"I have been held captive by a certain suspicious organization called the Secret Government and have been forced to do their bidding. My everyday Life has been definitely tumultuous..."
"For one such as I, a great and conniving research scientist, to be worked to the bone! — 'tis utterly unacceptable!"
"The great I, shall find a way to overtur — Smack!"
"Ow"— "Shuma, stop Dreaming and do your job properly!"
"What's with you Clyde? Meanie! What's wrong with being a chuunibyou? They're awesome! — Cringeworthy they might be, they're proud. In a similar way we otakus are! We are birds of the same floc — Smack"
"Did I ever create you to be this cruel Clyde? — I made you to help me. Not giving myself trouble"
Clyde, he is — The very first C.L.A.R.K. Unit, Member.
C.L.A.R.K. refers to my personally made Humanoid robots with the capabilities of a functioning Human.
'Robot you might be, you guys... Each of you have intriguingly varied personalities..."
— They require food, water, sleep and has the one fundamental aspect of life that makes us humans, humans. — Emotion.
'These guys... Are in a sense, my second family...'
— 'That all said... The indisputable fact that Clyde's looks outmatches mine... Ahhhh! Just thinking of it pisses me off'
"Shuma... Shuma..." Clyde clapped his hands and spoke with a raised voice "Shuma!"
"Wha- Wait, I'm here... Tsk, Clyde, please tell me how to be a pretty boy like you"
'A dumb question...'
Cringed by what I uttered, pretty boi Clyde responded curiously "How even am I supposed to reply to that? Hearing that from my creator..."
"...Tch" I turned around
"Don't be spiteful..." Clyde took careful steps while I was still throwing a fit "Tchhhhhhhhh"
"Shumaaaaa..."
"Alright, alright, I'll comply." And with a sigh...
Clyde tapped both of my shoulders "Anyyyyways."
With an arrogant princely smirk, "— Shuma... You've got a call."
"Turn it down, It's probably just the same ol' Yoshikawa"
"You can't decline."
"I can decline"
"— You can't."
Rolling on the floor, like your typical child in a tantrum, I bawled while flailing my arms wildly. "I CAN! I CAN!I CAN! I CAN! I CAN! I CAN! I CAN! I CAN!"
"Shuma... Listen. Let me explain this simply; You Castle. Theirs. Okay?"
"Noooooo, This castle is mine, They built it, I know.. But it's mineeeeeeeeee! Every Gadget here. MINE! MINE! MINEEEEE!"
"Oh well... I guess I have no choice but to get them to retake the Lab then..." Sighing out of disappointment, Clyde turned back.
Realizing the dire situation, I stood, stopped Clyde with a tap to his shoulder. With a serious-sarcastic look, "Wait... I was... Just kidding!" I reasoned with Clyde "— I just have to talk with Uzakawa right? Tch, fine... Just... Project the feed."
Pop
Then appeared...
"Your Vice-President, Yooooooo-shi-ka-wa Dah! Yoowwww! Shuma-nyan! Been awhile, my bestfriend! Doin' well with your Fantasy Portal? Teehee... Still an Otaku I see, Ga-Hahaahahaaha!"
I retorted "—Shuddup! Intrusive as usual." Embarrassed from the fact of the so-called "Annoyance's" discovery of my invention, the portal, I turned red.
`That damned Yoshikawa. He really did take a sneak peek that one time.`
"C'mon, don't be a spoilsport... 'Shuma-Chin.' You even showed me your Time Machine. It's our shared secret right?, Tee-Hee."
Aggressively pointing my finger, "See? Exactly, that. Intrusive."
"Booooooo."
"So? Why the call?" I scratched my temporal with my index finger
"Don't be a busybody"
I scrambled my hair wildly, 'This guy really ticks me off. Gahhhh!'
"You're the one who called me you darned fool!"
"Fool? Ahahahaha! There it is! Otaku language!"
"Sh-sh-shaddup! 'twas not... intentional"
Gesturing as if he hadn't heard, "What'd you say?"
"N-Nothing! Just... What'd you call me for?"
"Shuma, Tsundere-mode... Cute. Yoshika-rin likey" he placed his 2 fingers onto his chin, as if in agreement
"Get to the point Uzakawa"
"Okaaay. So basically... It's a political prob"
"— I refuse"
"It's a"
"— I refuse!"
"Awww, c'mon. Help me out... I'd get chewed on by President-Chan if I don't do this. And if that happens, you'll lose your precious Castle, no?"
"Arghhh, so annoying. Alright, fine... So?"
"President-Chan needs you to create something to help deal with arising political dispute."
"That's why I hate politics. It's all about boring stuff... Fine. Give me a few minutes to think of gizmos."
