Volume One: We'll reclaim your heartbeat!
Chapter One: The Extraordinary Being Named Ash
When the devastating power of annihilating stardust kicked him in the waist, causing his black armor and the flesh inside to vanish together, Ash found himself sinking into familiar darkness and emptiness.
Unable to speak, see, or even think—devoid of the very concept of thought—his entire existence seemed to merge into the boundless void. This is the essence of human death.
Normally, this would be the ultimate answer that humans obtain at the end of their lives. However, as previously mentioned, there are circumstances that deviate from the norm.
Ash, a human named so, is slightly different from an ordinary person. Due to the existence of a system called "The System," he became an "undead" who is reborn in other worlds after death. He is not allowed to die so easily.
Because of this unique trait, he has become intimately familiar with death itself.
Taking off the melted fist covering on the back of his hand and removing the belt from his waist, which looked even more miserable, the spinning dial constantly emitted sparks, and the slot that held the props was covered in melted material. The control joystick on the right side, used for unleashing finishing moves and transformations, had snapped in two.
Apart from two black bottles inside and the red trigger on top that could still be reused, the rest of it was in a state that would make its creator shake their head and consider it as nothing more than junk sold for a few coins per kilogram.
While pondering what else he could do with this scrap metal and whether there is a junk collection vehicle in the afterlife, a few transparent panels jumped into his line of sight at the right time.
[Blizzard Gauntlets] (Status: Damaged)
[Build Driver] (Status: Damaged)
[Confirmation: Inability to continue due to host's death. Initiating mission settlement.]
[Settlement in progress... Confirmation: Collected "Dark Echo." Your rating in the "Kamen Rider Build" world is: [A]! You have obtained one lottery ticket.]
Without even considering the rewards and details provided by the system, Ash waved his hand in a dismissive manner as if swatting a fly, dispersing the panels like blowing away dust. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.
"So what if it sneaked up on me and broke its evolution trigger several episodes ahead, only to kick me into a black hole? Snakes are truly petty creatures."
Compared to cold-blooded snakes, he still preferred rabbits.
However, being able to witness the astonished expression of an extraterrestrial snake-skin monster, betrayed unexpectedly but within the bounds of reason, brought endless laughter. If he thought that way, he could defect to the side of the snake-skin monster, fight alongside the protagonist group for several episodes, and not feel at a loss.
With a flick of his wrist, Ash threw the scrap iron towards a certain furious figure swinging a scythe. "Go away, you can't take anything from me." Shortly after driving away the disappointed reaper responsible for harvesting souls, Ash once again felt a detachment as if his soul was separating.
[Initiating teleportation. Confirmed new world: "do....]
"Is it starting again? This time it's really fast," a voice sounded resigned yet tinged with a hint of anticipation.
"I hope this time's hero can make my heart beat even more."
In the corridors of Oogai 1st Middle School, two girls in school uniforms were searching left and right for something.
"Nowadays, there are rumors all over the school that books in the library are flying around, and the statues of Chopin and Mozart in the music room have come to life and started playing together!"
"There are also rumors about buckets and mops flying around. Could it be that thing about Hanako in the restroom?"
"That's right! I heard even Yarao-sensei from Class 3 was scared!"
Young students are always powerless against rumors that sound supernatural. They were now excitedly discussing the paranormal phenomena that had turned the entire school upside down.
Whenever the two girls passed by the discussion scene, an awkward expression would appear on their faces. They would quickly tiptoe and escape as if they were doing something sneaky.
"Mana, it's not here!"
Hishikawa Rikka, a blue-haired girl with glasses exuding an air of intelligence that made her look like the child prodigy next door, remembered that the headache started with an incident.
"Ah, where did Aii-chan go!"
(TN: I just want to say that i'm going to use Japanese name and term not the English one )
Aida Mana, a 14-year-old girl known to others as "Mana," also looked anxious. Earlier, they were entrusted with taking care of a baby named "Aii-chan" who violated the principles of mammalian reproduction by hatching from an egg. It was enough to make Darwin drop dead on the spot. But because students cannot go against their nature, bringing a baby to class was unrealistic. So they had to entrust other "people" to take care of Aii-chan. As you can imagine, the care was far from perfect, and now the whole school was being turned upside down by the magically empowered lost baby.
