From what the bank told me, the ones who opened said account decided to freeze it. However, the ones who opened the account were my parents.


    This means that my parents were the ones who froze my bank account?


    I immediately decided to call Mother.


    ...After a few beeps, the line suddenly hung up. Right afterwards, a text came through.


    >Your father is asleep, so talk like this.


    "I don''t give a fuck if Father is asleep or not!"


    I rang again.


    "Beep beep beep beeeeep....."


    >What do you want? Dear, please, don''t call in the middle of the night. It''s 4am. Just send me a text, or call me again in a couple of hours.


    I rang again.


    "Beep beep beeeeep....."


    >Did you listen to my voicemail?


    "I don''t care about your shitty ''concern''!"


    I rang again.


    This time around, it refused to connect at all. She must have blocked incoming calls.


    >Just listen to the voicemail. If you still want to talk, talk to me tomorrow. I''m going to return to sleep. Talk to you tomorrow. Don''t tire yourself, honey.


    "...ARGHH!!!"


    I punched the wall again. After that, I resigned to my fate and dialed voicemail again.


    This time though, when I heard the operator''s voice, it felt anything but pleasant. I immediately hit 1 so as to skip it.


    "Hey. Are you well? Are you properly eating the food I leave at your doorstep? You must take good care of your health, even if you never leave your room. I miss you honey. Why don''t you leave every once in awhile and let your mother take a look at your face?"


    Stop it. You don''t care at all. Stop acting like you care.


    "They probably haven''t told you, but your younger brother has started slowly taking over your father''s responsibilities at work."


    I don''t fucking care.


    "Your father decided to take it easy and run to become the prime minister."


    Is that all you wanted to tell me, Mother? What does that have anything to do with me? Whether that backstabbing fucker took my place, or that pure ego in the form of a human decided to inflate himself even further?


    "Because of that, you father decided that there can''t be anything that will ruin his reputation, and made the decision to...limit you until the end of the elections. But don''t worry, momma here will take care of everything for you! You just say it, and I''ll get it. Just get out of your room every once in awhile."


    "...!"


    So that''s why...


    You want to hide me from the world?


    You don¡¯t want anyone to know that I¡¯m your eldest son?


    "For that stupid reason...you decided to take Yuki away from me...?"


    Suffocating.


    I suddenly feel that my room is small. It''s choking me. I''m having a hard time breathing.


    I-I need air.


    I opened the window, and yet I didn''t feel a tiny bit better. In fact, it felt worse.


    "I-I need to get out of here...Fresh air..."


    Looking at the time, no one should be awake yet. I snuck out of the house for fresh air.


    To be frank, this isn''t the first time I''ve snuck out for fresh air. Although when I usually do go out, I go out in a better mood than what I''m feeling right now.


    I just lost myself and started to walk aimlessly. Before I knew it, I stopped before a crosswalk. Taking a look at the pedestrian light, it was red.


    I took a look left and right.


    To my right, I saw a truck slowly making its way to speed past me.


    "Let''s see how you''ll suppress this."


    Taken by the depressing reality that in this world, there probably isn''t a single one that cares about me, I couldn''t help but take a step forward.


    "I''ll force you to care. I''ll force you to acknowledge me to the world."

 2. A Forest

    ¡°Dun duun duun~? Tatta ta ta~¡±


    The best part of my job is the ability to listen to the radio while doing it.


    Normal jobs don¡¯t allow that. In fact, normal jobs don¡¯t allow you to do much. You have a set amount of time to go to the bathroom, a restricted period of fifteen to half an hour lunch break.


    My job however, allows you to go to the bathroom whenever there is one available. It also lets you eat whenever you want. The only restriction you really have is that you got to meet a deadline. Oh, and not let anything get damaged.


    It¡¯s like working at home. But in my case, you hardly see home at all.


    You can practically say that this truck of mine...is my home.


    ¡°That was the new hit song by the new idol group, U¡î~¡±


    ¡°Oh? You star? No wonder it felt so catchy~ So it was an idol song huh.¡±


    ¡°Next is my favorite part: Reading all of your letters~!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but nod.