'Political matters... Hmmm..." Silently talking to myself, Uzakawa staring at me like a dumbo, "What invention would be best?"
'Time, Machine...'
"— Would be out of the question... Aha! That's right! That!"
'A mind-reading neural chip!'
"Yeah! Humuh, that'd work."
'Since it's just a useless temporary Chip, should only take me what, 5 hours? maybe less.'
"Alriiight! I've decided! I'm making a Neural Chip that reads minds... I call it... K.Y.S.C....Short for "Kokoro-yomitoru-shinkei-chippu" (Note: A nerve chip to read minds)"
".... Shuma... I'll be straight. What a lame naming sense. Ahahahahah!"
"La-lame?! How rude of you! How about you!? I bet you've got a lamer naming sense!"
With a straight face, "C-Chan is what I'd call it." Uninterested, I responded "Yoshikawa... You're so plain."
"Really? If you say so."
"Hey! Put up a fight will you?! It makes me look ridiculous!"
With his usual hyped-up nature, he pulled a fast 'Thumbs Up' on me and exclaimed. "Nah, you're awesome the way you are." And gleamed a bright smile
Flustered, I turned back "Yoshikawa... Tch"
'That damned Yoshikawa suddenly complimenting me out of nowhere... So dumb... I'd let him off the hook just this time.'
"Anyways, Shuma-nyan, I'll be off — Oh, wait, I almost forgot. How many hours would it take you to make it?"
to satisfy my own goals, I declared an underhanded completion time "Give me 24 hours"
Typically, an insignificant neural chip like that won't take more than 5 hours to create
All that, planned so that...
With a grin.... 'Heh... Gehhhehe'
'I'll spend the first 20 hours lazing around. Being productive isn't just me.'
"18 Hours. Please... Then, anyways, see you later!"
"18..."
And from that point on... My inner mind squealed 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' At its very core
I fell to my knees... Lifeless. Seemingly dead. As if my own soul departed the physical plane. "My... 24 hours..."
With Clyde's princely voice "Shuma..." My lifeless body rejuvenated.
I stood up. "Clyde, you're still there?"
"I've been here the whole time, y'know"
"Ahhh... Sorry, you lacked presence..."
"That irked me..."
"You're probably just tired. Take a rest. Likewise, I'd take mine."
"But what about the invention? Won't you need the C.L.A.R.K. Unit's help?"
"Oh, that. I could create it alone roughly within 3-5 hours. nothing to sweat about. In the meantime, I'll just eat, sleep and spend time on my hobbies — Basically lazing around then getting at it later."
"Hmmm. I see. Well then."
As Clyde walked away, 'Click - Slam'
'There he goes...' After which, I stretched, followed by a slight yawn. "Now, we go."
Hop - Hop - Hop
"Feeling better"
'Man, that really feels weirdly satisfying. A'ight, Time to spend those hours listlessly playing games, watching Animes and reading Mangas or Novels!'
I sat on the couch behind me, picked up the console, and I played...
'Click... Flap...'
Hours passed by in the drop of a hat. "Ah, that was fun! I guess it's time to sleep!"
Zzzzzzz...
And just like that, morning came. "Big bro! Big bro! Waaaake up!" A small blonde haired child flailed around
"Mhmm?"
Groan
Swaying back and forth, "Wake uuup!" I opened my eyes, "Oh, it's just you, Alice."
This young lady, is Alice, a part of the C.L.A.R.K. Unit. She's like my personal alarm clock. or rather... She's just a precious, innocent housekeeper. My Daughter, in a different sense.
'That's right! The stellar Shuma, has a Daughter!' I got up and continued my thoughts 'Additionally, I also have a very CUTE WIF—'
'Smack!'
--- Will be under revision
— 'Ouch... Ouch... It hurts...'
"Being single, hurts... I wanna cry...'
"Master Shuma! Ah! Alice! Don't disturb Master's sleep!"
"Oh, that's fine, Lex"
Servile and well-mannered. This one is Lex. Similarly, a part of the same unit. The sub-manager. He's a level below Clyde in terms of authority. And I surmise it was why he saw him as a rival.
"But Master Shuma..."
"Let her be. It's fine. I'm fine. Super okay" I flexed my aesthetically toned Biceps and declared "See? I'm a-okay!"
"Blegh" Alice signaled, as she glanced at Lex "This brat... So un-cute. But if master deems it be"
'Heheh, They're getting along.'
"Well, just let it go Lex. Consider her your own little sister" — 'But well, technically, they really are siblings though.'
"As you are now awake, Master Shuma. I will be doing maintenance on your inventions. Well then, take care."
