Chapter Text
Black dots dance beneath my eyelids, tempting them to flutter. The ground beneath is hard and rough, similar to asphalt, and definitely drives a hard bargain to place at the bottom of the list on the best surfaces I’ve slept on. Worst of all, my body aches like it’s been slammed into by a massive fucking cannonball.
Blinking my eyes open is an immediate bad decision as my dreary vision is instantly assaulted by the bright blessings of Heaven above. Joy to the world I guess.
A hiss of pain slips through my teeth as I force myself up with my elbows. Using a hand to block the sun rays, the observation I make through my squinted vision is an odd one.
Empty streets, a white truck just mere feet away, unmoving and abandoned vehicles parked randomly on the roads. The billboards read something Japanese, the electricity in buildings all off, and the air thrums with foreboding silence.
Lush green vegetations crawl on the immobile, seemingly untended to; nature well on her way to reclaiming what she lost.
First of all, if my memory serves me well, this is certainly not where I last was before I apparently decided to go rock-a-bye baby in the middle of a heavily trafficked road.
Secondly, I have never been to wherever in the world this place is, I don’t think, because I sure fucking hope I’m not so dumb as to wander into an eerie abandoned area thinking I’m some sort of bigshot ghost hunter.
And lastly, praying to all that’s good and holy is not the case, this set up looks an awful lot like a location I know. Not because I’ve travelled there before, but because a certain death game show I just watched looks an awful lot like—
A rock skitters across the cragged ground, bringing my attention to the newcomer who interrupted my train of thoughts. “Oh, thank God!”
Oh no… A man.
Clad in a cap and an aqua coloured graphic tee, the long-haired man rushes over with a few things in his arms. Thankfully, he doesn’t notice the unconscious flinch when he comes to a stop next to me.
Crouching, he allows the items in his arms to scatter across the ground before turning his attention to me, hands hovering anxiously over my form. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to knock into you. I tried patching you up, but I don’t think it worked. Are you feeling okay? I’m so so sorry for all this. I hope the bandages aren’t too tight. Are they too tight? I’m seriously so sorry for bumping into you.”
Wow. He sure said a lot of words. Most of which was repeated, but I get the gist. I, too, would be worried for the amount I’d have to pay as compensation for a casualty’s insurance if I were to slam into them at the speed of an F1 racer.
More importantly, this man looks way too familiar for my comfort. Familiar in the same sense as reason number three, which is exactly what I don’t want to be happening.
Offering a smile, I assure, if only to shut him up so I can think, “I’m okay, thanks.”
Almost comically, weight lifts off his shoulders as a breath of relief rushes out of him. My eye twitches. Hey, don’t look so at ease. I still want to claim my insurance, ‘kay?
“I’m glad,” he states, settling down. He offers a bread from the collection he brought over. “I tried my best to patch you up, but I’m better at fixing vehicles than people.”
I hum in understanding.
I’m not liking it, and I’m still going to deny it until there’s no other option, but the situation is adding up to be the very case I’m hoping didn’t occur.
The death game show gave a character a backstory portraying his job as a mechanic before getting transported here, and that character looks an awful lot like the person standing in front of me.
Please be a coincidence, please be a coincidence please be a coincidence please be a coincidence!
“Sorry, but my memory’s still a little hazy. Do you mind reminding me what happened?”
The man turns sheepish, looking away as he scratches the back of his neck. “Oh, well… I was waiting for the light to change for my turn, but I guess I got surprised from the sudden fireworks that I accidentally stepped on the pedal—”
“HEY, WATCH OUT!”
SCREEEEE
“—and hit you as a result.”
Well, the hope of Situation 3 not being reality singlehandedly decreased from 40% to 5%, but there’s still a glimmer of chance!
After all, there’s no way being run over by a truck the same time a person in the show did would transmigrate me into the casualty’s body, right? Right??!!!
Ripping the packaging, I stressfully take a chunk out of the food before introducing myself. Gesturing with the bread, a playful grin plays at my lips. “Remember that name. I’ll be looking forward to the compensation received from the trauma caused by this horrifying experience.”
