Kiyotaka's POV
"Are you okay, Kiyotaka-nii-san?"
The girl looked at me worriedly. I later found out that her name was Ayanokouji Shinobu, and she was my younger twin sister in this timeline. Unfortunately, she was also placed in the White Room like I was.
Right now, we were having the most awkward breakfast I've ever experienced in my life.
"I'm fine." I said. However, Shinobu didn't believe me.
"You may still have that poker face, but I can sense it. There's something off about you." she was narrowing her eyes at me. She was pretty emotional and sincere which was incredibly different compared to how I was at this point in time.
"There's really nothing wrong with me. Don't worry about it, Shinobu." I said. Shinobu suddenly pointed at me.
"There! That's what's off! You'll never ask someone to not worry about you!" she shouted.
"It's rude to point at someone, Shinobu-sama." Matsuo suddenly entered the room as she brought two cups of tea for the both of us.
My guilt when it came to Matsuo's, and eventually, Eiichiro's death had reemerged to the surface. They were the earliest casualties to my pursuit of freedom. Now that I'm here, they're probably the first people that I'm going to save.
"Kiyotaka-nii-san is acting strange, Matsuo-san!" she said.
"That is still no reason to be rude." Matsuo admonished her gently. He then turned to me. "Kiyotaka-sama, you have guests."
"Guests?" both me and Shinobu said at the same time.
"How can Kiyotaka-nii-san have guests? We just got out of the White Room yesterday." Shinobu said.
I see, so that means we have a 1 year headstart. Great.
"What did they say?" I asked.
"They just said they were looking for you. Their names are Honami, Suzuki, Shin, and Miharu."
So it's them. It seems they didn't say anything too suspicious, though them being here is already suspicious.
"I'll meet them, where are they?"
"They have been moved to one of the guest rooms for now, you can meet them there." he answered.
"You know who they are, Kiyotaka-nii-san?" Shinobu asked.
"I know who they are." I said. "I'll tell you about them later."
"You better." she said. "I don't like that you're keeping things from me right now. We... only have each other, right? You're acting so strange."
She is awfully attached to me. She... reminds me of someone.
"I'll tell you later." I said. Despite the fact that she was supposed to be my sister, I couldn't bring myself to care too much about her. We did only meet about an hour ago.
"Fine. But make sure to tell me what's going on later, okay?!"
"Yes, I will."
With that, I finished my breakfast and left to the guest room.
"Please leave the three of us alone, Matsuo." I requested. He simply bowed and agreed to my request.
*****
"Dad!"
Both of them shouted and hugged me. Of course, I hugged them back in response.
"It's weird how you're smaller than us here, Dad." Honami said.
"Don't be so overexcited, it's only been an hour since we last saw each other."
"Yeah, we know." she replied.
"It's nice to see you again, Uncle Kiyotaka." Miharu said.
"Just... call me Kiyotaka-san instead." I said, not wanting to be called uncle by her considering my current age.
"Sure, Kiyotaka-san!" she said cheerfully. Shin also nodded along.
"Anyway, have you seen any of the differences that guy mentioned?" Suzuki spoke excitedly.
"I have a twin sister in this timeline, it seems." I said, surprising the both of them.
"Oh! So we have an aunt here! I wanna see her!" Suzuki shouted excitedly.
"Interesting. I wonder what she's like." Honami smiled serenely.
Now that I see it, Honami and Shinobu look very similar. The only difference that they have are the color of their hair as well as their... body shape, so to speak.
While Shinobu's body was average for her age, Honami was... as well-developed as her namesake.
I really shouldn't be saying that about my daughter, but I digress. It was simply a matter of comparing them, nothing else.
"She's quite overly emotional. The exact opposite of me at this period in time. She managed to figure out that something was off about me when I joined breakfast just now and had made me swear to tell her everything. Not that I wouldn't tell her anything anyway."
"You have no choice, Dad. There is no way you can explain away our appearance here in a logical fashion." Suzuki said. "Besides, you want to save Matsuo-san, too, right?"
"Matsuo and his son, yes." I nodded. "That would be easier said than done at this point, though."
"Why?" Suzuki asked.
"Both of them died when I was already at ANHS, and both of them died through suicide." I said.
