Ryo sat alone in his office, the soft hum of the city outside barely registering in his mind. His hands trembled slightly as he turned the pages of a small, worn diary he had discovered among the personal belongings of the man whose life he had now unintentionally inherited.
The man who once owned this body, whose name and identity Ryo had assumed without warning or understanding, had left behind this journal, a record of his thoughts, fears, and the strange circumstances that led to his demise.
As Ryo read through the diary, his brow furrowed in concentration. The entries began with the man's sudden realization that his life was no longer his own, that he had been thrust into a situation beyond his comprehension.
Ryo felt like his situation was more or less similar to his, but he didn't stop there instead he decided to deep dive into it, so he could learn what was happening with his life.
Diary Entry:
I don't know how it happened. One moment, I was living my life and the next, I was someone else entirely. This body, this face—none of it belongs to me. My family barely recognizes me now. They look at me as if I'm a stranger, and I suppose, in a way, I am.
For months, I've kept to myself, avoiding any connection with the world around me. I no longer have the desire or the energy to pursue the things that once brought me pleasure. The women, the power, the manipulation—even if I have the power to achieve all of them all of it feels empty now. All I feel is pain, a constant, gnawing pain that reminds me that I am not who I once was.
I miss my family, I want to go back to my son and my wife, but how can I do that? This pain is killing me. Shrine Maiden said I have to seduce woman, but I don't want to
But then I met her. Akemi. The first woman I decided to use to escape this pain. I tried to seduce her, to make her mine, but even that felt wrong like I was betraying the very essence of who I used to be. And yet, I couldn't resist the pain..
The diary ended abruptly after this entry, the remaining pages blank. Ryo closed the book, his hands resting on the cover as he let out a deep breath. He looked up, catching a glimpse of his reflection in the phone camera on his desk. The face staring back at him was extraordinarily handsome, with sharp features and piercing eyes—features that were foreign to him, despite being the face he now wore every day.
Ryo had dark hair that was slightly long enough so that it would touch the base of his neck. His sharp face, and his piercing eyes, tinged with intensity, truly gave a feeling of extraordinary young man. But no matter how handsome or extraordinary it was, current Ryo didn't find it to be amusing.
"This isn't my face," Ryo muttered to himself, his voice tinged with disbelief. "This isn't my body."
He leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as he tried to make sense of the situation. How had he ended up in this body? What had happened to the man who had lived this life before him? And why did he feel like he was living someone else's story?
As these questions swirled in his mind, the door to his office suddenly opened. Ryo quickly sat up, trying to compose himself as Emi entered the room, a stack of files in her arms. She approached his desk with a polite smile, her professional demeanour masking any concern she might have felt.
"Good morning, President," Emi greeted him, placing the files on his desk. "I've brought the latest reports for you. The challenging companies have been very active in your absence, trying to take advantage of the situation and some of our branch companies have also been doing something crazy works."
Ryo barely registered her words, his mind still caught up in the whirlwind of thoughts the diary had stirred. He stared at the files, but the words seemed to blur together, meaningless in the face of the existential crisis he was facing.
Emi frowned slightly, noticing his distant expression. "Mr. Harada? Are you listening?"
Ryo blinked, snapping out of his daze. He looked up at Emi, his eyes searching hers as if trying to find some anchor in the chaos of his thoughts. "Emi," he began slowly, "what kind of a person am I?"
Emi was taken aback by the question, a puzzled expression crossing her face. "What kind of person?" she repeated, unsure of how to respond. She scratched her head, trying to gather her thoughts. "Well… you're a charismatic leader, a visionary. You've always been a challenger, someone who doesn't back down from a fight. You're confident, decisive…"
Ryo listened in silence, absorbing her words. But they felt hollow like she was describing someone else entirely. The man she was describing was not the man he felt himself to be, not anymore.
"Leave everything on the table," Ryo said quietly, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I need some time alone."
Emi hesitated, her concern for him growing. This was not the Ryo Harada she knew—the confident, commanding presence that had always filled the room was gone, replaced by someone who seemed lost, unsure of himself. But she didn't press the issue. Instead, she nodded and placed the remaining files on his desk.
"Of course, Mr. Harada," she said softly. "If you need anything, I'll be right outside."
She turned to leave, but not before casting one last worried glance over her shoulder. Ryo didn't notice; he was already lost in thought again, staring down at the closed diary on his desk. Emi sighed and closed the door behind her, unsure of what had happened to the man who had once been so self-assured.
Left alone once more, Ryo picked up the diary again, his fingers tracing the edges of the worn cover. His thoughts drifted back to the last entry, to the mention of Akemi—the woman who was the easy enough for the previous owner of this body to seduce and thought about how unlucky it was that he was the husband of that woman eariler. But something else caught his attention, something he hadn't fully registered before.
The shrine maiden.
The diary mentioned a shrine maiden who had given advice to the man who once inhabited this body. What had she said? Was there some connection between her and the strange events that had led to this body swap? Ryo didn't have the answers, but he knew one thing for certain—he had to find this shrine maiden. She might be the only one who could shed light on what had happened, the only one who could help him understand the bizarre circumstances he now found himself in.
"I have to find her," Ryo murmured to himself, his resolve hardening. "She might be the only one who can explain this. She might be the key to find more about this situation."
His eyes narrowed in determination as he made his decision. He would track down this shrine maiden, no matter how long it took. And when he found her, he would demand answers—answers about the body he now inhabited, about the life he was now living, and about how he could possibly make sense of it all.
But for now, all he could do was wait. Wait and plan his next move. The world outside continued to turn, oblivious to the turmoil within him. But Ryo knew that he couldn't stay in the shadows forever. Eventually, he would have to step back into the light, to reclaim the life that had been thrust upon him. And when he did, he would do so on his own terms.
For now, though, he sat in silence, the weight of the diary heavy in his hands, his thoughts consumed by the mystery that had become his life and trying to accept that his previous identity was no longer valid in this world.
"I am no longer Kamiya, but can I really become Ryo Harada despite everything being forced to me like this?"