Debt doesn't fall from the sky. It creeps in, slowly and quietly, accumulating like mold.
One unpaid bill at a time, one empty can after another, until you barely notice it has already piled onto your chest.
People at the bottom don't fail because they're unlucky. They fail because they stop moving, stop putting in the work, stop even pretending to fight. They drink to forget they skipped work, gamble to pretend tomorrow might matter, and eventually life stops offering roads and leaves only walls, along with the same empty ceiling staring back at them.
This was Kaiji Ito. Twenty-one years old. Already broken and exhausted. Beer clung to his clothes, his skin, his sweat. The smell had become part of him, like another debt he could never pay. Gambling had long since stopped being fun.
It had become a habit he could not get rid of. A way to feel alive for five minutes before the next wake-up, the next low-paying job, the next reminder that he had no future, no skills, and no luck.
Now he lay on the cold floor, empty beer cans scattered around him like verdicts. His back pressed against cheap linoleum as he stared at a ceiling he hated more than himself. His body felt heavy, not tired, but finished.
Tears slid from the corners of his eyes. There were no sobs, no screams, just leakage, as if even his emotions were done fighting.
'I'm tired.... Tired of counting coins. Tired of waking up disappointed. Tired of being scared of the future and ashamed of the past.' Kaiji thought as he closed his eyes.
But no matter how much he complained, tomorrow wouldn't change for the better.
.
.
.
".....Hey, you there. Can't you see that this elderly woman is having trouble?"
"That's a really crazy question, lady. Why should I offer up my seat? There's no reason for me to do so."
'Hmm.' Kaiji's eyes slowly fluttered open at the strange voices that were clearly audible to him, which was odd since he should have been in his apartment.
'NANI!?' What entered his vision made his eyes shoot open, almost making him jump from his place.
'Where am I?' This was completely different from his apartment. For some unknown reason, he was sitting on a bus full of people.
'What is going on? What is happening?' Kaiji couldn't understand how he had ended up here. He was sure he had fallen asleep in his room, so how had he arrived in this unfamiliar place?
Did he sleepwalk here? How was that possible?
'But what is this? What am I wearing?' Instead of his usual clothes, Kaiji was dressed in a neat uniform, with a small bag resting on his lap.
'Is this a dream? But why does everything feel so real!' Kaiji wanted to believe he was dreaming, but he couldn't. If it were a dream, it would be obvious.
This felt real. Too real for him to accept.
His heart began to race, his breathing turning heavy. He was having a panic attack from the situation.
How could this possibly be explained logically, without involving something supernatural?
Was his twenty-one years of living all a dream, and had he just woken up from a nap? That still doesn't make sense.
Was he kidnapped? That didn't explain it either. Nothing about this situation matched that possibility.
Then Kaiji noticed something else. The uniform he was wearing matched that of several others on the bus who looked like high school students.
Was he a high schooler now? Impossible. Kaiji was twenty-one years old and had never attended school.
'So what the hell is going on?' His hands clenched around the bag on his lap. There was no way for him to understand what was happening.
This was a nightmare.
"You're sitting in a priority seat. It's natural to offer those seats to the elderly."
"I don't understand. Priority seats are simply priority seats. I have no legal obligation to move. Since I'm occupying this seat, I should be the one who decides whether or not I move. Am I supposed to give it up just because I'm young? That reasoning is nonsense."
Kaiji's eyes shifted toward the voices that had first woken him.
Two seat ahead of him sat a young, well-built blond man wearing the same uniform, his hair seemed dyed. He occupied a priority seat. An elderly woman stood beside him, along with another woman who appeared to be an office worker.
"Wh-what kind of attitude is that to take with your superiors?" The young woman demanded.
"Superiors? It's true that both you and the elderly woman have lived longer than I have. There's no denying that. However, the word 'superior' implies a higher position. That creates another issue. Despite the age difference, wouldn't you agree that your attitude is impertinent and extremely rude?" The blond young man smirked.
'What the hell? This guy doesn't talk like a normal high schooler at all.' Kaiji thought. His manner of speaking was closer to someone in authority, talking down to others. He carried himself with confidence and arrogance.
"Wha- You're a high schooler, aren't you?! You should stay quiet and listen to adults!"
"I-it's fine... really..." the elderly woman muttered, trying to calm the situation. She didn't want any further trouble. Despite that, the office worker still looked upset.