Preventing Eiichiro's death might also prevent Nanase's, since she wouldn't have any reason to be involved with my mess if he doesn't die.
"My act of entering ANHS itself is what caused their deaths, so the easier way would have been to not enter ANHS, but that would just result in me, and now Shinobu, going back to the White Room, and no one but my friends and your mother would be aware of its existence at this point in the timeline, and they would be powerless to stop it since they're only highschool students at this point. " I continued. "Besides, the reason why the White Room was destroyed in the first place was because of all the people I met at ANHS, including Manabu, who was the one to expose the White Room. In short-"
"You have to enroll at ANHS to destroy the White Room." Honami said. "This means that you have to prevent Matsuo-san's death while entering ANHS at the same time."
"Man, it's already difficult right off the bat, huh?" Suzuki remarked. "Well, no matter how we will solve this problem, we have to tell them, right?"
"Yes, we have to." I said.
While this was happening, both Shin and Miharu were silent, pondering all this information.
"We probably need to stay with you for now, right, Kiyotaka-san?" Shin said.
"I don't know what's happening with your parents right now, so it's better if you stay with us, at least until we get to ANHS."
"That's the best alternative right now, considering our situation." he nodded. "We are in your care, then."
This is going to be troublesome to explain, that's for sure.
*****
"So let me get this straight." Shinobu said. "You time traveled from about 23 years in the future and these two are your... children?"
"Yes." I replied. There was no better way to describe the situation.
"So that's why you were acting off. You're mentally ill, Kiyotaka-nii-san."
Shinobu misunderstood me, though based on her tone, she wasn't making fun of me. She was genuinely worried about me, which warmed my heart.
"Do you want me to call that man to bring you to the mental hospital? That place must have affected your mind too much. You need help. And you two, stop taking advantage of Kiyotaka-nii-san! I'll kick your asses!"
"I'm glad that you're concerned about Dad, but he's telling the truth." Honami said. "Besides, no need to be so vague. We know about the White Room and how much a piece of trash our grandfather is."
Shinobu was genuinely surprised. I didn't include the White Room in my explanation because I wanted Honami to mention the place to prove to Shinobu that we were telling the truth.
"You.. know?" she said.
"Yeah, I can tell you where it's located on the map right now." Honami replied.
"Yes, we can even tell you how many rooms there are as well as the building's layout." Shin happily added. He has only visited the ruins of the White Room just a few hours ago from our perspective, so for him to claim to know that is impressive. He was probably more intelligent that Arisu was at his age.
"If you need more proof, Matsuo." I turned to our butler. "How's Eiichiro doing?"
Matsuo's composure broke a little as I said this, but he stayed silent for a few moments before speaking.
"I see. So you are telling the truth, Kiyotaka-sama."
"Eh? He really was?" Shinobu now understood that I wasn't mentally ill or joking. She was understandably stunned by this revelation.
"If this is all true, why would you do such a thing, Kiyotaka-sama?" Matsuo asked.
"Because I want to save everyone. That's all there is to it." I said. Shinobu, who was petrified with shock, spoke.
"Save... everyone? What happened to you, Kiyotaka-nii-san?"
I can understand her shock and confusion. After all, I was not the type of person to say such things. The White Room taught me to not care about everyone but myself, so for me to say something like this must have really surprised her.
"A lot has happened." I sighed. "I'll tell you everything that I can."
After that, I told them the summary of all the events that happened. Of course, it was just a general summary, but it was still quite long.
"I... really don't know what to say..." Shinobu was quite speechless. "Though, I'm really glad that you were finally freed from that place."
"I see." Matsuo said. "It seems that I meet such a tragic fate. However, that doesn't matter. I will still help you gain your freedom, Kiyotaka-sama."
"Thank you, Matsuo." I responded. "However, I will save you and your son, no matter what. "
"You have my gratitude." he bowed slightly.
"You need to meet with your... friends first, right?" Shinobu asked.
"Yes. I may need to ask permission from that man to be able to travel around the country." I said.
"I hope that man agrees." Shinobu said.
"It won't be easy." I replied.
I wonder what's going on with the others.
*****
Kei's POV
Karuizawa Residence
April 19, 2014
"Onee-san? Are you okay?"
