Well hello there...
Stopping after just two chapters? what's that all about?!
Yeah, well I wanted to keep going but like I said the last time this was updated I was dealing with things. By the time I got settled, I was pretty burnt out and just decided a short break would be better. Nicer, at the very least.
... And then I forgot I was writing this all together.
And then when I did remember, quite a while since then I know, I decided to just take everything and do it piece by piece. Cause I really wasn't liking the way what I already had written out was going. What I mean by that is, i'm just going to do rather short chapters. As much as I wanted to do an entire episode per chapter, I found it difficult to make smooth transitions between scenes and I don't really like doing scene breaks or the horizontal lines. I'll try to lengthen the chapters as the story goes on though.
Anyway, this is(was?) my first fic ever so please leave a review.
"So that's what happened," Kazuma closed his eyes. Devastated at the news, but accepting the outcome, he pressed on with another question. "Besides that, what about her?", he looked up with worry, "the girl I pushed out of harm's way?"
"She's safe", the goddess replied.
"Thank goodness", He slumped back into the seat with a sigh of relief, "At least I didn't die for nothing".
The goddess tilted her head and held back a smile, "Actually, she would've been fine even if you didn't push her out of the way"
Kazuma's eyes widened, "What?"
She opened the book beside her and scanned the notes before turning back to him, "The tractor stopped before it hit her".
His heart skipped a beat, not that it would've done anything to him considering his situation, and the memory flooded back into his mind. His body tensed as confusion and fear struck him, "wait a minute"
"What is it?"
"Tractor?"
"Yes, it was a tractor" The lady in blue started to shift around in her seat, doing her best to keep a straight face.
"Then what happened? Did the tractor hit me instead?"
"Nope, you died of shock. You mistakenly thought a truck ran over you"
"I died from shock?" Kazuma flinched and gripped the arm rests, unsure of whether he should be outraged or embarrassed at such a pathetic end.
The goddess let out a small giggle, but the sight of his face was the last straw. She lost control, filling the silent void with her laughter. Embarrassment first came to Kazuma as he rested uncomfortably back into the seat, trying to organize and come to terms with his apparently faulty memory. The streak of red came back to haunt him once more as he shoved the girl who was not in any danger at all out of the way.
"I've been doing this for a long time, and i've met a lot of people, but you're the first to die in such a dumb way", she said falling over in her seat.
'What's her deal? I just died and she's making fun of me?', Kazuma felt the lost rage returning to wash away the embarrassment.
"You were so scared you even wet yourself!", she struggled to stay upright. It had been a long time since someone as interesting as him had come along. Sitting in a chair talking to people and trying to console them about their deaths became rather repetitive, or at least when you do it for an eternity.
He readied a defense for himself when she cut him off.
"You were taken to a nearby hospital where the doctors laughed at you as you had a heart attack", she said as she caught herself on the arm rest, pulling herself back up. Embarrassment overwhelmed his building fury instantly.
"Stop, I don't want to hear it!", he covered his ears as the goddess approached.
She leaned in and whispered, "Your family rushed to the hospital and now they're laughing at the cause of your death too"
"No! No! Stop!" He defiantly flailed around.
Her laughter faded away and she let out a final giggle, "Well then"
"huh?", Kazuma froze, surprised by her sudden change in demeanor.
"I've vented enough stress", she said with a flick of her hand.
'Damn her', Kazuma glared as she steadied herself, now calm and composed. He sat up as focused as before. He had to find out what would be happening to himself after all, regardless of the cause of his death.
"My name is Aqua, I guide humans who die young in the afterlife. So, you have two choices. You can either start fresh with a new life or you can go to heaven and carry on like an old man", She counted his options with her fingers in front of him. She suddenly leaned in again, turning her head side to side as if expecting someone else to be in the vast void around them, "to tell you the truth, heaven isn't the dreamy place you humans think it is"
"What?", He asked rhetorically, 'A goddess talking bad about heaven?'
"Not only is there no TV, there are no manga or games. You don't even have a physical body so you can't do anything sexual either", she made sure her words weighed on him properly as she set up the reveal, "There's nothing to do there but bask in the sun for all eternity"
"W-what?" Kazuma repeated with a stutter as he realized just how close she was to him, her words barely registering in his mind.
She leaned in closer, their faces only inches apart, "Yeah, you don't want to go to a boring place like heaven, do you?"
