I Time-Leaped Back to High School with My Childhood Friend–Turned–Wife, But I Don’t Know Why We Returned to the Past. Also, My Wife as a High Schooler Is Kinda Sexy.

Gion Festival

The streets around Shijo Karasuma, the heart of the festival, were packed with people due to it being a holiday.

The konchikichin sounds of the Gion Festival music echoed constantly despite the waves of crowds, seemingly injecting energy into the sweltering summer heat of Kyoto and its people.

Everyone walking by was intoxicated by the festival atmosphere, gathering around the main attractions—the yamahoko floats and food stalls—that lined the streets extending north and south from the main boulevard.

What remarkable hustle and bustle.

However, the main events—Yoiyoiyama, Yoiyama, and the Yamahoko Procession of the first half of the festival—were still to come tomorrow and beyond.

Moreover, the real crowds would gather after 6 PM when the main streets would become pedestrian-only zones—that is, after nightfall.

These crowds were merely like a dress rehearsal before the main event.

Yet even this rehearsal was nothing to scoff at.

The three of us—myself, Chiho, and Aizawa—immersed ourselves completely in the festive atmosphere as we joined the waves of people.

Spending our allowance money borrowed from our parents and New Year’s gift money hidden between dictionary pages without hesitation, we ate whatever we wanted, played around, occasionally stopped to rest, and strolled through the streets of Kyoto.

We lived in Kyoto—or rather, we would be living here from now on—and had been to the Gion Festival several times before. Therefore, we knew how to enjoy it. Time passed quickly as we guided Aizawa, who was visiting the Gion Festival for the first time, showing her the yamahoko floats, letting her taste the local specialties, and explaining various things along the way.

“Back in this era, they still had pedestrian-only zones even during Yoiyoiyama.”

“Yeah~ That’s unthinkable nowadays~”

“Eh? In the future, Yoiyoiyama doesn’t have pedestrian-only zones?”

“That’s right. I don’t remember exactly when that changed though.”

“It’s the flow of time~ The stalls during Yoiyoiyama disappeared too.”

“That’s a bit sad, isn’t it?”

Maybe it is.

But I explained to Aizawa that towns and people inevitably change.

Nothing stays the same forever.

Myself, Chiho, and Aizawa—we all change bit by bit over time. Towns, being collections of people, were the same. We could only accept and tolerate such subtle changes within our capacity. That’s what life and living are all about.

Perhaps because I had said something so serious and headache-inducing, a somewhat heavy atmosphere enveloped us. I hastily pointed to a nearby ball-scooping game stall, suggesting we compete—trying to change the subject. It seemed I wasn’t mature enough yet to lecture others about life.

How utterly embarrassing.

If the sun had been setting, I might have been able to hide my embarrassment. Unfortunately, both Chiho and Aizawa gave me looks that clearly said “you really messed up,” so I couldn’t conceal it.

And so it went.

The time was approaching 5 PM.

We had enjoyed the Gion Festival for nearly half a day. We sat down on a curb and pole by the side of the road.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the festival, we took a short break before heading home. Drinking juice bought from a vending machine, we quietly listened to the festival atmosphere for a while.

Shijo Karasuma was regaining its energy as the main evening events approached.

The crowds around the yamahoko floats, the festival’s main attractions, had doubled since noon. The waves of people were growing denser, resembling some gigantic living organism.

Looking at the scene of Shijo Karasuma from a distance, I commented:

“It would take some courage to dive into that crowd now, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m sooo exhausted! A-chan, give me a piggyback ride!”

“Senpai! Give me a piggyback ride too!”

“You two are really showing me no mercy today, huh?”

Well, today was a day of penalty and atonement for me.

On this date, I basically had no right to refuse anything they said to me. So I thought this was heading toward me having to give them piggyback rides—

After half-seriously considering it, I calmly realized that my legs felt like sticks, and that physically, my scrawny self couldn’t possibly carry Chiho on my back.

“Unfortunately, your boyfriend doesn’t have that kind of strength. Sorry.”

“Ehh! A-chaaan, that’s too meannn!”

“That’s right! It’s not manly at all! Weren’t you supposed to be our boyfriend for the day? I don’t want a cruel boyfriend who tells his exhausted girlfriend to walk with a straight face!”

“Don’t be unreasonable. I’m exhausted too, you know.”

“Ikuna-chan, see~? This is what we call a selfish man~! And the worst part is~, he thinks he’s good at that~!”

“How terrible! Unforgivable! You incompetent!”

“What’s terrible is your dirty jokes!”

As I shouted back asking what they expected me to do, Chiho and Aizawa turned to me with mischievous smiles. Then they started discussing something between themselves, occasionally glancing at each other.

They seemed to be plotting something troublesome again.

Fine, fine, I get it.

Today, for the entire day, I’m your boyfriend and your plaything.

I’ll play along completely.

As long as it doesn’t violate any youth protection laws.

I went to throw my empty bottle in the trash can in front of the vending machine.

I was exhausted. Truly exhausted, but I thought it wasn’t a bad day overall.

Days like this might not be so bad…

Just as I thought that, I felt a cool sensation against the hand I had behind my back. Reflexively turning around, I saw a girl in a yukata holding my hand.

Light blue.

A yukata pattern like white goldfish silhouettes swimming in water.

