Emptiness was all around. A void of blackness devoid of life and emotion, nothing inside was welcoming in that moment save for isolation. Soon, however, in a blink, a spark igniting a luminous path from the darkness inside burst out. A powerful rush of lights, sparking flashes like stars, and a wild stream of vivid colors exploding in the path of a newly born entrance for a soul to enter its new body, it was going to be born into. The imagery was like a fever dream for those who felt as if their life blew into their minds when they reached the point of death. The final sight all wanted or didn't ask for, giving a serene feeling when entering Nirvana.
The feeling began to dissipate slowly; the sequence of colors and lights had served its purpose in welcoming the soul. The sight, like a masterful stroke from an artist's brush, had served its purpose after its display of artistic sequences and imagery was complete. Now no longer under the influence, the next thing to happen was blackness coming back.
However, it was the blackness of an empty abyss as before; this one was natural, made from the human body, from having its eyes closed in slumber. The darkness in the eyes began to be pierced by a small line of light. The dim, bleak light that started to cover a small part of the black was beginning to engulf the line of vision the eyes tried to register.
The eyes of the newborn opened slowly and groggily, the effects of birth still lingering, making the effort to open them harder at first. Once the eyes had gathered enough strength to open without difficulty, the light seeping into them finally began to erase the darkness of sleep, and the blurry vision of the eyes waking up became clearer and more precise in what they could see before them.
Now wide awake and aware, eyes stared around to scan the environment, looking to see what or where they were. The eyes met the gaze of a lovely sight before them; they saw two women hovering over, joyful smiles on their faces.
Simple things like food or gifts could not match the happiness they had. The happiness they had was that of those who become parents for the first time, meeting their child after long anticipation of their precious gift. The first woman to see was the one lying on the bed holding the newborn with all the tenderness a Mother could give. Her cheeks flushed with delight, and the small sobs in her eyes. She had long, brown, auburn hair and a beautiful face, like that of a saintly person. The other woman who stood beside her, holding her shoulders with pride, had short midnight-blue hair, pulled back, her face exuding confidence and authority. She wore the outfit of a trained soldier, the clothes wrinkled and worn from staying up all night waiting for the birth to finish.
When the newborn's eyes saw the woman, the baby's mind raced in confusion over what was happening in the moment. The thoughts were not those of a newborn baby with no knowledge of the world or understanding of its birth. These thoughts, the feelings inside the baby were all from a life that had experienced this all before, the experience of a developed young man with no clue how it was looking upon these women and why it was a baby again.
The baby's mind calmed itself as it tried to think and understand. The mind inside the baby belonged to the hikikomori who died from throwing himself off his apartment building.
He didn't know how he was here, nestled in the unknown woman's arms. All he remembered was slamming headfirst into the car, then nothingness afterward. The blast of colors and lights he did not remember; everything from up to his death till now was the only memory inside. The biggest surprise was that his soul didn't descend into nothingness like he believed it would from committing suicide as he did, or burning in the nine circles of Hell for committing such a grave sin against himself. Instead, he was reborn, the most unexpected act he had seen many a times in Isekai anime and manga that he couldn't fathom ever happening to him.
He wasn't religious before, nor did he care for it. Even that last moment of flipping the bird to Heaven's, that was more a moment of letting out anger and defiance than belief in a higher power he had no love for. With that and the suicide, he still would have believed more in the most logical answer that his act would damn him to eternal torment in the last moment of his fleeting life. Thinking he would more so be in Hell than a divine reincarnation.
'What the??? Is this some dream? Am I hallucinating all this like some last joke before judgment? I was dying from smashing my body into the car. I remember my face being pancaked into the hood and my skull shattering before I was gone from the pain. What is going on here?'
The hikikomori was utterly confused; he pondered exactly what he had done to be reborn as a baby. He wasn't a good person before or bad either; he was mostly neutral. He did some good things here and there, but only when it was convenient and when trying to get one in with his day. Nor did he do horrible things; he never willfully hurt anyone. A stern scolding was given when they got on his nerves or broke a school rule. And he wasn't a pervert either looking girls younger than him or installing hidden cameras, it was bothering him now just thinking about it like he always did previously He tried to move his body a bit to see what he could find around the familiar room, but he forgot his body was that of a baby again, it didn't have the full range of control needed to move on its strength in the way he wanted as his previous adult one did.
