One-Person Chase Draft Playback Factory ⑮ 'I'm Living My 8th Life'

[1st Life]

Beep beep beep beep
My phone alarm went off and I woke up.

Half-asleep, I headed to the bathroom with a toothbrush in my mouth. My mother used to tell me, 'Stop brushing your teeth in the bathroom!' But old habits die hard. I sat on the toilet to do my business, then washed my face at the sink. Breakfast was toast and coffee. As I chewed, I gradually woke up, and I used the last sip of coffee to psych myself up. It was a morning exactly like any other.

Alright! Time to work hard again today!

My workplace is a 30-minute bike ride from home. I take the bus on rainy days, but it looks like the weather will be fine today.

'I'm off,' I muttered in the empty entryway. This, too, was just another morning habit.

Exactly ten minutes after leaving the house, I was crushed by a dump truck that appeared in front of me. Age at death: 28. How anticlimactic.

[2nd Life]

Beep beep beep beep
My phone alarm went off and I woke up.

Half-asleep, I head to the bathroom with a toothbrush in my mouth.

Suddenly, it hit me.
Wait, didn't I just get hit by a huge car?

Was it a dream?

I remember the pain being way too real for a dream. When I rolled up my pajama hem, sure enough, there were the painful-looking scars from the treatment. So it really wasn't a dream. If that's the case, what is this? Did time rewind before the accident happened again? No, no, since the injury marks are there, I should say I'm repeating it again rather than it rewinding.

Isn't this that time leap thing you see in manga and movies? I don't know for sure, though. If so, going to work like yesterday would be bad.
Should I change the time or take the bus?
No, that was a close call. It's all a trick question. The only choice here is to stay home! If I don't leave the house, it's no problem, right?

While relaxing at home playing games, I accidentally fell asleep. In the meantime, a fire broke out in the apartment below, and in an instant, my room was completely burned down. Died at 28. How anticlimactic.

[3rd Life]

Beep beep beep beep
My phone alarm went off and I woke up.

Half-asleep, I head to the bathroom with a toothbrush in my mouth.

Suddenly, it hit me.
Wait, I got roasted in a fire, didn't I?

When I close my eyes, I can almost smell my own body burning and hear the sound of the room collapsing.

I instinctively run to the washroom and look in the mirror.

I knew it. The painful burn scars are still clearly visible on my face.

I see. So staying home won't work either. The fact that the cause isn't fixed means I could be targeted from anywhere. What should I do? Where can I go to escape this bad ending? That's it. I'm smart! A crowd. If I'm in a place with lots of people, I'll surely be safe. There's no one else with such a ridiculous fate, right?

I hurriedly got ready to go out, dutifully called my company to take a day off, jumped on my bicycle, and headed to a nearby shopping mall. While I was taking photos of a Fallen Angel Moe☆Kyun figure with an ecstatic expression in a hobby shop I hadn't visited in a while, I felt a pain in my side and collapsed. I hadn't noticed because I was so absorbed, but it seems I was stabbed with a knife by a crazed slasher who suddenly appeared. Age at death: 28... oh, forget it!!

[4th Life]

Beep
As soon as my phone alarm starts ringing, I wake up and stand up.

I've finally started to understand. The round eyes of the fallen angel Moe-Kyun looking down at me as I collapsed are burned into my brain. I looked at my side and saw a new wound. I see. So, being in a crowded place doesn't mean I can avoid it. Oh. I've got it. Traffic accidents, fires, random attackers. The cause of everything so far has been people. That's it. Maybe I'll be safe if I go somewhere where there are no people.

Two hours later, I was climbing a mountain. I regret my lack of stamina from playing games all the time. I can't understand the feelings of people who like mountain climbing at all. Isn't it more fun to just relax at home and play games? Wait, why am I doing this again? As I thought that and looked up at the sky, I was surprised by a sky color I had never seen before. Hmm? Red? It's still morning, so why... No, more importantly than that

What is that!?

A large mass of red-black shimmering matter, what you'd call a meteorite, fell from the sky. Hey, hey, NASA, the Self-Defense Forces, the Earth Defense Force, anyone, please help me! My thoughts were in vain, and I died at the age of 28. The mountain was gouged out, leaving a huge crater. Good grief.

