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ArabicAnime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 3
Chapter 3: The Duties of a Caregiver
Yuuki Asuna’s pupils dilated in sheer horror. A visceral scream clawed at her throat, but before a single sound could escape, she clamped both hands over her mouth. She forced the terror down, swallowing the panic until nothing remained but the faint, uncontrollable trembling of her shoulders and legs.
Watching her reaction, Asagiri made a quiet assessment.
As expected of someone groomed by an elite upbringing. Even thrust into a sudden nightmare scenario, Asuna maintained her baseline rationality. She was not going to shriek at the top of her lungs or trigger a stress-induced death flag like the brainless fodder in a cheap slasher flick.
“Someone is here. Let me see what all the fuss is about.”
Asagiri spoke with a light, almost conversational smile. He hefted the heavy chainsaw from the floor, the metal teeth gleaming in the dim light, and strolled casually toward the ward door. Asuna watched him, her eyes wide with disbelief.
He was only a few paces away when the creature outside reacted. The monster, its face a mangled mask of wet crimson, seemed provoked by his approach. Its neck snapped backward at an unnatural angle before slamming its skull violently against the reinforced observation window.
Bang!
The heavy thud of bone against glass echoed through the room. Asuna stumbled backward, her knees buckling as she nearly collapsed onto the cold tiles.
“Oh ho. Trying to scare me?”
Compared to the terrified girl behind him, Asagiri remained unnervingly placid. Without a shred of hesitation, he closed the remaining distance. He stopped right in front of the door, separated from the blood-soaked monstrosity by a mere pane of glass. He stared directly into its hollow, ruined eyes.
Then, in a gentle, almost soothing tone, he asked a simple question.
“What exactly are you staring at? Are you looking for your mother’s urn?”
Hearing this, Asuna froze. Her brain stalled for a few seconds as she processed the words. She had managed to stay completely silent through two consecutive jump scares, but now her lips parted slightly, letting out a soft, confused breath.
Was that… an insult?
A young lady of her standing certainly did not use profanity, but she was not so sheltered that she could not recognize blatant mockery. The truly baffling part was the delivery. He was hurling abuse at a supernatural horror, yet his phrasing was impeccably polite.
‘Now is not the time to analyze this.’
Asuna shook her head, forcing herself to ignore the highly abstract nature of his trash talk. She stared at his back, noting the relaxed way he held the chainsaw, and frowned deeply.
“Hojo, you are not actually thinking of opening that door to fight the thing outside, are you? That creature has to be the Caregiver mentioned in the system hint. The rules stated that as long as the ward is closed, it is absolutely forbidden from entering. That means as long as we do not initiate contact, we are safe. At least for the moment.”
“Are you planning to cooperate with me to discuss and analyze our current intelligence?”
Asagiri did not bother turning around. He kept his gaze locked on the hideous, bloody visage smeared against the glass.
“It seems I am a much more excellent Player than you are. Since you intend to team up with me to clear this game, the absolute minimum sincerity you should show is a proper introduction, right?”
Asuna hesitated for a brief moment, weighing her options, before giving a firm nod.
“You are right. Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Yuuki Asuna.”
She was acutely aware of her grim reality. This was no elaborate reality television prank. Given her family’s status, no broadcasting network would ever dare orchestrate something so reckless., her apartment was located in Ginza, one of the most affluent and heavily guarded commercial districts in Tokyo. The security measures were ironclad, which was the only reason her parents allowed her to live alone. To be kidnapped from there without a trace meant this situation was beyond normal human comprehension.
In this lethal environment, aligning herself with the strange Player in front of her was the only logical choice. Based on their brief interaction, his personality was undeniably warped, but he possessed an ironclad nerve. The clean, effortless way he wielded the heavy power tool also suggested his physical capabilities were far above average.
Escaping this nightmare took priority over everything else.
“Understood. Hello, my name is Yoshiaki Hojo.”
Hearing him repeat the alias, Asuna felt a slight twitch in her brow. Did he genuinely think she was a naive girl who could be easily deceived, or did he already know she had seen through his lie and simply did not care?
“You made a mistake just now,” Asagiri noted smoothly.
“A mistake?”
“Yes. A fundamental one.”
Asagiri maintained his staring contest with the bloody face outside. His posture was entirely relaxed, his tone devoid of any tension. To an outside observer, he looked like a man mildly amused by a monkey at the zoo.
“You called this place ‘our ward’when you should have called it’the ward we are in’.”
Asuna frowned, turning the phrases over in her mind. “Is there… really a difference?”
“Of course there is. A crucial one.” Asagiri did not blink as the monster dragged its ruined face across the glass. “Since our designated identity is ‘Player’, entering a dungeon is functionally identical to starting a new video game. And what is the very first thing a Player does upon booting up a game?”
Confronted with the question, Asuna did not pretend to know the answer. She shook her head honestly.
“I do not play video games. I have no idea.”
Asagiri did not bother building artificial suspense.
“You obtain an identity. Whether it is a management simulator, a side-scrolling platformer, an action-adventure, or a role-playing epic, every single game provides a specific perspective to the Player. It assigns them a role.”
Despite her lack of gaming experience, Asuna’s sharp mind grasped the concept instantly.
“So, the subtle difference in wording you pointed out is actually a hidden clue about our assigned roles? We do not own this room because the characters we are playing in this dungeon are not actually patients of this sanatorium?”
Asagiri nodded slowly, his voice dropping to a soft murmur.
“That is the most probable conclusion. Assuming, of course, that the game we are playing is not a piece of trash, but a well-designed trial where every single word holds a clue for survival. If we follow that line of logic…”
Before he could even finish the thought, a spark of realization lit up Asuna’s eyes.
“The primary duty of a Caregiver… is to look after the patients admitted to the hospital. If we are not registered patients in this facility, then… the Caregiver actually has no reason to stop us from leaving?”