He wanted to try again to see if he could at least move one hand or a finger as he wanted, but he decided to stop when it failed again, since it would be meaningless at this stage. He was still being held in the arms of the beautiful woman in the bed; her strong grip wouldn't let go of his body. He stared at her carefully, her face still red with joy as her fingers rubbed the warmth of his cheeks; she couldn't stop the feelings inside that poured out before her.
"Look at him, Mana, he's perfect. We made this. We finally made a life after so many failed tries. And even more, we made a boy, a beautiful, miracle child, you and I made this." The soldier woman said as she hugged her partner, rubbing her face and hair.
"Yes, Akane, we did this. We finally had a baby boy, as you said. I couldn't be any happier than now. I wish your Father were alive to see this. He wanted so badly to be a Grandfather when he was alive. I hope he's watching from above and seeing his grandson here and now." The beautiful woman, Mana, said, trying to hold her composure together.
The hikikomori could feel the emotions on their faces; it didn't take a genius to understand what they were conveying. They lost an important Father figure to them, the Patriarch who would have given a hand to see the birth happen. He didn't have that in his previous life; in his one-sided opinion, his Father wasn't special or amazing, just a salaryman scraping by, hoping his child would achieve his goals if he failed. Hopefully, in the future, when he and his wife, the hikikomori's Mother, retire, they will have enough resources to take care of them without being a burden when they can't do it themselves anymore in their golden years.
The hikikomori hated them for that, even if they were decent folks making an honest living. He was thinking like an entitled brat at that time about them; he wanted to feel supported by them at all times when he needed anything in his pursuit, but only resentment was left behind when he decided to throw himself off his balcony.
He never stopped blaming them for his predicament, wasting moments that could have helped him overcome his selfishness.
The Doctor assigned to Akane and Mana walked into the room after attending to another new family who had just given birth to a baby girl. The hikikomori saw another woman enter, a little older than Akane and Mana. Even though the nurses in the room earlier were women, it didn't seem weird to him at first; he felt something was off, the way they mentioned him being born a boy felt like it was some rare occurrence. The Doctor saw him as she walked up; she was just as happy to see him born a boy as the mother wanted, even rubbing his resting fingers in joy, letting the sensation of a newborn boy's skin be felt rather than that of a girl's.
"Well, well, how is our little patient doing?" the Doctor asked playfully, looking at the hikikomori.
"Excellent, the nurses said he's perfectly healthy, and no signs of the Ghast Virus. We're thankful the Gods blessed us with good fortune after all this time." Mana said.
'Ghast Virus? Did they think I would be born as some undead monster? I've heard that name many times in horror manga and movies. I even killed a few in my games when I learned what it looked like. What kind of world have I been reincarnated into? I'm still trying to figure out how this is even possible. This is too surreal to even believe, even for a cynical Otaku like me?'
The Doctor began the standard procedures again for another check-up, making sure she didn't miss anything that might have popped up after she was discharged. She checked the vitals, heart rate, pulses, pupil response, temperature, and any signs that he was born with a virus. All tests were conducted under perfect conditions with no problems or concerns.
The next thing the Doctor did was open a large casing, then place a device on the forehead and a finely crafted stone on the area of the heart. It was for the real test that hung in the minds of the Mothers.
"Are you two ready to see where he stands?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, please. We need to know how to properly prepare him for his future and safety when he awakens." Akane replied calmly.
The hikikomori was worried about hearing their tones in their voices. From watching all the anime and reading the manga in his previous life, he knew that hearing signs like that and the atmosphere in the room set off a lot of red flags. The worry of being born into a new and highly dangerous world raced through his mind again; he gulped in silence at what would be the answer to the question the women had in their minds. The Doctor started up a machine, the sounds of it powering up echoing, followed by a tingling sensation running through the hikikomori's baby head. The Doctor then placed one of his hands over the stone, chanting in a soft, spoken voice in what sounded like old sutras from Taoism or Buddhism.
The stone soon glowed, starting in dimmer light before charging up intensely from reading his soul. The stone began to crack under the pressure.
The device on Hikikomori's head could not contain any more of what it was reading; it began to short out the machine it was attached to. Then the machine finally blew up, blowing multiple fuses, with the stone following behind and shattering into pieces after it reached the breaking point.
The Doctor was shocked to see everything that transpired. Not only was that not normal, but it was an incredibly rare sight; she hadn't seen that happen in her time since she began her practice in medicine. She had heard before from her superior that on a few occasions, like this one, with the same results had happened with one example being the previous Headmaster Retsu Kamiki, the late master from her school days at Kamui Academy when he was alive.