    This is it. This is the classical radio program!


    Due to the fact that I spend most of my day on the road, I hardly have any time to be at home and watch tv. However, thanks to the tv, most radio programs became obsolete. The only remaining ones are mostly political or endless loops of music. These types of old fashioned radio programs are now very rare, only catching them late at night or early mornings.


    ¡°...And the next letter is from Mister Lantern! ¡®Hello DJ Sunrise, I really enjoy your show.¡¯ Hello Mister Lantern, It¡¯s really nice of you to tune in!¡±


    The radio host¡¯s deep, energetic voice fills me with energy as he continues to read the letter: ¡° ¡®To be honest DJ Sunrise, you¡¯re literally the sunrise of my life. As of late, I¡¯m starting to hate going to work.¡¯ I¡¯m flattered Mister Lantern, but I¡¯m already married!¡±


    As the DJ chuckled, he left enough of a pause for me to laugh.


    ¡°¡®To be honest, whenever I listen in, I can¡¯t help but want to take a couple of beers and just chill out. Too bad the old woman in my life won¡¯t allow me to drink this early in the morning!¡¯ It¡¯s still 5 in the morning Mister Lantern, you shouldn¡¯t drink when it¡¯s way too early!¡±


    The DJ finished up the letter and then continued to read a couple more. After that, he announced the next song.


    ¡°...And this is the last song of our program! Before we play ourselves out, please listen to today¡¯s sponsor. Today¡¯s sponsor is the department of traffic: ¡®A tree never hits an automobile except in self-defense.¡¯ Thanks for tuning in today, ladies and gentlemen!¡±


    ¡°Pshh, drunk driving? Only morons do that.¡±


    As I said that, I returned my focus back to the road.


    However, the road was pretty empty. Devoid of cars and people alike. I guess it¡¯s too early for people to be outside, huh?


    Ten minutes later, I started yawning.


    After the previous program ended, the next program is an educational program that teaches children the numbers and alphabets.


    ¡°Shit, this is too boring.¡±


    I changed the channel to one of a loop of nothing but music.


    ¡°At least this is better than learning the ABCs.¡±


    And just in time, I heard the heavenly bells.


    ¡°Ding ding~¡±


    A tone echoed out of my phone. It was my message tone!


    ¡°It must be Shinigami. That guy usually stays up until now.¡±


    Making sure that the road was clear of both cars and pedestrians, I picked up my phone to see what the message is about.


    ¡°Oh, I was right. It was Shinigami.¡±


    >Hey dude, didn¡¯t you say you drive a truck for a living?


    Checking the road again, and only after making sure it¡¯s alright, I typed back.


    Yeah Lol. Why are you curious all of a sudden?<


    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into him all of a sudden? He usually only talks about games or anime¡±


    Almost as soon as I said that, a text came back.


    >I¡¯ve started reading novels yeah. And there¡¯s a popular genre.


    Is that so?<


    ¡°What does reincarnation have to do with me being a truck driver though?¡±


    I quickly wrote that into the phone and sent it back.


    >There¡¯s a trope going around that if a truck runs over the main character, he gets to reincarnate in a new world.


    ¡°...What the hell?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. As I was laughing, I typed out,


    >But what does that have anything to do with the poor truck!? Leave our trucks alone!


    However, before I hit send I tentatively took a glance at the road.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡±


    A person walked into the road. Fuck fuck fuck fuck! From the corner of my eyes, I can see that the traffic light is green. Is that guy too drowsy to notice it?


    I the phone from my hands, and it fell below to feet. I kicked the phone with my foot as I hit the brakes as hard as I could. But I couldn¡¯t care less about that. I pulling the horn cord while at the same time breaking the steering wheel to the opposite side so as to avoid him.


    However, he was simply too close and it was too late.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.If he didn¡¯t take another step forward, then I might have missed him¡­.


    ¡°...FUCK!¡±


    But. He took that extra step.


    Just before I ran over him, we made eye contact.


