"Where am I?"
When I woke up to an unfamiliar alarm ringing, looking at a ceiling that wasn't my bedroom's, my first thought was that I had been kidnapped in my sleep.
Looking around, I saw that I was in what appeared to be a one-room apartment and I couldn't find anything unusual around, except for the lack of a kitchen, making me wonder if I was in a hotel room. And when my eyes fell on a large mirror stuck on a large wardrobe, I was shocked to see a gray-haired, red-eyed teenager reflected in it.
"Is that... me?" I couldn't help but mumble as I watched the person mirror my own movements and I was a bit disturbed by the sight. Not because my reflection was the body of a pure stranger but that I looked like a 3D anime character.
Is there something wrong with my vision? I'm willing to ignore that I somehow turned into an albino but... Okay, I understand, I must be dreaming… Ouch!
I couldn't help but yelp when I pinched my cheek hard, wincing at the pain.
Alright... this must be a realistic lucid dream. If it's not... then I'm in deep shit. I have no idea where I am and whose body this is because I'm sure it's not mine. I should look around for clues first. While I hope this is nothing but a dream, I don't want to gamble on the possibility that it isn't. I've never had any luck with gacha or the lottery, so I don't want to take any chances.
Glancing at the phone on the nightstand, I took it and looked at the screen displaying [6:47].
No screen lock, just like mine... and why an alarm that early?
I quickly scanned the phone and was surprised to find that no contacts were saved.
This is weird. I thought I would find his family information, but there is nothing. Not even a single friend either... No, maybe it's a brand new phone since there are no pictures, calls or emails on it either. Either way, it won't help me much.
I got out of bed before I blinked when I saw how tall I looked, observing my naked reflection in the mirror.
I was 5 feet and 7 inches so this body must be a bit taller by a few inches. Now that I think about it, this body is much thinner and lanky, which makes me feel a little weak. I should train my body when I have the time. What about downstai...
I seriously hope I'm a shower and not a grower because this is really dangerous. Anyway, I shouldn't waste time and... oh.
As I looked around for clues that might shed light on my current situation, I quickly noticed a pile of papers lying next to an opened suitcase on a table, prompting me to check them out and I frowned when I saw it was in Japanese.
Seems like I'm not in France anymore. I guess it was a good call to learn Japanese in college but I'm still not fond of kanji. They were never my strong point... Let's see...
"Dear… Kokonoe Sora? Guh!"
The moment I read the name on the paper, I felt a splitting headache and fell to my knees, suddenly feeling dizzy as a bunch of images flashed before my eyes and voices I didn't recognize echoed in my head.
"I heard that his parents got crushed by a truck."
"And he's only seven, that's pretty sad. Does he have any relatives willing to take care of him?"
"There is his grandmother but given her state, I'm not sure she will still be by his side by the time he comes of age…"
"Ma'am, we can't help you any more since you refused early treatments for lung cancer because they have serious side effects but, at this point, I can only recommend euthanasia…"
"I'm sorry, Sora-chan. Grandma can't take care of you anymore. If you could honor my last request, go to this school. It will help you a lot in the future…"
I took deep breaths, gripping the edge of the table as my heartbeat pounded in my ears.
Shit... I felt like someone just hammered the inside of my head... But those visions... are they this body's memories? Did I... take over this body or something? If so, then that's wicked as hell... This was too much... too fast. I just… woke up, and now I had a whole new life dumped on me, and someone else might have been erased for me to be here. Damn it…
The possibility that I had taken control of this body, essentially killing the previous owner, made me feel sick. But still, I hoped that it wasn't the case but that we simply merged for unknown reasons, or our souls got switched up with him living in my previous body.
Still, when I momentarily saw this old woman, lying in her bed, my chest felt surprisingly heavy. I've never had a family member die, so I can't really understand what it means to grieve, but I can say that it's really uncomfortable.
However, thanks to the memories, I was able to figure out my situation. From what I can gather from both the memories and the letter, which was apparently a high school admission notice, I'm supposed to be a freshman, ready to enroll in his new high school, which isn't really a good thing for me.
And here I thought this was supposed to be a dream, not a nightmare. No, at this point, I may believe that it's my new reality. That said, this guy Sora, his parents were isekaid by Truck-kun and his only remaining family member died after getting cancer.
I must say, he had quite a depressing life.
Anyway, I guess I should go to that high school now, even if it's a bit early. The sooner, the better. Since I took control of this body, I suppose that I should follow through on Sora's wish to honor his grandmother's final request. As an adult... No, as a person, I believe this is the right thing to do, given I've taken his place.
And it is better to follow the paths already laid out before me and let yourself be carried along rather than venturing into a completely unknown place, in my opinion.