Aichan was not an ordinary baby, after all. Ordinary babies don't hatch from eggs, and they definitely don't grow transparent wings
Setting aside all that, both Mana and Rikka loved the adorable Aii-chan. Furthermore, Aii-chan had saved their lives with its magical abilities. How could they not be worried now that they had lost it?
Hearing the conversation of the two troubled girls, three plush-like "Fairy" of various colors slowly floated out of their pockets, looking a little down
They were the ones who volunteered to help take care of Aii-chan, and in the end, they successfully lost it.
"We're sorry. It's our fault for not taking good care of Aii-chan, Sharuru..."
"No, it's not your fault, Sharurun."
Ai-chan opened her arms gently and embraced the fairies. "I was the one originally responsible for taking care of Aii-chan. I later asked you for help. How can I blame you? If anyone is at fault, it's me, and I can't escape that responsibility!"
(TN: in case you notice Ai is the main protag while Aii-chan is the small fairy/creature )
"Mana~"
Upon hearing Ai-chan's words, the fairies' round eyes quickly shimmered with a moist gleam, filled with emotion.
"And more importantly than blaming ourselves here, now the most important thing is to find Aii-chan. Let's all look for her together!"
"Well, Mana, have you found any place where Aii-chan might be?"
Rikka pushed up her glasses, flashing an eerie light, and promptly poured a bucket of cold water. The movements and expression on Ai's face froze instantly, and the smile on her face towards Rikka turned into an awkward apology.
"Hehe, not yet... Ah, found her!" Just as she was saying halfway, the girl's tone suddenly changed, and her eyes sparkled as she pointed in a direction.
"What? You're kidding!"
Rikka quickly followed Ai's pointing finger and saw the scene as well.
Standing near the flower bed near the school's sports field was a person who didn't match the school's style at all. He wore a handsome black vest, with the collar slightly open, neither looking like a student nor a teacher or any other staff member.
The young man had short hair and a calm gaze, looking at the baby in his arms that giggled when he poked its face with his finger. It was Aii-chan, the one they had been searching for.
"Ah, Aii-chan!"
"Kyupi~" Upon hearing Ai's call, Ai-chan flapped the transparent wings behind her and flew into the arms of the girl, rubbing her soft little face affectionately.
"Really, you had us so worried~" Although her tone carried some complaints, the joy of being reunited made the girl hold Ai-chan tighter.
"Thank you for helping us find Aii-chan!"
Relieved, Rikka also quickly expressed her gratitude to the man in front of them. The man retracted the ringed hand from his chest back into his pocket and responded in an indifferent tone.
"Not much, she just happened to fly over to my side, and I happened to catch her."
"Mmm, Onii-san is really kind!"
(TN: my inner cringe cannot bear using big brother so I will use Onii-san)
"Mana, you can't casually give out the 'Good Man card'."
Rikka reminded Ai with a slightly embarrassed expression, but when she saw the adorable Ai-chan in Ai's arms, she couldn't help but show a look of being charmed.
"Thank you for helping, ~charl!!"
"It's great that everything turned out fine, Lancel~"
"We mustn't be so careless next time, ~quel!!"
Influenced by the atmosphere, the three spirits, Sharuru, Raquel, and Lance, who had peculiar catchphrases, happily surrounded Ai-chan and started spinning around. While Rikka was also enjoying this joy, a strange gaze from behind instantly woke her up.
"Uh, uh?"
No, no, no! Rikka suddenly realized that something was off, and her eyelids trembled slightly.
How can you all just casually come out like this? There are other regular people here too! If they see the fairies—oh, no, even seeing Aii-chan with wings on her back would be shocking enough!
But this gentleman seems to be completely oblivious.
Ash's gaze shifted slightly towards the direction of the spirits. Only now did these three fluffy fairy , who were late to realize that there was also an outsider present, quickly pretended to be dolls and clung to Ai and Rikka's shoulders.
Of course, it was already too late to do so now. Ash wasn't an alien, so naturally, he noticed these unscientific "toys" right away, but he didn't intend to expose their poor disguise.
Instead of asking questions and making everyone awkward, it was better to keep quiet and figure out what was going on first.
