Subject 03011 - Yanagi Akane

Project AIM, a pet project that an indescribable existence created for unknown reasons.

He created the Panels and Admins to work out the system of the project, while he lie on his back and watch everything unfold.

The Panels oversees the management the system of the Existence's vision, while the Admins carries it out their purpose.

The Subjects, the testers of this project, are humans that died in Origin Earth, the first world that the Existence created, the place where life first existed. They are given three randomized gifts – with full control over them – and a ten slots Inventory, then they are sent to various World Bubbles, an entirely independent space where various multiversal realities exist, to collect data necessary for the project.

Whatever they received as their gifts will determine the realities that exist within their bubbles, and a reality can only exist once within that bubble – a rule that was added to prevent the repetition of an event where an early Subject made it his mission to collect every Tsunade he could gather as part of his harem.

The Subjects are given the ability to travel between the multiverse within this bubble, and was made a vessel that can integrate in any society or rules in the new world that they found themselves in.

There are three main method of transmigration, and they are: Full Rebirth, a complete reincarnation that let the Subject start as a baby; Soul Transfusion, hijacking a pre-existing body that will be transformed by the Admin as a proper vessel for the Subject; and Direct Transmigration, recreating the Subject's body, keeping their original appearance.

The purpose of these Subjects are to test out the kinks of project before the full version of the Project begins to run.

~

Yawning from the backseat of the taxi, Yanagi Akane looked in boredom at the scenery outside the car he's riding in.

He woke up a few hours ago, inside an airplane flying towards Japan and he's been awake ever since.

Yanagi Akane is the firstborn son of a famous chef in the US, who was forcefully kicked out of their house by his stepmother who wanted him out of her life. His father wanted to appease his wife, so he asked Akane to leave the house and live on his own.

He accepted, and told his father that he'd rather return to Japan, his mother's homeland, so that he could be as far away from the witch as possible, to which his father agreed and transferred his property in Japan to him, as well as a large amount of money.

Akane thought of this as a separation gift or divorce money for his dead mother, but he didn't mind and immediately processed his papers so that he could move to Japan.

That is the situation that the current Yanagi Akane found himself in, as in truth, he's actually Subject 03011 of the Project AIM, and this is the body he found himself in after using the Soul Transfusion method of transmigration.

He's happy about his new lease on life, and he only looked bored as he's looking through the memories of the past of his new identity.

'Still, I chose the Soul Transfusion because the Admin explained that the vessels are supposed to be orphans. Is this the consequence of me asking to bring my personal savings from my past life?'

Subjects who were using the Soul Transfusion method was supposed to not have an immediate family associated with them, but his request to the Admin, who also accepted his request, made it his situation like this so that there are proper money trail.

'This Project is overstepping many boundaries, but is oddly stern on this kind of things. Whatever, I won't bother with "my" family, anyway.'

His musing was stopped when the car stopped and the driver called out to him from the front. "We've arrived, sir."

Akane paid the driver his fair and got out of the taxi with just a backpack on him, and he looked at the building in front of him. It was a three-story building, with the first and second floor being occupied by a pizzeria and an office, respectively. The third floor was also occupied, and it was "his father's" property here in Japan.

According to his memory, it was this building where his father started his culinary business together with his mother, but they decided to leave for the States because of a better business opportunity which turned out to be the best decision they made, and they sold the building except for the third floor, where his father and mother used to live while still in Japan.

Akane was observing the building when a mature looking woman that came down the stairs called out to her.

"Akane? Hey, you are Akane, right?" The woman asked him, which made Akane looked at her.

She… was rocking the hot office lady look with her, wearing formal suit with a tight pencil skirt. Her black hair was tied to a bun, and her brown eyes looked strict and caring at the same time.

"Ah, right, we have not actually meet directly before. My name is Taneda Rika, I'm a friend of your mother." The hot lady introduced herself, and Akane finally found details in regards to her from his memories.

She was someone his mother used to tutor when they were still starting their business to earn a little extra, and had become attached to his mom ever since.

"My goodness, you really look like your mother, do you?" She walked towards Akane, and she looks like she's holding herself back from doing something.

Deciding to properly introduce himself as well, Akane bowed to her slightly, emulating Japanese customs very well.

"Hello. My name is Yanagi Akane. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Taneda. I've heard about you from my father, thanks for taking care of the place in our stead."

The woman looked a bit hurt from his words, which confused Akane for a bit, but it immediately disappeared from her just as quick as it appeared and smiled to him.

"Now now, don't be a stranger. Just call me Rika, or big sis. Aoi used to take care of me a lot when I was very young, so we're practically family." The woman said with great expectations from her eyes.

Akane, someone who mostly cannot turn down women in his past life, could only agree to her request.

"Then, I'll call you Rika from now on."

The smile on her face widens as Rika hugged him tightly, surprising him a bit.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Aoi, Akane, as well as for your father's action. But don't worry, I'm here for you now." Rika said, still hugging Akane tightly and starting sobbing. Seeing her actions made him think of why she was doing this, and the conclusion that he reached made him smiled wryly.

'This chick… ' Akane didn't finished his thoughts as he felt it's too early to conclude, but decided to humor her nevertheless. However, what was on his mind at that moment was – an eye for an eye.

"I'm fine, Rika. It's the natural order of things, and mom still has me and you to remember her. As for father, well, I know for a long time that he's a lost cause. I'm here to start my life anew, and I decided to leave the bad memories behind and only brought with me the good ones." Akane said, cringing on the inside to the nonsense he's spewing out of his mouth.

That got her attention, as she separated herself from him for a bit, with determination burning in her eyes.

Determination for what, he never knows. But what he knows is that he could never escape from this woman for a long while.

~

Akane entered his room – his parent's former room – took off his clothes and jumped on the bed.

The third floor of the building is like a 2LDK apartment, and everything was clean due to Rika who happens to have the key and personally cleans the house, every month for five years, ever since she managed to buy the second floor of the building and started her own business there. She personally went to Akane's father and asked for the key of their former house so that she could clean it, and relive her memories from when she was a child being taken care of Akane's mother.

It was already the evening, as Rika took him out to have dinner outside, bringing him to a fancy restaurant and treating him for dinner. Akane agreed, and they exchanged stories regarding his mother and their own personal lives, all of which he pulled out from his memory.

"Still, as I thought, that chick is one of those, isn't she?" Akane's last thought before he went to the dreamland due to the tiredness he felt from the combination of his travel and spending time with Rika.