Meeting with a Mysterious God

"Why am I here?" I asked coldly, still feeling utterly enraged by what just happened to me.

The person opposite me, a tall woman, just smirked at me, making the scars on her face stand out even more. Though I didn't think it impacted her beauty, it just made her seem strong for some reason.

Her smirk developed into a scoff which I was unsure whether was aimed at me or herself, but she didn't give me enough time to think as she spoke up, "Well, that's a first. Most people ask where they are before asking why they're here but I suppose--" she went to keep speaking but a wave of anger hit me and clouded my head, causing me to have a slight outburst.

"I was just fucking killed! Gunned down like a goddamn dog! Where else could I be but the afterlife?" I sarcastically asked, my tone full of anger and venom. Yet that smirk didn't leave the woman's face. It was like she was watching a child have a tantrum and for the most part? She was right. I was acting like a child...but--"I tried so hard to stay at the top, you know?" I started, feeling the need to explain my anger for some reason, "Ever since I was a kid, I knew the strong ruled and the weak obeyed...that's just how it was, and ever since I realized that I VOWED," I slapped my hand against my chest in anger, "that I wouldn't be the man at the wrong end of the barrel of a gun." my anger had escalated to such a point that I was breathing heavily at this point.

Looking over at the woman, her smirk was gone, replaced by a look of understanding. She stayed silent, and I was fine with that as I carried on.

"I trained my body, my mind, I reined in my emotions to the point where they couldn't go against what I WANTED, what I NEEDED," I threw my hands up in a gesture of frustration, "I turned myself into the perfect fucking weapon and ruled that wretched city like the second coming of Christ and everyone was my loyal follower," feeling the last bit of my anger vented, I practically collapsed into the chair I was sitting in.

It was at this point that the helplessness sunk in. I had been the big Boss of one of the biggest gangs in Japan but that wasn't enough it seems, as I was still shot more times than I could count. Even with all my training, even with all my strength - it still wasn't enough. I relied on other people too much. That was clear to me now. Personal strength is all that matters.

Out of nowhere, the woman spoke up, bringing me out of my epiphany.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" she spoke with so much hidden pain that I knew she understood what I was talking about, but she soon carried on, "I've been where you are; Dead, broken, and betrayed. I've been at the bottom of a very dark well...and I've also risen to the very top," she spoke with such vigor that I felt my heartbeat a bit quicker.

Not in a romantic sense but as in my heart was slowly beating quicker in excitement. Why was she speaking about rising? Unless...

"People like us, Hayato," she motioned between the two of us, "We tried our hardest to be the best version of ourselves. People like us rise quickly, and we rise to the top...but," her face went dark and grim for a second before she spoke again, "...We more often than not fall from the top at some point, and just like the biggest tree in the forest, we fall just as quickly as we rose. In both our cases, us falling was our death," a hollow laugh escaped her throat as she looked on reminiscently, "People like us, Hayato...we either stay down and wallow in our failings...or we stand back up and fight even harder than before!" her demeanor underwent a sudden change as she stood up and slammed her hands down upon the table between us, "We rise once again and this time! This time we will never fall!"

Her shouting echoed around the white room we were in and I just looked up at her with a hint of confusion in my eyes but also...hope.

"What do you mean 'rise'? I'm dead. This is the afterlife, presumably, and I'm sure they're not giving out tickets to go back to Earth," I let out a sardonic laugh before looking at her with a complex gaze, filled with a multitude of emotions.

The woman just looked at me before she rolled her eyes, "I did say that I died, just like you, didn't I, Hayato? If I'm here, talking about how I rose up again, doesn't that mean the same opportunity applies to you?" she paused as I was making sense of this information.

I...I could have another chance?

This thought flew around my head and I couldn't help but feel a swell of excitement spring up inside myself. But I quickly wrestled such feelings of excitement to the ground. If she's anything like me, there's more.

Thinking this, I spoke up before she could continue, "Then what's the catch? You want my soul or something?" I smirked, putting up a tough front which, from the teasing smile on her face, she saw right through.

"Why would I want your soul? A human's soul is pretty weak, you know?" she chuckled before the smile disappeared, replaced by a serious face, "But there is a catch, you're right about that," she reached into the air in front of her, grasping at something, and alas, something appeared in her hand, "Here's a file, or rather, a contract with everything you need to know about what the 'catch' is."

