A New Beginning

While Haru was deeply asleep in his room filled with trash and dirty clothes, snoring loudly, his cat jumped on his head. 

Haru, startled: "Wha– Wha– What's going on... You annoying cat, Sera, you woke me up from the best part of the dream." 

Haru calms down and looks at the cat's dish: "Oh, so you're hungry... This doesn't make it better; I don't like being woken up, but anyway." 

He flips the cat food bag and shakes it a bit, and only one piece falls out. 

The cat looks at the dish and then looks back at Haru. 

Haru: "Why are you looking at me as if I'm the one who ate all of it... Aren't you supposed to catch some mice or something...?" 

He gets up and heads to the kitchen: "She can share whatever I find in the fridge." 

Haru opens the fridge: "No meat here... There are some potatoes; not sure if cats eat them, but there's only one way to find out." 

He prepares the potatoes and divides them into two dishes: "Here you go, Sera, time to eat." He started eating his dish. 

Sera sniffs the potatoes first. 

Haru: "Didn't you wake me up because you were hungry? What are you waiting for?" 

Sera tastes the potatoes and jumps away. 

Haru: "What's with this spoiled cat, did she just insult my cooking skills...?" He continues eating the potatoes. 

Haru: "Anyway, I need to find a job ... I moved to Tokyo to find a job, but I'm almost out of the money my parents sent me, and I haven't found a job yet." 

He puts on a suit: "I never understood why I need to wear a suit for a job interview... It's not like I'll wear it every day if they hire me." 

(At the job interview) 

"Hello, my name is Amani, and I will be conducting your interview today. What's your name?" 

"M-my name is Haru." 

Haru: "(Why do I have to interview with a girl...)" 

Amani: "How was the commute here, Mr. Haru?" 

Haru: "What commute... My house is on the next street (I didn't bother looking for companies far away)." 

Amani: "Great, so you don't mind working at the branch office." 

Haru: "No, not at all." 

Amani: "Alright, tell me more about yourself." 

Haru: "I recently moved here and live with my cat, Sera." 

Amani pauses for a moment: "That sounds nice, but I want to hear more about your qualifications." 

Haru: "Well, I'm a quick learner, I can work under pressure, and I can work efficiently with other team members (or so I read online before coming here)." 

Amani: "Mr. Haru, these are good qualities, but I need to know your previous experiences in manga drawing." 

Haru: "I don't have any; this is my first time working in this field (How am I supposed to have experience if I've never worked before... I didn't even know this was a manga drawing company)." 

Amani: "Okay, Mr. Haru, it was a pleasure meeting you. Please hand us your resume, and we will get back to you later." 

Haru: "(My resume doesn't have more than what I just said... I know this phrase well, I won't be accepted as usual)." 

Haru: "Thank you, Miss... Excuse me, what was your name again?" 

Haru rushes out the door: "(Alright, alright, people blame you for having a bad memory these days)." 

He crosses the road and sees a speeding truck coming his way. 

Haru: "(Yeah, I'm definitely going to be reborn into a life that suits me.)" 

He closed his eyes. 

Haru opens his eyes: "That was close, how did it miss me...?" 

A bicycle hits Haru. 

He wakes up in a wide cave with dim lights. 

Haru stands up and examines himself: "What was that? Am I so weak that I die from a bicycle... Oh man, who cares now, I need to check out this place." 

Haru walks around the cave: "I hear footsteps, it must be the girl of my dreams who will help me in my new life." 

A deep voice: "Hey, newbie!" 

Haru: "Maybe she has a throat problem or something." 

Haru turns around and sees a man with a big sword. 

Haru: "Hi, buddy, do you know the way out?" 

The man laughs loudly. 

Haru: "Are you stuck here too?" 

The man swings his sword, making Haru step back and fall. 

Haru: "What are you doing, are you crazy?" 

"My name is Shaun, you rat, and it's your bad luck to be reborn in this cave specifically." 

Haru: "(Wait, how does he know about being reborn?) What do you want?" 

Shaun with a wide smile: "I just want to torture you a bit before killing you." 

Haru: "(Damn, what should I do now) Calm down, Shaun." 

Shaun: "Master Shaun." 

Haru: "Alright, calm down, Master Shaun... Killing me won't benefit you in any way, I can help you carry stuff." 

Shaun stabs his sword into the ground: "It's not enough, not enough, not enough." 

Shaun grabs Haru by the shirt and punches him left and right: "Nothing matches this pleasure; all I want to do in this world is to torture and kill the weak again and again." 

Haru, trembling and holding Shaun's wrists: "(What if I die here too? Will I have another life?)" 

Shaun slams Haru into the wall and grabs his sword again. 

Shaun: "I should have brought a knife... I love starting by cutting off fingers, but limbs will do too." 

Shaun swings his sword and cuts off Haru's ankle. 

Haru screams loudly. 

Shaun laughs: "What a wonderful scream, luckily you have more limbs." 

Haru crawls backward: "Please don't kill me." 

Shaun raises his sword: "Of course I won't, now for your other leg..." 

Shaun's hand falls to the ground. 

A girl appears behind Shaun, holding two daggers: "It doesn't seem as fun as you described it." 

Shaun grabs the girl by the neck: "Who are you, you wench?" 

The girl stabs a dagger into Shaun's neck. 

The girl: "Are you okay, boy?" 

Haru looks at his ankle. 

The girl: "Don't worry, luckily I know the basics of healing magic." 

The girl places Haru's ankle back in place and a green aura emits from her hands. 

The blood reassembles and his ankle heals. 

The girl takes out a small bottle with a red liquid: "Drink this, it will make you feel better." 

Haru: "T-thank you, but who are you?" 

The girl: "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Lea, what's yours?" 

Haru: "My name is Haru." 

Lea: "What a lovely name." 

Haru: "T-thank you." 

Haru drinks the bottle. 

Haru: "I really feel better... But what's going on here?" 

Lea: "Do you mean this person... There are quite a few like him in this world... Maybe they weren't happy with their deaths in their previous lives." 

Haru: "(She also knows) Wait, are all the people here reborn again?" 

Lea laughs: "Yes, of course, did you think you were the only one here who was reborn?" 

Haru laughs: "Something like that."