[5th Life]

Crowds are no good. Escaping to the mountains is no good. It seems there is some great entity that will come to erase me even if it has to destroy the Earth. I'm tired now. Have I already repeated today five times? I don't want to think about anything.

I aimlessly walked out the front door in my pajamas. I sat on the small five-step staircase in the entrance and fiddled with my smartphone. Moe-Kyun is truly the best. Should I go buy a figure? No, no, I was stabbed doing that earlier. Then, should I go see the currently showing 'Theatrical Version: Fallen Angel Moe-Kyun - I'll Make Everyone My Captive with Moe-Moe Power'? No, no, I've already seen it five times, and I can't become any more of a captive than I already am—didn't I just become a God-Captive the other day? (I played that game by myself).

Whoosh!

An unfamiliar sound broke into my pleasant mental conference.

What was that?

When I looked up, a black dot was floating in the air.
As I stared at the black dot, it opened its vulgar mouth wide, forming a large, round circle.

Hee-hee-heeeeee!!!

This time, it was a sound I clearly recognized. Well, I'd never heard the real thing, but it was the neighing of a horse, the kind you often hear in period dramas. Or rather, it came out. Huh? What came out? A horse. A horse and a Sengoku warrior in armor riding on its back.

Bloodlust.

A sensation I felt for the first time in my life.
I couldn't move my body even a millimeter. Completely frozen, I was helpless as the Sengoku warlord, whose name I didn't even know, sliced me in two. Age at death: 28.

[6th Loop]

Are you serious? Anything goes? I never expected a warlord to time-travel into a world where time-leaping happens. Wait, is this okay? Isn't the Time Police going to be super busy? I don't know much about it, but it feels like they're breaking all sorts of temporal laws, right? And in the first place, do warlords just cut down everything that appears in front of them? You should think a little bit. Seriously. You're way too much of a muscle-head.

Sigh. I'm so done.
No matter what I do, the result never changes.
In fact, the pain and scars remain every single time. I'm about to die from the pain soon. If the ending isn't going to change, I might as well enjoy today to the fullest.

I went back to my room, clutched the 50,000 yen I had carefully hidden in my dresser, and headed for the red-light district. The place I wanted to visit most at the end of my life! That's right. This was the goal all along.

I managed to find a shop open from the morning and loudly told the receptionist my preferences.
I want someone who looks like Misaki Ito, over 170cm tall. Slender but with big breasts, and a small butt would be nice. And above all, please give me a devoted girl who is good at talking!!

Understood.

And what came out was indeed a huge middle-aged woman over 170cm tall (no, wait, maybe she was over 180cm?). Heh heh heh. For a virgin, this is within the expected range—actually, it's a great result. Now, let's enjoy the best hour and a half! Let's party!!

At that moment, the ceiling and walls of the room collapsed like a sketch from a Drifters comedy, and the entire area returned to nothingness in a blinding light. Apparently, just as I was entering the shop, a missile carrying a nuclear warhead was launched from a neighboring country. Age at death: 28. Died a virgin. The end.

[7th Loop]

By now, I've reached a state of resignation. I wasn't aware of it, but I guess I should have accumulated more merit over these 28 years. It's true that I've spent my time lazily without being useful to anyone in particular. Fine. I'll do something good today. Come to think of it, I've heard that picking up trash improves your luck. I don't think luck matters on the last day of my life, but I'll pick it up anyway. Let's do that.

While picking up trash with all my might, I unconsciously walked down the path I usually take to work. Then, as I reached a certain intersection, the moment I thought 'Oh no,' a large dump truck was right in front of me. Age at death: 28. This is the same thing I did the first time.

[8th Life]

Let me calm down and observe my surroundings once more.
It's true that I've been spending every morning the same way for a long time. If I were to change something...

Ah! The TV? I hardly ever watch it, but the M-1 Grand Prix the day before yesterday was interesting. Evers were funny, too. It's a shame. Wait? What's the date today? The 24th? Christmas Eve? Evers' routine? Huh, what is this uneasy feeling?