Right now, I was still bewildered and confused beyond belief.
"U-Uh, yeah, I'm fine, Yuuta." I reassured my younger brother that didn't exist before.
This is seriously not what I expected.
It's been a month since I traveled back in time, although almost everything else about my home was the same, the appearance of a sudden little brother really threw me off for a loop at first. I am still a bit weirded out by my own younger brother, which just made me feel bad about myself.
Right now, I'm eating breakfast with my mother and my younger brother.
"Did those bastards do something bad to you again?!" he asked. I can just feel the anger from him. He was clearly talking about my bullying.
I'm kinda touched that he cares so much, but I'm sorry that I can't bring myself to care about you that much. I've only just met you for a month, after all.
I really felt bad about that, but I just reasoned that I can't really do anything about that now.
"N-No, I'm fine, really." I answered
"I hope you're really fine, onee-san. You've been acting weird, somehow." he said.
"Kei!" My father called out from outside.
"What is it, dad?" I replied. He came in holding a white envelope in his hands.
"A letter addressed to you."
The table fell silent. During the month that I've been back here, I've been experiencing the bullying that I dreaded so much. I wasn't as affected as before, but that didn't stop me from being anxious.
The scar wasn't there yet, after all, and I was not looking forward to getting it again.
One of the ways I was bullied was that hate mail was being sent to me constantly. The family got so used to it that when we receive a letter like that, my dad or my mom reads it then throws it away. The fact that my dad gave it to me means this wasn't the usual hate mail.
"Who sent it?" my mom asked.
"Someone named Matsuo Eiichiro gave it to me. He said that it was from someone named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka." he said.
It's from Kiyotaka! Wait, Matsuo Eiichiro? That's Kiyotaka's butler's son! He made contact with him already?
"Huh? Who is that? Do you know him, onee-san?"
I ignored Yuuta's question for now, and proceeded to ask my dad more questions.
"Is there anyone with him?" I asked.
My family must have been so confused by the fact that I seemed to know these people, but I can't really explain anything right now.
"Yes, there's three girls and two boys with him. I think they're named Honami, Shinobu, Miharu, Shin and Suzuki?" my dad answered.
Both of them are here, too? And wait, who's Shinobu? She must be one of the differences that being talked about.
"Can you let them in, dad? I want to see them." I asked. My family became even more confused by this.
"Sure, I'll let them in, then." my dad agreed to my request despite his obvious confusion. After a few moments, three people entered the room.
I only recognized the four among them and they didn't really change much. The guy, who I assume was Eiichiro, had a goofy smile on his face, while Shinobu looked eerily similar to Honami except for hair color and body shape. She must be related to Kiyotaka somehow.
"Have you said anything to dad yet, Matsuo-kun?" I asked.
"No. Aniki told me not to say anything until your family reads the letter." he says.
Pffft! He calls Kiyotaka aniki?
"He knew we were going to read the letter?" Yuuta asked. "Isn't the letter specifically addressed to onee-san?"
"Yeah!" Eiichiro-kun said enthusiastically. "He somehow knew that you were all going to read it out loud. He said something about you receiving hate mail so the family wouldn't let you read the letter in private, or something like that."
As I expected, my family was taken aback by this. My bullying was a private matter, so the fact that someone, who is a stranger to them, knows all about this information must have been shocking to them.
"He knows....?" Yuuta whispered. "Onee-san, who is this guy?"
I peeked at Honami, and she was smiling slightly at her... uncle, I guess. Maybe it was fascinating for her to suddenly have an uncle in this timeline.
"Why don't you all read the letter first so you can all have an idea?"
Yuuta then snatched the letter from our dad's hand and decided to read.
Dear Kei,
How are you? Are you doing okay? It's been a month, hasn't it?
"A month?" Yuuta whispered before he continued reading on.
I'm sorry if I can't save you from your bullying right now. It seems that that man is not willing to let me go outside so easily like Shinobu. It may take a few months more before I can meet you again, but I will assure you, I'll never let you get that scar again.
I will personally make sure that those pieces of trash will suffer for what they did to you.
"Who is this boy...?" my dad muttered.
"Scar? What scar, onee-san?" Yuuta asked.
