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
A popular model had a boyfriend.
What’s more, she bragged about it on a secret account—and apparently had even been trading heated replies with her haters for quite some time… It was a scandal that felt like the end of the world.
That was the gist of the incident once it came to light.
That said, she’s just a kid who’ll turn 17 this year.
Even when she “bragged,” most of her posts were just her getting carried away and having fun.
As a result, most people actually feel sorry for her in the midst of this whole mess.
I checked it out myself as soon as I heard about it, and it seems to me that, rather than a full-blown scandal, it’s mostly just being treated as a joke that people are having fun with.
Apparently, there were elements in a photo she posted on her secret account last night that clearly identified her as Ouka, and that seems to be what sparked the whole thing.
She hasn’t mentioned this on her main account and is still keeping quiet about it.
But still.
“What do you mean, ‘boyfriend’?”
I was so taken aback that I blurted that out.
“It’s supposedly the guy in the picture posted on that account, right?”
“All we can see is the sleeve of his jacket.”
“Yeah.”
“That outfit looks familiar, though.”
“Well, of course it does. That’s your everyday outfit, after all.”
“……”
This is weird.
Something completely baffling is going on.
As far as I know, Ouka Shiraki doesn’t have a boyfriend.
Even if it were possible, the only scenario where that could happen would be the dating route with Akito—the one that follows the original Sakuchiru storyline.
Either way, there’s absolutely no way she could have a boyfriend right now.
Besides, judging by this post…
I managed to force the words out of my parched mouth.
“…I’m not dating that girl.”
“Oh, that’s strange. That post says ‘boyfriend’ though.”
“……”
It’s mean of her to go out of her way to say “pi” just like it’s written in the original.
I suppose that’s just typical of Yukimi, but given the situation, I couldn’t even laugh.
Who even calls their boyfriend “pi” these days, anyway?
It just looks like a cringeworthy expression used by a girl who’s clearly inexperienced in romance, trying her hardest to make a move.
“What are you planning to do? You’re the one who’s been dropping all those hints again, so you must have led her to misunderstand, right?”
Her accusatory tone made me chuckle a little.
Because I thought she was absolutely right.
I was fully aware that, in this case, it was almost entirely my fault.
Of course, it wasn’t like I was planning to just let things slide.
If she’d told me she liked me, I think I would’ve put some distance between us.
That’s why I asked her once.
“Do you like me?”
But back then, she vehemently denied it.
Looking back now, it was probably just her way of hiding her shyness, but from my perspective, once she denied her feelings, I no longer had a reason to avoid her any more than necessary.
As long as I didn’t provoke Shinori, I could maintain the same distance as before.
Even on the day of the sports festival, that’s why I chatted with her as usual.
Besides, as I’ve said many times, nothing had even happened with Ouka, so when she told me she didn’t have feelings for me, I just convinced myself that must be the case.
That’s why I—found that situation quite convenient.
To be honest, the time I spent with her was fun.
We’d banter, share stories about our similar hobbies, hang out together, and eat meals.
Regardless of whether she was my former favorite heroine or not, spending time with her as a friend made me happy.
That’s why I was able to turn a blind eye.
When she said she didn’t like me, I felt relieved deep down.
I mean, it makes sense, right?
If she isn’t interested, it gives me an excuse to still hang out with her.
Besides, it’s true that I never expected things to turn out like this.
In the original story, she’d already been embroiled in a scandal because of her secret account, but that was strictly because her online arguments with haters had been exposed.
Who on earth could have imagined that she’d post a photo pretending a guy who she just had a one-sided crush was her boyfriend, and that her bragging would backfire, leading to her identity being revealed and a massive backlash?
……Ah, this is bad.
Seriously, what should I do?
With the Chagiri incident this morning, my head is a total mess.
As I was worrying, Yukimi spoke to me in a gentle voice.
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you just go out with her?”
“——Huh?”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what she meant.
When I looked up, Yukimi was smiling with her brows furrowed, as if encouraging a clueless junior.
“You looked like you were having a lot of fun when you were with her, though.”
“……I’ll refrain from asking exactly what you saw.”
“Either way, with all this commotion, that girl must be feeling completely cornered by now.”
