—You okay?
The last thing Kyotaru Yuuki felt was the bone-chilling vibration of the yellow safety line and the tiny, frantic heartbeat of the kitten against his palms. Then, a roar of white noise and a darkness so absolute it felt heavy.
So this is it, his consciousness flickered like a dying bulb. Thirty-eight years of being the perverted freak in the back of the class. Ten years of being the clumsy ghost at the office.
My legacy is a grease stain on the morning express.
At least the cat got out.
He expected the void. He expected the end of his miserable, lonely existence.
Instead, he felt warmth.
It wasn't the sterile heat of a hospital or the humid smog of Shinjuku. It was the scent of sun drenched jasmine and clean linen. Something soft unbelievably soft was pressed against his cheek.
Kyotaru tried to groan, but his throat felt tight.
He forced his heavy eyelids open, bracing for the harsh fluorescent lights of a waiting room.
The lights never came.
Above him, a vaulted ceiling of lapis lazuli and gold leaf stretched toward a sky so blue it looked painted. He was being held. Not just held, but cherished.
"Look at him, Minoru," a voice hummed. It was a melody, a sound so rich it made Kyotaru's soul ache.
"He has your eyes. Exactly your eyes."
Kyotaru looked up, and his heart nearly stopped.
A woman with hair the color of the deep, midnight ocean was cradling him. This was Kyoki. She didn't look at him with the disgust of his old boss or the pity of his former classmates.
She looked at him like he was a miracle. Her gaze felt like a physical embrace, washing away the decades of shame he'd carried.
Beside her stood a man, tall and broad-shouldered, with hair like dancing flames. This was Minor. He reached out a massive, calloused hand—That gently brushed Kyotaru's forehead with the tenderness of a breeze.
"He's quiet," Minoru muttered, his voice vibrating in Kyotaru's chest like a distant thunderstorm.
"Observant. Like he's already seen the world and decided it wasn't enough."
Kyotaru stared at them, his middle-aged brain screaming in silent static. He looked down at his own hands—tiny, pudgy, and pink.
...I'm a baby
he realized, a cold spike of panic hitting him.
But these two... they aren't just people. They're... more.
The air around them didn't just feel like oxygen; it felt like power. It hummed. It glowed.
"He will be the bridge, Kyoki," Minoru said, his eyes glowing like embers.
Kyoki tightened her grip, pulling him closer to her heart.
"Sleep now, Ichikawa," she breathed, her voice a gentle command his new, tiny body couldn't resist.
As his vision begin blurred into a peaceful sleep.
Did i reborned...? I were a miserable freak who couldn't even afford rent with my monthly salary, how did I end up like this?
This has to be a dream...
What If it wasn't...
...I better not to screw this up....