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
I had another bad dream this morning.
And this time, it was even more graphic than last time—I was forced to watch the worst possible outcome unfold right before my eyes: Shinori dying.
The dream was strange.
She suddenly brought up breaking up, and the moment I agreed, she jumped off a building.
My attempts to chase after her were in vain, and she turned into a pile of flesh with a sickening sound.
I screamed in shock, and at that moment, my consciousness linked with reality, and I woke up.
Staring blankly at the sweat trickling down my face, I greeted the morning.
But it’s strange.
What is this uneasy feeling in my chest?
Last time, I thought it was a premonition of the future, but this feels more like the past is being dredged up—
I was left with that strange feeling.
Because the “me” in the dream was, most likely, my form from a past life.
“Wait, what is that supposed to mean?”
I said, giving a wry smile.
I’d taken on my form from my previous life in my dreams countless times before.
It’s nothing new.
Besides, there’s nothing to “dredge up”—I’ve never dated Shinori in the past.
—“Well, what about an ex-girlfriend or something?”
I suddenly remembered Ouka’s question and caught my breath.
I could feel my heart racing.
“…Sigh. If I’d been that popular with the ladies, I probably would’ve been able to maintain a proper distance from Shinori and the other heroines.”
If I had more dating experience, I’m sure I could have handled things better.
At the very least, I wouldn’t have ended up in this mess, with two heroines harboring feelings for me.
Still, why on earth is this affecting me so much?
…Why, indeed.
I got caught up in my own thoughts and let out a wry smile.
Maybe I have a bigger “unpopular guy” complex than I realized.
“I-it’s not like I want a girlfriend or anything. …Wait, saying that out loud makes me sound like I’m putting on a brave front. Even though that’s how I really feel.”
Muttering to myself, I headed for the shower.
I’m going to be late today.
◇
A few more days have passed since then.
It’s Tuesday, the start of a new week.
I haven’t seen Ouka for three days—Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
We exchanged contact info, but we haven’t messaged each other at all.
We were in different classes to begin with, and since she’s the quiet type, I didn’t run into her much at school anyway.
But now, more than that, I was clearly avoiding her myself.
Because.
“Aren’t you going to talk to Shiraki today?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you two seem close.”
“We’re just friends, so it’s not like we have to talk every day or anything.”
“Hmm. But you go on dates, don’t you?”
“……”
Faced with her piercing gaze, I let the corners of my mouth droop.
Needless to say, the reason was this girl.
“Um, Shinori-san,”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Aren’t you keeping something from me?”
“What are you talking about? I have no idea.”
No matter how I looked at it, the way she spoke made it sound like she knew I’d been with Ouka last weekend.
Does she really think she can play dumb with that answer?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to follow people around like that. I don’t know if you’ve been influenced by that nagging upperclassman or what.”
When I implied I was referring to Yukimi, a look of irritation flashed across Shinori’s face.
Apparently, she’s annoyed at being lumped in with that woman.
Poor Yukimi.
Even though I helped her so much during the midterms, it seems she didn’t earn any respect from her underclassmen.
Just as I was grinning to myself at that thought, Shinorisnorted derisively.
“Well, to begin with, I was just testing you, you know.”
“……I see. So that’s how it is. You’re quite the strategist, aren’t you? But whether you can get away with it is another matter.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t know a thing—not about how you were hanging out with that unassuming girl from the class next door, or that she has some slightly unusual circumstances, or that you’re ultimately a guy who goes for pretty girls, or how you’re slyly keeping me around even while explicitly saying I’m not your girlfriend.”
“Hey, you’re making some of that up. And besides, you’ve seen everything anyway.”
I got a chill because she knew way more about the situation than I’d expected.
Scary.
Way too scary.
Seriously, where the hell was she?
I thought I sensed a presence for a split second earlier—so it wasn’t just my imagination after all?
Even so, her stealth is next-level.
It’s like the work of a pro or someone who’s been cut from the same cloth.
There’s no one close to me who could pull that off… wait, there is.
I just mentioned her name myself a moment ago, didn’t I?
That woman could definitely do it—and she’d be capable of it.
So that means she’s probably an accomplice in this stalking, right?
I see. I get it now.
It really seems like I’ve caught the attention of the worst kind of heroines.
“Just so you know, this isn’t a date. You understand there are reasons I can’t tell anyone about this, right?”
“Well, yeah. I don’t plan on spreading it around either, so don’t worry. Even though it’s just out of curiosity, I know I did something wrong, so I won’t say a word.”
“You’re just invading my privacy way too much. Though, come to think of it, a certain upperclassman has already become a repeat offender.”
“…Are you mad?”
“Not really.”
Now that she asks, I have to admit I feel a bit strange myself.
Why don’t I feel uncomfortable even though I’m being watched like this?
Maybe I’m actually a masochist.
I’d hate that.
Just as I was thinking that, Shinori muttered in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.
“But you’re at fault too. …It’s only natural that I’d worry, isn’t it?”
“……”
She didn’t say exactly what she meant, but since she was staring intently at the scar on my left arm, I knew exactly what she was getting at.
……I think that’s kind of sneaky.
When she says something like that, I can’t help but feel guilty.
Even though I’m the one being watched without my consent.
I caught myself thinking something lame like, “Come on, just wrap this up with the usual romantic comedy punchline.”
Ah, I really am a coward.
With a wry smile, I shifted my focus.
One way or another, it’s already June 17th.
It’s way too suspicious that Ouka’s event still hasn’t triggered, but I have to keep my mind focused on what’s ahead.
Once July rolls around, Aoiko’s event will start too.
As for that one, the culprit has already started making moves, and with the Kisa incident—which was also the work of the same person—I have to raise my alert level to the max.
Just as I was worrying about all this, Shinori muttered wistfully.
“Come to think of it, Kisa-chan hasn’t come to hang out with us lately, has she?”
“…Well, I guess she’s got her own stuff going on.”
Before I knew it, the two of us were calling each other by our first names.
Kisa still hasn’t gotten involved with our group yet.
With the sports festival coming up, our group is feeling a little awkward.
Even today—it’s lunch break right now—Shinori and I were eating alone.
Ujiya is absent from school—whether he actually has a fever or is faking it—and Akito, picking up on that and overthinking things, went off to hang out with friends in another class.
A gloomy, slightly unpleasant atmosphere hangs in the air.
“I’d like to hang out with everyone again.”
“……Leave it to me. I’ll figure something out.”
“……? What’s that supposed to mean? You say some pretty funny things, don’t you?”
My mind had gotten mixed up with my “behind-the-scenes scheming” mode as a background character, and I accidentally said the wrong thing.
Just as I was giving a wry smile, thinking I’d be laughed at again, Shinori simply said with a shy smile,
“Well then, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yeah.”
All things considered, it feels good to be trusted.
I nodded and took a big bite of the remaining rice ball.
Maiban