Chapter Text
Man, life’s quite wacky. I mean, it’s nice not being homeless and having both parents or so but well, it’s not like they pay me any attention. I mean look at me, I’m fucking eleven and I’m already swearing like this. Because -guess what?- I have unrestricted internet access, as my parents do not give two shits about me. And you know what happens to those kids without a restricted internet access?
They get into horror, I guess. How would I know? I mean, I’m a pretty lonely kid, I don’t have any friends, everyone thinks I’m creepy or something like that. I prefer being alone anyway. It’s more fun playing by yourself. People get weirded out whenever I open my mouth (as they do not find creepypastas fun for some reason), they aren’t into what I am into, and well, they might not care if I drop dead but it’s not like I care about them anyway!
I’m content with my video games. I mean it. I do.
I mean, sure, sometimes I look at their friendship funny and imagine how it would be to have a treehouse. A secret hangout spot. A kind sister. Go for a swim with friends and all that stuff, sure. But it’s not like I could find any friends like that, can I?
And fuck, if I do find all that, I hope my fate doesn’t end up like Sunny’s.
Like, what the fuck? Those dudes are supposed to be around same ages as me, right? What’s with Basil’s decision making skills anyway? How could someone just straight up make the worst decision possible ever? Like, seriously, that’s some Jimmy from Mouthwashing level of decision making. I know Basil was traumatised and shit… But damn. That’s so wicked. That’s so…
OMORI has ruined my life, in a way. From the moment I started playing it, I was captured; I loved all the characters and my lonely days were filled with the fantasies of hanging out with them. Thinking about it so directly like this is so embarrassing, but it’s the truth. They all seem to like and accept each other. It’s too good to be true, and it is ruined in the end anyway. It’s all so unfortunate, it truly breaks my heart. I cannot move on from it.
I wish I could hang out with Sunny. And read Captain Spaceboy comics with the others. Or just, you know, have someone sit right next to me on the school bus so that I’m not lonely throughout the whole ride. It does get embarrassing, even for me.
But alas. It cannot be helped. I mean, it’s not like I ride the bus anymore, I walk. Buses fucking suck anyway. Vehicles generally do. So much noise and pollution. I guess. I don’t know. Hey, speaking of the wrath of the vehicles, isn’t that truck too close? And too fucking FAST-
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It seems like I’ve been fucking isekai’d. By a goddamn truck. A truck? A truck hit me while I was on my way home from school and I woke up like this? Could anything get even more cliché? Is life actually making fun of me?
I get up from my surprisingly comfortable bed and look at my reflection on the mirror. It seems like I’ve been reincarnated as a kid around my age in my previous life. Looking outside my window, it seems like I live in a suburban area now. I am too scared to leave the room yet, though the outside doesn’t look threatening. Even so, my neglected child self is still there. This is what happens when you do not receive parental affection. You become detached from reality quickly and you are far too desensitized to be too emotional over literally dying. Jesus Christ, I literally just died. Still… I can’t help but wonder, is this too bad? I mean, this kid I’m looking at seems to be healthy. They are well-taken care of. Their room is elegant and comfortable. It’s all so cool. I can smell freshly baked cookies from downstairs. It surprises me. I don’t know, I’m not used to this type of stuff I guess. My mom rarely cooked, let alone bake. I’m tentative to go downstairs anyway. I’m deeply confused.
It's been hours since I woke up in that luxurious bed. I might have been not too emotional, as I’m certain I won’t miss my old life, but I’m still scared. What’s happening? Rather, what happened? Is this a Coraline situation where everyone’s out to get me? Or something? Dunno, haven’t watched the movie. Sorry. This is all so confusing and all that- but man, I’m also super curious. And hungry. And those cookies do smell awesome right now.
I take a final look at the mirror. I try to conceal my emotions. Am I an imposter? Who is this kid anyway? I try to gather some information on them. Thankfully, their conveniently placed wallet is sitting on her study table with their ID card inside. At the very least, I know their name.
And- residency? What? Is that… Oh my god.
Place of birth: Faraway. Is this the same Faraway? That Faraway? The Faraway Town that OMORI takes place in? Is that it? Is that really it? Did I get isekai’d into the game I’m obsessed with? Wow. How predictable. I genuinely don’t know what to think or how to feel about this.
The card slips through my fingers as my mouth hangs open. What kind of shitty plot is this? I do not want to see everyone suffer. I’m exposing Sunny and Basil just like that- or so I thought.
Because I hear a boy’s voice, calling out for who I assume is his friend. “Aubrey!” He exclaims. I quickly ran towards the window and see the one and only: Basil. He is chasing after Aubrey, Aubrey who still has her black hair, and they seem to be fooling around.