"I'll tell you later. Just continue with the letter."
Both of my children were a bit unsettled by Kiyotaka's words, but they didn't say anything.
"Oh, they incurred the wrath of the demon. I feel sorry for them." I heard Shin mutter
It does give me an opportunity to further plan things out without any interruptions, so I'm fine with being left alone for now. Go and talk to our kids later about the stuff that went on in my end, and make sure to talk to Shinobu too. She's my twin sister here, and she said that she's always wanted to meet you.
"Our kids?! W-What is he saying, Kei?" My mom said.
"I'll explain everything once the letter finishes." I said.
For now, I want you to relax as much as you can. Honami and Suzuki will stay there for some time if your family approves of it, since I don't want that man catching wind of their existence just yet. Take care, Kei, and I love you.
Yours truly,
Kiyotaka
"So you're the girl Aniki says is his future wife?!" Matsuo-kun suddenly screamed at me after Yuuta finished reading the letter. "Man, he really scored big with you!"
"Don't say that about my mother, Eiichiro-san!" Honami smacked him in the back of the head.
Before my family becomes even more confused about what's going on, I gave everyone an explanation as to what was going on.
"Time travel?!" Yuuta shouted excitedly, and I can swear that I see the stars in his eyes.
"Yes, Yuuta, time travel." I sighed. I then felt my mother hug me. I heard her sobbing afterwards.
"I-I'm so glad... t-that you finally managed to get a normal life... Y-You have a family that.... cares for you... and a... successful career... I'm s-so glad..."
"Thank you, mom. However, I.. no, we still have a mission to accomplish." I said.
"I want to meet this Ayanokouji Kiyotaka now." my mom wiped off her tears. "But considering that you two married, we must have given him our blessing, right?"
"He he, you gave it really easily." I giggled.
"It's nice to see you again, grandmother and grandfather." Suzuki greeted both of them. My dad scratched his head.
"You look like a male version of Kei!" My mom hugged Suzuki excitedly.
"Haha, that's kinda embarrassing, being called that already." my dad said.
"Hey, it's also going to be embarrassing for me, too, since these people that are older than me will call me uncle!" Yuuta pointed out, making the rest of us laugh.
"They've been calling me their aunt already." The other girl, Shinobu, said, then she turned to me. "It's nice to meet you, Karuizawa-san."
"Call me by my first name, it's fine." I said. "I mean, you are my sister-in-law after all, even if me and Kiyotaka aren't officially married in this timeline."
"So Kei-san, then." she said. "Honestly, I'm curious as to how you and my brother met in the previous timeline."
Instantly, me, Honami, and Suzuki averted our gazes, making the rest of them confused.
"Uh, let's not talk about that for now..." I said.
"Yeah, as much as we love our dad, he was not the nicest person in the beginning..." Honami added.
"Yeah, he was kinda horrible. Seriously, "spread your legs"...?" Suzuki muttered.
"E-Eh? What did Kiyotaka-san do, Suzuki-kun?" Miharu whispered to Suzuki.
"It wasn't great, Miharu-chan. That's all I can say for now." Suzuki replied.
"He did something truly deserving of his title." Shin said cryptically.
"I know that you know how Kiyotaka acted in the beginning, so I can tell you, but not here." I said seriously.
"Eh? What did he do, onee-san?" Yuuta asked.
"Kiyotaka was... dare I say it, very horrible when we first met. Of course, he is not that kind of person anymore, but let's just say there was a reason why I hated him in the beginning." I said. "Don't worry, though, I've forgiven him a long time ago for that."
My family was a bit unnerved by what I said, but decided not to pry since they knew I was not going to tell them the truth.
"So are you all going to stay here?" My dad asked them. Shinobu and Eiichiro shook their heads.
"Can't stay here for too long, my pops may get anxious." Eiichiro said.
"Same with me. I doubt that man will be pleased by me being gone for very long. Kiyotaka-nii-san also said that it would be better for only Honami, Suzuki, Shin, and Miharu to be here instead." Shinobu explained.
"Even if we did want to meet our respective parents, explaining as well as living with them would be difficult, especially to Miharu-san." Shin added.
"After all, at this point in the timeline, Uncle Ryuuen is an infamous delinquent. She won't be safe." Honami said.
