I always had a peculiar dream.
While normal people dreamt of playing heroes or villain, even becoming an eminence in shadow (lol), I had a different dream compared to them.
It is very difficult to put it in words. If I had to say, it is something very similar to the eminence in shadow (lol), yet very different.
If an eminence in shadow is someone who is pulling the strings behind the scenes, then the role that I strived to achieve is an 'observer'. A mysterious figure that stands stop a building, watching as chaos ensues. A legendary rumour, whose identity is unknown, yet everyone knows of him. A person who observe when the heroes are fighting against the villains, good against bad, light against dark.
And when the climax are about to happen? An individual, siding with neither good nor evil but with his own agenda, would jump in and interfere with the situation. The individual would then proceed with his own agenda, whether it be helping good triumph against evil or causing irreversible damage against the good side.
And when the winning side would ask who is he, he would not deign to respond to their question and instead answer with his own answer.
"Later," and with that response, he would wave his hand and disappear into the night, causing confusion onto everyone in that battlefield but also leaving a simple thought of 'who is he' and a very small but intense fear in their mind.
They would always look behind their back, wondering if he is looking. Always locking the door everytime they go to sleep. He would be the reason they tried their best to be stronger, to hone their skills and mind just so that they could survive a confrontation against him.
Not beat, not defeat, and certainly not kill but to survive.
Yes, that is the kind of person that I want to be. The role that I want to fulfill.
...Yes, it's very cringe. Thank you very much for pointing it out. You aren't the first person to say that and you won't certainly be the last.
See, unlike a certain chuunibyou, I have the mental sanity to recognize the futility of my dream. In reality, things aren't that simple. The world aren't just black or white. For example, a villain could be a hero to their children and a hero could be a villain to their enemies.
And that's not even touching upon the issue of how would I execute my dream. There's no magic for me to cast, no spell for me to learn and certainly no contract for me to sign.
Sure, I could train myself to the very limit and dedicate myself to every martial arts known to man, but at the end of the day, I'm just a normal human. Muscles won't matter if there's a group of people ganging up against me. No amount of martial arts would protect me against bullets.
That dream of being an observer? Complete and utter nonsense. Only someone who's deranged enough would try to achieve that impossible dream.
...and yet, I still couldn't let it go. That dream. I couldn't let that dream escape from my mind. There's a certain charm in that dream, knowing that one couldn't achieve it and yet the only thing they could do is to chase after it.
And so, I lived my entire life wondering on how could I make that dream into a reality, but failing ultimately.
At least until THAT happened to me. A reincarnation, transmigration, an Isekai, whatever you call it. The point is it happened and now, a chance had appeared. A way for me to actualize that dream.
You want to know what happens next?
Me too.
***
Have you ever wondered on how it feels to have second hand embarrassment? Don't worry, we're about to experience it together.
"My name is Hyoudou Issei and my dream is to become the Harem King!"
I swear to God, you could put a bomb in this classroom and no one would notice. That's how shocked everyone is by his introduction. Holy shit, how can he say that and not die of cringe. I could only hide my face and look away from his short speech.
Man, is this how my old classmates feel when I shouted out my dreams (which I definitely didn't do and people who said so will die of mysterious causes the next morning) back in my old world? I pity and thank them for having the tolerance and patience to deal with me.
The homeroom teacher, not knowing how to proceed with such an err.. outlandish introduction, could only sit the still eager Hyoudou Issei to his seat and ask the next student to begin their introduction.
As the next student started their own introduction, I begun to daydream- I mean, I begun to strategically think about the person sitting next to me.
Hyoudou Issei. The protagonist of High School DxD, a piece of fiction where the combined power of boobs and friendship is the strongest force of all. And I had been thrown into this mess of a world.
Just why, god. Why can't you throw me into Arknights or RWBY? At least there, I could do my own stuff and show them who's the boss. But in DxD, where all exciting things happens behind the scenes, behind public?
No one would be there to witness my performance. My actions as an observer would go unnoticed. My efforts would go to waste and I can't let that happen.
Well, it's not like it's a waste of time here. Surprisingly enough, there's videos and blogs on how to use magic. Naturally, I had to resort them as my learning guides.
No, why would I ask someone for help? What kind of an observer would leave trails of his existence left for everybody to find out? What am I, a scrub?
Most of the videos were fake, no surprises there. But luckily, there's a few where they are actually teaching real life magic. In fact, they even had different branches of magic for newbies to explore. Of course, I went for all of the branches since I'm such a dedicated (read: autistic) larper.
"..jiri-san."
Not to say that there were no problems in the process though. If anything, I had a lot of problem since time is not really on my side. But if there's one thing that I could say that is on my side, it's definitely hard work. After a lot and I meant a LOT of time, I had managed to master a few of my preferred branches.
Unfortunately, just like my previous life, I am an average person so no so-called golden finger for me. Hard work is inferior to talent all the time.
However, there's no rules saying that the fakes can't surpass- I mean, that hard work can't surpass the talent. With enough time, even an average person could beat a talented person.
"...Tajiri-san."
Now you might ask, what magic branch did I pick? Did I choose the destructive path where might equals rights such as the elemental branches and the likes? Did I choose the pacifist/defensive where hurting people is a no-no and instead relies entirely on dodging and tanking? People might say that a good defense is a good offense and I say they're damn right.
