Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The walk to the station turned out to be more dangerous than I thought.
Noah sat at the table with his full attention locked on the TV.
’I’m inside the anime.’
He repeated the thought several times.
’I’m inside the anime.’
It was hard to believe.
He had died, woken up in someone else’s body, and was now sitting inside the world of his favorite series.
Noah slowly lowered his gaze to his breakfast.
’This is... incredible!’
The anime’s ending had been awful.
He still remembered Yume disappearing and Luna crying alone among the rubble.
But now he was there.
In the same world. In the same city.
Noah felt a rush of excitement.
A massive rush of excitement.
’I’m going to see them!’
He was going to see Yume and Luna in the flesh.
It was as if someone had taken an impossible fantasy and turned it into reality.
A smile spread across his face.
The brown-haired woman watched him.
"Looks like you’re finally awake."
Noah snapped back to reality.
"Yeah!"
The black-haired woman set the newspaper down on the table.
"Good."
The brown-haired one stood up.
"It’s almost time to head out."
Noah nodded, finished his breakfast, and got to his feet.
’I have so many questions, but I’d better not ask them, I’ll come across as completely insane...’
Better to observe first.
While he was thinking that, the brown-haired woman opened a nearby drawer, pulled something out, and handed it to him.
Noah took it automatically.
"What is this...?"
He blinked at the object.
It was a small pepper spray canister.
"..."
The brown-haired woman smiled.
"Just in case."
Noah looked at the pepper spray again.
"Just in case of what?"
The black-haired one answered without looking up.
"In case someone tries to do something bad to you."
Noah went still.
The brown-haired one nodded.
"Lately, girls have been getting way too bold with boys."
"Don’t go off on your own through quiet areas."
"And if a strange woman tries to take you somewhere, run, then call the police."
Noah’s excitement took a direct hit.
’What the hell is wrong with this world?’
A few minutes ago he’d been picturing meet-cutes with magical girls.
Now he was holding pepper spray.
The black-haired one pointed toward the door.
"Ava will walk with you."
The girl who had woken him up was already waiting.
"Don’t be late, okay?"
Noah slipped the pepper spray into his pocket.
He still wasn’t sure whether to take the warnings seriously.
Though, judging by how everyone was acting...
He probably should.
They left the house.
The morning air was pleasant.
Several people walked along the streets.
Most of them were women.
Noah was starting to notice it now that he understood the situation.
Men were rare.
Very rare.
Ava walked beside him in silence.
Noah took the opportunity to look around.
’I’m really here.’
Everything looked normal, nothing like a dangerous world or a society on the brink of a demographic crisis.
It just felt like any ordinary city.
While he was thinking that, he sensed something approaching.
He looked down.
Ava was trying to take his hand. On instinct, Noah pulled away.
Ava stopped and looked at him.
"What are you doing?"
Noah blinked.
"Huh?"
"You pulled your hand away."
"Well..."
He didn’t know how to answer.
Ava crossed her arms.
"Are you seriously getting a big head just because you’re starting high school?"
"No... it wasn’t like that..."
"Then stop acting weird."
Noah felt confused.
Ava sighed.
"I’m doing it for your safety."
"My safety?"
"Obviously."
She said it like it was the most self-evident thing in the world.
"Boys who aren’t careful tend to end up kidnapped."
Noah froze.
"What?"
"They get snatched and trafficked. I’m guessing that’s not how you want to end up, right?"
"..."
"..."
Noah stared at her for several seconds, but Ava looked completely serious, she wasn’t joking.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of exaggeration.
She was simply describing an everyday problem.
’Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this world!?’
Five seconds later, Noah held out his hand.
Ava took it immediately and they started walking again.
The problem surfaced almost at once.
Noah had never held a girl’s hand in his previous life, so the situation was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.
He tried to look straight ahead and ignore it, but it didn’t work.
He could feel Ava’s hand in his the entire time.
’This is so weird.’
Ava seemed perfectly at ease, and Noah was the only one affected.
They walked several blocks.
The silence grew heavier and heavier, at least for Noah, until the station finally came into view.
Noah felt a wave of relief.
They went inside along with the other commuters.
Ava let go of his hand and Noah felt like he could breathe again.
’I never thought holding a girl’s hand could be that stressful.’
Ava pointed to a specific area.
"Your train comes in over there."
Noah looked at the sign and tried to memorize it.
"Got it."
Ava nodded, then glanced down at her own hand and grimaced.
"I’m going to go wash up."
Noah looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because your hands sweat like crazy."
"..."
And she walked off.
Noah stood there alone.
’How rude.’
He waited near the platform.
The station was fairly busy, but something caught his eye.
He’d expected most people to be women, that part didn’t surprise him. What he hadn’t expected was that the men had a separate area, almost like a protective enclosure, cordoned off from the women.
Inside, the number of men was still very small.
Several minutes passed and Noah started glancing around.
Ava still hadn’t come back.
’She’s taking a while.’
He looked toward the restrooms.
No sign of her.
’I wonder if something happened to her.’
The thought crossed his mind for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it.
Ava seemed more than capable of taking care of herself.
Besides, she probably knew this station far better than he did.
A chime announced an incoming train.
Noah looked up, it was his.
He glanced one more time in the direction Ava had gone.
No sign of her.
’Alright then.’
He wasn’t about to miss his train, so he moved to board.
That’s when he noticed another odd detail: there was a men-only car.
Noah looked at the sign, then at the interior.
’Now that I think about it...’
He’d never seen that in the anime, but it made sense.
It was probably one of those details that simply didn’t matter to the story. After all, the anime was about magical girls, not public transit.
He stepped inside and found the car nearly empty.
He did a quick count, there were barely ten people, including himself.
Noah took a seat by the window, his mind working through a lot at once.
He had reincarnated into an anime where men got kidnapped, where you had to carry pepper spray, and where there were dedicated train cars just for guys.
’I need to get used to this fast.’
He watched the scenery through the window.
The city began to drift by slowly as the train picked up speed.
Noah leaned his head back against the seat.
’At least, with a little luck, I’ll get to see them...’
He thought of Yume and Luna.
A smile crept across his face.
Unlike in the original anime, he knew the story, the important events, the ending, all of it, and that meant he had an enormous advantage.
’This time, everything will go right.’
His plan was simple.
Find Yume and Luna.
Observe.
Don’t interfere.
And enjoy watching the romance unfold the way it was supposed to.
There was no way something that straightforward could go wrong.
Absolutely no way.
Noah smiled with total confidence.
With no idea whatsoever that the disaster had already begun, and he hadn’t even made it to school yet.
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