A False Head-start

1

It was just another day in my life. I had no expectations from anyone nor did anyone expect anything from me. I didn't make much effort as well. I just did all I could or should I say I did whatever was in my power to make through studies. My family earnings are not as much as one would expect but we can live like normal people which doesn't make any problems for us.

I haven't introduced myself have I? I'm Youta Shirogami. The average high-schooler who doesn't care about anything else other than his family. I live with my family in Saitama, Tokyo. All of my family-members including my little sister Kanami. Well, I don't feel depressed even a bit... I guess I've given a lot of information about me by now. So, I'll tell you a tale... a story would perhaps be better I think of how I died and was reincarnated into another world with all my memories.

Today was just another day in high school. He saw many people get rejected today.

"I guess today's Valentine's?" He says while walking towards the main gate of high school.

Suddenly a pretty girl stops him and then gives him a bag. Well, more like she pushed it into his hands and said while stuttering-

"I-I-I have gi-given this to y-you!"

"Yes. I can see that."

"S-so make sure y-you eat it!" and she runs away.

He peeks inside the bag and sees a box and a letter. The one and only thought that hit him at that moment was-

"Is this my popular phase finally?!"

He walked home happily but after a while he suspected the box.

"There was no way anyone could've been interested in me. Also, I didn't really want to know anyone other than my childhood friends... I should correct myself. I wasn't interested in getting acquainted with anyone else."

He reaches home and opens the door-

"I'm back!"

"Welcome, onii-chan~... What is that in your hand?" his sweet little sister asks him.

"Oh, this? Well, what can I say?" he says while trying to blush.

His sweet little sister Kanami hums happily goes to the kitchen and comes back with a knife... while humming.

"Onii~chan~... Which one of those bi*ches gave that to you?" she asked him with a menacing look.

"Um. I um don't know?"

"Could you please answer honestly, onii chan~?"

"I really don't. So let me go to my room Kanami!" he says and somehow escapes her interrogation and locks his room's door after entering inside.

He keeps the small bag and his school bag on the table. After lying down on the bed he thinks to himself-

"Let's try to think of reasons as to why someone would give me a valentine's present..."

He closes his eyes and thinks for a while. Then suddenly gets up from bed after opening his eyes and says-

"NOPE. NO IDEA!" and he proceeds to pick up the present.

"Well, I got a present. So I should thank God first... Thank you very much God." He says while joining his hands and closing his eyes.

"The suspense has been killing me for some time so I'll keep the thanking short... Forgive me God." And he takes out the present out of the box.

He keeps the letter aside and opens the small box. There were chocolates in there.

"Is this really my popular phase... or is it obligatory chocolate?" he says and puts a chocolate in his mouth. Then he picks up the letter and opens it.

"Let's see. Let's see... 'Thank you for helping me out the other day and taking my side when everyone was against my idea. I also am very happy since you're reading this letter...' This is where it starts. Now time to find out if it really is a propose or just obligation...'I am the daughter of the CEO of the company that your father works in... So, you better not come close to me. You might be wondering what the chocolates were for, right? They are obligatory chocolates that I bought from the cheapest shop in this city. Please be grateful. Thanks!"

The next thing he did was shed a tear and then he crushed the paper and threw it in the dustbin. Then he ate the chocolates while getting teary eyed and while saying-

"Thank you, whoever made this chocolate... I'm grateful that I suspected the bag.

Then he notices something written in the box at the bottom as he finishes the chocolates.

"Hmm? What's this? Um...'Please don't return the bag or the contents back to me... I'll just be disgusted." And he drops the last bit of the chocolate on the ground.

He then says-

"Even the last message is so bad that it made the chocolate taste bad... I'm sorry, whoever made this chocolate."

2

The next day everything was back to normal. The day he spent was like any other. He sat by the window and just stared at the birds or whatever that caught his attention.

He then stretches while the teacher faced the board and one of his arms was outside the window. Then he suddenly catches something outside and takes his arm inside the window.

"What the hell is this?" he says softly while looking at the weird pin like thing he was holding. The thing he held was black in colour and had something written behind it.

"Gacha? Am I supposed to open this? First of all, how did it fall into my hands?"

"Shirogami-san? Could you please come forward and solve this sum?"

"Um... Yes, sensei." He says and goes to the blackboard after keeping the black object in his pen case.

He solves the sum on the board with ease and then goes back to his seat to look at the black object. He takes his seat and takes out the black object from his pen case. Then he presses something on it and it happens.

