Ikamaru Taro , a 17 years old , has been living a monotonous life everyday the same boring repetition from waking up in the morning , going to School , coming at noon , studying , eating and sleeping .
When he was 12 years old he first saw his first anime 'Pokemon, , that brought joy and excitement in his heart for the first time ,he felt alive . Then in search of more anime he found various series , from epic battles to grand adventures, he lived vicariously through the characters he admired. Goku, Naruto , Eren , Tony , etc....
This frictional , heroes gave him the excitement that real life lacked .But after 4 years, he almost finished watching almost most of the good anime . And his life became boring again ,in school while his classmates laughed , shared stories and worried about exams but Ikamaru's mind was elsewhere - immersed in anime worlds that filled his every waking moment.
His parents were busy , his friends distant and the future seemed like a blank slate of endless boredom. There was no excitement in sight , no adventure he longed for as a result no purpose in his life .
But then on one rainy evening after spending hours rewatching his favourite anime series, DC, something snapped inside him " What's the point of everything, without any adventure , it all feels blank ?"
Ikamaru whispered to himself , the heroes in his hearts had meaning in their lives but all he had was the monotonous daily same routine . The thought that had lurked in his mind for months has now surfaced completely : "May be it's better to end my chapter here."
Ikamaru slipped on a hoodie with a jacket and left his house without a word to his anybody . The rain poured heavily with lightning cracking on the sky as he made to the bridge overlooking the river . The City's light reflected on the water, flickering like the last remnants of hope in his mind.
He climbed up on the ledge of the bridge , the world below looked so far away and as he stared down , he couldn't help but think:" Maybe, in next life I hope can atleast give a reason to live with enjoyment and joy of my heart , a fulfilling life ".The thought made him laugh—— a hollow empty sound .
Then, without hesitation, he closed his eyes and jumped down with his eyes closed but he could feel the air , wind striking his face making him realize that the chapter is coming to an end .
And at that last moment his parents image appeared infornt his eyes although his eyes are closed , still a drop of water sip from his eyes .
For a brief moment , there was silence. No sound of rain , no wind in his ears. It felt like falling though a void— and eternal abyss where time itself didn't exist.
He couldn't feel any sensation after some moment.
A soft light full of warmth , a rush of energy wrapped around Ikamaru body and then Ikamaru's body was no longer falling. He felt a strange warmth wrap around him, and the darkness faded. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The he heared sound of chaos around him, distant and muffled, like echoes from a dream . He blinked , trying to make sense of the blurry scene before him, but his head throbbed in a way that made every breath feel heavy. but those voice kept ringing on his ears as if calling him to wake up .
Ikamaru tried to move, but his body felt like it was submerged in water, sluggish and unresponsive. The leather seat beneath him was cold, stiff, and unfamiliar. Where was he? He'd been—where had he been? He couldn't remember.
Slowly, painfully, the world started to focus. He was sitting inside a car, the dashboard cracked, a front glass of the car totally broken to pieces and those glass littering his lap like sharp, glittering raindrops. He could hear voices now, raised in panic outside the vehicle.
"Is he alive?"
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"They're bleeding—Oh my God!"
Ikamaru's head whipped around to the left, where the driver's window had shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. A bright light shone through the haze, illuminating the wreckage. His brain was foggy, and it felt like every thought was dragging itself through mud. But Slowly, he looked forward, squinting through the cracks in the windshield.
He saw that the car had slammed into the front of a small shop, its windows smashed in by the impact. Smoke rose lazily from the hood, and sparks danced from beneath the wreckage. People were gathered around the vehicle, shouting into phones, trying to pry the door open. Some had horror-stricken expressions on their faces, while others seemed frozen, unsure whether to come closer.
He shifted uncomfortably, trying to piece together what had happened, but his body screamed in protest. That's when he felt it: a wet, sticky warmth trickling down his forehead, dripping onto his shirt.
Instinctively, Ikamaru raised his hand to his face and winced. He felt pain from his forehead as if something is poking and when he brought his hand near his eyes , what he saw made his heart beat faster .
Blood...
With his heart pounding in his chest, he caught sight of the rearview mirror above him. Something was wrong. Desperately, he leaned forward, ignoring the waves of nausea crashing over him, and stared at the reflection staring back.
That wasn't him. The face in the mirror wasn't his own face.
Wide, unfamiliar eyes looked back, full of shock and confusion. The face was pale, smeared with streaks of blood running from a deep cut on the forehead. The hair—short, dark, and matted with blood—was nothing like his old dark black hair . His skin now is whiter than the face he had back then. Even the shape of the jawline was wrong—sharper, more angular, like a heart shaped .
Panic surged through him. He frantically touched his face, feeling the rough texture of dried blood and swollen skin. The mirror wasn't lying. It was as if he had slipped into someone else's body—an entirely different person's body.
"Am.... I really ...," he whispered,but the words coming from his mouth were inconsistent to his thinking ,the unfamiliar voice coming from his throat made him realize that he had really travelled world.
The world spun around him, faster and faster, his vision blurring from the blood loss. His chest heaved as panic clawed at him from every direction. He grabbed the sides of the seat,to manage himself but slowly he started to lose consciousness.
Suddenly, he heard the wail of sirens in the distance. Police. Ambulance. The voices outside grew more frantic as the emergency vehicles drew closer.
"Hang on! They're coming! Just stay with us!"
But Ikamaru couldn't focus on the words. His mind was a whirlwind of confusion, trying to grasp this new reality . One moment, he'd been standing on that bridge, ready to end it all, and now he was here, inside this mangled car, in someone else's skin, blood pouring down his face. Nothing made sense.
The blue and red lights of the ambulance along with police .
Scattered people as paramedics rushed toward the car, their voices quick and urgent.
"Stay with us!"
"Can you hear me?"
A hand touched his arm, but it felt distant, as though it were happening to someone else. A figure in a paramedic uniform leaned through the broken window, their words blurry and distant. They were saying something—something important, maybe—but Ikamaru's ears drowned out everything. He felt himself drifting, as if his body were sinking into the seat, slipping further and further away from consciousness.
The pain in his head grew sharper, brighter, and the world around him began to fade. The flashing lights, the frantic voices, the feeling of blood dripping down his neck—it all started to blur together, fading into a swirling haze of red and black.
For a brief second, his thoughts were clear, like the calm before a storm. Who am I? Am I really Ikamaru . Did I die again ?. The question echoed in his mind, desperate and unanswered.
And then, everything went dark.