JIRO IKIGAI
"Where… am I?"
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling above me felt strangely familiar. I turned my head left, then right, and realization struck me.
I was in my room.
"Damn… it's like I haven't been here in ages."
I pushed myself up, walked groggily to the kitchen, and set the coffee pot. As the machine rumbled, my thoughts drifted back to that place I had escaped from—those rooms, that thing I saw before everything went dark.
The smell of bitter roast filled the air. The coffee was ready. I poured myself a cup, lifted it to my lips, and—
A sharp flash of memory sliced into my mind.
Images of ■ ■ ■ and ■ ■ ■, their last moments together, filled me with dread. My chest tightened. If I had been the one standing there… what would I have done? Would I have even been able to move?
I shook the thought away, clutching the mug. Not now. Not when I'm barely awake.
I headed to the bathroom. But when I stepped inside, the world tilted.
The reflection staring back at me in the mirror… wasn't the boy I remembered.
It was me—yet not me.
L
Older. Stronger. Sharper. My shoulders were broader, my eyes colder.
"Wait… is that really me?" My breath hitched.
Panic bubbled up. Hold on, what time is it? I'm going to be late for school—
I grabbed my phone out of habit.
"Wait… how did I name my phone's AI again?"
"Hey Void, what time is it? What's today's date?" I muttered.
"Good morning, Jiro," the AI responded in its smooth synthetic tone. "The time is 7:30 a.m. The date is March 15th, 2027. I hope you have a good day."
I froze.
"Wait… what date did it just say?"
Frantically, I unlocked my phone. March 15, 2027.
"No. No way. That's impossible."
I refreshed the browser, checked global time, checked again. Same result.
Three years. I had been… gone for three whole years.
"What the hell is happening…? Did someone control my body while I was asleep?"
It was insane. Ridiculous. The kind of thing that only happened in anime or movies. And yet—my reflection didn't lie. My body was more trained, more disciplined. Whoever had been in control… had been preparing me.
I scrolled through my phone again. Notes. A weekly plan. Perfectly organized. My schedule for today? Work.
"Wait… work? I have a job now?"
I cursed. It started in ten minutes. "Great. Just great. I'm twenty years old now and already late for work."
But beneath the frustration, a darker thought gnawed at me.
"Did this… only happen to me? Or did it happen to the whole world? And… how's Sai?"
My throat tightened as I opened my socials. The last message from Sai was three years ago. Nothing since.
"Damn it… something happened to him too. I know him. He's lazy, sure—but there's no way he wouldn't have tried to reach me."
I clenched my fist. "After work… no. Not after. I have to find him. Whatever it takes. I will find him and learn what happened."
SAI SHINU
"Wait… how is Jiro doing now?"