The whole world except for him turns black and white and he looks around to see that time had stopped.

"What? This setting is out of a manga... How is this even possible? Have I been watching too much anime...? Am I turning out to be a Chūnibyō ... If so then this is a bad time for it to happen."

"Who are you even talking to?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking questions? Why can I interact with fantasy-like creatures such as yourself?" he asks the pretty girl in pink floating outside the window.

"Fantasy-like?! Why are you mocking me even though you've just met me?"

"What else can I call you instead of fantasy-like? You are fantasy in flesh."

"I'm the system... Respect me."

"System?! I think that this really is because of reading too many novels..."

"Nope. I am real. Do you want me to prove it to you?"

"Sure... Prove yourself."

The girl flies in the classroom and then floats around for a bit and then punches him hard in the face. After punching him she looked like she was satisfied.

"Fact... Proven."

"Why the hell did you have to punch me for that?! Well, one thing is clear to me now... You dropped this black... whatever it is, right?"

"Nope... I gave it to the person on the rooftop of the school and she dropped it."

"... What an idiot, whoever dropped it. So could you tell me what will happen to me now that I've pressed a switch on this black... Whatever it is."

"That black whatever it is also has a name... It's called an activator."

"The name doesn't matter right now... Please, give me a clear explanation of what I've gotten myself into... System-san."

"That sounds weird. Call me Sys."

"Fine. Tell me please Sys."

"This place is kinda cramped so I'll show you outside." She says and taps Youta's shoulder which makes him float.

He floats outside the window while saying-

"Yay... I'm flying. This is still unrealistic to me but I can enjoy this right now."

"A normal person wouldn't have said that... A normal person would say something like 'Help! What's happening?! Why am I floating?!' and would scream some more."

"Is that so?"

"What a worthless reaction... Ok so follow me." She says and goes to the rooftop.

He follows her and then notices the girl standing there frozen.

"Ah. It's the girl from yesterday... Now my mood is bad again." And he sighs.

"Youta-kun."

"What?"

"Touch me."

"... WAIT! I'M STILL NOT MENTALLY PREPARED FOR THAT YET!"

She clicks her tongue at him and takes his hand and places it on her head. Then Youta sees a flash of light appearing from behind her and she says-

"You'll be full-diving into my mind... It'll be easy to show you there."

"Full-dive... Sounds fun! Wait, in your mind?!" and he gets blinded by the light.

3

He opens his eyes slowly to find himself standing in the darkness. No matter which direction he faced there was only darkness.

"This is her mind... Though it feels weird to say this but I think that she might actually be a system..." He suddenly spots something or someone at a distance and so he calls out to the person or thing in the distance. Since he doesn't get any reply he walks over to that person.

"A... pink figure?" he says and touches it. Suddenly the pink figure inflates and bursts. Pink gas escapes from it and Youta holds his hand over his nose.

"What is this thing...? It's suffocating... I can't... breathe..."

Suddenly someone drags him out of the smoke and then he hears a girl's voice-

"This place is restricted... at least for now..." and he falls unconscious.

He wakes up after a while and sees himself in a dreamy place where sweets were flying and there were chocolate rivers. He blinks twice and then rubs his eyes to check once more.

"I'm not dreaming... This is real?"

"Of course it is."

Then he turns around to see Sys sitting on a cloud shaped cotton candy. She invites him to sit on it as well and he does sit on the cloud.

"Ah. It's fluffy."

"Isn't it really comfortable?"

"Yea but... YOU WERE GONNA EXPLAIN ABOUT ALL THIS WEREN'T YOU?"

"Oh right! I forgot about that."

She floats and goes into a forest filled with candies. Youta sighs and gets down from the cloud. He follows her and as they walk through the forest he realizes that the forest was getting thicker and thicker with every step they took. He followed her regardless of all that. They then reach a huge metal door. Youta touches the door and it opens a path inside a cave.

"So am I supposed to go alone...? Or are you gonna accompany me all the way?"

"Are you scared by any chance?"

"Scared... You asked a wrong question. I'm excited... Ok then! I'll see you on the other end of this cave. See ya Sys!"

"Yes. Yes. I got it so go."

He enters the cave and right after he enters the doors behind him close. He decides to proceed further in the cave with only one thought in his mind-

"I hope this is not a trap. I hope I won't meet my maker. I hope this is not a trap. I hope I won't meet my maker."