Derrek Berg woke up and sighed.
I guess today is the day I’m going to break up with her.
He pulled out his phone, scrolled to Bethany’s contact, and pressed Call.
“Hey, babe,” Bethany answered groggily.
“Why are you calling so early?
I wanted to sleep in a little longer.” “Do you have time to meet up today at twelve?” Derrek asked.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about.” She laughed.
“Haha, you make it sound like you’re breaking up with me.
Yeah, I have time today.” Derrek was silent for a moment.
“…About that.” Bethany’s breath hitched.
“You’re…
you’re not actually breaking up with me, are you?” “Although I would’ve preferred to tell you in person,” Derrek stated plainly, “yes.
I’m breaking up with you.” “W-What?” Her voice cracked.
“Why?
And don’t give me some bullshit like, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ or ‘I just need to work on myself.'” “You’re right,” Derrek replied.
“It’s not me.
It’s you.” The line went silent.
“I believe this relationship was going to fall apart eventually because you refuse to communicate properly.
You expect me to magically know what’s bothering you or what I did wrong instead of just telling me.” Bethany scoffed but didn’t interrupt.
“I’ve asked you over and over if we could work on that together.
Every time, you end the conversation and say that you don’t need to change anything, and I just need to be more careful with what I say and do.” Derrek let out an exasperated chuckle.
“I don’t want to continue a relationship where you don’t listen when I tell you what I need, and you brush me off.” For a few seconds, Bethany said nothing.
Then she snapped.
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you.” “What?” “You say I brush you off when you tell me something you need, but whenever I need to get something, you brush me off and say, ‘Pay for it yourself,’ and also you’re always an asshole, and you don’t even realize it.” “Oh, how am I an asshole?
This is my first time hearing you have an issue like that.” “You never take my side for anything,” she shouted.
“Like when Trissy snaked me, you said that it wasn’t a big deal and I should get over it.” “Honestly, you were in the wrong, though.
All she did was forget your birthday and talk to someone that you don’t really like for another stupid reason.” “Shut the fuck up!” she screamed.
“You never have any time for me, always studying or reading books.” “Again, you should have communicated that you were feeling neglected and that I should spend more time with you.” Bethany let out a bitter laugh.
“You know I’m not dealing with this shit.
Don’t ever contact me again, you asshole.” The call ended.
Derrek looked at his phone for a moment, then smiled and said, “Although I never really loved her, I still enjoyed spending time with her, but she wouldn’t listen to the important things we needed to do to make the relationship work, so I guess it was never meant to be.” He let out a slow breath before finishing the rest of his breakfast.
The eggs had gotten slightly cold, but he didn’t mind.
Eventually, he rinsed off his plate, grabbed his gym bag, and headed for the front door.
The cool morning air hit him as he locked the house behind him.
He slipped his earbuds into his ears and clicked on the first song in his playlist, Back in Black by AC/DC.
The gym was only a short walk away.
As Derrek stepped into a crosswalk, the deafening blast of a truck’s horn shattered the silence.
His head snapped toward the sound.
A delivery truck barreled through the intersection, its driver desperately slamming on the brakes.
The tires screamed against the pavement as the truck skidded toward him.
Derrek instinctively jumped backward.
The truck missed him by less than a foot.
His heart pounded.
“Jesus, that was close…” Before he could take another step, the truck clipped a utility pole on the side of the road.
The impact echoed through the street.
With a sharp crack, the upper half of the pole splintered and toppled toward the sidewalk.
Someone shouted a warning.
Derrek looked up just as the massive wooden pole came crashing down.
Everything went black.
Darkness.
Then…
warmth.
Derrek frowned.
Why does my entire body feel so…
heavy?
He tried to move his arms, but they barely responded.
A strange pressure surrounded him, and unfamiliar voices echoed nearby.
“…She’s awake.” “Look, She’s opening her eyes.” Who’s talking?
Derrek forced his eyes open.
The bright light stung, leaving everything blurry.
Shapes slowly came into focus — two unfamiliar faces leaning over him.
A woman with long, dark hair smiled through exhausted tears while a black-haired man stood beside her, unable to hide the relief on his face.
Where am I…?
He tried to ask the question.
“Wh—” Instead, the only sound that escaped his mouth was a baby’s cry.
His eyes widened.
…What?
He tried again.
Another tiny cry.
Panic surged through him.
No…
no, no, no.
Why can’t I talk?
The woman gently picked him up and cradled him against her chest.
“She’s so precious,” she whispered.
The man chuckled softly.
“My mother must be so worried waiting outside.” He looked down at the newborn in his wife’s arms and smiled.
“So…
what should we name her?” The woman looked at the baby for a moment before meeting her husband’s eyes.
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since I found out I was pregnant.” She smiled.
“I want her name to be Shizuku.” The man nodded without hesitation.
“Shizuku…
it suits her.” He rested a hand on the baby’s head.
“Then it’s decided.
From this day forward, your name is Shizuku Uchiha.” Derrek’s mind froze.
…Uchiha?
As in…
the Uchiha?
His tiny eyes darted around the room — the dark-haired couple, the traditional Japanese-style home, the unfamiliar clothing.
There’s no way…
I died…
and got reincarnated?
Into the Naruto world?
The realization hit him all at once.
His old life.
His home.
Everything was gone.
He felt relieved.
No, it might be more accurate to say he felt elated.
No more studying for ten or more hours a day just to get through university and become a lawyer.
No more worrying about spending years building a career, only to work every waking hour.
No more wondering if he’d ever be able to afford a house with how absurd prices had become.
And no more lying awake at night wondering if advances in AI would eventually replace his job before he even had the chance to earn his degree.
As his excitement continued to grow, another thought crossed his mind.
…Wait.
His mother gently rocked him in her arms.
“She’s so quiet now,” she said with a warm smile.
“I know,” his father replied.
“Our little girl is so well behaved.” Derrek’s smile slowly faded.
…She?
His eyes widened slightly.
Did they just…
He looked down at his tiny body, only now realizing that he hadn’t actually paid attention in the midst of everything that had happened.
I’m…
a girl?
He blinked a few times, letting the realization sink in.
Huh.
That was…
unexpected.
He’d never been particularly attached to being a man in his previous life.
It had simply been the way he was born.
If this new life happened to begin as a girl instead, then so be it.
Not like I had any say in it anyway.
Besides, compared to everything else that had happened — dying, reincarnating, and somehow ending up in the Naruto world — being born as a girl was not that crazy, and it wasn’t something that mattered that much.
…Though I wonder if being a girl will make me like men.
But I guess there is no use thinking about that now since I’m a newborn.
With that thought, Shizuku closed her eyes, deciding there were far bigger things to worry about than the body she’d been born into.
This is what the start of the first chapter sounded like before I had AI add some things to it, change the dialogue structure a lot, and add some expressive words.
Then, after that, I would change it to how I liked it, so I write the chapter first, then I ask AI to fix it 🙁 Derrek Berg woke up and sighed, “I guess today is the day I’m going to break up with her.” Derrek pulled out his phone, typed in a number, and pressed call “Hey babe, why did you call me so early in the morning?
I wanted to sleep in a bit longer.” “Do you have time to meet up today at 12?
There is something I need to talk to you about.” “Hahaha, you make it sound like you’re breaking up with me, and yeah, I do have time today.” I will try to get better with writing and improve to the point where I don’t need AI to help at all