Ryuji was a salaryman who lived in Tokyo. His age isn't important.

His height isn't important. Nor are his looks or his demeanor.

What is important is that Ryuji did not have friends, and he definitely did not have a lover. He was alone and had been for a long time.

What is important is that Ryuji was bullied by his boss and made to do more work than everyone else. He was forced to work overtime constantly and was never compensated for it. It was not uncommon for him to work until the last train had left. As such Ryuji, depressively enough, had gotten used to walking home at midnight after a long day's work.

On the days he didn't work Ryuji watched shows or played games all alone, on the account of him having no friends. This was all par for the course in the life of Ryuji. Naturally, he wasn't happy about his arrangement, but he went about his life and allowed this treatment to become a weekly routine.

He suffered all alone day after day.

.....after day...

...after day…

after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day.

As one can imagine these are the facts about his life that led to Ryuji's morbid decision that fateful day. It's not like these kinds of things are planned. Most of the time they rest on a back burner until one day, spontaneously, we decide that we've had enough.

This was that day for Ryuji.

In a small apartment in the bustling city of Tokyo in the early hours of the morning, an annoying and PTSD inducing noise was heard. Ryuji laying perfectly still in his bed reflexively slapped his alarm clock and grunted.

"Goddamn it! I still can't get over the fact that they killed off my favorite character in that last episode!"

Incidentally, Ryuji was a super weeb and a big fan of power fantasy and as such, he watched tons of anime that suited those needs of his. In his last viewing his all-time favorite waifu in the show had an unfortunate accident.

This had of course depressed him to no end. To say this was the source of his derelict decision would, of course, be wrong but it definitely didn't help things, and when you're an emotionally unstable ticking time bomb little things like this can set you off.

"I bet they just did it so we rem fans have no other waifu to turn to! What a bunch of shit."

He glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for him to get ready for another terrible day at work. His thoughts of waifus perpetuated in his mind as he went about his morning routine. That was until his thoughts suddenly stopped. His hand would no longer move, stuck on the last button for his shirt. Even when he noticed this change the hand remained motionless still.

"I've had enough..."

A quiet and sad sentence escaped his mouth before it took the form of a grimace. Tears started to flow down his cheeks. Past failures and his days at work flashed through his mind.

"I've had enough!"

A louder but shriller cry resounded from Ryuji and just then as more dreadful thoughts poured out of his mind, he remembered something.

Racing through his small flat he made his way into the bedroom closet. On the floor was a genuine noose.

It wasn't as though Ryuji had made this noose to actually be used but his boss at last year's Halloween party demanded that he make realistic looking props. After the party ended Ryuji hung onto it instead of throwing it away thinking that maybe one day he would need it.

This was done half-jokingly by him but there was also a side of him that seriously considered the value this noose might have in his life.

"At least I got something out of following that bastard's orders for once."

Ryuji liked to stay in shape and as such had modified his door to be a gym of sorts. There was a pull-up bar resting at the top of the frame.

Knowing that it would support his body weight he removed the bar and tied the rope around just sticking out. He shortened the length of the rope so that falling even a single inch would bring him to his end.

A few moments later his head was through the noose and his feet were resting on a chair. The doubts began to spread through his brain and he reconsidered his options.

Maybe killing himself was going too far?

Maybe life would get better?

Maybe he should kill his boss and then kill himself?

A vibration spread throughout all of Tokyo as these questions clouded Ryuji's mind. The chair which was already wobbly from the fact that it was being used outside of its intended purpose began to shake even more.

"Woaaahh! AHH-ungk!!"

The earthquake caused an unprepared Ryuji to panic then slip and fall thus sealing him to his fate. As the rope tightened his neck was forced shut and all air escaped him. He clawed at the rope and at his own skin to no avail. His mind broke and the only thing he could focus on in those last moments was his immense pain.

"Do you wish to be free?"

A question sounded in his mind. The voice that asked it sounded familiar yet infinitely distant. As he pondered who it could be Ryuji noticed that all of the pain and worry was gone.

In fact, he felt nothing at all anymore. He knew in his head that he was suffocating right now but his body didn't feel real to him. It was as though he was watching his body through some third-person point of view.

"Do you wish to be free?"

The voice sounded again. Although it had to repeat itself to gain the attention of a confused Ryuji it didn't seem particularly upset about it. It actually sounded as though it was slightly amused by his profound reaction.

Although his mouth was inoperable, he spoke clearly in his heart.

'Yes, more than anything.'

After his revelation, the light faded from his eyes as his last seconds of consciousness slipped by. Then Ryuji calmly closed his eyes for the last time in Japan.

****************************************************************************************

When he opened his eyes he felt a stinging pain in them as though he had just gotten dirt in them.

He got up from the ground where he was apparently laying. He looked around to see where he was, but the darkness of night kept him from seeing too clearly. All he could tell was that he was near an opening in a forest.

'I'm in a different world huh'

As a dedicated weeb, Ryuji not only wasn't panicking about this astonishing event but was actually quite happy with the outcome.

He had escaped his shitty old life and could start over here and hey who knows maybe he could find that cute voice he heard earlier. He decided to try and find a place to clean his eyes from the debris. He turned around from the forest entrance and saw a plain. He walked but after a few steps, he tripped.

It was as if he was a struggling toddler.

'Must be because my eyes are messed up along with how dark it is.'

He continued to go forward until he heard the sound of running water. He dipped his hand in and washed his eyes and face. Soot dripped off and fell into the small stream. From behind the clouds, a three-quarter moon peaked through. Its light hit the water and Ryuji saw something floating in the stream. He instantly recognized it as a stick.

There was something that didn't sit right with him though. In the pit of his stomach, he felt a wave of paranoia. Reaching out to the stick so he could comfort his fears Ryuji felt the texture of it. The feeling closely resembled that of charred meat and at that moment he realized a horrifying truth.

That was no stick, but a human arm singed to a crisp.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

A childish scream echoed throughout the plains and once again Ryuji was confused. His disorientation overpowered his fear momentarily and he thought.

'Why do I sound like I'm a prepubescent child all over again?'

'No, it can't be…. Right?'

As he leaned over the stream again, he assured his fears. In the reflection of the water what he saw was not the face of a middle-aged Japanese man but that of an eight-year-old Caucasian child staring back at him.