"Doctor, is our boy alright? Is that supposed to be normal with this test?" Mana asked, concern running through her mind, worried that something had gone wrong.
"Ladies, I think you're more than blessed with a boy than you think. I can't believe I got to witness in my life, but your son's mental capacity is highly advanced, and his ability to produce magical energy is immeasurable. What I'm saying is he's a rare birth you only witness once in a generation if you're lucky. He's a Prime Caliber." The Doctor announced with enthusiasm in her tone.
The Mothers were shocked, alright, from hearing the answer. Not even if they were naive would they believe that, but their child was a Prime Caliber. It didn't register to them right away.
Even more, it didn't make sense to them how this could come about. Mana wasn't a strong magic user; she was a chef who used basic magic to preserve food and remove unhealthy and toxic elements. Akane was a soldier in the Army; she was a 2nd Lieutenant who specialized in tactical combat with offensive skills and flame magic. They also had low levels and no real skills worth mentioning; everything they had came from their hard work in life and careers.
Deep in their minds and hearts, they believed there was no way they could birth a Prime Caliber with their weak levels, skills, or magic energy as average as they were.
"Should we be worried, Doctor?" Mana asked.
"No, no, you should be rejoicing. A Prime Caliber is rarely born; most must put their bodies through hell to earn this title. But you two have one natural-born; the recognition you'll receive will be great, and the financial support for his education will be excellent when he grows older. My only recommendation is to train him carefully once he awakens and gets help at the first level. A child with that much power could hurt himself without practice or worse, die from misusing magic and skills." The Doctor warned, making sure they understood what was at stake.
The hikikomori didn't like the last comment that the Doctor said. He had already died once from suicide. Now that he had been given a new life, a clean start to do everything all over with knowledge and memories retained, he was going to enjoy this kind of advantage he had. He wasn't going to ruin it now that he had been handed a golden ticket to live comfortably without having to put in all the effort he had before; he was going to take it easy and get what he wanted now that he had been given a cheat in this life.
'So, I get reborn, I have powerful abilities, I'm in a new world that I like, and I have a strong body I can take advantage of, and I'm starting over as a baby again instead of a random body. Like hell I'm going to waste this second chance I was given. I'm living the life I deserve after all that effort into that pathetic old one that never paid off as it should have. I'm going to use this body, my brain, to get by with ease as much as possible.'
The hikikomori was giving a small grin that the women didn't see. He was loving this feeling at the moment. Not an evil grin, he wasn't being malicious; it was more a cocky and satisfying grin.
'I'm gonna live this life to the fullest in my way, even if I have to be a total jerk in the process. I wasn't one before. I didn't care about people's feelings or problems; they weren't mine. But I wasn't a bully either; if anything, I hate them for the hell they put me through. I'll do the bare minimum to skate by for now until the situation calls for me to put in a little extra effort. I'm not gonna leave my room either unless I have to. I wasn't comfortable with it before, and I don't think I will be now, after everything I went through. So I'll relax with peace and not have to interact so much.'
As he finished his speech in his head, he noticed Mana hugging him tight, not wanting the moment to go away. He wasn't gonna cry or move about; he wasn't heartless like that to spoil this for her, even though he had lied. She wouldn't cross.
"So what are we gonna name him, Akane?" Mana asked with a brimming smile. She couldn't help but be happy that she was a mom now; it was her dream she had almost given up on after so many miscarriages that nearly broke her.
Akane stopped holding Mana in her arms and started to rub her hand over the reborn hikikomori's forehead, her fingers combing the little hairs and the softness of her skin. He did his best to act humbled as a baby should; he was a bit anxious with all the touching and affection. It was a bit overwhelming, but he wanted to brace it for them since they did give him life, and he was grateful for it. The anxiousness with people touching him after the bullying in his previous life was still attached to his soul; he wasn't sure if he would be over it completely in this life, but he was going to try a bit so he wouldn't be so much of a shut-in like he was before. Being alone, playing video games, and watching anime were OK because they never bothered him. But he wasn't going to try to get out of his room when he grew up soon. It was something that he wasn't sure he had gotten over yet.
Akane stopped the affectionate touching so she could reveal the name she had picked out a long time ago, in case her wish for a boy came true. Something that reminded her of her Father and his strong appearance and willpower, she admired since she was a child.
"It's obvious what we'll call him, it's the name I picked for my Father as an honor to him. I hope you'll love it too, since I love that the name has a special meaning. His name will be…."