Putting her hand toward me with a file in it, I saw her hand was covered in scars just like her face and I wondered - truly, what has this woman been through?

Nevertheless, I took the file from her hand and flicked it open and got to reading.

What was in it made me furrow my brow quite a bit and I could feel a mixture of excitement, anxiousness, and a slight amount of dread fill me. Excitement at what was about to happen, anxiousness about how my future would develop, and dread...for the responsibility I now seemed to have.

"What happens if I say no to the contract?" I squinted my eyes at the woman in front of me, wondering what was in store for me if I let my dread take over.

She scoffed before looking at me with a look that I was struggling to class - was it disdain or playfulness? - before she answered my question, "You don't get that option. You either accept now, or I deploy any method I need to, to get you to agree, and you accept the contract later," she ended her answer with a dose of sharp finality that made my eyes squint even further, anger and a slight bit of disbelief welling up inside of me.

"Is that a threat?" I asked, almost not believing someone who was asking for my help had threatened me. I mean, I'm all for threatening someone, but if you want something from someones, especially someone like me, do you go straight to threatening them?

She leaned forward, drumming her fingers against the table, "It is what it is. You've read the contract and you know what's on the table," she just continued to look at me and tap the table - honestly, it was a bit unnerving.

Knowing who I was dealing with I looked back down at the file/contract, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

The woman across from me was a nameless God of War, who was a part of the Shinto Pantheon. She had chosen me to be her avatar, guaranteed me four wishes, and needed me to act on her behalf in a war between the gods. Obviously, I would be fighting other Avatars, not the gods themselves. The most...'interesting' part was that the battleground for this battle would be a unique world - a world filled to the brim with multiple different anime and manga, all with the purpose of offering the chance for the Avatars to make factions and whatnot, while also giving them other opportunities to grow in power using the methods in specific animes.

Anyway, the main reason for this war is that the council of gods had to be rearranged. You'd think they'd just do a vote but noooo, having a massive war with dozens of Avatars seems much easier than that. Gods didn't seem that great when I read that part of the file.

Haah~ How long has it been since I watched Anime? Not too long but definitely long enough for me to be a few years behind complete, die-hard anime fans.

Thinking about this I could only scoff. If I lacked knowledge, I just had to have the power to make up for it. What? You thought I was gonna be stubborn and refuse this deal? Ha! Who doesn't want a second chance at life?! Who doesn't want to right their past wrongdoings?

I can firmly say that I want a second chance to do things I could never do the first time around.

Looking back over at the nameless god, I quirked an eyebrow up, "So, what's the limit on these wishes? I assume I can't wish for the power of a God, right?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "Well, no, you could," she said and I couldn't help but feel confused, but she carried on, "But everyone's powers are suppressed when they enter the battleground. Training is required to make the best of any power gained through the wishes. Plus, not everyone has 4 wishes like you - only 2, maybe 3 others have such a privilege - so wasting it a wish on something as vague as the power of a God? There are much more creative wishes with more potential, I assure you," she smiled toward the end, seemingly proud about the wishes I had, or more specifically, how many I had.

"I have more wishes? Why?" I couldn't help but ask, tilting my head slightly as I watched the proud look on her face get even more, well, proud.

"Depending on the strength of the God, is the number of wishes we can bestow to our Avatars. I'm obviously at the higher end of the strength spectrum~" she finished with a slightly sweet voice which sounded like she was bragging or fishing for praise, so I decided to humor her.

"Yeah yeah, you're great and all...but it makes me wonder," I paused, her attention on me, "If you're that strong, why are you a nameless God?"

My question caused her pause and a...a sort of lost look appeared on her face. No, it would probably be better to call it a look of wanting something you can never have again.

The silence didn't carry on for very long as the god replied quite quickly, "There isn't much war nowadays, nor much worship among soldiers, so my name was eventually forgotten. The thing about us gods is that a mortals perception of us usually affects who and how we are. So, when my name was forgotten, it wasn't my name anymore. I can't even remember it. Of course, I wouldn't change into a completely different person just because a lot of people think I'm like that, but simple things like a name can be changed quite easily. It's a God thing, I guess."