"Apparently, this elderly woman is more perceptive than you, which is refreshing. Also, I haven't given up on Japanese society yet. Please enjoy your remaining years."
With that, the young man put in his earphones and began listening to loud music. The office worker clenched her teeth in frustration. She tried to continue arguing, but his smug expression never changed.
'Oi, oi. What the hell is wrong with them?' Kaiji thought. They didn't have tot take it this far.
"Um.... I think the lady is right."
The office worker received unexpected support from someone nearby. A girl wearing the same high school uniform spoke up, offering her opinion.
"And a new challenger appears. A pretty girl, no less. It seems I'm quite fortunate today." The boy said.
"This woman seems to have been suffering for a while now. Won't you give her your seat? Even if you find courtesy unnecessary, I believe it would benefit society."
Crack! The boy snapped his fingers.
"A contribution to society? That's an interesting idea. It's true that giving up one's seat could be viewed positively. Unfortunately, I have no interest in contributing to society. I only care about my own satisfaction. And one more thing. You're asking me, the one in the priority seat, to move. Why not ask one of the others sitting here? If you truly cared about the elderly, then priority seating would be a trivial matter, wouldn't it?"
The boy's haughty attitude remained unchanged. Both the office lady and the elderly woman could only respond with bitter smiles. However, the girl didn't back down.
"Everyone, please listen to me for just a moment. Won't someone give up their seat for this woman? It doesn't matter who. Please."
For a moment, Kaiji's eyes were almost blinded by the warm light the girl seemed to give off. He never expected someone like her to appear, or even exist. Someone so compassionate and kind, pleading on another's behalf.
"Obaasan. You can have my seat." Kaiji suddenly spoke as he stood up, drawing the attention of everyone who had already been focused on the argument.
Despite the stares, Kaiji paid them no mind. His eyes were fixed only on the elderly woman.
"Is that okay?" The elderly woman asked, not wanting to force anyone.
"Mm.. It's fine," Kaiji replied.
"Then, thank you very much, young man!" the elderly woman said gratefully. The office worker smiled and lowered her head slightly in appreciation as she guided the elderly woman to Kaiji's seat.
Kaiji now stood in front of the blond boy, who opened one eye to look at him before closing it again. Kaiji held onto the metal bar above him with his right hand to keep his balance, while his left hand held his bag.
"Phew." Kaiji took a deep breath. His thoughts were a mess.
As things stood, he had no idea how to proceed. This was clearly still Japan, since everyone was speaking the language, but that alone did nothing to calm him down.
'I should get off at the next stop and see where the hell I am-Huh?!' Kaiji planned to get off at the next bus stop to figure things out, but a sudden shock stopped his thoughts entirely.
'This....This is me?' He stared blankly at his reflection in the bus window. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, yet he had no choice but to accept it.
Black eyes, thick slanted eyebrows, and long black hair worn in a mullet with no shaved sides, those features had always been his. But what was different was his face.
'Isn't this.... Isn't this my younger self?' It was baffling. Kaiji was certain he was staring at none other than himself, his fifteen-year-old self.
Is this real? Is this an illusion?
His thoughts drifted back to the elderly woman's words, 'thank you very much, young man'. He had wanted to question the word 'young' since he didn't think so, but now he understood why she had said it.
Even so, Kaiji couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was impossible. How could he go from his older self back to his younger one?
'Who am I kidding? The moment I opened my eyes, everything became impossible.' Kaiji's grip tightened around the steel bar above him. His heart was in turmoil, sweat forming on his face as he tried to process this absurd reality.
"Excuse me? Are you okay?" A feminine voice pulled Kaiji out of his stupor.
"Huh? Y-yeah... I'm alright." Kaiji turned his head, lowering his gaze to match the height difference between them.
It was none other than the girl who had spoken up for the elderly woman.
"Are you really okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." She said, worry clearly masked her face.
"Yeah, I'm completely fine. I just remembered something," Kaiji replied, forcing a slight smile that trembled faintly.
"I'm glad." The girl let out a breath and patted her chest. "I just wanted to thank you for giving your seat to the elderly woman." She looked up at Kaiji with wide, honest eyes.
"Ah, that? It was just my choice." Kaiji answered. He had simply felt bad for the elderly woman, who looked exhausted from standing.
"Hmm, is that so?" The girl thought for a moment before clasping her hands together.