"Sure thing"
'Now, what to do... Oh, right. How many hours left.'
Looking at the clock, "It's 7 A.M.... 7 A.M...."
The thought lingered onto my head for a while, until I came into realization.
"Oooh, Craaap! I overslept, Move for me Alice, I gotta hurry! I'm 1 hour short on time!"
'The Neural Chip! Can I make it in time? I don't wanna impose on the C.L.A.R.K. Unit! I'll need to be hardcore serious!'
'Bzzt - Bzzt - Bzzt - Pluck - Pop'
I took no time to rest. I broke through my limits. Intricately modified each parts, maximized my concentration level into its finest and optimized the device precisely until...
"I actually did it! That was a close call! Phew, that was nerve-wracking. Good thing I made it in time... Now, time to deliver it into the Teleportal."
Grooooooowl
"... I'm hungry"
Hence, my distinguished self went to the Kitchen and from there, "Shuma! Have you eaten?"
"No, not yet"
She handed me my nutritional breakfast "Here! Eat this"
"Oh, thanks, Rein"
Rein... The mother of the C.L.A.R.K Unit. The maternal figure for the team; The overprotective and nitpicky gorgeous lass, whom I am very very fond of. That, she is.
"Eat up!"
"Thanks for the food!"
And after a second, 'Nom - Nom - Nom' I finished her nutritious meal.
'Now time to submit this piece.' — "I'll seeya soon Rein, do have a good one!"
"Take care!"
To the Teleportal, I went. As I settled the Neural Chip into the sizable storage room, '...Whoosh!' The miniature gadget I created was slowly becoming transparent — An indication of it being transported to the portal I built at Uzakawa's Home.
"I'm glad I created the Teleportal! Sure saves me a lotta trouble."
'Now that all problems are settled, I gotta call Kira to help out with my Isekai Portal. After all, It's almost reaching completion! I might even get it over today!'
Hence, I went to where Kira was. Upon arriving, I saw him doing maintenance on one of my inventions.
I called "Kira!" In which he coolly responded "Yo, Wha's it?"
"Need help." In a silent monotone voice he answered, "Nah"
"I need help! Not you!"
"Oh, I see. I thought you were gonna help me with the maintenance"
'This guy... So inattentive. But well... What's with these guys' faces?! Why are they so darned handsome? I mean, I created them but, Arghhghgghgh!... I wanna cry.'
"Kira, HELP me learn the ways of pretty boys."
"Look, Shuma, you're already attractive enough. Be contented with what you have. Was that the help you needed?"
"Ah, Sorry, that's not the help I mentioned to you about. I need your help with the Portal"
"Oh... That. Sure..."
Kira followed as I went to my workspace.
"Behold! The ancient relic of the past! the Isekai Portal! A long lost technology. None was ever capable of activating this olden machinery! — None! besides the exalted Shuma!
"— Are those lines really necessary?"
"Definitely! Kira, you've still got a long way to understand the ways of the Shuma.
"A'ight... So, what do I do?"
"Start with the calculations and write it down. in the meantime, I need to figure out how to make this work."
"A'ight"
'Now now. Conceptualize... Since we're talking about a trans-dimensional portal here... Bodily deconstruction... And Space warping... — May, or may not work. That breaks the laws of space and time, but.... Let all hell break loose. I won't know until I try!'
"Kira!"
"Yeah?"
"You done?"
"Just a bit.... And yeah. what now?"
"Call the others. An edict from the greatest Shuma!"
As commanded, Kira obeyed. A few minutes passing, Clyde, Lex, Alice, Rein and Kira arrived.
With composure, I started my speech. "Salute my beloved Creations! 'tis the moment for ye release. — Albeit temporary. Make merry! Splish splash kablaam in the breezy calming seas!"
"Release...?"
"Shuma, are you sure?"
"Master Shuma! Please let me stay!"
"That, I cannot do. Take it easy Lex. It's just a mere 30 days anyways. Just go argue with Clyde, it'll be fun! Heh."
"Master Shuma! Please don't make fun of me."
"Haha. Anyways. What I said is final! No changes are gonna be made! None of you are my Disposable Slaves. Hell, you guys are Humans. And in a sense, my Family."
Saddened, Alice jumped into my arms. "Big Bro Shuma, I'll miss you"
"Me too, Alice" I'm gonna miss my daughter... For real."
Pat-Pat-Pat-Pat
"Shuma... Be very careful with your dangerous experiments."
"Yeah, will do Rein"
"Well, good luck"
"— Yeah! Now you guys go and have fun!"
'And, there they go...' Together, they left into my Transportation Portal. At the time, I could not help myself but to tear up.