    His blue eyes were bloodshot, his hair was disheveled. His eyes were wide open, probably out of despair. I felt time slow down. Fuck. Gotta avoid him. My body wasn¡¯t moving as I commanded it. With a vicious smile placed on his face, I couldn¡¯t help but shudder. With that, I... ran over him.


    I immediately got out of the truck and ran over to his bleeding body.


    ¡°H-hey...A-are you alright!?!¡±


    The only response I got back was more blood escaping his body.


    ¡°Fuck, what do I do?! Do I do CPR?!¡±


    I started to panic.


    Right. Ambulance. Authorities.


    I checked my pocket for my phone, but I couldn¡¯t find it.


    ¡°Phone...phone! Phone, I need my phone!¡±


    I quickly ran back to the truck and got my phone.


    I opened up the dialer and started to type the emergency calling center.


    However, I kept pressing the wrong buttons.


    ¡°Stop...stop shaking. He might still be alive! If I don¡¯t call an ambulance now, he might really lose all chances at life!¡±


    With that, I finally was able to contact the authorities.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Since then, it¡¯s been about half a day.


    I was held in a prison cell until all things were sorted out.


    That is until¡­


    ¡°...You. Come with me.¡±


    A middle-aged man in a suit opened the locks to the cell and started leading the way.


    For some reason or another, I¡¯m in cuffs.


    ¡°I-I...H-he jumped into the street. I already told the other officer about it¡­¡±


    The man in the suit said, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to all of it in the interrogation room.¡±


    I nodded and followed along.


    The man led me to a room that had a uniformed officer standing outside. When the officer saw us walking toward him, he smiled and opened the door for us.


    I took a glance inside the room, and it was pretty much empty. Four walls. Two bolted chairs. A bolted table in the middle. However, just like the movies, there was a mirror on one of the walls.


    After we entered the room, the door was closed by the officer.


    The man--who I will assume from this point forward as a detective--gestured for me to sit on one of the chairs that faced the mirror. Then pulled out a key and started to uncuff me.


    Or so I thought, but he only freed one of my hands before cuffing me to the table.


    After that, he took a seat opposite of me and smiled: ¡°Do you know why you¡¯re here?¡±


    Just remembering it makes me want to vomit. But I have to answer.


    I nodded, ¡°I-It¡¯s because someone committed suicide by running in the middle of the street on a red light.¡±


    The man shook his head, ¡°Is that your excuse now? You should¡¯ve said that to the on-sight officer first before trying it out on me.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I was taken aback. What?


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    That¡¯s exactly what I told the officer who responded to me.


    ¡°I-I was texting and driving...A-and he suddenly appeared in the middle of the road¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The detective smiled, ¡°How odd. That¡¯s not what the officer wrote in his report. He said that you told him, and I quote: ¡®I c-couldn¡¯t help it. My life felt so miserable...So I thought I¡¯d make someone else¡¯s life even more miserable than mine¡¯. What can you say about that?¡±


    ¡°W-what are you talking about? I¡¯ve never said any of that!¡±


    The detective chuckled, ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel my back grow cold. My heart tightened as I tried to think of any way to prove him false.


    ¡°I-if that¡¯s the case, then why did I call the authorities!?¡±


    ¡°Of course, to confess.¡±


    After saying that, the detective stood up. He eyed the camera at one of the corners of the room, as he made his way to the door and left.


    ¡°This...what¡¯s happening? There¡¯s no way I said that. It was all an accident after all¡­¡±


    After recalling everything that happened, and making sure that I truly did not do anything wrong, the door to the interrogation room was swung open as the detective from earlier came in with a cup of coffee and a piece of paper.


    ¡°I¡¯d like you to sign this.¡± He said as he handed me the paper.


    The paper was a written confession of me willingly murdering the...Eh? This name...Paul Bright. This name is familiar¡­


    And as if reading my mind, the detective sternly said: ¡°How could you aim to kill mister Bright¡¯s son? Is this your way of trying to intimidate him from running for prime minister? If you don¡¯t confess, then you¡¯ll be treated as a terrorist. Hurry up and sign it so you can plea for leniency.¡±


    He then took a sip of the coffee before setting it down on the table.


    There¡¯s no way this is possible.


