Tanaka jolted awake to find himself in a strange white room that expanded to infinity he had never seen before; it looked almost like a hospital ward without any equipment.
As he starts to adjust to his surroundings, he notices he is in a poster bed, swallowed by the softest blankets and the silkiest sheets he has ever felt in his life. The absurdity of it all causes him to grow more and more worried by the second.
He surveyed his surroundings, taking in the almost clinical nature of the room he was in. A strange calm has come over him. A part of him felt like he should be worried, but it almost felt like his worries were far away at the current moment.
A strange woman appears to be sitting next to him in a plush leather chair. She is clad in all black, a large scythe propped against the back of her chair. The woman stared intently at Tanaka, her deep green eyes watching his every move. She appeared to be the epitome of average; her proportions, her height, everything about her, down to the smallest detail, was nothing more or less than average for a Japanese woman.
"Good morning, sleepy head." The woman chuckles.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the goddess of death, of course, Mikoto Inazami at your service."
"Wait, goddess of death, does that mean..."
"Yes, it means that you're dead. You died on your 20th birthday. It was a sad sight to see, too. If you're curious, we have prepared a highlight reel of sorts as to how it all happened."
Tanaka, having a strange new morbid curiosity for such things, suddenly becomes interested.
"Let's see it," he chokes out, trying to feign his interest in this new development.
A silver-bordered view screen appears before him, and it seems he gets to watch his final moments as though they were nothing more than a home movie.
---
"KANPAI!" everyone cheers.
"Tanaka! You're finally 20 and able to drink with us! How does it feel?" Nakano asks.
"To be honest, I'm not sure," Tanaka hiccups. He is clearly quite drunk from the evening's festivities.
"Well, don't worry, pal, there will be plenty more of these events, now ONE MORE DRINK."
"ONE MORE DRINK, ONE MORE DRINK," all Tanaka's friends join in goading him on.
Tanaka picks up his glass and slowly raises it to his lips as he mumbles, "kanpai", tipping his head back and quickly swallows his drink.
He holds his glass above his head, showing his friends he has finished it. As he sets the glass down, he slumps over into his childhood friend Takeuma.
"Alright, big guy, let's get you home. You have had enough; let's get you to the train station so you can get home." The two stumble out of the bar and to the train station, only falling over a couple of times.
"This is your stop," Takeuma tells Tanaka.
"*Snort* Huh, thanks, man, you're the best," Tanaka says sleepily
Tanaka stumbles out of the train. The smell of alcohol wafting off of him, drawing looks of other passengers, as well as those standing in the station. He stumbles multiple times on his short journey out of the station. As he begins to make his way toward his house, a terrible case of vertigo takes over, and he stumbles, his world spinning, causing him to hold back a spew of alcohol, bile, and regret.
Reaching the highway nearly twenty minutes later, Tanaka is left to his thoughts and the drone of passing cars. “Man, I really shouldn't have drank as much as I did,” Tanaka says with a suspicious burp that could have turned to vomit any second had he not held it down. His vision blurs as the bright lights of a box truck blind him. The speeding truck comes to fill his vision as it barrels toward him. One moment, the truck appears as though it will continue speeding down the road, and the next, it is smashing into the guard rail. With the strike, the center of gravity causes the truck to lose equilibrium and begins careening sideways as it strikes the rail. There is but a moment where it appears the truck may right itself, but that moment is fleeting as it passes the point of no return, inevitably resulting in it tipping on its side.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Unfortunately, drunk Tanaka doesn't even have time to react before the truck spins and the box falls on him, leaving him as nothing more than a splatter. What is left of his body is now pinned between the sidewalk and the box of the truck. In his last fleeting moments, he subconsciously picks up on the fact that there is something amiss about the driver. However, in his drunken state, his dying mind wasn't quite able to pick up on exactly what it was.
---
Watching the playback, Tanaka notices the eyes of the truck driver aren't that of a human. Still, they appeared as though they were filled with storm clouds, and Tanaka immediately takes an interest.
"Ah, I see you noticed that too." Izanami smiles, noticing Tanaka's interest.
"What was up with that guy's eyes?"
"Unfortunately, I can't share with you, dear. What I can say is this allowed me to bring you here and offer you a wonderful deal."
"What kind of deal?" Tanaka pipes up.
"Well, not so much a deal as much as a couple of options. Option 1, you get to go on living as a child of earth, and you would lose all your memories but be born again in the world you know."
"And option 2?" Izanami smiles gently at Tanaka, knowing what will happen.
