I’ve Been Reincarnated as the Childhood Friend of a Doomed Heroine. Since I Don’t Want to Get Caught up in Her Bad Ending, I’ll Make Sure She Ends up Happy
Friday arrived.
Nothing special was happening, so I was enjoying a peaceful day for the first time in a while.
“You’ve been getting along with Hiiragi-san a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Really?”
Today felt a little different.
Because Shinori followed me home after school.
After finishing cleaning as usual, I was about to head home with Kisa when I bumped into Shinori at the entrance.
Kisa then mysteriously made a point of leaving us alone together.
It was none of her business, but now that things had turned out this way, I couldn’t exactly avoid Shinori.
“You guys are always together, aren’t you?”
“We clean the same area.”
“But I hear you walk home together too?”
“Our schedules just happen to line up.”
Speaking of cleaning, there’s the matter of Yukimi. I’ve been avoiding any contact with her entirely.
We rarely even cross paths.
She must really dislike me. I know she’s in the back cubicle, but she never comes out.
She probably hides during cleaning time, refusing to even see my face.
What an infuriating little princess.
While I was frowning, recalling this memory, Shinori closed the distance between us.
“You never go home with me, though.”
“Then what exactly is this situation right now?”
“Well… ahaha, like an after-school date?”
“Ha ha ha, I see. —But jokes aside.”
“Don’t just brush it off. Sure, it is a joke, but still? Ugh, this is annoying. Hey!”
She shoved my shoulder, sending me stumbling.
She still has that crazy strength and no sense of restraint.
I was one step away from stepping into the road and meeting my end in an accident.
She really is the Grim Reaper.
“Don’t get so mad.”
“I’m not angry? But still, it’s weird. It means you’re on a date with Hiiragi-san every day after school, right?”
“That’s a huge leap.”
“But but, even today you two seemed so close. Are you dating?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But Hiiragi-san said the other day that you told her sternly, ‘Stay by my side forever…’ That’s the same tone he used when he defended me the other day.”
“That girl, saying unnecessary things…”
I did say something similar, but it’s misleading.
It was just playful banter to begin with.
The fact she went out of her way to report it to Shinori is infuriating.
It’s painfully obvious she’s trying to mess with our relationship.
So, to Shinori, who’d been grilling me in this mysterious interrogation tone since earlier, I countered with a question of my own.
“What about you? You’ve been through a lot, right?”
“…Huh? You ask that kind of thing?”
“Because I’m curious.”
It wasn’t fair that I was the only one being questioned.
Besides, gathering intel was important for my own safety, and I needed to catch up on her recent situation while I had the chance.
But she started talking about something different than I expected.
“Thanks to you, the harassment stopped… but you’re suddenly bringing up dark stuff.”
She glared at me, and I looked away.
Bad.
I think I gave her the wrong impression.
I meant to ask about her relationship with Akito, but she seemed to think I was talking about the bullying.
Also, by the way, that group really did stop coming to school after that incident.
Rumor has it they started attending a different high school.
Since they were notorious for bad behavior, nobody particularly mourned their absence.
People just assumed they’d been expelled by the teachers behind the scenes.
Either way, my involvement never came to light.
Everything worked out smoothly.
“Ugh. Guys are all non-delicacy. It was supposed to be a fun after-school date.”
“Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that last joke. —Are you talking about Akito?”
“You figured it out.”
“Well, I wasn’t really asking about the harassment thing. I meant about your relationship with Akito.”
“Huh? No way.”
It was understandable, though.
She’d been subjected to that much harassment.
It was only natural she’d be on edge.
Realizing her mistake, Shinori gave a wry smile.
“S-sorry. I misunderstood… Wait, nothing’s going on with Suga-kun either, okay?”
She immediately tilted her head in confusion.
Her expression clearly said, “Like I’m even thinking about Akito?”
“Wait, you two were getting along pretty well just recently, weren’t you?”
“Ah, yeah. Well, kinda.”
“—Huh?”
Shinori’s expression turned subtly suggestive, and the blood drained from my face.
H-hold on a sec.
Huh? What’s with that reaction?
Eh? Did something happen?
Did some flag get broken behind my back?
Is a bad ending already guaranteed?
“…Did he do something?”
When I asked timidly, Shinori burst out laughing.
“Seriously, what’s with that reaction? You’re acting like you’d die if we ever fell out.”
“Not like I’d die—I would die.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? That’s scary.”
Shinori recoiled at my joking yet sincere response.
“You’ve always been weird, Toyono-kun.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“But seriously, what? Do you really want me to date Suga-kun that badly?”
Caught off guard by her piercing question, I was at a loss.
Honestly, it was true, but pushing too hard for it felt unnatural.
I’d better dodge this one smoothly.
“Well, yeah. It’d probably make Hanesaki happier too.”
“Huh. So you’re wishing for my happiness?”
“Of course. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I wish for your happiness more than anyone else in the world.”
Because if I didn’t, I’d die.
“Huh!? Eh, eh… Is that because we’re childhood friends?”
“Of course. To me, Hanesaki is special.”
“…Are you stupid?”
“Huh?”
Shit.
Somehow, Shinori’s face had turned serious.
Had I been so lost in my own world that my replies had become careless?
I sensed some kind of disconnect in our conversation…
I panicked at Shinori’s strange demeanor.
Thinking I might have upset her, I freaked out.
“N-no. I’m just worried! You know, because of what happened!”
“I said it’s fine now. Thanks to you, it got resolved. I’m grateful. Thanks.”
“Then why…”
“I don’t know. …I don’t even know myself.”
I must have stepped on some kind of landmine.
This is weird.
Putting preferences aside, I’ve read every single scenario without skipping any. There’s no way I could have missed Shinori’s personality or her landmines.
As I felt uneasy, she suddenly slapped both her cheeks.
Then, with a determined look, she glared at me.
“Let’s meet on the 29th, in the afternoon. Meet at the station plaza at 1 PM.”
“Huh?”
“See you next week then.”
With that, Shinori immediately turned her back on me.
The station square was the standard meeting spot in the neighboring town of Chikura City.
Since it was also our hometown, just saying “station square” meant there was only one place we both understood.
But still, why?
Why did she need to summon me to such a place?
“…What’s going on?”
I was left standing there alone.
Maiban
For someone who played a lot of visual novels, he’s pretty dense af~