With a somewhat stiff turn, Rikka coincidentally met the man's gaze.
"Um..."
Rikka hadn't had a chance to explain anything yet when the man spoke first.
"You're students at this school, right?"
"That's right. Onii-san, you don't seem to be from Oogai 1st Middle School, right?"
Ai looked at the somewhat handsome face of the other person, and beneath the pitch-black
bangs were eyes of the same color. The two girls began to speculate about the person's background and age in their minds. Judging solely from appearance, he seemed to be a college or high school student, and his clothes didn't look like those of a teacher or staff member. If it was a service staff member like a café waiter…
"No, I'm definitely not a middle school student." Ai and Rikka received his reply as they silently confirmed their guess to some extent.
"But it's better not to use 'Onii-san' to call me. My name is Ash, just call me Ash." Ash, who had forgotten his actual age, was a little unaccustomed to this kind of address. It was the first time he had been called by such an intimate honorific title like an elder.
"Ash-san, nice to meet you. I'm Aida Manadesu, the student council president of Oogai 1st Middle School!"
"I'm Rikka Hishikawa, a friend of Ai. Nice to meet you."
After the self-introductions, both sides exchanged their names.
"But, Ash-san, is that name foreign? I've never met a foreigner before. Please let us become friends so that I can have a foreign friend!"
"Wait, Ai! It's too impolite to be like this when we first meet!"
Ai, who had been staring at Ash all this time, became even more interested and curious after hearing his name. She handed over the quiet Ai-chan in her arms to Rikka, who was about to start lecturing, and couldn't suppress her desire to be friends with Ash. With sparkling eyes, Ai reached out her hand to Ash.
She's such an interesting girl, reminding me of the red ones in those Sentai teams.
Looking at the radiant smile on the girl's face, along with the peculiar Aii-chan and the doll fairies, Ash basically confirmed his suspicions.
So you and the girl next to you are the heroes of this world? Well then, let me see.
Ash, who was silently contemplating in his heart, didn't become dumbfounded. He looked down at Ai's delicate, smooth, and white-as-jade palm and extended his own hand, which Ai eagerly grabbed and shook a few times.
"Hehe, since we shook hands, we're friends now!"
"Before that, there's something I want to ask you." Without directly responding to Ai's enthusiasm, Ash pointed towards Ai-chan in Rikka's arms. "It seems like you're looking for this child. Are you the one taking care of her?"
"No, I'm her mom's caretaker, right, Aii-chan?"
Without feeling that anything was wrong, Ai lifted up Aii-chan and openly admitted it amidst the latter's happy "~kyupi~kyupi" sounds.
"In that case, that's quite something..."
Suddenly, Ash switched to a serious expression, bent down, and faced Ai. His pitch-black eyes, like the night sky, stared fixedly at the girl's face, to the point where even the usually enthusiastic Ai felt embarrassed and turned her head away, her cheeks reddening.
"W-What's wrong?"
W-Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden? Is there something on my face? Although Ash-san is handsome, it's weird to keep staring at someone's face like this, right?
"You're a middle school student, around 14 or 15 years old, right?"
"You're so young and already have a child, and you even brought her to school." Ash straightened his body, completely ignoring the abnormal expression on the blue-haired girl's face, and continued, "That's quite something. Middle school students nowadays are so open-minded in their activities, huh?"
After saying that, he nodded repeatedly, as if he had learned a lot.
"What do you mean by 'quite something'?"
"I don't know~charl. Does it mean that Mana takes good care of little Ai?"
"Is that so~quell?"
Due to the abrupt change in topic, even the usually sharp-minded Ai found herself pondering the meaning along with the two little fairies on her shoulder.
However, there was one person who caught on.
Rikka, with her unwavering determination, forcefully inserted herself between Ai and Ash. "Whoa-whoa-whoa!" After being lost in thought for a while, Rikka suddenly grasped Ash's intention, and her fair and delicate face turned red in an instant.
She loudly exclaimed incoherently, "No, no! What weird things are you saying? Mana is definitely not that kind of person! Talking about children and all, what are you saying to a middle school girl?!"
(Just to make sure everyone understand there are no romance between MC and all FMC...... its so obvious)
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