There's no crying in fantasy isekai

You can’t choose your teammates. It’s a sad truth of all sports; sometimes the people you rely on and who rely upon you to play well just plain suck. There were a few teammates of mine who were very raunchy, and that was most apparent in the locker room. They would always say the most sexual things just to get a reaction out of us. One time he went on a rant about how he wants a “girlfriend with huge tits who comforts me as I lay in her lap” that made the rest of the team cringe. His words, not mine. 

But I have to say, it’s really not all it’s cracked up to be.

When I realized I completely forgot about Chouji after getting resurrected here, I broke down. Completely. I was ugly crying, the kind you see in TV dramas. I felt so much guilt and shame and disgust towards myself, I just couldn’t take it.

So I don’t know how, but I ended up lying with my head in Gina’s lap.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” she said. “It’s gonna be okay.” It sounded like she was trying to comfort herself as much as she was trying to comfort me. She rubbed at my arm to further calm me down, but it didn’t work. She did it like petting a dog. 

I kept crying.

“My brother,” I said. “I forgot about Chouji! What kind of pathetic excuse for an older brother am I?” At least I tried to say that. Through all my blubbering only half of my words were intelligible.

“Hey, I get it. This is a big change for you,” she said. “You’re confused, and that’s okay. You aren’t a bad older brother. You’re just dead. I’m sure Joji will keep you in his memories forever.”

I looked up at her through teary eyes. 

“Gina?”

“Yes?”

I sniffled.

“You suck at this…” I said. She winced and looked away. 

“Yeah, I know.”

Her horrible efforts to comfort me actually worked. I was too offended to be sad anymore. I heaved myself up and leaned against the edge of the table. We both sighed in relief.

“I’m not crying because I’m dead,” I said. “I’m crying because Chouji is dead. He died right in front of me, just before I was taken away. And while I’m here, frolicking around in this land of make-believe…” I swept my hands out to the fantastical myriad of adventurers, guildsmen, and others surrounding us. “…I have no idea where Chouji could be. Or what he’s going through right now.”

Gina nodded with a strange look in her eyes. “That must be hard for you. At least you were able to talk to him in line, right?” she said.

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

“He died and then you died. Since it happened in such close succession, you were in line together in Hell, or at least very close.”

I furrowed my brows as I remembered being in Hell yesterday. There were countless people in front of and behind me. But Gina was right. Even if Chouji technically died after me, it would have been no more than a few seconds after. Either way, I should have been able to see him. Yet I didn’t see his signature coconut hair anywhere. 

And thinking back even further to my last moments with him, I never saw the truck collide. Which means…

I rocketed to my feet.

“I need to call customer service.”

~⚔~

I didn’t realize how stuffy it was in the guild hall until I was standing outside, back on my phone, listening to that stupid hold music. Gina sat with crossed arms under the shade of a tree and watched me pace back and forth. The sun was high in the sky and grass swayed gently in the breeze, just like yesterday. But this time, the music was perfect for the situation. The attack of the violins, the passion of the choir, the tuba-ness of the tubas. It got my blood racing. I was ready for battle. This time I could wait. This time I knew what I was fighting for.

Someone picked up. 

“Hi, you’ve reached customer support from Hell. This is Dave. How can I help you today?” Whoever this Dave was, it wasn’t the one I was looking for.

“Hi there,” I said, “I’m Daisuke and I’m currently in the Questing Heroes game. I just have a couple of questions about this world. Could you patch me through to Margaret? She’s the one who helped me last time.”

“Um, yes. Sure thing. Hold for a moment.” The hold music returned, but only for a few bars. Then I was greeted by the raspy, drawling voice I remembered all too well.

“Uh, hello?” she asked. She knew the answer, but she didn’t want to hear it.

I smiled. “Hello Margaret.”

There was a clambering as she threw herself back in her chair and groaned. “Ah shit. So it is you,” she said. “How are you liking your new life?”

“It’s fine,” I said. “It would’ve been better if I chose something else.” 

“Yeah, yeah, sorry 'bout that. I was in a rush, had to keep up with my job so I don’t get fired, y’know. Anyways, it’s hard to go wrong with Quest. It’s a real fan-favorite, probably what I would’ve chosen in your shoes.”

“Whatever. I need you to look up Chouji Mizuhara in your database.”

“Hold your horses, pal. This is the Customer Service Department, not Personal Bitch Department. That one comes with a whole different life service plan. Why exactly should I let you browse company files?”