But at the same time, having only offense as an option is not a good thing. Imagine this, just as you're about to Kamehameha someone's ass to death, they pulled an Isshin Ashina the Glock Saint and shot you through the chest.
See the problem here? Being a glass cannon is not a viable option unless you can one shot everything, which I can't. But at the same time, being a walking talking tank is not good either since no damage means you're bound to lose, it's just that it's going to take a while to defeat you.
A balance is needed between the two and that's why I picked-
"Hey, Tajiri-san, are you listening to me or not?" Issei asked me as others were in the middle of their introduction.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening to you. You're saying ass is better than boobs right?" Disturbed from my personal daydreaming, I could only respond what I think is the right answer to his question.
"WHAT?! I would never say that! Boobs is a gift given to us by God. Ass is a curse the devil has created to tempt mankind!" He exclaimed, not caring if his shoutings had disturbed others. In fact, it had as some student gave me a look of pity. I had never felt more ashamed.
"Well, if you really think about it, if it's a gift from god then why do we have the need to hide it? You don't see women hiding their asses in beaches. So really, boobs sounds more of a curse than ass is to me," I jokingly spouted some bullshit that would only make sense to a pervert like him and surely enough, he understands it.
He gave me a look that no one has ever given me. A look that practically screams 'you have offended my honor' which, in his perspective, might be the truth.
"Hmmph. From now on, we are mortal enemies, Tajiri Rentarou," and with that, Hyoudou Issei let out a puff and declared me as his mortal enemy. Though, I could sense some relief from him for not treating him like a mental ward patient.
Tajiri Rentarou, the name given to me in this second life. It was given to me by my often absent but still alive parents. Having lived in the city of Kuoh for 15 years, I barely saw them these days.
Am I sad that they are almost always absent from my life? Not really. If anything, I am a bit happy since there's no one stopping me from doing what I want. No parents means no restrictions and I get to roam around achieving what I need.
Zoning out whatever rambles Issei had started out, I began to think about my upcoming plan. To start with, let's talk about High School DxD.
For a mostly ecchi anime, it had a very detailed and interesting world building. One of the things that stuck to me the most is the concept of Peerage.
A concept where devils are almost permanently binded to the whims of a master while they will be branded as a stray devil and hunted down if you decided to rebel? Yeah, it's very interesting to watch but not so interesting to experience.
But it's the part when you are hunted down that I am most focused on. If I remember correctly, stray devils roams across the streets of Kuoh in the midst of nights. The owner of Kuoh at the time, which is Rias and Sona if I remembered correctly, would go on occasional patrol to eliminate those threats.
Let's just say, one day, they found out that someone had been killing stray devils, and this mysterious person had done it in such an efficient way. So of course, they would get a bit anxious and tried to find out who it is.
But they would find nothing. Not a single trail of breadcrumb. Not a single scent of this person. Nothing. They would get more and more anxious. And eventually, when they find out the whereabouts of this person, they would rush there and what do they find?
A lone figure, surrounded by corpses of stray devils, looking straight at them, yet seemingly staring at something else.
Yes, such a perfect set-up. What better way to cement yourself as a legendary rumour rather than the words of the sisters of the literal Devils themselves?
"Hehehe," a low chuckle escaped out of my mouth, not loud enough for others to hear but not silent enough for Issei to not hear me.
"What's wrong?" Issei, who had been talking to me about the location of the Kendo club, asked me.
"It's nothing," I reassured him, though he doesn't look convinced from my answer.
"It's just that I can't wait for tonight," I said to him. Issei looked a bit confused at my answer but decided to just accept it.
It doesn't matter if he understands it or not. After all, tonight will be my first performance. My first art piece. My entrée.
My first appearance as an observer.
***
I stood on top of a building. I scanned the surrounding walkways. I saw salarymen walking towards wherever their home is, promoters and salesmen advocating their services and products while students are coming back from their cram schools. I do not care for them.
I looked down towards the streets. Rows of cars lines up along the busy road, their wipers scraping against the windshields, making a screeching sound. Their tires rolls into puddles, making splashes resulting in smaller puddles. I do not care for them.
I looked up towards the sky. Constellations adorn the pitch black night sky. Along with it, came the rainfall. Pitter patter raindrops hits my face, yet it did not bother me in the slightest bit. Once again, I do not care for them.
I closed my eyes for an unspecified time. Countless seconds passed. Not a single thought remains in my head except for my goals and dreams. Some invasive thoughts tried to push itself in but I. Do. Not. Care.
I opened my eyes. Everything was quiet except for the lessening rain. Not a single soul was nearby except for me. Me and my goal.
I jumped down from the building. I heard a noise from an alleyway.
I head towards it.
My destination. Destiny. Goal. Dream. Fate. Target. Ambition. Purpose. Resolve. Resolution. Objective. Holy grail. Aspiration. Wish. My entire reason for existing. All of it.
I stood in front of the alleyway, sounds of eating rippling from the entryway, yet my legs won't move. Something's stopping me from moving.
My right hand subconsciously moved towards my chest, the area of my heart. It is beating fast. Faster than normal. Faster than it had ever been before. Inside it, an unknown yet faintly familiar feeling blooms.
Is this fear? No, it's not. It's the feeling of excitement. How long has it been since I've felt it? This feeling? 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?
"Hehe," another chuckle came out of my mouth.
It matters not.
I walked forward into the alleyway. Towards my dreams. Where it is still waiting.
After all...
"It's Showtime."