Oh god. Nothing happened yet. Everything’s actually fine. No one seems hurt… Yet. Oh god.
How do I check the date? My room doesn’t have any calendars! What year are we in? What month? I can’t… I don’t know, is there a way to fix it?
In midst of all that panic, as I scramble through answers, my stomach growls cruelly. I’m bound by my humanity once again.
I want some cookies. After a quick afternoon snack, I can dig deeper. I suppose.
Now, the thing that is never talked about enough in the isekais is the damn routine they expect you to follow. I don’t know anything, lady, I genuinely don’t. But the woman whom I assume to be my mother gladly feeds me some chocolate chip cookies, and she even kisses my forehead. At that exact moment, a warmth engulfs me and somehow I do genuinely feel like everything’s going to be fine. Like, no one’s going to find out I’m actually an imposter taking over this kid’s life and- god, this is so silly. I did not ask for this. I’m so sorry.
But this character is someone I have never seen in the game. Not even in the files. And trust me, I would know, I’m obsessed with the damn game, but they simply do not exist. Perhaps I am the sole cause of their existence. And perhaps I’m not an imposter- they are, um… Simply me, in an alternate universe. And my place is rightful now. Yes, that’s what I will believe in. Should an eleven year old even worry that much about all this when they just died like five minutes ago? Man, I should just munch on these damn cookies and enjoy the parental affection I basically never received and don’t sweat it. I will not feel guilty over what equals to five pixels in total in my previous universe, right?
Having eaten my snack, I look around a little, specifically for a calendar. Hmm, it’s late august. It makes sense, I was quite sweaty anyway. And as the date of the events that took place in the game has never been clarified, the year seems irrelevant.
“Um, thank you for the cookies,” I say to the woman whom I assume is their mother, “can I go and play now?”
She seems taken aback. “Oh, wow… Um… Of course, sweetie!” Are those tears in her eyes? “Go and enjoy yourself. Come back before it’s dark.” Pure damn bliss. If this kid is anything like me in previous life, I understand the joy in their mother’s eyes. I guess. Loving parent, something I am not used to, remember?
“Thank you,” I smile. Wow, that woman’s seriously quite affectionate, isn’t she?
“But first,” she points to her cheek, “give mommy a kiss!”
I’m a little hesitant as I have actually just met this woman five minutes ago, but fuck it, I run and give her a kiss on the cheek. At least I know for sure that she is my mother now. Or this kid’s. Whatever.
When I go outside, I realize Aubrey and Basil are still playing on their… Uh, what was Tamagotchi in this universe? Heh, as if I’d forget! Pet rocks, they were playing with their pet rocks. Or at least, Basil was playing with it and Aubrey was watching.
Being the more cautious and alert one overall, Aubrey quickly noticed my gaze and looked straight back into my eyes, startling me. I gave her an awkward wave, and she grinned. “Hey! You just moved here, didn’t you? I’m Aubrey!”
Realizing Aubrey’s fuss, Basil raised his head from his Tamagotchi- I mean, his Pet Rock, and looked at me. He smiled calmly. “My name’s Basil! Don’t be a stranger now.”
I gulped. I genuinely could not believe this was actually happening to me. Those guys were simple drawings for me, a bunch of pixels I’d attempt to replicate to hang on my wall over and over again, and here there were- smiling and staring at me. In blood and flesh. 3D. Even asking me for my name. I was too stunned to speak. I just stared.
“Wow, they are a little bit like Sunny, aren’t they?” Basil chuckled as Aubrey nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, it’s alright though! We are used to it. Did you get a good look at the town yet?” Aubrey chimed in, her voice cheery. Wow, I really wanted to be her friend right now.
Unsurprisingly, the thing that snapped me out of my trance was the two of them walking over to me, talking about the town. I quickly apologized for my spaced-outness and told them my name (while desperately hoping I remembered it right) and made small talk. Eventually, it turned out to them showing me around town.
It was all so… Lovable, so endearing, even. I liked everything about this small town. They seemed to like it too, they treated Hobbeez as some kind of Disney World, and I don’t know, it did feel the same way to me too. Maybe it was the weather, but I felt warm all over, and I smiled so much that my cheeks started to hurt.
“Um, actually, we were now going to hang out with the others. I’m certain the others won’t mind a new person. I’m not too sure about that idiot, though…”
“Don’t say that, Aubrey! Basically everyone was curious about the new kid, you know that. Kel’s no exception.”
“Yeah, it is a small town, I guess…” She pouted. Cute!
“I, um, if you are fine with me… Then I don’t mind,” I said, but my eyes must have been practically sparkling. Oh my god, far too many things to process… I needed to investigate, I needed a gameplan, what the fuck was happening?
Oh well. We are on our way to the playground now, so might as well.