Lloyd (M), the passionate battle harem anime enthusiast.

It was decidedly NOT a day like any other. No, today was a special day. One that I had been waiting for over three years now. Leaving work an hour early had been risky, and even though I’d successfully snuck out without any of my superiors noticing I wasn’t naive enough to think I wouldn’t pay for it tomorrow. But that was tomorrow’s problem, and wasn’t anywhere near dissuading me. I had to get home by three o’clock to make the online premiere, so that’s what I was gonna do no matter what got in my way. Such was the excuse for my mistake.

Going along at a pace near to a run, it wasn’t surprising that I was getting a lot of a questioning looks from people. Not that I thought much of it, they’d look away and never think again about it so why should I be concerned. I was paying too little attention though, focused too much on getting through the crowds of people in front of me rather than my surroundings. Rudely shoving through a stationary bunch I entered empty space. I had just enough time to blink in surprise before I heard a loud honk, and the world splintered.

My vision went spinning even as it fractured amidst the lightning flashes of pain that lanced through me. A weightless feeling overtook my body, eclipsed though it was by the pain that dominated my world. Ground slammed into me with a dull thud that made a strangled breathy sound escape me. I couldn’t move, but the world was still spinning somehow. Trying to sit up made something shift in my right leg like I’d never felt anything move before and I gave up immediately. A low rush of air was all I could hear, and the colors that were moving across my vision made no sense.

Slowly the color began to fade away as a blackness crept in along the edges of my vision. Fast rhythmic thumping replaced the muted sound in my ears. A thumping that was quickly slowing.

‘Oh.’ A thought suddenly broke through the stunned haze in my mind. ‘I’m dying.’ My mind remained remarkably calm as the revelation hit me. After a moment I located my head, and managed to turn it to the side. When the colors stopped blurring after another few seconds I could make out the bumper of a truck not too far away. Or was it very far away? I had no idea.

‘Truck-kun, of course. That makes sense.’ Thoughts came slowly, with an bizarrely detached feeling that I felt should worry me.

*BA-BUMP*...*BA-BUMP*....*Ba-Bump*.....*Ba-bump*

That familiar comfortable sound was slowing down more and more. It was lulling me to sleep, and I closed my eyes to rest. A spark of something flashed across my mind, I’d forgotten something.

*ba-bump*......*ba-bump*

Oh yeah, I was rushing home. Why? It was important, wasn’t it?

*ba-bump*......

No, probably not.

......

......

......

‘THE SERIES FINALE OF ‘Battle Oppai!’ AIRS TODAY! The two hour OVA special that’s meant to finish the series which was canceled three years ago! How did Yuuya escape the Demon Realm!? What’s the secret that Azuki has been hiding since the Behemoth Tournament Arc?! Will Tadashi really commit to the harem ending that Liluka has been pushing him towards?! I have to know! I HAVE TO KNOW!’

*BA-BUMP!*

“I HAVE TO KNOOOOOOOOW!” My eyes snapped wide open as clarity burned through my mind. I sat up, minding the ribs I could feel were broken but wincing regardless.

“Oh my god he’s alive! Tell them to hurry!” The people around me were hectic with all sorts of reactions. At least half a dozen were filming with their phones, as a man just a foot or two away was talking into his phone about how I’d just sat up. He was probably talking to 911, but I didn’t have the time for that.

‘The premiere! I’m gonna miss it!’ Cold panic rushed through me at that, chilling the burning pain that was threatening to push me under once again. Gritting my teeth, I got the leg I could move under me and pushed up to an awkward standing position in a single fast motion. I clenched my teeth, willing the world to stop spinning and blurring around me.

“Woah! What are you doing, stay down!” The closest man cautioned.

“He’s nuts! What a beast!” A loud laugh came from somewhere on my left, but I didn’t bother to look. I just started hopping forward toward my home, toward the conclusion I’d been desperately waiting for for the last three years! Towards the characters I loved more than any real world individual! Towards the adventure of love and passion that had defined my teenage years so powerfully!

Heading forwards with passion burning in my-

*~o0o Somewhere Else o0o~*

I stood in front of a reception desk. Behind which sat a beautiful young woman who smiled politely with her head slightly tilted in a cute manner. She had flawless pale skin, contrasted starkly by the long pitch black hair that she had up in pigtails. A perfectly tailored suit clung to her generous figure, the material as pitch black as her hair. I found my eyes roaming all over her in stunned appreciation for her beauty as much as from the shock. Her mouth opened to speak and I couldn’t help but to stare at the warm pink of her lips.

“Welcome to the Afterlife! We hope you’ll enjoy your stay! Now I know you must be very confused at the moment, so won’t you follow me to-”

“But I was alive.” The words escaped me suddenly, not quite feeling like I was the one who said them. My brain was floundering, and I could only imagine that my expression was the facial equivalent of a ‘Gone out to Lunch’ sign.

“That’s right.” The woman spoke politely, with the tone of a person who was used to explaining the same thing over and over to rather dull people. “You were alive, but then you died. Which is how you found yourself here in the Afterlife. So if you would-”

“No I mean... I definitely think I died for a second there... but then I got up didn’t I? I was walking when I showed up here.” The woman’s polite smile faltered as she suddenly looked down at a number of papers on her desk. I could only stare blankly, the feeling of ridiculous impossibility numbing the quiet unease that was creeping up on me.

“No sir, I’m afraid you definitely died. The truck that hit you did quite a number on you. It says right here that you went into shock and your heart stopped.” She looked up with the polite smile returned as though everything was solved and went to speak again only to be cut off once more.

“That’s right, and then I got up.” I quietly protested, causing her to again falter as she looked as the papers in front of her.

“I... don’t see how that could be the case. You clearly...” She frowned, trailing off as she lifted a certain paper to scan it over. Her eyes widened slightly and she moved her chair over a few feet, starting to type at a computer that I hadn’t noticed until now. A minute passed as I continued to stare dumbly. Finally I heard some sound begin to play from the computer.

“Oh my god he’s alive! Tell them to hurry!”

“Woah! What are you doing, stay down!”

“He’s nuts! What a beast!”

As the familiar sound of the scene that had just played out rang out from the speakers, the receptionist went even paler until her skin was literally white as paper.

“Oh no...” The sound escaped her as a breathy whisper.

“What?” I asked, a strange sort of strain entering my voice. She turned to look at me with a mild look of surprise, like she’d forgotten I was here.

“I...” She swallowed, seemingly gathering her courage as she looked me right in the eyes with her own brilliant amethyst ones. “I seem to have made a mistake.”