I Am Truck-Kun New Year Special

  Divine Resolution

  In the afterlife, the realm of the gods, stands a divine hall, the hall of celebrations. For millennia, at the end of each year, the gods gather in this place to commemorate dawning of another year of humanity, it is a sacred tradition.

  “I think they’d really enjoy playing ‘Pin the wing mirror on the Truck-Kun’.” Abeona argued, shoving her crudely hand-drawn picture of a truck in her sister Adiona’s face.

  Adiona snatched the drawing from Abeona and tore it up. “The Twenty Four Hour New Year Celebration Ball is one of the highlights of the divine calendar, it is hardly the time for such a childish game.” She insisted sharply. “Now are you going to help me put up these decorations or not?”

  After picking up the tattered remains of her picture, Abeona forced the shredded pieces into Adiona’s hand. “Here’s some confetti, can I go now?” Abeona groaned wearily, “I’ve got important Project Isekai business to take care of.”

  Adiona raised a sceptical eyebrow, “Let me guess, by ‘important Project Isekai business,’ you mean you want to go watch anime.”

  Abeona’s eyes avoided her sister’s piercing gaze, “It’s research...” she protested quietly, her voice trailing off.

  “Today was meant to be a night off, why do we have to do this anyway?” Abeona grumbled.

  “Janus himself gave this task to me.” Adiona beamed proudly as she began tying up the first side of an enormous Happy New Year Banner. “You know how important The New Year Celebration Ball is to him. He is the god of transitions after all”

  “If it’s that important to him, he should set it up himself.” Abeona spat.

  Not rising to her sister’s jab, Adiona continued with her work “He is a very busy god, so it’s only natural he would need bestow this job to his most trusted and reliable assistant.”

  “Not to mention the most humble.” Abeona quipped, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know why we bother, the Chinese gods are just gonna be putting on their own shindig in about a month anyway.”

  Adiona continued to ignore her sister’s remarks as she finished setting up the banner. “So what do you think?” She asked Abeona while mopping the sweat from her brow.

  “It says 2025,” noted Abeona blankly.

  “Yes, that is what year it’ll be after all, do keep up, ” Adiona shot back.

  “But it can’t be, that number is far too low.” Abeona observed with a sly grin.

  Adiona tilted her head in confusion. “No I checked, 2025 is definitely correct” she insisted.

  “But the earth is billions of years old, not two thousand and twenty five years old,” complained Abeona. “For instance, What happened to all the millions of years where the dinosaurs roamed the earth?”

  Adiona shook her head with a sigh, “That doesn’t count, I mean, even the gods weren’t around back then.”

  “That shouldn’t matter, think of the dinosaurs sis, they are being unfairly left out, what must they be feeling?” Abeona climbed onto one of the tables and began rhythmically pumping her fist in the air, marching on the spot enthusiastically while chanting loudly, “JUSTICE FOR THE JURASSIC! FOR CREATURES OF THE CRETACEOUS! IN TRIASSIC WE TRUST!”

  “GET DOWN FROM THERE.” Adiona barked at her sister, while massaging her temples. “Why do you always have to be so ridiculous?” she grumbled as she straightened out the tablecloth that Abeona had messed up with her marching.

  Abeona got off the table and sat down, going unusually quiet as she sat down on one of the chairs. Both the sisters sat as an air of awkward silence flowed between them, neither one looking at the other.

  Eventually, Adiona turned to look at her sister, noticing she had an unusually contemplative look on her face.

  “You’ve really got to learn to be more responsible.” Adiona explained gently, “I didn’t get where I am by messing about. If you took things more seriously and dropped this silly Project Isekai nonsense, if you focused all that energy into something more important, you could really make something of yourself.” She said, giving her sister a warm reassuring smile.

  “After all it’s new year, perfect time to turn over a new leaf,” She added, nudging her sister who was still staring into the middle distance.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Sorry what were you saying?” asked Abeona, snapping out of her trance like state, “I was just wondering if I could Isekai a T-Rex.”

  Adiona face palmed hard, “I should have known, you really are hopeless.”

  “Oh come on, even you have to admit ‘The Reincarnated Hero Is Actually A T-Rex’ would be one awesome anime.” Abeona giggled. “What kind of person wouldn’t want to watch that?”

  “I was saying, new year is a time for turning over a new leaf,” Adiona explained to her sister. “Surely there is something you’d like to change? You know, some way to improve yourself?”

  “Hmmm...” Abeona tapped her finger against her mouth while making an exaggerated ‘thinking’ pose. “I don’t know, I mean it’s pretty hard to improve on perfection.”

  “Now who's being humble?” Adiona remarked dryly, before suggesting, “Have you considered perhaps making a new years resolution?”

  “I have actually, I’m thinking of giving up chocolate.” Abeona said as she took a chocolate from the table's centerpiece display and popped it in her mouth.

  Adiona walked over to her sister and gave her a patronising pat on the shoulder. “You’re clearly off to a good start.”