There was a silence as the two of us looked into the other's eyes and I kept eye contact until I couldn't stand the silence and spoke up.

"So...should we get onto the wishes? I've got a basic idea of what I want," I spoke in a calm, unhurried voice, but my desire to move past this conversation was clear as day.

The woman hurriedly nodded her head, seemingly embarrassed about something, and she motioned for me to speak my wishes. Going over what I wanted one last time, I made sure that the wishes I was thinking about were the rights ones.

My life was riding on these wishes after all. So strength, potential, and certain fighting abilities were needed, no?

"First off, I want the Bloodline and Physique of the Legendary Super Saiyan. The same one from Broly in the latest Dragon Ball Super Movie," I stated with a straight face as I did my best to hide my excitement.

What? Just because I hadn't watched Anime in a while didn't mean I didn't keep up to date on my favorite fighting Anime, Dragon Ball Super and the movies that came out.

The woman nodded with an accepting expression and I carried on.

"I want Enhanced Talent which applies to all things. Music, Martial Arts, Cooking, the lot, okay?" I got across the multi-use aspect of the Talent, and when I saw a nod from the woman, I carried on, "I want a reusable DynoCap, the one's from Dragon Ball, with a Gravity Chamber inside. Put the Max setting as high as possible, please."

Her eyes widened at this wish and she seemed to unconsciously nod her head, agreeing with the wish. It seems my plans to have a valid way of training had surprised her. Should I feel insulted? Because I kinda do. Anyone with a brain would wish for a Gravity Chamber if they picked to become a Saiyan.

"And for my last wish," I paused for dramatic effect, smirking at how my excitement was making me act like a kid again, "I want to be given all of Vegeta's knowledge when it comes to Fighting, Ki, and training the body. That should be okay, right?"

Nodding her head the woman answered me, "Yes, that would be fine. More than easy actually - that wish is simple but effective. You will hold an advantage over any Avatar who hasn't made such a wish like this. Your battle experience from this knowledge will propel you forward. But if I may ask something," she paused before looking at me with scrutinizing eyes, "Why Vegeta? Why not Goku, or Beerus, Whis would have been possible as well. Out of everyone, why Vegeta? He was always second best when compared to Goku, no?"

Hearing her, I restrained the smile that was threatening to break across my face before I answered her, "The knowledge will most likely come in the form of memories, right?" she nodded, "Memories have emotions, feelings, and can affect someone's mentality and way of thinking, so, why would I want the memories of a naive idiot?" I laughed, the smile I was trying to restrain breaking out in full force, "I want the mentality of the man who got back after being thoroughly thrashed by Kid Buu! I want the mentality of the man who practiced in Gravity so high, a simple fall could break his rips, but didn't bat an eye! I want the knowledge of a man who never gave up on being the strongest! I want that kind of tenacity! I want to know how to get there!"

By this point, my smile had most likely turned savage from my enthusiasm but it didn't seem to affect this woman negatively. In fact, she was seemingly infected by my enthusiasm, nodding along and smiling more intensely as time went on and I spoke more.

Feeling my enthusiasm simmer a little, I reined in my smile turning it into a smirk before carrying on.

"Plus, Goku was more of an instinct-type of guy. Most of his knowledge would rely on what was the right 'feeling' for whatever he learned. Vegeta, on the other hand, learned through hard-work, determination - the knowledge in his memories will be much more easily understood. Plus, I don't want to end up like Whis or Beerus who feel nothing at the destruction of a planet. I don't want to be indifferent to life as a whole," I shrugged, before looking at the immortal being opposite me, "Anyway, are we gonna sit around talking all day, or are you gonna send me off to this War?"

Smiling, she raised a hand before speaking, "I guess now you've said it, I've gotta send you. Enjoy going through highschool again. Maybe you'll learn something this time~?" and before I could say anything, she snapped her fingers and I was sent into a daze before I woke up to an alarm next to me.

On pure instinct, I slapped the alarm causing it to practically explode into pieces. Which shocked the hell out of me.

Looking down at my hands which were bigger than my old ones, I wondered...What was in store for my new life? I mean, in between fighting it wouldn't be too bad to pick up girls, right?