Misasa, Tottori Prefecture, Japan.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A hand slammed down on the alarm clock, followed by an annoyed groan as a man sat up in bed. “Already time to get ready for work again?” He grumbled as he looked at the clock. “Looks like I’ll be late again. They’ll probably fire me this time. Oh well,” he sighed as he got up and began his routine of getting ready. It took him nearly an hour to finish preparing since he was sure he would be fired, he didn’t care too much about rushing to work.

He stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes after he had finished brushing his teeth. Green eyes stared back at him. It was a very rare thing for a Japanese person to have green eyes, but his mother always insisted he was special because of it. His black hair had started to grow out more and reach down over his ears. Even though he ran his fingers through it, his hair was still a bit messy. Another rarity was his height. Although it was becoming more common for Japanese men to be over six feet tall, Kazumichi stood at 6'6, which was still on the taller side.

Kazumichi hated his job, and it was apparent that his boss and coworkers didn’t like him much either. When he first started, he always showed up early, and worked very hard to do the best job possible. However, in recent months, it seemed like they were giving him more paperwork than the previous day, demanding that he finish it faster each time. This began to take a toll on Kazumichi, causing him to be exhausted more often, which led to him showing up late more frequently. Despite this, Kazumichi still did his best to be a diligent worker when he was there.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Kazumichi took one final deep breath before stepping off, already prepared for how his last day of work would be. He made his way to his desk and sat down, having felt the eyes of his coworkers follow him the entire way.

Not even two minutes at his desk, he felt a presence looming behind him before he heard the distinct nasally voice of his boss speak up. “Heeey, Kazu-chan! I see you’re late again today. That’s been nearly every day this week, right?” The man asked, but continued without giving Kazumichi a chance to answer. “Unfortunately, we take work here seriously, and we can’t allow even one rotten apple to spoil the whole bunch. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

In Japan, it wasn’t uncommon for bosses to use the -kun honorific for their male subordinates. It was perhaps a bit diminutive, though not overly rude. However, addressing a man as -chan, while also shortening their given name, was considered to be very rude. Since the -chan honorific was typically used for close female friends or family, or children.

Normally, Kazumichi kept his head down and ignored the snide remarks and beratement from his boss. But since he was being fired, he had no reason to continue doing so. Standing up and turning to face the shorter man, Kazumichi narrowed his eyes. A torrent of expletives and a raised voice swirled in his head as he tried to gather his thoughts for what exactly he wanted to tell this pathetic excuse for a boss. However, all the thoughts in his mind remained exactly there. The only thing Kazumichi managed to do was bow his head and respond with, “I understand.”

Kazumichi then gathered his belongings from his desk, threw them into a box, and headed back toward the elevators. The moment the doors slid shut, the pent up rage inside of him finally exploded. His fist slammed into one wall of the elevator, causing his knuckles to bleed. “Goddammit!” He shouted, then punched the wall again. “Stupid.. Fucking.. Bastard!” He punched the wall again with each word he spoke. In his mind, the image of his boss’ face was in the spot on the wall he was punching. “My.. name.. Is.. Kazumichi… Not.. Kazu-chan!” Seven more punches landed on the wall, covering it in more of his blood as the stinging sensation in his fist flared more.

DING!

The doors slid open, and Kazumichi picked his belongings up and stepped out onto the main floor. His knuckles were still dripping with blood as he made his way out of the building. He felt the eyes of a few people watching him as he exited, clearly noticing the drops of red on the floor behind him, but no one said anything to him.

As he left the building, Kazumichi made his way to the parking garage a block away and began making his way up to the fifth level where his car was parked. All he wanted to do was get home, watch one of his favorite anime, play some video games, and then get some sleep before he had to start the tedious process of looking for another job the following day. However, the current day wasn’t quite done messing with him yet, it seemed.

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“Well, well, well. What do we have here, boys?” A man asked as he stepped out from between a couple of vehicles, followed by three other men. Kazumichi didn’t recognize the men. Muggers? It wasn't especially uncommon for hoodlums to hangout in parking garages to mess with people, but he had never encountered any before now.

“Whatcha got there? How ‘boutcha hand it over?” The first man suggested as he pulled out a switchblade and popped the blade out.

"It's just some personal items from work. I just got fired," Kazumichi responded in a deadpan tone.

"My, my. What a shame. To lose your job and then run into us. Such bad luck," the mugger mocked with a smirk.

Kazumichi stared at the man for a few seconds, then glanced at the other three with him. He was still pissed at how his boss talked to him, and now these assholes wanted to rob him for what little he had? All he wanted was to bash their skulls in. But despite the rage still swirling inside of him, Kazumichi wasn’t a fighter. He knew that if he tried taking these guys on, it wouldn't end well for him. So, once again, he had to keep his true feelings inside. Sighing, he extended his hands out, holding the box for the men to take it.

“Heh, smarter than you look,” the lead mugger said before nodding for one of the others to take the box.

Unfortunately, this was the tipping point. Kazumichi wasn’t able to keep his composer any longer after receiving yet another insult so soon after the last. The moment one of the other men stepped forward to take the box from him, Kazumichi chucked it at the man and hit him in the head with it. He then ran forward to throw his fist into the man’s face and…

Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Slice.

The man had pulled out his own switchblade and stuck Kazumichi in the stomach. Then the others all ran forward, each stabbing him once. As Kazumichi stood there, staring at the blood that was now on his palm from where he had held the first stab wound, he glanced up as he saw the lead mugger walk up to him and shake his head. “I guess you’re not that smart after all. You just had to hand over your stuff, maybe take a little beating, then you could have left. But now...,” the man said, before slitting Kazumichi’s throat.

As blood leaked out of the stab wounds, his hands went to his throat to try to slow the blood that was gushing from it. But as he did, each of the men surrounded and grabbed him, lifting him up before chucking him off the side of the parking garage. The next sensation he felt was wind rushing past him, before something hard slammed into his back. The image of a delicate china cup being dropped on stone flooring flashed through his mind. Realization struck him that he was the cup in this scenario. “Well, at least it’s finally over,” he thought to himself, before everything went dark.

A new soul has been detected.

Beginning system scan...

Scan complete.

Soul possesses great potential.

Locating a suitable world for transmigration...

Locating complete.

Initializing soul transfer...

Transfer complete.

System modification in progress...

Modification complete.

System updated to match that of the new world's.

Assigning system messenger to guide the soul's transmigration...

Messenger assigned.

Awakening the soul in 3... 2... 1...

Complete.

Sight returned to Kazumichi, and he found himself floating or hovering in pure darkness. Everywhere he looked, he could see nothing but a sea of black.

Suddenly, a soft light glowed in front of him, and his eyes took a moment to adjust. Once they did, he saw what appeared to be some sort of translucent screen with writing on it.

Greetings, Soul!

You have recently died, though the Powers That Be have decided to give you another chance at life! You are currently in the Void Between Worlds. While here, you will choose a new body for your soul to inhabit! A predetermined world has already been chosen for you, based on certain parameters from your previous life. Because of this, you will also get to choose a class, assign points, and select skills for your new body! Now, are you ready to begin the transmigration process?

Yes/No