Chapter 1: Yotsuya Miko?

A young figure slowly climbed up from the riverbank, glancing around in confusion.

Ryuji Hoshino wasn't sure if it was because this place was too remote or because it was already near dusk, but the area was completely deserted, and an air of loneliness pervaded the atmosphere.

Still feeling a bit dazed, Ryuji tried to make sense of his situation. Just a moment ago, he had been sitting comfortably in his dorm, watching anime, and now, in the blink of an eye, he found himself in this unfamiliar place.

"Did I seriously got reincarnated? That's ridiculous!"

Most people get reincarnated after getting hit by a truck or touching a live electric switch, but he somehow managed it just by watching a show. What kind of absurdity was this?

Now, with his whole body soaking wet, his clothes clung uncomfortably to his skin, making him feel even more uneasy.

"Did I... jump into the river?"

Ryuji glanced at the flowing water behind him before looking down at his soaked appearance, his eyelid twitching in irritation. His school uniform was now drenched and clinging to his body, making him feel even more weighed down.

Kneeling by the riverbank, he gazed at his distorted reflection in the ripples. His normally neat dark hair was now in disarray, and the sharpness in his red eyes had faded, replaced by a weary dullness. (Pic in Comment)

No matter how weird this situation was, he figured the first step should be to figure out where he was.

He scanned his surroundings again but found nothing that seemed remotely familiar.

Thankfully, the next moment, his head throbbed, and suddenly, a flood of memories surged into his mind.

"Hiss…"

It took a while before Ryuji fully regained his composure and began to digest the new memories.

"So, he really did jump into the river…"

From the memories now embedded in his mind, Ryuji could piece together the past of this body's previous owner.

The previous owner's name was also Ryuji Hoshino. He had grown up on the Kyushu mainland but moved to Tokyo during high school for his studies.

From the beginning, life here in Tokyo had always been full of cliques, and bullying was rampant. The previous Ryuji, being introverted and reserved, naturally became a prime target for such harassment.

The bullying eventually reached a breaking point, and unable to cope any longer, the original Ryuji had jumped into the river. That was when the current Ryuji Hoshino took over.

After organizing these memories, Ryuji couldn't help but feel a little disdainful toward the original owner.

"You had the guts to face death, but not to stand up for yourself?"

It didn't make sense to him. If the previous Ryuji had the courage to die, why couldn't he muster the courage to fight back? After all, wasn't the worst consequence of resistance death as well? At the very least, he could have taken one or two of his tormentors down with him. That would've been a small victory in itself.

"Tsk, forget it."

In any case, the original Ryuji Hoshino was dead, and the new one him was here now.

With the memories sorted out, Ryuji at least knew where he was. It was quite far from where he lived, and he usually took a bus to get back.

With that thought, Ryuji got his bearings and began walking in the direction of the nearest bus stop.

***

"Wait... Is this an anime world?"

As Ryuji walked, he continued processing the influx of memories from the original body.

It seemed like a normal, parallel world at first glance, but soon enough, he realized there was more to it than that.

In the neighboring class, there was a well-known high-class girl named Yukinoshita Yukino, while the art club's ace was none other than Sawamura Eriri. There was also a top student in the senior year named Kasumigaoka Utaha, often referred to as Sleeping Beauty, and the current rising star among female high schoolers was Sakurajima Mai.

Not only that, but the largest conglomerate in Tokyo was called the Shinomiya Consortium.

All these familiar names told Ryuji that this was no ordinary parallel world.

It was an anime world, a world made up of various anime characters and settings.

"I wonder... Is this just an everyday, slice-of-life anime world, or is there something more supernatural going on?"

If it was just a regular slice-of-life setting, then there wasn't much to worry about. At most, he'd be dealing with high school drama and youthful mischief.

But if there were extraordinary or supernatural elements at play, then things would be a lot more complicated.

"Damn, and I don't even have any special abilities."

Ryuji tried calling out mentally, hoping for a cheat system or some kind of special ability, but there was no response.

What happened to the classic trope where all time travelers get some kind of cheat or overpowered skill? Wasn't that supposed to be guaranteed?

Even though he had read plenty of webnovels, it seemed like he wasn't going to be one of those lucky ones. Still, even without cheats, with the knowledge he had from all the anime and novels, he figured he could at least scrape by as a plagiarist.

"Well, let's get back home first."

No matter how many plans he might have, they'd have to wait until he fully understood the world he was in.

With that, Ryuji glanced up and saw the bus stop in the distance. He quickened his pace.

***

"Hm?"

When Ryuji arrived at the bus stop, he noticed it was relatively empty, likely because it was already getting dark. Besides himself, there was only one other person waiting a girl wearing a school uniform. She was looking down at her phone, so he could only see her profile.

She looked... familiar.

For some reason, Ryuji felt like he had seen this JK girl somewhere before.

However, she didn't seem to notice him, her attention completely absorbed by her phone. It would be awkward to just walk up and greet her, especially if he ended up being wrong. In Tokyo, approaching a stranger without reason could easily get you labeled as a weirdo or worse, a pervert.

Having just crossed over into this world, Ryuji wasn't keen on causing unnecessary trouble.

He decided to wait quietly for the bus to arrive.

***

At the same time, the girl Yotsuya Miko wasn't as focused on her phone as she appeared to be. Her fingers tapped on the screen, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

What's happening? Since earlier today, I've been seeing these terrifying things. Are they illusions?

But no, the horrifying figures were still lingering around Yotsuya, giving her chills.

"Can you see it? Can you see it?"

A grating, hoarse voice echoed in her ears, sending a shiver down her spine.

Yotsuya Miko had a terrible feeling that if these monstrous beings realized she could see them, things would go very, very wrong.

To avoid detection, she had no choice but to pretend to be engrossed in her phone, even though her heart was pounding in fear.

"What's that?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Yotsuya noticed someone approaching. For a moment, she worried it might be another monster, so she sneaked a glance.

Though she didn't recognize him, she did recognize the uniform he was wearing it was from Sobu High School, the same school she attended. But she had no idea which class he was in.

Still, why was he completely soaked? Could he be... a water ghost?

Recalling some of the creepy stories she'd read online, Yotsuya Miko couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Thankfully, she soon noticed the shadow beneath Ryuji's feet. If there was a shadow, then he had to be human. As long as he wasn't some kind of monster, she could relax at least a little.

***

"Hm?"

Ryuji also noticed that the girl had glanced at him, though it seemed more like a quick, cautious peek.

For some reason, her face looked even more familiar now, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite remember who she was.

Just then, the distant sound of a bus approaching drew his attention. He looked up and saw the bus slowly approaching.

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