He began to blush slightly. Uncomfortable with the close contact he mumbled out a reply, "N-no, not really".
He looked away from her, trying to hide the red in his face
"But starting over again isn't very fun either, is it?", and even closer she went, her nose practically on his cheek. His face strained to stay calm with his heartbeat reaching speeds that threatened to break his ribcage from the inside.
At last she finally pulled away and pointed at him, "You like games don't you?"
"Huh?", before he could properly answer, she began a speech. A golden light enveloped her from the void above.
"That world, where everyone had enjoyed peace and the livelihoods they worked hard for, is being threatened by the Devil King's army! The hard work citizens have done are being trampled and destroyed by those monsters, everyone now lives in fear of the devil king's pillaging and killing! killing... killing" She spread her arms wide as the light seemed to hit a climax, her eyes sparkled as she echoed her own words for effect. "With a place like that, people refuse to be reborn there so the population is declining", she added at the end, as if it was barely necessary.
"I see..." Kazuma stared at her, unsure how to reply.
"So we said, 'hey, why not send people from other worlds with their bodies and memories still intact?'"
"But what's the point of sending me there if i'm just going to get killed again?"
"That's why I'll do you a big favor", she gave him a thumbs up, "I'm granting you the right to bring one item with you of your choosing. It could be a powerful weapon or an amazing talent. How does that sound? You'll be able to have a fresh start with all your memories, to top it off, you can bring one item of your choosing. And the people of the parallel world will earn someone battle ready to help them! Not a bad deal, eh?" She said triumphantly.
The deal did sound rather nice to him. In his old life, he hadn't been able to amount to much with no real goal for the future. As such the only milestone he hit was becoming a disappointment, not only to society but to his own parents as well. This could be his chance to start anew and actually make something of himself. He imagined himself being something more. As a hero triumphantly standing above a dark castle with the devil king's body beneath him, with a legion of heroes and civilians alike cheering his name.
And he liked the idea.
But another concern came to mind, "Um, can i ask one more thing? Will i be able to speak their language in this new world?"
"that won't be an issue", she held up a book and handed it to him, again already ready to answer his question. It was full of small images and explanations about the reincarnating process. He scanned through the pictures, not bothering to actually read the words as she continued. "With the kind support of us gods, we'll overload your brain so you'll be able to learn it instantly" she then covered up a warning that seemed rather important, quickly adding, "On the downside, you have a small chance of going 'poof' if you're unlucky though. So all that's left is for you to pick a powerful weapon or amazing talent"
Kazuma blinked once, then twice. He looked at her with a grimace and she slowly pulled the book away, "I just heard you say something very important about my life... What do you mean 'poof'?"
"i never said that," she said with a disarming smile.
"Yes you did"
"Now, decide!", she waved aside his concerns as sheets began to fall in front of him, "i'll grant you a power that is second to none!"
He conceded defeat, knowing he wouldn't want to start life over again and wouldn't want to be stuck in heaven if it was as boring as she said. He sighed and grabbed the papers from the floor. After organizing them, he looked through each sheet carefully and quickly realized that they were very unbalanced or next to useless. Kazuma shook his head and cleared the doubt away.
'All of these are broken, but if magic exists in this world there's no way I can pass that up!' Kazuma grabbed a few pages off the floor that grabbed his attention the most and set them aside.
After sometime had passed, Aqua reappeared and lazily sat back in her chair with a bag of junk food, "hey, hurry it up, will you? No matter what you pick, it's all the same. No one will expect much from a shut-in game otaku like you anyway"
"I- I am no otaku!", Kazuma defended himself, "And i died outside of my house so i'm not a shut in either!" He nodded approvingly of his reasoning.
Aqua licked the seasoning of the chips off her fingers, "I don't care, just hurry it up", She twirled her hair with her other hand as she watched the brown haired otaku shuffle through all the pages once again, "I've still got more deceased humans to guide, you know"
"If you want me to hurry up then why don't you help me decide here?" He asked with his temper nearing its limit, holding papers up into the air.
"It's not my place to decide for you" She leaned back and rested her head on a hand, "You're a NEET aren't you? Don't you already have delusions of the kind of powers you want?"
"Don't call me a shut-in!" Though she didn't say shut-in, the response came automatically.
"Yes, sure, come on already"
"Damn her! Getting all cocky just because she's a little bit cute!' He shuffled through the papers once more. A devious grin then came to him.
"Hey, I just thought of something, " he grabbed her attention and set the papers aside.