The garment, which wrapped around her narrow shoulders and small frame, looked brand new, clearly recently purchased. I had no idea who she had planned to go with or where she had planned to go wearing this. All I knew was the fact that she had chosen to wear it for today’s date with me.

Aizawa, her face as red as mine had been earlier, timidly placed her small hand on top of mine.

She didn’t seem to be teasing me as usual.

As proof of that, the sunlight filtering between the buildings of Shijo Karasuma reflected in her wide-open eyes, shining quietly like stars in the night sky.

“…Senpai, um.”

“…Aizawa?”

“…If you don’t mind, would you hold my hand until we reach the station?”

Was it right for her to ask a man such a trivial thing with such a serious face?

I somewhat regretted the words I had said to her earlier. When asked so earnestly, shouldn’t I do anything for Aizawa?

Of course, my heart belonged to Chiho, and there was no chance it would ever drift toward Aizawa. But today, just for this one day in her life, I had been allowed to be her boyfriend.

In that case, shouldn’t I have granted her small selfish wishes? I was consumed by intense regret, thinking that this was what a boyfriend’s role should be.

Looking toward Chiho, I saw her silently turning her cheek away from our interaction.

She probably realized that her cute junior was holding back because of her presence, restraining herself with her one-day boyfriend. That’s why, at the end of this day, she averted her gaze from us as if to say she would overlook everything.

Thank you, Chiho.

For doing this much for Aizawa and me.

I knew it was unusual for my jealous girlfriend to suggest something like this. She never allowed any girls who tried to touch me.

Until today, she had driven away all such women without exception, restraining me with her adorable gestures and words.

I never disliked that, but it was undeniably true.

Yet Chiho, despite this being the past world, allowed this only for Aizawa.

This must mean that Aizawa was an irreplaceable friend to her, and perhaps someone who could share in the pain of love.

I was made keenly aware of the depth of Chiho’s feelings for Aizawa. My wife was silently telling me to respond to her. She was wishing for me to grant her wish.

The woman smiled sadly with her profile, as if saying she would allow it.

That whispered “okay” was enough.

I gently grasped Aizawa’s small left hand. I carefully intertwined my fingers with hers, which trembled sweetly with each breath, so as not to hurt her with my insensitivity.

“Alright. Let’s hold hands as we go to the station.”

“…Thank you very much!”

“Is there anything else you’d like me to do? Don’t hold back, just tell me.”

“…Eh?”

“Come on. Look, it’s the Gion Festival today. It’s a special day.”

Technically it was Yoiyoiyama. It wasn’t really a special reason at all.

As an excuse to encourage the timid Aizawa to express her feelings, it seemed somewhat weak. But perhaps she was just so happy to be holding hands with me that she was completely elated and didn’t notice.

Did she really care for me this much? As a man, that made me very happy.

It was sad that I hadn’t noticed her feelings, and I felt sorry for choosing my wife. But today, I would forget such emotions.

For just this one day, I wasn’t Chiho Nishijima’s husband, but Atsushi Suzuhara, a second-year high school student. And I was Ikuna Aizawa’s boyfriend.

Aizawa looked up and down several times, deep in thought, and then finally turned to me with determination. Her cheeks, which had gained even more redness and joy than before, faced me. It was a nice smile. A smile that suited her well.

“Then, could you call me by my name?”

“Sure, Ikuna?”

“Ah, um. Actually, I’d prefer ‘Ikuna-chan’.”

“You don’t need to be so reserved.”

“Ah, no, that’s not it! That’s how I want you to call me! Personally!”

“…Understood, Ikuna-chan.”

“…Yes! Atsushi-senpai!”

At that moment, Chiho glanced over at us. No matter how much she tried to blend into the background, she couldn’t help but react to those words.

What had struck a chord with her?

Probably the way we addressed each other. Because she looked at us with such profound envy.

That’s right. Only Ikuna could call me “senpai” after my name.

You’ve always wanted to be able to call me that, haven’t you?

For the past you, it might have been just a few months, but for the future you, it was over a decade. Maybe you had been enduring the desire to call me that all this time.

Was that why she continued with that cheeky “Senpai” all this time?

It was my own—and somewhat virgin-like—interpretation, but thinking that way made Ikuna seem incredibly endearing and precious to me.

Ikuna squeezed my fingertips tightly. Side by side, Ikuna and I turned toward Chiho, who was waiting for this ritual to end. As my temporary girlfriend next to me directed a beaming smile saying “thank you,” my childhood friend who had temporarily ceded her place smiled a little sadly.

A transparent plastic bottle with a yellow-banded label. Holding the Kirin Lemon that had moistened her throat until a moment ago, Chiho turned her back to us. “Let’s go~,” she said, and I felt an indescribable poignancy as the bottle gripped in her left hand was tossed toward the roadside.

But she would surely not look back until we reached the station. Once she said something, she absolutely kept her word.

That’s the kind of woman she was.

The festival music grew increasingly intense, and the voices of people grew louder with it. We started walking toward the center of the festival, where the special evening atmosphere of the Gion Festival was being created.

It was just a momentary flash.

Whether a cloud blocked the sun, or it was an airplane, or perhaps a total solar eclipse occurred without warning on this day, defying the principles of astronomy. For an instant, my vision went black.

When I next opened my eyes. The world was still enveloped in the heat of the Gion Festival, and the continuous konchikichin sound that had been playing since noon echoed in my ears.

However, Chiho was nowhere to be seen.