    ¡°This is a mistake...A coincidence!¡±


    The detective shouted back, ¡°There are no coincidences in this world!¡±


    ¡°I...I demand a lawyer.¡±


    The detective shrugged, ¡°Even terrorist deserves lawyers. We¡¯ve already called one for you. However, it seems that he¡¯ll be running a bit late¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    This...this can¡¯t be real.


    Am I being set up?


    The detective then made a gesture at the mirror, then returned to face me.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late kid. You¡¯ve gone and done it. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Bright can¡¯t have ghosts haunt his campaign.¡±


    ¡°W-what do you mean¡­?¡±


    The detective laughed again. If not for the circumstances, I would¡¯ve genuinely thought that this man was a cheerful person.


    ¡°You¡¯re really slow, aren¡¯t you? What I¡¯m saying is, you¡¯ve just helped turn our future prime minister¡¯s greatest weakness to one of his greatest strengths. Just think about it. He can now run for freedom out of terror, and garner the love and sympathy of the public.¡±


    A chill ran down my spine. This man...what?


    ¡°He¡¯s using his own son...for...eh?¡±


    I can¡¯t think past that point. It¡¯s simply too frightening.


    The detective¡¯s next words snapped me back to reality.


    ¡°Hurry up and sign it, so we can give you the plea deal and get it over with. If you do that, at the very least, you¡¯ll avoid capital punishment.¡±


    I...am being framed.


    ¡°I¡¯m being framed!¡±


    I shouted at the top of lungs.


    ¡°Help! I¡¯m being framed!!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. The walls are soundproof.¡±


    When I heard that, I couldn¡¯t help but get taken by a sense of despair.


    I...what about my parents? My friends?


    This...this will destroy everyone I know¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m not a murderer!¡±


    I shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a murderer!!!¡±


    Flashes of the guy, Paul, before dying flashed before my eyes.


    You¡­


    The despair I felt inside me turned into anger.


    Without me noticing, the detective gestured back at the camera.


    I looked up at the detective, and I saw him smile back to me.


    Seeing that smile, I grabbed the cup of coffee he brought along and splashed it on his face.


    ¡°Oww! Assault, assault! The suspect has assaulted me!¡±


    The detective screamed, as the door was kicked open by the uniformed officer from earlier that came to the detective¡¯s ¡®rescue¡¯.


    After that, the days moved quite quickly.


    I found out that the lawyer they got me wasn¡¯t putting in even the slightest amount of effort to help me out.


    The judge they got was nothing but bought off scum.


    The jury, warped by what the media has told them, wrote me off as guilty before even hearing my case out.


    They used video footage of me splashing the detective with coffee as proof of my aggressiveness.


    And to my dismay, and their surprise, they retrieved the conversation I had with Shinigami as proof to solidify my motive.


    It all moved way too fast. Before I even realized, I was already on the high platform to be hanged.


    Yes...I was sentenced to capital punishment.


    It didn¡¯t even take two months.


    The trial ended and I was quickly offered as a sacrifice to appease the public.


    My hate toward Bright was at its fullest. However, at death¡¯s door, I only felt helplessness.


    Someone who worked there--I¡¯ll call him the executioner--came and helped me out with the knot on my neck.


    I stood still as he slowly tightened the rope on my neck.


    Just as he was about to finish, he spat out: ¡°I hope you reincarnate as a dog.¡±


    After he said that, with all of the power I had in my body, I bit his hand.


    ¡°ARGHH!!!¡±


    The executioner shouted as he stumbled off the platform. I looked ahead of me, where there was a chamber with a window filled with people--witnesses to my execution, I believe--I closed my eyes, raised my arms and flipped them off.


    ¡°Fuck Bright.¡±, I shouted as hard as I could.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Huh?


    I don¡¯t feel anything...did the mechanism fail to drop me?


    God damn, and I had this whole thing planned out.


    I don¡¯t want to open my eyes.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...Screw it, I¡¯m opening my eyes.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I no longer was in that dark room watched by people as I was about to be hanged.


    Oh no...I was...ah...in a place filled with trees.


    ¡°A...forest?¡±