“I’m not the one browsing them, you are.” I held the end of my phone up to my clenched teeth. “And may I remind you that you are the whole reason I’m in this mess! This is the least you could do for me. I saw you search the database when I was in Hell, that thing takes no effort.”

She sighed like the diva she was but clacked away on the keys anyway.

“Okay, I think I got it. Chouji Mizuhara. S City, M Prefecture. Says here that he has zero years left in his current life service plan.”

My heart sank. It’s so over.

She hummed. “Odd. It also says here he’s still alive.”

My heart jumped. We’re so back.

“But he won’t be for long,” she said.

My heart sank again. It’s so over.

“Can you not say those things so suddenly? You better explain yourself clearly or I’ll have a heart attack and reincarnate again,” I said. 

“Fine, you baby. It seems like the Reaper sent for him accidentally reaped you.”

“Ah. So I was murdered.”

“Not quite,” Margaret said. “Deaths are part of the internal logic of whatever game you’re in. Reapers are metaphysical entities from Hell AKA the Overworld, outside of the game. Their job is show up when you die so they can free your soul, part of the Overworld, from its body, part of the game world. They then guide the soul through processing in Hell, which is why I was confused when you didn’t a briefing from your Reaper. Now I know why.”

“So Reapers don’t kill anyone, they just free the soul of someone when they die.”

“Exactly.”

“And if a Reaper doesn’t do their job…”

“Then the soul stays trapped in the body. And that’s exactly what happened with Chouji.”

My breath caught in my throat. 

“I still can’t believe he isn’t dead. Did the truck swerve out of the way at the last second?” I asked.

“Nope, it hit him. He’s in the hospital right now. Several broken ribs, major internal bleeding, a bad concussion, whiplash—”

“Margaret.”

“Right, sorry. Point is your brother is currently operating on Earth under a voided contract. He’s the opposite of you; he should be dead, but he isn’t. Upper management is gonna catch wind of this error if they haven’t already, and will send a Reaper to reap him properly.”

“What happens after he’s reaped?”

Her voice darkened. “I already told you, Daisuke,” she said. “There is no after.”

With my phone still pressed against my ear, I gazed into the bright blue expanse above me. Great fluffy clouds sat in the air much in the same way bricks don’t. It was beautiful. Why should I be able to look up and see this while Chouji cannot? I knew what I had to do.

“I have to save him.”

Margaret sighed. “It hurts me to say this, but I doubt one person could prevent Hell from doing it’s job. We have one of the lowest error rates in the market, and you’d best believe the suits here will do anything to make sure it stays that way.” She brought her phone closer. “And I know it’s rude of me to say, but your brother was gonna die anyway. Why not let nature take it’s course?”

I kicked at the ground with a growl. “Shut up! I don’t care if it’s impossible and I don’t care if it’s against the laws of nature. He’s my brother. That’s reason enough.” I took deep breaths.“Wouldn’t you do the same for your siblings?”

“I’m an only child.”

“Oh. That explains a lot actually.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” I said. I paused to let ideas simmer in my brain. “Are you sure there is no other way out of this world? What if I kill myself?” Under the tree Gina’s jaw fell to the ground.

“Oh wow,” Margaret said. “Dark. But it wouldn’t work. Suicide counts as a voluntary forfeit of the rest of your allotted years. That’s how it works in Quest of Heroes, in Earth: the Gathering, and in all other life service plans offered by Hell.”

“So there’s no way for me out of here?” 

“I mean once you die, you’ll come back to Hell for processing. But you won’t get to choose another plan, cuz like I said, your years are up at that point.”

I refused to believe that was it. There had to be something else. I paced faster. This world is Chouji’s wet dream. What would he do here? What would he do with a video-game he hated but was forced to play?

“If that’s all, I’m gonna hang up now,” Margaret said. 

Whenever I’m batting a pitch comes my way, doubt floods my veins. I’m never sure if I’ll be able to hit it the way I need to. Those doubts grow exponentially as the ball gets closer and closer. The only moment of certainty I have is the instant my bat makes contact with that ball. 

As those words left Margaret’s mouth, I could feel the ball getting closer and closer. In hindsight, it’s silly. I could have called her again. But right then and there, it felt like I was about to lose my only chance. Ideas and thoughts and worries buzzed around my head. The wind whistled as the ball zeroed in. This was no time for doubt. I closed my eyes and…

“What if I beat the game?”

Crack.

Homerun.