I Slipped Into Another World

Reincarnation. An abstract concept, yet Michael yearned for it.

At first, he didn't believe in such a thing, nor did he desire it. But as time went on, he grew older, and he made many bad, regrettable decisions along the way.

Michael, who is now 22 years of age, wished he had a chance to reverse time and retake the bad choices he had made and choose something that could've shifted his life for the better, even if it is a small change.

Now he works at a big company as a janitor. It was not a shameful job, but it was not what he was hoping to be, it was not a job that he wanted even a tiny bit. However, it couldn't be helped. He didn't finish school, not when his parents left him early on.

With his minimum wage, he could at least provide for himself. Fortunately, he had his own house. It was a property left by his beloved parents when they sadly passed away when he was still a teenager. The only expenses he has is electricity, water, and food, which he is parsimonious about when it comes to the former two so his bills wouldn't surge, surpassing what he can afford.

At this juncture, the man in his early-20s was at his work, doing his monotonous routine of thoroughly mopping the floor clean. And as he did so, he was going from one corner to another, leaving the ground as shiny as it can get from wherever he mopped.

Doing the same task every day, for a couple of years tends to become tedious and dreary. Because of this, Michael often enters a dazed state while he is doing his repetitive job, letting his subconscious mind do all the work. Perhaps that's why he didn't notice the bucket full of water as he walked behind while mopping the floor.

'Gah...!'

Taking a step backward, the 22-year-old almost tripped and fell on the bucket, so he tried to balance himself by planting his raised foot on the open ground, but unfortunately, the surface was still slippery, evident from his foot sliding from the foothold.

'Oh, shit...'

He couldn't regain his balance as he fell backward, head first on the ground. It was silly, he definitely agrees, but this was how he died.

•—•—•—•—•

"Ngh..."

In a king-sized bed, a 16-year-old young man let out a light groan unconsciously as he woke up from his sleep.

Sitting in the comfortable bed, he roused his body by stretching. It took a while for the teenager's mind to function properly, but when it did, he swept his gaze with narrowed eyes around his area, seemingly in disbelief.

'Where am I...? This isn't my room...'

The '16-year-old' was riddled with confusion and a tinge of uncertainty at finding himself in an unfamiliar place. How did he even get here? He wondered.

He tried to wrack his brain to find out how he ended up in this place and what he was doing before he ended up here. However, instead of finding coherent answers, he remembered his most recent memory was that while he was working, mopping the floor of his workplace's office building, he tripped and slipped, head first to the ground. He still remembered the numbing pain that came after it, and then that's where his memory ends where he conceivably lost consciousness.

That's right, he is Michael. But, in another body; something he has yet to know.

Perhaps he was saved by an employee and they brought him to their room...? That would be the most logical hypothesis, but then again, why wouldn't he... or her... just bring him to a hospital and spare themselves the inconvenience of taking care of someone?

Although he was perplexed by this, he tried to disregard this for now. The 'teenager' presumed he would most likely find his answers when he goes out of this room and meet its owner.

But when he tried to stand up to do so, he was flabbergasted as his head suddenly stung-...

'Kuh, did I have a wound on my head and it's acting up...? No, wait... Eh?'

...-which only lasted for a brief second. That wasn't what surprised him, though. It was the influx of memories that came along with the pain.

Specifically, it was the 16 years' worth of memories of a teenager named Suzuki Aoi. As the influx of the teenage boy's memories kept pouring in, he experienced it like he was watching a movie in first-person view, from Aoi's perspective.

Suzuki Aoi is a 16-year-old student who lived in Japan. He has black-raven hair, beautiful ruby-red eyes, and surprisingly smooth and white skin. In other words, he was a handsome youth.

[Reference Image Here]

...He was acting a bit sus, though... His friends also, girls and boys alike...

However, Michael ignored the controversial behavior of Aoi. Instead, his attention was acquired by the information that he got from Aoi's memories from the moment the influx ended. This room that he was in right now... it was Aoi's room.

And now that he thinks about it...

'Why am I white...? Pretty sure I am a bit tanned...'

Quickly, Michael got up from Aoi's bed to find a mirror. He wanted to know what the hell is happening, something he already had an inkling about but wants to confirm anyway.

As he found himself in the bathroom, he immediately went to the mirror atop the sink. When he saw his reflection, he was surprised and in utter disbelief even when he expected it.

He reincarnated!

And he reincarnated as none other than Aoi himself!

'Whoa...'

Reincarnation, transmigration, metempsychosis, or whatever they wanna call it, he didn't care, but its definition was something that he wished happened to him.

Reincarnating meant that he had another chance at reliving life and making the best decision that he could. It meant that he could eliminate most of the regrets he had in his previous life. It was simply amazing.

Nevertheless, it didn't mean that he could already digest something as big of an occurrence as this. Michael, in the body of Aoi, is still skeptical about all of this.

There's a chance that this is all just a dream. Like those so-called 'Lucid Dreams' he has been hearing from young interns at his workplace.

Yet, the realistic feeling of the cold air of the room outside the bathroom, the realistic sensation of touch, and the pain he got from the abrupt sting of his head proved otherwise.

'On second thought, why am I being incredulous about all of this? Isn't this what I wished for...?'

Michael heaved a sigh at his pessimism. There's gotta be some being who designed this incident and if there actually is, the reincarnated individual wanted to know if this unknown being has any motives for doing so. But for now, he'll just try to live this new life to its fullest.

And to whoever this Aoi kid was, he felt a bit bad thinking that Aoi's soul might have been obliterated because of him taking over his body. Regardless, that wouldn't stop him from living this life as him; as Suzuki Aoi. Perhaps he should refer to himself as Aoi now. It'll be a while to get used to, but it'll do.

With a bit of skepticism left in his heart that he simply disregarded, Aoi left the bathroom. From the moment he got out, he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

"Aoi, wake up. It's already 7:15 AM."

A sweet mature voice of a woman sounded across the door.