"Hey! I know how to fight!" Miharu pouted.
"Yeah, I know, but that's not really the point." Suzuki said.
"I get it. I'll stay here for now."
"I see." my dad nodded then turned to my two kids. "Make yourselves at home, then, you four."
"Thank you, grandfather." Suzuki replied.
"I guess we'll have to talk about what happened on our end, then, mom." Honami said.
I smiled seeing my children again, the nodded.
"Yeah, I wanna hear all about it!"
*****
Keisei's POV
No changes at all, huh? How annoying.
In the month that I've been back here, I had the naive wish that my situation will change somewhat, but I guess I was wrong.
I was alone in my room, studying as usual. Even if I have learned all this already, there was no harm in reviewing all of it.
I sighed, thinking about what I should do in the future.
While I'm no match for Kiyotaka in terms of intelligence, I still want to contribute in any way I can.
After a few hours of studying, I came down to the dining room. Everyone was either at work or are in school, and since my school finished early, I was alone in the house. Well, I won't be alone for long. I invited a new friend that would no doubt be an asset later with his academic skills, since he told me that he would be attending ANHS in the future as well.
I heard a knock on the door. I opened it, and it was him, a black haired man and his little sister.
"Uesugi Futarou-san and Uesugi Raiha-san." I smiled at the both of them. "Come in."
*****
Hiyori's POV
"There's no changes on my end, huh? Somehow, that feels very disappointing." I couldn't help but mutter as I looked back on the one month I've lived in this new timeline.
It still didn't feel real to me. Time travel is a concept that has always fascinated me. After all, being capable of going back to the past or going forward in the future always had a certain allure to it that tickles a human's fantasies. It's such an intricate and captivating concept that exists. Being part of an experience like that was great, even if the context behind it was extremely depressing.
I always felt that Kiyotaka-kun was in pain, not only from all of the actions that he took in the past, but from the price that he paid for his freedom. While none of us ever regretted freeing him from that hell, I'm sure that the remorse he felt from all of that must have been immense, which is why as his friend and book buddy, as well as the man I... love, I must endeavor to be of help to him.
It's such a pity that I wasn't able to end up with him, but he and Kei-san are a wonderful couple, and I wouldn't want to ruin it. I'm satisfied with just being Kiyotaka-kun's friend.
Since I cannot really do anything about the situation right now, all I'm going to do is to adapt to the situation at hand and do something that I love more than Kiyotaka-kun, reading books.
As I was reading my book, I heard shuffling from behind me, so I turned to see what was going on, and I saw what can only be described as a woman of true beauty.
Long flowing black hair, an elegant face, and a perfect body. There was no other way to describe her but beautiful. I was honestly really mesmerized.
She didn't see me, though. She was busy browsing through the books. I could see that she was struggling to pick one, so I decided to lend her a hand.
"Excuse me? Do you need some help?"
Instantly, she jumped at my words. It seems that she was startled by my presence.
"Ah, my apologies! I just thought that you needed help with choosing the books. I'm sorry if I bothered you..."
She quickly shook her head, then after a few seconds, she pulled a notebook out and wrote something on it.
"Please help me with picking a book. Thank you."
"Hm? What's your name?" I smiled at her to ease her anxiety. After another few seconds, she wrote something in her notebook again.
"My name is Komi Shoko. It's nice to meet you."
"Komi...-san?" I said. "Well then, what book do you want to pick?"
We then had a pleasant... conversation, I guess? I asked whether she was mute, but it simply turned out that she had a communication problem. I didn't mind, though. It didn't take long for us to become friends. I was overjoyed to hear that she was also going to ANHS.
Even if we came back here for quite the intense reason, this is... nice.
*****
Haruka's POV
"I really want to see them all now..."
I couldn't help but whine as I lay on my bed. It's been a month since I've seen the group, after all. Can anyone really blame me?!
"I wonder what they're all doing."
My face hardened slightly when I remembered what Kiyopon was doing at this time, but I knew that I couldn't do anything about it for now.
Well at least I got to punch that bastard during the raid before Kei... Ah, well, never mind that.