'I guess I'll miss those guys...'
"Now now, enough sentimentality, in 30 days, I'll see you soon!"
And little did I know, that that would never come to pass...
Consequently after, I calibrated the Miniscule-Supernovae-Generator to provide the needed energy for my Portal.
Beep - Tweak - Twitch
Until...
Bzzzzzt
"... Ahhhh... AHHHH!! A desert roach!"
'Oh... Crap... the calibrator...'
— BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
'I... Just died... What the Hell???
In my remaining consciousness, I took the initiative to analyze the impact radius implied by the explosion.
'Roughly a radius, 150-200 times stronger to that of what befell Hiroshima... At least... in the end, this extremely remote advanced laboratory those politics brains made for me, protected the lives of the many from my inane blunder...'
I came into realization... 'HOW AM I CAPABLE OF THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW!? AM I NOT DEAD!?' In my very last moments, I came to despise my foolish mistake. 'HOW THE HELL DID A DESERT ROACH ENTER MY LAB IN THE FIRST PLACE?!'
I prayed and prayed and prayed. 'PLEASE! I wanna live! I wanna live! I WANNA LIVE... Ahhhh... I can't... gather my thoughts... I guess... This... is... The end... Goodbye... Everyone...'
Flash — A blinding light encapsulated my vision.
"Uwaaah! Waaah! Waaaah!"
'What's with those cries? Ugh, it's so dark... Where am I?'
Disoriented, I soon regained my memories. 'I died! I was supposed to be dead!'
The tactile pain from the blast was not fabricated — That, I thought. I was severely convinced of that fact. Yet... 'How?'
"— Waaah!"
'Again, with these cries...'
A radial image projected itself into the void. I could see the light whence I followed.
"Too bright! Is that... a Doctor?"
"It's a boy! Your baby has been born healthy ma'am!"
'Wait a minute... Mom... MOM?!'
I grasped the situation... 'Oh... So this is what follows death. A revisit of my memories... How saddening.'
"— Really? Thank goodness! There there"
'Mom, huh... Seeing her calms my nerves. I've been fortunate to have been born to such loving parents.'
As I was vehemently caressed by my Mom, a big loud 'Bang!' was heard. "How's the Baby!?" Coming from the door, was my Dad.
"He's healthy!"
"Thank goodness! What should we name him?"
"Hmmm... Something meaningful would be nice... Shuma! Its Kanji would be the 'Shuu' from Shuudan and the 'Ma' from Makoto"
'Heeeh? So that's how my name came to be. It's a good fit for my overly studious persona.'
"— It means. 'To collect the truths...' Mhmm. Shuma! A name fit for our kid!"
"Right? Let's celebrate our child's first day on Earth!"
Continuing my last recall of life, I opened the door.
Click-Creak...
'What's this now? Too bright!'
A memory from Pre-school.
'This is... I remember someone introduced me to the ways of hardcore Anime and Manga Fans at this timeline...'
"Heyyyyyyyy Shuma!"
'Tsk, it's Uzakawa'
"— Yoshikawa? What?"
"Have you seen the new Anime?"
'Piss-ass brat.' I uttered. But in actuality, I was still deeply thankful; to the fact that Yoshikawa introduced me to Ani-Manga.
"— I don't watch Animes Yoshikawa. I study."
"Eeeeh? Studying is boring. Let's go watch Anime instead! I heard it was Fun-to-see! About a man that went bye bye and reincarcerated?"
"You mean fantasy and reincarnated."
"Woaaah! Shuma. You're smart!"
"I love to study everything intriguing, I question everything interesting."
'I sound mature, even as a Chibi-Shuma... It makes me wonder what made Yoshikawa befriend a nerd like me...'
"— Shuma, You sound like an adult. Meh, who cares. meet at my place tomorrow okay? We're gonna watch it together!"
"I... Okay"
'If memory serves me right,, I went to Uzakawa's house...'
As I walked alongside Chibi-Me and Yoshikawa, a blinding light recurred. 'Where am I this time?' I glanced, and saw Chibi-Me and Yoshikawa sitting at a couch, watching Anime.
"— I am a good slime"
'Haha. Never gets old.'
"— Hahahahahaha!"
'Man, this brat's loud even as a kid. Uzakawa is still Uzakawa through and through'
"The slime... Seems interesting!"
"Riiight? Glad you understand me Shuma!"
"Yes!"
As I witnessed everything transpire, I came to question my life decisions. 'I used to be best buds with Yoshikawa... When did our relationship go downhill, I wonder...'
"— Well then, Yoshikawa, See you later! I had fun!"
