Nothing To Fight For

*Clank Clank Clank*

As our hero of this magnificent story makes his way to work, he depressively stares at the screen of his phone like everyone else!

[A light hearted, upbeat and hopeful theme plays, kind of like in My Hero academia, and the narrator sounds like All Might.]

"*Sigh*… I hate my life."

No one notices him saying that out loud since everyone has their earphones in, which he is fully aware and takes advantage of!

What may our protagonist be watching on his phone you may ask?

The AI art of an anime girl that is accompanied by the music he is listening to of course!

Ahahaha, if only he knew that his longing for such perfect beauties was just around the corner!

As we watch his morning train chug towards the smoke fill city, making the sunrise EVER MORE BEAUTIFUL, I cannot WAIT to see the look on his face when he gets to work.

[Some time later]

…

[He looks like a zombie.]

Don't beat yourself up my man! Turn that frown upside down!!

Although you and everyone else around you is feeling the same way, something EXCITING is just around the corner!

Oh man, I really hope I'm selling this story well to you readers at home.

[The narrator sounds like he's smiling awkwardly.]

[The boss of the company walks up behind the protagonist.]

Anyways! It looks like it's about to begin!!

[The upbeat My Hero Academia theme ends.]

"Hey… Kain… How's the assets coming along for the project?", the boss asks sluggishly.

"O-oh. I was able to do everything except for a the asset number 5, which only has about one or so-", Kain is cut off by his boss.

"Kain. Every time I ask you to do your job, you always promise to get it done and always end up falling short by one thing. Way are you like this?", he asks irritated.

"I'm sorry sir, but it really is just around the corner f-"

"From being finished, I know, but that's not the issue here. It's ALWAYS around the corner from being finished, but still, not ONCE have I come here and it's actually been fully completed on the originally planned hand-in date.", he says trying to sound reasonable rather than his true feelings of holding back his anger.

"… I guess I overestimated what work I can accept.", Kain gives in.

"*tsk tsk tsk*, I didn't want to have to be that guy Kain, but there's something that I was hoping was obvious to you by now."

Kain stares at his boss with the anxiety of the thought of being fired crossing his mind again.

Although this fear has never existed in reality, it's always been a thought on the back of Kain's mind due to his lack of confidence in his own abilities.

"Everyone else is meeting their quota just fine, you're the only one who isn't finishing on time."

Kain wants to object and emphasise how he's taking on more work than the rest as an excuse, but to him, an excuse is an excuse, which is the same way that his boss' mind works.

"Listen man, enough is enough. I'm not the bad guy here for having to be blunt right now, but get your shit together, or I'll have to get someone else."

Kain's subconscious fear comes to life, since his boss is the same 'realist' as he is.

If Kain expected it, then it probably reflected in his attitude and the boss believed that story rather than the actual situation for what it is.

Kain says nothing, feeling guilty for his lack of effort on his part, knowing he could still do more despite being the one who does the most in the company.

He nods and says, "It won't happen again.", even though this is a lie, he doesn't want to commit himself towards spreading himself thin for a company he doesn't even care about.

However, the fear of not having a job eats at his chest, so either he gets used to the new life of being completely devoted to his job, or he will have no place to call his own.

The boss leaves his side, and Kain is left to hurriedly complete the 5th asset.

[10 minutes later.]

"Sir, the asset is complete."

"Now that you've caught up, I want you to now do the next 5 for today."

"Yes sir."

He goes back to his desk.

However, before Kain takes his seat, he stares out the window.

Kain wonders why he has to go through the same job and feel more pain today than he did yesterday.

Nothings changed, nothing has for the couple of years he's been working there, yet, the entire time, he never got used to it.

'Why can't I just settle down? Why do I always have to dislike my job? It's just a job, nothing more nothing less.

I should be indifferent and simply get it done and then do the actual things I want once I get home, not suffer the thought of my job while I'm here and during my breaks as well.'

Kain sits down and goes back to his computer screen, however, he doesn't lift a finger, and just stares at it.

'Calm down and just get it done. You don't have the time to think about what you want, because if you waste this work time on your personal life, you're time at hell is going to pay for it, and then you might even lose your job in the end, FOR REAL!'

He places his hand on the mouse and clicks to YouTube to play some music to listen to while he works.

'…I'm so sick of music, but it's the only way I know how to distract myself from my thoughts. It may not be an actual cure from all of this, but I need to get my work done.'

He plays scrolls for a song.

'I need to get my work done.'

He keeps scrolling.

'I need to get my work-'

He spots the same image of the anime girl that he looked at while on the train to work.

He presses play, and the picture is minimised on his monitor out of fear that his boss would think that he's procrastinating.

'…'

He stares at the image not thinking, but trying to feel something.

'Why can't I find her cute anymore? Why isn't anything significant to me?

…

I used to be someone who would fall in love and devote myself wholeheartedly towards my desires. So… why can't I feel anything anymore?'

[1 hour later]

'Crap, it's already first break, and I barely did anything.'

The entire time he just stared at the small window of the girl, wanting to care about it again just as he did when he was an ignorant teenager.

After feeling the fear in his chest that he tried to suppress for full hour, he feels sick.

'I need to go to the bathroom. I have to be quick this time, I won't waste hours on the seat trying to figure things out again.'

[30 minutes later.]

