Leon ran through dark woods.
The trees were black, their trunks twisted in spirals that expanded into a canopy of equally dark leaves. Branches whipped against his face as he pushed deeper into the forest.
Something was chasing him.
He didn't know what. He couldn't hear it, and he couldn't see it. But he knew it was there.
Every few seconds, Leon glanced over his shoulder as he ran.
Nothing.
Did I lose it?
He wondered, but the cold, unmistakable feeling of being chased remained.
Is it invisible? Where is it?
He kept running.
Deeper and deeper into the forest, but he never grew tired.
"Alright! Something's up."
Leon finally stopped and looked around. The fear of being caught, and the horror of discovering what was actually chasing him, had started to fade. He'd been running for so long that frustration had replaced his fear.
"...Is it coming?"
Nothing.
"I must be losing it. I know I was being chased..."
...but by what?
Leon felt like a fog had settled over his mind. He couldn't remember what had been chasing him. He couldn't even remember how he knew he was being chased in the first place.
"Where am I...?"
A black forest?
He looked around again. The fear of being caught had now become an afterthought.
"I was training with Nadu..."
No. I finished that.
"Yeah. I went home and told Celestine?"
But who's Celestine?
"And why was she mad? The meeting?"
I did learn a few basic punches and grapples...
"It was late, so I started training Bloodless while the others slept."
But then how did I get here?
"Did I die? Limbo was an empty void, not a forest."
Leon stared blankly into the darkness. His own words wrestled with his thoughts.
"I'm being chased."
I should run...
"But why?"
To survive?
"Can I even die?"
Leon looked around again. Confusion and frustration were all he felt.
Maybe..
"I don't even know anymore."
If this thing chasing me can't even keep up with me, what chance does it have of killing me..?
"HELLO!? Scary thing in the dark that's supposed to be chasing me!? Are you still there, buddy? Do you need a breather?!"
Nothing.
"Alright. I'll wait."
Leon sat down and leaned against one of the spiral black trees.
I had to wait in an empty void for months. Maybe more. Just for Death to come and find me!
"This slowpoke is messing with the wrong guy!"
Leon waited against the tree, as he did, his eyes slowly began to close.
Since being reincarnated, Leon's Vitality had made exhaustion meaningless. He didn't need sleep, food, drinks, or even air.
But lying against this tree, he finally felt as if he could sleep for the first time in this new world.
Leon closed his eyes.
The ground started to shake.
"Waaaake UP!"
"Mmmm... ten more minutes... ZZZzzz..."
"Hey! Don't just go back to sleep! Your darling little sister, Maria, is here to wake you up!"
"Mmmm I don't have a sister..."
The shaking stopped as Maria jumped into the air before landing directly on Leon's stomach with one foot.
"Ouch!!"
"Sorry! Did that hurt? Hehehe! I bet you're awake now, though?"
Leon instinctively grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
The shaking continued as Maria jumped up and down on the bed.
"Maria... I'm trying to sleep..."
Leon's eyes remained closed.
"No! No sleeping!"
Maria dropped onto Leon's lap, straddling him with one leg on either side as she fought to pull the blanket off.
"Stay awake!"
"Five more minutes..."
"No!"
Maria successfully pulled the blanket off him, falling backward and off his lap with it. She quickly shot back up and started jumping up and down on the bed again.
"Get up, Sleepyhead! Darling big brother! We're going to spend the whole day together!"
Leon's eyes slowly opened.
He was lying in his own bed, in his own room. Maria was bouncing on the mattress beside him. Messy pale blue hair fell to her upper back, front bangs dropping below her eyes, hiding her silver eyes as she looked down at him.
She wore a stereotypical schoolgirl uniform that was clearly a size too small. Maria was short, just taller than Rika's height, but she carried an absurd amount of curve for her frame. The sailor shirt was pulled up by her chest until it looked almost like a crop top, leaving her stomach bare. The tiny skirt barely covered her hips, while navy blue thigh high socks pinched into the middle of her thighs.
With every bounce, she gave Leon a clear view up her shirt and skirt. Almost intentionally showing off the even more stereotypical striped panties.
"Woah, woah, Maria what are you wearing!?"
"A 'school uniform'... It's what you wanted me to wear. Yeah! You told me to wear this since we're spending the whole day together!"
"I told you to wear that... When? Why am I in my room?"
"Where else would you be, big brother...?"
Leon looked around his bedroom. It looked completely normal, yet he still felt the fog from the forest over his mind. He was trying to remember something, but didn't know what it was.
"I was training... Learning basic martial arts with Nadu.."
"You mean gym teacher Nadu."
Gym teacher Nadu... I did have a gym teacher..
"I remember you saying you were going to join a club! Sounds like you got hurt big brother. But don't worry your cute step sister Maria, is here to help you recover all day"
Maria stopped jumping on Leon's bed and began to help him sit upright.
"I was in another world...and I..."
"Sounds like you really did get hit really hard, darling big brother. Get out of bed and we'll eat your favorite foods and play your favorite games and watch your favorite shows!"
Was it all just a dream... I had a harem of beautiful fiancees, I had max vitality and couldn't die...
"Let's go! It's a beautiful summer day that will never end! We're going to do everything, forever!"
Leon started to climb out of bed with Maria's eager help.
"Yeah let me get changed first, I'll meet you downstairs."
"Alright darling big brother! Don't take too long. And NO falling back to sleep!"
Maria left Leon's room and closed the door behind her.
Leon looked out his window at the summer morning. Blue skies, not a single cloud blocking the black sun as it rose above the horizon and through the leaves of the spiral black forest surrounding Leon's suburban house.
"Yeah, the weather is nice today... Guess it was a dream…"