I Was Reincarnated As a Man who Steals The Protagonist’s Childhood Friend

“Ahem. To the celebration of our new member and our successful gathering. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” (Hibiki)

“C-Cheers…” (Hoshino)

“Uhh, cheers?” (Takeshi)

Here we are in our beloved apartment, with my fellow clubmates as my guests, with a cup of orange juice in their hands, paired with lots of foods in the table, from potato chips to a large size pizza.

“Come on Takeshi! Liven up a little bit! You don’t get this kind of situation too often!”

Let’s go back a few hours on how did this even happened.

A few hours earlier

“Ugh, I’m so tired.” I mutter, flopping onto my bed with my uniform still on. Today has been an exhausting day. The unexpected things come to me like a sudden downpour, and confrontation with Naoki was definitely not on my list.

“But still, Hoshino hasn’t contacted her childhood friend? I didn’t know that.” I said aloud. I can’t fathom why she didn’t reach out to him. She didn’t even contact me the last time we saw each other. Then, the day took another surprising turn.

“Meeting with Hoshino in the clubroom too. I didn’t see that coming. I thought she won’t attend the meeting, with all of those events that happened between us. But surprisingly, she was there.” I say, shaking my head. Hoshino today acts pretty much normal during the meeting, but whenever our eyes meet, she instantly looks away to me.

“Could this day get any worse?” I mutter while looking at the ceiling. Just as I’m reflecting on the day’s events, my phone starts ringing in my pocket. I check the screen, but the caller’s name is unfamiliar.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Hey there, Takeshi!” Only two people at school call me by my first name—Natsu and…

“Akira-san. What’s up?” I respond.

“I know this is going to shock you, but right now, we’re right outside your apartment with the gang.”

“Hello there, Ueno-san!” a voice chimes in.

“U-uhm, hello, Takeshi-kun…” says another voice timidly.

Wait, what? As I try to process what Akira just told me, my doorbell rings. I hurry to the door, and it’s none other than the Photography Club, all in their casual clothes. I totally did not jinx it, I thought.

“Uh, what are you guys doing here?” I ask, bewildered.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about it since the clubroom, since it’s our first time gathering as a complete group, we decided to celebrate by having a party at your place!” Akira exclaims excitedly.

I start to close the door slowly.

“Wait, don’t close it just yet! We just got here!”

“Akira-san, you could’ve texted me if you wanted to come over.” I tell him, feeling a bit irritated.

“Sorry, Ueno-san. We could’ve had the party at my place, but my parents have unexpected visitors.” Hibiki explains, sounding a bit down.

“No, it’s okay, Hibiki-san. I was just a bit shocked by this turn of events.” I reassure her. Not that I’m mad, but he could’ve just told me earlier.

I then glance at the girl standing beside Hibiki. Hoshino is wearing a brown long-sleeve sweater and matching pants, which complement her red hair. She quickly looks away, giving me the cold shoulder. So much for avoiding awkwardness.

“Anyway, just come on in.” I say, leading them into my apartment.

“Nice! Then, if you’ll excuse us,” Akira says as they all step inside.

“Sorry for intruding!” Hibiki adds, smiling.

“…”

Everyone goes into my apartment.

“Ah, yeah, Ueno-san, where can we put this?” Hibiki asks, holding up a plastic bag. Are those foods?

“You can put it on that table over there, Kobayashi-san,” I point to the small table in the living room. She nods and sets it down as instructed.

Since it’s a party, I should probably prepare something. I glance at everyone, who are now happily chatting in the living room.

“I should prepare the drinks,” I say to myself, heading to the fridge to see what we have. As I bring the drinks back, I notice that everything is already set up.

“Come on, Ueno-san! We’ve been waiting for you!” Hibiki calls out, pouring juice into everyone’s cups.

Back to the present…

“Hoshino-san, there’s a zombie on your right! Shoot it!” (Kobayashi)

“Eh? Ah, w-where do I press to shoot?” (Nakano)

“Hold on, let me save you!” (Kobayashi)

“Eeeeek!! There’s too many of them! (Nakano)

“Uwaaaahhh!! Run, Hoshino-san, run!!” (Kobayashi)

Two of the girls are playing a zombie shooter game on my console, while Akira and I watch, amused by their reactions. It’s the only co-op game I have, so they’re giving it a try.

“Hahaha! Look at Hibiki-san go! Watch out, there’s a zombie coming at you!” Akira laughs.

“Uooohhh!! Take this!” Hibiki shouts, pressing buttons frantically.

I glance at Akira, who is helping Hibiki by pressing random buttons on her controller. Then, I look at Hoshino, who seems to be struggling with the controls. It’s probably her first time using a game controller.

“Here, let me help you, Nakano-san,” I say, grabbing her hands to guide her.

“Ehhh?? Uhmm, Takeshi-kun?” she asks, a bit flustered.

“Look ahead, Nakano-san. Use this left joystick to walk in any direction, and the right one to turn your character,” I explain.

“U-Uhmm, okay.”

She starts using the joysticks, moving her character around. Thankfully, there are no zombies in her immediate vicinity. I then notice that Hibiki has most of the zombies swarming her, which explains the lack of enemies near Hoshino.

“Nice. Now, use your right finger to shoot your gun. Aim at the zombie,” I instruct her.

A zombie crawls slowly toward her. She aims and starts pressing the button to fire her gun.

“Nice. Now try it by yourself, Nakano-san,” I encourage her.

She tries a few more times, successfully hitting the zombies, most of which are targeting Hibiki. Ah, Kobayashi’s character is knocked down.

As expected, Hoshino is quick to learn, I think to myself.

“Good, you’re getting the hang of it. Now try to help Kobayashi-san,” I suggest.

“Ah, yes. Let me help you, Hibiki-san,” Hoshino says, reviving her.

“Phew, thank you, Hoshino-chan! You really saved me there,” Hibiki says, grateful.

“Don’t let your guard down just yet. The game’s just getting started,” I warn, as the girls’ surroundings fill with thick fog.

“Watch out, Hibiki-san! There’s a dog behind you!” Akira warns her.

“H-H-H-huhhh??? Where did they come from?? Eeeeekkk!! I’m scared! I’m scared! Fujimoto-san, help me!!” Hibiki screams.

“Hahahaha! You should see the look on your face, Hibiki-san!” Akira laughs.