'How long has it been? I'm zoning out too much!Hurry up Kain!!'

His legs have fallen asleep from his elbows resting on his thighs for too long, and then cleans himself after blood rushes back to them.

Once he leaves the stool and washes his hands thoroughly and stares at his lifeless eyes in the mirror.

'… I'm done. I'm so done with this shit.'

He then leaves to go back to his desk and work for the rest of the day, off and on.

…

He goes on the train and it's pitch black outside.

'I can't be tired, since if I do, that means I won't be able to complete today's quota in time, and then the work from tomorrow will build up on top of that, and I'll get fired…'

Once the train stops, he goes to a vending machine, 'I never drink energy drink, nor have I had a single cup of coffee in my life… but I'm desperate here…'.

He gets an energy drink, and takes his first sip.

He spits it out and freezes.

'What the fuck am I doing?'

He thinks about throwing the van on the floor in a fit, but doesn't have the energy to make an appropriate scene.

'I'm literally breaking my own RULES for something that I don't even want in life! I can't even cry, and this internal yelling is a lie as well!! WHY CAN'T I FEEL ANYTHING?!!?!!!!!'

…

..

.

Then, something happens.

Above him in the sky, there's a vortex of purple light zapping like lightning, and thunder rumbles as the people around him don't notice since they're earphones are too loud as they look down as to not make eye contact with others.

He keeps looking up and back down to see other people's reactions, but he doesn't care to point it out to him, so he guesses he'll just watch the show for himself next to the vending machine at the train station's platform.

He then steps forward so that way his view isn't obscured by the shade above his head, and watches the vortex get larger as the blackhole centre begins to emerge from its wide circumference.

Some others who are waiting for the next train begin to notice as well, and stare up with him, recording it on their phones as they laugh to one another.

Then, something emerges from the blackhole itself.

It's too dark to tell what it is, but after some more of it comes out, it appears to be a pair of legs.

Kain's eyes widen as he spills his drink.

He feel something for once, and it's not a good feeling.

He's watching this being pour out into the world, and doesn't know what the full extent of its capabilities.

The otherworldly aura of this person, now clearly identified as a woman, may be a goddess, or a devil.

Whatever her intentions are, she looks like she's capable to make it happen, whatever it may be.

Finally, her entire figure is birthed from the dark skies.

Her figure is that of a goddess, but her power is to be feared. Sublime, but far more scary than beautiful.

Her hair is white, her clothes are exotic with a mix of Futuristic and Aztec design, and her eyes, stare down and lock with his, as her pupils gaze deep into his soul.

[The same pupils as Makima from Chainsaw Man.]

She doesn't move, and her head remains locked on Kain, so much so that those around him notice that she's focused on him, and start recording him as well as though he has something to do with the situation.

"Ask her something!", one of those recording says, taking the situation lightly.

Kain is too scared to take his eyes off her, but feels pressured to do as the other person says, "W-who are you?", he yells while gesturing with his hand to call out.

Her eyes narrow from this.

Despite the distance, he notices this since her eyes are also glowing in the darkness.

And then, on camera, she teleports and disappears.

However, so does he.

[Meanwhile]

'Her face is so close.', he swears as she's only an inch away.

He tries to step back, but he doesn't step on anything. He looks down, and realises that he's suspended thousands of feet above the clouds.

His instincts kick in, "Ah!", he tries to latch onto her, but her arms that are holding him become stretched out, making him un able to reach her anything but her arms tightly.

"P-please! Don't drop me!!"

"I'm not going to drop you.

…

You really are disappointing…"

"What did I do?!", still grabbing on for his life.

"You were destined for greatness, to be a god who rules over mankind."

He still frantically tries to adjust himself in a way that that will guarantee his safety, unable to take in any of the weight of the words that she is saying.

"Yet… you're just common…"

"I-I never wanted to be like just this.", he responds logically but frantically.

"I know, but I didn't expect you to be so Weak as to have your very freedom to be shackled by an inferior culture such as the corporate world.", she says irritated.

"Look, who are you anyways! Just please, put me down!!"

"*sigh*, you can't even listen…", she says in a disgusted tone.

"I'm listening! I'm listening! Just please, put me-"

"SILENCE!"

…

He is no longer scared of falling, he's now scared to look up, and lock eyes with her.

He has to though.

He sees her eyes, and like a lion about to pounce, he isn't sure when she will suddenly strike and kill him.

That's the sort of stalemate fear that is coursing through his body right now.

As she stares at him, she gets an idea, "Is there anything that you love in this world?", she ask's menacingly.

"I… don't want to die."

She continues to give him the same glare, however, she then realises something, and her demeanour becomes slightly sympathetic towards him.

"What is it?", he hesitantly squeaks out.

"…For you to think about yourself first like that… You don't love anyone, do you?"

He doesn't shake his head, cautious as to whether or not if having nothing to live for is enough to give her the ok to drop him when that isn't what he wants.

"…Like I said, I won't drop you… but never mind, I understand the situation now…"

"Huh?", he shakes.

"This will make things difficult…", she looks down, annoyed.

She then bends her arm, bringing him in closer, and he then gets his grip on her shoulders, "S-sorry.", he tries to not cross any lines.

"…Things will only work if you have something to fight for. If you have nothing… then nothing will change."

"What do you mean?"

"…"

She then looks up, "I'll have to give you something to fight for.".