"Shuma! Come back any time!"
The Chibi-Me, who used to be very close with Yoshikawa was someone the adult version of me was admiring. Or so I thought.
'What's it now? The surroundings... It just shifts randomly...'
College. Long had I forgotten the incident that caused a distress between Yoshikawa's relationship and mine.
"Shuma, let me copy your tests. Pretty please."
'Yoshikawa really was a big pest when it came to these...'
"— What's with you now? Just study, man. You got lots of free time"
"Eeeeeh? No way. Too much hassle. Teach me the ways of Master Shuma. I'll trade your time for your Anime collection."
"Hey, my Anime collection... Return it back to where you stole it."
"Only if you teach me... For a recognized and notable "genius among geniuses", you sure are cruel." — Obviously that's because you're too much of a bother...
"Ahhh, alright! Fine! I just have to hammer some answers into that small brain of yours right?"
"Yes, please! Make it easy to comprehend"
'Wonder what happens next? This particular part of my life seems to be extremely vague for an odd reason.'
"— So you do this and that to get the right answer"
"Groan — That helped! Who knew that dumbing stuff down makes it much easier."
'— Nah. I think you were just plain dumb, Uzakawa. Haha.'
"Now deal's done. Well? Where's my collection?"
"I'll come by your place tomorrow. Look forward to it!"
"Like hell I'd look forward to it! It's mine to begin with..."
"Good point, Tee hee"
"Don't 'Tee hee' me. Just return it by tomorrow"
"Okaaaay!"
The next day came
Ding-Ding-Ding
"Yeah, comin'"
"Uhm, Shuma, we're bestfriends right?"
"Hmm, I guess so?"
"Well... You see..." Yoshikawa, nervously fidgeting, he did a 360° Spin Dogeza. "I'm veeeeery soooorry!!!"
Genuinely curious, "For what?" I inquired.
"My mom threw it out thinking I was starting to become a shut-in."
Thud — I fell face-flat on the hard floor
From that point forward, my tightly-sealed memories were re-opened.
'So that was why I came to hate this idiot... Haha...' Sarcastically, I laughed... About to burst to tears, I controlled my emotions. 'Wish I at least was given a chance to have a last retort to dumb ol' Uzakawa... I'll never see him again.' I was disheartened greatly.
"Wha-? Shuma!? Hey, get a grip!"
"Ughh—"
"Shuma, you okay? I'm very sorry!"
"Oh, it's just you... Give me some time to mourn my collection's death"
"You gonna be okay?"
"..."
"I'll leave... For now"
"Please, that's for the better"
The following day passed, and I completely ignored Yoshikawa.
"Shuuuumaaaa-nyaaaan! Doin' better?"
"Shut-up Uzakawa. Don't talk to me"
My classmates were surprised. — EHHHHHHH???
'Well, Yoshikawa and I were real best friends for like, forever back then. They surely would've dropped their jaws if I gave him that type of treatment.'
"Ehhhh? What's with you Shuma? why the cold treatment now?"
"Get away. Don't talk to me"
"Ehhhhhhh? I'm soooooo veeeerrrrrrrry sooorrrryyyyyyyy!"
"Apology denied. Don't talk to me."
"Shuma... I'll be your buddy for life even if you treat me like that. 'Sparkle-Smile'"
"Suit yourself."
Yet again, the light embraced my sight. This time, I was watching Yoshikawa's speech. 'For one thing, this guy's speech is at least top-notch.' With that, he ultimately became Japan's Vice President.
Coincidentally, it was when I worked diligently on my Fantasy-Teleportal. Yoshikawa and the President, worried about my shenanigans. The government was left with no choice but to transfer my Devices somewhere extremely remote.
'It's that light. Again... That was... Rather quick. Hmm... It's finally the end of my Journey huh.'
'It's exactly as what happened a few days? Months? Years? How much time did I spend recollecting all these memories? It felt like a moment in an eternity.'
'Seems like this time would be my final memory...'
Boooooom! — The explosion that ended my life recurred
'...It's bright again... What's happening? Am I reliving the same memories over and over? Wait... No... It's... Different this time! A memory of myself which I haven't lived! A parallel version of me! Even at this point, I'll be living endless lives of myself?'
'This would be eternal suffering for me...'
— Whooooooosh
Reliving different parallel lives of myself, I was able to extract all the memories, knowledge, skills, wisdom, philosophy — Basically, everything about my other selves aspects, became mine. But there was one twist... I will have already forgotten them instantly. As if a memory from a fleeting dream...
After all those perpetual incarnations... I awoke...
Kagezuchi, Shuma. Age 21, Cause of death: Murdered by a Desert Roach...