"Option 2 is special, just for you. You would be reborn into a world of swords and sorcery. First, you would keep all your memories and knowledge. Also, you would be imbued with everything you need to survive. You would gain an affinity for magic, the ability to read and write well ahead of what is normal, and a family that loves you very much. You would have a do-over, but better if you will"
Words spill from Inizami's mouth one after another, which almost becomes rambling, causing Tanaka to think she is trying to make it sound way better than it actually is.
"That sounds amazing, but what aren't you giving me in this story, Miss Izanami?"
"Well..." She starts but looks away quickly, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Well?"
"There is one small problem, so small it's almost insignificant, like you don't even have to face it if you don't want to. I'm just here to offer you this sweet, sweet deal."
"Problem? What could be the problem? What you're proposing sounds amazing."
Inazami ponders a second, "Ok, I take it back two problems."
Tanaka shakes his head playfully as a bit of frustration starts creeping into his psyche.
"The problem is no matter which option you choose, you will be reincarnated as a child, well more than a child, an infant really; it's hard to bring back older bodies, so no matter what you choose, you will be less than a year old when you are reborn. However, with Option 2, or 'The Isekai Option' as I like to call it, we would also like you to aid us in taking the world back from evil." Izanami says in another case of word vomit.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on just a damn second, you expect me to take the world back from evil... As a baby... That is nigh impossible," Tanaka says, voice dripping with exasperation.
"No, you misunderstand me, young Tanaka. You won't be forced to do anything, but when the time comes, choices will have to be made," Inazami starts.
"Around your 15th birthday, when you become an adult in the world of Tengoku, evil will approach you, and what you do from there is entirely up to you. Should you do nothing, die, or join forces, the world will come to an end by your 20th birthday." A great sense of pride almost instantly washes over Tanaka.
"I would love to help this world. What do I need to do?" Tanaka says matter of factly.
"Nothing, sweetheart. Just lay back and once again drift back to sleep."
"Alright, I will do that, but will I see you again."
"If you need me, I will answer your prayers offered in my temples." Tanaka suddenly gets very drowsy and falls asleep almost immediately.
"Sssssstttttrrrrrreeeeetttcchhhh," Tanaka groans as he awakens.
Upon opening his eyes, he notices that his hands are little ham chunks and that he is once again an infant. He inspects his surroundings and immediately notices six misty lights surrounding him, one of each: black, white, red, blue, green, and gray. Upon further inspection, he recognizes he is deep within a forest.
Suddenly, the thundering sound of loud horses galloping approaches. The lights that were hovering around Tanaka disappeared just as instantly and brilliantly as they appeared. This causes him to cry out as his ears had not yet adjusted to the sounds of this world the horses sounded hundreds of times louder than they had in his previous life. A man and a woman come into view, wearing clothes that appear to be quite fine and modern.
"I thought I was going to a world of swords and sorcery, not some backwoods world with 60's clothes," Tanaka thinks and starts crying.
Then he notices the man is wearing a sword, and the woman has a bow strapped across her back. "Did you hear a child crying?" The woman asks the man standing next to her.
The man replies, "What's in that bundle down there, Masako?"
Masako gasps loudly, "It's a baby, Naruhito. Who could leave such a precious child who is so small and young in the forest to fend for themselves? He can't be more than six months old. What happened to his parents, I wonder?"
"I'm not sure, but I will check the area and see if I can find any signs of them."
Tanaka desperately tries to make the same sounds to what he assumes to be his parents in an attempt to talk to them, but all that comes out is gibberish.
"Thanks, Izanami. I thought you said I would be able to speak, read, and write the language," Tanaka thinks to himself, knowing no one can hear him.
"You are but a baby, Tanaka. Even in your own world, you couldn't talk as a newborn, but don't worry, the knowledge is there. It will come sooner than you might think. Remember, if you need me, seek me at the temple," Inazami replies.
Masako starts cooing gently and checking Tanaka over, ensuring he isn't injured as Naruhito inspects the area using his skills as a born tracker. But the more Naruhito searches, the more concerned he grows.
"Masako, I don't understand it. There is nothing, not even the smallest crinkle on the forest floor."
"Maybe it's the gods finally blessing us with an heir. I know every time we went to the temple, you begged for a little boy." Masako tenderly smiles as Tanaka reaches up and grabs her finger.
Masako hands Tanaka over to Naruhito as she mounts her horse ." I think I'll call you Tanaka. What do you think, Masako? He looks like a Tanaka, doesn't he?" Naruhito dotes as he hands the baby up to Masako.
"Tanaka sounds wonderful, dear. what do you think, little one?" Masako coos at Tanaka.
"Thank God I don't have to learn a new name, at least." Tanaka smiles and grabs Masako's finger as he slowly drifts back to sleep along the ride to what he can only assume is his home.