"Look out—!"
In a plain room, Natsuo, who was lying in bed, yelled, then snapped his eyes open and sat up on the bed.
He was panting heavily, cold sweat breaking out on his pale face, looking visibly shaken.
After catching his breath, he glanced around and noticed something was wrong. He looked up at his surroundings, utterly bewildered.
He was actually in a room that was clearly a bedroom. The space was quite large, with a wardrobe, a desk, and even a computer. Beneath him was a soft, large bed.
Shouldn't he... be on the street? And lying on the ground covered in blood?
What was going on?
Had he been saved and healed?
This didn't look like a hospital room, and what he was wearing wasn't a... wait?
Looking down at himself, Natsuo froze.
His clothes were wrong. They weren't his ordinary hoodie, nor were they hospital pajamas, but clearly a uniform.
Long pants and a shirt, like a student uniform.
"My leg... my hand..."
Natsuo discovered more oddities. His body seemed to have changed.
His limbs were noticeably more slender, and his little potbelly was gone.
He got thinner?
His skin had also become much smoother and softer.
How long had he been unconscious?
The Unfamiliar Reflection
With a mess of questions swirling in his mind, Natsuo got out of bed, put on the slippers, and walked towards the door.
There was no mirror in the room that he needed.
Stepping out of the room, the view immediately opened up. Outside was a very large living room, with furniture, a sofa, and a television filling his sight.
There was no one in the living room.
Could this be... the home of the person I saved?
Natsuo's memory stopped at the moment he was going out to buy something and saw a little girl on the street about to be hit by a car.
The little girl was petrified with fear. He was very close, and though his mind hesitated, his body acted uncontrollably to rush forward and save her.
He remembered pushing the girl away, and then the car hit him. The next thing he knew was now.
Natsuo guessed he must have been knocked unconscious and then the family of the little girl he saved rescued him and let him stay in their home.
After all, he lived alone.
It seemed he might have been unconscious for quite a while.
He didn't have a single injury on his body, he had lost so much weight, and he felt light on his feet.
But what was with this strange uniform?
Did they not have any clothes that fit him?
Natsuo scanned the area and spotted the restroom, which had an English sign on the door. He walked over.
Entering the restroom, he immediately saw the mirror, and when he stood in front of it, he was stunned.
The person staring back was both familiar and strange.
It was him, yet not him.
Natsuo clearly remembered that he was on the verge of becoming a sloppy middle-aged man, but the person in the mirror was so youthful and vibrant, full of energy.
It was his younger self. The uniform made him look like a high school student.
He got younger?
Was I disfigured in the crash and then got plastic surgery?
Natsuo touched his face, pinching and pulling it. The skin felt real, natural, and soft to the touch.
It didn't seem fake, but he couldn't be sure.
What exactly was going on?
"Hmm?"
The Voice in the Head
In his confusion, Natsuo noticed some toiletries on the sink counter and his eyes widened.
There was only one set of toothbrushes and cups.
But that wasn't what surprised him the most. It was the pattern on the cup: it was in Japanese (Nihongo), and he could instantly read it.
"Kawaii Dudu." (Cute Dudu)
That was the simple meaning of the characters on the cup.
But Natsuo knew that even if he watched anime every day and had some knowledge of the language, he shouldn't be able to instantly recognize the characters.
Moreover, he felt like he could speak fluent Japanese without effort.
Why did I suddenly know Japanese?
The moment this question arose, a voice suddenly echoed in Natsuo's mind.
[Help me.]
"Who?"
Natsuo abruptly turned around. There was no one outside the restroom.
[I'm inside your head.]
The voice echoed again, very ethereal.
"?"
[Calm down first, don't get excited.]
"...I am calm," Natsuo said, feigning composure.
Even though he had entered middle age, he lived in the modern era, so his acceptance level was still quite high.
[I don't think you're calm.] The voice exposed him.
"...Never mind me, who are you exactly?" Natsuo actively asked.
[I'm not anyone. I need your help.]
"What do you mean? Your voice is inside my head, so powerful, and yet you need my help?"
Natsuo was certain that the voice was resonating directly inside his brain, and there was no one around him.
Am I still dreaming, or in a dream within a dream?
He pinched his thigh. It hurt a little.
[I can't handle it.]
"I don't understand."
[The world has been corrupted. I need your assistance.]
"What world?"
[I am the world. I've been invaded by an outside force.]
"Huh?"
[I won't make you help for free. I'll give you compensation. You were already dead. I resurrected you and brought you to this world.]
"Resurrected me? This place, it's not Japan (Nihon), is it?" Natsuo asked in disbelief, connecting his discoveries.
[Yes. Didn't you like it here?]
"Don't talk nonsense. I liked the world in anime, not Japan itself," Natsuo righteously denied.
[...Anyway, you can look forward to it. My compensation to you is more than just this. You'll definitely like it.]
"So you resurrected me just so I can work for you? I still have to be a workhorse?"
[This is mutually beneficial.]
"You didn't get my permission."
[But I think you'll be satisfied.]
"How so?"
[You'll find out tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you to willingly help.]
"Wait, how can you be sure I'll— Ugh!"
Before he could finish his question, Natsuo felt a throbbing headache and immediately dropped to his knees.
New memories flooded his mind—his identity in this world.
The New Reality
His parents were a mix of Chinese and Japanese. He was a Chinese-Japanese hybrid, but this was merely his identity setting. His parents had already passed away in an accident.
The apartment he was currently in was purchased with the insurance payout from his parents' accident, and it was a high-end condominium.
It was all a setup, but Natsuo didn't mind. His only regret was that he didn't have a younger sister.
He also understood what the "World" meant by saying he would find out tomorrow.
His physical age had indeed been reversed. In this world, he was a high school student, and a transfer student at that. Tomorrow was his day to report to school.
Did the "World" think I enjoyed school?
Even if he had come to Japan, he didn't want to repeat school.
Is there another benefit?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Natsuo decided to check out the situation tomorrow before making any other decisions.
Natsuo slept quite soundly that night, mainly because he hadn't fully accepted his situation, treating it all as a dream or a dream within a dream.
The next day, Natsuo got dressed, skipped breakfast, and headed to the school he was supposed to report to.
The school was called Kyōshū Bunbu High School. The name was quite unique, and he had never heard of the school before.
The school itself was enormous. Standing at the gate, Natsuo felt like he was looking at a university, perhaps an elite private university, rather than a high school.
Do they even have schools like this in Japan?
After asking for directions at the security booth, Natsuo entered the campus and went to the teaching building.
The teaching building was grand and magnificent; one might mistake it for an office skyscraper.
Natsuo's identity was that of a first-year transfer student, and the first-year classrooms were on the first floor.
He arrived a bit early, so there weren't many students around. Arriving at the door of the faculty office, he knocked.
"Come in," a clear female voice responded from inside.
Natsuo pushed the door open and immediately saw the only person in the office. Her back clearly indicated she was a woman.
She wore a white lab coat over her clothes, and her long, straight black hair flowed down her back.
She turned around, revealing a delicate and beautiful face, with large, soulful eyes and refined features.
She was a beauty.
But Natsuo was shocked upon seeing her, and not because of her beauty.
"Yes?" The woman looked at Natsuo and spoke with a question in her voice.
"Teacher, could you tell me your name?" Natsuo urgently asked.
"Shizuka Hiratsuka, why do you ask?"