“I suppose so.”
“Then shouldn’t someone be there to support her?”
“……”
Come to think of it, Yukimi had been watching me and Ouka that day alongside Shinori, hadn’t she?
It was that day when she let me watch her on set.
There were a few minor hiccups, but to an outsider, it must have looked like nothing but a date.
But so what?
“You don’t plan on dating Hanesaki either, do you? If that’s the case—”
“Huh? So you’re saying I should date Ouka Shiraki?”
As I said that, I realized my mind had gone completely blank.
My brain was clearly blocking my understanding.
Or rather, it felt like a thick, heavy wall deep inside me was refusing to let those words reach the core of my heart.
Of course, I understand the intent behind Yukumi’s suggestion.
It wouldn’t be a fundamental solution, but at the very least, if we just started dating, I could help her shed the label of that “way-too-crazy girl” who was bragging about her imaginary (but real) boyfriend.
Ouka must think I’m aware of this online backlash, and there’s probably nothing more embarrassing than her finding out about it herself.
If we date, the fact that I’m her boyfriend wouldn’t be a lie anymore, and I could rescue her from that hell of shame.
And I understand why Yukimi is suggesting this, too.
She thinks I have special feelings for Ouka.
It’s true—I was probably so kind to her that even an outsider could tell.
It’s only natural for her to think that.
I’m aware of it myself.
So, why?
What on earth am I hesitating about?
It’s a fact that I have at least some feelings for her, yet the way I’m rejecting her right now is abnormal.
I can’t make sense of it myself, so I start to brood.
I decided to try to untangle my own heart, which was in an unnaturally restless state.
Is it Shinori, after all?
Am I scared of betraying her feelings?
Am I hesitating because I’m afraid that the ending I feared most—the one where she jumps to her death—is becoming a real possibility?
……Of course, that’s part of it.
After all, I don’t want to die.
I’m starting to lose sight of why I’ve been working so hard behind the scenes all this time.
If it ends up with me getting easily charmed by my former favorite heroine just because she likes me, it’d be like, “Are you kidding me?”
But still.
——No.
It’s a plausible line of reasoning, but I couldn’t accept it.
It’s not that shallow.
I feel like this suffocating sense of unease can’t be explained simply by fear of the Shinori ending or the “collateral damage” ending.
It runs much deeper than that.
In my mind, I feel like I’m almost there—just a little closer to the answer.
Or rather, I probably understood it all along, deep down in my subconscious.
I’d just been forcefully suppressing it.
If I could just open this door to my heart—which feels far too thick—the answer would likely reveal itself.
So, I’m going to face it head-on.
Why do I have such a strong resistance to dating?
It’s just high school romance.
She likes me, and I have feelings for her too.
In that case, shouldn’t I just nod and be done with it?
It shouldn’t be something that makes me hesitate this much and stubbornly refuse.
That’s right.
It’s not specifically because it’s Ouka.
It wouldn’t be any different if it were Shinori, or even Yukimi right in front of me.
I just can’t bring myself to want to date anyone.
Because—.
“Ah, I see. …”
What comes to mind is something from the past.
Something that happened even before I was born.
Emotions I’d kept bottled up for so long begin to spill out.
By forcibly opening that lid, a flashback of the past—one I’d unconsciously suppressed throughout my life as Kyota Toyono—came flooding back.
And then.
“Go out with someone, huh? Me and someone else… Wait, what?”
“Toyono?”
“Heh heh, ha, ha ha ha… Ugh, pffft. O, ugh—”
What spilled out wasn’t words, but the contents of my stomach.
Before I could vomit, I frantically covered my mouth and rushed to the restroom.
I entered a stall and violently vomited everything I’d been holding back.
My throat hurt from the stomach acid, tears were streaming down my face, and I couldn’t stop breaking out in a cold sweat.
For several dozen seconds, I kept vomiting.
After vomiting, I left the stall and tried to make my way back to the art room.
But I couldn’t manage it.
My legs gave way, and I banged my head against the exit door and collapsed.
I managed to drag half my body out into the hallway, but I had no strength left, so I stopped right there.
Then my vision went dark, and I lost consciousness.
Maiban