"Then, thank you very much. And judging from your uniform, it seems we'll be attending the same school, so I should introduce myself. My name is Kikyo Kushida, class 1-D." Kushida introduced herself with a bright smile.
"Ah, right.... My name is Kaiji Ito, class-uh." Kaiji instinctively followed along but froze at the end.
'School? Class?' His train of thought halted as the situation fully set in.
There were certain things he could now piece together.
He was clearly part of the same group as these high school students, given the uniform he wore and the fact that his age had reverted to match theirs. At this age, it had to be the start of high school.
But this was where Kaiji hesitated. Should he attend a school he knew nothing about? On the other hand, if he did attend, he might be able to get information about himself from the teachers, beyond just his name.
Because Kaiji doubted whether he was truly the same Kaiji who had lived twenty-one years of life.
Choosing that route was safer than wandering around aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what to do.
So he discarded the idea of getting off at the next stop and decided to go along with what was available to him. The school day would eventually end, and he could leave the school grounds.
In the end, he had nothing to lose.
Still, he would need to gather information from the school, where he lived and who he knew.
It seemed he was being forced to accept this strange phenomenon, something he still couldn't believe.
"Is something wrong?" Kushida asked with a slight frown, snapping Kaiji back to reality.
"Um, I forgot which class I was assigned to." Kaiji said with mild embarrassment, earning a chuckle from the blond boy in front of him.
"Well, at least I got your name, Kaiji-kun. I hope we'll see each other in school." Kushida said with a laugh before returning to her seat.
"Phew." Kaiji let out another deep breath, trying to calm his restless heart. He wanted to do something, anything, to make sense of what was happening, but all he could do was wrestle with his own thoughts.
After several minutes, the bus came to a stop. The students stood one after another and began exiting, Kaiji following along.
Once outside, he looked ahead at a large gate formed from natural rock. Streams of students wearing the same uniform passed through it.
'It seems this is it.' Kaiji adjusted the straps of his bag on his shoulder. Just ahead lay the unknown.
But just as he was about to step forward, a voice stopped him.
"Wait!"
It was a girl's voice coming from the side. She wore the same school uniform, though with a skirt. Her long black hair framed her face, and her red, gradient eyes caused Kaiji to freeze in place.
'What the hell is up with those eyes? Are they even natural?' Kaiji had never seen anything like them. Red eyes shouldn't exist, not here, not anywhere in the world.
"You were looking at me. Why?" Her question was directed at a young man with brown hair and brown eyes that looked lifeless.
"Sorry. I guess I was just interested, that's all. I mean, you didn't think about giving up your seat to the old woman, did you?"
"That's right. I didn't consider giving it up. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Oh, no. Not at all. I didn't intend to give up my seat either. In fact, I firmly abide by the philosophy of letting sleeping dogs lie. I dislike trouble."
"You dislike trouble? Then I don't think you and I are anything alike. I didn't give up my seat because I thought it would be pointless. That's all."
"But doesn't that seem worse than simply not liking trouble?"
"Perhaps. I'm just acting according to my own beliefs. That's different from someone who only dislikes trouble, like you. I don't want to spend any time around people like you."
"I feel the same way."
Kaiji stood there listening to the absurd argument until the end, watching as both the boy and the girl went their separate ways.
'She might be even worse than the blond guy.' Kaiji thought. The reason he felt that way was because of her question. What kind of question was that supposed to be? The boy might have only glanced at her briefly, yet she made an issue out of it.
'Kids these days.' Kaiji shook his head as he passed through the gate.
'It seems I need to find a teacher so I can figure out what class I'm in.' Kaiji thought. Right now, he had nothing.
Inside his bag were only books and pencils, but nothing that could serve as identification for him. There was no food, no water, and not even money, assuming there should be a cafeteria.
Kaiji sighed as he continued walking.
'This place is really big.' He stopped after some minutes and looked around. From the moment he entered the gates to where he now stood, it felt like he had stepped into a completely different world.
It didn't feel or look like a normal school at all. Even though he had never attended one before, he was certain it shouldn't be this lavish.
At this point, he was alone. There were no students in sight.
"Um, kouhai, are you lost? Why aren't you at the entrance ceremony? It's almost finished."
A voice drew Kaiji's attention. Standing there was a teenage girl of average height, with purple hair tied into two buns, bangs hanging over her eyebrows, and peach-brown eyes.
'Kouhai?' Kaiji focused on the word that stood out most. It seemed the girl was a senior.