Despite what Kiyopon had done to Airi all those years ago, we have all forgiven him for it. In hindsight, Kiyopon might have known that expelling Airi at that time would result in growth that allowed her to become more successful. I wouldn't put it past him. He is so good at things like that that it's almost creepy.
"He probably wouldn't have helped our class so much if he didn't have a growth fetish."
How right you were, Kei-san.
I got up out of my bed to eat some breakfast when my phone started to ring.
"It's her, huh?" I picked up the phone and answered the call.
"Hello, Hasebe-san!"
"Hello, Yumeko-san."
"How are you doing today?"
"I'm doing fine. So, how much did you win this time?"
"About 17 million yen today. Those guys tried to only make me feel pain by cheating, so I punished them!"
"Don't be so cheerful while saying something so scary..."
"But they tried to ruin my fun!"
"Yeah, I know..."
I wonder why I am friends with this girl.
Yumeko Jabami. She was a transferee at my middle school, and after some talking, we became friends. However, it didn't take long for me to find out about her... obsession.
She is a compulsive gambler. A kakegurui. I always see her betting with other people with frankly ridiculous stakes, and somehow, she often wins these bets, gathering an impressive amount of money in the process. She became a bit infamous in our school not long after, and now people are very reluctant to gamble with her. She found a solution not long after, though.
She just began betting more money, and people accepted these bets even with her reputation due to how much money they were going to get if they did win. The fact that it isn't completely impossible for anyone to win against her also encouraged people to go for it.
If she ever manages to enter ANHS like she said she would, she would thrive there. She's incredibly cunning and intelligent, though not at Kiyopon's level, of course, which is practically a requirement if you want to survive in that school.
The call lasted only for a few minutes as we chatted about trivial things, then she hung up and the call ended.
"She's going to bleed people dry of points, that's for sure." I muttered. "She's definitely Class-D material, too. Glad I met a classmate this early."
I wonder what the others are doing...? Especially Miyacchi... I hope my dear husband isn't in any trouble.
*****
Akito's POV
"Wake up, Akicchi."
That empty sounding voice could only belong to one person.
"Mikey...?" I groaned as I began to stand up from my position.
I saw both Sano Manjiro and Ryuguji Ken looking down at me, smirking.
"Ah, I'm sorry I overslept for the meetup today..." I said.
"It's fine." Ken, or Draken as he was called, said. "It's not like there was anything urgent with the meetup. We're just going to do the usual ride around the city."
"But still, it's not like you to oversleep, Akicchi." Mikey, Sano Manjiro, added.
"Ah, I just have things... to think about."
"That... Ayanokouji Group, right? And your wife?" Draken asked.
When I woke up in this timeline, I was surprised with how much my life changed. Previously, I was just a part of a group of small delinquents, not very well known at all. However, here, I was part of an incredibly famous gang in Tokyo, Tokyo Manji Gang. I was actually a close associate of these two, which are the leaders of the gang, and I was a member of the 1st Division, alongside this guy named Chifuyu and it was being led by a guy named Baji, who suspiciously sounds a lot like Ryuuen.
When I first came back, both of them told me that I was acting really weird, since I was usually so boisterous and loud, and considering that I am the opposite of that now, I can understand that they were suspicious. I did shrug it off as something minor at first, but eventually, I caved in and told them everything. Surprisingly, they believed me. They said that I was not the type of person to lie or make up stories, so if I said such a thing, it must have been real.
"Yeah. I just want to know how they're doing right now." I said
"I get that you're in a really weird situation, but it's not like you can do anything about it right now." Mikey said. "You're all currently separated and you aren't smart enough to plan things out."
"You're right, but I'm just worried, you know?"
"It's going to be fine." Draken reassured me. "As Mikey said, you can't really help right now, so you should just wait, live your life, and help them when the time comes."
"And we'll be there with you." Mikey put out a thumbs up. I just remembered that these guys will also attend ANHS in the future, so they can probably help out with Kiyotaka and his efforts.
"I guess I'll just have to live my life for now." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Just think of this as your last days as a bachelor before getting married." Draken patted me in the shoulders.
"I am married!"
"Not officially!"
"Besides, I doubt your wife will appreciate that you became a part of a gang." Draken smirked at me.