Tearing open a cracker box, he laughs wholeheartedly. “Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility.” He offers the crackers with a shake in my direction. Gleefully, I accept the gift. Food always tastes better free.
The air around us remains silent with occasional calls from animals. There isn’t laughter, chatter, or anything signalling the presence of any other human. It’s just the two of us.
(We can make it if we try~ Just the two of us, just the two of us—)
“So,” I start conversationally, “may I know the name of the man who’s about to sponsor my living expenses for the next five years or so?”
He snorts. “You wanna know the name of the man you’re about to embezzle money from?”
“Of course! It’s only the polite thing to do,” I chirp happily.
With a fond smile, the man shakes his head. “Tetsuta Kodai, but feel free to call me Tatta.” He holds a hand out. “Looking forward to funding your lifestyle for the next five years.”
Cackling, I accept the handshake before continuing to eat my meal.
Tatta? Tatta as in Alice-in-Borderland Tatta? Tatta as in the-only-death-I-cried-over Tatta?
Holy shit. It’s official. I can deny reality no longer; I’ve somehow transmigrated into Alice in Borderland. Except, this cannot be happening. This should not be happening. Why in Hell is this happening?
Oh fuck. Haha, I’m so dead. I am so fucking dead. So fucking dead, indeed. I am not built for this. Heed my words, I will be throwing myself off the next building I see, thank you very much. I may not have competed in diving in my previous life, but the swan dive I’ll take in this will be worthy of gold in the Olympics.
Dear Truck-kun, you should’ve ended my life with a bang. Dear Lord and angels above, enlighten me, why? Why have you done this? What evil have I committed to not be granted the sweet relief of death?
“Um…”
Jerking, I gather my thoughts and turn to Tatta (Tatta from Alice in Borderland! Oh my God! We are so dead! Yippie hurrah!). His expression is contorted into deep concern as he examines my form. “Are you okay?”
Humming, I take another bite of the bread and force myself to cool down. “‘Course I am. Why’d you ask?”
“Are you sure…? Your face went blank for a good while there.”
“Don’t worry, that’s just my resting face,” I say, like a liar. “You won’t believe how many people I’ve had to assure I wasn’t angry or sad. It honestly gets annoying after the fifth time in a day.”
Luckily, Tatta takes my words as is and returns to cheerfully eat his biscuits.
Okay, calm down. This is fine. Get a grip. You’ve consumed enough isekai content to know what to do. There’s no need to panic.
Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I force my mind to work in overdrive and recall the timeline of events that happened in the series.
Tatta’s first appearance in Alice in Borderland is in the game ‘Tag’. He survives with the help of Arisu and Karube, then disappears for a bit. A few episodes later, he reappears on the Beach and recognises Arisu and Usagi just before Arisu’s entrance test. From then on, Tatta will stick by the main cast before sacrificing his life to beat the King of Clubs.
According to what I remember, at this point, every main character should already be in Borderland. The question is: do I want to play along, or do I want to stay away from the plot?
If I stay, I get to play hero for a bit, sure. But in the end, is it worth risking my life over? Do I really want to throw away my second chance just for a few characters on the screen?
Sticking to the story will definitely put my life in peril. At the same time, being in Borderland is already a threat in itself.
Plus, meeting the main cast would definitely be an honour. Although those few seconds in the spotlight could potentially be detrimental to my survival…
Argh. At this point, I’m just going to be running in circles for the next thirty minutes. Time to get the facts straight.
The pros of following the story would be that, since I already know what’ll happen, I know which games to avoid, and what the game plan to victory is for the rest. The knowledge of the original timeline also means I’ll possibly be able to help prevent the injuries and/or deaths of some characters (Danma, bless you) in the near future.
However, having said that, there’s also the very real possibility of the plot being fixed—meaning those who are supposed to get hurt will be hurt, and those who are written to die will die—thus putting the final point of ‘pros’ to moot.
Another thing to consider is the fact that I’m not even in the original story, which means my survival is unessential to the plot. In layman terms, it simply means I could potentially be the story’s little scapegoat to throw into the lion’s den, for entertainment purposes or otherwise.
And, well…
When it’s summarised that way, the answer is pretty damn obvious, no?