"Uh.... no. I'm just looking for a teacher to ask something." Kaiji replied, once again struck by something unnatural, the unusual color of the girl's hair which doesn't seem to be dyed. It seemed he would be seeing things like this from now on.
"If you have something to ask or a problem to address, you can ask me. I'm part of the student council." The girl said as she approached him.
"Student council?"
"Yes. My name is Akane Tachibana. I'm a third-year and currently the secretary of the student council." Akane introduced herself.
"My name is Kaiji Ito. I just wanted to ask which class I'm assigned to." Kaiji explained. It seemed he wouldn't need to trouble himself to search for a teacher after all.
"Ah, if that's the case, then follow me." Akane said, nodding in understanding. It was the first time she had encountered someone who didn't know their assigned class, but it was still her duty to help a kouhai in need.
Kaiji nodded and followed her, passing through the entrance building, moving from one hallway to another, then from one staircase to the next. The place felt like a maze.
They eventually arrived at the destination. Akane opened the door and entered, with Kaiji following closely behind.
"What is it, Akane?" A firm voice sounded as the person behind the desk noticed them.
"Kaichou, this kouhai wants to know which class he's in." Akane explained, gesturing toward Kaiji, who looked at the man seated behind the desk.
He was well-built, with short black hair, square-rimmed glasses, and eyes with a color gradient, identical to the girl who had caused the small commotion at the gates.
The man looked at Kaiji, who flinched slightly under his gaze.
'What the hell?! Is this guy really a student?' Kaiji exclaimed internally. The aura, the presence, it was unlike anything he had ever felt from a single person, much less a student. Even those eyes alone made him feel intense pressure.
"I'm the student council president, Horikita Manabu. Third year." Manabu said briefly.
"Kaiji Ito." Kaiji replied, forcing himself not to shy away from those piercing eyes.
Manabu nodded and took out several files, flipping through them.
"Hmm." After a minute, Manabu frowned as he stopped at a particular document.
"How strange." He muttered. His words were heard by both Akane and Kaiji, but caused Kaiji's heart to race.
"You're assigned to Class D." Manabu said, looking at Kaiji.
'Class D? The same as that girl.' Kaiji recalled Kushida and the class she mentioned at the buss.
"Thank you." Kaiji said quickly, turning around and wanting nothing more than to escape the room.
"Wait." Manabu's voice rang out, freezing Kaiji in place.
"It would be better for Akane to guide you to your classroom, since there's no one else around to do so." Manabu suggested, looking at Akane, who nodded without hesitation.
Kaiji nodded as well and followed Akane once more.
"Kaiji Ito.... what a peculiar student," Manabu muttered, looking at the document again. Despite listing everything about Kaiji, it revealed nothing. From the results alone, Manabu questioned how someone like this kouhai had even been accepted.
.
.
.
"And we're here. Class 1-D." Akane said, pointing at the door. A small sign beside it read Class 1-D. Students were already arriving and entering.
"Thank you very much." Kaiji said sincerely. He was grateful to this Senpai for guiding him all the way here. The route was so complex that he couldn't even remember how they had arrived.
"If you have any other problems, you can always ask the student council." Akane said with a nod, offering advice before turning and leaving.
"Understood." Kaiji replied. It seemed he had gained someone he could rely on if he ever found himself in trouble.
Kaiji walked to the classroom door and entered. He scanned the room, which was already occupied by several students. He immediately recognized three of them, the blond boy sitting with his legs on the table, and at the back, the two who had argued at the gate, the black-haired girl and the brown-haired boy.
By chance, when his gaze fell on the brown-haired boy, he noticed the seat directly in front of the boy bearing his nameplate.
Kaiji walked to his seat and sat down with a long sigh, placing his bag on the floor beneath him.
Only minutes had likely passed, yet to Kaiji it felt like he had just worked an entire nine-to-five shift. He was mentally exhausted from all the stress he had gone through on the bus and up until now.
He leaned forward onto the desk, resting his head on one hand as he looked out the window beside him.
Watching the birds flying through the cloudless blue sky, a sense of peace washed over him. Maybe this new life he was about to experience wasn't so bad after all.
Even though he still had worries, they couldn't compare to the worries of his other self.
'I'll see how things turn out, since that's the only thing I can do right now.' Kaiji accepted the absurd and supernatural situation he was tolerated to. He only needed to live differently from how he had before, which was already a hundred times better.