"Hm?" The goddess lazily grabbed another potato chip.
"You said I could take anything with me right?" He stood up, stepping back from the papers and keeping his eyes on the floor.
"Yes, so hurry it up" she replied in between bites.
"I realize that, like you said, I would be as useless as these abilities so it might be better to take someone who's actually powerful with me, right?"
"Probably," she said, not completely listening to him.
Kazuma raised his hand, pointing at her. "Okay, then you come with me," He said as the grin fully developed into a malicious smile.
Aqua finished the potato chip and she processed what he said. She raised a brow and casually replied "Eh? All those powers to choose from and you want me to come with you?"
"That's right, as a goddess you can make my life as easy as possible in the new world!" He clenched his fists, satisfied with his plan.
"Well, that's too bad. You can't take a goddess with you" She replied smugly.
"Ah, but you said I could take anything with me, right?"
"Sure, but taking gods and goddesses isn't-" She stopped as a light flickered into existence.
A portal opened beside them and an angel descended into the room, taking their attention away from each other, "We have heard your request, I shall take on your job from here on out, Aqua"
"huh?", Aqua dropped the chip in her hand and looked between her subordinate and the man standing across from her.
"Satou Kazuma's request fits the parameters and has been accepted", the newcomer explained herself.
A magic circle formed beneath the both of them. Aqua's sanity rapidly began to collapse from panic. "Hey- wait a second, what do you mean? You're kidding right? No! No, come on! This isn't right, taking a goddess with you is against the rules!", she stepped to the edge of the portal, fear in her voice as her fingers pressed against her container. "It has to be!", she began to scream on the verge of tears, slamming her fist against the magic walls, "It has to be illegal! wait! wait!"
"please have a safe trip, Aqua," the angel replied nonchalantly, "If you can beat the devil king, I will send someone to pick you up"
"I may have the ability to heal since i'm a goddess, but I can't fight at all! There's no way I can beat the devil king!", she tried to bargain her way out as the portal pulled them higher, "Hey wait!" Her voice cut off as she realized her soon to be companion was dead quiet. She turned to look at him, "You! You say something here!"
"eh? me? Why should I? You're the one who treated me like an idiot!" He crossed his arms, "how does it feel now? You're the one thing i'll be bringing along"
"No! I'm sorry, please!"
Kazuma continued to laugh, entertained from the display of a goddess throwing a tantrum.
The angel, now below them, suddenly spread her wings and gave him a prayer, "Brave and noble hero, I pray that above all the others, you will be the one to defeat the devil king! If you do, we shall grant you any wish you desire as a gift from the gods!"
Kazuma turned to the angel, sanity returning to him, "Whoa, really?"
"That was supposed to be my line!" Aqua wailed.
The angel ignored her, "Now, go forth on your journey and return safely!"
The magic portal opened above them and they were sucked out into the beyond.
Kazuma held his breath as he entered into the pitch blackness for a single moment.
He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting traveling through magic portals, but he had expected more. Something, anything. Maybe a tingly sensation or a nauseous reaction. Though he was actually glad that wasn't the case, he still expected something at the end of it. It wasn't exactly disappointing, he did travel through a magic portal after all, but it just felt so lackluster. They were floating, and levitating, and a great swirl started to pull them in from above with lights flashing beneath them.
And then it was over.
Their floating just stopped.
Kazuma sighed as he felt the ground settle beneath him. He blinked to let his eyes adjust to the light and began to take in the sights around him. It took him a moment to realize where they went. A new thought suddenly fueled his excitement again. The medieval style buildings, the rags and robes people wore, and the scent of clean outside air hit him all at once. But most of all, it was the weapons strapped to people's backs that grabbed his attention. The things that differentiated them from the common townsfolk. Kazuma enviously stared at all the people dressed in fancy armor and gear. A small party was talking in the distance, crossing over a bridge. Beside them, a wagon was pulled along by a horse. His reality changed forever, for better or for worse.
So there's that out of the way.
I should be able to get the next part up by tomorrow and the updates will vary after that.
And I just want to give a heads up that yeah, the characters are going to be a little OOC. Less wacky antics, more drama between characters and all that. Terribly presented last time, I know, but I'll work on it.
I'll ask a question again here though, since I'm basically starting over, should this go with Kazuma having a harem? If so then which girls? If not then which girl should he romance? Maybe a three way? Anyway, thanks for reading, please leave a review.