  “Hey mmm gimmee a mmm brea...mmm” Abeona began, her words muffled by a mouthful of chocolate. After swallowing the sweet treat she repeated, “Hey cut me some slack, the new year hasn’t even started yet.”

  “Fair point” Adiona conceded.

  “Besides, she grinned, these are going to taste so much better once I’m not technically allowed to have them.” She chuckled as she pocketed a large handful.

  “One, those are for the party.” Abeona scolded as she pulled the wad of chocolates from her sister’s pocket and put them back in place. “Two, that’s not how resolutions work. Three, are you actually planning on making yourself useful or not?”

  “Aye aye ma’am.” Abeona saluted playfully, before picking up some multi coloured party balloons and starting to carefully tie one to each of the hundreds of chairs that filled the hall.

  After about an hour of both sister’s quietly going about their duties, Abeona piped up. “If I talked to Chronos, do you think he’d let me go back in time and Isekai a dinosaur?”

  “DON’T YOU DARE!” Adiona warned sharply. “Do you have any idea the trouble you could get in for requesting time travel for such a frivolous reason? Not to mention the fact It’d reflect badly on me as your overseer.”

  “Relax, I’m joking, you always take everything so seriously.” Abeona chided playfully.

  Adiona stormed away from her sister, “One of us has to.” She sighed as she refocused on hanging more decorations. “Everything’s a joke to you.”

  “Hey not everything. I’ve been working really hard on Project Isekai.” Abeona asserted firmly, glaring at her sister, as her normal cheery tone evaporated away.

  “That dumb project of yours is the biggest joke of all.” Adiona shot fiercely.

  *THUD*

  The glasses and cutlery rattled as Abeona thumped the table. “IT’S NOT A JOKE. IT'S IMPORTANT, IT’S SOMETHING HUMANS WANT.”

  “What about Wheeler, you know, that poor human whose soul you trapped in the form of a truck, was that what he wanted?” Adiona asked pointedly.

  Abeona was immediately on the back foot, “I had to get around all your ridiculous rules and red tape somehow. You know a good sister would be trying to help me, not sabotage me”

  A laugh of disbelief from Adiona filled the air. “Oh so it’s my fault? Of course, as always, I’m just the bad big sister spoiling your fun, am I right?”

  “This isn’t about fun, I’m building something that matters.” Tears formed in Abeona’s eyes as she shouted back at her sister.

  The argument between the pair intensified, “You have no idea what you’re doing, the damage you could cause, Project Isekai is inherently reckless.” Warned Adiona harshly.

  “Then help me,” Abeona pleaded, “If you work with me instead of against me we could...”

  “I am TRYING to help you.” Adiona insisted coldly, “While you act like a child, with your irresponsible ideas, I’m helping you by acting like the responsible adult, cleaning up the messy reality you leave behind.”

  At that moment, Abeona realised, that no matter what she said, her sister would never understand her. “You know what, forget it.”

  Abeona grabbed another handful of chocolates from the table, shoved them in her pockets and headed towards the exit. “Good luck decorating this place on your own, I’m out of here.”

  “Fine by me,” Her sister replied coldly. “You were just slowing me down anyway.”

  Abeona left her sister to it, storming out the door without looking back. Had she done so, Abeona might have caught the regretful expression that briefly flickered across her sister’s face.

  Returning to her room. Abeona she collapsed in her bed, she wondered to herself “Why do I even bother with her? She’ll never change, she’ll always be the same stuck up... aggghhh.” Abeona pounded her pillow in frustration

  Glancing over at her tablet, Abeona saw the display monitoring Wheeler’s status. She considered talking to him but ultimately decided against it. After all she had promised him that she’d allow him to take a break from Truck-Kun duties for tonight, it being new year and all.

  “Next year, things will be different.” Abeona told herself. “Next year, with Project Isekai, I’ll finally make a difference,” She resolved.

  That night, Abeona saw in the new year in her room, as the other gods partied for twenty four hours solid as the new year passed through every time zone. She dared not show her face, as her sister was probably there. Instead she consoled herself by binge watching anime, alone.

  She wasn’t the only one, Abeona had been wrong. Adiona was not at the party, but instead busily working away in an empty office. While the other gods enjoyed the celebration, Adiona didn’t have time for such things, there was always work she felt needed to be done.

  Meanwhile, Wheeler was parked quietly outside his parents house. While he was frustrated by still being stuck in his truck form, he appreciated having a night off from being ‘Truck-Kun’.

  Tonight, he wanted to be with his family, or as near as he could get to them in his current state. He knew he couldn’t communicate with them, he may not even see them, but as the year came to an end, at least he could be close to them.

  The warm glow from the house’s windows indicated they were still awake as the clock turned midnight. “Happy New Year Mom and Dad, he sighed to himself as the chimes ringing in the new year played over his radio, followed by Auld Lang Syne.

  The End