It was sunny outside, one of those days when the sky was painfully bright, the kind of day that made it obvious the world was moving forward without noticing me. Cars passed, people laughed, footsteps echoed on the street below. Everyone looked busy. Everyone looked like they had somewhere to be.
Everyone except me.
Meanwhile, I was inside my room, playing computer games and eating like it was a full-time job. The curtains were half-drawn, sunlight barely sneaking in like it didn't want to disturb me. Empty wrappers littered the floor like fallen enemies. My monitor glowed brightly, reflecting against my thick glasses.
I had already mastered every game I touched.
When I played, I felt my sadness and anger melt away. Inside those games, I wasn't judged. No one mocked me. No one pointed out how fat I was or how my thick glasses made me look like a walking anime stereotype. No awkward stares. No whispers. No laughter behind my back.
In the game, I was free.
There, I was the hero.
The strategist.
The one people relied on.
Time slipped by without mercy. Fingers moved automatically across the keyboard. Victories piled up one after another. One moment it was noon, and suddenly it was 7:00 p.m. dinnertime… and worse, I was out of snacks.
For someone of my impressive size, that was practically a state of emergency.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.
"…I really need food."
Sighing, I stepped out of my cave uh, room making sure to cover my face. My hoodie came up instinctively. My head stayed down. People always mocked me: my weight, my glasses, my entire existence. I'd learned early that the less people saw of me, the better.
So I preferred hiding.
The hallway felt louder than usual. Every sound felt amplified. As I walked, thinking only of food chips, noodles, anything I wasn't paying attention.
And then
I bumped into something.
Or rather, someone.
A kid.
A kid who was currently being robbed by an older boy holding a rubber shoe like it was a weapon. Don't ask me why only in my country do you get attacked with a slipper.
The scene registered in my brain half a second too late.
I didn't even see them properly before I accidentally bumped into the robber's back. The impact wasn't strong, but it was enough. The kid immediately burst into loud crying, pale and terrified but still smart enough to sprint away screaming for help.
"HELP!"
The sound echoed down the street.
The robber turned to me.
Slowly.
Furious.
I froze.
My brain completely shut down.
I didn't even know what was happening! I wasn't trying to be a hero I was just trying to find snacks!
But to him, it probably looked like I was defending the kid.
He glared.
He shouted something I couldn't process.
And before I could even say *"Wrong person, bro,"* he throw me and hit by a truck.
Everything stopped.
The sound was deafening. The impact crushed the air from my lungs. My body lifted, weightless for a terrifying second, before crashing back down onto the ground.
Pain exploded everywhere.
I collapsed onto the ground as the world blurred. The sky spun. Shapes moved above me. The kid came running back with his parents and two policemen. Voices overlapped panicked, loud, frantic.
"Call an ambulance!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Oh my God!"
Hands lifted me. Sirens wailed. Everything felt distant, muffled, like I was underwater.
They rushed me to the hospital, voices loud and urgent. But I could barely hear anything.
My eyelids felt heavy. The pain was unbearable. Every breath hurt.
At that moment, all I could think was:
*I should've stayed in my room and played games.*
Would anyone even visit me if I died?
The world faded.
Then
Light.
Bright, blinding light.
"Heaven…?" I croaked. "Wait WHAT? Where am I?!"
I looked down.
Still fat.
Still glasses.
"This has to be a punishment. Even in heaven?! Seriously?!"
Suddenly, someone appeared in front of me. An old man with a long beard, smiling wide laughing like a retired Santa Claus who had seen everything life could throw at him.
"W–who are you?" I asked.
He put a hand on his stomach as he laughed. "I am *Yakashi*."
"Yakashi…? So I really died? Just like that? Because of a guy with a slipper?"
Yakashi nodded calmly. "Indeed. A ridiculous way to go, but death is still death."
I groaned. "This is so embarrassing… But why am I here? What happened? I didn't even mean to help that kid!"
Yakashi's expression softened.
"You didn't have to help him," he said. "Yet you stood up."
"I didn't *stand up*! I bumped into him by accident!" I protested.
Yakashi chuckled. "Even so. You acted when many would have turned away. Intentional or not, you became a shield. You showed courage you didn't know you had."
"I… courage…? Old man, I literally tripped."
He ignored that completely.
"Takahaji, whether by accident or choice, you changed something in that moment. And because of that… you have been chosen."
"Chosen? For what?! Why me?! And can you PLEASE stop being mysterious?"
Yakashi grinned like he enjoyed my suffering. "You will understand in time."
"What does that even mean?!"
The old man raised a hand as glowing light began swirling around me. The space itself trembled.
"You will be reborn. Your new name will be *Hikaru*. When you turn six, come find me. Then everything will make sense."
"What?! Six?! Where do I find you? What world? Why reborn? Why not explain now?! OLD MAN, WAIT!"
But Yakashi was already fading, still laughing mischievously.
"Noooo at least answer ONE question!" I shouted.
Too late.
Everything vanished.
The next moment
Warmth.
Voices.
Light natural this time.
I opened my eyes and saw two faces looking down at me one man, one woman. Their expressions were full of relief, joy, and something unfamiliar.
And in place of my old body…
…tiny hands.
"Wait," I thought.
"Did I actually get reborn?!"
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