I thought for a while and finally remembered.
That's right, exactly 10 years ago, on Christmas Eve before graduating high school.
Miki, a childhood friend I was close with in class.

"If neither of us has a boyfriend or girlfriend in 10 years, let's meet in front of the high school gate! If we can meet there again, let's get married."

"Sounds good! That's funny! Well, I think I'll be a mom with about two kids by then, though!"

That was it!

I had completely forgotten, but we had made such a promise.
And that is exactly what today is.
This must be it! The way to stop the endless loop.
This is the only way!

I hurriedly changed my clothes and rode my bicycle to my alma mater. I cut through that intersection on the way, but no dump truck came. That's it! This is the right answer! All right, wait for me, Miki! I'm going to make you... happy!!!!

When I got near the high school gate, I saw a person standing there.
They were facing away, so I couldn't see their face, but it had to be Miki.
She was there after all!

Filled with joy and excitement, I called out loudly.

Hey! Miki!!!

I ran toward the figure. Then, the person turned around,
and it was a complete stranger.

Even though 10 years had passed, it certainly wasn't Miki.
I stopped in my tracks, and they spoke to me.

I stopped in my tracks, and they spoke to me.

"Are you Shuji? I'm Mayu, Miki's best friend."

"Oh, uh, yeah. (Who calls themselves a best friend?)"

"I've heard about today from Miki dozens of times. She said she was going to marry Shuji. She was looking forward to it for so long. And yet. And yet, last month..."

"Huh? What do you mean? Is Miki sick or something?"

"No, you see, hehe. I got a boyfriend last month. Yeah, hehe. And this boyfriend of mine, well, he's just so ugly, hehe. Ahaha🎶 I really wanted to see the face of the guy who lost to such an ugly guy, so I told Miki, 'I'll go turn him down for you!' Ah! Ahahahaha! And then, he really was ug—! So ugly!! Well, no wonder he got dumped... Gack."

Shut up, you monster! No, in this case, am I the monster for hitting her with a rock? Whatever, it doesn't matter! I can't take this anymore!!!

"Phew."

I took off the VR goggles and kicked Mikio, who was reading manga next to me.

"Hey Mikio, what is this crap game? I can't clear it at all. You cleared it, right? I completely lost my motivation at that last NPC, so tell me the route?"

"Oh, you ran into her? The demonic Mayu-tan lol. She's insane, right? I don't think that ending is fair either lol. So, did the Sengoku warrior show up?"

“Oh, oh. It came out.”

“Seriously? Then you're on the right track!! Wait, that's a hidden route that only appears after you've been killed four times beforehand.”

“Seriously? Then getting it on my 5th life was the shortest route?”

“Oh! That's excellent! So, that Sengoku warrior just charges straight at you, so you dodge the first strike and take his weapon. Easy, right? Then, take that sword and jump into the black circle. That's where the Sengoku mode starts. Once you're there, various warlords will attack you, but defeat them all. Oh, but Nobunaga is a trap, so don't touch him. He's a demon. He's set to be invincible. Probably. No, wait, maybe it is possible? Next time... Ah, sorry. Anyway, if you defeat everyone except Nobunaga, Japan will be unified. Then it's a good ending. Congratulations! After clearing it, you can have up to 10 wives and live the rest of your life playing! Of course, it's still the Sengoku period! There's also a buried treasure hunting mode, blah blah blah blah.”

Sigh, Christmas Eve.
I need a girlfriend so badly.

Merry Christmas🎄🎅✨
I wrote my longest creative piece of the year at the end of the year. This is about 5000 characters. I'll practice more next year.

Well, this is probably the last Draft Reproduction Factory of the year.

The original was reproduced by the factory manager himself.

After that, this is what was recycled at the second factory.

Thank you for reading until the end.
Since this recycling factory has become my main battlefield for serious creative work, I've managed to reach 15 works while taking on various challenges. It's all thanks to everyone who reads them.

What do you think? Has anything changed after writing 15 of these? Huh? The perverted elements are weak? I know, right? But look, continuing to recycle alone is the path of the pervert. Isn't that right, ma'am?