"She probably wouldn't mind..." I said. I remembered all the times that she talked about me being a former delinquent, and I noticed that she wasn't really disgusted by it. I smiled as I remembered those moments, and both of the guys will smirk at me like crazy.
"You're completely smitten, huh?" Draken remarked.
"You're one to talk when you're the same with my sister, Kenchin." Mikey retorted, causing Draken to glare at him.
Honestly, these guys are really fun to be around. I hope we can all see each other again.
*****
Airi's POV
It honestly still doesn't feel real to me.
Everything still feels... like a dream, even after a month.
I was honestly excited when I heard that we were traveling back in time. I now have a chance to fix the mistakes that I made in the past due to my lack of growth.
Even if it may have been cruel at the time, right now, I was grateful to Kiyotaka-kun for expelling me. Without that final push, I wouldn't have been able to truly come out of my shell and become a better individual in the process. Now that I am back to the past, I will make sure to fix the mistakes that I had done in the past and lead a better life than before.
When I did come back though, all my plans were thrown off the window.
Instead of being the relatively obscure gravure idol that I was before, now I'm part of an extremely popular idol group, B-Komachi.
And I became friends with one of their most popular members...
"Hey, Ri-chan!"
"Hello, Ai-san."
Hoshino Ai. In all honesty, she was the definition of cute. I've never seen a person like that in my entire life before I met her. It was like she was born to become an idol.
"Are you okay?" she asked me.
"Ah, I'm fine, Ai-san." I answered.
"You were a bit spaced out there. We have practice later today, so I'm just worried about your performance." she said.
"Don't worry about me, Ai-san, I'm going to be fine." I assured her.
"I hope you are, Ri-chan." she said. "Or are you worried about them?"
"I'm not worried about them. They'll be fine, especially Kiyotaka-kun."
That's right, I told her everything. I felt guilty about not telling her, since I could see that we've been friends for a long time in this timeline. She felt like a big sister that I never had. That's why I told her about my situation.
Surprisingly, she believed me. When I asked why, she said, "If reincarnation exists, then why not time travel?"
When I asked her about it, she told me all about her kids, and how one day, when she came home early, she saw her kids, who were infants, talking like adults. After she confronted them about it, they told her that they were the reincarnation of the doctor that helped her give birth and one of his patients. It must have been an awkward situation for her.
I've also heard from her that she was going to ANHS, though she attended a year later than intended because of her kids so she was going to attend as a first year even though she was 16. I hope that we become classmates.
"Kiyotaka-kun, hm? I really want to meet your crush now." Ai-san teased me.
"He's not my crush anymore, Ai-san!" I said. "Besides, he has a wife!"
"I really wonder who his wife is considering that someone as cute as you was just right nearby him." she said.
"His wife is a better match for Kiyotaka-kun than I ever will." I said. While it hurts me a little to say that, I can confidently say that it was definitely true
"Well, before you go into this mission of yours, Ri-chan, why don't you live your life a little?" she smiled, but then her expression turned serious.
"I hope that you can live your life a little, and not live in fear like I do."
"What's going on, Ai-san?" I asked worriedly.
"I have a stalker, though I'd prefer it if you kept it between us." she whispered.
I was reminded of that time during our first year in the previous timeline when I had to suffer the same thing. I was hoping that nothing will happen to her like what happened to me, but I knew that it was foolish.
I hope that we can save her when the time comes.
=end of chapter=
(A/N: And that's a wrap! I hope that you all enjoyed the Chapter 1 of this fanfic that I'm really excited to write. I also hope that you enjoyed how I introduced some of the crossover characters that are appearing in the fic. Of course, this is not all of them, but I can't introduce everyone in one go. For now, here are some info about the introduced crossover characters.
- For Uesugi Futarou, he has NOT met the Nakano Siblings yet. He will meet them during the 1st year of ANHS.
- Komi has met Tadano at this point, and are now good friends.
- Hyakkaou Private Academy does not exist in this verse, so Yumeko attends ANHS instead.
- As for Draken and Mikey, both Kisaki and Takemichi does not exist here.
- With Ai, I'm not going to reveal what changes with her story just yet, but let's just say that she will be attending ANHS.
That's all for now! I hope you all will enjoy this story, and thank you for reading!)