1 Chapter 1 - Born Again?

It was finally my 21st birthday, and what better way to celebrate it than to become incredibly intoxicated while surrounded by friends? For me, the answer was staying in and reading through all the updated chapters for the manga and novels I kept up with. My roommates, however, insisted that we have a night out on the town bar-hopping. I'm not sure what got into me, but I gave in and decided that maybe it was time for a change of pace. That was my first mistake...

"Dude, there is absolutely no way I'm letting you walk yourself back to your dorm when you're this fucked up" My friend steps in front of me in an effort to convince me to call a ride.

"Pshhhh, what??! Bro I'm FINE. Look, watch thish" As I finish my words, I separate myself from my friend and try to walk in the straightest line any man or woman had ever seen. I'm sure I could be walking a tightrope right now with no issue. After about 20 seconds of truly perfecting my walking performance, I turn around and gloatingly smile back at my friend. That was my second mistake...

"See??! Easiest thing I've ever done in my li-" And then all of a sudden I feel my body go flying through the air like a ragdoll. I swear I could see myself from third-person gracefully landing head first onto the street not far from where I was launched by a bus while my friends look on in horror.

I open my eyes and see the world spinning as a cool, yet gentle sensation begins to invade my mind. The only thing I could hear this entire time was the far-away voices of my friends calling out for me and the panicked sounds of the bus-driver freaking out at the sight of me.

'Aww crap, I forgot to do my Dynamics homework before midnight. Whatever, I really hope this means the university will pay for my tuition. I'm so sleepy, it couldn't hurt if I just close my eyes for a second...' Strike three. And with that, I died; A 21 year old college student who went a little too hard on their first day of being able to drink legally.

—---------------------

'Such a shame that I couldn't see the ending of so many good shows now that I'm dead. Wait. Now that I think about it, how am I able to think? And what's with this disgusting feeling I have all over my body, or at least what I think is my body? Wait, I think I see a light!'

With that thought, the sudden sensation of life is brought back to the soul as a baby is pulled out of a mother's womb. As the baby opens their eyes in a squint, they can't help but cry and cry. The faces of the doctor and new mother are both covered in sweat but show looks of utter joy and excitement.

"It's a boy! Congratulations, Delia!" A bald old man wearing a doctor's coat exclaims, hoisting up the body of the newborn baby. The baby had small tufts of wine-red hair on its head. After getting a nurse to snip off the umbilical cord, the doctor lays the baby on the mother's chest.

The mother, an incredibly beautiful woman with shoulder-length pink hair and gentle green eyes holds onto her son as all the exhaustion on her face momentarily fades away while she looks down at her chest. Her face blooms into a loving smile as she giggles while talking to her son.

"Ara-Ara, you look just like your daddy, don't you. There, there my love, no need to cry." At the gentle calming of the mother, the baby soon begins to quiet down and gently fall asleep on her chest.

"Your name will be Riker, and I'll be your mommy from now on" The mother once again giggles to herself quietly as she gently rubs the baby's back.

Suddenly, I'm blinded by a bright light while vaguely hearing muffled voices surrounding me. I squint my eyes with all my power, only allowing me to see what's directly in front of me.

'Holy shit, there's no way this is actually happening…' I couldn't believe it, in front of me holding my new, tiny body was a wrinkly old man dressed as a doctor. I was really reborn like those reincarnation novels and anime! But the only other thing I could gather from my surroundings with my overwhelmed newborn senses is that I'm definitely not in a traditional hospital.

'This is kinda crazy, it's like I'm in spectator mode in a VR-game. I can tell that I'm crying but I have absolutely no control over it'. While distracted by the condition of my body, I watch as I am placed on who I can only assume is my new mother. A soothing warmth surrounds my entire body, calming my crying down until I eventually fall silent.

'Woah, she's gorgeous. Does that mean I'm gonna be super handsome!!! Oh boy I can't wait!! Also I guess my new name is Riker? Pretty dope name, I can vibe with it. Also looks like they're all speaking English so I won't have to struggle with a language barrier thankfully. But man I am feeling super tired all of a sudden… I guess I'll just let my infant body do what it has to do' My consciousness fades as I enter the most pleasant sleep I think I have ever experienced (which for this existence would be entirely true!).

—--------------------------

~The next day?~

As I wake up, I find myself in what I can only imagine is a crib as I'm left staring up at the ceiling of a home. I attempt to wiggle my body in any way to test just how poor my motor functions are. Surprise, surprise - I have absolutely no control over my body...

'Well this is awkward, I'm not sure how I'm gonna cope with being stuck in spectator mode for the next year, but I guess I'll have to distract myself somehow… It's a good thing I took that meditation class as an elective that one time.'

I recall all the tips my professor gave. First step: control my breathing. While I have no control over my appendages, it would seem that breathing is quite simple to control, albeit with a bit of a struggle considering my tiny body. Second step: empty your mind of all thoughts. This step always takes me a while because of how stressed I was constantly as an engineering student, but now that I have nothing to worry about, it should be simple enough.

Eventually, I subconsciously move on to the third step: Search within your mind for your deepest desires. 'I really miss my sword collection... even if people thought it was a bit weird. I spent so much money just collecting all of Zoro's swords too... Hey maybe I can be a cosplayer in this life since I'm gonna be fairly attractive this time around I'm pretty sure'. More and more random thoughts circled in Riker's mind as he slowly drifted back to sleep without noticing.

And just like that, the next 2 years went by in a flash for Riker…